~~~~ Dish ~~~~

Ahoy !

2011-11-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here going thru the morning mail. I hear a "scritch scritch scritch" noise to my left. I look up, and see a squirrel on the ledge outside the bow window in the livingroom. As I get up he leaves. I sit down and continue to read, scritch scritch scritch. The little bastard is back. I can see the birdbath is the modus operandi, he climbs up on it, and leaps to the windowsill. There are 5 windows within the bow window, and I had that window open just yesterday. If Steve left that window open overnight, the squirrel would have been thru the screen in NO time.
I call Steve and tell him, that lil fucker is staring at me. Every time I sit down, he returns. Squirrels are not as big as you think. They are googly-eyed and nervous twitchy little creatures to boot.
Steve doesn't care.
I tell him, if you left that window open last night, the squirrel would have been IN the living room, the screen wouldn't have stopped him.
Steve doesn't care.
If there is a squirrel in the living room, you can rest assured that I *won't* be there. This may seriously impact the making of dinner. I won't walk thru a squirrel zone to get to the kitchen. [Kinda like honoring a picket line]
Steve doesn't care.
I said, you wait and see, if he gets in, he WILL get into your cereal stash. We will come downstairs one morning, and the squirrel will be laying on his back, his paws feebly waving in the air, unable to roll over. His little belly will be distended, and all around him, will be scattered YOUR Capt'n Crunch!
NOW Steve gets excited!
"That Bastard! Glad I closed the window!"
Glad I know where I stand.
Right behind the Capt'n. ;o)

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A Philosophy of Life

2011-11-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

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Slippers

2011-11-07T18:54:00.002-05:00

Slippers.
I had to buy mens slippers.
FOR MYSELF.
Because womens slipper makers are cheap ass bastards.
I HATE them. AND their cheap ass slippers.
Have you ever seen the funny videos, of dogs having sno-booties put on them for the first time? How they lift their legs way up in the air?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WjwZSIDIrw

That's how mens, ill-sized for women slippers feel on my feet. I feel like I'm prancing around like a clydesdale.
Dear Ladies slipper[s] makers:
Women, believe it or not, are NOT pansies. There are times when we need slippers with the same attributes that mens have,...a grippy type of sole, and an upper that actually stays on our feet. NOT an upper that makes your damn feet slide to the inside curve of the sole.
Resulting in multiple thuds as you fall down the stairs, and a son yelling "MOM! DO YOU NEED ME TO CALL 911 ??"

Now I am a girlie girl, I admit it. Hello, my name is Gail. I'm addicted to lip gloss and purses. And slippers. Cutie-patootie pink slippers, leopard print slippers, lacy slippers, I've bought them all.
And was afraid to walk around in EVERY fucking pair.
Why?
Because you people who design these things seem to think that the only activities women participate in while wearing "womens" slippers are smoking opium or getting a mani-pedi. There is NO FUCKING WAY you can run, or even walk fast, in womens slippers.
This is WAY NOT FUCKING GOOD.
I am bruised and pissed. This is NOT a combination you want all the fuck up in YOUR grille, slipper-makers.
No, it is not.
I would like you to make womens slippers for REAL, not this fake shit that costs 3 times what the mens slippers cost.
Take a mans leather slipper, change the leather to pink or green or blue. Not yellow, too many dog owners would be traumatized trying to guess if poochie made wees on their slippers.
Size those fuckers for WOMEN. That's right, SHOE size them. There is NO FUCKING SHOE that will fit a size 8 AND size 9 woman. So WHY do you do that shit on slippers? I'll TELL your asses why. Because YOU ARE CHEAP SHITS, you slipper makers. So FIX that size shit already.
Now change the leather tie on the top to a bow, or something sparkly or glittery. NO mirrors, men would walk into walls trying to look at those mirrors and you would get sued. I may not like you, slipper-makers, but I don't want your asses sued. At least until I get what I want.
Good Slippers.
I'm waiting.

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2011-06-12T21:46:00.003-04:00

Dear Mr Shed:
Hi! Steve and Gail here. We came to you 5 weeks ago, and plunked down some Big ass change for a shed. [read: mini-house, that thing is so damn cute!] Here is what we had built with the specs we were given, it's the white one with blue shutters:

You told us, 4 weeks until delivery. GREAT. 5 weeks later, you are arriving the next morning! You arrive, with the gravel you need for the base.....and THEN tell us, whoopsie! This area needs to be shored up a bit and leveled. YO, Mr Shed, wasn't that your job? At the very least to TELL us this? Before the day of delivery? So yall just LEFT.
We were not amused.
You would think, at ANY time, let alone in this economy, business would be PRAYing for cash customers like us, and TRYING to retain them. Oh, so sorry Mr Shed. Diane was as nice as could be, she treated us well, and we liked her. But we won't be back, nor can we recommend you to anyone else.In light of this, I must give you my

We are actively working on the "rockeries" in the back yard,

[mostly on the rock wall at the rear of our property. I have a funny story [pics too!] to tell you about THAT, but that will come later in the week.We're still dealing with a TON of Poison Ivy]

and the one right by the garage door. We busted ass for an hour out there...just by the garage door..and it appears that the roots of those "weeds" I thought were so lovely go SO deep that they are wrecking the retaining wall.

This blog isn't only about Team Gail. I feel very strongly about consumer protections and consumer rights. I'm preparing a bloggie right now about AAA and Time Warner Cable. Trust me, I'm annoyed enough to guarantee that I'll be back with the rest of the story :O)
Also...Im not going anywhere. If you are a FRIEND [sorry, I do not make this offer for strangers] who is blogging, please shoot me a link. I will be more than happy to include you on my list of places I enjoy visiting

Blogger.com claims that it has spanked spammers and scammers. Let's see if they mean what they say.

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The Christmas Cock

2010-12-20T16:22:00.003-05:00

Steve had today off. He and Tone agreed to do some grocery and holiday shopping for me so I could work at home. Sounds very good in theory, doesn't it?

I asked these 2 adult men to get a seasonal, Christmas-y mat for OUTside the FRONT door. I currently have a fall themed one. While they were at the store, I called them. Explained that my kitchen mat, on the floor in front of the sink, is falling apart, while they are in there can they get me another kitchen mat? I also need 2white tablecloths, for the extra tables I will use from Christmas service, and I requested that they get all these items in Kohls.
They came home.

You know the 2 tablecloths I asked Steve to buy? [he was WITH me when I bought the first one, he knew exactly what to get] Oh, no they didn't have them. Did you go ASK, honey? No. So he bought 2 at walmart. They closely resemble burlap, I am having sensory issues just TOUCHING them.

But the mats. Oh my. They bought two, OK. Both for the kitchen, nothing for outside. One is a Christmas/ Winter theme, and it's mostly white and light blue. Lets take bets on how long THAT one lasts on the floor in a busy kitchen. I gave him the LOOK. The second mat? It's a frickin' ROOSTER. Yes, a ROOSTER, you take one LOOK at a rooster and it is supposed to dredge up holiday cheer unimaginable. I asked him, WTH Hon? Really, WTH?? A ROOSTER for Christmas cheer? And He said..... It's not Christmas without a Cock. My stomach still hurts from laughing at that. You gotta love the guy for the things he comes up with to cover his tail. So if any of you are interested, you can come to my house and see my Christmas cock laying on the kitchen floor. And he *did* get points for making me laugh.

"Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams."
Mary Ellen Kelly

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Decisions, Decisions

2010-12-19T11:55:00.002-05:00

I had some thinking to do, and decisions to make. I enjoy blogging, and the feedback I get suggests that I'm not talking to myself. I would blog anyway, as I enjoy it. But it is nice to know I am read. Even Steve asked me this morning, why are you not blogging, he has been checking too.
And so, I will continue to blog.I'm happy to be back :o)

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Are you an idiot?

2010-08-24T17:31:00.005-04:00

I'm still not used to this new med. Went from insomnia to being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Plus, the treadmill is broken [ssssssssshhhhhhhh,..YAY!YAY! a GREAT excuse!] So I've been spending time at Facebook. Yelling at one relative who stressed Steve right out to the max. Looking at my nieces FB. She is asking ALL idiots to leave her FB right now. When I got done laughing I wondered, how would you know if you were an idiot? I got sidetracked into googling that and had quite a few yuks. Here is one of the returns from that search:

http://www.iamanidiot.com/idiotif/

Saw Boos' FB first thing this morning, she left posts for Steve and me, informing us that the latest Jean Auel book is available for preorder at Amazon. [I think it was more of a "heads up" to Steve, Boo has my back in all things book-related.] From the time I saw Boos post to the time the book was in my cart, less than one literal minute elapsed. I LOVE Amazon. Here' a link if you are a fan:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517580519/ref=oss_product

And a pic....baby lemons on my lemon tree! [I live in NY, and have never had the correct conditions to make a lemon tree set fruit before, so this very exciting to my green thumb !]

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Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

2010-08-22T16:18:00.002-04:00

Love Love this website:

http://www.brainyquote.com/

Am going thru major withdrawal symptoms from Caffeine today. Would not wish this on anyone.

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PSVT for short

2010-08-21T14:48:00.003-04:00

Dearest Bloggie,
I am so sorry for neglecting you for so long! I know you were wondering "WHY? Why are you so quiet Gail?"

I always promised myself that, when I was blogging, no matter what I said it would be straight up. Recently I have had something happen to me. A medical problem, that scared the living shit out of me and I was afraid to blog about it. First, I needed to get a diagnosis, and second, I had to make sure that blogging about this wouldn't embarrass my family, they come first. I really believe that we are all on the planet together, and if I can share what happened to me, so some other person isn't so afraid, then that's what I'll do.

Since maybe September '09, I noticed that when I get pissed or stressed, I could "feel" my heartbeat. No pain, or anything else. I was just very aware of it.
One Monday morning in December, I got out of bed. That was ALL I did...and my heart felt like a freshly landed lake trout. It was bouncing around in my chest so badly I thought I was going to die. The dizziness was overwhelming.No pain, no pressure, no shortness of breath. But it eventually passed, and I went to work [I know, stupid stupid stupid.]
Since then I have had a recurring problem with my heartbeat. I can always "feel" my heartbeat, and sometimes it speeds up for no reason. After another "episode" [like the one in December] I finally went to my Doc. She did an EKG on the spot. It showed no heart attack or damage, but a resting pulse rate of 98bpm. This is not good. After doing my annual blood work [and the results were terrific, I would stack my results up against my kids] She told me I needed to have a Holter test. I was given an appointment a week later with a "specialist" in my Docs practice to get a Holter. That would be a small appliance you wear for 24 or 48 hrs that tracks your heartbeat. After 24 hours I went back,...on a tuesday. They removed the Holter, and I was told I'd have results within days. Silly me, seeing as how this is my HEART and an important piece of testing, I believed them. Friday I called the specialists' office and said YO?? They said, oh the specialist will forward the results to your doc. I called my doc the Following tues, and they had no results. I called that FRIDAY and said this is IT, I want the friggin results. It turns out they got "lost" in the specialists office. A nurse from my Docs office had to walk over and make them look for the results. @@
It showed that there were 3 times where my heartbeat went up to 200 bpm. Scary, considering that isn't the worst I've felt, and they sat on the friggin results.
Off to the Cardio my doc recommended.
I am tempted to hook her up with my blog address so she can read how I really felt.
I will NOT sit and wait for a doc for more than 30 minutes. Will not do it. I know they have emergencies, so when I go in I ask what the wait time is. If the wait is large, and If I'm not sick, I'll cancel and reschedule, or see a P.A if the spirit moves me.
When I went into the cardio, I asked if the doc was running on time. The nurse said oh yes, we're normal today, and you are the first appointment [9am]. She whisked me right into an exam room and took my history.
And there I sat for an hour.
I was picking my stuff up to leave, and in waltzes the cardio.
Let me try to paint a picture.
The cardio RUNS into the exam room, wearing a pilled up saggy brown suit. Without sitting down, introducing himself or looking at me he proceeded to look at my chart and ask questions. He was acting like a man who owed a bookie money at the track, never still, twitchy, shifting back and forth on his feet, asking more questions before I could finish answering the ones he had just asked. He had seen it all, I guess, and didn't need to hear from me what my problem was, he had already decided. He looked at the results of the Holter test, and said Yes, when I read this, I saw 3 instances....

[are you digging this? This NUT CASE doc was the once who's office screwed up with the results of the Holter test on me, and I didn't even KNOW it! If I had known he was the one who lost my results, I never would have gone to him in the first place, but I trusted my primary Doc]

Evidently I gave an interesting answer...........because he took a paper hand towel...you know the kind, in dispensers by sinks, a plain white tri-fold paper hand towel.........and starting taking case notes on it. Right then and there, my gut gave my brain a vote of "no Confidence". He ended the appointment very abruptly, with an RX to fill, and an RX for 2 tests he wanted done "at his other location". At that point he walked me back out to the reception desk. I asked if he had a web site so I could look up office hours and directions to the "other location" and he did not know.
I didn't realize, until the nurse said it, that he had never even told me his name. I was not going back there.

I came home, called the office and told the nurse I was going with a cardio closer to home, as their office is 40 minutes away on a good day. I didn't want to go off on her over the buffoon she works for, I didn't think that would be right.

Steve and I asked around for references, and when we got 2 that looked promising, we did our research on them. One, recommended by a friend, was 40 minutes from the house. The other, recommended by 2 people Steve works with, and is 10 minutes from the house. Guess who I picked? I think the surprising thing was how strongly people feel about their doctors. One friend told Steve, in a private note, that it was painful to "See ME being illogical" and I was being *annoying* because I hadn't chosen the Dr she had recommended. THAT was strange to read. As if I weren't in my right mind or something. So, you also learn who to turn to for advice, as well as who NOT to turn to.
And so yesterday, I met my Cardio for the first time. From the moment I walked in, I felt I made the right choice.The intake nurse, the one that gets your stats and such, she was such a far cry from my first experience I almost cried right there. And the Dr...... Yes. THAT is how a Dr. is supposed to treat you.
After the Doc introduced himself, asked what my symptoms were, and asked a few questions as he examined me, he said I need an EKG, but I believe I have a diagnosis for you. I will return when the EKG is complete.

[an aside...I had my first EKG at age 35. I was having terrible chest pains and feeling kinda tired. It turned out I had double walking pneumonia. I went to a walk-in place, and I remember THAT EKG as if it were yesterday A guy, who insisted I needed to be topless, who then proceeded to bring two other docs in "for training purposes" I never returned to that place either.]

So I was not prepared for the ease of this EKG's. Lift your shirt, bada-bing bada-bang, and you are done. My cardio let me see the results and explained them to me too, no "Gweat and Wonder Oz" shit in there]
The doc returns and says, I have a gift for you. The gift of Menopause, plus...after a few more questions...it turns out that I have Paroxysmal Supra Ventricular Tachycardia [PSVT for short] I need two non-invasive tests, which were scheduled for me before I left the office. My treatment consists of a beta-blocker to make my heartbeat behave, and a dietary change. No Caffeine. At ALL, from Any source,no stimulants, and no chocolate, either. [oh...no street drugs either. DAMN!!! There's ALWAYS something.] He said *I* have to manage this, I need to keep myself out of situations that will bring on an episode. I wanted to ask if scrubbing the toilet qualified as one of those situations, but I decided to save that question for my 6 week follow-up. If I can stop laughing long enough, I am SURE I can convince Steve that "socks on floor" invites an episode. I need to think about this, it could be a gold mine!

[another aside,..I had an "episode" watching the movie "Armageddon...you know the scene, where Bruce Willis is telling his daughter he never broke a promise before, but he has to now. It was a HUGE episode. My heart reacts TOTALLY out of sync with my actual emotional state during those times. So how do you know in advance is a movie or book is going to sandbag you? I got an e-mail with the subject line "This video will bring you to tears" and I deleted it unread :X ]

For me, there is an upside, though. The Dr said that my type of PSVT generally goes away when menopause is over. I can go back to treadmilling and working out, I need to take 6 weeks and gradually build back up to where I was before the first cardio told me not to do that until I was diagnosed. This cardio says it helps, and he is dismayed that the first cardio told me that.

Well, I sat there and did every I could do not to cry. My relief was so great. I grew up with mother who spent more time in the hospital than out of it. Anything medical for Steve or the kids, I'm all over it, no prob. If *I* have an issue, I am frightened beyond my ability to blog. Even though time has proven this isn't true,- I am afraid I'll be my Mom all over again.

I am THRILLLED that I trusted my gut. I will be 50 in January. I was brought up to be "nice" or a "good girl" [really, pick your ass up off the floor, your laughter is increasing my heart rate] to do what authority figures said, ...if you are my age or older, you know what I am layin' down. If I had done that, and stuck with racetrack cardio, I would be on the wrong med, at Twice the recommended starter dose, and I would be MISERABLE. So please, if something doesn't feel right, even if you can't articulate to your self or anyone else what it is, just get the hell OUT of there. Because I trusted my gut, my heart will be OK.

I'm glad to be back. It was hard not to blog. I didn't want to make references to "episodes" or things happening to me and not explain them, so I just shut up. Well, now you know :o) And I can get pictures of the baby lemons on my lemons tree, and bitch at you about bastard woodchucks and their spawn from Hell! Ain't life grand?

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I'll be back !

2010-07-06T20:17:00.004-04:00

I had a hissy hit over the porno responses to my blog entries. It seems that SCADS of us have the same issue.I figured if I didn't blog for a while, I'd be forgotten. Not true, and not the experience of any other Blogger I'm talking to.
My stance on porno:
To each his own. Do not force your foshizzle on me, and I won't force mine on you. I know I have a foul mouth, and I DO reign it in here, believe it or not.My definition of porn is nudity and sex without artistic bent. Without a person trying to convey a thought or idea.
My camera died, and Steve was kind enough to order a replacement, it will be here this week. In time for our Family Reunion, we host that. So lots of pics coming up!
Among the pics will be some work we are doing to avoid naked ninja putz neighbor, and improve the value of our property. The work started today, but here in NY we hit 100°, and the humidity made it feel like 104°. The work had to stop, I can't risk peoples health cause of a putz.But it will continue this week, and I'll post pics of that too.
I have missed you more than you missed me. Im sorry that I have to approve all comments but yall know how I feel about that :/ Here's a pic I'd like to share, until I blog again. I top-dressed that gorgeous Christmas cactus I have [i.e, added 2" of soil to the pot,rather than transplant]The next time I rotated it's pot, look what I found...a wax begonia baby. I do not grow begonias, this was a traveler in the potting soil I used. I LOVED this:

Love,
Gail

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Plant-TASTIC Thursday !

2010-05-20T14:38:00.009-04:00

Plant-tastic Thursday!
I've been promising pics, but I needed to wait until there was something to show you. The garden is up and growing:

Since this is the first growing cycle I will have at the Shack, I kept it simple...tomatoes [big, regular, roma, cherry, and "patio"...I thought I'd grabbed 2 romas, I love them oven roasted], cukes, squash, zucchini, and 2 blueberry bushes that won't produce for years yet, but it's nice to know they're there.

Also, the parsley is a really happy camper:

Parsley, chives, basil, and radishes in the 2 planters. I swear, the herbs grow like weeds, so this keeps them contained.
This is a maranta, and did not flower in the old place, it simply did not have the right conditions. It does now!

And the orchids are still beautiful.

I believe they are coming to the end of their bloom cycle, so we'll see if I kill them or not.

Now this, THIS made my heart sing.When you think of cactus, you think tons of sun, right? WHY would a person who knows she doesn't have the right conditions buy cacti? Because they are cute? I bought this tiny baby cactus in 2000. It never flowered. 2 weeks ago, I walked by it and eyeballed it....it looked like it was covered in deer ticks! I had the planter in my hand, ready to throw it out the door, and then I thought WAIT.....if ticks tried to affix themselves to cacti, they'd be stabbed to death! That can't be ticks, but what is it? THEY ARE MY VERY FIRST CACTI FLOWERBUDS!!!!! I waited til now to blog a pic so I could see the color of the blooms. The buds themselves have almost a wooden outer coating, quite unlike any other flowerbud I've seen. Probably to protect it from the spines of the cacti. I can't tell you how thrilled I am with those flowerbuds! I am a cacti virgin no more!

In one of my gardening orders from a small nursery, I got a "surprize" package of seeds. Aloe seeds. Fresh in 1998 [that is not a typo. 1998.] So I thought, what the hell? I made the attempt to germinate them. And got me a lil baby Aloe, it's planted in a rosin container:

Also, we finally decided what to do about the neighbors. Plant a living wall of evergreen, from the rear of our property, 3/4 of the lot width up to the front yard. I'll post before and afters of that rodeo too, but at least we contracted that out. *I* can't see me lugging 15-20 trees around. And I hope Steve can't see it either, or I'll give him such a talking-to.

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I'll be back!

2010-05-09T18:42:00.002-04:00

I had a lovely Moms Day! I will blog tomorrow about that, as well as the other stuf going on in Gail land :o)AND....drum roll please...i will post a pic of a CACTUS that is starting to bloom for me. I have owned it for 10+ years, but never had the right conditions for it. I am so excited about that!

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This and That

2010-04-25T19:14:00.001-04:00

I need
-A 5 minute delay "Are you SURE, Lady?" button on the dishwasher, for when you just hit start, and people bring in more dishes that COULD have gone in there, but now YOU have to wash them. Happens all the time..

-A taser or stun gun, or club, or SOMETHING that I can use on the person who gets behind me in a grocery store line, and starts sighing over the size of my order. Listen, they have quick checks, self-checks, and express lanes. Don't get behind me on a regular lane with a playboy and a big bottle of hand lotion and expect ME to apologize. Putz.

-Something better than my middle finger, to express my dismay at the dismal driving skills of some drivers. Last time I looked Stop" means "STOP", not don't look/don't tell and roll right in front of me. And then proceed to do 20 in a 45. While my grocery order is thawing in the back of the truck. Almost all the time, I can ignore this type of stupidity...considering that the wonderful GPS people haven't gotten around to mapping our re-done area roads yet, you have to be prepared to be cut off at a moments notice, by people THINKING they'd be making a right onto a ramp, and discovering in less than a quarter mile they'll need to make a left at a light. I feel bad for them. But not for the intentional assholes.

......SOMEWHERE, where I can swing something like a bat or a cudgel at something, and a member of the government that made these tax laws gets hurt. You know, like Whack-A-Mole? I don't care which one, just that one of them pays for this utter stupidity. Don't even get me STARTED this year, this should be a HONKIN return for us. Nope.

My cello [you'll note I didn't call her Ruby, when she's a bitch she is just "my cello"] has developed some anti-social tendencies I HATE. I had to replace the bridge, and it has a much higher profile than the one that came with the cello....and the one I ordered is a "low".....so short of finding a way to shave the sucker myself, I am stuck with this bridge. It totally changes the sound of Ruby. I am struggling to play the harmonics, and simply the act of playing is more difficult, as the strings ride higher over the fingerboard than they used to. I also think my A string is possessed, it is biting down into this bridge the same way it bit so badly into the other bridge I had to replace it. Think it's time to ditch that A string too. [I might just rebuild the area under the A string on the old bridge and switch it back, Ruby sounds like she's strangling, and I HATE it.

Now the good stuff.....
I am really happy to say, it looks like Steves sciatica is finally easing up. The poor guy has been attacked by it, night and day, for over 2 months. It's been writing on the slate of who he is.....he is very active at home on the weekends, and hasn't been able to do anything. Yesterday he spent 3 hours outside, and when he came in he looked 10 years younger, I could SEE the sciatica leaving his face. YAY Honey!!

OH YEAH!!! You've seen the commercials for the brownie pan...you pour the batter in, put into the pan what looks like the divider in an old metal ice cube tray, and bake. You're supposed to wind up with beautiful lil separate brownies. I got one to play with. My main application for it would be baking cornbread for the big holiday do's and freezing it ahead of service, I just don't like store bought corn bread as much as home made, and I'm kinda fond of the people who show up, and want them to have the good stuff.

But back to the baking dish. I didn't want to make brownies, so I settled on Angel Food cake squares, I'd already macerated the strawberries for it. The instruction guide said, if you're making cake, to plan on the same amount of batter you'd use in a 13x9 pan....one box. So that's what I did. It looked a bit full, so I saved back enough batter to make 9 angel food cupcakes with. Put it in the oven.
O.M.G.
Think, I Love Lucy and the endless loaf of bread. That sucker puffed up like an Adder in a room full of Meerkats, I just had to laugh. By the end of the baking time, you couldn't see the grid for the cake puffed up all over the place. Pretty damn funny, and I promise the next time I screw up with it, I'll get pics. I was just laughing too hard :o) But it tasted just fine. [if you get one....a half box of cake batter will do just fine.]

I love the lil sucker, and am glad I have it.And even gladder that it's dishwasher safe, I wouldn't buy it if I had to hand scrub all the little nooks and crannies in there.

And this, from my Boo. Thank You Dear, for reminding me how old I am LOL...I got 'em all right :O)
-----
For OLDER people... MEMORY TEST!

This is NOT a pushover test.
There are 20 questions. Average score is 12.
This one will be difficult for the younger set.
Have fun, but no peeking!
Good luck, youngsters.

1. What builds strong bodies 12 ways?
A. Flintstones vitamins
B. The Buttmaster
C. Spaghetti
D. Wonder Bread
E.. Orange Juice
F. Milk
G. Cod Liver Oil

2. Before he was Muhammed Ali, he was...
A. Sugar Ray Robinson
B. Roy Orbison
C. Gene Autry
D. Rudolph Valentino
E. Fabian
F. Mickey Mantle
G. Cassius Clay

3. Pogo, the comic strip character said, 'We have met the enemy and...
A. It's you
B. He is us
C. It's the Grinch
D. He wasn't home
E. He's really me an
F. We quit
G. He surrendered

4. Good night David.
A.. Good night Chet
B. Sleep well
C. Good night Irene
D. Good night Gracie
E. See you later alligator
F. Until tomorrow
G. Good night Steve

5. You'll wonder where the yellow went...
A. When you use Tide
B. When you lose your crayons
C. When you clean your tub
D. If you paint the room blue
E. If you buy a soft water tank
F.. When you use Lady Clairol
G. When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent

6. Before he was the Skipper's Little Buddy, Bob Denver was Dobie's friend...
A. Stuart Whitman
B. Randolph Scott
C. Steve Reeves
D. Maynard G. Krebbs
E. Corky B. Dork
F. Dave the Whale
G. Zippy Zoo

7. Liar, liar...
A. You're a liar
B. Your nose is growing
C. Pants on fire
D. Join the choir
E. Jump up higher
F.. On the wire
G. I'm telling Mom

8. Meanwhile, back in Metropolis, Superman fights a never ending battle for truth, justice and.....
A. Wheaties
B. Lois Lane
C. TV ratings
D. World peace
E. Red tights
F. The American way
G. News headlines

9. Hey kids! What time is it?
A. It's time for Yogi Bear
B It's time to do your homework
C. It's Howdy Doody Time
D. It's Time for Romper Room
E. It's bedtime
F. The Mighty Mouse Hour
G. Scoopy Doo Time

10. Lions and tigers and bears....
A. Yikes!
B. Oh no!
C. Gee whiz!
D. I'm scared!
E. Oh my!
F. Help! Help!
G. Let's run!

11. Bob Dylan advised us never to trust anyone...
A. Over 40
B. Wearing a uniform
C. Carrying a briefcase
D. Over 30
E. You don't know
F. Who says, 'Trust me'
G.. Who eats tofu

12. NFL quarterback who appeared in a television commercial wearing women's stockings... .
A. Troy Aikman
B. Kenny Stabler
C. Joe Namath
D. Roger Staubach
E. Joe Montana
F. Steve Young
G. John Elway

13. Brylcream...
A. Smear it on
B. You'll smell great
C. Tame that cowlick
D. Grease ball heaven
E. It's a dream
F. We're your team
G. A little dab'll do ya

14. I found my thrill...
A. In Blueberry muffins
B.. With my man, Bill
C.. Down at the mill
D. Over the windowsill
E. With thyme and dill
F. Too late to enjoy
G. On Blueberry Hill

15. Before Robin Williams, Peter Pan was played by...
A. Clark Gable
B. Mary Martin
C. Doris Day
D. Errol Flynn
E. Sally Fields
F. Jim Carey
G. Jay Leno

16. Name the Beatles...
A. John, Steve, George, Ringo
B. John, Paul, George, Roscoe
C. John, Paul, Stacey, Ringo
D. Jay, Paul, George, Ringo
E. Lewis, Peter, George, Ringo
F. Jason, Betty, Skipper, Hazel
G. John, Paul, George, Ringo

17. I wonder, wonder, who.
A. Who ate the leftovers?
B. Who did the laundry?
C. Was it you?
D. Who wrote the book of love?
E. Who I am?
F. Passed the test?
G. Knocked on the door?

18. I'm strong to the finish...
A. Cause I eats my broccoli
B. Cause I eats me spinach
C. Cause I lift weights
D. Cause I'm the hero
E. And don't you forget it
F. Cause Olive Oyl loves me
G. To outlast Bruto

19. When it's least expected, you're elected, you're the star today
A. Smile, you're on Candid Camera
B. Smile, you're on Star Search
C. Smile, you won the lottery
D. Smile, we're watching you
E. Smile, the world sees you
F. Smile, you're a hit
G. Smile, you're on TV

20. What do M & M's do?
A. Make your tummy happy
B. Melt in your mouth, not in your pocket
C. Make you fat
D. Melt your heart
E. Make you popular
F. Melt in your mouth, not in your hand
G. Come in colors

Below are the right answers:
1. D - Wonder Bread
2. G - Cassius Clay
3. B - He Is Us
4. A - Good night, Chet
5. G - When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent
6. D - Maynard G. Krebbs
7. C - Pants On Fire
8. F - The American Way
9. C - It's Howdy Doody Time
10. E - Oh My
11. D - Over 30
12. C - Joe Namath
13. G - A little dab'll do ya
14. G - On Blueberry Hill
15. B - Mary Martin
16. G - John, Paul, George, Ringo
17. D - Who wrote the book of Love
18. B - Cause I eats me spinach
19. A - Smile, you're on Candid Camera
20. F - Melt In Your Mouth Not In Your Hand

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Asshats

2010-04-13T09:04:00.003-04:00

A quick note...it appears that oriental spammers are "commenting" on bloggings, mine included, in order to leave links to their blogs..of the porno kind. I have had to change the way you can comment here. You are still welcome to e-mail me as usual. I can't control the jerkwad pencil dicks that would be so desperate to peddle their shit that they would prey on anyone, but I sure as HELL won't take it.

Yoshi Osamu Yi Long is scum.

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Happy Birthday Honey!

2010-04-11T14:42:00.003-04:00

Wow! What a week here!
You know we live in southern NY, and, it being April, you don't expect temps upwards of 88! Yup, that's not a typo. So we have learned this about the Love Shack:
-there WILL be a.c installed in the livingroom.
-When you have days of no rain, the squirrels and cats will come up to the sliding glass doors and try to get in.I have named one of the squirrels, and all of the local cats.Unfortunately, I can't say most the names in my blog, small swears are one thing, but I named those things so bad, people burst out laughing when I mention their names. Squirrels are of the opinion that, if they do not move, you cannot see them. I have been able a lot of times this week to walk right up to the sliding glass doors and crouch down to get a good look at those bastards. Sure they're cute, but so are my tulips, dammit. I also see we have a few bunnies,racoons, skunks, [the real kind, not naked ninja putz neighbor] along with the deer, so when I lay out the first garden bed, it will have to be protected as well as Fort Knox.
Also, we decided to plant 2 dwarf apple trees, in the yard between us and naked ninja putz neighbor. I really don't know how to protect them yet, short of a pellet gun, but since I'm out of work right now, just call me Annie Oakley.

Speaking of jobs.

I had 2 potential interviews.
The first, a pyrotechnic tech. Meaning: I would be making fireworks. This did not set very well with Steve, and he asked me not to interview. I agreed.
