Just the Average Weekend

The aquarium is coming along. We got a dark back drop and yesterday Jimmy actually washed the gravel. We bought some new airline tubing, new filters,carbon and zeolite cartridges. We even bought some aquarium salt which we have not used before. I read the box and could not help but snicker. The idea of salt being helpful in reducing stress just seemed funny to me. Guess you have to be a fish to understand.

Later Saturday I discovered two strange things. First when I was about to walk Daisy, I discovered a couple of tiny, pink creatures squirming toward the sidewalk. Daisy went nuts, then she found two more. I put Daisy back inside while I investigated. Two of them were rolling around near the corner of the building by our door. It was then I realized they were newborn mice. Aw man, now I have to worry about mice? Maybe I should bribe the neighbor's cat to come play exterminator. Needless to say I was torn because I hate to see baby animals in peril but I don't want any mice problems either. Unfortunately for them, today I found them dead. I don't understand why their mother did not care for them.

The second thing I found later in the afternoon. This was a little disturbing too. As I walked Lady, we discovered a fish head in the parking lot. It was positioned as if it were put there deliberately. It was on the pavement inches away from Jimmy's truck with the head pointing at the front left tire. Gee, when did we piss off the mob? After all, at least in the movies, when a person gets a dead fish it means sleep with the fish, in other words a warning from the mob. Well if we disappear into infinity....

For some reason I thought of the old tv show "Ben Casey". At the beginning of the show Dr. Zorba was writing on the blackboard the symbols for man, woman, birth, death, infinity. Seems that we covered those symbols, well maybe. Anyone seen Tony Soprano lately?

It's Friday!!

It's Friday and the rain here has finally stopped. Of course that means we will soon be back to good old Texas heat. Blah...

I just heard some sad news. Randy Pausch has died. His "Last Lecture" is finished. May he rest in peace.

On a lighter note...
Waking Up for Church

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church, to which he replied, "I'm not going."

"Why not?" she asked."I'll give you two good reasons," he said. "One, they don't like me, and two, I don't like them."

His mother replied, "I'll give YOU two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church. One, you're 54 years old, and two, you're the pastor!"

I found this joke and had a good laugh.

Now we will get to see what the Texans training camp looks like. The players arrived yesterday. "play-offs" is the word used by many team members...hum.

Well, I have to get my grocery list together.

Wait Till Next Year - again, Football Anyone?

Well, at least the Houston Astros can't loose today. They don't play. The Astros did win the battle with the Pirates. That is the battle for the cellar. We were hoping for a sweep, then at least one win against the pitiful Pirates. Well, as one local sports reporter said, that ended with a "resounding thud." Sure the optimists can say that we can overcome this and make it a close race. Excuse me while I laugh convulsively. Wait and see what happens at the trade deadline. Probably not much.

Looking forward, the Houston Texans start training camp Friday. With the improvements made last year we are hoping for better games. I just hope that the game we are going to will be a good one. I wonder how good the Ravens will be? It would be nice to go a game that the hometown team actually wins. I've only been to one pro game, years ago which was a game for the division championship. My team lost. I have had better luck with my college teams. I saw Texas win several Cotton Bowl games, a couple of those made them National Champions. I also saw Alabama win the National Championship against Arkansas years ago. But this year neither Texas, nor Alabama is picked to win their conference, much less the National Championship.

Since most of the sports reporters here have "stuck the fork in the Astros" assuming they are done, I guess it's time to move on to bigger and better things. Say what is Brett doing these days?

Marriage - For Better Or Worse- Well...

It has been said that marriage is a partnership. For better or worse marriage has been considered "the ties that bind". Common interest and common goals help keep those ties bound. And then there is the fish tank. Over the years we have had a couple of aquariums. The kids all seemed to enjoy the fish. Even the grand-kids like watching the activity in the tank. We bought a ten gallon aquarium for Christmas last year. We bought various little fish and watched them swim around the tank. They learned that when I opened the tank lid it was feeding time. Quickly they would all gather at the top, waiting to get the first little flakes. It takes so little to make fish happy. How did I get stuck with the job of feeding them? Uh, is it time to add water? How do you clean it? Uhhh...

For the last couple of months Jimmy has been looking longingly at bigger tanks. A bigger tank would allow us to have more fish. We looked at some 29 gallon tanks and some 55 gallon tanks. Who knew these water filled glass tanks would be so expensive. That does not even include the stand. Our little 10 gallon tank sits comfortably on a little stand. Nice and quiet near the sofa. Then comes the male "bigger is better" logic. Husband says "I sure would like a bigger tank." Here we go. I think, "what's wrong with the one we have?" Of course he needs to clean it now because it is getting a little cloudy. I don't do windows, I mean aquariums. To me that would mean gallons of treated water, some place for the fish while Jimmy cleans the tank. I don't clean this remember. Somehow I got stuck with the job of fish feeding. That's enough for me.

So Amanda visits one day and she and her dad talk about the 55 gallon tank she just bought on Craig's List. I smell a plot here. The next thing I know Jimmy is searching... He tells Amanda to call this number or that number. I have visions of a big tank and where in the world will it go. Why do I feel that I will be outnumbered here?

The next thing I know Jimmy is buying a used 55 gallon tank and all the hoses, filters, pumps and other stuff. When he came home with it, I was less than happy. Guess who is going to have to clean this thing? Little did I know that this little hubby/wife project would turn out to be the project from Hell. No problem, I'll get this cleaned up. Not so fast. I have no idea how long it has been sitting idle. Did I really think this would be easy?

Well, I finally have cleaned it as good as I can. It was no easy task. And just why did we decide to do this? Then Jimmy remembered it will need a stand. Just how much does a 55 gallon tank filled with water weigh? Naturally he can't find a suitable one cheap. This little project is suddenly getting larger and more expensive. Let's see- used aquarium $100, new stand $90. Just where are we going to put this? Of course it will fit between the dead tv and the chair (another story) in front of one of the two windows along the wall of the living room. Now, just where is the Christmas tree we bought last year along with the little aquarium going? Uh... So now I look at a wall full of two tvs and two fish tanks.

So far we in addition to the stand we have bought some new tubing since the old tubing is too small to clean. I have cleaned up the tank, the thermometer, the light covers and other tops, some of the plastic tubes. I still have to finish the pump cover and then I need to do the pump and some of the big tubes. Then we have to buy some charcoal things that fit on some of the tubes and some "stones". I have yet to figure out that name. Oh and somehow I have to get the gravel clean. Yes I know we could buy some new stuff, but we are trying to save some money here. We still have to get more fish and some live plants and on and on.

It is so nice to be able to do things together. Yeah, this will be a nice little (large) addition to our living room. I have read that watching fish in an aquarium is good for the blood pressure. And doing things together as a couple is part of the joy of marriage. For better or worse, right? Ask me again when this aquarium is up and running. Better yet ask me when it is time for him to clean the tank.

Sometimes It's Tough...To be a Dog

Now that things have returned to normal after the discovery of "sleeping Beauty" we still have the problem of Daisy's allergies. We never had a problem where we used to live. Of course I know there were bugs in the grass, but the grass was well kept. And of course both Daisy and Lady are protected against fleas, ticks and other little critters that might bite or make them itch.

I can't say the same thing for this townhouse building and the "yard" around it. While there is some grass around the side that faces the street there is mostly weeds around the back and walkway between buildings. Daisy does not like it when the grass gets high enough to cover my shoes and she seriously doesn't like the weeds when they get high. I measured some of them the other day and they were nearly up to my knees. No wonder Daisy doesn 't want to walk there. She would rather do her business in the street than go through the yard. I can't really blame her.

Finally, last evening the guys came to do their infrequent lawn mowing. I am sure this morning that Daisy is happier. The last couple of days she has been very uncomfortable to the point of hives. She has not been able to sleep or even stay still with her constant scratching. I have had to resort of giving her benadryl a couple of times a day just so she can relax. Poor thing, just the look or her face is heartbreaking. So yesterday when she was having such a terrible time I have her a bath and some benadryl. I could tell she felt better.

Now that the weeds have been mowed down I was able to convince her to walk around the back of the building. She was hesitant but she had to check out where the guy was sleeping. She had to investigate the ground and the blanket and towel which were left there. The mowers just tossed them up against the building. After checking over the evidence she decided it was ok to keep walking.

So far this morning she and Lady are still sharing my chair. Daisy was a little sick this morning and she keeps looking at me like she is in trouble. I keep telling her she is not. I guess I should go back to my chair and rock my girls a little while. Sometimes life is tough for all of us, right? Even dogs.

I've Been a Little Nervous

Have you ever run across a person asleep in your yard? I went out to walk the Daisy around 9 this morning. As I turned the corner to the yard behind our building I saw a person lying in the grass. Chicken that I am, I turned and walked the other way. I walked around to the other side of the building. I did not want to take a chance so I didn't get close to him. I thought maybe I should ask the guys at the fire station if they could check on him. As luck would have it no one was there. So I decided to wait until after I walked around the block. When I finished walking Daisy, I peeked around the corner to see if he was still there. He was. He apparently had not moved. I wondered why someone would willingly lie in the high grass and weeds at the back of our building. I wrung my hands, what should I do. I am here by my self. What if it is the neighbor's son? I don't ever see him, so I don't know him. Besides he has his own car. If he and dad had a fight, he could sleep there. I worried. What to do. I don't want anything or anyone to come back at me.

