Dear BDG,

I wasn't sure how you got those donuts, but I forgave you, because they were nasty and quite stale.  However, we need to talk.

Now, I don't know if you're in cahoots with the cats, but somehow, you got the frying pan out of the sink.  I realize that you wanted privacy from the other pets while you licked it clean, but did you have to do it in my bedroom?  Then you left it there, on the floor, covered with dog slobber, which is nearly unforgivable.  While I'm on the subject, I don't like how you are getting soup cans and cat food cans out of the garbage and are strewing them all over the house.

We have some new kittens.  No, we haven't had any for awhile, as most of ours are fixed.  However, one female who wasn't spayed yet got out, and then Teo, our sick male, got her. (Yes, I'm a  bad pet owner) He got her good.  I kept denying her pregnancy, and would say that it was simply fat growing around her belly, even when I could feel the babies moving.  These are the biggest, fattest kittens I've ever seen.  Their mother, Punc (Named Puncture, since her siblings used to beat up on her and she'd have marks on her neck from them), is feeding them, well, constantly.

I have pictures, of course, but I can't find the USB cord to connect this camera to the computer.

So, yesterday Erma picked up Hope from her daddy's house--Hope was very upset that her daddy put her in time out and yelled at her, and she was missing her mommy, who is with Jethro right now.  Erma and Ambrose are taking Hope down to see her Mommy this weekend.  So Erma brought her over so I could see her for a little bit.

Of course, Hope was much more interested in the kittens than in "Gramma Cinny".  Oh yes.  She wanted to hold the kittens and love the kittens, which bothered Punc to no end.  At one point, after she was told not to pick the kittens up and she did pick one up, she said, "But I wasn't holding it, I was just looking at it!"  I replied, "Well, look with your eyes, not with your hands, then."

There is one male in this litter, and he might have a home already.  He's bright white so far, but we don't know if he'll stay that way.  Then there's a small gray one (Punc, Jr), a cream colored one, and a little one that looks like her great-grandmother, Lil Nocka.

I keep telling Saige not to get too attached, because these kittens will not stay here.

I finally have antibiotics for Teo, though it might be too late to help him.  Still, I think he's feeling a little bit better, because he  fought me over taking that capsule this morning, and yesterday, I got it right down his gullet.

Jethro will be driving back home on his birthday.

I know this is rather short, but I don't have a whole lot to say this morning.  Well...  burned popcorn stinks.  I'm just sayin'.

I finished American Brutus and now need more reading material, preferably about Abraham Lincoln or Seward or Chase or someone in that time period.  Yes, I have some Civil War books on my Nook that I downloaded from the Gutenberg.org site, but I need more.  Lots more.

Oh, and apparently, my dad was with me at Spoon River Anthology.  I have no memory of him being there, so obviously, he didn't make an impression on me.  Sorry, Dad!

Go in peace, be warm and filled.

Miles to Go

I love Robert Frost's poetry.

What Fifty Said

When I was young my teachers were old.

I gave up fire for form till I was cold.

I suffered like a metal being cast.

I went to school to age to learn the past.

Now I am old my teachers are the young.

What can't be molded must be cracked and sprung.

I strain at lessons fit to start a suture.

I go to school to youth to learn the future.

I also really like Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.  I saw it performed once, years ago, and it really caught my imagination.  Mom and I went together, and it was a really special time for me.  For some reason, though, what stands out the most, aside from the performance, was me giving mom a piece of gum.  Why that sticks with me, I don't know.  I'm weird like that.  I remember the oddest details sometimes.

So, again, I love my Nook.   You guys should all go out and buy one.  Don't get the Kindle.  Oh, yes, I have my reasons for making that statement.  I wish I remembered what those reasons were...  I'm reading American Brutus right now, which is an amazingly good book about John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of President Lincoln.  It is well-researched, and gives a feel for how awful that time was for the country.  The night before Washington had had an "illumination" to celebrate the end of the war.  It was festive, with tons of people coming in to the city to celebrate and to see all the candles and lamps lit.  The next night, Lincoln was shot, and there was such confusion and horror, not just in Ford's Theater, but throughout the entire city.  Many, many people were killed because they'd say things like, "I'm glad that tyrant is dead!"  People were so scared.  

I would like you to gaze at this photo of sheer innocence.  