The second was,...er,..... collecting animal sperm, and artificially inseminating farm animals. Steve said *I* would be responsible for giving him a hernia from laughing. I wasn't thrilled with the whole idea, let along getting the shit kicked out of me by some mad steer, so I took a pass on it. I can just see me confusing the two jobs, and blowing a steer to kingdom come. If any steak or prime rib lands in your yard, you'd better invite me to dinner!

This week 2 great things happened. The first, ....Steve had his birthday, and he turned 50. I am so happy for him! He even got his AARP card! His sciatica has been bothering him, I told him it's from sliding into the home plate of the 50's with such style and panache.He took his birthday off [wed] so we could spend it together. I even popped for lunch at Longhorn flatass Steakhouse [that was the scene of his "whoopsie" staring at a waitresses butt, and claiming it didn't count because she had no ass to stare at]. You women know how wrong he was, and if you men don't, just take my word for it. We had a GREAT day! Also, it looks like Steve has found a car he can live with for a few months!! Hehehe, no kidding. As soon as it's official, I'll let you know, but he changes cars almost as often as he leaves his socks on the floor, so time will tell.

Another great thing was last night. I told you about John, my cello mentor, and friend. You can find a link to his photography blog on the right hand side of my blog, under "places I like to visit". Well, he and his wife Susan had a show of their work last at a local gallery, and Steve and I got to go. I had seen Johns work in his blog before, and indeed he gifted us a work that hangs here at the Shack. It was a great pleasure to walk around and look at his works all together. A great pleasure also, was seeing his wifes work. I've only seen that online and at Face book, so I wasn't prepared for the vibrant colors and beautiful execution of the subjects she chose, I was really floored. Plus, we got to meet her IRL for the first time..we became friends at FB, but never met face to face. It was gratifying to see that my gut instincts about her were correct, she is a kind and funny person. I was especially happy with Steves reaction to the show. You know, he is the best man I know, but everyone has "their" things, and he is a gearhead/partsman/ automotive savant, in every sense of the word. I wasn't sure how much he would enjoy the show. But we talked a lot about the works we saw, Steve loved how clever they were, and we both agreed on our favorite work of Susans, so we did together something we don't often do, and enjoyed the hell out of it. A note to Stevie...when you know Big Steve and I are out, you don't have to txt me "thanks" about how to make pizza, ok? My phone went off while I was holding my purse under my arm, and scared the shit out of me :O)

Oh, and another credit card bit the dust this week. My beloved Cap One. We have had that card for years, it was my go-to card. Until we just got notice that we, starting this July, would be paying a 40$ annual fee! I called and said, no thank you. I was told, if I wait until the month the fee would be accessed, and call back, they MIGHT be able to waive the fee, considering our history with them. This is April, I'm supposed to remember to call them back in July? They PLAN on you forgetting to call back. Nope, no thank you. I don't give a shit about my fico or my credit to debt ratio right now, we got our Shack, and THAT was the big thing. The guy warned me my fico might go down, as I have a large credit line, and the closing would effect my fico. Well, Screw you CapOne! That's my motto. Asshats. Be VERY sure to read everything you get from your credit card companies from now on,....it used to be bullshit. Now they will actively try to screw you over.

Boo, if you see this...all the best of luck to you as you move to your new position. I KNOW you will rock it, and pretty soon, they will too :o)

April:
7th: Happy 50th to my Honey!
11th: International "Louie Louie" Day
13th: International Moment of Laughter Day

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War.

2010-03-22T15:56:00.004-04:00

Squirrels are nothing more than glorified tree rats. I hate tree rats, and I hate squirrels. If I was faster I'd kick all their asses.I also hate their cousin, the chipmunk. And I hate their big country cousin, Deer. Deer are good for one thing,- a lo n slow session in the oven with red wine, tomato paste, onions and garlic.I'd like to stuff a chipmunk inside a squirrel inside a deer, and stand that on my lawn. As a warning to all the other lil bastards out there.All these animals are Bastards, stuffed with ooey gooey Bastard goodness and coated in Bastardly coating.
All my tulips are gone.
This means war.
The Bastards.

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Forsythia

2010-03-21T17:53:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's Saturday already! I am trying to plan the plantings for the shack. I have an area for a veggie garden that will need to be fenced in, and I have 2 areas for herbs.
And now Sunday. What a GLORIOUS weekend! I hurt so good! Those bags of mulch have to go 40-50 lbs. At least most of the mulching is done in the front, and we have decided, in the side yard, to plant two trees.... dwarf fruit trees ! I am having the time of my life, and you'd think I'd be right here blogging my heart out. There is so much I want to say, but when I sit down, I forget. I'll have to think of some daily way to make notes...I'll have to make crib notes for my own blog!

We are loving it right now, the weekend weather was superb, so we got to grill dinner tonight, it just put the cherry on top of a lovely weekend.

Thank you for asking about me, that means the world to me! I am disgustingly healthy and happy. You know, everyone approaches their life to the best of their ability, or desire. In the old place, between it's geographical location and bitch of a landlord, I just felt that I could not live my fullest life, with some of the talents God gave me. I will never have a perfectly balanced checkbook, and due to my sweet Steve I have never once in my life pumped gas, but I do have some talents. Growing things. That is a big one for me. And in the whole of our married life, I was never in a place where I could flex that muscle.
Until Now.
And now, I find myself trying to plan it very well, I don't want to go bugshit and plant for plantings sake, but to have a thoughtful plan, so it's beautiful as well as functional. This weekend, with the last of the gift card my heart loop sisters gave to us, I bought the first shrub for the Shack. A forsythia. I associate that bush with spring, and the release from winter, and with my Mom and Grandmothers, as well as my family and my childhood, the second I saw it, I wanted it. But, did it fit into the plan? Well, I MADE it fit. As I look out onto the backyard from my kitchen window, I see the patio. I planted that forsythia right on the corner...along with a few red tulips, so it wouldn't be lonely....and mulched it. Now, everytime I work at the sink, I can see my first planting, and I can think of all the work we did to get here, and my heart loop sisters who wanted it so badly for us, and my family. It happens to be a very happy forsythia :o) Oh, you can rest assured, there will be more blogging! But for tonight, I will leave you with the pic of the forsythia....if you look in the backround, you'll see leaves on the ground. THAT is there the veggie garden will go, and I am almost beside myself planning THAT :o)

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Stanley Pyrex

2010-03-07T16:28:00.009-05:00

You know you do. Have a secret vice or two. You know it's bad for you, but you go right ahead and do it anyway.
My secret vice is

[well, no so secret, I think I've blogged about it before, in reference to telling people to shut the hell up about my beloved]

Cup o' soup. I love the chicken noodle, but I ADORE the tomato.Just gotta have it.
I am out of it.
I have looked in ShopRite, Stop n shop, Price Chopper, and A&P.
No one has it. Turns out it has been discontinued.
So I did it, I went to my beloved Amazon, and ordered a case...12 boxes....of my soup.
Now, I need Steve to make a shelf by the water cooler, which has hot water too, just perfect for sneaking a cup o soup while ironing. I will make a damn SHRINE to cup o soup, you just watch me. And if anyone has anything to say about it, I won't share my stash with them.

I LOVE LOVE Football!
Actually, I can't STAND it. But I LOVE what it does for me. For the Super Bowl for example, I retreated to the bedroom, with my laptop, and a pile of books. Aside from grabbing the remote instead of my mouse, things were very nice up there.
Steve and the kids had to wait on me hand and foot, as *I* was the one "kicked " out of the living room.

This week, it was some kind of racing thing for the guys. THAT was the life I tell you. Steve had already brought me a glass of wine, and I was feeling very virtuous catching up on things that require you to sit down [letters, gossiping with your heart loop, replying on the boards that mean something to me, clipping coupons...I've done that our whole married life, you want any pointers feel free to ask] I had the metal rock music channel on [I don't know why, but it's been a while since I visited that genre, so there ya go.....but I had to turn it off because my neck hurts from nodding to the beat]
[I was listening to Paradise Lost/Frailty when I gave up]

I did it, I got myself a pedometer. Since I've been out of work, I have to make sure I'm getting my 3 miles [10,00 steps, appx] a day. HA! I am here to tell you, pedometers lie worse than Tricky Dick Nixon ever could. Plus they have an annoying habit of jumping off of me, landing on the floor, and resetting themselves. Every day THAT happened I counted it as a sign from God that I did the full 10,000 already, to take it easy :o)

After Pics!! Of the library for sure:

I was putting away the bins that hold our Christmas decorations, and hidden up in the rafters of basement, I found a glass percolator [coffee pot, sans guts]. I scrubbed it up well, and it is now a a tiny fish tank. I have a before pic:

And an after.

The fish is a blue Betta, and Steve named it [a classy fish, it has a last name] Stanley Pyrex. Pyrex, 'cause of the coffeepot, but Stanley. Well. I can only say, in his defense, that while the power was out and we were on generator, we watched a LOT of movies. Some of them blasts from the past. Including "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane", and Andrew Dice Clay classic :X The main character named his, er, appendage "Stanley" and that hit Steve right on his funny bone. I will note that it will probably be left up to me, to explain the name to family and friends. Thanks Honey!

And these fish...they are goldfish, but were meant to be feeder fish for other animals in the pet store, so we saved these fishies lives! No names yet, they are mine to name, and I'm still shook up over Stanley Pyrex.

March:

7th: National Crown Roast Of Pork Day
8th: Happy Birthday Dawn!
9th: Panic Day
10th: Festival Of Life In The Cracks Day

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A Tale of Two Storms

2010-03-02T14:25:00.004-05:00

Yeah, I know. I promised pics of the redone library. Well, have *I* got a story to tell You.

We got hit with 2 snow storms.

The first, on Tuesday, dumped 6 inches, and took out our electricity, cable, phone, internet, everything. We got the elec back, and the second storm arrived.....a record breaking storm, by all accounts. We got 36 inches of snow in the first 24 hrs, and 3 inches more, last Thursday into Friday into Saturday. No power for days. We had to decide...lose all the food in both freezers and all my houseplants, plus pay for a hotel room to stay warm in and take out food for the duration of the blackout...or buy a generator. We bought a generator.[unfortunately, my iron sucks up 1200 watts, so ironing was out during the outage while on the gennie.] Our county was under a state of emergency, which means only first responders are allowed to drive......so of COURSE Steve went to work. I was LIVID. But I did get closure with a lovely Amazon order, that included a solar powered battery charger and a slew of rechargeable batteries.

It appears, the way this house is wired, that our bedroom and the dining room are on the same circuit as the library. Which is the only room heated with electric baseboard heat, as opposed to oil/boiler heat for the rest of this house [ I'd LOVE to grab the person who did that and shake them till the marbles they call brains fall out of their heads] We cannot run the library with the generator, so no light in the dining room or bed room, necessitating flashlights. Even with the electricity back, when I go on my night time ambles, I'm still grabbing for a flashlight.

We got our power back Sunday night. I was wide awake and decided to come out into the living room around 11:30 pm. I never bring my glasses, I know every little nook of this house, and glasses are useless in the dark. You have to pass the music room, which faces the street, to get to the livingroom. I realized something was weird, the room was MUCH brighter than a full moon would make it. That was because the street light came back on. Power! Power came back! I wasn't SURE, as I couldn't see the light, as I didn't have my glasses on. There is no one more cautious, than the blind person who is running for their glasses, hehehe. Steve woke up thinking something was wrong. I told him I thought the elec was back, but go back to sleep, we could deal with the gennie in the morning. His reply was Fuck That! We did a happy dance turning that noisy [but VERY welcome] thing off. Of course, Naked ninja putz neighbor left his on all night. He went and BOUGHT a friggin gennie, had someone hook it up for him [and THEY were not very on the ball, everything was hand-tightened....gennies vibrate, you need to wrench tighten the fittings... so Steve went over and fixed him up] and he NEGLECTED to ask how to return to main power. Monday morning, he turns the gennie off. 5 minutes later he turned it back on, and it stayed on until someone showed up to turn it off and switch him back to elec. That is the HEIGHT of irresponsibility, playing with a machine like that without knowing what you're doing. Even *I* can hook up the gennie and return to main power, and *I* am a chickenshit, I do NOT like to play with electricity.

[note: There are 2 ways to hook up a gennie. The Right way,[that would be Steve] and the wrong way...backfeeding your house by plugging the gennie into an outlet. I would have offered to help putz [do you know, I know what his moms name is, but I don't know his name, he is always putz to me?] but I don't know how his "expert", that didnt even tighten the thing up properly, hooked him up. So I kept my hands and good intentions to myself.]

Thank you God for sending me Steve, who appears to love nothing more than to make wires, hook things up to the breaker panel, and grunt in a Tim Taylor/ Home Improvement kinda way :)

We didn't get our tv and net back until Tues. morning [the eta for that was wed., so we are thrilled] I was JONESING for some net. I wound up in Steves office using the wifi his dealership offers customers Monday night, and Bam, tues the net was back.
Boo! Poor Boo! She lost power, and was told there was no ETA for it's return, so she came home to us. Her power was restored.....when she was snowed in here, with no heat or power, with us. Stevie lost power too, and he has elec heat, plus well water with an elec pump, so no water either.

It was about as tough as you can image. But. We are SO DAMN lucky, compared to most. No part of our home was hurt, and we are all fine.There was a gennie available when we needed one and we had the moolah to buy it. We had it better than most.

Of the 48,000 customers Central Hudson services in my county, 47,000of us lost power for an extended time. The local paper is vilifying a politician for wanting hearings about EXACTLY how C.H prepares the infrastructure for something like this, and how they maintain it. I APPLAUD him. There is NO WAY that friggin utility is doing it's job, when most of their customers are off line. The neighboring utility company did MUCH better.I wonder why that newspaper didn't compare percentages of customers off line between the two utilities [and the neighboring towns got 29 to 34 inches of snow, that is comparable to what we got for statistical purposes.

So there's my story. I'll take actual Camera pics of the library, as opposed to the cell pics that didn't turn out so well, and show you the newest arrivals at the Shack in the next bloggie :o)

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Hi!

2010-02-21T16:10:00.002-05:00

Long time no see! We have been working in the library..painting and installing shelves. Tomorrow or tues the job will be complete almost, and I'll come blog some pics.A funny.....Tracy, that White blooming Christmas cactus you sent me? It's bud is opening right now....and the tag says white, but it decided to be pink, I'll get a pic of that too.

I signed up for the gardeners club @ Home Depot. They e-mail you gardening tips as well as coupons. This past month, I received a coupon for a buy one get one ORCHID, so you know I did that. I never owned orchids before, they are kinda pricy.

I'll be back !!

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Loaves and Fishies

2010-02-06T13:48:00.011-05:00

Dear Diary,
Hellooooooo! You would think, being out of work, that I'd have more time to blog, not less. Not true! I'm really enjoying this time at home, and trying not to freak about not having a job. So I try to stay busy.
In the course of staying busy, Dear Diary, I have discovered something quite odd. You know the biblical story of the loaves and fishies? Well, it appears that I have that going on right under my own nose...in the form of plastic milk jugs.
I do not drink milk, and I use half n half in my coffee. The only thing the men have to do is rinse the jugs out and recycle them.How hard can that be, for 2 huge strong strapping men?

Pretty Damn hard, let me tell you.Today I did the grocery shopping, and as I

Put Away–verb (used with object)
1. to move or place (anything) so as to get it into or out of a specific location or position: to put a book on the shelf.
2. to bring into some relation, state, etc.: to put everything in order.

[thought I'd slip the definition in there, it appears some folks might not be familiar with that phrase]

my purchases, no matter where I looked, I saw....milk jugs. On both counters in the kitchen:

On the rail leading downstairs, a FAIL if I ever saw one.... looks like someone got sidetracked on his way to the recycle bin:

In the basement,.....and I can ALMOST understand this, except you have to PASS the recycle bin to get to the dryer, so that is an EPIC fail:

And....in the library? There are no TV's, video games, puters, or phones in the library, so I can't imagine who was looking for what, but in the LIBRARY? This is just overkill:

If I am going to be gifted with something that multiplies all on it's own, why can't it be money? Or Books!! Oh MY, that would my wallet, checkbook, and Steve extremely happy!
Gentlemen, cut the crap. Git you those jugs to the bin, or you will start finding them in the most unlikely places. Steve, I'd be HAPPY to UPS you a whole box of them at work, you can explain THAT to your guys. Or, one morning you will look up in the rearview to back out of the driveway, and all you will see is a pile of jugs in your backseat. Or I can send them, one at a time, until you cry Uncle. And you KNOW I will. Tone, I can make a wicked clever "milk jug igloo" and plop that sucker down in the middle of your bedroom. Or I can spray paint a few and glue them to your car, now wouldn't THAT be festive?

I'm happy to say that we ordered the couch and coffee table for the library. A new one on us..we saw a couch called "motion"....both ends turn into recliners. The SECOND Steve tilted one back, I knew he was sold, and I was cool with that.Pretty soon I'll actually be able to go in there and READ! heehee.I stalled delivery to the 20th, to accomodate both the Super Bowl and Daytona, we can't have Steve painting during these earth shattering events.

February:
5th: Disaster Day
6th: Lame Duck Day
7th: Charles Dickens Day
8th: Kite Flying Day

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2010-01-24T17:32:00.004-05:00

Hi! It's been a lil while.
I've been coming to terms with not having a job, my last day is thurday. The whole gamut, first the hives and the nerves, then.....yesterday morning........I woke up feeling like a kid at the end of the school year. Not getting up at 5am and having that big commute is something to look forward to. Financially this is not a nightmare, Steve and I agree on finances and are well placed for this, but it's more about not contributing to Team Gail in a $$ way. Very scary. I know I'll probably not find a job I love as much as the one I have right now. Oh, and I forgot to say....counter-offer....I was offered 3 full days a week...to equal the hours I am working now [and I said GREAT, one less commute a week I'll TAKE that] BUT...when we get busy in a few months, I'll need to go full time. Thud, no thank you. That was the irony for me, the owner was Adamant that I know I was being hired as a part timer and NEVER to expect more hours, he must have said that 4 times if he said it once.

I have my friends, who have supported me so much thru this that it makes me cry. I feel very grateful to have them in my life, I can't imagine not being able to go to them and say "I am scared shitless, talk me down!" Steve is Steve,...my best friend, and he understands how I feel before I tell him. So my motto for this time in my life, is, This too shall pass, so enjoy the time at home while you have it. And cook a lot, and practice a lot, and garden a lot, ect. And NO BUYING BOOKS GAIL!!! You hear me! Step away from Amazon and B&N, and all will be well :o)[I have a pineapple angel food cake in the oven right now,hehehe :o)]

Here is something, a little ironic. I told you, a reader/friend sent me a white blossom Christmas cactus, they are not available in my area. Well, guess what is throwing a blossom right now? Lookie here, at my "Valentines" Cactus:

January:
24th: National Belly Laugh Day
Eskimo Pie Patent Day
25th: Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day
Opposite Day

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Ha ha

2010-01-23T10:43:00.002-05:00

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A WOMAN:

Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according to lights and darks.

Walk to bathroom wearing long robe. If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.
Look at your womanly physique in the mirror -- make mental note to do more sit-ups/leg-lifts, etc.
Get in the shower. Use wash cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice stone.
Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.
Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.
Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner.
Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.
Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.
Rinse conditioner off hair.
Shave armpits and legs.
Rinse off.
Turn off shower.
Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower.
Spray mold spots with Tilex.

Get out of shower. Dry with towel the size of a small country.
Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.
Return to bedroom wearing long robe and towel on head.
If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A MAN:
Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.
Walk naked to the bathroom.
If you see wife along the way, shake wiener at her making the woo-woo sound.
Look at your manly physique in the mirror.
Admire the size of your wiener and scratch your butt.
Get in the shower. Wash your face. Wash your armpits.
Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off.
Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower.
Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.
Wash your butt, leaving those coarse butt hairs stuck on the soap.
Wash your hair. Make a Shampoo Mohawk.
Pee.
Rinse off and get out of shower.

Partially dry off.
Fail to notice the water on floor because curtain was hanging out of tub the whole time.
Admire wiener size in mirror again.
Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, and light and fan on.
Return to bedroom with towel around waist.

If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake wiener at her and make the woo-woo sound again.
Throw wet towel on bed.
If there is anyone who did not laugh at the truth behind this, there is something SO very wrong with you. Have a great day..... and woo woo!!!

~Thank you Bren :o)~

post signature

Forgiveness, Gail Style.

2010-01-10T15:41:00.008-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about Forgiveness this week. For people I Love, as well as for a person I post in public with. The "what" of what they did to me isn't so germane as, it was uncalled for by any action[s] of my own, and it hurt like hell.

I guess the crux of forgiveness for me is, HOW? When you've been wronged, how do you let it slide off of you, without closure, or even a simple apology from the person who done you wrong? And these 2 instances that I'm thinking of, they were pretty BAD wrongs, done to me. But I refuse to let them hang around my neck, that would kind of defeat the purpose of the cross and religious medals that hang there also, you dig? Once I saw the irony in that, I decided I had to do something, had to change my way of thinking, so that I could let this crap go.

I went to my friend Google. And in the course of googling "how to forgive someone" I came across this:

"......... imagine your tormentors as they were when they were babies or young children. Visualize these people one at a time, and really take time to feel the realities of their lives as toddlers. Babies are not born with a distinct desire to hurt others physically or emotionally. They are born craving love and protection. Visualize what your tormentors were like when they did nothing but crave love and protection.

If you work at realizing how pure and innocent your tormentors once were, you may come to a point where it becomes clear that their hurtful acts as older children or adults likely stem from their own wounds."

DING DING DING! Now, THAT I can understand. And THAT led to, maybe I can't forgive them, maybe it's not in me, but I can certainly Understand, someone speaking out of their own pain and wounds, we all have enough of them. And I can let it go. I never believed in the concept of "Forgive and Forget" on the whole. When you are put in a bad situation, you need to learn from it, the very first go-round, to avoid repeating it. Growing up hard, you learn that lesson early and well.....Not to let history repeat itself. Don't EVER forget. But I discovered, inside of me, that I can learn the lesson without hanging onto the textbook for it. The emotional garbage. And THAT made me happy and gave me hope. Who said an old dog can't learn new tricks? I have a thing or two to say to them :o)

I got a sign that Karma thinks I'm on to something, too. The town we moved to is divided into two parts...the town and the city. I live in the town, and the library is in the city. My beloved library. I have not found my way there since me moved, hence the occasional book order. While I was typing this up just now, Tone went out to get the mail. And in that bundle, was a informational flyer and schedule from our library....the very first one we've received since we bought the Shack.THAT is powerful karma talking...find a way to let it go, and your library will find You, woman!

Two pics, taken today, of the Amaryllis that I closed a window on last year, breaking the blooming cycle. Here is proof that you should keep trying, Amaryllis are hard to kill:

And to my friend/reader Tracy...here is a pic of the amaryllis bulb you sent me last summer, the one that was being a brat for you. You'll notice, it's a wee bit of a thing, I am thnking it's a hybrid that has gone bad. I'll keep trying with it every year as long as I see life in it, I'm a never-say-never kinda gal when it comes to plants:

And a follow-up,...... I *did* give notice last Monday morning. I got the impression my boss was really pissed at me. I told him, you all have been very good to me, I have no job on the table right now, so tell me how much notice you would like, and I'll work it out [fully expecting to be escorted to the door right then, the opportunity to frig with huge accounts is not something they take lightly] He asked, can you do a week I said Sure! He stomped off, I guess to talk to the owners. He came back with, "can you give me 2 weeks" and I said Sure! Then his "final offer" was, can I work thru the end of the month" . And I said Sure! So, I will start looking for a new job on the 18th, thinking, it will be 2 weeks until the end of the month, so I won't be messing with employer the old or employer the new. Make sense? Hehehe :o) So keep them crossed that I can find a position closer to home, I'd appreciate it.

Something else I wanted to put here, I need to mull it over a bit before I yell at someone. Today on Facebook, a relative announced that there was heartbreaking news about another relative. Steve and I were shocked, WTH? Why don't we know what is going on? And Steve was upset about it. He called another relative, who gave him the 411, and true... it is not good, and it is heartbreaking, we love that relative too. So, word up, certain people. Do NOT announce in a public venue, bad family news, let ALONE be vague about it, unless you are sure that all your relatives actually know the score. I realize, with all the public venues [and I dig the irony of blogging about it, but everyone who should know knows now] available, that mistakes happen, but I personally will jack the ass of anyone that messes with Steve, he didn't deserve that.

January:
10th: Stephen Foster Day
13th: Happy Birthday Lynn!
13th: Happy Birthday Tracy!
13th: Rubber Duckie Day
15th: International Fetish Day

Haiku and Hunting

2010-01-03T17:13:00.004-05:00

What a wonderful holiday! I thoroughly enjoyed my week off, I wish it could continue.

A lot has happened over this week. We discovered IBM isn't inhabited by fools. Boo was told a while back her last date of employment was 12/21. I guess they didn't want to let her go..... they kept Boo on in the midst of the layoffs, and she goes full time with benefits in April, we did a DANCE when we heard that :O) YAY Boo!

Stevie completed the course [s] he was taking toward his masters and wound up with 3.9 GPA! YAY Stevie!!

Tone's computer classes start next month...YAY Tone!

We had our first Christmas in the Shack, and it was everything we hoped for and more. Also, we have decided that I am giving notice tomorrow morning. We found an on line calculator that lets you know how much you actually make when you figure in all your expenses, and when Steve and I saw the bottom line we laughed our asses off, and decided the commuting was done. I'll give them all the notice they want, I really do like the job. And the the hunt will begin up here. So the bloggie will be a lil jagged, but it will be here. Here's to job hunting :X

We are all healthy and happy, you can't get better than that.
I had thought to make New Year Resolutions. I think that every year. And then I find something better to do, like show you this. Straight from an e-letter I get. You know how I LOVE me my midnight haikus. Well, this selection is a LOT better than that :o)

----
Microsoft Haiku. In Japan, they have replaced the impersonal and unhelpful Microsoft Error messages with Haiku poetry messages. Haiku poetry has strict construction rules. Each poem has only three lines, 17 syllables: five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, five in the third. Haikus are used to communicate a timeless message often achieving a wistful, yearning and powerful insight through extreme brevity - the essence of Zen.

Your file was so big.

It might be useful.

But now it's gone.

The Website you seek

Cannot be located, but

Countless more exist.

Chaos reigns within.

Reflect, repent, and reboot.

Order shall return.

Program aborting:

Close all that you have worked on.

You ask far too much

Windows NT crashed.

I am the Blue Screen of Death.

No one hears your screams.

Yesterday it worked.

Today it is not working.

Windows is like that.

First snow, then silence.

This thousand-dollar screen dies

So beautifully.

With searching comes loss

And the presence of absence:

"My file" not found.

The Tao that is seen

Is not the true Tao-until

You bring fresh toner.

Stay the patient course.

Of little worth is your ire.

The network is down.

A crash reduces

Your expensive computer

To a simple stone.

Three things are certain:

Death, taxes and lost data.

Guess which has occurred.

You step in the stream,

But the water has moved on.

This page is not here.

Out of memory.

We wish to hold the whole sky,

But we never will.

Having been erased,

The document you're seeking

Must now be retyped.

Serious error.

All shortcuts have disappeared.

Screen. Mind. Both are blank.

Merry Christmas !

2009-12-24T17:07:00.003-05:00

Steve and I are home. In our Love Shack. We know where all of our kids are, and they are healthy and happy. We have everything we need, and quite a few of the things we want, and so we are blessed. I wish the same for all of you.

I wish for each of you a holiday season filled with special times with family and friends, lots of good food, and an overabundance of love and laughter.

Bathroom Redux

2009-12-20T16:07:00.008-05:00

We don't eat bacon here a lot, it's just not a body friendly food. Most of the time. But, there are 3 times a year where I bust a bacon move, in a big way. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a summer reunion party we host. Some of the dishes require bacon. I am of the opinion, if you are gonna cook a messy food like bacon, then why not cook a lot of it,....say, 3 pounds of thick cut bacon....and have done with it for a while, instead of cooking a pound at a time, and cleaning the kitchen 3 times to boot?

In theory, this is a GREAT thing. Cook 3 pounds of bacon before Turkey day, freeze 2, and then you have bacon for Christmas and the Summer reunion all ready to go, thaw and use. Except. This equation doesn't figure in Team Gail. The SMELL of bacon will drive my crew wild, and if they have reason to suspect there is cooked bacon in the freezer, my poor freezer will get torn apart by multiple family members, at different times, all of whom are convinced THEY have secret knowledge as to where *I* would stash the bacon. They can usually find it, damn them. So today, I made my "3 pounds of Bacon for 3 holidays and-if-I-believe-it-will-last-that-long-I-have a-bridge-to-sell-myself" annual bacon pilgrimage. I know though, as sure as I am telling you all about it, that I will get "2-Stripped"

Oh Hon, just 2 strips with my waffles/bagel/grilled cheese

Oh Mom, I haven't had bacon in so long

Oh, Mom, my budget won't cover bacon

Oh Mom, no one cooks bacon like you do....that ALWAYS works

to DEATH, and that bacon will be gone before the snow we're getting today is.

Sunday. Less than 2 inches of snow, Yay Team Gail! Steve didn't even need the snowblower, so as soon as the guys were done shoveling, Steve and I went to the mall [Yes, I know...I HATE shopping. UNLESS,..I have a 30% off any one item coupon at Old Navy, then I'm all in]

Which brings me right back to my train of thought.

Do you like getting your picture taken?

Because, I HATE it. I didn't realize it til we started having kids, but there it is. My niece made me a scarf, and asked that I FaceBook a pic of myself wearing the scarf. I have been putting that off since Thanksgiving, and decided today was time to man up. I've been looking at pictures of other people, trying to find out how they can pose comfortably, it's just not in me. Steve must have taken 10 pics, and then the fun started. He figured if I was laughing I wouldn't mind having my pic taken. All I have to say about Mr Steves' method of photography is "Thank God".

Thank God no kids were around
Thank God he wasn't standing in front of the living room windows.

Also, I have been informed that I am supposed to have an actual PIC of myself, as opposed to something I found humorous, as my avatar at said FaceBook. Who the hell made all these rules? Once again, Steve took lots of pics, but screw it, that's over my comfort level today. If people don't like that "I'm a lumberjack and Im OK" then it's all on their heads. Only one person picked up the Month Python reference anyway.

The Bathroom! I promised pics. There area few things still to be done, and they need to be left for when we have open windows and adequate ventilation [painting and flooring, they desTROyed the floor] but the 78" long shower:

is gone, and the tub:

is in place. A girl has Gotta have a bubble bath, and the Love Shack feels more like ours now.

This from my friend E, although I took it back to the beginning of the episode. All in the Family, when Edith is going thru the change. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it, and how many memories I have of watching this show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_cUVfYUuf0&feature=video_response

December:
21st: -Look At The Bright Side Day
-National Flashlight Day
-National French Fried Shrimp Day
-Hamburger Day
23rd: -Festivus

Am I here? Really??

2009-12-13T19:16:00.001-05:00

Typed it all in,and published. Nada. Pissed. Will try again later. Oh MY this sucks.

I Forgot....

2009-12-13T18:36:00.005-05:00

...... to Blog! I have been having major computer issues this week, none of my doing. Facebook decided I was coming from a bad IP [aol, of course] and first, made me type in words and announce that I am "Human". Then they just blocked me. The Bastards! So I made a tech report for them, and I am officially unbanned.