I called 911 and explained that there was a person lying in the grass behind our building. The operator wanted to know if he was in a ditch. No in the grass at the back of the building. She asked if I thought he needed an ambulance. I don't know I was not going to get that close. Suppose he had a gun, or was a rapist? I took the chicken route. Finally the deputy showed up. He went behind the building and woke the guy up and took him to the car. He was a young guy with a backpack. He looked directly at me as they walked by me. I walked back to the area where he was and found a couple of big towel/blanket things still there. This was about 9:30 and it is now 11: 15 am and the police car is still in our parking lot. Now I wonder what is going on. Why are they still there?

I put Daisy and Lady in the bedroom and closed the door in case the deputy needed to come ask me something. They are not too happy right now cause I won't let them out. Now I wonder what is going on. What if I made a mistake? What if the guy lives here. Like I said I rarely see our neighbors especially the ones on the other side. So I really would not recongnize a couple of them. Then again why would somebody want to bed down in all our high weeds? I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me.

Yet Another Smart Pet Trick

First Daisy snatches a package of cheese crackers and hides them in the chair without even breaking one. She still has not figured out who found them. Once in a while she still searches around the chair and looks over at me with a funny look.

Then we discovered that she liked to pull the toilet paper off the roll. Some times she would pull it off and make shreds of it. Other times she would just pull it around the room and leave it for me to find. I keep testing her to see if she has lost interest in that little stunt. Nope. Leave any toilet paper roll where she can get to it and there will be a trail of evidence.

Lately we have taken to leaving the bathroom door in our room open so we can get more airflow into the bedroom. I have discovered that since the room does not have a ceiling fan it gets hot upstairs these days. So we put a fan on the dresser and let it circulate the air. It seems to help keep the room cooler. Since there is a vent in the bathroom, I've been leaving the bathroom door open. This helps too. But there was a question about what would happen with the toilet paper. If Daisy happened to go into the room she would probably snoop around the bathroom. Of course then the toilet paper hanging on the spindle would be very tempting. She still thinks it is fun to pull or shred the paper. So I put the paper on top of the tank. She can't reach it there. I know this makes it a little less convenient to use, but we are talking cooler room here.

The other day I decided to give Daisy a little test. Rather than put the paper on the spindle I sat it on top of the spindle. Let's just see what Daisy will do. Will she grab it and tear up the pieces? Would she pull it around the room? Ah, no. She did none of that. When I went into the bedroom, I looked into the bathroom. The toilet paper was gone. I saw no evidence of the crime. So then I had to look for the missing toilet paper. No clues in the bathroom, no pieces on the floor. Well, where did it go? Did she hide it like she did the crackers? I looked under the bed and discovered that she had stashed the roll of paper there. She did not chew on it or mess it up in any way. Just like the crackers she had carefully hidden it. When I went downstairs I noticed Daisy was looking at me with trepidation. What could I do? I had to give her a hug. Nice trick, Daisy.

Summer Heats Up - Sort of

Well I did not even open this laptop yesterday. I was too irritated to do much. Jimmy decided to buy a used 55 gallon aquarium. We had talked about getting a bigger one so we could have some more fish. So he found this one for a mere $100, cough. When he brought it home, I discovered that it was very dirty. I guess the previous owner really did not take good care of it. So yesterday I went to work cleaning it. Or so I thought. I took out the covers, lights, filters, tubes, gravel, etc. The aquarium components were very dirty with a lot of calcium/lime built up on almost all of the surfaces. After it all dried I discovered that all the buildup was still there. Grrr. So now we have to go to plan B and get something else to clean off the gunk. So, I spent three hours yesterday for nothing. Again grrr. Oh well, it will be a while before we set this up anyway.

Our friend Jan, whose house burned down just let us know she will come down this fall. She decided she wanted us all to go to one of the Houston Texan football games. Since the Texans don't play the Redskins (her team) she bought tickets for the game against the Ravens. Again she went through a ticket broker. Over $800 she spent! Yikes!!! We think she is nuts! I don't understand why she doesn't just buy tickets from the teams. It would be cheaper that way. But she insisted that she can afford it so why worry. Sigh, I have to wonder why this woman has such a need to prove things to her friends...

So next week will be the Baseball All-Star game. Our Astros have had a few problems (a few?) this year. Let's see, no pitching, no hitting, no life...So I thought I would take another look at my Best of the Worst teams . On April 18th the Best of the Worst team was a tie between Tampa Bay and Texas at 7-9 one game better than the Astros. Now we have as the Best of the Worst the Baltimore Orioles at 44-46 followed by the Astros (what?) at 42-50 . Then we have the Cleveland Indians at 38-53. Then there is a tie for fourth place between Seattle and San Diego at 36 -56. Sitting in the basement of basements is the Washington Nationals at 35-58. So they are the worst of the worst while Baltimore is now the Best of the Worst. Even the Tigers have climbed out of the cellar and are in third place in their division only 7 games out of first place. There is still hope. And who would have thought that the Tampa Bay Rays who were 7-9 in April would have the best record in baseball now at 55-36. Rays and Cubs in the Series???

I really don't hold a lot of hope for the Astros getting hot, but the temperatures are creeping up higher and higher. No rain in sight for this week-end and the thermometer should hit 95,96,97,98 in the next few days. With the heat index added we are looking at triple digits. Yeah, summer is heating up. Think I'll go sit under the fan. Somebody bring me a frozen margarita please.

Czech-what, Kolache-who?

Ever eaten a kolache? A lot of people here in Texas do. I had never heard of them until I moved here years ago. It was then I ran into some dear old ladies who loved to make them. Some are fruit or jam filled and others have sausage. Kolaches have a long history. Texans love a good kolache. In some places they are a little hard to find.

Kolache (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky, from the Czech and Slovak plural koláče) are a type of pastry consisting of fillings ranging from fruits to cheeses inside a bread roll. Originally only a sweet dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States. Several cities, including Prague, Oklahoma and Caldwell, Texas, hold annual Kolache Festival celebrations, while Montgomery, Minnesota claims to be the "Kolacky capital of the world" and holds an annual festival known as "Kolacky Days". Verdigre, Nebraska stakes the same claim, with a similarly named festival. Prague, Nebraska is commonly known as the home of the world's largest kolache. Fayetteville TX claims the title of "Kolache Capital of Texas". Crosby TX also has a yearly Czech festival. St. Ludmila's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids, IA hosts it annual Kolache Festival the first full weekend in June every year and makes over 600 dozen kolaches to sell at this annual event.

It was the sweet chosen to represent the Czech Republic in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.

In Texas and Oklahoma, several restaurants and bakeries specialize in kolache; popular areas in central Texas include the communities of West, Weimar, and Schulenburg, as well as the Nebraska town of Wilber, which have large Czech populations . These restaurants and bakeries now sell varieties for all meals of the day and include versions such as Philly cheesesteak, ranchero, and chocolate cream cheese. The Bluebonnet City of Ennis has celebrated the Polka Festival (see National Polka Festival link below) since 1966, with a weekend of parade, street dancing and dinner/dances at the fraternal Czech halls. Kolaches are sold on the street and in the local Czech bakery. The official "Czech Capital of the United States," Wilber Nebraska holds the annual Wilber Czech days, during which several thousand kolaches are sold by various town groups and businesses.

A related dish is a klobasnek, which often uses similar bread but is filled with a piece of sausage. We call them kolaches anyway! They may also contain ham and cheese, sausage, jalapeño slices, and more resemble a "pig in a blanket" than the original pastry. There is also a sweet and flakey filled pastry with Polish origins called the Kolachky.

Jimmy and I love the sausage ones. Unfortunately it is a little hard to find good ones. Many places sell them but they usually have something like "Little Smokies" dinner weiners. Some places don't even use the smokie style. Some use sausage which most Texans love to grill or cook. Texans love to battle over who has the best Texas sausage. But finding sausage with more of a German spice to it can be difficult.

When we recently went to buy groceries we found "German" sausage in among all the brands of sausage including Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farms and various Texas and local ones. We decided to try the "German" style one evening for supper. It was then we thought this would be more like a real kolache. Then we had the "brilliant idea". Let's make some!

Take two people who have never made any bread before and find a recipe for kolaches. Who's bright idea was this? Let's see, got the ingredients, read the recipe. Then what? Do you think this has risen? Has it doubled in size? Ok, now how do we get the sausage in? How much dough do we use? Who knew yeast could be so finicky? Sticky, gooey...hum. Is this really worth all the trouble?

Our first attempt was not too bad. Some were too big-all bread, little sausage. Some were a little over done from cooking too long. But taste-wise they were not too bad. Jimmy wanted the bread to be sweeter so the next batch we added a little more sugar. This time it seemed to take forever to rise. Maybe the yeast didn't like the extra sugar. Hey, nobody said it would be easy. I wish I could have the the faces of the guys when Jimmy told them what we did. I know the comments went something like "No way" or "You did what?". I have not had a chance to taste last night's batch. Fear, maybe? I think I will just wait till Jimmy gets home. After all Rome was not build in a day, right? Making good kolaches takes time too. Well, now I have to get the mess cleaned up. Flour fight anyone?

Taking a Little Time

As my fingers caress the keys I realize how much I miss the internet when I can't get it. Several times this week and last I had a thought or found some information that I wanted to check out. Alas, I was unable to do so. I guess I could have rented a computer or gone to a cafe, but that really defeated the purpose of having a home computer. Now that Jimmy is back and hopefully won't have to go out of town for a while, I again can use his laptop computer.

