In The Grove

I am still here, just on overload from the long weekend. I had thought today would be a day of rest, but we had a function to attend this morning, the last one. So much to process. Mr. M had an angina attack yesterday morning, a fairly severe one. He's fine. One dose of nitro worked its magic. Usually he takes the rest of the day off after one of those but yesterday he couldn't and not this morning either. Needless to say, the Shroom is riding herd the rest of this day and hopefully tomorrow too. I say hopefully because Irishmen can be so damn stubborn when they want to.

To Family and Friends:

A reminder: My old ISP (snowcrest) will no longer be effective as of 1 Jun 06. I am in the process of changing my web pages to reflex the new host. Please bear with me until I can be sure all the links have changed over. I will advise.

FK:

Check yer friggin spam mail will ya!! Geez. Don't make me turn you into a toad. *snicker*

GQS: Thank ye for finding that broken link. If I can unscramble my eggs, I have some material for upload on that site, not that I can ever keep up with you. *grin* Oh and congratulations. hehehe.. better you than me...ref: TMI.

I need a military issue helmet around here. You won't believe the debris flying about in individuals' cosmos... unbelieveable. More later.

Out.

Only In The Grove

Yesterday was one hell of a day. I would almost say it was a 'typical' day but I really am in denial, you know......

Yes, you heard me, I fluffed dried the cat! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!! The damn psycho mama cat, you'd think she'd learn after the incident last winter but apparently not. Last winter I dumped a load of clothing into the dryer, turned to find the softner sheets, put one in, shut the door and started the dryer. Well, the sounds from the dryer were funny. Something told me to open the door and out flew TT(psycho mama kitty) it only did one and a half revolutions before she was saved. So, yesterday, I had some clothing in the dryer I forgot about. I shut the door (someone had opened it and forgot to shut it) and started it up to get the wrinkles out and such and it was a load of whites so I knew the sound emitting from the dryer was too heavy sonding. I opened the door and out flew psycho mama kitty. Who said cats were smart? This time she did about 5 or 6 revolutions. Hopefully, she's learned something this time around.

Troll and Sprout got into it and not their usual playful banter. They were wrestling around and Troll did something to one of Sprout's flash points enough to just tick him off and away we went. Back and forth, until I got my hands on my plastic baseball bat and stood between them. Now if the energy hadn't been so charged, they probably would have laughed at me because both of them could easily pick me up and set me aside. I know this, hence my baseball bat. Someone tries to move me while I'm trying to defuse a situation and I'm gonna start swinging. Besides, they love me and they would never think to do anything to me. Respect is a precious thing. Finally I get that situation under control and send them both off to take care of their personal business and that was that.

Daughter decides they will bring the kids over because they have to go into town and I'm waiting on a phone call from Mr.M, who is off doing a couple of unexpected funerals up at the Veterans Cemetary. The conversation that ensued between us prior to the kids arrival was enough to make me yell "Aruuuugh!" into the phone, hang up, grab my keys and head down the Veteran's Post to await Mr M's arrival. I just needed to get out of the house before I reached into that phone and choked the chit out of that woman. Sometimes... that girl is one french fry short of a complete happy meal. By the time I got to the Post, Mr. M was already there finishing up a game a pool. So, I was talking to one of the Ladies (they're trying to recruit me into the auxiliary) and waited for the pool game to finish. In my effort to help Mr M make a difficult shot, I failed, miserably. Instead, I threw him off his stride, made him blush and lose the game, *wicked grin* which was my whole intent, distraction, that is.

To round out the evening, we all were sitting around watching Dateline and I heard Pookie say, "Oz, what did you do to your foot?" I looked over at Troll's dog and his right leg was sliced open, dang near to the bone. It wasn't bleeding so it must have happened some time before. Mr M bandaged him up, I called Troll at work (he had about an hour left) and advised him he would need to take his dog in to get stitches. So, when Troll came home, he changed and took Oz down to the vet. Oz came home this morning with stitches and a collar (can we say doggie satellite?)

Today is the only day we have a quiet schedule. We'll be heading out the door soon to take the kids to the Strawberry Festival. They serve up a wicked amount of strawberry shortcake that most people can't eat by themselves. We'll also be dropping the kids off to their parents there. I have a few bucks in my pocket and I look forward to browsing the wares they have to offer.