But I noticed something very interesting. I began to have the same problems with Google. And you know what? I can replicate the issue, it's THEIR bad, not mine. It only occurs after I use Firefox. [an alternate browser to AOL/ IE, or IE alone] I thought, maybe Google doesn't want the competition, since they have been rolling out Chrome, but who knows? Google, BTW, also owns Blogger.com, where you are right now reading my tale of woe. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck..... something isn't right, and I'll report back when I get to the bottom of it. Or my blog will disappear too @@

The bathroom,

[except for the small shit that we need to do,... stain and finish the new shelves, lay a new floor, and paint some small areas. All that will wait until after the holidays. Our peeps got to see the before, on Christmas they will be able to see the After, and then during he summer party they can see the finished product]

is DONE. I am THRILLED, and I will blog pics asap. We have a tub! Do you KNOW how much I prefer a tub and shower to a football field long shower? Well, now you do. The poor G.C put the drain stopper in backwards,

[that was pretty funny, and very telling. I REALLY liked that he came right out, told us he fucked up, and offered different solutions for the problem. That's why we'l hire him again if we need him]

so he had to go get us a universal drain stopper, then the cartridge for the shower was a lemon. Steve already replaced that. Every little annoying thing that could go wrong went wrong. The contractor asked us to rate him on a scale from one to ten, and without consulting each other, we both gave him a nine...that taper sucked BAD.

As I sit here, our Christmas tree is in the middle of the livingroom.Our first Christmas here, and we are still deciding where it should go. Truth be told,we both agree on where it's going, but just want to sit on our asses for a little longer. I will tell you, Steve is a BAD INFLUENCE on me. BAD. He has me addicted to movies. I vastly prefer books, I can count on the fingers of one hand, the movies that stood up to the original books. So to surprize him, today I found the original Jaws on HBO on demand. We kinda spent a lot of the afternoon watching that. Good times :O)

Also, I have to say, I had my first experience with a bootleg movie, and it was my last, too. "Inglorious Bastards" has been making the rounds [it is due out on PPV and dvd this Tuesday. I have not seen it yet, but Steve and Tony liked it so much we are buying it.] We tried to watch it last night, got 5 minutes in, and turned it off. The picture quality was so poor, we knew Quentin Tarantino deserved a better viewing than that. Gails' Advice to You...skip the bootlegs, they suck. I woulda been PISSED if I paid for that. Also, check the Redplum coupon flyer that came with todays paper, there is a 3$ off coupon for Inglorious Bastards right on the cover.

December:
12th: National Ding-A-Ling Day
13th: Ice Cream and Violins Day
15th: Car Herders Day
16th: Barney and Barbie Backlash Day

Red Plaid Boxer Briefs

2009-12-06T16:00:00.003-05:00

Dear Wife, Husband, or S.O of the General Contractor:

Hi! My name is Gail, and I have had the distinct, um, pleasure of having your peep[s] work in my home. Except for the taper, the crew[s] were nice guys who tried to clean up after themselves, and I found them to be kind and funny.
However, we gotta have a talk.
About red plaid boxer-brief underwear.
And the men who wear them. Evidently, unbeknownst to them, I can see the material, I can tell by the elastic that they are boxers and not tighty-whities.....and a lot more. PLEASE, for the LOVE OF GOD....make these men crouch down, their back to you, BEFORE they leave for work. Get a gander of what they be presentin', you dig? I don't need to know any-THING about their undergarments. Or what they're covering. Or not. It's not that I haven't enjoyed the show.... It seems that maybe a certain man [STEVE! You know its Steve] is learning all about when the tables are turned,...and the woman is looking at the mens asses. And discovering that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't like it very much. Which makes me love him all the more, a little green-eyed monster is just Fiiiiiiiiine by me. But in my defense, *I* did not go looking for asses to appear, as if by magic, throughout my livingroom and stairwells. I'm just lucky, I guess.

Also? I find it to be a huge dichotomy.....if the pants are so loose that they hang at the nether regions of the hips....that the men STILL pick at their asses. Come on, I am going thru a LOT of stress, noise, and dust here. Do I NEED to see that? Would YOU want to? I am going thru Clorox wipes and Lysol spray [and I distinctly dislike the smell of lysol] to beat the band, over the visuals being presented to me.

To you Contractors and crews thereof.... I have made a short list of items for you to peruse at your leisure.....but hopefully before you report to the work site next.

-Please, please, keep the pants up. And the shirt down.

-Please show up in the general time frame that you have stated to us. If the taper said 8:30 am, arriving at 10:30 am,- with NO apology or acknowledgement that you have just pushed back completion of this project by a good 24 hrs,- is NOT acceptable. And, if we use this contractor again, we will specify that we do not want that taper to work in our home again.

-If part of the crew is in the bathroom, and your boss is outside, I don't want to hear, repeatedly and with gusto, that you :
-do not want you balls busted
-you will bust the other guy[s] balls
-fucking suck my balls
-this fucking sucks my balls [at this point I almost ruptured my self trying not to laugh out loud, I have never heard guys so fixated on balls]
-you can fucking suck my fucking balls
-and the rest of the fight you are having. [Unless you open the bathroom door, and I can get a chair and some popcorn. Your faces were angelic, who knew you were so fond of your balls, your friends balls, your neighbors balls, and anyone elses balls that were in your general vicinity ??

-Judge ye the distance between your workspace, and where the family members are. Can they HEAR your bodily explosions? Can they indeed, hear you laugh about them and rate them? Do you know if, perchance, Tony and Gail just sat down to lunch? And were treated to a musical interlude? Funny, I didn't see THAT on the final write up for job cost. Sure got our moneys worth outta THAT part of the crew.

Trying, TRYING to maintain a sense of humor. This sucks donkey balls, to quote a friend. I'm getting pissed and impatient, and Steve is bearing the brunt of it. It's Sunday morning now, and the tiling crew is here. The contractor says the tiling in that room is a 4-5 hour job if nothing goes wrong. [?? @@ ??] But I still have to wait for it to dry, to get grouted, to dry again, and to get sealed, and dry. Oh, YAY Team Gail. And guess what? The sound of the tile saw is deafening and unescapable.The Love Shack had better behave for a while, my brains are leaking out my right ear right now.

A link I thought tres funny. Scroll down and watch the video. The taper could have used this info:

http://www.wikihow.com/Wake-Up-Late-and-Still-Make-It-on-Time

December:
5th: Happy Happy Birthday Stevie! :o)
6th: National Gazpacho Day and Mitten Tree Day
7th: National Cotton Candy Day
8th: Take It In The Ear Day [oh my]

------>Bread, Salt, and Mayo<---------

2009-11-29T15:14:00.004-05:00

Well, we did it. We decided on a general contractor, put it in writing, and signed on the dotted. Wednesday night, we'll meet up with him to select tile and tub, and Demo starts thurs morning. As you can probably imagine, we are pretty uptight.And, it doesn't help my uptightness to know a certain someones Christmas party is on the 5th. Yeah ! During reconstruction! My evil plan was, for Tny to get called in Saturday.....now, SOMEone has to be here for the contractor, right? And if Tony is working and STEVE is at his Christmas, party, that leave....well, Moi, right? I have my toes crossed so Steve can't see 'em.

It is Thanksgiving Eve. The Chinese feast has been eaten "Romancing the Bird [a Food Network special by Alton Brown, Tony was kind enough to stream it from his puter to the TV for us] was viewed and commented on, the house is wonderful [except for that fucking shower from hell, but we'll set that right next week] the birds [2-14 lb Turkies] are brining in a huge tote, covered with ice, in the back of my truck. Unorthodox, yes. But I speak Turkey, it knows my name :o) we are as ready as we will ever be for our first big party in the Love Shack.

I have a confession to make. I ran the dishwasher 3 times today. And I do not approve of dirty dishes in my sink, I wasn't playing catch up. But something is going on with my elbows, they both feel like I got hit with a baseball bat. So the big things.....my mixing bowls, 12 qt pot with steamer insert [for the potatoes] things I'd usually hand wash, this year I said SCREW it, and let the dishwasher do the work. I LOVE THAT DISHWASHER :O)

Thanksgiving evening. We just had the best Thanksgiving we have ever had. I'm sitting here tearing up trying to type.THAT is my excuse for any typos, so there.

Early this morning, Steve and I go to get the brine bin out of my truck. As we come up the stairs to the kitchen area, my end of the lid...and I am in the lower position,...pops open, and I got DOUSED with ice and brine and peppercorns, dammit. NOT the way to start any day let alone a holiday, and I was thinking "YEAH? Oh, YEAH? Well FUCK this". Note that I did NOT say it. Steve started laughing, and that cooled me off a bit, better than the ice bath did, anyway. Clean up, birds in oven, coffee. OK, things are looking better.

As I spoke with some dear friends tonight, I realize that we all think of Thanksgiving [and Christmas] in different ways. For me and Mine, it is a day long family reunion-sit-down-dinner-around-noon-dessert-any-old-time-you-want it-and-a-light-late-dinner-before-everyone-leaves. Our first guests are one of my sisters and her crew. I am telling you, her and her familys' obvious delight in the Love Shack nearly unmanned me, I almost started boo-hooing right there. We gave them the grand tour, and then the second contingent showed up, in the form of another sister and one of my nephews. We stood outside near her car. [this was her first visit to The Shack] She said, "You know, I heard somewhere, to bless a house, you need bread"...and whipped out a platter of the best breads I have ever eaten, I didn't know you could buy that. EVERy variety of gorgeous bread, simply the best. "And you need salt so everything tastes good" and whipped out a large container of salt"........and THEN...... " I forgot what the last line was, so I got you this"..... and whipped out,..... a huge jar of Hellmanns Mayo. NOT MIRACLE WHIP FROM DE DEBBIL, mind you. I cried I laughed so hard. I told her, I believe the last line is something about a bottle of wine, but.......... every family has it's inside jokes, and THIS sister is a mayo junkie just like I am, two peas in the same genetic pod. How fitting! How funny and fitting, and absolutely perfect for The Shack, and here we are laughing like loons out in the street :o)

The Dinner,.....glorious. The family and friends, even more so. Steve and I sat down after the last of the family, Boo and T left, and rehashed the glow of the day. He told me that another niece [who was also here today] said the pics I blog of The Shack do not do it justice at all. So please, from now on when I blog a pic, you be sure to put on those rose colored glasses, OK? :o)

I think I've blogged some of the challenges Steve and I have faced over the years, and I KNOW, as well as you do, that I blogged the search for the Shack. What meant abso-friggin-lutley the most to us, was to have everyone who has crossed our threshold.......every ONE of them was genuinely thrilled to see us get our home. THAT means more to Us than anything. THAT was the vibe emanating thru our Love Shack today.

This, a g-rated story from the AOL welcome screen, made Tiny just for you:

http://tinyurl.com/ye52n4b

[click on the story title to be taken to the whole story] ...and Don't you be a-shootin at any whales in Tennessee now, yall hear?

Whales in Tennessee, and Seagulls in the U.K.People are the same the world round :O)

December:
1st: National Pie Day and Eat A Red Apple Day
2nd: National Fritters Day
3rd: National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T13:27:00.003-05:00

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this special day, a day to remember Your goodness to us. I want to thank You for a roof over our heads, and more than enough food to eat. I want to thank You for the relationships You have given to us, for family and friends. Also, I want to thank You for all the bad experiences we’ve had. We have learned that you were there for us all the time. For this, we thank You and praise You. In Jesus name, amen.

I wish you and yours only the best.

Happy Thanksgiving :O)

A Tale of Two Booties

2009-11-22T15:19:00.007-05:00

As you can imagine, we are in full Thanksgiving day prep mode here. This is our first year in the Love Shack, and so our first big "Do" here. I serve the food buffet style, so Steve and I are taking all the crocks out for a "Crock run"......we'll plug them all in and see if we trip a circuit or not. I don't like the idea of finding out we have an issue the morning of, yanno? This time last year, we were in the old place. And as the guests were arriving,we were fighting with the kitchen sink. Please God, lets have a smooth Turkey Day, OK?

An update on the bathroom situation. 3 General contractors came in. "First" Bob, "Bootie" Bob, and Bill, I shit you not. Bootie Bob [when he came in he put booties on his boots, I thought that was a nice touch.....turns out it was also an expensive one as well.] drew first blood His estimate...........sit down please.........was 5900, plus we buy the tub, tile, fixtures and grout, and pay sales tax. 7000. Yeah. 7000. We are shocky. "First" Bob didn't get back to us yet, so he's out. If he's busy, great for him, but we're not dicking around here, this is our Love Shack, and we will not let it get frigged with. The second estimate we received came from Bill, was lower, but the guy is not insured. We told him, we really want to give you our business, but no insurance, no job. He called and said Yes, he will get insurance, and bring proof of it Monday night, with the write up of the job. Steve and I still have to go pick out the tub, tile, and fixtures. We have decided to rip the whole shower out, really we have to, it's rotted. We can either replace what is there now, or put in a tub. We both vote tub and shower head.

Yesterday, Steve took me out to lunch, while we were in the middle of picking out the tub and tile for the bathroom.LongHorn Steak House, we'd never been there before. During the meal, the waitress stopped to ask if we were doin' ok, and took off past me. I will be triple-dipped if Steve didn't stare at her bootie! I was flabbergasted, this isn't something he is usually stupid enough to do in front of me. I just sat there staring at him. He looked up and saw my face and tried the "What?" Innocent reaction, but he KNEW he was busted and burst out laughing.

[Now men, don't read this. Close your eyes]
Ladies, there are ways to get back at your man for pulling this shit, no matter how rarely it occurs. Here's what I did. I waited until that waitress was walking past again, and burped really loudly, THEN, is a stage whisper, said "STEVE!" implying that HE was the phillistine. And he laughed again, cause he KNEW every one would believe he had burped. Oh, if ONLY I had a fart, I woulda shown HIM who's boss! They would never let him back in there. And that would have been a shame, because you can get a side order of asparagus in there, and I Love asparagus.]

Ok men , you can read again. So dig this...we're leaving, and he said this lookie-loo should not count against me. I am DYING laughing at this and ask, ok why not? He says, he only looked because the woman has NO ass, he couldn't believe it [so now he's admitting he looked more than once, things are looking down for Steve] and since there was nothing to look at it shouldn't count! I had to explain, he did not KNOW that she didn't have a bootie, so that was not a "seen it before" look, that was an Eye full, and it most assuredly counted. You friggin men make me laugh day and night. In a good way.

I had blogged a pic of the bedroom, when the quilt set came in. And it just didn't do it for us, that set will become the bedding for the futon in the gameroom, for overnight guests. I think it didn't work, because I strayed away from my decorating style.....earth tones, warm and cozy. Purple curtains are NOT earth tones, and they weren't particularly cozy, either, hehehe. So I changed that out. The pic isn't very good, cause it's a phone pic, using the camera would require me to actually go get it.

And the last....food porn.A lot of baking requires a lot of stuff...including chocolate chips.THat's right, this is the same size container I store my coffee beans in, but it's in the baking center, refilled from making a lot of fudge today. I thought it looked very happy :o)

[Kids...you will NOT look happy if you touch these puppies before I am done. I found the 2 partial lil bags of morsels in the baking center. Since Neither Dad or I prefer them, that narrows it down to the 3 of you. But, we all know who the culprit it. STEVIE, it's Stevie, and I know it! So leave me some to bake with, OK? Cookie season is upon me, be kind. TYVM :O)]

November:
22nd: Start Your Own Country Day

It's George Orwell. 1984 is Calling.

2009-11-17T16:14:00.003-05:00

I have felt stunned, and shocked, ever since I heard the news. That a government study....by the same government that will fund public healthcare.........has drummed up some study [ by the "The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force"] that suggests women should not get a mammo until they are 50. At first, when I saw this on the news, I yelled at the men to be quiet....because I truly thought I had misheard.

But I didn't.

The goddamn government is willing to put the health of EVERY woman at risk. To ignore the recommendations of the American Cancer society. So that they can save $$ on those extra 10 years women wouldn't be getting mammos. Does this government think we are so blind, so STUPID, that we cannot see the corollary between this recommendation and the funding for the public health program?

I am GODDAMN angry.

First off, *I* was a woman with a lump. A lump only found by an annual mammo. A needle biopsy, and a lumpectomy. lumps do not belong in breasts. It was a horrific event for me and mine. But we knew it wasn't cancer.

What if the lump had been a cancer?

And I waited until it got big enough for me or my Doctor to find it?

I was 45 when the lump was removed.

5 years younger than put forth by the government to have an annual mammo.

Second. I fully believe that not ONE person should ever walk around in pain, or diseased, due to lack of health care. I am not wise enough to have a plan, but DAMN I have an opinion. I BELIEVED in public healthcare.
Right up until that news broadcast last night.
I do NOT want the government to decide a healthcare plan for me. I do NOT want the government in the exam room with me. *I* want to follow the recommendations of the ACS, as far as my health is concerned. I do NOT want to be forced to accept what the government is dishing out. I think they are on a fishing expedition. Lets throw this out there, and see how the public reacts. Lets see just how much we can get away with.
Lying, cheating bloated bureaucratic bastards coated in bastardly ugliness.

I have never disbelieved, or distrusted my government so much.

One more thing. I wanted to have an article to share with you, in case you hadn't heard the news yet. I googled this up.

http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=11517937

Read the last line. That broke me right out in goosebumps. This may well give the insurance companies the right to say "Oh we don't cover routine mammos for women under 50, as per the asshat "preventative task force" recommendation", which would make it a home run for the government.

How many women will die?

Well Shit.

2009-11-15T18:50:00.004-05:00

A few updates.

First off. I mentioned in one bloggie, how my boots,...my favorite blue hiking boots,...were lost. I found one of them in my truck months after when we moved:

http://gail-dish.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-08-10T19%3A45%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=7

[scroll down to "Old Friends"] and that I could not find the other one. FOUND IT! In the foyer closet that is too narrow to accept a regular hanger! Which I never go in, 'cauuse I have no USE for it. Funny stuff, I'm finding a lot of stuff. And, when I went on the prowl for the original "Yay, found one of them" bloggie, I stumbled across a bloggie I made last year,.. in which Steve FORGOT to have my truck inspected. Guess what? He did the EXACT same thing THIS year! Not a week ago. So I tell him, yanno hon, you did this last year, and he said:

"This is my great life plan, to eventually not pay one years reggie,..to skip it...by being a lil late every year."

THIS from the man, who tonight.......Decided to treat us to Chilis. [and I will explain why in a bit] He left to pick it up...and I saw his wallet on his desk. So I quick tried to call his cell, to recall him to the house....and his cell started ringing...on the kitchen counter. So, I have a lil problem thinking he can remember things from year to year, when he can't remember things for 15 minutes. But I sure do love him.

Also, for the first time I guess, Stevie saw me in heel boots [as opposed to those hiking boots... I will bloggie a pic later in the week, with the scarf my niece made for me] and he was stunned, he said I look great :O) I guess he's used to seeing me in work clothes, especially on Monday, all the guys are home before I am, and I must not be a pretty sight.

So, WHY did Steve treat us to Chilis? [and DAYUM if that fajita trio isn't great, and it's 3 meals in one, so I can have dinner, lunch tomorrow, and share it with Tone]

~OUR TALE OF WOE~

For months now...since we moved in, actually,.. I have smelled something "off" in the shower. A huge walk-in with dual shower heads, one at kid height and one at adult height, a mile apart, well lit [well, THAT is a curse and a blessing, I can tell you,that is a SCARY place to have light, in more ways than one][but pretty fun too]

Last week, 2 tiles from around the of the doorway to the shower came loose. Steve and I are do it yourself-ers, and thought, well, clean it well, use quickset, set the tiles, grout and seal.

Yeah.

Steve took those two tiles off,...and then some more.....and it is bad. REALLY bad, rotted wood, OMG, this is beyond what we are capable of, plus there may be floor involvement. So we are calling pros' to come give us estimates. Called some friends for recommendations, called the guy that inspected the house and got some names from him.

This is gonna be a big bad one.

We do have savings.Regular savings plus what we have for Steves shed [so that he can move all his man toys out of the garage and finally PARK in the garage.] But of course, we don't know how much this litle tango will cost us.Now, when I get in the shower, every line of grout looks like a friggin enemy. Steve covered the whole area with plastic and waterproof tape, so we'll be able to use the shower until the repairs commence. Then, well, we *do* have Stevie, 10 minutes away. I'm not sure his part of the ' burgh is ready for me walkin' around in my snowflake bathrobe. Can YOU say "Hysterical Blindness"? I think I've adjusted our neighbors pretty well, but I guess they think, ANY-THING is better than naked putz ninja neighbor.

We had planned, in the fullness of time, to rip the fucker out anyway, and install a tub/shower. We are shower people, but sometimes we need a long hot bath. But that was *supposed* to be years in the future. DING-DING!! The Love Shack has other plans. So please keep the good thoughts. This is our first "BIG THING" and we are a-skeered. I know we'll do it up right, but the anticipation is painful. Painful enough for me not to want to talk about it :X And it's getting more costly by the day.

And tomorrow is Monday.

I keep telling Steve, HIT the friggin Lotto already! I was meant to be a SAHM/SAHW. I think, about the "Oh, if ONLY I could stay home, look what I could accomplish!!!" I think women have a tough row to hoe, that men have it easy....just go the hell to work already :O) We'll be waiting for you with a smile when you come home. But now, *I'm* the last one home on Mondays, and it kinda pisses me off, like I got fired from a job I love.

Please no comments on the un-pcness of this. That's now I feel, so there ya go. YMMV, it probably does. The world would be a boring place if we all thought the same.

T....enjoy the HELL outta that skillet honey, and I LOVE the scarf :)]

Discovering my possibilities

2009-11-12T18:53:00.003-05:00

WTH is up with the C.C companies? Is it Pick on Gail month? This weeks entry comes from Discover....Discover what an asshat they can be.
I got a letter saying that I had triggered something or other [and knowing me that's a distinct possibility] and my APR was going from 6.9 to 14.99. Holy SHIT! I was given the option of paying that shitty APR, or I could say "no", cancel the account, and pay off the balance with my old APR. I called them, fully intending to cancel that card Now, *I* ain't paying shylocks. [Well, considering how C.C companies are acting lately, that would be an apt title]

G: Hi! I just received a letter stating that I managed to trigger something, and as a consequence, my APR is going up. I will decline that kind offer, and would like to cancel the card at this time.

D: Hi! To verify your account, can you tell me your Mothers maiden name, the last 4 digits of your social security number, if you like jelly or jam, and which shoe you put on first? So that I can tailor this discussion to fit your needs!

G: blah blah blah

D: o-KAY then, lets' see.Yes, you did trigger something, but I can untrigger that for you in just a couple thousand keystrokes!

G::::5 minutes of silence, in which I gnaw on the inside of my cheek and what to hurl something at ANYthing. :::

D: o-KAY then...you were late with a payment in July! THAT was the trigger!

G: HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, no we were not late. We called in June to change our billing date/cycle, as we had recently moved. We were in the middle of switching banks, and a different billing cycle was more convenient for us. The associate SAID the effect was immediate, to feel free to pay on our new billing date. I have NEVER been late, NEVER. Just ask Steve, ..... My palms sweat, I get a headache, and I get MIGHTY cranky if I even THINK I'm late, can you dig that? Why not have a REEEEEEAL good look at my account, then?

D: oh, yes, I do see that you spoke with an account specialist. But the fact is, those changes can take DAYS, so technically you were late.

G: Oh, NO YOU DIDN'T just tell me my account specialist in June LIED to me?? I wanna talk with him!

D: No, no no one lied to you. They were just not correct.

G: :::::I'm thinking some vile, non-pc swears, but I don't say them. Steve is sitting across the room, and hair is curly enough already. Plus he will laugh and I'll lose the edge of anger that this "specialist" can hear in my voice:::::: OK, cancel the account, and I will pay the balance at my current apr.....

D: Oh NO, No Wait! I can untrigger this for you RIGHT now, you will still keep your low APR and all the privileges that go with being a Discover card patron [I noticed the vocabulary of my "specialist" got better by a wide margin when they wanted to keep me]

G: Well, I'm not sure. I don't like not knowing when I trigger things.The last 2 times I triggered something, I got doused in teriyaki and my vacuum cleaner coughed up all over me. God KNOWS what will happen if I trigger something without being aware of it. Oh, wait...*I* know! My APR will go up ! No, "triggering" is not something Gail wants any part of...

D: Hahaha, no, *I* will take care of this for you!

G: And how can I tell that this info is reliable? Remember that specialist in June? Can I get this in writing?

D: Um, "writing"?

G: Yes, will Discover send me a letter reiterating the salient points of this conversation?

D: Come again?

G: Send me a letter telling me you untriggered it, and I will never have to worry about triggering anything again, when I trigger things it's messy.

D:Hahaaa, OK, yes, this I can do for you today!

G: OK, thank you.

D: There you go, you are all set, and you will receive a letter in the U.S mail telling you this has been done. May I be of any further assistance to you today?

G: No, I think I'm good.

D: Well, then, please do not forget to take the exit survey, so that I may know the level of customer service you received today!

G: No thanks, I might trigger something :X

Today is Thursday, and I had scheduled my annual do-si-do mammo and ultrasound for directly after work.

[if you ever have a lump that needs to be removed, even a benign one like mine, you get moved to the "ultrasound" group,.....you get one of those as a matter of course when you get your mammo.]

Now, I have a hard time with medical procedures. I hate them on an emotional level. I remember my Mom being sick all the time, and I will be Damned if I go that route. So far, so good. But medical procedures cause me great anxiety. So I try to ameliorate the damage by planning ahead. I KNOW I can't stand to wait. So I call and make these appts a long time in advance, and schedule the ultra for directly after the mammo, no waiting. I bring a good book, and try to consider it "guilt free" reading time. It occurred to me today, while I waited a friggin' hour for that high tension ultrasound tech, that in this location, no matter WHAT I've done, I have had a long wait every year for the past 5 years. And I got pissed. One hour after my scheduled appt time, the tech sashays in. There were 3 people ahead of me, and they had to call in another tech to start the exams they were so far behind. So, for the first time in my life, I raised my voice in anger over shoddy service. The other women stared at me like I was a Martian,

[some of whom are asshole enough to bring LITTLE KIDS into the mammography suite.....don't get me started. Kids do NOT BELONG in a mammo suite. These women are stupid selfish cows. oooooooooo, I guess I AM pissed]

and I said "You know what? You're an HOUR late. If you can't tell time, I don't TRUST you to do my ultrasound, I want the other tech". And I sat down. She looked like I hit her with a bat. GOOD. I hope it was a cluebat. I Got the other tech, who thanked me. Mz high tension is regularly 30 minutes or more late, but is related to someone, so nothing is done. Well, I AM done, I'm not going back there. These people have to realize there are PEOPLE behind those boobs!

Steve felt bad about how I spent the after noon, and has decided I need a no-cook night.

[but in all honesty, I was gonna make home made pizza. SOMEone neglected to tell me he had pizza for lunch. This might have prompted the offer of chinese]

He's out getting dinner now. I am snuggled under a throw on the couch, reading my big fat delicious new Stephen King novel. And being Thankful.

This website, I've seen and have in my favorites. As a former wm employee, it rings a chord with me :X IMHO...these customers are the outward manifestation of wm management. Brenda sent it on yesterday and reminded me of it. Here it is, thanks to Brenda:

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

This, you may not want to see. It is a short interview. Oprah, with Charla Nash, the woman who was attacked by that "trained, domesticated" chimp. My heart goes out to her on so many different levels. There aren't any words, or perhaps there are...a LOT of long string curses, to describe how I feel about the owner, a human that stupid. Too bad SHE couldn't suffer the consequences of her actions, instead of Charla:

http://tinyurl.com/yaaey2e

Attack of the Killer Leaves

2009-11-08T16:08:00.004-05:00

What an unexpected day!
The mail lady came 2 hours early today. She brought me a huge envelope, and a "live plant" box!
You remember when I posted a pic like this, this is what my Halloween cactus looks like right now:

and I said I was looking for a white blossom version of the same plant? Well, a dear friend and bloggie reader SENT me one, and I got it today. This is the same size my halloween cactus was when I got it!

Tracy, TYTYTY! How totally unexpected, what a treat! I will treasure it, and you will be able to follow it right here :O) [ Oh, and YGM]

And, as for the envie. A dear friend and I frequent a few loops, as well as internet boards. We were discussing older recipes and cookbooks, and everyone was posting what they had, and how they treasured it. I had to explain, when I was 15 our house burned down,...no one was home, and no one was hurt, but we lost everything. And so today, Mz Teri pops with a HUGE envie of older recipes,..some straight from the packages they were printed on, some hand written. The washer timer has buzzed me 6 times, the dryer is saying the same thing, and I am supposed to be dusting. But here I sit, enthralled with the past. Teri, I simply don't have words to say what that meant to me. Thank You, my dear Friend [and YGM too :o)]

It's another Sunday at the Shack. The leaves are taking us hostage! WHERE in the HELL are all these leaves coming from? We took care of all of ours, and then our neighbors tree spit on us.So, while the men are out dealing with that, I dusted and vacuumed the library, and got to ironing. [stop laughing, it's the truth!] Ironing is a hot job, so I opened the sliding glass doors in the library to bring the outside in. And THAT was when Steve came onto the patio with the leaf blower. He "Did not See" that the door was opened, I'm sure you can picture the scene. I got a shitstorm of leaves in the library. Pretty funny, I wish I got a pic of the hangdog look on his face, how could I get mad at that? Steves out there right now using the ride-on lawn mower as possibly the worlds biggest leaf blower, and lookin' mighty cute.

[movie watched while ironing: National Lampoon Van Wilder. You KNOW you're pms'ing when you boohoo at the father son scene at the end.]

Oh, and National Men Make Dinner? HELL to the YES! Only, it seems SOMEONE forgot that, in order to make his recipe of chili, which he claims is better than mine, he needs to THAW the meat before proceeding with said recipe. Such a lil thing, that thawing. It bought me a Chilis dinner, hehehe :O)

And if you host big for Thanksgiving, like I do, NOW would be the time to ignore the ticker to the right. Just let your eyes slide right by it, making sure you're innocently whistling while you do.

November:
12th: National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day

A Quickie

2009-11-05T13:57:00.004-05:00

Having a great day vacation day with my Honey ! Steves Brain Dr's visit last night was great, everything is the same as last time, which is a very good thing! Steve just took this pic of our backyard, and I wanted to blog it:

The Weekend

2009-11-04T16:27:00.004-05:00

Oh, yes, it is the beginning of our weekend!!

Every year when Steves inventory is scheduled, we also schedule a vac day or two, for when the dust settles and he can relax. That would be this thurs and fri, and we can't wait. Steve is at the brain doctor tonight [yes, he Does have one!] for the 6 month how-de-do and check-up of the tumor, but we're pretty confident that all is status quo in that dept.

Today, I *did* go to work in my pajammies. It occurred to me while blogging on mon. that I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, so as I left work yesterday, I yelled out, "I'm coming in tomorrow wearing my pajammies with a lot of chips that YOU have to help me eat !!" And I did. Brought bags of snacks and paper bowls. By 9am we were all munchin, it was hysterical. And, EVERYONE but bitchzilla wore jammies! I was so impressed, I wish so much I could blog the pic of half of us posing in our jammies. My supervisor wore his jammies too, we laughed all morning.

A lot of my job is filling orders...tracking down what is needed, back ordering what we don't have, making sure it's appropriate to the account, that kind of stuff. And some of our items come from overseas. I wonder sometimes about my overseas counterpart. This morning,..I open a box of a bulk parts.....all in white boxes, nothing new......and start to get what I need. And what do I pull out, but ONE box..... my counterpart over there carved a small heart out of a piece of cardboard, colored it red, and stuck it to ONE box. In a mass bulk order. If you could understand the speed and mass quantities of stuff I deal with, this has NEVER happened before. I had to call everyone on my side of the floor over to see it. They were as surprized as I was, God forbid everything not look EXACTLY the same! I kept it,and taped it to my catch-all:

That lil heart just touched me.