To say that I am still irritated at the lack on response from Amanda's friend is an understatement. But, I guess it is an example of what is wrong with people today. We all make promises to friends and family that we know we are not going to be able to keep. So why do we continue to do this? Why do we leave others hanging on to a promise? And why do we not communicate? The net makes it easy for most of us to keep up with our office work and friends. There is still the option of the old stand by - the ancient device known as the telephone. The more modern device would be called the cell phone. Why don't some people do what used to be considered the polite thing and call? When I was a kid my mother took time to teach me "phone manners". When calling, I had to say "May I please speak to..." If the person was not home, I had to say something like "thank you, I'll call later",or "May I leave a message?". Who takes that time now? It is much easier and less personal to e-mail or text someone. That is assuming a person wants to take the time to do that. When I learned the politeness of phone calls as a child, it was considered courtesy to call and tell someone that they may not be able to come at the agreed time or that the person would be delayed. I still think this is a good idea. Some people don't seem to remember that. It is just easier to leave a person waiting, waiting, and waiting. Many times they use the excuse "I lost your number". That is if you even find out why they never showed up. Is this the way friends treat each other?

Needless to say, I am still waiting for Amanda's friend to come by to fix our pc. Of course it is partially our fault since we believed what he said. At the prices charged by most computer repair people I can just about buy a new one. Of course I would have to save up for a while.

Now let me go see what I have missed these last few days...

I'm Not Saying I'm Addicted, But...

I sit here typing on my husband's laptop counting down the hours till tomorrow. Tomorrow he has to go out of town to work and won't be back until Friday. So like the addict trying to do without a fix, I will be without the net for the rest of this week. Witness the cringing and wringing of hands. My pc is still not working. I could have sworn that I told Amanda I wanted her friend Willie to see if he could fix it before I have to start saving for a new one. But so far I have not heard from her about this. So thinking about four days sans net is a little like going through withdrawals. I want my MTV, I mean my PC! At least I had the chance to get some books so at least I will have something in my hands.

It does make me wonder what did we do without all these instant devices. Computers, cell-phones, e-mail, blackberries. Some people spend a lot of time sending text messages these days. What happened to calling on the phone? It seems like people go to the library not to check out books or do research, but to get in a wi-fi spot. We used to go to a coffee shop just for coffee. Now we take the laptop and sit for hours working or playing on the computer. It's no wonder the postage stamps have gone up so much. No one sends letters anymore. I can remember going to a store to buy cards for different occasions. It seemed to take forever to pick out just the right card for just the right person. Now people just send e-cards. Well, that is real personal, isn't it?

So, I guess by this time tomorrow I will be thinking things like, "Oh, I need to check out that." Or "Did anyone answer my e-mail." "What was the price of that?" But, I will have to wait until the laptop, and my husband, come home. Some how sending the kids off to school for the first time wasn't this hard.

Nice little laptop, I will miss you for the next few days. I will try to think of the day when my pc is pronounced well so that I won't call on you for support. I know you will have a good time playing poker in the evenings. Hurry home. Be safe. Oh yeah, you too, Jimmy.

June 20th is the Happiest Day of the Year?

Who is the idiot who decided that this day is the happiest day of the year? I guess if you are happy that you woke up and realized you are still alive, then it is. But a British psychologist has actually devised a formula to prove this is the happiest day of the year.

O + (N x S) + Cpm/ T + He Wonder how long it took him to do this.

So according to this formula you need Outdoor activity +( Nature x Social interaction) +Childhood memories/Temperature + He or holidays (days off). So we should all go play childhood games so we can be in the heat while we all get together to remember when we could play outside all the time instead of just on our days off.

Now do you really want to run around playing games outside while the temperature is in the 90's? Well, I guess taking an early morning walk looking at and listening to the birds would be ok. Then again, there aren't enough holidays or days off during the summer where we live to make me want to go do all this.

Happiness is relative. Maybe playing ball with the kids is fun, watching the Astros lose again, is not. Thinking about summers past at the beach or pool is a nice childhood memory. Watching a house/town flooding is not. Taking a vacation or holiday is fun, going back to work, not so much.

So let us all join in and make this day the happiest of the year. On the other hand this study was sponsored by an ice cream company. Go figure.

Yes, We Have No Bananas

So goes the song. I just read a story in the New York Times which suggested that bananas may soon cost $1.00 a pound. For years they have been priced around 20+ to 30+ cents per pound. Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas. But Ecuador has had severe flooding lately. When you think of all the careful handling and miles bananas have go through to get here, one has to wonder why the price has not gone higher before. Fruits grown in this country have risen in price more and faster than the lowly banana. They don't even have to have travel that far either.Just look at apples. Prices for this fruit are getting a lot higher, as is much of our other domestic fruit. Transportation costs (fuel) is a big factor in the increase of fresh produce. But until recently the bananas have bucked the trend. Now, however, there is concern that will end and prices of bananas will join other produce in the lofty price group.

Maybe I should buy a banana tree. I have seen several growing around town. I wonder if they are any good. Poor little banana. Gas costs are rising daily, electric bills are sky rocketing. Now bananas are going up. What next?

Can You Hear Me Now? Can You Hear Me At All?

Remember that old cell phone commercial with the guy in the long, black coat saying "Can you hear me now?". Poor Annie is stuck in a "poor service" area and can't get good reception on her cell phone. She called last night to say that she had tried to call Jimmy Sunday. It was like "can you hear me now" all over again. She is really frustrated with the service in the little town where they are living. Ozona, Texas is a little spot on the map not far from San Angelo, Tx. It has a population of a whopping 3000 people. I guess because of the location, the cell phone reception is spotty at best. It would be a safe bet to say that she is not too happy with where they live. She has to go outside to call and even then she has to be in just the right spot to be able to call or hear anyone on her phone.

Ozona actually has some historic and interesting places to see according to the town information. But I guess they are too small and far away from any good cell phone towers to get good receptions. I guess that is why she would rather text message. How about smoke signals?

Then again our wonderful federal government has an office of the Department of Agriculture there. They have an office which handles rural home loans there. That is where Jason works. I guess if you are trying to move up the department ladder you have to take the bad with the good. Right? Can you hear me? Hello? Drat.

One Vacation Plus One Dead PC = Help!!!

Ah, I can feel the quiet, sort of. Jimmy went back to work today after a week's vacation. This man never takes a vacation so I was glad he finally took one. But when Jan could not come down we were left with no real plans. Not to mention all that wonderful Texas heat sapped any energy that was hiding in our beings. Who wants to go out in nearly 100 degree heat? Not us.

So most of the days were spent watching television while Jimmy played poker with his friends on-line. I think it is safe to say that I have probably now seen all or nearly all episodes of Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent and Law and Order SVU. Well maybe I might have missed one or two, but who's counting? And how many times did I see the first three Indiana Jones movies? I now think I have seen the entire playlist of TMC. Jimmy decided to forgo watching any news programs, even the local ones. He would be married to a news junkie, right? Awww.

I felt a little lost, especially since my PC has apparently died for probably the last time. I had it repaired once. The next time I got lucky enough to get it working again myself. This time I don't think CPR would help. And just where is that friend of Amanda's who said he would fix it for us? Somehow seems like a game of "hide and seek". Jimmy even told Amanda that the PC is comatose, hinting broadly to her for some help from her elusive friend. While I like Jimmy's laptop, I still prefer my good old buddy, Mr. PC.

In the middle of all this Annie sent me a text message about someone who had commented on my blog. Annie keeps forgetting that, for me, to text is a long, arduous process. Still she persists. She had sent me a message that an "Uncle Mickey" had left a comment. She asked in her text if this could indeed be my uncle. Surprise! Apparently so...Talk about a long lost relative. We have not been in contact for many years. As a result we'll have to try to get together soon.

Saturday we did venture out to hit some stores to look at PCs, printers, and new tvs. Since we don't have the "new" HD tv we will soon have to figure out what to do. We also looked at printers for our computers. Our printer is not that old and works just fine. But the ink for it is nearly $70. We can buy a new printer for that money! We actually found one that we make get later which is an all in one and the ink is half the price. Plus it is wi-fi, too.

I did manage to buy some books with a gift card Amanda had given me. I have read all of the books we have here. I gave a lot of them away before we moved. Now I have something to read.

Jimmy's last day of vacation was Father's Day. Two of the kids called. The other two didn't. One never does. She might send an e-card, or not. The other must have missed the race cause she is usually the first or second to call. I think Amanda must have made Pat wake up and call. Ha,ha.

After I got my books we looked a fish for the aquarium. Jimmy has been longing for a bigger one. But he can't make up his mind. Imagine that! So we ended up buying some more fish instead. I guess that would be considered his present from the dogs.

Alas, vacation time is over for a while. Of course Jimmy's friend Jeff,from Alabama, may be in town for the 4th. He wants an escape from his wife and her parents who live here in Houston. He is already anxious for college football to start. He bleeds Crimson for the Tide.

Life goes on.Vacations end.

Baseball Is Not Just A Game

We went to the Astros-Cardinals game Sunday. Too bad, the Good Guys lost. Too bad our friend Jan could not be with us. The Club Level seats were great with a great view across first base. But, on occasion we had to be wary of foul balls which seemed to fly in our direction.

This was not the first time we had been to a Houston Astros game. I remember going to some in the old Houston Astrodome. The kids enjoyed being part of a little summer program where they got special things and got to go down on the field and talk to some of the players.