Awww!  Right?  Wrong!  The smaller dog, Binnie Boo, has a new home, with Erma's in-laws, and I hear that she is merrily helping herself to the garbage.  She pops the lid off the garbage can and sticks her head in there, taking out what she wants.  BDG is simply a bad, bad dawg.  

Yesterday, Erma, Ambrose and I made a quick trip to the store, and were gone for maybe 30 minutes or so. When we came home, I found numerous empty cans that I'd thrown away strewn about the dining room and my room, and he ate an entire box of donuts, too.  The box was put up, and somehow, he knocked it down and ate every single crumb.  Worse, he didn't touch his dog food!  

Then, I love, love love this next picture!

Apparently, we like to decorate for Christmas using diet Coke bottles, bags of sugar, and a McDonald's cup. We did a lot of joke gifts this past year, hence Jethro's old man's hat, and the apple peeling machine, which I'd already given to Erma (it was mom's, and was given to her first by her sister.  I gave it to Erma because she's made homemade apple butter, and I thought she'd like it), and because she didn't have enough gifts, I wrapped it for her.

I'm nice like that.

Speaking of Jethro, I'd like to copy a letter he wrote to me, circa 1997 or 98, I think.  He would have been 9 or 10 at the time, and he was in serious trouble with me, and had been sent to his room without supper.  For what?  Who knows.  

Dear Mom,

Since I have nothing to eat (I am not telling my teache(r)) I have to eat paper. Ya you may think its gross but what else would you eat with an empty stomach.  The point is you decided not to let me eat so think about your decision.  Love (and his name is crossed out, and he signs it with) don't have a name.

BAH HA!!  Manipulative little brat, wasn't he??  This letter cracked me up at the time, and it makes me laugh still, so I have kept it all these years.  Think about my decision!  I wonder if I ever let him eat?  Well, I mean, I know I fed him after that, and he's grown big and tall, so he's fine, even though he had a meal of paper that evening.  I mean, I wonder if I gave in and fed him after I got that oh, so threatening letter from him?  Knowing me, I probably did.

I had a real problem with follow through, when it came to discipline.

Actually, I have a real problem with follow through when it comes to life.  Hmm.  

Oh!  Here's one more picture for you.  I meant to post this some time ago, but forgot (darn that follow through problem of mine!).  I thought my brother, G, might really like to see this, since he likes hunting, too.

It's not the best because it's a copy of a photograph, but yes, there is my son with a dead deer.  Yes, he shot it.  On that hunting trip, he actually shot 2 deer, a male and a female.  I hope he's still going to bring some of the meat back when he comes home.  (Soon!  Very soon he will be home again)  I did tease him about shooting such a tiny deer, but he insists the deer just looks small because he is so big.  Uh huh.  Sure.  Hee hee!

Well, on that note, I'm ending today's entry.  Go in peace, be warm and filled.

Hell Week

This has been a rotten week for too many reasons.  Mr. Clean and Saige broke up, and he moved out.  I think that was harder on me than on Saige!  I like him, and though he has issues (who doesn't), I thought, and still think, that he's a pretty awesome guy.  I've told both him and Saige that they are very young, and that they deserve to have someone in their lives who loves each of them, problems and all.

Saige is a bit like my mom was, in that she keeps things in, mulling them over, and then, one day, she explodes or calmly states what she's been turning over in her mind.  Those of us who are not privy to her thoughts are sometimes hit out of the blue.  I used to think my mom was being ridiculous, because she might explode over me saying, "I'll do it in a minute" when she asked me to load the dishwasher.  As I got older, I realized that she was dealing with the other kids, my smart mouth, my dad being gone at work, phone calls, neighborhood kids, the dog eating her underwear or my brother's track shoes, and she'd kept calm about everything else.  Me saying, "Just a minute" was like the straw that broke the camel's back.  Saige is kind of like that.  I always thought Lampshade was my strong, silent type, but I think Saige fits that bill, too.

Mostly, though, I think a lot of times she holds things in to protect me.  Or others.  But mostly to protect me.

It doesn't, though, and now I am suffering through this break-up!!

I've heard from other moms that this is rather common.  We get attached to the boyfriends, girlfriends, and spouses of our kids, and then, when the break-ups come, we are devastated.

Ah well.