And this made me laugh. Chris Rock, so not for little ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8&NR=1

November:
6th: Saxophone Day and Marooned Without A Compass Day
7th: National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day
8th: Dunce Day
9th: Chaos Never Dies Day

Woo-Hoo :O)

2009-11-02T18:37:00.002-05:00

The owners of the business I am employed at are in-your-face type of owners. And I don't mind that, ...I can appreciate an excellent work ethic, and as long as you are totally correct, or find any mistakes before they do and admit to it, all is well. I will admit, the one, younger owner, I really feel he got a raw deal from the other employees.He has been nothing but kind and professional to me,.....especially after he got the measure of my humor.

[one morning employer-the-younger came up behind me and asked me to take a step to the right, so that he could see what I was doing.*I* took a step to the left. In a rather annoyed tone of voice, he said "Your other left Gail" and everyone cracked up, *they* knew I did it on purpose. This gave him to know to not speak too quickly, I thought I might have even seen a smile.]

For the rest of the week, the owners will be at a convention in Vegas, and you know the saying, while the Cats' away......Tomorrow I am going to work in flannel pajammies, and bringing a huge bag of Doritos Nacho Cheese chips to share, among other things, MY desk will rock tomorrow :X

An update: A soon as I discovered that the commute was causing me anxiety, I said "Fuck You, commute, bite my ass" [hmmm, a common thread this week, I believe I just told AmEx where they could stuff it] and I'm doin a lot better. That Time article really opened my eyes. I'll try, every time I worry, to figure the exact odds of what I'm worried about happening. And, I'll be as careful as I can, and still let the good tunes rip :o)

Another update: I STILL have not found that damned pic on this puter.The one of Stevie and Boo, as lil kids. So, I promise, I will shit or get off the pot. If I don't find it, the day after Thanksgiving, I will take down the frame that holds that pic, and a few more :X And re-scan the pic and blog it. The looks on their faces are priceless, and I want them here.

This, a blog sugestion from Tone, OMG :O) G-rated, if it matters, and I LOVE Christopher Walken:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy5JwYOlgvY

----->Trick or Treat? Men makin Dinner <------

2009-11-01T15:55:00.008-05:00

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/Roast-Sticky-Chicken-Rotisserie-Style/Detail.aspx

Now, WHY in the hell would Gail open her bloggie up with a chicken recipe? Easy. This is the best fake rotisserie chicken you can make. I changed a few things....substituted lemon pepper for the white pepper. Changed out the Cayenne for 2 tsps of chili powder. Tossed the onions [and added a few cloves of garlic] in a lil olive oil before they went in the cavity, to help them carmelize instead of stew. And I used an 8 lb oven stuffer roaster instead of 2 smaller birds. It's the combo of seasonings we like, and the lo n' slow cooking method that makes this so good.

When you find something this good that might help someone out, ya gotta share. Do NOT omit the overnight "Getting happy with the spices" period....the second you take the chicken out of the fridge the next day, you will smell and see why. I added some home made chicken broth to the drippings and made gravy too, it was fantastic. along side this bad boy were garlic egg noodles with peas, corn, and biscuits. This chicken is making a command performance again this Friday when all the kids are here. I'm gonna make a big honkin' container of this spice mix, so I don't have to mix it each time, I imagine the spice mix will get happy together, and that can only be good.

[I am sittin here typin', and Steve is across the room on the desktop. I just made up, off the top of my head, a vile, pornographic song. Guaranteed to curl your hair, some times these things knock on my door, and I can't help but invite them in. [none of the kids are here, if that matters] Steves' response to my song? Sung to the same tune as my song [which I cannot blog :X]
"A Dinky-Dinky Dooooooooooo"
OMG, This giant of a man turning to me and very softly saying that, funny funny man. We have more fun than people.

We had a great first halloween here. All the kids were cute as hell, and very nice, we didn't have any nasty kids around. Steve is thrilled to note that there are some goodies left over :O) Here's a pic of the front door, from the outside, ..what our TnT'ers saw coming up the walk:

And remember my Christmas cactus, that was busting a move? Here it is right now. If any of you know where I can get the white blossom version of this plant, please lmk, I'd love to get one:

This, because the African Violets were NOT to be outdone by the cactus, they LOVE the library, and I love them:

Also, be sure to look at the upcoming holidays at the end of the bloggie....November 5th is National MEN Make Dinner Day. I'll let you know what happens at the Shack. Something rather interesting, I'm sure :o) You'll find a link in the bloggie title.I will be there with pics and all.

November:
1st: Plan Your Epitaph Day
2nd: National Deviled Egg Day
3rd:Sandwich Day and Housewife's Day
5th: National MEN make dinner Day [You can bet your bippy that we celebrate this holiday]

[ps... I was discussing this bloggie with a friend, who suggested you might like this. So here ya go, and Thank You Nin :o)]

http://web.bvu.edu/students/pierama/uselessknowledge.html

AmEx can bite my ass!

2009-10-25T17:22:00.006-04:00

Well, we made it over the hump for this year, Steves' inventory is complete. It was more than difficult than usual for him this year, because he is running two different parts departments.....Toyota and Kia...at two different physical locations. Friday, from 7am to 9:30 pm was spent running back and forth between Toyota and Kia. I felt so bad for him. It's an extremely difficult time, and for about a month before the festivities, Steve can be a butt head.

[see how nice I am? Did I say he was an asshole? A Pecker? A Dick? A triple-damn fuckhead? A forgetful schmekel? An impatient peckerwood? A Friggin Freak? A Fucktard weiner dick? A short tempered Shithead? A Boney canneloni? A bullheaded bastard? NO! Because I am a loyal wife and I love him with my whole heart. I would never even THINK those things. Kinda. Most of the time. If I don't have cramps. And my checkbook is balanced.]

I understand. He knows I do, but I get Major wife points [and I can sure USE them, unlike AmEx points]. This year, I got flowers and a card that made me cry [Yeah, no big surprize] Here are the lovlies:

[also...the filler is variegated ficus, so I'm rooting some of it. It's being rooted in a sweet and sour sauce container from chinese food, I also recycle! The gift that keeps giving, hehehe]

It is Sunday, and the most gorgeous day at the Shack. The men are out buying rakes, they destroyed all the ones we had. [Don't ask, but I think it has something to do with not using them as golf clubs or baseballs bats.]And Steve gets to play with his new toy,......a leaf blower. We always thought they were stupid, until we saw the sheer depth of the leaves on our lawn. Hey, they aint so stupid anymore! I'm here cooking for a few days, because the beginning of the work week always sucks for me, my longest days are usually early in the week. The whole house smells loverly, and I am :::::: Drum roll please::::: CAUGHT UP on the housework and laundry. I know this may be hard to believe, but I VACUUMED today! Yup, go buy a lottery ticket!

We've all heard the horror stories about credit card issuers all-of-a-sudden becoming [but not really, they always were] jerks. I have watched interest rates creep up, but I don't carry a balance, so I didn't care. Until American Express entered the Asshat arena. They told me Gail, we LOVE you, no Annual fee!! No, not for you! So I let them love me. Until I got my statement showing the 95 DOLLAR "membership" fee!! I paid for love! Oh NO!!! So, I called and reamed them out, and I said, I am HOLDING the paperwork you sent me, telling me I was a valued FREE member. You know what? She says OK, I'll refund the fee, but I'll have to close your account. WTF????? Oh, you'll have to speak with card services to open a new account if you wish to remain free. WTF??? [the upshot being, EVERY year you have to go thru this shit, or pay the fee.] I don't carry balances on our other c.c's, and they don't make me pay 95$ a year for the privilege. So I cancelled AmEx. You shoulda HEARD that wench, it sounded like I shit on her sacred cow. Oh well, she shit on mine first, neener-neener-neener:

AmEx: Are you SURE you wish to cancel, you would miss so many member benefits, and give up all your member points.Yessssssss, you would MISS us! You do not want to leeeeeeeave!

Me: What member benefits have I ever USED, and how many points do I have right now?

AmEx: Oh, you know, all those nice member benefits, there are too many to go into! You must have used some,correct? Why YES that must be correct!

Me: Try. Name three.

AmEx:um..... we have pretty cards! Oh yessssss,very pretty cards. And that 95$ fee helps us make heart warming commercials! Um,.....plus... um, you can charge party balloons! Oh, Yesssssss,have a party with your AmEx! Par-tee on dude!

Me. Oh. Boy. How many points do I have left?

AmEx: 36!!

Me: and what can I get with 36 points?

AmEx: um.....nothing.Yet! Yesssssss, they will add up fast.Why, you can get a free party balloon for only 10,000 points!

Me: [hey! I posted a "click" here, but evidently Blogger took that as html tags! Can't wait to publish and find out what shows up.]

Oh, and I posted this to facebook, but wanted it in my bloggie too, OMG this is funny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLFd9-FPBek

October:
25th: Sourest Day

26th: Worldwide Howl At The Moon Night

Be Not Afraid, Gail.

2009-10-18T14:01:00.012-04:00

Hehehe, I loved this:

http://failblog.org/

I could see me doing that, I read things backwards all the time, and have a tendency to reverse numbers, as can be witnessed by my checkbook. And the calculator that is now a part of my checkbook.

This is rich! You know, Steve is allergic to animals, so we have none......yet. We know he will not react to a Bichon, so that is what we are looking to adopt. Cats,......well, cats are OK, but we never considered getting one. How sweet the delicious irony then, that my yard here at the Love Shack has become a cat haven! Even as I type, I have a striped tabby in the front yard, a grey cat curled up under my truck, a black and white stalking a squirrel, a fluffy black cat looking regal on the patio, and an orange and white cat perched on the rock wall at the edge of the property, Glaring at the black cat, you can SEE it thinking "HEY! You want a piece of THIS???" There is STILL the possibility that I can become a crazy cat lady :o)

The job. OK. I'm in love. If we could move this job closer to the Shack, I'd be there til I retire. We're all broken in together, and the "promotion" I got......well, it's a crossword puzzle, anagram, bitch, and ballbuster all at the same time. How could you not love that? Plus, I MISS the gym.........since we bought the Shack, I don't feel comfortable spending money on that. I am in constant motion on the job. You know you're in the groove when you arrive at 7:30, and the next time you look at the clock it's 10:15. You know, I'm the kinda gal, if Mr. Thick-Cut-Crispy Bacon knocks on my door, why, I'll invite him in for a Johnny Walker Black and a chat! :o) Cheese? Honey, that's a food group! I know I could do better in the bacon to veggie ratio. Well, actually I couldn't, I never met a veggie I didn't like. I CAN tell you, I have my mothers metabolism, so I can work twice as hard as some one else for half the results. This job... none of my pants fit any more, they are all too big !!!! and I have 2 people at work who have offered to PAY me to make "my" lunches for them :O) ALL they are, is a sandwich...on a REALLY good home made bread or bakery hard roll or cibatta, a coldcut...I prefer turkey,but have been known to bust a move with the bologna, liverwurst or ham, with TONS of shredded lettuce or greens, and 2 lil bins of assorted fresh veggies, like peppers and cukes, radishes [I LOVE radishes]....that's IT. At least I have a job direction if I get laid off ....lunch lady. ANY of you, who have long commutes and drive them, please hit me with suggestions on how to come to terms with it. I STILL HATE the commute. And that hurts Steve, and that's the LAST thing I want to do. But the job....now, that's pretty damn cool.

Today is Sunday. And I just had a REAL eye opener, an epiphany.
Sunday morning is" the local paper and the NYT, in bed, with a huge mug of coffee" time for me.
Today, I am reading the magazine insert for the local paper, you may have seen it, "Parade". And there is an article titled "What should you worry about ?"

http://www.parade.com/news/2009/10/18-what-should-you-worry-about.html

One of the large print inserts to the article says "We're bad at assessing risk - we panic about the wrong things"

I don't have a panic tendency, but *I* am a world class worrier. I can and do anticipate everything. Makes me well prepared for anything, and it makes me anxious. And I realized, as I read the article, that I wasn't assessing risk correctly. And I do react out of emotion.
For example. Maybe 15 years ago. Steve was working late, and coming home in the dark one night. And in a 55 mph zone, hit a deer. The car was totaled, he was Fine. He and the cop were more upset by what "that damned deer did to his Mustang" than anything else. He called me, told me what happened. OK. But NOTHING prepared me for the site of the Stang. It looked like NO ONE could possibly have walked away from that, let alone drive it home. It was the only time in my life I felt like I might faint. And I NEVER forgot that.
But..now, with my commute. I approach the truck every morning, and my palms are sweaty and my heart is racing, ......which is TOTALLY out of character for me, I have a "Take life by the balls" attitude toward my life........ Because the longest part of my commute is along a road recognized by my state as having a high deer accident ratio. And a few weeks ago I DID have a close call. I saw deer one and deer 2, deer 3 was a pretty big surprize. But all ended well.
And it occurred to me....that when Steve has to commute a long way in foul weather or thru deer central, I have the same physical reaction to it.
Now I'm trying to figure out, why the fear, loathing and anxiety every dingdong morning? Is it based on facts, or "what ifs", of which I am the Queen? Or the sight of a wrecked car 15 years ago? Or a few deer tryin' to get jiggy?
My goal for this week is to approach the commute with an open mind and heart. I will NOT allow anxiety to rear it's head, and I will NOT be afraid of deer, or What-ifs. I don't know what I thought, or if I even ever Gave it a thought. I just assumed that at age 48, I would know these things about myself, I would know who I am. This comes as quite the surprize. And I don't like that type of surprize. "Be Not Afraid"...I'll just keep repeating that to myself.

And this? Because ITA, it's a pet peeve of mine, and it's funny. I think I got this from Dawn but can't find my attribute.So thank you Dawn or whomever:

October:

18th: No Beard Day
19th: Evaluate Your Life Day [looks like I was a day ahead of myself there ]

----->Deipnosophist<-----

2009-10-11T17:20:00.006-04:00

Another M-T-W-R-F-S bloggie. I miss blogging!

I think a lot of things are worthy of a chuckle or two, and I am no exception.
I try to keep a library of home made frozen dinners in the freezer, for nights when I come home and just don't have it in me to march my ass from the truck to the kitchen, yanno? I went on a lasagne-making spree a few weeks ago, and THOUGHT I put 2 in the freezer. Tonight, [friday] I will have a few people over, and decided on the lasagne. I go for it at 3pm.........and it ain't there. Oh SHIT. I whip out all the frozen ingredients [I precook the noodles, lay em flat and freeze em, all the ingredients except the sauce] run to the kitchen, and wind up making two huge trays. YAY Gail, right back on track. I wrap the second tray for the freezer, sashay my superior ass down the stairs, open the freezer.....and see 2 lasagnes. I got smart with myself last time I did this. Lined baking dishes with parchment and foil,constructed and froze the lasagnes, and then took them OUT of the dishes and wrapped them for the freezer. *I* was looking for a half steam table insert size lasagne, or a 13x9, not two 8x8's. ALL that for friggin nothing :o) Yay Gail, I think :X Gee, I can outsmart myself!

Speaking of food, a friend posted this to one of my cooking groups today.....a problem with Pyrex, and it's ability to explode:

http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/pyrex.asp

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/pyrex.html

This happened to me once,I was baking a ham in a 13x9 pyrex dish, and we all heard a huge explosion. We couldn't locate the cause of the noise, until we smelt pan juices burning on the oven floor. I have NEVER seen anything like that before. And I don't think I ever got all the glass out of that oven,either.

I feel like I've been running on ice this week. I got a [sort of] promotion at work,....the position I'd worked in last week was given to me. It's gonna take a lot to settle down into the job. And I'm just the woman to do it. But there are miles of walking and some heavy lifting, both of which I am capable of. You know how, if you go over the top with the yardwork, the next day some muscles will sing Ave Maria? Well, that's the way it is every DAY right now. Here's to hoping I get over THAT quickly :)

I gotta tell you....I've decided that MAYBE, just maybe, itouch is not from de' debbil after all, I can download TV shows to it to watch them at work! The History Channel, Discover Channel, PBS, most of the networks, they are all available! WOW!!! One thing...if anyone knows how to remove an app once you get it on there, please lmk. I don't have clue one.

And these pics Thrilled me. The angle of the sun changes every DAY in this house, this time of year.These 2 pics were taken in the living room, late afternoon.They are shadows, on the wall, of plants on the opposite windowsill, it's like a work of living art :o)

October:
11th: It's My Party Day
12th:International Moment of Frustration Scream Day
14th: National Dessert Day

Deipnosophist
A good conversationalist at meals.
-Anu Garg, "The Dorg, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two"

------>With a lil help from my Friends<------

2009-10-04T18:23:00.009-04:00

Ain't it great? The re-release of remastered Beatles music? You know, a LOT of their stuff is not only in my vocal range, but it lends itself beautifully to the cello also, so the Beatles have a place in my musical heart. I couldn't afford the whole stereo box set, so I went to Amazon, and with Steve and Tone helping, we picked out the albums we HAD to have. That's a LOT of music, to upload to itunes, and find homes for on my musical appliances [will it make you move your feet, does it have a beat? Green shuffle. Will I play Ruby with it? Pink Shuffle. Will it make me feel better on Monday and tuesday? Work shuffle. I ...and it only took me one hour and some extreme cursing.....'cause I found out something about my itouch. It came with 2 cords, and I never gave that a second thought. I could NOT NOT get that friggin thing to sync. Tried a different usb port, rebooted, burned chicken feathers and called upon the powers of the Turkey Whisperer to help. Nada. THEN....I look at the cord. And damned if there is a small tag on it they says, in English no less, "Charging cord only." WTF? Since when did these things comes with a cord like that? When thru my bag o' electrical goodies, and found a cord that allows me to Sync! YAY! So there's my PSA for the day, if you have an itouch and it won't sync, try a different cord.

[an edit.Something else I discovered. If you play an instrument sitting down, and practice with your nano, you can get the mens size wrist band holder for your nano, and it will fit around your leg, so no more sliding off and slamming the floor, making you wince.It looks like this:

[yet another edit. My niece T is an artist. I just saw this on her facebook and have her permission to reproduce it here. I can't top staring at it!

By Mz T:

I'm stuck nose deep in two books right now, I highly recommend them both. The first: "The Dord, the Diglot, and and Avocado or Two", by Anu Garg, he the creator of "A.Word.A.Day" web site. This is definitely something you'll be reading about here. The etymology of words aside, I love a good backstory, as well as the feel of the words. I included an entry at the end of this bloggie for you.
The other book is "The Elements of Cooking" by Michael Ruhlman. He reminds me a lot of Alton Brown, and his approach to the science behind the cooking. I'm getting some flack about this..I always seem to have a cookbook close to hand. Most people who cook with a passion do! This book, and Michaels' book "Ratio" wow, they will blow your mind . If you are a good home cook, you'll be nodding thruout both books, yup, you know that but never thought about it like that before.
I've missed my bloggie, life really has been face paced, but I try to find time to do the things that matter to me. Since we received all the Beatles music this week [and are due to get two more albums on mon.] my cello has been taking precidence over everything else, hehehe. And tomorrow, of course, is back to work. I'm still looking for work closer to home,but I am such a damn creature of habit, big change is very hard for me....not the "new" or "unexpected", but when I have to change a whole part of my life, well, frankly, I find that *that* bites.
And here, my favorite pic of the week. I put this one on facebok, too. Boo spent the night thurs., and wholeheartedly approves of coffee beans going IN their bin, and not all over the Love Shacks' floor, hehehe.... A Big thumbs up from Boo:

October
5th: National Storytelling Festival
6th: German-American Day, Come Take It Day
7th: National Frappe Day

Window
Now here's an etymology that speaks of the poetry of words. A window is, literally, the "wind's eye" Look at how a window opens to let the wind in, and it'll be clear why it was so named in Old Norse, from which it moved into English.

-from "The Dord, the Diglot and an Avocado or Two" by Anu Garg

Lying trucks and plants !

2009-09-27T15:35:00.004-04:00

Hey, Im getting better at this ! A Tues-wed-thurs-fri-sat-sun bloggie! That takes talent, or CRS [Can't Remember Shit]. I prefer to think of it as talent. No I did not fall off the face of the earth!

It's around 8 o'clock on tues. Hells Kitchen will come on in a few, and I am sitting here, just wondering if it's a full moon or not,.....I see a daily weather forecast, but not a mooncast. Oooooooooo, let me go look that up. The trivia was just too much to type, so I'm looking for something I'm interested in to end my bloggies. Full moons. They would explain a LOT.

Every time I think I want to quit my job, they up the ante. Usually its a raise. This week, it was a new area to work in. The info comes so fast and furious, and you are in so many "New to you" parts of the building, that the days fly by. The commute still sucks,.... But the job.

THIS is what I've been waiting for, it's the combination of everything I've been taught before, and then being given a world class account and told to "fly", with no directions on how one would do that. The go-to people, for me, are the BEST...the most considerate and understanding......this job had the propensity to be a bitch. Instead, it's an exhausting pleasure. A job that is a living crossword puzzle! HOW can I quit a job I have such an affinity for, to get some dreck closer to home? [oh, also.... 2 tanks of gas a week. That hurts. ESPECIALLY since I've been so good with the "Leadus Footus" aspect of the commute, you'd think tht damn onboard puter would stop lying, at least when Steve gets in and looka at it.It wouldn't be too hard for it to read 22,hell, even 20, when the Man takes it out to gas it up.My truck is bastard-filled bastard truck with bastard coating.

What I wanted to talk about was todays' commute. Almost all the way home, I had clear sailing, which totally put me off my guard for what I found less than 4 miles from home. I got up here into the city, and an Air Force base was having a disaster drill. While the county is TOTALLY redoing the main drag, which includes on and off points for ALL the major highways.So, while you have 7 planes flying over you, scaring the SHIT out of you,....... is it Armegeddon, or something Steve read about and told you about this very morning.......there are no lines painted in the new asphalt. You have 2 new lanes, plus road a crew from HELL.[or the local walmart.....this crew was so bad, I was Laughing while I wanted to cry. And I'm Sure the people around me felt the same way] Those road workers are waiving YOU on. You continue on, and to your HORROR you see that lil blonde bimbo waiving on the lanes next to you...they had a green LEFT HAND TURN sign, that's what their light said, but al of them were accustomed to going straight there. STRAIGHT into my lane. But Bimbo didn't look up at the new light configuration and is waving 3 lanes into my lane Those poor drivers in lanes 1 and 2 were as lost as the rest of us. So all 3 lanes met in MY lane. Oh, happy day. My heart hurts for the travelers...they don't know WTF lane to be in, they don't KNOW about local disaster drill and are probably scared shitless, and they are changing lanes with a vengeance.... I gotta tell you...I didn't blame them one bit.
I am 48, and that was the worst commute I've had in my whole life.
And the best, most challenging day at work.
What would the wise woman do?
I don't know, but I'll tell you what I did.
I loved on my family and waited for the weekend.

Saturday, Steve and the boys went to an auto swap meet . Since they are indulged a passion, I did too.Lots of practicing, and only a little cleaning, hehehe. But.....look at what I saw in the library. This is a Christmas cactus Stevie and Boo bought me 11 years ago. It was a wee little thing labeled as a Christmas cactus, but began to bloom at Thanksgiving, and then as early as Halloween. I give all the plants an up-close and personal each week, so I can nip any problems in the bud [bad pun, I know]. I looked at the cactus this morning:

and saw these,they are blooms :

The Christmas cactus is right on track for it's blooms to open....for Halloween.

And this,...from my friend Kathleen, I thought it was hysterical.
----
Pilot and Aircraft MechanicAfter every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripesheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. Themechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form,and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here aresome actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS ' pilots (markedwith a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenanceengineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never,ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.

S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.

S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit

S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.

S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent

S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.

S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.

S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.

S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.

S: Suspect you're right

P: Number 3 engine missing.

S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)

S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.

S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.

S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget.
----

September:
27th: Ask a Stupid Question Day
28th: Poisoned Blackberries Day
29th: National Mud Pack Day

Now, I knew that!

2009-09-20T11:37:00.005-04:00

I had planned to blog to day, and still might get around to it.But this, this was SO delicious that I needed to blog it, all by its lonesome.

http://tinyurl.com/mmjv2v

I have said I live in NY. And that I have absolutely no respect for the hypocrite who is our governor. That would be Paterson.He got the job after our elected Governor, good ol' "Holier than thou" Married Governor Spitzer, was found to have used the services of a whore. Paterson is no more suited to running a state than I am to long commutes :X So, here is the tasty morsel......President Obama has asked Paterson NOT to run for governor in the next election.You see, Paterson is THAT bad,......anyone who runs against him will win by a landslide....and that means a republican.Obama wants the Governor to be a democrat. Delicious irony with a creamy center, and I could have told you that months ago.But what do *I* know??

Something old and something new

2009-09-18T18:55:00.010-04:00

I guess it's no surprize that I love gardening. I really miss it, and have already decided where my garden will go next year, as well as the placement of the "living" fence, so we can have some privacy from putz naked ninja neighbor. I've been contenting myself with playing with my indoor garden,my plants.

In the old place, a garden was out of the question, when you live on the backside of a state park, there is simply no way to keep the critters out of a garden. And so I contented myself with growing flowers on my porch. The two flowers I return to time and time again are geraniums and petunias. The geraniums because they remind me of my Mom and Grandma, and the petunias for their vivid colors, graceful growing habits, and distinct scent.

Both of these plants are annuals....they die at the first hard frost.....but not before giving a LOT of seeds out into their environments. These plants shared a porch with my houseplants, I would let them summer outside. So, it's not unheard of for some geranium or petunia seed to make it's way into a houseplant, and come spring, I'd have aliens growing in the houseplant pots.

I guess with the stress of moving, I wasn't paying attention, at the time where I should have removed the "aliens" from the indoor pots, so that the plants weren't competing for nutrients and water. So, something old.....the petunia seeds. Something new, the petunia plants, growing in a [lemon or grapefruit, I can't remember which, just stuck a seed in a pot a few years ago for haha's and would up with this tree] citrus tree pot.

This is a pic of the tree, with the petunias at it's base:

Although a petunia is a annual, I don't know how long it will live inside, under houseplant conditions, and this might mean trouble for the citrus.To yank or not to yank? Do I leave the petunia in it's splendor, or rip it out by the roots? Why I'm ruminating over that, what do I see?

Last week, Boo brought her spider plant over. It had to be divided, it was as pot bound as they come.So we made 2 plants out of it. Boo couldn't take the plants home right away, so I volunteered to babysit them for her. She'd ask me this week every time we spoke, how her plants were doing, and I said, oh they're planning a take over with the maranta and the Thanksgiving cactus. Little did I know.
You've all seen spider plants, they throw out aerials, which produce babies complete with roots, and lil white flowers. Well, it appears that Boos spider plants want to get down with my plants. In both these pics, it is BOO's 2 spiders, not mine,hehehe, getting happy with a maranta as well as an immature palm plant.

The maranta and the spidie:

And the spidie makin luuuuuv to the palm:

I LOVE that! And what is funnier to me, is that the spider, palm and marantas in question all have similar water light and nutrient needs, so if I were to allow this, they might look very good together [I nixed allowing it to live with the maranta, the maranta grows so low to the soil the spider would die underneath it.] Can you see, a dark green upright palm with spider plants swirled all around at it's base? I'll report back when they get jiggy with it ;o)

This week marks the loss of Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/arts/music/17travers.html?_r=3&hp

I can't tell you how deeply that affected me. I have mentioned that I grew up in a patriarchal family of 8, where the sons were the important ones. It seemed like Every single thing I wanted was a struggle, because a girl didn't do that. Play the violin? Are you CRAZY? Switch to cello OMG, now I KNOW you're crazy.

Ah, though, to see Mary. And to think, if *I* had a hammer, no kidding that song was an anthem for me. As is most of their body of work. Of all of [their body of work] all the social implications it had, for all they did to raise social consciousness, my single favorite work is "Leaving on a Jet Plane". I went to YouTube to post it here for you, but I can't give it to you. I have the original, on every music playing device that I own. Simply because it is beautiful. The vocal harmonies are front and center, over the guitars and string base, and the song speaks of such longing, I can really relate to it. It was simply lovely. Not a societal commentary, not a peace commentary, it just stood on it's own. IMHO, it was a unique song performed by a unique group at a time in my life where I remember where I was and what I was doing the first time I heard it. It froze me in my tracks. I mentioned this specific work in a discussion about Peter Paul and Mary shortly after Mary died, and I was poo-pooed, oh, that was one of their songs that had no SOCIALLY RELEVANT MEANING. Who gives a fuck? I dont. I don't like hearing that a group has to stay pigeon-holed into anyones' definition of them. I don't believe that because a piece doesn't have SOCIAL RELEVANCE that it should not be part of a discssion about a groups body of work [I'm sorry, the poster spoke with such bombastic self-assurance I chose to bow out of the discussion. 3 coats of epoxy, opinion set now, no talking about it] Not every thing out of every SOCIALLY RELEVANT artists mouth has to drip with activism, or peace-seeking. Sometimes, they can just speak from the heart. Thanks, Mary, I appreciated you. Still do, and always will.

Bras and Escargot

2009-09-13T15:21:00.006-04:00

This will be a Thurs-Fri-Sat-Sun bloggie, so you'd better get a drink and settle in.Every time I tried to blog something came up.

What a great day! I kicked ass and took names at work.
I work with such a great crew...there are certain things everyone excels at. For me, the booting of ignition wires, especially the ones with no "Test", it's all verified by your eyes and hands and experience. Some other people in my crew knew when I was leaving today. [Thursday] They also figured that, when I left, bitchzilla [the one person no one can get along with...I try, but I can't. She likes me, but she drives me absofrigginlutely nuts. She always wants to do what I do, even the jobs she can't do.] So...they rigged it so I got every one of my favorite jobs to do today, even the ones the owner will come grab a tool and go over your work, right in front of you, Trying to find fault. There was no fault to be found, I owned it. My co-workers also rigged it so that the first set after I left would be a K37....the dreaded, universally hated K37 boot. THey are difficult and tempermental to work with, plus, they wreck your hands. It's hard to turn the key in the ignition at the end of the day after completing a job that includes K37's. I got stuck with them yesterday and never said a word, so they made sure bitchzilla got everything that wasn't on deck yesterday. And she was stupid enough to have just enough balls to question why SHE should have to do K37's ,"They Hurt Her Hands". I hope the string mop was handy when I left.

This Saturday is Steves business dinner, and I wanted to buy a dress for that tonight. Simple enough, right? There are stores up the wazoo here. Except....all the dresses were orange and purple, or leopard print [not that there's anything wrong with leopard print, but since my favorite leopard print sandals were killed by teriyaki, my heart kinda went off it] they were, well, ugly. I looked all over, not one classic, clean, crisp feminine dress to be had. And the one skirt? Leopard print. And I tried it on and it was a FINE skirt, but not for a business dinner. Thank God for Old Navy,of all the stores, they were the only one who had a nice lil dress.

I guess every woman has their own method of buying bras. I got a few tonight, since we were in Kohls. I only get mine at Kohls or at a super online sale, I only buy on sale cause I cannot BELIEVE how much lace and a few hooks and eyes cost. If I thought I could I'd make my own, but then I probably couldn't go out in public.
My best friend slings bras OVER HER SHOULDER, while finishing her shopping, so the hooks don't snag anything else in the cart. I am in shock and awe of that. My family can tell you that I'm pretty out there, and I will discuss things with people that make my family cringe [but we are all on the planet together, and if I can hook you up I will] but to advertize the size? OH HELL to the no. I don't need to bury them in a cart, but I'm not swinging them around over my head like a lasso, either.