While watching the game at Minute Maid Park Sunday I thought of what it must look like to a person who has never seen a game in a stadium like we have. Seeing baseball on tv is good since you have a close up view of the batters. But to be there in the seats gives a completely different view. Everywhere you look are bright, flashing lights urging the fans to support the GoodGuys. Of course there is a really big screen tv to show the replays. The stadium even has the old scoreboard which used to be in the Astrodome. When the Astros hit homers the sign flashes with the huge bull with steam venting out his ears while the cowboy ropes him. Woe unto the opposing pitcher who gets pulled and sent to the showers. He'll see a cartoon of a pitcher being showered. There are some wild and fun graphics with this board.

The organ music is entertainment in itself. Several Astros have their own "theme" music as they come to bat. Or there is music to taunt the opposing team for their mistakes. Of course their music to encourage the fans to react. You would not think that a place like this could vibrate but it does. Then of course there is the train which sits high above the staduim. Just listen to the whistle blow and the bell clang!

All over the place fans bring homemade signs for their favorite players. Hunter Pence has his "Peeps". Carlos Lee has his fans who gather in the area called the Crawford Boxes with their toy stick horses and sombrero hats. They get animated when he sends a home run their way.

Even though the roof is almost always shut, except during the World Series (MLB rules) it can open. That is a very strange feeling to be sitting in the stands while the roof pulls back. Suddenly the air feels different and you get a little bit of a funny feeling. I suppose it is all in the mind. Most of the time it is closed during the games because of the heat. But sometimes late in the night games the roof will open. It is a visual game for your mind watching it open.

Movement is something that is not so obvious while watching a game at home on tv. Sitting in the stands you realize how far away the outfielders are and how much ground they cover when chasing a ball. The entire Astros' infield moves in toward the batter as the pitcher throws to the plate. All at once, like some kind of orchestrated dance move. Then there is the occasional bird that flys high above the field or into the rafters. How did those birds get in? Through the doors of course. Or the roof.

Sometimes I just wonder what a child who has never been to a Major League baseball game would think of a place like this. So much to see, so much to hear. So little time for the game. What do they think of it all. It is almost too much to take absorb in just one game. That goes for the kid in all of us.

Tinkle, Tinkle

Do your ever wonder what animals think? Do they have opinions? The other day Daisy discovered the fish in the tank as they swam around. She looked back at me as if to ask, "What are they doing?" Then she watched her reflection in the glass of the tv stand. "Who is this dog that looks like me and why won't it come out?"

When we go outside Daisy likes to take notice of what is going on in the neighborhood and the traffic on the streets. She doesn't think much of people who blow their horns to try to scare her. She just looks back at me with disgust. She would much rather try to get the attention of anyone who happens to walk around the parking lots.

But she is still inquisitive as to what goes on. She has to check out any thing that has been left on the ground, parking lots or walks. I guess she thinks she has to keep track of who is doing what. Our neighbor across from us can't always get his garbage in the can. Sometimes it lands on the ground or the walk. Daisy has to survey what ever she finds. I guess she thinks she is in charge of what hits the ground around here. She had to check out the burger wrapper which blew across the lawn. Then she had to check out the can in the paper bag which was littering the firehouse grass. It was only an empty Arizona Tea can, not beer. I think she might have been a little disappointed since she has been known to sneak a little wine now and then.

But yesterday she spotted a scratch off lottery ticket on lying on the grass. Apparently it was not a winner since the buyer tossed it away. Daisy walked up to it, gave it a once over sniff. Then she took a couple of steps, placing herself over it. Positioning herself just right, she squatted over it and peed on it. Was it just relief, or a social commentary?

It is Hot Here, Turn up the Heat a Little More

Just when we were enjoying the balmy days of spring, summer has decided to raise it's ugly head. The temperatures have been getting hotter and hotter. We have gone from the relative comfort of the middle 80's to the upper 90's in a matter of just a few days. Every time I look at the weather forecasts on tv it looks worse. Of course I am sure there are some people who actually enjoy this weather. After all it is a little like living in a sauna. Not only are the actual temperatures in the mid to high 90's but the humidity is also climbing to high levels making the temperatures feel even hotter. Few clouds and no rain are expected. Right now at 11:00 it is in the high 80's. When the heat index is factored in the temperatures in the late afternoons feel closer to 100+ degrees.

Without any relief in sight, the Public Utility Commission has decided to issue some suggestions to avoid rolling blackouts. They suggest that if we are not at home we should set our thermostats at 85 and when we are home 78. They are also suggesting that we not use appliances and turn off lights between the hours of 3pm and 7pm. Let's see, don't use hair-dryers, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers. Don't use the oven, instead cook food in the microwave. Yeah, well I hate cooking anyway, but my microwave is about to die so I really don't want to use it. At least I always do my laundry in the morning.

Since my husband works a lot outside or in places that don't have a/c I can just see him coming home to a house that is 80 degrees. Not going to happen. I suppose the PUC is thinking people should not use computers either between 3 and 7pm. Just try prying Jimmy's fingers away from his poker game!

I hope the local utilities realize that this in only the first week of June. It doesn't really get hot until August or September. People living in Houston do not like to be hot. Man I can remember living in Alabama as a kid. Some places did not even have central air conditioning. My grandfather lived in New Jersey did not have it either. Looks like the cool summer breezes are gone with the wind. Fans anyone?

The Knock at the Door

The other day while I was trying to catch up on my emails and things there was a knock on the door. We don't usually have people just stop by so I looked through the peep hole to see a large man in brown standing there. Hum, I thought. When I opened the door I discovered it was the UPS guy who had an express envelope for Jimmy. So I signed for it and went back inside. When I opened it I discovered a letter from Jan and the baseball tickets she had bought. I did not know she was sending them. It seems that for some strange reason they only had a very small smoky look on one of the pictures. The tickets otherwise were in good shape. She had told Jimmy she was sending them but he forgot to tell me. So I was surprised. Funny how things in life happen. The tickets are really not damaged. Neither was a small stash of cash Jan had in a kitchen drawer. So I guess we will be going to the game this Sunday after all. Of course now that the Astros are on a losing slide with our luck, well I won't speculate on the game. Maybe they will win this one. I would at least be nice even if Jan can't join us. I still have a hard time thinking about what Jan must be dealing with right now. Well, she'll be with us in spirit.

Fire Damage

Pictures of our friend Jan's house in Virginia, or what is left of it. This is what $600,000 worth of damage looks like.

You Just Never Know

We have been getting ready to have a visit from our poker friend who lives in Virginia. We have stocked up on good old Texas style food. We also have been thinking of places to show her and things to do. She bought bought us all Astros baseball tickets for Jimmy's birthday.

Jimmy did not play poker much this week-end. When he got on the computer yesterday there was an IM from Jan. Now she won't be able to come visit us because her house burned down Saturday. She and her mother had gone shopping so Jan was not home at the time. The house was a total loss, including her two cats. Six fire-fiighters were hurt fighting the blaze. They were hospitalized, but will be ok. Apparently the fire had started on the patio from a cigarette in an ash tray.The Fire Chief ruled it an accident. She was well insured so everything will be replaced by insurance. She had recently, after tax season bought several hundred dollars in clothes as well as new furniture including patio furniture. All of that was destroyed. Even her plane ticket and the baseball tickets were destroyed.

It just proves that we think we can make plans but you never know how they will work out. Sometimes fate has a hand in our plans. I have been thinking about this ever since we found out.
What if that was our home? You just don't know how fast life can change. One day you are working for a big CPA firm near Washington,DC and living in a beautiful house. You think you have a good life. Then without warning something happens to change your outlook on life. You just never know, you just hope it doesn't happen to you.

Nutty People

I sometimes wonder why people do things. Then again, do they even think about what they do? We have a friend who is a successful CPA near Washington, DC. She and another friend of ours who lives in Alabama decided to take a cruise together. So, while our CPA friend is a single woman, our male friend has a girl friend. Of course as things go, while on the cruise they got drunk one night and well, you know the rest. But wait, it gets worse. After our gal-pal got home she decided to hire a private detective to find the girl friend of the guy! She fully intends to confront the girl friend with the news that the guy hooked up with her while away from his own girl friend! When I heard this, all I could think to say was "aw,come on! Grow up!" I just find it hard to believe that a smart, intelligent woman over 40 would stoop to this. Jeez! Somebody needs to have a chat with this woman.

Then I have to wonder what is up with some of our neighbors.First, I wish I knew which one keeps putting their garbage bags out days before the garbage truck is due to come. Do they really think that animals will not get into those cheap plastic bags? And of course they never pick up the scattered trash. Oh, and then there are a couple of neighbors in the other buildings who have apparently forgotten where the lines are in the parking lots. I went out to walk Daisy this morning and saw three vehicles parked cross-wise across the parking slots. What's up with that? I know that one has recently gotten an SUV so maybe they have not learned to park very well since they back that big thing in, But that doesn't explain the other cars and why they are taking up extra spaces. Maybe someone should tell them?

And the really funny, sort of, thing is that apparently our landlady sent someone out to trim some of the shrubs. While that is good, they left all the cut off branches right where they fell. They did not pick them up. Plus they did not even trim all the shrubs and only did a half ass job on others. Who is going to clean up that mess? I guess some people need constant supervision or training. I wonder how long those branches will stay where they are? Maybe they think the guy who mows and weed-eats will pick up the mess. Ha! Not gonna happen. They don't pick up their mess either!