I did tell Saige that this whole deal where the boyfriend moves in will never, ever happen again.  She agreed, though she did so with a grin.

I'm not sure what that grin meant.

On the other hand, Ambrose and Erma are doing pretty well at this whole marriage thing.  He adores her, and you know, she deserves to be adored.  I adore her, but you know, that only lasts so long, and when a girl grows up, she doesn't want her mommy to adore her so much as she'd like a good man to adore her.  Or, in some cases, another girl to adore her, I suppose.  Or heck, in even other cases, a good girl AND a good man might be nice.... but I can't include all the partnerships that might exist, so just remember that Ambrose adores Erma, and she adores him.  They are both still looking for jobs.  Erma can rejoin the Army in six months, but for right now, she needs employment.

I need a cell phone. Mine was stolen.  The woman asked for a reward, and because I refused and so she didn't return the phone, it's a big crime.  It was stolen from a check cashing/bill paying store that has cameras EVERYWHERE, and the phone has GPS, so it's being tracked.  I had just paid the monthly bill for it, so in addition to really needing a phone, I feel doubly ripped off.

The cat, Teo, is still alive, and it breaks my heart.  I don't want him to die, you know, just get better, but he's not getting better.  Yesterday another ulcerated, pus-filled sore opened up by his front leg.  Though I'm still cleaning the wounds and putting on medication and all that, I feel rather hopeless about his chances.  He eats well, though.  His eyes are bright.  If you don't look at his body, you'd think you were looking at a healthy cat.

Erma and Ambrose introduced me to a delicious chicken sold at a store near their home.  This chicken is infused with either lemon and pepper, or it's barbecued, and it's sooooo good.  It's very flavorful and really juicy.  Saige didn't eat much yesterday, as she'd slept until around 4pm (long story that involves Mr. Clean), and then she ate a bowl of ravioli.  I ate a lot, and have been picking the meat from the chicken carcass all afternoon.

Yesterday was my dad's wife's birthday.  I knew it was coming, and I simply forgot it when the time came.   I feel badly, though, because I like to acknowledge birthdays, and I hate when mine is overlooked.  (February 27th, and it's not too late to send gifts.  Agnes.  Tee hee!)  Note that I have no idea when Agnes' birthday is, and I probably should know it, but alas, I have trouble remembering Saige's birthday!  Honestly, I do.  Ask her.

I found my Nook, Erma!  It was under the couch, like I suspected.  I love, love, love this thing, and it's even better now that I figured out how to put Gutenberg books on it.  I also can put my own pictures as well as music on it, too.  Seriously, Dad, you should get one.  Or Aunt L, you might like something like this, too.  The Ipod touch is really nice, but the screen is small.  The Nook is actually book-sized.

It's a really nice, sunny, fairly warm day outside today.  It would be a good day to go to the environmental center, but my hands are still very swollen, and I keep getting leg cramps, so walking isn't much fun.  Heck, I always have pain, but sometimes it's more tolerable than at other times.  I have to use a cane to keep my balance, but when my hands are swollen, I can't hold the cane.  The doctors told me I'd probably end up in a wheelchair, but I chose to ignore them.  I still ignore them, and do what I can.  It's not very much, though.  It depresses me.

So, I won't talk much more about it.

I will only say that I have a bus token here, and I have no idea where it came from.

Go in peace, be warm and filled.

NOTICE THIS NOTICE, WHICH IS NOTICING YOU NOTICE

My cell phone was stolen today.  Please don't use that number, unless you wish to call the thief and chew her out.  But don't. The police have made a report, and the detectives will review it and review the video from the store I was at when it was lost. 

That's all.

Go back to your regularly scheduled blogs.


Not my phone.  But it is similar to mine.

Clearing the Throat

Well, Saige had her follow up appointment with her ENT to see if she'd be cleared to eat solid foods and able to  exercise and carry on like a normal, surgery free person.

Unfortunately, the answer was, "No."  She's healing, which is good, but the doctor said the earliest she'd be able to eat and work out would be Monday.

Saige said she knew she wouldn't be cleared.

I thought she would be, because, well, sometimes I feel like Saige might be a little, uh, not dramatic, but that she pays too much attention to the littlest things in her body.  (When she was young, Erma told Saige that she needed to know her own body, so since then, Saige pays attention to every tiny bump, cut, dot, or other abnormalities that show up)   I figured she was worried about things that weren't important.