At checkout, I have them under a shirt on the counter.The cashier tried to pick the shirt up, and that sucker wouldn't Budge. It was just her, Steve, and I, so I explained, I put my bras under there, I didn't want everyone to see them, and they are snagged on something.They WANT to be mean. She laughed at that visual. Tried to bag them, and THEY WOULD NOT GO IN THE BAG, no matter what she did they kept getting snagged. On the sides. Of this big, Tall bag, so Everyone could see what the issue was.Oh, we were really laughing now, and I told her, those bras WANT to be mean. I sign on the dotted and grab the bag. The cashier is still laughing, and we head for the door....and the Door went the hell off on me. I turned to her and yelled "Hey, I TOLD you these bras want to be mean" and I thought she'd bust a gut. We swung just the bag thru the security device, and sure enough, those damn bras set the sucker off. Steve and I laughed all the way to the car, my Russian bras were causing trouble, hehehe :o)

And I have a pic for you. We live near a large park, and have to drive by it to get to the main drag,which is basically any time we go out, ya gotta drive by the lake.And there lives a Huge family of ducks, Steve says there were around 2 dozen lil baby ducks, I've never seen a family that large. Since school has started, I have had unexpected braking for both young humans and young ducks. But I digress...on the way home tonight, the duckie family had the right of way in front of us, and I thought to get a half assed picture of it, we enjoyed the hell out of it:

If I see a school bus stopped to my right at a 4 way, where I don't have a Stop sign and the bus does, I still stop. Yesterday, I stop,......because there is a school bus to my right, all lights flashing [in NY, a school bus flashes its lights and you stop,even if it's a 4 lane highway divided by a grass median, and you are going in the opposite direction] at an intersection. Right behind me, another school bus, and the bus driver is making shoo-ing motions to me, to continue on. *I * am a Mom, and I know better. And sure enough, here comes, from stage left, a boy running for all he was worth, never looked right or left he was running for the BUS, and he ran right in front of me. I felt like getting out of the truck and taking a bow at a the driver behind me :o) No matter what state you live in, please watch out for all the little ones, we adults are all they have.

Oh Yeah!! I wanted to tell you this too.
Yesterday, coming into work.
Driving thru a road repaving zone that extends for maybe 10 miles, every bit of it a PITA. At 6:55am, I am 2nd in line behind a town truck. It is going 10 miles an hour, and there are 3 gentlemen in the back of it. Their job is to place the orange traffic cones that will later on, change the lanes of traffic, to drink coffee, to laugh, and to take surreptitious glances at all the commotion they are causing. They won't pull over and let rush hour traffic pass, they will build it up behind them and then they will enjoy the power they feel.
One car in front of me. For MILES. I look behind me upon the flats, and see such a line of cars, I have NEVER seen that long a line of traffic in THAT area in my whole life. And I thought to get a pic to show Steve, this used to be HIS baby, and now this reverse commute is mine. I whip the cell phone out, set it up, stick it out the sunroof and without looking, take a backwards pic. Now I face it forward, just in time for Ed Norton in the back of the truck to see what I am doing. And He freeze like a deer in the the headlights. Taps the other 2 guys, who bang on the window behind the driver. Then.....why, Voila! They are miraculously able to pull over and allow traffic to pass! I didn't quite catch what happened, but when I told Steve what I'm tellin' you, he said Simple......they thought you were a reporter, or someone who would submit those pics to the [local paper] and get all their asses in trouble. Only prob is, to keep a pic in this cell, you HAVE to select "save" or it doesn't stay, unlike my last phone. So I don't have the pics that I took. But I DID learn a valuable lesson. I'l take a pic when I want to call Shenanigans, and make sure the people involved see me do it.

Oh. WOW.It's 11:00 Sat night, and we ust got back from Steves business dinner.WHAT A TREAT!!! We went to the Ship lantern Inn. I have to preface this by saying, I am reading "The making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America" by Michael Ruhlman.A writer who goes thru the Culinary Institute of America [CIA] as if we were a student.You get a real eye into what goes into running a top notch restaurant, and the life of a chef. With what I read in mind, I got to really watch the service. I had looked at the online menu, and posted to Facebook that I thought it was over wrought, that I was looking for seasonal well cooked food that wasn't drenched in something at which point *I*....yes, *I*..... got called a .........Weenie!! by my friends hehe. I hope they know I had the escargot as an appy, and I loved it :O)
I'm happy to report that the online menu did not do the real menu justice, and the service was Lovely! I told the kids where we'd be, and told them only to call if there was an emergency, so of course smart ass Stevie txt'ed me instead. His emergency? A pic of a 66 or 67 GTO, txted into a group of car people.Pretty witty, we all got a good laugh out of that.

Home Depot. Where Team Gail goes for amusement.

2009-09-04T15:36:00.007-04:00

We have 2 bathrooms here at the Shack. One is a powder room. It had this large random piece of beadboard [like for wainscoting] nailed to the wall. I decided the game room, powder room, and library are all gonna be a light soft blue,with white ceiling and trim [but I am NOT NOT touching the woodwork, that is just gorgeous] We needed to know what, exactly, was being covered up by the board before we commence with the paintin'. So Steve pulled that sucker off. And we found...the original to the house, Exterior window for what appears to have been a den, you can see the original wood paneling framing out the rectangle in the wall. Also, you can look thru the window and see the insulation in the wall for the library [it really doesn't get enough direct sun to be a Sun room, and a "library " fits better with who and what we are about] VERY cool beans, we spent a lot of time looking it over. Now we need to decide, do we remove the window and make a rectangular niche in there, or cover it up, say with a huge mirror, to reflect the little light that's available in there. We decided,... too many rooms to paint to be makin' a niche, so right now we'll just cover it with a mirror and install some shelving,then paint. I LOVE the finding of the original stuff in the Shack! Oh, wait, let me go get a pic of that:

While we were at the Depot, my cart apparently yawed into the gardening area.I think they TRAIN all carts to do that, this was NOT my fault. Steve had something, humorous but pointed, to say about that. So I warned him if he negged me in the Depot I'd send him to Assholeville.This just struck him as the funniest thing, and we laughed right up to checkout. where it was determined that, aside from a ceiling light fixture for the powder room and some paint sample cards, everything in the cart [NOT A LOT...just necessities. And a Jade plant that put itself in my cart, *I* had nothing to do with it] was plant related. And not REALLY what we went in for. Whoopsie! Steve swiped his debit card, and at the juncture where it said " charge ok or Charged not ok" he asked the cashier, what if I said charge not ok, would this stuff march it's asses back to the shelves? And all *I* said was " I'll send your ass to Assholeville" and we got to laughing, the poor cashier must of thought we were her loonies for the night. Who knows, she may have been right. Oh, and when I buy a plant, I resolve it out to one plant a pot...a lot of times, the nurseries will cram a few plants in a pot so the plant looks more lush, but in the fullness of time that will kill the plants, and generally pisses me off. Here's a pic of the Jade, it resolved out to 5 plants:

They are the 5 pots in front. If you look right behind them, to the 3 large pots.......you may remember them from last year. Elephants Foot plants.I raised them from babies, and last October I poted them onto 6 inch pots. This is what they looked like last October:

Men just don't get necessary purchases. Like Jade plants that are crying out to be repotted...... or personal ringtones.
I use ringtones to let me know, without looking, who is calling me on my cell.

[I believe talking on the phone while driving is wrong. I see people every day, doing stupid shit behind the wheel, talking on the phone instead of watching that big rig trying to merge right along side them,... and I won't do it.The ringtone lets me know if I have to pull over, or if it can wait 'til I get where I'm goin'.]

Steve has his own, the 3 kids have one they share, my heart loop has yet another, [ oh wait,that was with sprint...I'd better go get another ring tone from Verizon, hehehe ] and there are other random ringtones I associate with certain people. I'll know who they are when I hear them, I don't have to look :O) Until today, I couldn't think of a ring tone, for when someone at home at the LOVE SHACK called my cell. DING DING DING !! WHAT an ass I am! So I downloaded that ringtone. This is the original video associated with the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leohcvmf8kM

[Oh, You know what?? This song was popular when I was in college...heard it on the radio, and saw the live performance video at MTV and YouTube. NEVER saw the video associated with song before tonight, when I searched it up for you! Thank You!]

You know, from time to time I bloggie things that I'm unsure of. Whether it will hurt someone or not, and would it be worth the telling to upset someone. But I learned something about myself today, so bloggie I will. And I hope it won't upset him. I doubt it, he's cool like that.
At Facebook, I have a limited roster of friends....it is not a professional or a "public" arena, like a bloggie-type of place for me, personally. That is the application I chose to let Facebook have in my life. A lot of people have different apps...to each his own.
Today, a dear friend made a Facebook entry referring to an article in the NYTimes, about Obamas' speaking at a public school. Parents had a lot of concerns, not the least of which as they wanted to be reassured that Obamas' speech was not a Policy speech.....but a general one. Some parents BELIEVE:

Believe: [v]
-to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.

that Obama will espouse a socialist type of government to their children. Some parents believe that is wrong, and they do not want their children exposed to Obamas speech.

Well a few people responded to what my friend posted to his wall. I agreed with my friend, and was about to say so, but one response in particular captured my interest. He appeared on the face of it to be a reasonably well informed, articulate person. He disagreed with the parents who questioned subjecting their children to Obama. But the WAY he did it.....he so severely insulted those parents, had so much vitreol and acid in his opinion of parents who disagreed with him. I could see people debating and having it devolve down into a shouting insult match, but this guy came right out swinging. Well, 3 times I tried to respond to that. It's one thing to have an opinion, but to be so insultingly derogatory, defensive and crude when presenting his opinion totally denigrated his argument for me. And I really understand a bit about how those parents feel. It made it impossible for me to have any form of discussion about it. I found no way I could present my opinion without him resorting to being insulting in responding to me, and I didn't want to do that on my friends Facebook.. This guy slapped 3 coats of epoxy over his opinion, which appears to be a sacred cow to him, and called it good. God help the person who wants to present a different opinion, they are morons who must need drool cups.[ *I* might have taken umbrage there, he mentions paragraph long sentences with multiple commas,..........hell, that's most of my bloggies. *I* prefer to think of it as train-of-thought,myself. So I guess I need a drool cup too :( ]
So, what I learned today:
-I will try to be careful to couch my opinions in a way that invites discussion. Without insulting people who may have a different value system than do I. I just might learn something. Or, if I am persuasive enough, I'll change Their minds.
-When I am faced with such an angry defensive person, I will not respond. Even if I basically agree with the salient points of his opinion, if he/she/it is so afraid of discussion that they will resort to anger, insults and retorts to avoid it, then I will not be the one to try and force it upon them. Their opinion is set in stone. I hope I'm not that rigid a person, I hope I can listen and sometimes learn. Or at least agree to disagree.

September:
4th: Newspaper Carrier Day
5th: Be Late for Something Day
6th: Fight Procrastination Day

No Title, on account of stabbiness.

2009-08-30T17:59:00.005-04:00

I saw the most random, funny thing. Did a big grocery shop Friday. The cashier scanned my store card, I Saw her do it.But it didn't register with the register, and I didn't get the sales prices..... 18$ worth. Of course Moi didn't discover this until I got home, so I grabbed the receipt and headed back to the store to get my moolah [Stop n Shop is MAYBE a mile from here, so no big deal]. On the back counter in C.S, there was....
-An open bottle of beer, half full.
-A bag of cat food, open, with a scoop in it, about half full.
-Party plates and cups, and plastic cutlery, open and contents partially missing.

Think about that for a sec. I really got the idea they were partyin' dooooooooooown in the pet section, or the neighborhood cats broke into the store. I LMAO, and got some funny looks. I tried to explain what hit my funny bone, but no one else saw it.

Well holy shit.
I think I'm on technological overload.
First off, I think I Facebooked this but didn't blog it...Steve won an itouch from Toyota. He "gave" it to me, because *I* now have a ball buster of a commute, and he did NOT want me stealing XMRadio out of his car.
I had concerns about the itouch+old dog=new tricks thing, but I am technologically smart, so I knew I'd adapt to it [on Facebook, I said I just don't feel cool enough for the itouch.Well, I do now. ]

[An aside: in our old home,there was no verizon reception, we all used sprint. At his work, Steve needs to use Verizon. So Steve used Verizon, and I used Sprint]

This week Steve and I crunched the numbers, and saw that it would be more cost effective for me to pay the early termination fee at Sprint, and have Steve give me "a line" at Verizon. Within 4 months the decision will pay for itself. So I needed to find a phone at verizon. And I saw the LG enV Touch VX11000. Did my homework, Consumer Reports rated it number one from Verizon, Cnet loved it, so I said what the hell. That is the phone I got Friday. I figured:
Q) HOW much different could it be to use than the itouch?
A) A ball buster, THAT's how much different.

The "scroll" action, the finger-flick way you navigate around the cell phone with, is NOT the same, itouch has it ALL over the enV.

But the thing that is bothering me, and it took me a while to sort it out......I believe in having the right tool to do the job.Not the most advanced nor the most expensive, but the RIGHT one. This was one expensive phone, and aside from having a better camera [YAY for YOU!] I'm not feeling the love for this phone, I prefer my old phone. I don't buy technology for technologys' sake, .........my favorite mp3 player[s] are my shuffles. I don't have much use for the nano, and this itouch......well, I am sitting here tonight.The "landline" broadband phone to my left. The old cell phone. The touch. MY laptop. My laptop mouse, and my new cell phone. And I am about weirded out. This is a HELL of a lot of technology.

And something else. It occurs to me, what I don't like about the new trend of using your cell as your landline. What happens to 'family' here? No one line coming into the house, defining your posse,..or "mob". It makes me feel a little old. When I was in school and you got sick, the nurse called your house, not Moms' cell or Dads cell. A Ton of good and bad news came thru that main line. A couple gets married now, and they each have their own phone numbers, no "ours". No "team" number.
I don't like that. Go ahead and laugh, I get old fashioned like that. We have a "Team Gail" number. But if you wanna talk to me, you have my cell too. Hmmmmmmmm.

OMFDDG. I cannot beLIEVE this.

It's Saturday, and I am hand-entering all the contacts from my old sprint phone to the new verizon one. This is making me motion sick, and stabby to boot. PITA scroll, my left ASS cheek it scrolls. I'm adding one of my sisters cell number, and screwed it up pretty darned good. I go to "edit contacts"........and my sis is already there. Home and cell. WTF?? I look, and ALL my contacts have migrated to this phone. ACROSS PROVIDERS, with no help from me. I got motion sick and stabby, and it was all for NOTHING. So if you ever have to switch providers,wait a day or two and LOOK before you start entering your crap, it may already be in there. Holy Shit, that is wild.

BUT WAIT...there's even MORE wild shit! I think my eyes might be offended, I dunno. It's Sunday. I walk into the livingroom, and WHAT do I see, but BRIAN BOITANO [World Champion Ice Skater] has a show on the food network, "What would Brian Boitano make?" I definitely am not buying this. And since I'm feeling stabby, his trying to be funny [I seem to remember he acted like a pissant, but my memory might be failing, along with my ability to suffer asshats] is pissing me off. And he's cooking dishes that all include bacon for a womens rollerskating team?

[ Think about THAT for a sec....THAT is freakin random.WHO in the hell came up with that idea, I'd love to have a drink with them and hear the back story]

What I'm seeing is that he is using a biscuit cutter to cut puff pastry. And twisting the biscuit cutter, killing the puff pastrys' ability to rise up and get puffy. And no one thought to edit that lil twist out of a foodtv show. But I'll bet the end product will look divine. Hold on a sec, let me finish watching him make it, and I'll tell you.

Yup, they are absolutely perfect lil puffs. If I did that and cooked it, it would look like I cooked a whole lot of lil animals. And mangled them up before doing so. OOOoooooooo,feelin stabby again.

Here's my first pic from the new phone.Flu season is coming up, and I'm really low on the homemade chicken and turkey broths, so I took today to make up the turkey broth and it's ready for the freezer:

August:

30th: National Toasted Marshmallow Day

31st: National Trail Mix Day

September:

2nd: National Beheading Day

[no trivia, feeling stabby, I might bloggie something offensive.Oh, wait, I've already done that.Oh,well, I'll think up something for next time.]

-------->R.I.P Senator Kennedy<--------

2009-08-26T18:59:00.004-04:00

A very instructive dinner!
I'm working in a new to me kitchen, with new to me cookware, and mostly new to me appliances. I believe I've said, I cook big, and host big, and 2 of the biggest parties are Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not knowing the players in your kitchen is a recipe for Disaster when cooking big, so I figured I'd do a trial run of my Thanksgiving dinner tonight, a full bore Turkey extravaganza.
I already discovered, my new upright freezer is gonna take some figuring, in the thawing dept. In the old house/old freezer, a 12-14 lb turkey would thaw, in a pan in the fridge, in 5 days. I took a 16 lb bird out of this freezer LAST FRIDAY, and mon. evening [10 days later] it was still kinda hard. My stove BITES IT. Evidently, propane has a regulator to monitor the flow of propane to your appliances. This was not functioning or did not exist in the old place. Here, I'm "Safe" and my range BITES. That was quite the learning curve on a big hunk o'meat. Also, my biscuits take longer to brown too, so overall, everything will take longer. Yay. Of course, if I yell "Turkey" my whole mob descends upon me, and they loved it. And that makes Mom happy. So it was worth it :O)

I'm sure you know by now, Senator Ted Kennedy passed on last night. This has been a really weird day for me. You can tell the high esteem which which I regard certain politicians.....well, I feel that way about just about all of them. Meglomaniacal, power hungry ass-kissing attention seeking asshats. (99% of them)
For me personally, the Kennedy clan stood apart. Not because I agree with their politics, cause I disagree with QUITE a few things they espoused, I'm not even sure there's a word for my political leanings,...the party of Turkey :X Not because they were of such sterling character, and I'm sure you all know Teds' history, so I won't bore you with the details, but a saint he was NOT. But, the charisma aside,.....what I believe.......is that most of the Kennedy clan was truly dedicated to public service.They were the few, true politicians who were there to help their constituents because it was their Job, their burden and their joy to do so. Not for crack, not for a blow job, not to dress like a woman or praise Jesus in the Oval office. Not for bribes, or power for powers sake, or because they had great speech writers and could ACT like a president, but in substance were all smoke and mirrors.
I see Teds' passing, and I look around wondering...........where is the legacy? Where are the up-and-coming Statesmen and Stateswomen? Who in politics today carries the burden of Public Service?
I see no one.
And that is disheartening, and frightening.
I believe you know I live in NY. Where our State government, well, if you haven't read about it I won't even try to describe the pigs that inhabit Albany, led by a pompous jackass. Certainly no Statespeople up there. I look at our President, and I see a talking head. I do not see considered thought in some major decisions being made [the Cash for Clunkers program, for example, I can speak to] I think Obama sees any type of considered thought as feet dragging, and something to be avoided at all costs. And THAT is disturbing to me too, I understand the theory behind this, but the actual practice leaves a LOT to be desired. And I have to wonder if Obama really cares about what he is doing. Or, if we'll find out, in a few months or years, what his true agenda is.
A day of remembering, and of joy and sadness here.

Don't forget ,when you see this -------->title<---------- around the title of my blog, the title is a link that will take you somewhere. Always g-rated unless noted. For pc users, you can RIGHT click on it, and select "open in new window" That way, when you're done viewing the link, you can close the page and be back at this blog.

August:
26th: National Cherry Popsicle Day
28th: World Sauntering Day

Paterson the Putz

2009-08-23T12:42:00.003-04:00

A Friday/Saturday/Sunday bloggie

"It's orchestrated, it's a game"

That's right, New York Governor Paterson is claiming now that his downward slide in the polls is RACE related. Oh, it couldn't be because he can't do his job, and is a humorless tight ass to boot.......no, it HAS to be the race card. This isn't the first time Paterson whipped out that old canard. Here's an article from a year ago, where he's pulling the race card too:

http://wcbstv.com/politics/paterson.mccain.palin.2.813646.html

But you know what's funny? Seems Paterson isn't above a lil ol' discrimination of his own:

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/2009/05/ny-governor-patterson-settles-reverse-discrimination-suit-for-300000.html

I suppose if a person is a bigot, even if they are in denial, they can recognize it in others. Hmmmmm, being in denial, and excoriating others for what you yourself have done. Who does that sound like? DING DING DING "Holier-than-thou" NY Governor Elliot Spitzer, .....the man Paterson replaced......right before he exited stage left, when it was revealed that this most moral of Married Governors hired a whore.

Whore:–noun 1. a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually for money; prostitute; harlot; strumpet.

Prostitute:–noun 1. a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money; whore;strumpet. harlot.

Oh, ok, I take that back. The woman was a Strumpet. You'll note, there is no term used for the dickhead who HIRED the strumpet.[The only one I know is "a John" .If you know of any others,send them my way ] I said right in this blog a while back that Paterson was a putz, and he's been proving me right every time he opens his mouth.

'Yo, governor...you simply don't know how to do your job. THAT is why we won't elect you, and that's why you never would have been elected to that office in the first place,- if Spitzer coulda kept it in his pants and stayed up on that high horse, you never would have had a shot at the governorship. You never would have made it thru the rigors of an election race. So, shut yer yap, OK? Don't insult your constituants intelligence by claiming it's the color of your skin. Trust me, it's the lack of brains. And talent.

I needed a new set of cookware. I wanted to buy it open stock....only the pots I wanted....but it was actually cheaper to buy the damn set, thru Amazon. Since I'm a prime member, I got free shipping too, and when the set you ordered weighs 31 lbs, weight becomes a factor. I'm so excited! They'll be here tomorrow [Sat...I popped for the extra 6$ for a Saturday delivery]. I tried to explain to Steve, not only are these some of my tools, but they are Happy, and REALLY good tools. He said he understood, if he was ordering new headers for his car he's be as excited as I am. Oh, boy, I'm getting kitchen "headers" :O) These are my new puppies:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018727SW/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

I can't wait to break them in :o)

And here is a lil something Tone shot over to me,...if this is true, this is so bad it might just be good:

http://consumerist.com/5342699/kfc-has-a-bacon-sandwich-that-uses-fried-chicken-as-bread

Right now it's Sunday, almost one o'clock. I'm still in my pajammies, and plan to spend the rest of the day that way. Steve ordered us a nice lunch, and he'll be back with that soon. Since it's the last day of my "vacation", he planned a "movie-and-lunch-in-bed-in-pajammies" afternoon for me. I highly recommend them :o)

August:

23rd: Valentino Day

24th: Knife Day

25th: Kiss-and-make-up Day

[in case you haven't looked around this blog page, .....I put a lot of things here that interest me, and you might like them too. Below is a cut and paste of the box "Today in History" that appears on the right hand side of this blog]

Today in History

William Wallace
Scottish nationalist who opposed British rule, and on whom Braveheart was based, was executed in London (1305)

Franklin
area that is now part of Tennessee seceded from North Carolina; it failed to win acceptance as one of the United States (1784)

Rudolph Valentino
death at age 31 of the silent screen sex symbol known as the quintessential Latin lover caused mass hysterical mourning (1926)

Sacco and Vanzetti
Italian-American anarchists were executed by electric chair for murder during an armed robbery; questions about the fairness of their trial remain (1927)

You lucked out.

2009-08-19T17:41:00.009-04:00

I had a bloggie all typed up.And I read it, and it was basically a bitchfest. A Stabby bitchy type of bitchfest, complete with cramps, guilt, and the "hot as hell" theory of Hellativity. So I will spare us all that.This is one thing I really enjoyed, a lot of my plants needed to be potted on and I got to do that this week. This is the "library".....the 3 season room we're not sure what we'll do with yet:

And if you're with me at facebook, you saw what happened when I VERY innocently mentioned what was available for sale in walmart.Some people have SUCH dirty minds, but not me:

OH! And here is something from my Boo,right in line with the sites I blogged Saturday, OMG, PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE don't ever let me pose nude with a friggin CAT! :
http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

FAIL

2009-08-15T12:07:00.004-04:00

One really good aspect of having a blog is that sometimes people who read you send you stuff. I've received a lot of cartoons that I kinda can't blog, as they are definitely x-rated, but still appreciated :o) But web sites too, and they hit your funnybone. This first one, I don't remember if Boo sent it to me or I sent it to her, but we both love this:

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

In Time mag this week,there is an article about the founder of the site, Ben Huh. In a sidebar, there is a list of the web sites he has generated over the years, and I was amazed to see that I visit all of them, and never made the connection. Here is a list of some of his creations, via Time mag:

http://roflrazzi.com/

http://totallylookslike.com/

http://pictureisunrelated.com/

and this, my personal favorite....I have one brother, who,when my Dad commented on his handyman/mechanical skills, said "That boy has one tool...a hammer." That brother would RATHER jury-rig something for the sheer joy of it, rather than go for the traditional fix. This site reminds me so much of him :

http://thereifixedit.com/

I am so happy! I have this whole coming week off....the owners of the business I work for close the whole place down for a week and go on vacation, so no pay, but a whole WEEK! [Steve took Monday off too, so I don't think I'll be getting too much done, hehehe] And I had Friday off. I looked at the clock at 4am on friday, and thought ooooooooo, another hour in bed.....wait.....I HATE TODAY OFF AND IT IS THE START OF VACATION! and I got so excited I couldn't try and sleep, lol. Dumbass.

I have planned to finish the unpacking this week, I'm tired of rubbermaid bins and running to the basement to find shit. But I haven't felt this good, or relaxed, since before we started house hunting. I didn't realize the full extent of the weight of my commute until last night. I was talking to one of my sisters, asking when she is coming up to the Shack, and I told her, upstairs is almost done, but I'm not done unpacking yet, the commute is killing me. She says, well, a lot of people commute. And she was right, but that is NOT me. I guess one of the reasons I blast the music is to try to not hear what is going on in my brain during the commute, is it SUCH SUCH a waste of my friggin time..........1 hour or more one way ..........when I could be doing something here. I'm not a man, nor a woman who is the major breadwinner, and to each his own, right? I feel guilty for not being here, and guilty when I am, I'm a regular two-gun Sam. I NEVER thought I'd associate playing Ruby or with my plants or reading with guilt, cause I COULD be unpacking, right? And my MIL is coming next weekend, Lord knows what she'll think when she sees the basement. Wait, she reads this blog sometimes. Oh,well, that stays, it's the truth. I'm no good at this commuting/working/running the house/having time for myself shit. Steve is just la-di-la about it, he doesn't care, but then again, he loves me and it ain't his gig either, it's all mine baby, all mine. I belong on the FAIL blog :X
[even as I type this, Sat. morning, the men are at work or a car show. Since they are "playing" I ought to be able to play too.I am off to play Ruby.Then I'll go see how many pots I need to buy to pot on some plants that won't stop growing.Then I'll go play some more, or read. FAIL.]

August:
15th: National Relaxation Day, National Failures Day
18th: Bad Poetry Day

"Alaska: it's Different up There"

"About 10,000 Juneau residents briefly lost power after a bald eagle lugging a deer head crashed into transmission lines. 'This is the story of an overly ambitious eagle, who evidently found a deer head in the landfill' said Alaska Light & Power spokesperson Gayle Wood. The bird, weighed down by the deer head, apparently failed to clear the transmission lines. A repair crew found the eagle dead, the deer head nearby. 'You have to live in Alaska to have this type of outage scenario', Wood said."

Roadside Jesus Doohickies and Defenestration.

2009-08-10T19:45:00.003-04:00

Favorite words.
I have a lot, but this is top of the list. I took Latin in H.S, and made all my kids take it too [hell,we all had the same teacher! TYVM, Mz Nilsestuen! ] but I *do* have have one favorite word, it just tickles me. I have blogged about it in relation to things jumping out of the fridge at me :o)
Defenestrate
[n, tr.v]: To throw out a window, to be caused to be thrown out a window

I was dusting the window sills Sunday, and sashayed my ass into our bedroom. As I dusted under the a/c unit, I realized there was moisture under there. Not Good. We have the original wooden unpainted windowsills. Doubly Not Good. I call to Steve, and he determines that the unit is not canted properly for the moisture to run off. And decides on a Rube Goldberg type of wooden ruler solution. As I am placing the ruler, for the umpteenth time, in the position he scribes, it happens.....the a/c unit DEFENESTRATED itself. Right out the window, onto the roof of the "Library" [the 3 season room, with separate electric heat, that we have no clue how to use yet, and Won't have said clue until we go thru a winter with it, to calculate the heating costs. *I* want that room for a studio, but if it costs too much to heat......]

OMDDG. I thought it was hysterical, but I was trying to guard Steves feelings, I didn't want to burst out laughing if this was gonna piss him off. But, he looked at me with the same thought in his eyes. And we both burst out laughing, with the a/c unit on the lower roof, in the rain. I will NEVER forget the sight of that unit sliding out the window, it happened so fast we just couldn't do anything about it.

After we got done laughing, we were able to pull the unit back up into the window and secure it properly. Steve says, glad the kids weren't here to see that. So I promptly FaceBooked it, and am reporting in to you too.

That was Sunday. I think you all know how I feel about Mondays. [not only from de Debbil, but from the lowest bowels of Hell] This Monday was no different. A rough start, a nasty commute,... but God was looking out for me.

Epiphany
[n]: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

I think you've all seen 'em......those roadside doohickies that say "This is the speed limit, and THIS is the speed you are traveling at" ....well, I met one of those doohickies on my way home last Thursday. In the area where the sign says "USE TWO LANES". And my result? I was doing 72 in a 40 mph zone. It doesn't ameliorate the damage to say, we ALL were, and I am NEVER an aggressive or unsafe driver, but, well, there ya go. I was HORRIFIED. It's one thing to joke about it, it's another to SEE it. And I decided that I will do better in the speed department.

Fast-forward [hahaha] to Monday morning.
I come to a "Y" in the road...on one side. I come down Rt 32 to Rt 17, which in a few miles takes me to work. A Co-worker approaches the same *Y* from the 17M side, and continues down Rt 17. I am stopped, and I see her vehicle go thru the light. She is due is at 7:30, and I am due in at 8am, so I know I am right on time.

This is my hometown, my stomping grounds, no surprizes here, right?

I am deciding whether or not to pass a truck. The truck is in the slow lane, in front of me and to my right. There is one car in front of me in the fast lane. I looked up to see if any fast groups of cars were coming up behind me, in which case I'd move to the slow lane. Nope. I look down at my speed, I was laughing a bit, nothing like a reformed whore who found Jesus in a road side doohickey, right? I was doing 55 in a 55. The car in front of me put it's directional on, to move over so I could pass, but the car was still in front of me.

And then.

The big rig [think huge garbage truck, that's what it looked like] in the slow lane TIPPED OVER. The fucker TIPPED OVER. Toward the shoulder, and part of it came right out.....into the fast lane. We were all fine. Rush hour drivers can be assholes, but when the shit hits the fan, you do what you gotta do without thinking. We all stopped, no one else hit anyone else or was hurt.You could SMELL the brake pads in the morning air. And the DEAD silence in the seconds after the screeching. And, in the opposite direction, here comes a local cop car.

Here's the thing. If I hadn't seen Jesus in a roadside doohickey, I would have had my lead foot on. And I would have passed the other car. And when that truck tipped over, it would have swatted me off the road like a pesky mosquito.

My co-worker was horrified, she saw the truck tip in her rear-view mirror, and knew about where I was. The cop on the scene talked to the drivers behind the truck, and the one in front of me, and then turned us all around, and I used back roads to get to work.When I called to say I was gonna be late,.....the pure joy and relief in my co workers voice was evident.

I've never had an hour commute in my Life, and this is a whole new world for me. I will admit... I HATE IT. I hate it. I am who I am, and I am NOT a commuter. But that's what I gotta do right now. HOWEVER.......I am done with letting pods of traffic dictate my speed. I am 48, and acted like a teen at a pot party, oh WOW, everyone ELSE is doing it, and I'm ashamed of that.The local paper says, the cops expect and will ignore up to 10 miles an hour over the limit, during rush hour in safe situations. And I think I'll stick to that.

You know, I have never had a ticket in my life. When I told Steve about the Jesus doohickey, he said, a LOT of them are camera-equipped, and you might wind up with a speeding ticket in the mail. You know what? That sounds pretty good to me right now.

I am so glad to be home.

------------>Good Times!<-----------

2009-08-09T13:07:00.011-04:00

Right off the bat, here is one pic I promised,.....thought I blogged because I sent it to so many people, and just now realized I didn't blog...."Hope" [my title for this photo] created by John Voss, on the wall at the Shack:

This week we celebrated Boo and Tonys' birthdays. Boo wanted home made food stuff, and got that. As she unwrapped her gifts, what do I see but a few seasons of "Good Times" [a sit-com from WAAAAY back] Boo asked me if I knew the lyrics to the shows theme song, and I Stunned her when I sang em, sometimes I don't think my kids realize how old I am. I was amazed that the kids Love the old TV shows.