Have a Safe and Fun Memorial Weekend and please, take a moment to remember those who gave their lives and those willing to, to make it so.

It's Thursday?

I've lost track of time. I think that most of that is from the new adjustment to my increased amount of one of my BP meds. I seem to recall it doing the same thing when I first started them. The good news is that the increase seems to be working. It just makes me lethargic until my body adjusts the increase.

This weekend is just filled to the brim with either people or events, in which case, that still means more people. I am bracing myself because it means socializing and more people I am comfortable in dealing with. I'll manage. I've had some awesome training. Tha nk you Miss Amy wherever you are!

Tomorrow is the grandkids. If it's going to be anything like it was today, Lady help me. They are, for some reason, chalk full of questions. They drove their father nuts with them... and he didn't know how to answer this one... "Where did seeds come from?" Now where in the sam did they get that from? leave it to Grandma to have a ready answer should she be asked...and I was. I saw the grin on Pookie's face when she asked me.. and that little mischievious twinkle in her eyes...

"Meh-Meh?"
"Yes baby?"
" Where do seeds come from?"
" From fruit."
Dead silence.

I guess that meant end of topic because she skipped off to check on our strawberry plants. We're hoping to have enough strawberries for some real homemade strawberry ice cream for the 4th of July this year.

The new kittens now have their eyes open and Cleo's batch are starting to move around. Cleo is still not happy with being locked up and the fact she can't put her babies back in my pantry. Tough. The same is true for the psycho mama from hell. The new boy on the block (Oliver-Daughter's cat) is settling in well. He still can't get out of the our bedroom until the wenches are locked up with their babies, but he seems content to be where he is.

Well, I darn near burnt Mr M's oatmeal raisin cookies so I need to check out of here. Please be safe and careful this weekend. I don't want you to be one of the statistics.

Sanity vs. Normalcy

You know, at this point, I'm not sure what I hope for. Sanity would be nice but a bit of society defined 'normalcy' sounds really great too. Can't I have both?

I got my new computer up and running and I think I've almost installed what I wanted on it. I have to install Front Page yet and I think that will do it. I've got this smaller, more compact keyboard and I thought it wold be a good idea because it affords me more space. The jury is still out. I'm not sure I like it any better, but I'll give it a spot of time.

The black mama cat (cleo) had to have her babies removed from the pantry shelf. They now have their eyes open and are moving around. That's all I need is baby kittens falling off a pantry shelf. So they are now secured in the diningroom area in an exercise pen. We (Mr M and I) thought we could combine both mother cats and kittens. After all those two, Cleo and Miss Psycho (aka TT- short for Tiny Trouble) are like two Siamese cats, they do everything together. Where you find one of them, the other is there too or not too far behind. Well, that little experiment failed. A little while ago Mr M and I had to reset up the dog crate and put Psycho in it. We then had to move the dryer out and get her babies from behind there. In the process of moving the dryer back into place, I got one of my..um... attributes... squished or pinched between the dryer and washer. NOT ONE WORD AND NOT ONE SNICKER. I'd be tempted to turn the snickerers into frogs! That hurt!! Teach me to keep 'em bound until bedtime. Ouch. Needless to say, we got Psycho kitty locked up with her babies, Cleo locked up with hers and hopefully Celo will quit trying to take them back to the pantry and if I can keep the babies from sticking their heads between the bars and getting stuck. Oh yea, one of them did. Luckily the baby in question was not so chubby I couldn't get him unstuck.

OUTSIDE THE GROVE:

28 million veterans have possibly had their critical information (name, birth date, ssn) compromised? How did this happen?? Okay, I know how it happened, why was this person capable of downloading the info and what was the fool thinking????!!! he had absolutely no right to download the information let alone take it from his work site. The bloody fool needs to lose his job and he should be prosecuted. Lady Bless, I can't begin to fathom his mind. All he seemed to be concerned with his work load NOT the millions of names tied to that information. If the thief didn't know what he had before, I'm sure he does now. Hopefully, he discarded the disk thinking it wasn't of use to him and it is either recovered by the right people or has been destroyed. How lucky could any of those 28 million be? I hate the idea of having to be extra vigilant over someone else's stupidity. here's another reason why our ssn's shouldn't be used for every little thing.