I sure hope the Jehovah's Witnesses who descended on the neighborhood this morning enjoy walking in this heat. I ran into them before 9:00 am and it was already hot and humid. Maybe I should offer them a shower with a hose?

Gotta Love A Prodigal Son

As soap operas go the misled character returns to the family after discovering he was mis-led. So enters my son, home again, a little worse for wear. After getting a transfer to Odessa and moving all his worldly possessions there to be with the mother of the "child", he discovered the plot. Just imagine the crushing blow when he discovered there would be no child. Pack up the truck and get the Hell out of Odessa! Ten miles to the gallon? Talk about a long trip. Now on the way back, he has to think about where he will work when he gets back. At least he was assured of a home with Amanda.

We all had dinner together Sunday. Looking a little worse for the wear and tear of frustration, I had to give him a hug. Then I could not resist giving him a smack on the back of the head ala Jethro Gibbs to Tony DiNozzo on "NCIS". Did he learn anything? He says he did. He also described how Heather's son acted while he was there. That boy will end up being a problem for a lot of people in the future. But hopefully that soap opera will be on another channel.

Timing is everything so I have heard. Now that Pat is back in town, he could not wait to go see the girl he was with after he broke up with Heather the first time. Scorecard anyone? Pat & Heather, Pat & the new girl, then back to Heather, now back to the new girl. While do I feel dizzy? Well, at least he got a job with a company who wanted to hire him away from his old job a long time ago.

So, on he goes to the next chapter. Wonder what the writers have in store for this part of the never ending soap opera? Stay tuned, next week, next month, next year? After all, soap operas never die,but the ratings might. For now to quote Ty Pennington at the end of each "Extreme Makeover-Home Edition" Welcome Home Pat, welcome home.

As My Stomach Churns, Churns On

When last we left the family soap opera, we had discovered that Pat was planning a move to Odessa to be with his "pregnant" ex-girlfriend. We are doing this for the sake of the baby. Ok, have a nice life but we don't have a good feeling about this. We don't support this decision. Of course, as soaps go, this split the family. All our children could not understand our feelings.

I continued to have conflicting feelings about not only the move to Odessa but the whole situation. I kept thinking something was a little off. A ghostly voice kept trying to get my attention. Like Adam's struggle with the ghost of Dixie on "All My Children" my instinct kept waving a red flag in my mind. I had always thought things just seemed wrong. My thoughts and prayers were always with Pat. I knew this would not end well. Staying together for the sake of children is not always a good idea. I know this from personal experience.

Yet I continued to think about them, hoping that he would be ok. Earlier this week, in the middle of my morning shower, I had a strange thought go through my mind. I could not explain this with any kind of logic. I was thinking about Pat's girlfriend's pregnancy. I thought about how far along she might be, then poof. Something told me "not going to happen". It was an odd feeling which I could not shake.

Yesterday Amanda called me. The first words out of her mouth were"Are you sitting down?" My mind's eye saw another bomb about to drop. Then she told me the news that Pat was going to come back to Houston because he had been misled. There was no pregnancy. Just as in a soap opera, the girlfriend had fabricated the pregnancy. Where have I seen this story line before? Amanda told me that she had called Heather to find out how she was doing and if she had found out what the sex of the baby was. As the conversation continued, Amanda soon figured out that something was not ringing true. First there had not been any doctor visits. No doctor visits mean no sonograms either. Then as the story went, Heather explained that she miscarried. Once again, no medical check. At the approximate number of weeks pregnancy she would have been, a doctor would have to have been consulted. So as the warning bells began to go off in Amanda's head, she figured out the plot.

So now Pat is planning to move back here, probably this week-end. Will he be able to get his old job back? Probably not. Thanks Heather. I wonder how much time and money he had to invest in this move to Odessa and the presumed baby, only to discover this fraud. And so the Young and Restless must wrestle with more of the Days of Our Lives. I knew that the hour glass would run out of sand soon. And so it goes, yet another chapter...

Protecting Worship

There was a seminar here in Houston the other day which discussed security issues. This was not a police department or retail company seminar. This seminar was about security for churches and pastors. I found this a little disturbing. To think that when we go to a place of worship we have to worry that someone may try to harm the people attending a service or the minister is sad.

The people attending the seminar talked about the different layers of protection now in use at churches. Most of us will never see the layers of protection. There are security people undercover in plain clothes outside and inside. Some carry guns and others don't. Some pastors, especially high profile ones, have body guards. This is something we did not have in the past. But apparently these days with some many ministers having televised church services virtually worldwide and many writing books, they need protection. Along with this come the need to keep the worshipers safe too. Going to a place of worship once was a source of comfort. Now in some places we may wonder where is the security detail?

There once was a time when you might drop by a church and say hello to a caretaker or maybe a guard walking the parking lot. Some times you could walk inside, sit down and be alone with your thoughts and God. In some places the doors are locked. You can still worship at the regular scheduled times. Just say a prayer for the security team.

Wearing Armour, Ready to Support the Quest

I think I am ready. Let's see, I have my armour and my defenses set. This is going to be a diffficult quest. It is not the first time we have sought this Grail and it may not be the last. But we are going to try again. Friday Jimmy bought some anti-smoking lozenges. Saturday he began this long difficult journey to fight the good fight and become smoke free.

Today is the start of the fourth day. Yesterday was a fight. According to the directions he should only need nine lozenges but he used ten. I don't know how the day went, but with the enemies all around, he fought hard. It doesn't help when people who work around him are sometimes idiots who do stupid things.

So far I have stayed out of the line of fire for the most part. I had to put my shield up a couple of times Sunday. I had to remember the point of the quest. Help Jimmy stop smoking. He seemed a little down last night, but he did not smoke. So far so good.

Only time will tell. With all the obstacles standing in the way Jimmy will have a tough fight ahead. It is too soon to even be able to see the Grail in the distance. Fog still shrouds the path. But I have my armour ready to ward off the arrows of failure. Each day will be another battle. Onward to the quest for the Grail of a smoke free life.

Motherhood

Sunday is Mother's Day. Do mothers really pay attention to all those commercials?The commercials are so annoying. How is a one year old going to pay for a diamond necklace? Why do the "mothers" look so beautiful? Try being beautiful when your kid has been throwing up all night. Or when you have been up late waiting for your teen to come home late again. Rather than all the stuff the commercials are pushing I liked the little things my kids made or bought without a commercial suggestion.I used to love the creations that my kids made in grammer school. I often wondered what their teachers got from their kids. We, as children, don't always appreciate our parents. I can't even count the times I heard my kids bemoan their fate by saying "Aw, Mom..." Sometimes we, as mothers, wonder will they ever grow up? Or we find ourselves saying that famous Erma Bombeck line, "Just wait till you have kids of your own!"

Motherhood is not easy. I have heard it said that it is punishment for a few minutes of "pleasure". After that, it is a life long struggle. We watch children grow and learn. We hope that we have been good examples for them. I've heard them say "Thanks Mom" or "I hate you" so many times. Occasionally I even heard "I'm sorry" or "You were right". At that point I wondered who those kids were, cause they could not be mine. Jimmy's Aunt Pat once said that when they are little, they walk on your feet, when they are older they walk on your heart. I have always thought that was a very insightful statement.

I always felt that I never measured up to my mother's standards. She had a very high IQ but she never finished college. What ever she tried seemed to be perfect, at least to me. She made most of my clothes from the time I was little to high school. I was one of the best dressed girls in high school thanks to her. She sang with Les Brown in the early 1940's. I can't sing. When I was in grammer school she to up art to help her quit smoking. Her paintings hang on my walls. Too bad my son who inherited her artistic talent, never uses it. In her mid forties she and my Dad decided to take up golf. She was pretty good. I enjoyed playing with both of them. She was a forward thinking woman, always ahead of her time. I often wonder what she would have thought of her grandchildren had she met them.

I was 22 years old when my mother died of ovarian cancer. For several years we had not really agreed on much. But we made our peace. Funny how teens or young adults would rather not discuss anything with their mother. It's always a fight. She doesn't like anything I do, we think. It is often later when we look back and wish we could talk to her. Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I miss you.

Is Texas Sinking?

Look out below! Part of Texas is sinking! Well, not exactly but there is a massive sinkhole which is causing some excitment and concern in Daisetta, Tx, a small town about 60 miles northeast of Houston. Over night it has swallowed oilfield equipment, telephone poles and even a tractor. So far it has not threatened the town however. Officials are trying to figure out how it happened. It may have been caused becaus of an old salt dome where oil brine and natural gas are stored underground. The town of Daisetta sits on top of a salt dome which is common trap for oil. Sink holes are supposed to be rare but geologists from are studying the situation. Tv stations from various cities have come to the small town of about 1,000 people to keep watch over the sink hole as it continues to expand. So much for the once booming oil industry in Daisetta. Every few hours the local authorites hold press conferences to talk about it. Even CNN has picked up the feed showing the hole getting bigger.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL9IPy74KII# So far it has continued to grow and get bigger. Just wait until it starts swallowing barns, reporters, helicopters and what ever it wants to eat.

Spring?