Tone chose a luncheon @ TGIFridays.....his birthday is today, and later, the kids will do a {NYC} city run, try to meet up with my niece T [who comments here when she remembers to ] and they'll have a great time down there too.

I have NEVER seen what happens if the staff at TGI knows it is someones birthday. I had said " Yo birthday boy, you order first". At one point at the end of the meal, I noticed that there was No wait staff on the floor....and then I heard clapping? They all came over to our table and sang their "roll call" birthday song to Tone. He turned beet red, and I LOVED it! I know there aren't many more times where it will be just the 5 of us, and that was such a great meal. As we were leaving, Stevie said thanks for the meal, it was great being out with our Mob. I guess that's what we are, I feel very thankful and happy to have my "mob".

I told you about the pulls and knobs for the kitchen. I gave this a LOT of thought, because no matter what vibe we're trying to hit, it's gotta be warm and inviting. I also worried if I put up a lot of knobs and pulls it'd look like an ikea explosion in there. No problem, we found the perfect set of knobs and pulls, and the job is half done. They are copperish, warm and cozy.[I TOLD you there would be a lot of befores and afters!] Knobs: [on the $%^^&(* OAK cabinets]

Pulls:

and I changed out the stainless steel pulls on the baking center, I don't know if I'll refinish the center or leave it light oak:

and you gotta see this. My kitchen is not really big on the counterspace. I wanted my big cooking utensils handy, but not taking up countertop real estate.
The refrig extends out of it's nook about 7 inches, and I spied that MAGNETIC piece of real estate. And got an idea, to put up a magnetized container or two, to hold the utensils. Except the utensil are so heavy, they dragged down every container we put em in. Now we realize [ok STEVE realizes] that he'll have to have a container he can drill thru, so that a screw can help support the container.And WHAT did I see, but my almost empty cooking oil can. I had the plan, and Steve did it...cut off the top, folded down the sides, used magnets on the fridge side and a screw on the wood side and screwed that puppy up on the wall. Voila!

Now I have time to find a permanent container, but I kinda like this one, it's very on topic in my kitchen.

Slowly but surely.

August:
8th: Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night
9th: National Polka Festival
10th: Lazy Day

-----
A guest appearance from a friend named Jeff. Thank you :o)
-----

I thought you would want to know about this e-mail virus. Even the most advanced programs from Norton or McAfee cannot take care of this one. It appears to affect those who were born prior to 1960.

Symptoms:

1. Causes you to send the same e-mail twice.

2. Causes you to send a blank e-mail!

3. Causes you to send e-mail to the wrong person.

4. Causes you to send it back to the person who sent it to you.

5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment.

6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished.

7. Causes you to hit "DELETE" instead of "SEND."

8. Causes you to hit "SEND" when you should "DELETE."

If you have done any of the above (or ALL of them, as I have) you may be suffering from this virus.
IT IS CALLED THE "C-NILE VIRUS."
Hmmm....Have I already sent this to you?
Have a great day anyway....

Mustard Squirters and Smelly things

2009-08-07T15:18:00.004-04:00

Well.
We all have things we don't know, right?
Evidently I don't know real wood when I see it.
[NOT A WORD. NOT ONE.]
The cabinets in my kitchen are in rough shape. I was in the process of deciding what to do with them, paint them, whatever. You saw in my bloggie, I posted a pic of my magnetic knife strips finally going up. Last night I mentioned to Steve, you know what? Every pic I take of those cabinets, they look like real wood!
Guess what?
They ARE wood.
Most likely oak, the grain pattern looks very much like the grain of our oak bed.
Steve about busted a gut laughing at me. He couldn't understand why *I* would paint over wood, he assumed I knew the cabinets are wood, but since the kitchen is mine, he was willing to go along with me.
In light of this discovery, I took a good long look at them. I had already scrubbed them when we moved in, but thinking they were not real wood, I thought the surface was permanently stained.Today I got a green scrubbie and oil soap, and went to work.
.
[Axiom: The size of your kitchen increases in direct proportion to the amount of wood surface you must scrub, repeatedly and with force.]

And I'll be at THAT for quite a while.
Now, Steve is probably thinking, Hehehe, less work and no money, I LIKE wood cabinets. Except for one small thing. This house was built in the 60's, and it never occurred to ANY of the previous owners to put up knobs or pulls, to prevent the very staining I am scrubbing off right now.And I LIKE knobs, you can insert some character into your kitchen with your choice of them. But [DON'T tell Steve this] they ain't free. And when you ad up the cabinets, the drawers, the baking center I brought with me, and the sideboard in the dining room, that adds up to 34 pulls or knobs. Steve is not in the clear yet. I'll try not to go overboard, but I am not getting plain jane ugly knobs just for the sake of having them. I'm sure as soon as I find they right things, they will speak to me.

Just like these lil bottles spoke right up. But I'll start at the beginning. I make my own body oil, for after showers. I use grapeseed oil [you can get that right in the baking section at Stop n shop, 9 bucks for a bottle like this:

and I mix my own essential oils into it. I will not pay 20 bucks for a tiny bottle that someone else put the stink in, I can do that myself ThankYouVeryMuch. I prefer the citrus family, so I have bottles of lemon, orange, tangerine, grapefruit, and lime essential oils, and mix up what ever strikes my fancy. But,what to store it in? In the old place, I used this [and I won't even BOTHER to tell you not to laugh, I don't want any ruptures, this was in my medicine cabinet for Years:

But...the space in this medicine cabinet is too short to accomodate a squirty mustard bottle. Hmm, 50-60's theme, short bottle for storing body oil. And this is what I wound up with, you can see on the shelf above, the lil bottles of essential oil I use:

On a side note, one of my sisters sent us a beautiful set of home scenters for the Love Shack. You know the kind, a bottle with scented oil in it and reeds that soak up the oil and scent the air.When the oil is gone from the ones we were gifted, I am making scented oil to go into those cute lil bottles, using the same method I would for body oil.That way, I can keep the lil bottles for a long time. you can see one of them on the sink near my mustard squirter :X

----->Ironing as a contact sport<------

2009-08-05T15:10:00.009-04:00

Every relationship has it's give and take. Over here, I iron for Steve. He keeps my truck beautifully maintained and the tank full, and we're both happy. BUT...these things come with a price. Steve agrees that once a week, he will come and "entertain" me while I iron. This "entertainment" has taken MANY forms, from talks from the heart [when ironing is done children seem to magically disappear] to a lot of laughs, and tonight was no exception. We chose Billy Joels "Glass Houses" as the music to iron by.

[still no tv in the "Game Room" where the video game units and games are,which is also where I iron. Whoopsie! We're getting there. And REAL games are still played in the living room. SOMEONE here spilled my Scrabble tiles on the basement floor. I am waiting until someone pisses me off, and then I'll tell them to go pick em up. Steve, kids, you are WARNED! Now wait and see, I'll wind up pickin' em up anyway.]

You canNOT stand still thru that album, and it makes the job go faster. Steve decided to entertain me by singing every OTHER word to the songs on that cd. The ones he could remember the words to. And do all the stupid funny things that make the kids eyes roll, if they were there to see it. I had to threaten to iron out some of HIS wrinkles, AND I told him I'd blog that threat. And he went and did it....he triple dog dared me. There ya go!
Of course the job took longer than usual, not just because of certain people, but because we were popping a circuit breaker we didn't know included the game room. We had the windows in the library open, I can PICTURE the horror on putzs' face next door, that'll teach HIM to come out to get the paper dressed like a half naked ninja, there is JUST so much a person can take before coffee. The job got side tracked by laughter, and said circuit breakers. I so much appreciate Steves sense of humor, and I realized that a great sense of humor is something all my friends have in common.....dry wit or in-your-face, or anywhere inbetween. I've been on this job since September, and I am still shocking people, you'd think they'd have my measure by now. Todays work included 5 inch black silicone tubing. There was a miscut and I wound up with one 10 inch cut.Yes, I had a lot of fun with my ten-incher, making the guys knew *I* had the biggest one,......one of the guys MAY have ripped the zipper on his shorts bent over laughing, and the owner may or may not think I'm crazy, but you didn't hear that from me, cause *I* ain't one to gossip.

Which brings me to a thought I had. You know,when you're a kid, you're in school, or in front of mom and dad,....authority figures...... you GUARD YOUR TONGUE. Married, married with kids, out in the workforce, ...........don't piss off the boss or inadvertently teach the kids the *F* bomb they're already heard umpteen times.........you GUARD YOUR TONGUE. But....then the kids get older, or leave the nest, and/or you retire, and you start talking whatever smack is on your mind, the more outrageous, un-pc and funny the better. And you Stop guarding your tongue so much. Seniors aren't crazy at ALL, they simply say the things the young'uns won't. I figure, by the time I'm 75, I'll have a new career,...as a comedian. All I'll have to do is speak into a mike, the same unguarded way I speak to Steve and close friends now, and I could rake in the simoleons!

And HERE.TA-freakin-ta-DA...my stabby things are Finally up where they belong!! The kitchen is somewhere near halfway almost done!

I never thought I'd say looking at stabby things gave me the warm fuzzies, but there ya go.

And another plant, in the kitchen [ I SWEAR, a baby from an already owned plant the kids gave to me for Mothers Day! I did NOT bring another plant into this house!!]
I have a mini le creuset [ceramic] pot as a salt cellar in the kitchen. Steve broke the lid, so Steve had the honor of buying me another one. But WHAT to do with the cellar [bowl] itself? I know! Make a planter!
A before pic, this is the new one, with a lemon near it so you can judge it's actual size:

And an after, the ivy taken from my Mothers day gift:

Oh! And since I showed you the Wedding video, I'll show you it's counterpart, the "Jill and Kevins last day" divorce/spoof video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6-mGlT_0mk

August:

4th: National Mustard Day

5th: Wiggle Your Toes Day

`The Super Ball was born in 1965, and it became America’s most popular plaything that year. By Christmas time, only six months after Super Balls were introduced by Wham-0, 7 million balls had been sold at 98 cents apiece.~

Turkeys: The Official Yard Animals of the Gail household.

2009-08-01T11:40:00.008-04:00

A Friday into Saturday bloggie, because I got sidetracked again. And Steve has the leaky shower torn apart, so I don't have to work in there. And I'm pretending there's nothing else I need to be doing right now. So I'll chat with yall for a while. THEN I'll remember the laundry waiting to go into the dryer....but that's later.

Friday:
I need to re-purpose what came with the house, even if I don't like it, until the point that we can afford what we want. So, the main bathroom is presenting a HUGE challenge to me. No tub....a HUGE shower but no tub......

[and there's a light in the shower. I'm always afraid to use it, water and lights just aren't RIGHT together. But they are fun]

.........and the medicine chest is probably original to the house, complete with the "stage light" lights. Arrrrrgh. BUT...we have bigger fish to fry right now. I scrubbed the living shit out of the shelves, but they still looked bad. I had today off, and my project was to cover the shelves in that cabinet with contact paper.......the official paper of Hell [tm].

You know, I know, we ALL know, the axiom..... measure twice, cut once. I measured those friggin shelves 4 TIMES.

[and I will tell you, I have a sister who called me the "queen of contact paper" after I redid an old freezer, to make it last 10 more years until we bought the Shack, and bought our new upright that I sneak into the basement to look at. It's so purdy. I KNOW contact paper. Unfortunately, it knows me too, and it decided to be a bitch today.]

The lowest shelf is wider than the upper ones. Oh, I measured, measured, measured, measured and cut ok......and came up 4 inches short. I don't have a CLUE what happened. It stuck together and bunched up like PETA at a tanners convention. That kinda pissed me off, and I'm standing there with scissors in hand, being pissed.....the contents of the cabinet all over the place....and Tony walks in, HE wants to shower before he goes to the AC/DC concert. I don't think our kids realize sometimes, how close they skirt to the edge of our patience. Tony certainly didn't.

So, I leave in a huff. Go to the kitchen and look out the window at the rain....and see 3 turkeys in the back yard. This morning, our neighbors got deer and a loon in THEIR yard, and Gail gets a black cat and turkeys. How friggin appropo. But I DID know exactly where the camera AND the camera cable were, so that marked a real watershed in the unpacking process. I CAN FIND SOME THINGS!!!
But I digress, what else is new. The turkeys came around the side of the house to the front yard, and I was able to open the front doors [a kinda noisy proposition, I thought they'd be scared by it] and got some good shots of the official yard animals of the Gail household !![that's Stevies car out front, Tonys' cohort for the concert]

I wondered if I would blog this or not, but could not resist. No matter HOW much you were paid....would YOU:
A) Get a brazilian wax
B) Allow a camera crew IN THE ROOM WITH YOU
C) Allow THAT to be shown on national TV?

The video:
http://tinyurl.com/m7zr56

A g-rated explanation of this process. I canNOT imagine this:
http://beauty.about.com/od/hairremoval/ht/bikiniwax.htm

The "lady" being waxed is from "The View", a daytime ABC "news" program. When this show premiered, I was a SAHM. It was touted as the be-all of intelligent news shows, featuring WOMEN in a round table discussion format. Woo-Hoo! I'll go for that! By the end of the first season, they were already lying about the firing of the youngest "newswoman", and I could see it was more of a henhouse/info-tainment show than a news show. [I will NOT tell you that I am a secret addict to Fox news when I am home now....... no, you'd think I was a phlilistine] But really, for ANY amount of money, would you do that AND tape it AND show it on TV? And Barbara Walters thinks a WAX is NEWS???? I wouldn't even let anyone see the hissy fit I had at the damned contact paper! [no, I will just out myself and blog about it. ]
I took a "quiz" on Facebook, one my niece T had taken. About "What kind of Bitch are you". It turns out *I* am a classy bitch. I guess I am, I CERTAINLY wouldn't pour hot wax on my hoo-haw in front of a bazillion people.

August:
1st: Friendship Day
2nd: National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

"The English Language"

"It's a strange language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water" -Franklin P Jones

"Any language where the unassuming word "Fly" signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentlemans' apparel is clearly asking to be mangled." -Bill Bryson

"English has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "Solitude" to express the glory of being alone" -Paul Tillich

"Not only does the English language borrow words from other languages, it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and goes thru their pockets" -Eddy Peters

Old Friends

2009-07-30T16:41:00.003-04:00

A great day here at the Love Shack!

I had another real life meeting today, a person who means so much to me.
I told you, I work weird ass hours. Today I got out of work @ 12:30. One hour to get home. All the way, something is thudding around in the back of my truck. Every corner,THUNK. I am getting nervous about this, is it something *I* did? Innocent lil ol' ME??? How much will THIS cost? I pulled in the driveway, and pulled the inside of the truck apart. Finally found..... drum roll please.....ONE of my favorite blue boots, [I have blogged those boots, come to think of it, in the bloggie where Steve was in the doghouse] it has been in there since the move, [ not ONE word about why *A* boot was in the truck still,...I haven't found the other one yet, for all I know THAT one will bust a move next Tuesday] and it decided to bust a move and roll around the cargo area. I was THRILLED!!! I'm holding it up, laughing like a loon, YAY Gail! ......and someone pulls in behind me. And that someone was John, my cello teacher and friend. I have known him for 33 years, but haven't seen him in a loooong time.Now, we had planned for him to come to us at the Shack, and he had made the offer to make a print of any of the B&W's on his blog:

http://johnvossphotography.blogspot.com/

as a present for the Shack. I know exactly where it's going, and how I'll frame it, and will bloggie that when I git 'er done. But I missed his call, [ or I PROMISE I would not have been standing in the driveway holding up a blue boot like a hunting trophy, a great first impression :x ]
We come in the house, and Tony is home. I tell him, hey Tony, I brought a man home with me, and he says, is it John Voss? Later, Stevie shows up for the laundry/dinner day, and I say to him, hey, I have someone I'd like you to meet. Stevie says is it Him? Could John TELL he'd been discussed?? I'm only sorry Steve and Boo weren't here. Always a pleasure, he hasn't changed one Bit, still as funny and kind as ever. We picked up right where we left off, and had a few good laughs too. It's very rare to have a friendship pass the test of time like that, and I feel very lucky. Plus, he was more than polite about the mess Tony left in the bathroom, and the books yet to be shelved in the "library". AND he approved of Ruby :O) Once again, I find myself saying "Thank You, John" .
The other fantastic thing that happened today........ Steve won a Toyota award again !!! ANOTHER drum roll please,.........a trip to Turks and Caicos Islands ! BUT.....most dealerships that participated were given the choice, if they won, of the trip or a cash award. Steve wasn't given that choice. Even as we speak, his rep is gonna try and move heaven and earth to get Steve the moolah. He needs a shed, but he WANTS a pool, so I vote pool! YAY YAY Steve, you ROCK it honey :o)

Oh, and I guess this falls into the category of "Glass half full or half empty"... every once in a while I make a dinner that falls totally outside Steves comfort level. He is a roast chicken and white rice kinda guy, and I love that about him. I found this fantastic looking punjab simmering sauce for chicken, and that was gonna be dinner tonight, along with a lot of oven roasted vegetables that are not his best friends, oh No. BUT....I am still not accustomed to this refrig, and just discovered that the chicken is rock hard. And Who am *I* to fight fate? So, italian take out it will be, Steve is safe.........for tonight, hehehe. But I can still oven roast the veggies. :X

Also, this is for my MIL [Mother In Law]
Hi, Mary :O) Steve told me last night you read my blog, I didn't know :o) Here's a pic I uploaded to facebook. I wanted you to see the floors,...I took the pic the other night in the middle of a furniture mishap :X Ruby had to come out of the 3rd bedroom [music room for now] so Steve had room to dismantle stuff.

When you 2 are recuperated from your travels, let us know, you can come meet the Shack :O)

If Facebook is from De Debbil, then Classmates is Hell.

2009-07-28T17:51:00.002-04:00

Dear Bloggie,
Did you SEE this?
Shit, I can't c & p it. On the AOL Welcome screen today [no anti-aol salvos! OK, maybe one or two but that's IT]

Oh, wait, yes I can.How friggin TACKY is this? This is like a woman in the grocery store in a pink chenielle bathrobe, big big pink plastic curlers with a hairnet, with a ciggie hanging out of her bright red lipsticked mouth screaming that THOSE LE-SEWER PEAS ARE 59 CENTS EACH DAMMIT!!!

-------
Hitting a Sad Note

Dead Body Found at Music Festival

Bassist Lost Both Arms in Accident
-----

"Hitting a Sad Note"?? OMFG ! The welcome screen changes in a slideshow fashion, I had to keep back-clicking to make sure I didn't misread that [ I have a gift of misreading things] so AOL advertizers thought they got a few more clicks than they really did. I wish they had a "Clicked only in disgust, not in actual interest" button I could click.

I deleted my classmates account today. I joined when they started up, and it was free. And I almost didn't mind them charging an annual fee to get all the info from the site, me more than most would know what that would cost. I chose not to participate, and basically over the years I ignored it. Until today. I got 8 e-mails from Classmates, everything from "look who searched for you" ....only to be hit up for that pesky annual fee,....to 2 people I actively disliked in high school,"I saw you at classmates but you didn't answer so I'll try on facebook" And I didn't really dislike anyone, if I cared about you I did and if I didn't you didn't blip on my radar. but THOSE 2....

The first one. I was a freshman in h.s, and knew this persons sister. Person one, when I walked into the bathroom, was sucking stuff from a spoon up into a needle, had a piece of rubber tied around her arm, and as calmly as the nuns at mass, let me know if I told anyone she would find me and kill me. Dead eyes. I'd never seen drugs like that or eyes like that before. I can see it right now, all these years later. I have NO interest in anything that person might have to say, and can't imagine why she would want to contact me anyway.

Person two was a bitch hag who, when lying to me about Steve didn't break us up, made some pretty hefty insinuations about me. *Insinuations*, not outright lies, and ones that had to potential to do some real damage. To anyone who would listen. Now,*I* knew, hell, EVERY one knew none of this was true, but it was still going around, around, around. You know, I can still feel myself cringe, as I did when person after person after person asked me "if it were true".Sweet Baby Jesus. So, all these years later, 2 very bad experiences jumped up and bit my ass, on the same day.
That felt good, to type that out. And really, I re-read what I just typed, and that's the way it went down, WHY WHY would those 2 people think I wanted any contact with them? THAT is a question I wish I had an answer for. So I deleted myself from classmates. Now, I can read minds! I can hear you thinking "Gail hon, you showed us your diningroom! We've seen your house and your kiddies! So, if they are looking, they will find you" and while that is true, I blog because *I* enjoy it, because I am touching people who care about me and we and us, because they TELL me that. Or because they enjoy counting how many things I've lost to Teriyaki and red pepper sauce over the years. No one will dictate my conduct to me. But that doesn't mean I'm open to potshots from the past, either. And I already have them permanently blocked at facebook.

You know, I'm lucky, I'm healthy and don't feel my chronological age. Except, sometimes, when I think about technology. I remember hard phone cords, dial phones, and party lines. The National Anthem at the end of the late movie, and "snow", when the channels went off the air. 2,4,5,7,9,11 and 13,-PBS, that WAS television.My kids are growing up in a time where you never lose contact with the past...sometimes that's good, but sometimes, nothin' could be finer than to be able to walk away from a painful experience. Or a painful person.

July:
29th: Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day
30th: National Cheesecake Day

And.....
If you divide the worlds Legos among the human race, every man,woman,and child gets 75.

Moona Lisa finds her Home

2009-07-26T15:35:00.006-04:00

I'm sure you've seen snippets of this already, here's the full "Best entrance to a Wedding" video. It made me cry [hush] such happiness and joy! THAT is what getting married ought to be about, not being scared to death.

http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/07/24/-wedding-entrance-video-forever-ever/

A LOT happened the past few days! I did get to go to my IRL with some of my best internet friends. We met K at the hotel she was staying at, [you see, I'm never sure how much info about others is ok and what is TMI for them, so they will be initials] D was already there with a lot of her family, another D showed up with most of her posse, and Laura, my friend and real estate attorney came too. What a BLAST, I've known these women for 10 years or more and never got to party with them before. VERY cool beans :O)

Saturday we helped move Boo, and it went really well. The worst thing that happened was the breaking of the plate out of her microwave, so we are very lucky too.You should SEE the steps leading down out of her old place, it was in the heart of New Paltz...seeing us carrying guitar hero and a mattress tables, chairs, oh at one point I had a spider plant and banjo and ...omg, the funny thing was, NO ONE gave us a second glance, hehehe, I guess they see that stuff walking around all the time.

As far as the house goes...Bedroom.DONE! [ but we didn't paint yet] Diningroom. DONE! The diningroom, a before:

and the after:

Everything else, WHOOPSIE!! The kitchen is kicking my ass, if we had more time off it would be done,but we're getting there.

About the bedroom...Steve and I decided we are not going to fight the 50's/60's funk around here, we'll try to update it a bit. I found the perfect bedding set online @ jcpenny, and ordered it. The day it was due, a strange guy with a silver sports car rings my bell [woo-Hoo!] He has 2 huge boxes with him....evidently UPS thinks I live one street over, at this guys in-laws house, and he brought me my misdelivered packages. Every neighbor I have met has been terrific, especially when they are dressed :X I wasn't gonna blog the bedroom yet cause we haven't painted yet, but this is the retro set:

I called Steve over, showed him this shot, and asked if he'd mind if I blogged it.He said maybe I shoulda taken the shotgun out of there, and too bad it wasn't a better pic [I took it and didn't care that the pillows weren't lined up just -so, I was Bloggin' baby!] so I had to go smack him upside his head :o)

July:
26th: Groovy Chicken Day
27th: Take your Pants for a Walk Day
28th: National Milk Chocolate Day

~Trivia~
Three things you didn' know had names:
-Obdormition: the scientific term for a limb that's "asleep"
-Ophryon: the space between your eyebrows
-Purlicues: that tight bridge of skin between the thumb and an extended forefinger

Wow-ilicious

2009-07-22T19:54:00.004-04:00

A great few days planned! Friday is a big one...

-The inspector for the electricals is finally showing up, so we can put paid to that expensive episode of the Love Shack.

-My Chifferobe is coming!!! My dresser got destroyed during the move, and I was determined to wait until what *I* wanted showed up, not just buy something ugly to be expedient. We ordered it from the same furniture store we ordered our bed from, [ and the couch, the loveseat,the recliner,the tv console,the coffeetable, they know us well there] they match.OK,you'll have it end of July. Ok,you'll have it first week of August. Ok, you'll have it the second week of August,.....I heard that, and I'm sure YOU all heard me yell oh HELL NO. So Steve went over there tonight, and explained about my sad state of affairs,...no dresser for Gail!! Upset wife!! HELP!!! And the guy [THANK YOU JEFF] got a brilliant idea.He searched for my chifferobe. And discovered they have one on lay-away for another customer, -their house will not be ready til Sept. [Oh, I believe that, those poor people will be waiting a hell of a lot longer that THAT] so they sold that one to US! It will be here friday.

-I get to meet some of my heart loopies, IRL [In Real Life] on friday, and I am so happy I could pop! I've talked with these women for 10 years or more,they know when Steve is in the doghouse, but more importantly,they know when *I'm* in the doghouse :o) Cool,Cool beans! If they dont mind, I'll blog pics of us, but ya never know. I think it was Thanksgiving....I got a beautiful pic of one of my sisters with her daughter, and asked her if I could blog it, and she acted like I hit her with an electric prod NO NO NO. I don't get that, but I can respect it. The people here who know my last name and my incidentals are people I care about, and I trust them. I'm still waiting for a certain cellist to get done with the Bard and make an appearance :O) :O) But,what the hell, we haven't seen each other for 30 years, what's a few more days or weeks?? :O) And I will ask him if I can blog THAT too :o) More cool beans.

The move was harder than I EVER imagined . But I feel better, and more in control, and more hopeful than I did this time last week :O)

Saturday, another good day...for my Boo.She has a roommate from Hell in her apartment, and her new apartment is ready, so we will be helping her move. I sympathize with her so much, I HATE moving.[Just in case you didn't know that already]

The house is NOT NOT where I thought it would be at this point,but...I don't care.I FEEL a lot better about it, it will get there, it always does, and the people who are in it, and visit it, are what is important. Plus, getting the hang of this dishwasher thing helped a lot :X I feel excited and happy, and I haven't felt that way, well, since the bloggie where Steve and Tony followed the moving van and I was vacuuming the old place. Hehehe, I'm looking around right now.........No countertop on the long sideboard in the diningroom yet [waiting for it to arrive] A TON of paperwork on Steves desk.Boxes in the puter chair, a box on the stairs, an open toolbox [mine] on the loveseat] A work in progress :O) :O) :O) But DAMN,that dishwasher is humming out there!

Oh! That's the other thing. Most couples have a "song". Steve and I have a "Power Ballad" and a "song". You know the power ballad, Love Shack by the B-52's.It kept us company all these years, waiting for our Love Shack, and that's the name of our home. But "our" song ? An oldie but a goodie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWN_duZfIs

[sweet, sweet memories you gave-a me, you can't beat

the memories you gave-a me]

Take one fresh and tender kiss

Add one stolen night of bliss

One girl, one boy

Some grief, some joy

Memories are made of this.

Don't forget a small moonbeam,

Fold in lightly with a dream.

Your lips and mine,

Two sips of wine,

Memories are made of this.

Then add the wedding bells,

One house where lovers dwell,

Three little kids for flavor.

Stir carefully through the days,

See how the flavor stays....

These are the dreams you will savor.

With His blessings from above,

Serve it generously with love,

One man,

One wife,

One love through life.

Memories are made of this.

Thank You, Mr Carter

2009-07-20T17:36:00.004-04:00

WOW. [g-rated, newslink]

http://tinyurl.com/l25qob

When Carter was president, I had zero respect for him. I felt, you cannot take the highest office in the nation, and be the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, if you are a pacifist. It's like those asshat pharmacists who think they get to determine what medications they dispense, they think some are morally wrong and don't want to dispense them. You KNEW the job parameters when you took the job,...do your job or leave. I personally am NOT a pacifist, if you threaten one of mine you will have trouble. Thus the aluminum baseball bat and the shotgun. I have to say, for a man who spent 60 years with his religion, to leave it over the treatment of women is shocking and awesome and lovely, and I am grateful. And proud, if that is possible. There isn't a religion I feel comfortable in my own skin in, for the very issues Mr Carter has enumerated. I do NOT believe, for one SECOND, that God gave me a brain and a heart, and expects me to subjugate them to someone else, and I have NEVER been able to do that. Leading by training, intelligence, charisma, age or status, that's one thing. Lead only because you have physical, not metaphysical or existential, balls? I think not. And it appears that maybe Mr Carter isn't the pacifist I thought he was, that's a strong stance to take against a religion you have held in your heart for as many years as he has.

I have an update!! I found not only the camera cord, but both my shuffles and the charger for the Nano! I have a few tech bags, full of misc. peripherals to go with puters, phones, cameras, ect. The wire bag.....I thought, now, almost ALL the time when I practice Ruby, I am listening to the nano or a shuffle and playing along with it, so WHY NOT leave the shuffles and cords in the music room [3rd bedroom without a bed yet] ??? And the camera cable was the shuffles' hostage to fortune, where they go it goes. YAY !! I can't STAND when I get such brilliant ideas that I screw myself over,hehehe. I prefer to think of it like that, instead of thinking GOD what an ass am I.The pics are at Facebook if you wanna look.

Oh. Another update.
Holy.Mary.Mother.of.God.
Am I getting the hang of the dishwasher thing.
Oh yes.
LET Boo laugh at me because I still have to refer to the owners manual to load the damn thing.
Steve insists, rinse all the dishes during the day, put em in there, and we run it at night. I say, hon I don't HAVE that much silverware. So, we went out yesterday, and he insisted on buying lots of silverware. TRUE Love :o)

Also, I can't seem to stop speeding. I'm never aggressive, or mean spirited behind the wheel, but if I can pass someone doing 40 is a 55, well, I do it! When a sign says "use two lanes" I am OUT in that left lane :O) I beat Steve home today. I met him at the door and he was just looking at his watch and shaking his head,..and his finger, at me. "Looooooooocy, whatchu DOIN'"?? Whoopsie!

Another update. Found nano cord. Lost nano. Just SHIT, I can't wait for this to stop :X

You know THAT was what I wanted to say. I was talking to a dear friend, a military wife, asking her about moving, and she made it sound so simple. I wanted to DIE. But, I realized, it's not the physical move that did, or is doing me, in. It's the translating............these houses are so different. You can't take all my kitchen stuff from the old place and put it in the new, it won't fit. But I gobs of space for books! Translating our old house into our Love Shack, now THAT is quite the chore. Don't tell anyone, but I'm still not done unpacking, and odds are I won't be for quite a while.

July:
20th: Ugly Truck Contest Day
21st: National Tug-of-War Tournament Day
22nd: Rat catcher's Day

~Trivia~
- Worlds oldest restaurant: Ma Yo Chings' Bucket Chicken House. It opened in China in 1153.
-Jesse James' nickname was "Dingus".