I was wrong.

So, I am loving my Nook.  Dad, you should think about getting one.  You can hold thousands and thousands of books on these things, and it takes no time to download them.  I love that I can make the text bigger, because I am so blind, and small fonts are impossible to read.  The light Erma ordered for me showed up yesterday, so now I can read in the dark.  A lot of books are free (I got the Holy Bible and some of Charles Spurgeon's sermons, as well as some classics like Pride and Prejudice and Little Women.  All free.  Whoo hoo!!)  I do like the feel and smell of "real" books, but I also like the convenience of the Nook.  Plus, with real books, you are stuck with the size of the text.  Oh, and with real books? You can't get online.  But you can with the Nook!

The other night, around 9pm, Dr. Lampshade showed up with his backpack.  His wife had kicked him out for being lazy.  Keep in mind he's working almost every day, and he works a lot of hours--usually from 6am or so until about 4pm.  And when they came over for my birthday, Britney was telling me that he'd cleaned the whole house for her and that was pretty awesome of him.  I guess her thankfulness didn't last.  Lamp spent the night, listening to music, and then, because the truck was in the shop, I gave him change for the bus so he could go to work.

However, he didn't go to work, so he might have lost his job now.  Idiot.

No, he went home, where I guess he and Britney made up.

Sigh.

So much drama with those two, I swear.

I got the truck yesterday afternoon, though.  It was fixed for 180 bucks, including having it towed.  The negative terminal had gone bad on the old battery, and the cables had to be replaced.  It has a new battery and new cables, and it seems to be fine now.  Of course, it seemed quite fine until it died!

I lost my debit card, so I had the bank send me most of my money via Western Union. When I went to pick it up, the girl behind the counter almost wouldn't let me get it, because the very tiniest corner of the license broke off.  Plus, she'd never seen a military I.D., and she was confused.  When she called over the manager, they both stared at the military I.D. with confusion, then both read through the types of I.D. they can take for Western Union.  "State id cards.  Driver's licenses.  Government id cards."  I interrupted.  "Uh, that is a government id card.  It says, 'United States'."  They were still not sure.  Finally, the manager said to just use the driver's license, since all the information was readable.

Sigh.

I finally got my money, so I could get money orders to pay my bills.

FUN!

But I did go to get a new Driver's license yesterday.  I figured it would be better to have one that wasn't broken, since I had so much trouble with the Western Union deal.

They used the old picture from my broken license, for which I will be grateful for a long, long time.  That was taken when I had a nice haircut and my teeth were much nicer than they are now.

Dr. Lampshade had court the other day, to determine the outcome of the case when he was spat at the nurse.  Everything has been dropped, and other than being on probation for domestic abuse against his wife (which Britney said he didn't do, but who knows for sure?  I think he probably did.), he's done with everything.  He still has fees to pay, but the court cases are all over with.

In our efforts to eat better and lose weight, I decided to buy a butternut squash the other day.  I baked it, then, unsure of what to do with it, I put it in the refrigerator.  I know you can eat squash just out of the oven, and it tasted good, but I wasn't so sure about the texture of it.  Looking online, I found a recipe for Butternut Squash bread.  I made that, and it was absolutely delicious.  I left it a little bit doughy so Saige could have some of it, and I added extra spices that the recipe didn't call for.  We all decided that this bread would be really great with some chopped apples, pecans, and raisins added, too.

I'm proud of Mr. Clean, who is trying new foods that he's never tried before.  He still doesn't care for many vegetables, and lettuce makes him gag, but he loves veggie burgers, and he tried my vegetable soup.  There were carrots left in his bowl, but he tried it, which is what matters.  He's also been working out almost daily.  He really wants to lose the weight so he can join the military.

Speaking of Mr. Clean and Saige, I forgot to tell you what they got me for my birthday!  They got me one of my favorite movies, Sixteen Candles, some t-shirts from the Thrift Store, and a really nice, heavy, warm comforter from the Thrift Store, too.  I'm sorry I forgot that, Saige!

Yesterday would have been my 26th wedding anniversary, if, you know, things had been different than they were.

And today is my Dad's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

So, that's what is going on around here.  Go in peace, be warm and filled.