I thought this was supposed to be the spring season. We finally got a good rain the other day. Our area had very little rain for a while. Now the flowers and plants have perked up. I like springtime. It is a kind of a renewal ritual. Everything starts blooming and turning green. The again the grass, or in our case, the weeds go wild. We have nice temperatures so we don't have to use the heater or air conditioner too much. Sadly, I think spring is just about to leave here. All the local weather forcasters have dire predictions for this weekend. The last couple of days the humidity has returned. If you life in Houston, humidity is always a problem. Bad hair days are a problem. But now we hear that by this Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will flirt with record high temperatures. The record temperatures for these upcoming dates are from 92 to 94. Add the heat index to those and we could be feeling like it is over 100 degrees. Ugh! What happened to spring?? It is not summer yet, right? Well, there goes the nice cool breeze. Anyone for a little sauna time? Ah yes, here we go again, say goodby to spring and hello to summer. It is not even June yet.

Park That Call

Have you ever tried to park a phone call? Is it as much trouble as it is for some people to parallel park a car? I have heard a lot of operators answer the phone. Most of the time I hear them say, "How may I direct your call". That is a lot to say when someone is in a hurry. But I have never heard anyone direct a call by announcing, "Mr. Smith, you have a call parked on 101". Why would someone want their operators to say that? Would it not be easier to say"Mr. Smith, line 101" or "Mr. Smith, you have a call on line 101"? Even in airports you can hear an operator tell someone to "Please pick up the white courtesy phone for a call". In the really old days hotels would have people announce "Paging Mr. Smith". Mr. Smith was usually having dinner in the dining room. When he answered his page, someone would bring him a phone. At least that is what we always see in the old movies.

I know that this is not of any earth shattering importance but I just found the thought of parking a phone call a little funny. I hope the operator remembered to put the "parking brake" on. Does someone have to put change in the meter? If Mr. Smith does not answer the call parked on line 101 within a certain amount of time, does he get a parking ticket? What happens if the caller gets tired of being "parked", hang up?

What's That? A White Convertible?

Ah, just the sight of it sitting in the parking lot brings a smile to my face. Too bad it is now really dirty and even has some grease on the sides. How am I going to get that off? That car really needs a bath or two. After over two months of being car-less, just the fact that it sits there at my disposal makes me feel better. Now I guess I will have to get the oil changed since it has been driven all over Houston. Jimmy is very happy to have his truck back. I have never seen a person crawl into a car, but that is how he gets in. At least I won't have to listen to him complain anymore.

I guess his buddies will be glad they don't have to listen to him complain, either. For weeks they have been trying to get it repaired. When the bracket that holds the power steering pump broke. they had to weld it back together. He was lucky that he was near a parking lot when it broke. They were able to spot weld it together so that he could get back to the office. Then the fun began. They had to take off just about everything from the air filter, to the power steering, alternator, a/c and all the belts to get to the bracket to repair it. That was a major operation. Bolts, nuts, hoses, and other stuff everywhere. Somethings were easy to take off but others were a real pain. Then who knew how hard it would be to get it back together. Getting together at the same time on the weekends was the hard part. Marvin would tell Jimmy to call him, then he would not answer the phone. Or Jimmy would be busy. Then it would rain. Finally, crunch time. The truck was due for inspection at the end of April and needed at least two tires. So, they finally got it back together late Wednesday, but it was too late to get tires or an inspection. So yesterday he got home early enough to get tires and the inspection. Yipee! I don't know who is happier. Our poor car had tools and stuff in the trunk and stuff inside the car. What a mess. So this morning we got all his stuff out of the car and threw it into the truck. My baby is back! Poor thing, a Trans Am is just not a good work truck.

Now I can run my errands early in the day instead of having to wait until late afternoon when the traffic is a mess. I hate standing in line for things. Now if we can just get it cleaned up. I wonder what would be good to get the grease off the sides. Now I am going to have to find some kind of white or clear tape to hold together the edges of the convertible top to keep them from tearing more than they already have. That has been a problem since we don't have covered parking. Oh well. At least I have transportation again. On the other hand there is still one mystery. When they finished putting things back together, one long bolt is left over. They have no idea where it was supposed to go. Hum...

Roger, Roger, Roger Tisk, Tisk

Some people just don't know when to quit. They say something and before they know it things have gotten out of hand. Well, why didn't Rusty Hardin, Roger Clemens attorney, tell him to shut up? Of course Roger has an ego the size of Texas so I guess it is hard to tell him anything.

Of course he had a bad case of foot in mouth disease when the steroid use story came out. Even his best buddy Andy Pettite has distanced himself from Roger. Yet Clemens is still pursuing a defamation suit against his former trainer Brian McNamee. I have to wonder how Roger's wife Debbie must have felt when he said she used HGH for a photo shoot. I know what I would have said. It would not be pretty.

Now the saga is getting even more muddy. The New York Daily News reported that Clemens had a long time affair with country singer Mindy McCready. She says it was a decade long affair. Clemens' mouth piece, I mean lawyer, says nothing happened. The Clemens family has been friends with the singer for years. Uh, Debbie? Uh...anything you want to say?

Satchel Paige once said, "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you." Well, does Roger hear footsteps? Now there is a story linking Clemens with golfer John Daly's ex-wife Paulette. She says the two have been long time friends and did not deny any allegations. Hey Debbie, are you hiding under a rock? What about the kids?

How many more people (women) will hop on the beat up Clemens bandwagon? I don't really care. I just hate to see this happen. No body really cares about the fall from grace of Barry Bonds who is one of , if not the greatest hitter of this era, but some baseball fans are shaking their heads when they look at how far and fast Roger Clemens has fallen. I guess that"something" Satchel Paige talked about caught up to Clemens. That spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame is fading fast. Run for cover Debbie, it might get ugly out there.

I've Lost My Mind... No, Just the Ketchup!

The other night I fixed some fish and french fries. I like the malt vinegar ala Long John Silver's Seafood on my fish but don't use ketchup on my fries. Jimmy likes ketchup on his fish and fries. I had just bought some new ketchup since the bottle we had was nearly empty. I went to the pantry and got out my bottle of malt vinegar but I could not find the ketchup. I looked, and looked, and looked. I looked in all the cabinets. That didn't take long because we have a very small kitchen. The more I looked the more irritated I got.

So Jimmy managed to squeeze out just enough for his meal. But I was not satisfied. After supper I looked on all the shelves and moved things around hoping it had been pushed toward the back of the pantry. No such luck! I even looked under the bathroom cabinet since the bathroom is right next to the pantry. Then I looked in the coat closet which is under the stairs. I still had no luck. Come on, it can't be that hard to find one large bottle of ketchup! This place is not that big!
I even looked upstairs in the laundry room. Don't ask!

I even thought that maybe the bottle fell off the shelf at some earlier time. That would have possibly resulted in the bottle falling into the trashcan. Surely I would have noticed a brand new bottle of ketchup which had never even been opened. How hard would that be to spot in the trash? Apparently pretty hard. I even considered that maybe I put it somewhere and forgot where I put it. I looked all over this place. I can only guess or hope that I have not lost my mind. But I have apparently lost the ketchup! I am not amused!

Bullies Among Us

More and more every day we hear about bullying in schools. We wonder why children are so mean to each other. What sets a child on the road to becoming a bully. What makes this child feel that he or she has to intimidate other kids? Is something lacking in this child's homelife? Do the parents bully each other? What can parents do to help their children? Are parents part of the problem?

When I was in school kids seemed to like to make fun of me. I guess this could be considered bullying. I was a small child who wore glasses, had buck teeth and my last name rhymed with "tomater". So you can just imagine the words and laughter I heard. Many times I cried because I felt hurt by these kids. None of this was physical, but the words stung just as much. What did my parents tell me? They suggested that I either laugh with them or just ignore what they said. As a shy child this was hard to do. In one form or another this went on even in to high school. As a sophomore, two football players in my English class made fun of me by calling me Oswald because of the books I chose to read for book reports. I knew that the teacher would give better grades if the students chose harder, classic books like "Ivanhoe" or "Wuthering Heights".As a teen this bothered me even more than it did in grammer school. I was sick to my stomach every morning. What did my parents say? The same thing they said before or find something in common with them that we could talk about with each other. It was hard for me to get up the courage to laugh at their comments and even harder to try to talk to them. But eventually I did because I never let on what I really felt and learned to focus on them instead.

My older daughter had a run in with a girl in high school. She was frustrated in much the same way I was. I suggested, as my parents did, to laugh with the other girl. I told her that if that girl knew she wasn't going to fall into the trap she would probably stop because the game was over. It worked. They became friends.

Some how parents have to take more notice of what kids are doing. It is worse today than it was when I was in school. Not only do kids bully in person they can do it from cyberspace and on the phone. Why is it so hard for parents and kids to talk to each other? People are not always going to get along or even like each other. But they will have to get along. Parents can help. But maybe they need to learn how. It is not hard. Pay attention, listen, speak, help.

Miley"s Autobiography??

So Miley Cyrus plans to write a book about her life. Yeah, her life story...hum. She's 15! Come on. Ok, call me cynical but remember she is 15! Don't tell me, it's going to be a pop-up book, right? No? While I do like Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana, what can she say? She says she wants to focus on her relationship with her mother. That's nice. I would hate to see what my kids would have written about me at the tender age of 15. Couldn't this be a little over-kill. I hope that this book will be a sucess for her. So far much of what she has done has been very sucessful. You can't walk into WalMart without seeing clothes, shoes, sunglasses, etc everywhere. Now there will be a book. On the positive side maybe the tweenies will learn how to have a good relationship with their parents with what they read in Miley's book.