Faux Closets

2009-07-17T16:31:00.003-04:00

O-M-G!!! I have blogged this,.....I told you this was true months ago......and now have proof that it is TRUE! Swearing mitigates pain!!! A link:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/07/12/swearing-mitigates-p.html

I have told you, the string of curses I can produce,......hell, my whole family replied to the bloggie about it too. If I am pissed or hurt, I can swear, well...like a pirate! HERE is proof that it actually helps. You heard it here first,- swear your ass off the next time something falls on your foot, and blame it on me :o)

What a GREAT day! I got so much done....not so much the unpacking, -Steve and I will hang all my toys up in the kitchen this weekend, and finally I'll be able to organize that puppy. STILL no camera cable, so I'll take cell pics and bloggie them, when we're done. But I got my first round of baking in the Shack under my belt YAY Gail! A family favorite, pumpkin bread. But WHOOPSIE, I could only find 2 loaf pans, and I make 4 loaves at a time. What to do? Well, I *did* find 5 round cake pans. So I made 4 pumpkin cakes. I was worried about the translation, a quick bread recipe is quite different than a cake recipe, so I lowered the oven and just kept testing em. When they were cooled....one just did NOT look done in the middle. So I got this idea, to use my biggest biscuit cutter and cut the center out...making people think I did it on purpose, instead of screwed it up. [Who, ME have a kitchen mishap? hehehe] Well, it WAS done. This is when Tony walked in the kitchen, and saw this perfect little pumpkin cake....the center I'd cut...so I lost that pissing contest on the spot. And I have 3 rounds in the freezer. I MISS baking and cooking and general fooling around in the kitchen, if Steve would get up off his ASS and hit the lotto, I could be a SAHW, and have fun all day !!

Our electricals are done for now, round one is over. That was, the main cable outside the house, installing an emergency shut off in the panel, we had none, upgrading to 200 amp service, and getting a bigger breaker box, for future upgrades. A LOT of simoleons. The upgrades we've done so far aren't eye candy, but we're thrilled, and the eye candy will come...someday it will come.

Speaking of eye candy-vs-necessary repairs....listen carefully. I am about to give you a MAHVELOUS tip, for any time YOU are house hunting. You would assume,would you not, that a closet in your home will have the capacity to hold a friggin HANGER ? As in a standard-no-frills-except-there-are-a-lot-of-different-colored-ones hangers? Well, hahaha on us. The closet in the foyer will NOT hold a hanger! The depth of the closet is not sufficient to let a hanger sit on the rod!!! I thought we would bust a gut laughing at that, only us, only the Love Shack, would have a faux closet. We'll need to see if kiddie hangers will work. So, Take a Hanger with you when you're looking, and hang that puppy up in ALL the closets :o) Your PSA for the day :O)

July:
18th: Cow Appreciation Day
20th: National "Get out of the DogHouse" day

Something new! I love trivia. Always did, but didn't realize it until a few years ago.We host family gatherings, and one of my sisters brought us a "Bathroom Reader" :

http://www.bathroomreader.com/

as a hostess gift. I can count on the fingers of both hands the books that the 5 of us have shared, we have massively different tastes. The readers are one of them.THey are dearly loved here. So, instead of a smart-ass line here [I can always get them from Steve or the kids] I'll give you some trivia from the Reader.You can thank my sister Lynn :O) This was on the page I read last:
~Trivia~
~In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That's where the phrase 'goodnight, sleep tight' came from.~

Boozapalooza/Sweet,Sweet,Delicious Irony

2009-07-12T16:22:00.002-04:00

This past week, Steve and I visited Vermont. I believe I blogged the resort in my last entry.
Oh, MY.
It was like another world.
First off, we got on the main drag here to go there, and got behind a lovely vette'. It had Jersey plates, and Steve became convinced that the car belonged to a Toyota employee going to the same place we were. And you know what? He was right! Hours later, we get into Vermont, into the town proper, and there is no grand sweeping entrance to this place, just an abrupt right off the road. We did not know this. Steve says "Where the hell do we go" and I said "Follow the Vette'!" So we did, hehehe, Garmin got NOTHING on us. Later on, we met the ladies in that car in the bar, so I went over to compliment them on their ride, and tell them the funny story about how we followed them, they followed us yada yada yada all the way to Vermont.They looked at each other and burst out laughing like loons....you see, Steve drives a Crown Victoria..."The Vic", it is the same car used a police car /police interceptor. Those poor ladies thought WE were the cops.....US!!! It was MY turn to laugh like a loon. I cannot imAGINE thinking I was being followed, by the cops, right across state lines to boot, THAT is really bad!
So this place was just the tops. Toyota had a hospitality suite, so anytime you needed aNYthing from a snack to a drink to directions or info on the events taking place, you had a place to go. Each night of our stay, Toyota had "goodie bags" delivered to the rooms.The first was great, it was all about Vermont,and the foods they're famous for,including real maple syrup. A fun toy :X :o) The second night, OMG. We got a little blue leather pouch from Tiffanys, with a sterling silver and pearl bracelet in it.
The resort itself was nothing short of amazing. Everywhere you looked was gorgeous, no attention to detail missed. I had to be careful walking around, cause I'd be so enthralled by what I was looking at, I wasn't watching where I was going.
I think the food and the booze were the funniest, and most fun, parts for me. Aside from being alone with my honey with no unpacking to do, and no guilt over it.....[famous last words, and more on that in a few minutes.]

Food wise, I discovered 2 things.
-Life is short, I am going to find and pop for the best butter I can. I usually use land o lakes, but my dear GOD, the butter at that resort would make paper towels taste good.The 2 stores I looked in do not have anything like it, but I gather that yea, I will know it by it's price, and will buy it.
-This resort only uses Green Mountain coffee....good stuff, but a bit on the sweet boring side for me, I'll keep my 8'oclock brown and purple bags of beans and mix them. BUT! I have been drinking coffee since I was 11, and I have ALWAYS used cream [milk, 1/2 & 1/2,whatever] . ALWAYS. At the Equinox, when I added cream, the coffee turned a disgusting shade of grey, I was thinking THIS is what you have to offer? The next cup I omitted the cream....and WOW. A most excellent thing, and quite the surprize to me. At home, I'm leaving out the cream, and liking the coffee even more. I am Proud to say, there WAS a new trick this old dog could learn, only took me 38 years for that one! [STILL didn't master the dishwasher thing yet, but hope springs eternal]

The Booze. Once again, all top shelf, mass quantities, even the wine was LOVELY...they usually serve a plonk kind, great in it's own way, but I had a Chardonnay....the most over-used wine in the world I think,...but this one....we were handed glasses as we entered a historic home on the second night. I smelled it and it stopped me in my tracks, I WISH I had thought to ask what it was. Absolutely the nicest wine I've ever sipped, and I am a merlot kinda gal, so for me to enthuse over a white like that is WOW.....but for the drinks,I stuck with the Grey Goose. I picked a liquor and decided to stay with it, I don't need no steenkin' hangovers, and I like grey goose. At this resort, each bartender has their own "hand", now they mix drinks. At the events on the premises, it seemed like vodka based drinks always came with lemon, and gin based always came with lime, so that they could tell the difference when serving the mass quantities of drinks.Well, somewhere between the party and the bar, someone reversed that. I watched 3 different people gag on their drinks, and then looked down at mine .Lime :X And left it on the bar. [Oh, don't worry, I got another one right quick! ]The bartender looked up like she just woke up, I could SEE the horror on her face, and felt pretty bad for her. I've been on the service end of a large drunken crowd, and that's a tough row to hoe.

It is always such a blast, to see people who don't have to drive or pay, party. Some of the people Steve works with [and I am NOT naming names, and a LOT of these people were from all over the place, I never met them before] OMG,they let their hair down so far it fell out !! I mean, I'm no slacker, but I could not keep up and didn't try, neither did Steve. The first morning there, we come down,and the people that actually made it to breakfast.....woo-hoo,VERY rough around the edges some of them, I wanted to go tell them my theory about not mixing boozes.
So I told you, we were gonna do the Land Rover off road course as our activity. We both just decided,we HAVE to have some down time, HAVE TO. So our activities were:

Day One: breakfast. Curl up to watch a movie and NAP [Steve was stunned...aside from having kids or being very ill, I don't nap at all.....but WAIT there's MORE!! Eat lunch, walk around a bit, go back to the room and NAP again. Get up shower dress and hit the night life.
Day two: breakfast.Put on a movie with NO pretense of watching it and nap. Lunch walk around nap. GEt dressed and hit the night life.
Nap appeared to be the common theme, and we needed it so badly. I didn't know I had to go to Vermont to get a break :o) Thank you very much Toyota, we had a great time :o)

And now for that "more later", tasty delicious, melt -in-your-mouth irony.
We both felt kinda guilty for going on the trip, and not finishing the unpacking or any of the myriad things left to do. But this trip was a gift, right? Well, kinda. We paid for that puppy in spades when we got home :X
You may remember:
-this house came with a brand new smooth top electric stove.
-Gail prefers gas ranges and brought her own to the Shack
-Steve sells the electric, with the thought of putting some of the proceeds towards a new range hood, my current one BITES.
-Delay, delay, delay in the picking up of said range.
-Get ready, this will be VERY tasty.
-The buyer finally shows up to pick up the electric range after we got home sat. afternoon. ONE HOUR later, I ask Steve to preheat my lower oven for me.
NADA.
No sounds, no heat, NADA.
It appears that my range broke within the hour after we sold the smooth top.
That we could have used and sold as used, and I would not be without an oven right now.
Can you DIG that? I thought Steves head was gonna pop off. He ripped it apart, and took some part from my upper [smaller]oven and used it in the lower [regular size] oven, so at least now I can cook while we wait for the replacement part. But WAIT! THere's MORE!! We have a huge walk in shower, one side is an adult height shower head, the other side a child height shower head.The child height shower head is leaking.We need to find a cut off for it......or [tasty stuff again!] rip the tiled wall out. I am figuring I'd better learn how to tile like RIGHT NOW.
Oh! And I do have a party pic to post. I asked Steve "How do I look" and looked up and there he was with the camera, that sneak :o) ...if I can find the camera cord. And I don't have a CLUE where it is. All I remember thinking when I put it away was "Brilliant ! I CAn't lose it now!!!"
Haven't I ever met myself?

July:
13th: Fool's Paradise Day
14th: National Nude Day

~It's a biiiig mistake to allow any mechanical object to realize that you are in a hurry.~

Naps = The Awesome

2009-07-05T14:23:00.005-04:00

All unpacked? Hahaha!! No friggin way.

Sunday at The Shack

-no unpacking.

-naps for both of us,we haven't had a down day in 3 weeks.[I'm not looking forward to the insomnia tonight, but naps are the awesome ;o)]

-trying to catch up on e-mail, I'm down to 179 now. Hey, clearing out your e-mail box IS a form of cleaning.

-STILL haven't figured out the dishwasher thing.All my friends that have em say, they run a load of dishes every two or three DAYS. Now, in the interests of science, I am willing to TRY this. But, I just don't think I can do it. I want the dishes done, not hiding out in the dishwasher, whispering to me. Maybe this is one trick this old dog can't learn, dammit. That is the second thing [the cabinets in the kitchen being the first] that, in theory, sounded beautiferous,- but in practice, just doesn't work for me.

-We sold the smooth top electric range that came with the Shack, and are waiting for the buyer right now. THEN I can get my mondo range hood, the one in there now looks like it wants to bite me.

-I had a bloggie planned for today.However, I am trying to pack, and packing BITES. Steve earned the Toyota Presidents award for parts,

[YAY Steve! WTG, and I am so proud of you!!!!!!!!! ]

and we are being treated to 3 days/2 nights at The Equinox:

http://equinoxresort.com/

I just don't understand why the company thinks it's an HONOR to vacation with your co-workers? The first night is a BBQ and a drinkathon, NO kidding. THAT will loosen you up with the co-workers alright. I guess I'm up for that. I asked Steve to sign us up for the Land Rover 4x4 off road class as a recreational activity [Can you see me in archery or falconry? I'd put an arrow straight thru the poor falcon :X Or having a mani or a pedi, nope, I don't like that.] Off roading sounds good to me. I didn't want Tony to be alone in the new house, so Stevie and Boo are my personal calvary, spending the nights we're gone here with Tony. [Kids: just so you know, I don't care HOW much fruit is in it, a Daquiri is NOT a health drink!]

And I promised you before and afters. Steve and I really like ceiling fans, and plan to have them all over the place.The first one, in our bedroom. The original fan, it looks like the previous owner repurposed it from some elses diningroom, that fan made me Laugh when we first saw this place.The new fan, I loved the fan but HATED the frosted glass shades that came with it, they looked pre-dirtied. I wanted something warmer and a little more eclectic. I found tortoise-shell shades, dark and lovely.I dont want surgical room lighting, and now I don't have it:

[that's on a dimmer switch, and at about 30% power]

Now, you might be wondering,where is the before? Well, I will TELL you.It is sitting on the livingroom floor. Doesn't EVERY man put their old ceiling fans on the living room floor?

[and you can tell, I took these pics with my cell. I have the cord for the camera but not the camera, and I *had* my nano and now I can't find it anywhere.Did I mention that packing and unpacking both bite?? :o)

Pissing Contests and Endpin stops

2009-07-03T12:56:00.005-04:00

Dear Bloggie,
Hi! Long time no see! This unpacking shit B-I-T-E-S, let me tell you!

Pissing Contest:
(noun) Meaningless though nonetheless entertaining event or act in which people try to outdo one another.

Even though we are all in the Shack [well, not unpacked, that's another bloggie for another day] I am still working at the job that was extremely close to our old home. The irony is, my 4 1/2 minute commute turned into an hour commute. Thru a stretch of road that I likened to a rodeo yesterday morning, OMG, the stupidity of people! I laughed for 5 miles, watching people jockey for position at a left had turn.....speed up! Quick switch lanes and cut off a big rig. Who the HELL in their right mind would get into a pissing contest at ALL behind the wheel of a vehicle, let alone in a passenger vehicle? And have said pissing match with a Semi or commuter bus? WHO? Well, let me tell you. A LOT of people around here would. I was cut off by a mini cooper. I could pick that lil thing up and put it in the back of my truck, ........if we got into an accident he wouldn't be walking away. So he goes zipping in and out of lanes, everyone doing 10 to 15 over the limit, it WAS rush hour,.....and as we approach the light, the mini cooper winds up right along side me. All that effort, for NOTHING! I looked over at him, he looked over at me, and I burst out laughing, he probably thought I was a loon. Gail wins this pissing contest.

Steve has XM radio in his car. I thought, with his Loooong 30 minute commute from the old place, he ought to have good stuff to listen to. Since we moved, and the tables have turned so to speak, I have thought *I* should have the XM now. My commute is 3 times as long as his. Steve has intimated to me that it would be a BITCH to remove the radio, as he has hard wired it into the Vic, Ooooooo, he might hurt his back, Oooooooo, about 10 more reasons to let 'er lie where she is. So last night, I ask in general terms about XM radio, *I* know how hard it is to get out of a vehicle,...and he says, "oh NO, hon, I can have that out in less than 30 minutes"..........and even as the words were coming out of his mouth, he knew he lost that particular pissing contest. So YAY, I am getting XM radio, I LOVE their 70's station and some of the comedians. Gail wins this pissing contest.

Remember I told you, I applied for a position up here, and decided I didn't like it? So I "chose to decline the position" . I had been pressured by my work to work more hours. I am already commuting 8 to 10 more hours a week, I ain't working any more hours! When I declined the position, I wrote my supervisor and the owner a letter, telling them HEY! I was offered another job, at a pay scale quite a bit above what I am making here, but turned it down I won't turn down the next offer if the pressure doesn't stop. [ that's when I told them that I hadn't toked lately so I could pass the pee test :X ] And the upshot was, All is well Gail, your hours are fine, blahblahblah. Yesterday they gave me a raise! No one told me, they circled it on my pay stub. Cool, cool beans! I make almost a lil money now! Almost! Gail wins This pissing contest too!

And in the stunning denouement of this pissing contest bloggie,....last night, I made a honkin Amazon order. I needed an end pin stop for my cello, I've never been in a place where I needed one before. Hell, the end pin stop snowballed into an accessories for my Ruby order, as well as a grocery order. By the time I was done, I spent 108$. We agreed to place this order on the joint card, as a household expense, because if I don't get my endpin stop, someones household will need to hire a maid. I told Steve the total and gave him one of those wife stares, DARING him to say something. And he didn't, Good Man. I'm looking over the confirm today.....and I see that I put the whole shebang on MY c.c. Not the general household one. So, I lost this pissing contest with a vengeance, I can't stop laughing about it. Hey,I'm 3 for 4, not bad :O)

July:
4th: National Country Music Day, Tom Sawyer Fence-Painting Day

~A smart man covers his ass; a wise man leaves his pants on ~

Flowing

2009-06-26T16:47:00.003-04:00

Well,that was a week for the books. We're finally out of the old place, and are going for the final walk thru with the landlord tomorrow. The problem is, storage at the Shack. I told you, the kitchen will take some getting used to. Well, I'm not really using the storage in there yet. It seems like I will have to, um, "flow" to the sideboard in the diningroom. I showed you,..I had 2 cabinets.We painted them the same color and bought a countertop for them,and they were the sideboard in the old place.Here's what they looked like:

Well,I don't know if I will paint the cabinets a different color...probably I will, a warmer brown with more red in it to go with the dining room table.......but we HAVE to get a new counter top for it, dark blue just doesn't tone with the green walls here. And change out the doors on the left hand one. When we get THAT done, then I can organize. YAY [ I think]

Just a bit overwhelmed......But in The Shack, that's cool, it will come right in a few weeks. I LOVED LOVED LOVED last night....sitting on the couch at dusk, talking to my friends, and Steve was outside mowing. OUR lawn. And the sweet smell of cut grass came in, and I don't think that snapshot will ever leave my head, from what I was wearing to the smell of the grass and the lowly-lit room. YAY!

I also did a bad thing. I broke down and ordered sandals online today. I have looked in EVERY store [and if you have a clue where I am and where I came from, you know that to be a considerable amount of stores] around, and couldn't find them. A basic toe-loop sandal, with a strap over the foot, and NO backstrap or ankle strap.......just a slip on [sometimes a broads' gotta move FAST, hehehe, and I don't like to fuss with a strap] There were NO leopard print to be found, NONE. I was going to blog and show you what I got,but I think discretion is the better part of valor. I need to show Steve first, and let him have his palpitations. THEN I'll show you what I found. And I'll make damn sure there's no teriyaki anywhere NEAR these puppies, they ought to come in a gold box :X

So much celebrity death this week. Poor Ed and Farrah, we knew they were suffering and their time was limited. Michael? I guess, by looking at him, what happened to him was a boatload of drug[s]. LOOK at the incredible gifts God gave Michael. A talented musician, but his dancing. O-M-G, I remember exactly where I was, and who I was with the first time I saw Thriller, when it premiered on MTV. WOW. And he took these incredible gifts.....and threw them away. Threw them AWAY.
Stunning and depressing.

June:
26th-National Chocolate Pudding Day
28th:-Paul Bunyan Day

~Pray to God but row for the shore. -Russian proverb~

R.I.P:
-Ed McMahon
-Farrah Faucett
-Michael Jackson

Polaroid Pictures

2009-06-21T11:56:00.009-04:00

A friend sent me this video [g-rated] that I adored [Thanks Brenda :o)]

http://www.snotr.com/video/1299

Witty and well done. If you listen closely, toward the end, you'll hear a clip of "Hey Ya" by OutKast, where you're supposed to
Shake it,
come on, sugar,
Shake it like a Polaroid Picture

And if you watch this couple dance.....they did their homework. Look at them, they are too young to really know WHAT "Shakin' it like a Polaroid" was! .....but those of you in my age bracket have very fond memories of Polaroid "instamatic" or land cameras. When I heard those few words, it made me remember a very specific time in our lives.

The "Instamatic". You aimed, clicked, ....and an undeveloped picture slid right out of the camera. The "shake" part. Well. SOME people believed that either the pictures developed faster, or better, if you shook them. The "shake" itself was very basic....pinch the side of the picture between your thumb and pointer, and wave it around in the air. ALL similarities end there though, there were as any different "shakes" as there are fishies in the ocean.

You had your "Miami Shake". Grandmas used that one. Kinda slow, while holding the pic up by the side of your face, so you could peek at it in between turns at canasta or flipping mah jong tiles. The "Kiddie Shake",- the pic held in one or both hands while the kid hops around like they need the bathroom. The "Sophisticate Shake".....the photo held a little higher than your Miami shake, but the Sophisticate wouldn't be caught DEAD letting anyone know they couldn't wait for the film to develop.They peeked though, Everyone did. The "Espresso Shake" self-explanatory,and those people thought that the more air the snap got,the faster it would develop. The "Group Shake",- when one friend got a camera,they could take the snaps, but the developing pic had to be passed back and forth between everyone in that group of friends. If multiple snaps were taken, sometimes you never got to see the first pictures taken fully developed, cause they were put aside while waiting for the later ones to develop.

When Steve was a senior in high school, his parents gave him a Polaroid camera. He held onto that, and the pics of the first years of our married life, are all instamatics. From our second reception [long story,but be assured you'll read it sooner or later, pretty funny too] to our first apartment, and the arrival of Stevie and Boo, hell, I have some of Tony, but by then [the late 80's early 90's] I think we moved beyond that camera. Or it broke so we bought a cheap replacement. Not only could you take pics, but you could see them right away,............no waiting a week or more for the developed pics to come back, and you could take additional pics on the spot when presented with a cute kid moment and you wanted to share it with far-flung family and friends.

Seeing that couple, that adorable young couple who didn't have a clue how to "Shake it like a polaroid" but did their homework, made me think of our Polaroids. And Steve. And Fathers Day.

Dear, Dear, Steve,

Happy Fathers Day! You have been the best Dad our kids could have hoped for, and even though they're all adults now, they know they can turn to you for advice when the going gets tough. And they DO, and THAT is the true litmus test of your parenting. Their Love and Respect for you aside, Your adult kids LIKE you and look to you for guidence. From me to You, here are a few blasts from the past, from that Polaroid camera. I Love You. Happy Fathers Day!

Over the years, I scanned a lot of them into the puter, and "fixed" them, much to my chagrin. Looking at the real untouched originals now, I LOVE the margins on them,and the much softer focus of the finished pic.But all these came from that time frame, and that camera

Culinary Enemy #2!

2009-06-19T16:47:00.005-04:00

We are almost done, except for the cleaning up for the new tenant!!! I want to thank those of you who dropped me a line with your own moving experiences, I really don't feel so bad now, looks like we're normal, hehehe. The hardest part is the organization....I had an open shelf concept in the old place, and find myself restrained by the cabinets I wanted all these years! Live and learn. My biggest pot, my metal bowl set, my big platters....the workhorses in my kitchen,.......fit NO where, I don't know where the hell to put them.

I have to admit, I *did* make another culinary enemy today.Teriyaki is number one, but second place has to go to Red Pepper sauce. I like a lil shot on scrambled eggs, OK? We transferred the contents of the fridge of old place to the fridge of Love Shack today. Somehow a bottle of red pepper sauce jumped out of the new fridge and onto my foot. Not only broken glass and red pepper sauce all over my shoes, but I stepped on glass with my bare feet not ten minutes later, so the damn thing drew first blood too.

I DID bring some important stuff. Remember I blogged about buying a new bow, a GLORIOUS bow for my cello? Well, I have 4 ...and it turns out they don't all fit into the container I have for them, gee, I guess one or more is always out, ready to go :X So, Steve brought 3 of them up here...he left the "plain one" at the old place for me to get today. That "plain" one was the expensive one, hehehe. He said it didn't look as used as the others, and I guess he's right there, too. My bow, the bridge I never got the balls to put on the cello yet cause I have to shave the hell out of it, and one of my plants all ready to go:

The scariest part was the coming up here today. I have 2 magnetic racks of knives in the old place. There was no time to transfer the racks today, so I grabbed most of my knives and my biggest cleaver, put them in a reusable shopping bag, and into the truck. By my right arm. On the trip up, a cop got behind me and rode my ass for a while. I just KNEW he was gonna pull me over, you KNOW when you are in the sights of a cop. I had the truck full of plants,...he'll pull me over thinking I had contraband and discover a bag full of stabby thingies right next to me. Then his LIGHTS came on! And he drove around me and off down the road. YAY Team Gail, for the "not getting of any tickets in the transferring of the house"!

Also, I discovered I am "strappy sandal" challenged. I don't have any of the rest of my shoes here yet, and I needed to finish unloading the truck. Since my sneakers got pepper sauced, Boo loaned me a pair of her sandals.They go over the top of your foot, around your ankle, and a strap goes here, then there, hell I couldn't figure the damn things out, so I slipped 'em on like slippers. Boo didn't miss that, she got a few chuckles out of Ma being a nerd :o)

It's 5:15 on Friday afternoon. Tony is at orientation for his new job,..... MINUTES from the Shack. Steve and Boo are at the old place getting stuff. Stevie [I think] will be here soon, and we will have our first family dinner at The Shack [at least one that I got to cook, as opposed to buy]. The whole house smells of roast chicken, and stuffing,.......and I am sitting down,with my feet up on the coffee table where they ain't supposed to be. Life is good ....... And it's Christmas at the Shack :o)

Oh,wait! Mz A...reads but prefers to be quiet......this one is for you. My KF angel ,on my kitchen windowsill:

June
19th: Juneteenth
20th: Vinegar Day, World Juggling Day
21st: Fathers Day

~If there was any logic in this world, it would be men who ride side-saddle, not women~

Movin'

2009-06-17T10:50:00.006-04:00

It's 9:50 Wed. morning. The moving truck just left with our big things in it, and Steve and Tony behind it in my truck. I am supposed to be vacuuming [yeah, yeah, we all know how that's gonna end] but I am looking around the place. I wasn't expecting the little vignettes in my head, of things that have happened here over the years. Steve started it.....we bought new living room furniture and it was delivered to The Shack. We had the movers put the old l-shaped sleeper sofa out to the curb here. Steve says, "do you KNOW how many asses we have had sit on that couch?" I can't even wrap my head around that.That couch was 15+ years old.It's seen a lot of good, some bad, and everything in between.

I come downstairs this morning hearing "Hon, the movers are here" I come around the bottom of the stairs, and there are these 2 scrawny little kids, I swear I couldn't figure out how they were gonna move jack Shit. And then they got going, and I am an ass for judging by appearance. And they were so careful with the piano, I really appreciated that, the guys that brought it in acted like they were roping steer, and not moving an instrument. I am waiting very impatiently to hear if these movers can get my piano up to the "music room" [the 3rd bedroom, all my little toys will be in there,anybody sleeping over,you are warned! NO jammin after midnight!] Steve was pretty emphatic with a "no" . I said Oh NO you didn't, that's why you PAY movers. Which brings me to my funny-man, and what he did this morning. The movers are getting ready to git out of here, to go to the Shack. Payment time. And Steve says very casually to ME, "We're paying the movers out of YOUR checkbook, right?"

[we each have our own checking accts', but we can both sign on both accounts, make sense? He can write off of mine, and I can write off of his, but the registers.....now, THEY need to be separate. Separate and definitely NOT equal. Some of us may have had balancing issues, in which a number wasn't carried, or it was carried twice, or left the neighborhood all together, as the case may be, and others of us ,well gosh, we do not LIKE that. And I'm sure you know who is who.]

I damn near died! This is one of the things that we forgot to discuss...we agreed that the price was right, but I guess we each thought the other one was doin' the paying! I laughed my ass off, and told him, I thought the MAN was supposed to pay! I did pony up with my checkbook though, ahem, *I* knew RIGHT where my checkbook was. Good thing, -He doesn't have a CLUE where his is right now, it's in packing hell somewhere between my favorite sneakers and the deed to the house] I've been saving for these moving days for a loooong time now........Trust me, though, Steve will be thanking me for weeks to come ;o)
My key to the Shack. Thank you honey I love it:

Tony and one of the movin' guys:

And the next time I blog, over by where my name is at the top right? I can change that location to "The Love Shack" :O) [assuming the cable company up there shows up.]

UPDATE:

-yes indeed,the movers got the piano up to the music room.YAY !!!

-I went to my local post office at this house,not the Shack, and there was STILL mail coming in for us.I explained that I filled out the online form,and forwarding should have started on monday.Our post mistress ripped a piece of corrugated cardboard up to fit the back of our mailbox,stuffed it in,and said there you go, NOW your mail will be forwarded.Small towns, you GOTTA love them :o)

~A woman is like a teabag - only in hot water do you realize how strong she is.~

----->Chilis' Southwestern Eggroll [Couldn't think of a title,and that's what I had for lunch, so there ya go]<-----

2009-06-14T15:19:00.009-04:00

Hi! Another quickie [I think, I tend to have a lot to say when I least expect it]
I am looking for a job closer to the Shack. I honestly felt, moving my whole house and getting a new job at the same time would be asking too much of myself, so I was gonna commute down for my current job. [50 minutes on an excellent travel day, one way.Part time, but different hours on different days.] It's really a beautiful ride, and at least for a while I didn't think I'd mind it. Until last thursday. And last Friday.

I have mentioned that I feel lucky, I truly like the people that I work with. All but one. We'll call her "Miss Mental". I believe she has an undiagnosed mental illness. She is the one who will, when she sits next to ANYONE except management, will curse, constantly and disgustingly. A stream of profanity, with no rhyme or reason behind it. Not like "Oh shit I stubbed my toe" nothing like that. I mean, for no apparent reason, a string of the most foul curses you have ever heard, shocking in their width, breadth, and inappropriateness. I also think I may have told you that I swear a lot, I have the joy of the swear in me.....but I am pretty much a bourgeoisie broad. I don't swear AT people, [um,t oo much] [Steve, dont start, I have the joy of the credit card in me today too :) ] and CERTAINLY not with language like that. I guess I'm feeling my age, I dunno, but I can't HANDLE that shit. Last Thursday, I was subjected to it. I heard the words "Fucking cunt" [remember I had to teach my spellcheck that word and it gagged? It is telling me right now I misspelled the word, I guess it rejected it]. She was sitting behind me with her back to me. When I heard THOSE words, I swiveled around so fast I hurt my neck. But I quickly regained myself and went right back to work, ignoring her. Her payoff is the attention she gets for swearing, and *I* am not participating. Well, a supervisor saw the whole thing. DID nothing about it, but took me from my work, talked to me for a while about a tv show on the biography channel we both watch, then he sent me back to hell.
Friday. That supervisor is not in. And here comes miss mental. So, Stupid Gail goes to the owner to request that he either tell her to stop, or move me or her. My stomach hurt and my hands were shaking the day before, I do NOT want to deal with this again. Are you ready? I said Hi, Karl, I have a problem I hope you can help me with. [That was ALL I said. No shit.] The owner says "What do you want me to do about it? [the supervisor] never said a WORD to me about it, is HE lying or are YOU lying? "[so, he just admitted he knew something happened, he knew the score AND he accused me of lying. THAT was it for me. End game.] Then he says "I can't do anything unless I *hear* it". HOW would he know it was something to HEAR, and not SEE, if he hadn't been told? *I* raised three kids, and I can smell bullshit before it is spoken, let alone spoken to my face. So, I threw up my hands, said "OK", and went back to the air table.

[That is exactly the way it went down. Couldn't get a word in edgewise, not that it woulda helped.]

Made a nice big wall of extra bins so I couldn't see her, and finished my day. Left that damn place trying not to cry, and I am NOT going to leave a place upset over shit like this on a regular basis. And that about finishes my wanting to work there. There's supposedly a whole big back story to why the woman is still there, a promise made to her mom, a former employee, yadayadayada. Fine. Leave me the hell out of it.

Steve feels very bad about my current work environment, so he figured I'd like a day off from the packing and driving and unpacking and general commotion we are going thru now. He went, and took the kids with him, To Englishtown NJ today, for NHRA racing. Since Toyota is a sponsor, Steve got "Tower tickets"......he and the kids have total access, [think back stage pass] - to the pits, the executive area [ inside,air conditioned, great views] and I am so thrilled for him, this is a dream of his. So in between bouts of practicing and packing, I finally popped and ordered a beautiful music stand for my Ruby. I've always used the el-cheapo it-came-with-the-instrument stands, but Ruby and The Love Shack deserve better. Don't tell Steve, he might have a palpitation, but there ya go :X I wanted a simple solid backed one,but if you saw how much THEY were going for, you'd understand why all of a sudden this one was perfect for me:

http://www.musicstandsalone.com/product/LPD-MSW2MAPLE

This week is it, people! Steve has the whole week off, and so does Tony. I have w-r-f off. We plan on being in The Shack by Thursday night [cable is due to install thurs, maybe THAT has something to do with it] The appliances are already up there, so no laundry or cooking in this house again [HAHAHA, you KNEW I'd find an upside to this moving hassle!!] The furniture arrived saturday, and I was stunned how well we did,

[The poor moving guys OMG! You need to go up three stairs, and then make a tight turn and go up 7 more to get to the living/kitchen/dining area. One mover came in with the padded blankets, when delivering the furniture, took a look at the stairs and his shoulders slumped. I pointed out the scuff marks already on the wall, from the fridge and dishwasher arriving and told him, hey, we didn't paint here yet cause we knew it'd get messed up. Don't worry about scuff marks" and you'd a thunk the sun came out! He grabbed his padded thingies so quick, "Oh thanks, that's TERRIFIC, good thinking" hehehe]

I will get pics and blog 'em. Really very nice.The kitchen and diningroom will take a Looooong time, but hey, Time I have :o)

[Oh, and you know who you are, O ye of the no-name :O) Yes, I looked, and I noticed that the counter on my profile here hasn't worked in a long time. So I read up on it, and Blogger doesn't have a clue and they don't care, so I don't either :O) But thank you for noticing. I think it stopped counting in February, I can't be sure.] [Am I supposed to care, am I missing something?]

June:
14th: Pop Goes The Weasel Day
15th: Smile Power Day

~Never use the words 'Evil Diabolical Plan' on your resume~

Almost There

2009-06-11T15:40:00.005-04:00

I don't know how other familys' handle this but...in this crew, when you got your Social Security card, you were usually too young to have a filing cabinet, or ANY filing system at all. Mom got your card and held onto it until you moved our or requested it. If you wanted to hold onto the card and you lost it [as kids are wont to do] then tough crap. I figured, one go-round with a governmental institution trying to get a replacement card would cure them of carelessness for Life. I didn't raise any dummies, I had all the S.S cards until the kids in question established their own digs.

Except for Tony. At 19, an adult, but not sure of his path yet, so we get to hold on to him for a while longer.

Tony had a job opportunity today...all he had to do was pass a drug test and prove he was able to work in the U.S. Which means he had to pee in a cup and present his drivers license,......and the dreaded S.S card. When Tony got his license HE decided he was old enough to take care of the S.S card. Until today. When he was ready to leave to pee in that cup, and came to ME and asked me for his S.S card. Which HE had. And so, we ripped apart the things that are left here,........ no S.S card. DAMMIT!! I tell him, go take the pee test, and I'll go to the Shack and see if it's in your stuff there. He SWORE it couldn't be. Yeah, ok. The second he left, I went thru his papers Here. And found both his S.S card AND his birth certificate. I was REALLY steamed, but I called him and told him to stall them, I was on my way. 45 minutes one way. With the damn card he said he did not have. Got thru security at the place, tracked Tony down, and then.....the look Tony gave me.....like God opened the heavens up or the Cavalry really DID arrive...........HOW could I be steamed at that? Gratitude trumps Anger EVERY time. And it made my heart happy. The upshot? He GOT the job, and I am hoarse from singing along with the stereo for an hour and a half, hehehe, I LOVE being alone in a vehicle and blasting stuff, good times. And this job is MINUTES from the Shack, so no long commute for him, either. PLUS......when I got home it was too late to start the roast I planned, so I am getting chinese for dinner.Things have a way of working out ;o)

Today is thursday, and the moving to The Shack is in full swing, we plan to be all in by this time next week. Don't get me wrong....I am grateful and happy to be moving. But JESUS, I am SO SICK of bubble wrap and packing tape. And, there is a LOT LOT more to moving than just packing your crap up and moving it to another place. We have been married for 27 years, and have spent 19 of them here. I am finding bits of my heart all though this house. I keep finding mementos of the kids childhood....handprints in paint, love notes to me from them, Mom day cards, drawings, letters from Steve to me when we were both in college, hell,.......I thought the crying was done at closing. I'm a regular water fountain lately. Who'd a thought I'd find Stevies first letter to his Gramma [my Mom] in a box of old pics? Baby books and memories. All the kids are adults now! I don't *feel* that old, except on cold mornings. And when I see a mountain of boxes to move, with my Ruby behind them. Just out of reach.But not for long, now.We're almost there :o)

June:
11: National Hug Holiday and King Kamehameha Day
12: Machine Day

~They say kids brighten the home. That's because they never turn the damn lights off.~

~Porn~

2009-06-07T16:06:00.006-04:00

Still packing. Still moving. So,WHY would a close trusted FRIEND [I think that should read "fiend"] send me this?

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/games/

I am a word game addict. One of my very favorite things is the sunday NYT crossword puzzle, my fat pink pen, and a big cup of coffee.THAT is heaven. But I digress. WHY would a friend send me thing site right now? Thank you SO much Marie! I asked her that, why NOW!!! I should be poppping bubble wrap and cursing like a pirate, NOT practicing and NOT NOT finishing puzzles! "Stress relief". Oh. OK. I'll be sure to tell the whole family that, and blame it on you :O)

~Porn~

I'll bet THAT bloggie title got your attention! [note the tildes I placed around it,for added cache, this is a high-class blog!]

Woo-Hoo, I wonder if any old friends will find me by googling THAT title!

I have appliance porn! We got the new fridge, dishwasher, and upright freezer on Saturday, and I don't know what to do with myself. I was showing pics of the new appliances to some dear friends, and one suggested that since we all love food porn, why wouldn't we love appliance porn too? I'll show you one pic, of my favorite appliance porn:

This is my new baby. It's a Samsung French door,with the freezer drawer on the bottom. It is HUGE. Steve measured it about 15 ways from sunday, and said he might have to butter it up, but he would MAKE it fit for me. Damned if he didn't! The delivery guys had to take all the doors off to get it TO the kitchen,and then there was always the chance that it wouldn't go where it needed to. Even the delivery guy was impressed, I don't think you can fit a sheet of paper between the fridge and it's nook. Now, *I* chose this badboy, because it gives me lots of different ways to store food, especially for the big family get togethers,- a side by side just was not cutting it. I thought I'd have to really, um, sell Steve on this fridge, it's the biggest one they have. He looks at it for a few minutes, and says "OK". So now I'm thinking, OK,......what did he DO, WHY would he capitulate that quickly, with NO mention of the cost? Well,...let me TELL you why. Steve noticed a lil something. [at this point, Kids, if you are reading this bloggie you need to cover your eyes. NO PEEKING!!] ON the freezer door [the drawer at the bottom] there is a little flap.....you lift that flap...and you can store 2 of your beloved Tree Tavern frozen pizzas....AND no kids can see them and scavenge them out from under you. You can HIDE 2 pizzas in there, with no one the wiser! Steve, don't think for ONE MINUTE that I missed that !! But good for you Honey! There's a man cave for you, heeheehee. [ok kids you can uncover your eyes now].
I'd blog pics of the upright freezer and the dishwasher, but I feel the need to blog responsibly. Don't want anyone going out willy-nilly and buying stuff, just to hide a pizza or two. Please, Don't blog and Shop!! [There's my PSA for the day.]

June:
7th: National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

~ If you laugh a lot, when you get older, your wrinkles will be in the right places. ~

Aliens and little green apples

2009-06-05T18:17:00.004-04:00

Aw, crap. I blogged the best photo I ever took, of my favorite bush at the Shack. I could NOT identify that sucker,and I have some experience with plants. So, I turned to my friends, and asked for help.The answer comes from Jacky [TYVM Jacky!] Now, I KNEW this was an indigenous plant. So why am I so surprized at what I have? [And Jacky is L her A off at me,...with good reason I guess :O)]

http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/romu1.htm

I have an ALIEN!! You knew, if ANYone would pop with an alien in the yard, it would have to be your Gail, and at The Shack no less. Hehehe. The joys of ownership. I will reign it in, but I am keeping it, I LOVE that sucker!

Today, Tony is applying for a job a lot closer to The Shack [cross em please, this is RIGHT up his alley] I had applied to, and got a job at, the same place. But I turned it down, it wasn't my cup of tea. Tony BELONGS there. So last night, I was telling him about my experience with the interview there. And, how, as I was pulling out of the lot, I passed the employee break area.......ALL of them were under 30. And here comes me, this graying 48 yr old in a Moutaineer with Cow seat covers.....hey, I am only cool in my own head, I don't even make the Attempt to appear cool to anyone else. I told Tony,..I had all the windows open, OutKast started playing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6WnUfmAdI

and the kids who looked at me looked like they saw a martian. [ An ALIEN, if you will] My SON Tony......yes, honestly, one of MY kids...... says...you know Ma, you, in your own way, are very cool". So we do not KNOW in "WHAT WAY" I can be cool, but hot DAMN, one of my kids said that I am cool [in some way yet to be determined.] Woo-Hoo!!! And I'll believe that until the next time I look in the mirror and see myself ;o)

I read stories about family life a lot, I'm always interested in seeing how other families operate. I read an article today about "Octomom"...you know, the moron who, being on welfare and having 6 kids already, decided she HAD to have one more baby, so it's NOT her fault she wound up with 8 tiny little babies. I guess she's worse at math than I am, cause even *I* can figure out she didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of supporting even ONE more baby, let alone 8 more. I've heard some pretty moronic things out of her mouth since she hit the headlines, but NOW, in a stunning twist of irony, she is comdemning Jon and Kate [Jon and Kate plus 8, a reality show about a family with multiple births]. I had to laugh my ass off, talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
I don't watch the Jon and Kate show. I think what they do to those poor kids is bordering on abuse, NO kid needs a camera in their face like that. So I will not support the show. But Octomom. She takes the friggin cake. Here's the article, I won't bore you by repeating the salient points:

http://tinyurl.com/qqhhzk

[g-rated]

I have an opinion about her. I think she is dingbat nuts, manipulative, nasty, and stupid. SHE thinks she can do a reality show about HER kids and not hurt them anymore than she already has? I think, in lieu of having all those kids taken away from her, that court appointed guardians ought to live in the home

[I know what you're gonna say,.....Gail that will cost $$$... and you would be right. But she will be on public assistance, and you KNOW CPS will be called on her on a regular basis, so I see it more as cutting out the middle men. And if it protects the health and welfare of those kids from that nasty attention-seeking bitch, then I am all for it]

to protect those babies. I have mentioned, maybe my upbringing wasn't the best. And maybe that is why I feel SO strongly about babies and kids being protected. I may have been a bit overprotective as a parent as a result of it. It hurts my heart to see that dumbass, alone, with all those kids her hostages to fortune. Maybe if she stopped getting her frickin' lips injected long enough to take some parenting classes, those kids would have a better shot at a normal life. It strains my ability to be a good person, to always try to see the other side of an issue, to support other parents,- hell, once you're a parent, you have to look out for other parents .........when faced with such dicketry as this. And the smarter and more superior she tries to act, the worse I hate her. I think ANYone who signs her up for reality TV ought to be held responsible for the consequences of that, because as sure as God made little green apples [and Alien flowering invasive bushes] there will be consequences. And it will be the littlest ones who have to pay those consequences.

June 5th:
-Festival Of Popular Delusions Day

~Alcohol and calculus don't mix - PLEASE don't drink and derive !~

A Quickie

2009-06-01T19:24:00.002-04:00

I am packing with a vengence, I promise! But I HAD to come tell you this.

I told you, we wrote our letter to the landlord, giving her her full 30 day fricken notice that only cost us a full months rent,right? In the letter, we told her,with 24 hrs notice

[we do not want her calling our answering machine in the morning, and showing up at the door that night]

As of June 15th,we'd be happy to give her her run of the place.

Today is June 1st.

And,there was a message, when I got home today. Saying

"Gail,I have a prospective tenant,who only wants a quick walk thru to reassure himself that the place isn't falling apart"

[Bitch.Get me a friggin sledgehammer, a can of neon green spray paint, a bag of feathers and a bucket of hot tar, I'll show her falling apart]

"so can we set up a time for tomorrow? Here's my cell number."

Bitch.

But,we can understand the prospective tenants POV.

So I told her, next tues...a week later than she wants, and a week earlier than I want.

It's 7:30pm now, the packing is done for the night, and my truck is packed for tomorrow. I'm feeling a little better [OK,the merlot is helping, Steve is a wise wise man :o)]

One of my fiends

[OMG, that's appropriate, my Friends CAN be Fiends...and I LIKE that in a person!]

was warning me that, you start out packing with the best of intentions,but in the end you're marking ALL the boxes "Misc". Well, I've got news for her....I didn't wait til the end, I jumped the shark already. BUT....if you have a headache, and go to the Misc kitchen box to find the ibuprophen,wouldn't it ALSO help to find a cute lil candle to light,to destress yourself? And maybe the Andes Candies you are hiding from the men,and you are hoping the truck doesn't get too hot and melt those suckers on you tomorrow? Hehehe :O)

Slowly but surely.

I took a photo, not a pic this time!

2009-05-31T16:02:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, I took the best photo I ever took in my life, and wanted to blog it, before my puter explodes, or I can no longer find it on the camera OR the puter, hehehe, we know that's a distinct possibility. This might never happen again.

If you are looking to the left of the garage door..there are 3 huge plants.
One- happens to be a pink wild rose, and I am THRILLED.
Two: looks like "Poison Something", I won't touch it with my bare hands.
Oh, the third. Is what I got a photo of. I don't know what it is yet, But I adore it. I have been Googling images til the friggin' cows come home. A bush that grows to my head height, 5'5' or more. With LOTS of prickers and a 5 petal white flower that smells DIVINE. EVERYone I have shown the pic to says it looks and sounds like a flowering crabapple, but it is a bush, not a tree. This bush is indigenous to my area, you can see it growing on roadsides. But something put it by my garage door. And I will trim it, but it is staying Right there:

I actually took that photo! NOW I'm batting one for one thousand :O) And if you know what it is, you'd better fess up, I don't like to cut plants back until I know them by their first name, at the very least ;o)

Team Gail was in the livingroom, and with digital camera and 5 different cell phones, we are trying to capture the exact shade of the Shacks new paint job. And NOTHING captured it. It was wild, I'd stand there looking at the wall, raise the camera and look at the screen,and see 2 different colors, one with my eyes, one thru the screen of the camera. It is a lovely mellow happy green with a white undertone to it, not yellow.

This was was my gift to Steve for the Shack, I couldn't bloggie it before, or it'd ruin the surprize. A set of 4 english pub glasses, with "The Shack" etched on em', here is one:

Today we pulled the trigger on the appliances, they are all coming next saturday, so I'll be the road runner and make Steve stay there. I'd rather drive than deal with deliveries like that. We're getting there, a little at a time. Oh, THAT's why I mentioned that, I thought my train of thought got derailed. Speaking of moving..... We got a call from our psychotic landlord yesterday morning.Telling us she had just heard about our buying a home, she was PROUD OF US, she read our letter and WE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB WRITING IT...yes, you wench,we are both college edumacated and sometimes, when the spirit moves us, we can actually speak english. You shoulda heard Boo go off on her, pretty funny :o) So, even at the end,- where I am TRYING to shut my yap and let the water flow, baby, let it flow ,or take the high road, let the river run, or any other appropriate phrase for ignoring ignorance,

[also, one of my sisters still lives next door,and any Wrath of Gail I visit upon the landlord will eventually find it's way next door]

that bitch is still needling, needling, trying to get a rise out of one or both of us. I think the best revenge is to never say a word to her. I told Steve, from now on I will check caller id BEFORE I pick up the phone, and if it is psycho calling, I will let the machine pick up.

June

1st: Dare Day

2nd: National Rocky Road Day

~We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors ...but they all have to learn to live in the same box.~

Playing "Spank the Spammer" sure beats packing!

2009-05-29T16:36:00.005-04:00

Work.
It all started with some red ink on my timecard yesterday.
Informing me that I was getting half holiday [Memorial Day] pay, and not full day holiday pay, ostensibly because I'm a part timer. Who happens to work a full day every monday, and I am entitled to that pay. That was the straw that broke the camels back. I stood there with that friggin card in my hand, thinking, do I want to go fight about this, or do I want to look for another job? I hitched my giddy-up, and was up in my new home town yesterday afternoon. For an interview and a facility tour. And a job offer ! But, without dissing the place I interviewed at, it is NOT for me, I'll need to keep looking. Last night, I wrote the owner and supervisor at my job a letter, telling them about how pissed I was at the holiday pay situation, and the pressure to move into almost full time hours on this part-timer who WANTS to be a part timer. I told them about the job offer [not knowing they were already called for references, and DAMN if they didn't treat me right, they gave me GLowing references] and told them, this very afternoon, I had an appt at 2pm to pee in a cup, and since I haven't toked lately, I was pretty sure I'd ace that test.
[You have got to shock these guys sometimes, and yes, I did say that in the letter. I ran the letter up Steves flagpole, and he first thought I ought to remove the drug reference, then said hell, leave it there, it sounds just like you. So I did.]
I wrote down the hours I could work post-move, and told them.....if this ain't good for you, tell me now, and I will give notice on the spot, no harm, I already have another job. If you want me to stay, and work THESE hours, then I'll decline the other job. I delivered the letter this morning. A lot of nice things were said to me today, the pay problem is bring looked into,- the upshot being that I'll stay where I am. Quite the commute for a p/t job, but it will be lovely, and I won't feel so lonely up there, out of my comfort zone.
I've been kinda worried about the moving situation. I don't know if you read the comments that CERTAIN people, like one of my sons', leave on the bloggie, but at one point my older son said the packing might go a wee bit easier if I put down the cello. And he's right. And I thought a lot about that, I feel happy and at ease, my hands and my heart tell Ruby what to do and she does it. No thinking necessary, just pure comfort playing. Not so much with the packing. EVERY day at work, I get teased about the state of the packing, I think they take turns asking me, Gail, HOW much packing did you do yesterday? And you know what? I have to laugh right out loud before I reply, cause the basic answer is, not as much as I should have. I had a hissy fit......I have a small table top zen garden, you rake the sand and move the lil rocks and such around. Cool beans. Except ANOTHER certain someone [it HAD to be one of the kids] put the zen garden into the middle of a stack of piano music. I picked up the whole shebang,and dumped sand all over my [thank GOD the lid was closed] piano and bench and FLOOR...that means I gotta vacuum, and we ALL know how Gail feels about that damn vacuum.
[vacuum= de Debbil]
So it is there right now. I practiced, started dinner, and plan on practicing again, and I'll ask for a lil help with that sand tonight [PLEASE, God,don't let Steve read this bloggie before I get to him!]

Here's a pic of the side of the Shack, after I went in there with lopers to remove the trees that were planted right up against the side of the house. That is a no-no. I couldn't have done it without Boo and Tony, I got to wade right in and have at it, and they carted away the trees and raked. These are mature hostas, and the dark green one turns out to be a lemon hosta, you brush up against it and you can smell lemons. I'll mulch the area up and plant some bulbs here and there, but the bones of this planting make my heart happy. I LOVE these puppies,and it made the gardening so much fun, knowing there are MINE, and not someone elses:

OH:

To the spammer that sent me that lovely e-mail, the subject of which was "I Gained 4 Inches":

Honey,......you need to check your audience a lil better than that. Gaining 4 inches is NOT something that appeals to a woman. Plus. I am one of those nerds who HATES spammers, and I spank them on a regular basis. Especially while avoiding packing! I looked at all the other nice people who got your spam, to see if I can figure out where you got my e-mail addy from. Turns out I know EXACTLY the forum you got it from ! Informed the owner and sent along the spam, along with your IP addy and the abuse addy at your isp. Right about now, you are probably discovering you no longer have access to the geek forum you spammed, and pretty soon, I hope your isp enforces it's TOS. You are MORE than welcome! ANYthing to avoid packing :X

May:
29th: End of the Middle Ages Day
30th: My Bucket's Got A Hole Day

~Find the key to yourself and every door in the world is open to you.~

A couple days rolled into one [And it ain't wordless,so sue me]

2009-05-27T14:35:00.006-04:00

[a note...I started this bloggie on sunday, when I made the chicken stock,and added to it, so if it looks/reads jagged, well, guess what? So is my life right now. But it is good :o)]

Remember I told you, the Shack has a brandy-new, smooth-top electric range in the kitchen? And I said, "oh, I'll get used to it, use it for a while, then hook my maytag gemini double-oven up [propane] when it is convenient"? Well, my Boo had a bad cold, and I had no chicken broth in my freezer.....this is UNHEARD of in this house, but in prep for moving, I am trying to use up what I have here = less to move. I called bullshit on that, if we have to move frozen stuff sobeit, a lady has to have stock in her freezer. [ !!! This was the last time I will make stock in this house! ]This morning, I set my badboy 16 qt stockpot on to simmer. And THEN it occurred to me,....a lot of those electric smooth top ranges have size and weight restrictions as to to what cookware you can use on the burners. I have 8 qt, 10qt, 12 qt, and 16 qt pots......and the 16 qt is NOT welcome on a smooth top, not only because it is much bigger than the diameter of even the largest burner, but evidently, when full of soup-makins', it's also too heavy. I Googled [hehehe] that, and you should see the flamewars people are having,.....gas people say you can't cook on electric, but electric users take that to mean that gas users think electric users can't cook. Omg, they are going at it hammer and tongs! People fight over some of the stupidest things! Just so this doesn't become one of those bloggies that gets me hammered in the e-mail:

Electric ranges simply are not as responsive as gas, and the limits imposed by ESPECIALLY the smooth top versions, as to size and weight of cookware,- my cast iron frying pans would destroy a smooth top, and forGET using a double burner griddle,- make them a nichter in my workhorse kitchen. I'm not saying they're from de debbil [although they might be] but it depends on how you use your kitchen what you want in there. I don't NEED the highest stir fry temps or the lowest saucier temps all the time, but I expect them on any range I am paying for.And that's not electric.]

CRAP! This was wordless Wednesday, wasn't it? Oh well. Here are some of the promised before and afters from the Shack. Steve painted the dining/livingroom area. We were a lil nervous about the paint selection, but damn if'n it ain't purdy. [and trust me, the chandelier is history :O) ] Off white is before, green is after:

UPDATES:

-I STILL haven't found the pic I am looking for on this $%^^%$ puter. Hope springs eternal.

-I told you, the day our offer was accepted on the house, Steve got the call, on his cell, at work. I was at work. So he left a message on the home machine, knowing I walk in the house and go right to the machine. And the message he left was straight from his heart and made me cry. [oh hush.] I wanted to keep it, but couldn't figure out how to get a .wav file from the answering machine to the puter,and we had 37 messages piled up, time was getting short before the machine purged itself and I lost the message. Enter my cell phone! Hehehe, used my cell to take a "video" of the answering machine as I played Steves' message, e-mailed it from my phone to myself, and saved that to my puter. I'm all set ! I hope that helps somebody.

May:
26th- Body Painting Arts Festival

27th- National Hamburger Day

~By doing just a little every day, I can gradually let the task completely overwhelm me~

How to wear a cup !

2009-05-20T16:14:00.005-04:00

When I started this bloggie, I thought it would be like an online diary of sorts......a place for me to say what was on my mind. It never occurred to me that people might actually read it, or even have something to say back to me. You can see that a lot more people read than comment, I think I'll have to think of a name for the group of people who appear on any regular basis, in the comment section............oooooooooooo, that 'll be a fun one to think up. But I digress.......After some comments were left on the bloggie, I installed that counter, and discovered that people read it. That counter tells you one thing...a number. It doesn't say who, or what sex, if any, or anything else. So I was very surprized to get an e-mail from a very old friend........who stumbled onto my blog when she was doing a google search. She has a teen-aged son involved in sports, and didn't want to ask her men about it. She searched for...................drum roll please.................the wearing of an athletic supporter. Only that's not the term she searched. She looked up "How to wear a cup". ABSOLUTELY no shit, go look up that phrase at google, and scroll about half way down. Go ahead, I can wait.

Of ALL the things to find, she finds a blog by someone who was house hunting,and willing to kick lying sellers in their nether-regions. And she started reading. And laughing. And reading some more, and then it hit her,she knew me! And evidently, I haven't changed too much, good to know, and she is still a sweetheart,very gratifying to know. She was sorry to hear about some things that have happened to us. Flabbergasted to see that Steve and I are still together, [it *has* been a long time] and caught me up on her family,.....we now know one of them will be wearing a cup :X I cannot stop laughing at that. How to find an old friend? You have to admit, that is unique. FTW, for me, for popping up on a cup search!! :O)
I could not be happier for her to have contacted me, Thank You Glennie :o) I saved your letter, so I can go re-read it when one of my sisters insists that I am a bitch from hell cause she can't tell lies and drama from the truth

[did *I* say that? Why,yes I did, and it is so! So there! That's what a blog is for! You know I have enough brothers and sisters so that wasn't personally identifiable, and actually, if she ever read this blog I would be shocked. But, that's a story for another day, today is happy. How's THAT for a run-on 'aside'? ]

To the Shack! We went out last night and picked the color for the living/dining area, and it is: Behr, Mother Nature 410F-4. I was GONNA say, google that and you'll see it.

[I just hafta say, after that e-mail, Google takes on a whole new light for me, and I am still laughing over that]

Only, some of my friends have already done that, and I haven't seen the shade represented correctly yet, even at Behr, so don't bother. You'll see the befores-and-afters right here. We were kinda worried last night, the shade looks too olive in low light [think quiet evening] but Steve ponied right up with "Hey, it's only 70$, if we hate it we'll repaint it" Strong, strong words coming from a man who will not let ANYONE paint in our house but him. Never did, probably never will.THAT is a kind man :O) Tonight, on to hunt us up some furniture. THIS is my kinda shopping! Poor Steve is sick....it's just a cold, nothing serious, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel any less sick. [And no, it's not the swine flu,and he is not a swine, even though his socks on the floor tell a different tale. That's just between us. And everyone at Google, they seem to adore us]

May 2oth:-

-Eliza Doolittle Day

May 21st:

- "I need a patch for that" day

~Stress: The confusion created when ones mind overrides the body's basic desire to choke the living crap out of some butthead who desperately needs it.~

We Done Good!

2009-05-15T15:19:00.007-04:00

The Love Shack is officially ours!
We had our closing yesterday. Our real estate agent warned us to bring comfortable pens to write with, cause we'd be signing a LOT of paperwork. Holy Shit, was she right! My friend Laura, who is a real estate attorney and a member of my heart loop, represented us, it felt very comforting to have a friend there to protect us :o)

There was a lot of joking,- here, there, and everywhere I went, about exactly how much crying I would do at closing. I will have you know, I was MOST excellent......not one tear thru all the signing.....even when Laura handed us the deed to our Love Shack! But then, Laura pulled a lil something of her purse. A card. From my heart loopies. Not only did they get us a gift card to Home Depot, they were so generous we were shocked, but........sitting there with the love of my life holding my hand on one side of me, one of my close personal friends on the other, the deed to our home in front of me,......and I'm holding a card from my heart loop, they couldn't be there in person so they were all there in spirit, they made Damn sure we knew they were cheering us on and wishing us well. I just LOST it, and I totally recommend friendship crying to relieve stress :O)

A few pics [not very good,*I* took them, but no worries,you will get sick of seeing them before I'm done!]

First blessing the Shack,.......a loaf of bread, a jug of wine........

My Mom loved Hostas, and I got my love of them from her. I was worried about getting my hostas up to the Shack. Until I saw this...it appears that someone tried to make a heart shaped rock garden by the rock wall on the rear of our property [I just said "Our Property", hehehe] and They must have loved hostas too. This wil be my heart loop garden, when I get done with it:

I can't say how
-Ecstatic we are to own our own place
-nervous we are about owning our own place
-overwhelmed at the thought of moving 27 years of life to our own place
-a'skeered about the cost of owning our own place......oh, hey, we already got a hit on the "cost" thing, how's THAT for a world record? The huge electrical cable, that leads from the wires on the corner of the house to the meter? That needs to be replaced, and the electric company says that's OUR gig, not theirs! YAY Steve and Gail, you haven't moved anything IN yet [well, almost nothing yet :X] and you're already spending ! FTW!!
-exhausted.That's the big one, just exhausted.
And I'll take all those ANY day over a

[oh, fill in the blanks. There are about 13 of them, all derogatory, and ranging from mild minced oaths to full bore cursing, which, if you remember correctly, I am Very good at]

landlord from hell.

OMG! A lil extra somethin' for you, hehehe. I'm blogging @ 3:30 Fri.afternoon. Steve went to the Shack to change out the locks on the doors and install the mailbox. He just called:

S:Honey just tell me I'm a dick.
G: WHATS WRONG ? [I could hear it in his voice]
S: Just tell me I'm a dick right now
G: Babe, WHAT IS THE MATTER?
S: I took your truck. Used MY key fob for your truck. And *I* do not HAVE the key to the Shack now, it is on the fob with the keys for MY car.

Poor guy went all the way up there for nada, I am laughing myself silly. I will be a supportive kind wife when he gets home. But I'll be laughing behind my hand. In a kind supportive way .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~YAY TEAM GAIL!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 15th:
National Pizza Party day

~The trouble with life is, you're half way through it before you realize it's a 'do it yourself' thing.~

Just WOW

2009-05-14T17:58:00.003-04:00

Today was closing day for our Love Shack.I am so overwhelmed and grateful and teary that,well,I will compose a bloggie tonight and tomorrow I'll report in. Just wanted to let you know, it's Ours. One thing I will blog,this is a pic of an original Air Raid poster from the 50's/early 60's,that hangs in the basement of the Love Shack. All the details tomorrow.Tonight,it's me and my honey :O)

~*~*~*~* Dish *~*~*~*~

Ahoy !

A Philosophy of Life

Slippers

The Christmas Cock

Decisions, Decisions

Are you an idiot?

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

PSVT for short

I'll be back !

Plant-TASTIC Thursday !

I'll be back!

This and That

Asshats

Happy Birthday Honey!

War.

Forsythia

Stanley Pyrex

A Tale of Two Storms

Hi!

Loaves and Fishies

Ha ha

Forgiveness, Gail Style.

Haiku and Hunting

Merry Christmas !

Bathroom Redux

Am I here? Really??

I Forgot....

Red Plaid Boxer Briefs

------>Bread, Salt, and Mayo<---------

Happy Thanksgiving

A Tale of Two Booties

It's George Orwell. 1984 is Calling.

Well Shit.

Discovering my possibilities

Attack of the Killer Leaves

A Quickie

The Weekend

Woo-Hoo :O)

----->Trick or Treat? Men makin Dinner <------

AmEx can bite my ass!

Be Not Afraid, Gail.

----->Deipnosophist<-----

------>With a lil help from my Friends<------

Lying trucks and plants !

Now, *I* knew that!

Something old and something new

Bras and Escargot

Home Depot. Where Team Gail goes for amusement.

No Title, on account of stabbiness.

-------->R.I.P Senator Kennedy<--------

Paterson the Putz

You lucked out.

FAIL

Roadside Jesus Doohickies and Defenestration.

------------>Good Times!<-----------

Mustard Squirters and Smelly things

----->Ironing as a contact sport<------

Turkeys: The Official Yard Animals of the Gail household.

Old Friends

If Facebook is from De Debbil, then Classmates is Hell.

Moona Lisa finds her Home

Wow-ilicious

Thank You, Mr Carter

Faux Closets

Boozapalooza/Sweet,Sweet,Delicious Irony

Naps = The Awesome

Pissing Contests and Endpin stops

Flowing

Polaroid Pictures

Culinary Enemy #2!

Movin'

----->Chilis' Southwestern Eggroll [Couldn't think of a title,and that's what I had for lunch, so there ya go]<-----

Almost There

~Porn~

Aliens and little green apples

A Quickie

I took a photo, not a pic this time!

Playing "Spank the Spammer" sure beats packing!

A couple days rolled into one [And it ain't wordless,so sue me]

~~~~ Dish ~~~~

Now, I knew that!