Maybe she should make this book in a ring-binder. That way as she grows up she can add some more pages. Other than her show biz sucess and her relationship with her mother, what else can she talk about? Let's see, the first years- I wore diapers until I was two and was potty trained by three. My mom taught me to walk and talk . Daddy taught me to sing. I now sing better than he does. Come to think of it I act better than he does too! Hey wait a minute is he expecting me to take care of him for life? Oh wait I forgot to tell you what Hannah Montana would have to say about...

Let's see- asuming $15.95 per copy... Oh boy! I hope her book does well. I wonder how many pages it will be. Some of her younger fans may not have a long attention span. Then again, with all her great sucess, at least she won't have to worry about having an achy, breaky heart any time soon.

Bananas Fight Wrinkles?

I ran across a recipe for a natural wrinkle remover this morning. This, I guess, was in line with the Earth Day awareness and homemade things which are supposed to be environmentally friendly. But bananas as a wrinkle cure? I just find this a little funny to imagine.

The recipe says to mash 1/4 of a banana to a creamy texture. Spread all over the face and leave on for 15-to 20 minutes. Then rinse off with warm water followed by a "dash" of cold water and pat dry. What is a "dash" of cold water? How do you measure that? And I guess you can eat the rest of the banana while waiting those 20 minutes. What else are you going to do?

I can just see it now. The husband walks into the room. "Honey, what is that on your face?" Can you imagine the reaction when he finds out it is a mashed banana? Then there would be the reaction of the kids as they race by on their way out to play. They might actually run into each other when the shock of seeing that finally hits them. "Mommy, why are you wearing mushed bananas on your face?" Now if the the kids or even the husband really work at this, they could have a joke fest.

Then there would be the reaction of the family pets. I can just see the cat or dog climbing into the woman's lap and sneaking a sniff. When they discover that it is a banana, what would they do? My dogs would immediately want to not only smell it, but they would probably think it would be a good snack. Face washing by dogs, hum... Oh but wait, the cat would really have fun. Dear Kitty's sandpaper tongue would not only clean off the banana but provide a good scrub, too.
Yeah, about that time the kids would come in and drop to the floor in hysterics as the dog,cat or both try to clean up the mess.

Now this is supposed to be a wrinkle remover. Has anyone ever really tried this? Does it really work? How long would it take to see any reduction of wrinkles? How would anyone explain this to friends or family? Would they be taken seriously? I can just see the eyes rolling. Bananas are still fairly cheap and I have always liked them. I'm not sure though if I want to use them to remove wrinkles. Of course if they do I may buy out the store's supply!

Bordom, a Caladium and a Robin's Egg

This weekend bordered on boredom. Taxes had been done and I sent the feds their money. We went grocery shopping. I discovered a grocery gift coupon in my purse so our $70 bill was only $50. How do two people spend $70 for one week at the grocery store? I guess I will never figure that out. Jimmy either played poker or slept most of the week-end.

Of course most of the movies that were on tv were either not my taste or I had already seen. The Rockets lost the first game of the playoffs. I didn't watch so I didn't really care. Of course then I attempted to watch the Astros who lost again Saturday. Then Sunday I barely looked at the game but when I did, they were behind. Suddenly they were ahead. Then they put the closer in. Hide my desperation. Ah, relief, the closer did not blow the game!

But, in true form hope springs eternal. While waiting patiently(?) for Daisy to decide which blade of grass she would choose to use for her business, I discovered an empty robin's egg. I picked it up. It still amazes me how fragile they are. Of course that made me look around to see if I could see a next. But, I did not find one and I made a dove and a grackle mad in the process.

Finally Daisy finished her journey around the building. As we walked back to the door something else caught my eye. One lone caladium had popped up in the little(make that miniscule) garden area in front of our unit. The soil there is not very good. When we first moved in it was overgrown with airplain plants. In order to plant some flowers I had dug them out. Unfortunately all of the flowers I planted had died. I had decided not to even bother this year. So, when I saw this one little plant waving at me I could not help but feel hopeful. Now, should I get some more plants? Well...maybe I shouldn't push my luck.

It is Still Early

I sat down to watch the Astros game yesterday. Big mistake. The ultimate rout was 10 to 2. Sigh. I know it is still early and the team has historically been a second half team but... I read somewhere that the Houston Astros' payroll is in the neighborhood of $93 million. At this point if I were Drayton McLain, I would think about asking for a refund. He paid a lot of money to dump players to get power hitters. We all knew the pitching would be suspect. At this point we are all a little numb.

All the power hitters are playing softball. We are supposed to have a lineup that a pitcher can not walk one to get to a weaker hitter. So far our big bats are being used as fans to cool the air. Berkman, Lee, Tejada, Pence are all trying but even when they do get some hits, too many runners are left on base. Funny that was a problem last year.

Oh and then we hear that Miguel Tejada fessed up that he is not 31 but 33. It seems that when he first entered the big leagues it was suggested that he lie about his age. What that two years means who knows. Now the media guides will have to be amended.

Pitchers are still trying to find home plate. Even the war horse Roy Oswalt has had no real sucess. That should have been a given. Wandy Rodriguez is doing better than Oswalt. Go figure. Even when the team has a good lead the bullpen frequently lets the starters down. And at this point when I see Jose Valverde warm up I think seriously about changing the channel. With 1 save, 2 blown saves and a whopping 11.37 era in 6 games, it is enough to want Brad Lidge back.

Of course the Washington Nationals are not having much luck either. I wonder if the Pope said a prayer for them while he was at the stadium. Maybe the Astros should just decide to play all the other slow starting teams. So far the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers lead the best of the worst with 7-9 records. The Astros and Giants are tied at second with 6-10 records. We could have it worse. The Detroit Tigers are suffering with a meager 5-11 record. But the lowest of the low honor goes to the Washington Nationals at 4-12.

Well, shall we all dig out our crystal balls and see where these teams will be say in July? Or where will they be at the end of September? If things don't significantly improve I wonder which or if any of the managers of these early losers could be dismissed. Of course all of these teams could turn things around and be on top. It is still early.

On the other hand I could watch the Houston Rockets who actually made it to the NBA playoffs. Wonder how long they will stay?

Blah, Blah, Blah

In case you did not know this, today is National Blah, Blah, Blah Day. Aren't you glad you now know this. Ahem,so in case you were wondering blah, blah, blah. And also blah, blah. Where have we heard this before. Oh, let's see, a boring teacher? Or maybe it sounds like a politician. The again we have all read the minds of our kids as we try to explain to them why they are not allowed to do something. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And don't forget the way they roll their eyes while you are saying blah, blah, blah. So in celebration of this most important day why don't we all celebrate by blah, blah, blah.

To quote Charlie Brown, "Oh, good grief."

Have a nice blahful day!

How Many Years?

Time flys so the saying goes. One day your child is taking that first step, next thing you know they have grown up. Jimmy and I were thinking about how long we have been here in Houston. Then we realized that next year Annie and Jason will be married ten years.

So then reality set in. We looked at each other and remembered that this year we celebrate twenty years of marriage. Yikes! Well my first marriage dragged on for 17 years of agony. So thinking of this twenty years has been something else. While no marriage is perfect, this one has been more of an adventure compared to my first one. We have learned a lot together. We now have been together long enough to be able to know what the other is thinking and almost finish each other's sentences. We've been up and down. One thing I think we have learned is when to just shut up. We've learned that sometimes an issue is not that important. Especially when two days later we don't remember it. We've learned to enjoy the little things and to laugh at ourselves.

It is hard to believe that twenty years have gone by so fast. I hope the next twenty go by a little slower so that I won't miss any thing.

Lot of Flowers, No Bees

A while ago there were news stories about what was being called colony collapse disorder. Honey bees have been disappearing and this was the name the scientists gave the problem. Nobody really seems to have a good answer as to why this has happened.

I remember a couple of years ago, the house we rented had bees inside the siding by the garage. My landord had an exterminator come out and kill them. At the time I thought it was a good idea. Jimmy and I had been stung several times while triming the hedge. Now I wonder if it was the right thing to do. Years ago when I lived in Austin I came home from work one day to discover bees all over a young tree I had planted. Luckily one of my neighbors had called the Texas Parks and Wildlife people. As I stood wondering what to do, my doorbell rang. Apparently someone at Parks and Wildlife had gotten in touch with a local beekeeper who was at my front door. He was more than happy to take the bees away.

Now I wonder where the bees have gone. I have not really paid much attention to the colony collapse disorder as it was shown on television. The opinions about this situation are as many as there are scientists. Some say it is because of extermination. Others say it is because the natural habitat of the bees is being erroded due to urban sprawl and the loss of farm land. Some say that the bees have been infected with numerous viruses. Others say nothing is wrong. This is just a natural cycle.

I don't know what to think. While I got annoyed at all the bees flying around under the house siding, I did like to watch them in my flower beds. Now since we live in a townhouse group at the front of the residential street I have not seen any bees. There are a lot of flowers and flowering shrubs around our building as well as the entire neighborhood. I have no place for a flower bed here. But I can walk right out my front door and see several shrubs in full bloom. In the past I would have had to carefully circumvent the shrubs so as not to disturb the bees. Now I walk out and see no bees at all. All the flowering shrubs are in full bloom, yet there are no bees anywhere. Flowers and pollen drop to the ground untouched by Nature's pollinators. I feel a little sad. Is this really a normal cycle or is Someone trying to tell us something?

I've Heard That Before

Chris Rock's mother Rose has written a parenting book. I haven't read it nor do I know what makes her an authority on parenting but I did see part of an interview with her. She seems like a nice person who raised her children to be good people. Don't we all hope that we can do this?Some of us do a better job than others do. I am always amazed at the parents who have several children and can maintain their sanity. There are always questions. Do we spank or not. Do we ground them or take away something. We we have "the talk" or let someone else tell them the "facts of life"? Some parents even question should they be friends with their kids? Or should they be the parent?

One of the things that Mrs. Rock discussed was the fact that she told her kids that she was their mother, not their friend. I remember that statement very well because that is what my mother told me. She was there to set the rules and teach me to become a good adult. We were not going to dress alike or were we going to like the same things. Sometimes I felt she did not understand me. Did I need a friend or a parent? Maybe I needed a little of both. Some times we all do.

I do think the statement, "I'm your mother, not your friend" is important. Of course when I said that to my kids, I was the meanest mother on the planet! At the time they did not always understand why. Parents must make unpopular decisions and listen to a few doors slam. Even the best house rules do not always work. But one thing a parent can look forward to is when the children grow up. Then as the parent, you have the fun of saying, "Just wait till you have kids of your own!" When the kids grow up and are on their own things change. Not only do they have to pay their own bills, then they have kids. Some kids actually realize that some of the things they heard as children were right. Suddenly,when they have grown up they can see why their parents were not their friends when they were kids. As adults they can be friends with their parents. Then you hear," Mom, this kid is driving me nuts!" Stay strong and be the mother. Friendship comes later.

Get That Mouse!

I finally, cross my fingers, have our pc working again. Now I can search for information without being taken to some other site. Just imagine looking for Best Buy and coming up with some other odd place. Since I ran a spyware scan several times and trapped some bad guys it seems to be working better. So Jimmy and I were talking about his laptop yesterday. He did not know if there was a spyware program on it. There isn't. He did not even know anything about the virus program which is on the laptop. It apparently came with the computer and runs all by itself. We thought it would be a good idea to check out the system.

"Check it out tommorrow, ok," he said. I thought to myself that that should be easy. A laptop is not much different than a pc. So this morning I sit down to check Jimmy's baby out. I soon became annoyed. Nothing is the same as the pc. His uses Mozilla. When I first got on to look at it I saw that IE was only #5. Then I remembered Mozilla, not IE. Ok so I decided to check out the system and maybe update some things. Well, call me stupid! (Hey not everybody at once!) Nothing looks familiar. And I found myself frustrated trying to get the curser to move and to go when I wanted. Just keep pushing around the little square. The right and left clicking was not a problem. Where did the curser go? Come back here! Move! Rats! Not the one the Survivors had to eat last week, ugh! Now I know why Jimmy wants to get a laptop mouse. I started this little escapade at 7:03 this morning when I checked out the virus scan. By 7:15 I had a headache! I was sorely tempted to throw things. Why didn't we go back to WalMart and get that mouse?!

Can you guess what will be the first thing on our shopping list when we go to WalMart Friday? Not paper napkins or toothpaste, oh no. That stupid little mouse will be first on the list! Give me a headache in the morning, will ya! I'll show you! Oh, wait, I had better not get my hopes up. Given our previous experiences with WalMart, when we go back to get that little red mouse, they probably won't have it!

The Quest

Jimmy is enjoying his laptop these days. He did say he wanted a laptop mouse and maybe a light. He also decided he wanted a tray table to put the laptop on so he can sit in his chair, watch tv, and play poker. Since the keyboard is dark we figured a light would be good. So Saturday we decided to go looking to see what we could find.

Since Jimmy's truck is still waiting to be put back together, he has been using the TA. Lets face it. A sports car does not do well as a work car. It has to be driven all over town loaded down with tools and other stuff. Plus that leaves me home without transportation. Not that I am some one who likes to run around, but...I haven't been out much so when we went out I looked around at places I had not seen in a while. Did I mention I don't get out much? We drove down the street and I discovered a couple of new apartment complexes. I even saw some new stores. Or at least to me they were new. Why do things look different if you have not been out for a while?

Our first stop was Circuit City where Jimmy was surprised to find a laptop light for a good price. He was happy with that, but they did not have the mouse he wanted. He wanted a red one. Why? I don't know. And of course Circuit City did not have any tray tables. We also went to Office Depot and Best Buy to check out the mouse availability. No red ones were found. So we decided since he knew that he could get the one he wanted at the WalMart near our place we decided to embark on the quest for the tray table. This turned out to be more difficult than we thought.Two Walmarts and a Target only had the folding, sit in front of the chair style. He did not want that kind. He wanted one that the legs would slide under the chair and the table could be adjusted to different heights and angles. So on we went to another store. We found one at Linens and Things but it was $30. Jimmy did not want to pay that much. So we went to another WalMart farther down the street. By this time my feet are starting to hurt. Don't get out much, remember? So, as a last ditch effort I suggested we check out one a pharmacy. So we drove over to a CVS pharmacy which happened to be nearby. Yipee, he found one there for just $20. My feet thanked him. I was getting tired of walking all over those stores and finding nothing.

Finally Jimmy was happy. Now we decided to go home. But since we were both a little crabby and hungry we decided to stop at a Mexican resturant near our home. We had never been there before. It was actually within walking distance of where we live. So we stopped to eat and were pleasantly pleased with the food. It was more authentic Mexican style rather than Tex-Mex which is so popular here. I was happy. Remember I don't get out much these days.

So now Jimmy is happy with his new tray table and light and I got out of the neighborhood for a while. Now, when will he be able to finish the work on his truck? Soon, I hope, before I forget how to drive. I need to get out more. Ha!

Teachers, Children and What Now?

It is too bad that parents don't get a training manual when we get kids. Sometimes being a parent is not fun. Punishing a child for things as we used to say "hurts me more than you". Loving a child is just as hard. We want the best for our children. We hope to teach them to be good people. So why do we see so many stories of children behaving badly? Is it just the media playing to the emotions of all of us? Or is there something else?

We see more and more stories of teachers having sex with students. We see stories of students being bullies to other students. We have just seen a story of 8,9, and 10 year old children who had planned to attack their teacher. The kids were supposedly angry because the teacher told a child not to stand in a chair. Here in Houston we have seen the report of a teacher telling her students that they were stupid. A parent had concerns about the teacher's conduct so she put a recording device in her child's backpack. What she heard was surprising. The Pre-K teacher was heard saying"Everybody understand that? You're so mean to me, so I get to be mean to you. Y'all are just stupid kids. I swear to God." I can not imagine a teacher talking to a young child this way.

How do we get to this dark place? Are we, as parents, to blame? Do we blame video games, movies or music? Where do our children learn that sex with a teacher is ok. We blame the pretty teacher. What about the school yard bully? They need to defend themselves, right? A teacher punishes a student. So, the kids plot to attack the teacher. Did we teach our kids to react this way? Maybe we have.

Our kids watch us. They see how we talk to each other. They hear not only what is on tv, but how the parents react to things. Dad calls a co-worker a son of a bitch. Mom tells her sister she is stupid. Children are like sponges. They absorb what they see and hear. They are witness to the kindness and cruelty we say and do. I don't pretend to understand why people are doing things the way they do. I do know that what we say to children affects them more than we may know. I have heard a mother tell her son that he is worthless, stupid and the scum of the earth. When I heard this, the child was not even old enough to go to school! Then I heard the woman's boyfriend and his stepsister say the same things to the child. I was shocked. At the time I did not know the mother very well. I did know the other two adults because they are my son and stepdaughter. When I questioned them about what they said to the child, they said that they were just playing. Playing? I was especially concerned because I had thought I had taught my son better. I was also very upset with my stepdaughter because she has a mentally challenged sister. Yet no-one thought there was anything wrong.

In the great soap opera of my family this is one reason why I did not jump for joy when I found out that my son and that woman were back together and expecting their own "bundle of joy". If they don't see anything wrong with the way they talk to her child, what about the baby? What chance does the new one have? I have tried to talk to my son about this behavior, but I have not really made any headway. The older child should be going to school soon. I wonder if he will call some kid "the scum of the earth". Kids love to repeat what they hear others say. I hope his teacher doesn't call anyone stupid. Then again, he is a big boy, maybe he will just smack someone. Maybe he will bring a used diaper from the new baby and plunk somebody in the head with it. And so the cycle continues...

Are We All Aware?

April is autism awareness month. Today is World Autism Awarness Day. Many news programs are featuring stories about this disorder and the families affected by it. What do we really know? We know autism affects 1 of 150 children. It affects 1 in 94 boys. Eighty-four percent of parents with autistic children have divorced. Treatment of this order can be very expensive, especially for those children who have to go to special schools. Most insurance companies will not cover the cost of care. At this point no-one really knows what will happen to those who are severely disabled by this as the grow into adulthood. Many parents wonder who will take care of their children later in life.

Many of us know very little about autism, unless it hits our family. We wonder how to cope and if our children will be doomed to a life of frustration and lost hope for sucess. There are those who have grown up with autism and have thrived and become successful. Others stuggle every day just to communicate. It is time we learn. CNN is running a lot of information all day today. If you suspect that something is just not right about your child ask your doctor. Get a second opinion. Do not wait. There are many clinical sites which have information on this disorder. There are many charity and support groups including Easter Seals and Autism Speaks. Become aware so that some day we can solve this mystery.