June 6th, time for us to return to the polls. Oh goody. I'd like to hope that Arnold is out so he can go back making movies again. He seems to better at that than running our state.

The second part of 10.5 is on tv tonight. It sure does make you think and what's scary is, it isn't such a far stretch of possibilities.

Monday's Grace

The day started with smiles, hit frustration and ended the way it started, in smiles. I guess it can't get any better than that, eh?

My doctor's appointment went FANTASTIC. I couldn't really ask for a better report. My HDL (good cholesterol) is great, my LDL (the bad stuff) is under the acceptable loevel, it needs to go lower if you ask me. My A1C (which is my my blood glucose-they get a vial of my blood and they test it for overall sugar. That's how they know if you're 'cheating' or not)is still declining. The one I took 3 months ago was borderline at 6.9 (they want it under 7) and this one, three months later, is 6.2. I don't have to see the diabetic clinician again. I did pop in to show her my 'report card'. My calicum is a little low, nothing a supplement can't fix. The only thing is my blood pressure is up again. So my doctor upped one of my meds and wants me back for a blood pressure check in a month. Other than that, she is extrememly pleased with my progress as I am. It's been a lot of hard work and for me to actually have this kind of affirmation of my hard work so far is wonderful. To say I am pleased is putting it mildly.

Then I came home to have to try and figure out why the current computer I am using keeps freezing up, frustrating as in pulling hair, stomping my feet and whining. Finally I gave it up. Yep, just that easy. I'm so easy. I took my credit card and went down and purchased a new cpu and OMG, does she run like a beauty. I only have 100GB hard drive and I bought more memory for a great price and I now have a gig and half of memory. I also have an external hard drive so I am doing good. So everyone bear with me while I get info and stuff uploaded into this new one. Eventually I have this one in the shop to transfer all the other stuff from the other comp into this one. In the meantime, I'll just keep loading this one.

It's Saturday Night....

... and I ain't got nobody.... lalala... actually, that isn't true. Daughter and family just left. They came over to borrow a small tv/vcr I had and to polish off what chocolate chip cookies I made on Friday. Looks like I'll be baking tomorrow again. FB is my biggest culprit. I swear the first place he heads when he comes through my door is straight to my kitchen. I'll take that as a compliment.

The day in the Grove wasn't bad, busy but not all bad. I did manage to crack the pvc pipe from the water tank to the outside faucet. That meant Mr M and Troll had to go take the tank down, turn off the pump to the well and drain the water tank so Mr M could make repairs. That meant we were out of water for a couple of hours. In the meantime, I finished up some mowing, putting stuff away in the back forty, and did some outdoor decorating in the south planter bed, which included moving my jasmine. it was cloudy and cool outside so I took advantage of it while I have it.

Once Mr M got everything working again, I figured it was time to call it a day from working outside, came in took a shower and settled in to do some web work. I got the web site loaded, the channel marked to show it and got the mailing list done. Now I can work on my stuff next. I'm working on getting something done for Talisman (Talisman`, as it were)and a change in look for the stories pages. Sometime soon we're looking to put our brain power together and work up a new storyline. Due to the shift, I want to keep The Hallows and redo it as a tale for Talis before she gets back to Camelot. So, that tale will temporarily be removed until I can start on the rewrite. At the moment, my 'away time' is redesigning.

I'm looking forward to Sunday, my day of relaxation. I don't plan on doing any outside work. There's some work in the house I can't ignore, but at least, I can take my time and putter around to get it done.

Monday is the doctor's appointment and a trip to Sears to have the truck battery tested. We're not sure why the battery keeps needing a jump now and then.

Wednesday is a trip to the vet with Bubba and a funeral. Then there's next week's trip to our new Veteran's cemetary for the Memorial Day ceremony. I think I'll wear my new red hat. I don't need an excuse to wear it, but it's a perfect opportunity and a perfect touch to my dress up. I've been actually saving it, but once I've broken it in, look out. It's the most perfect gift because I have to wear hats, especially in the summer, due to the sun's rays. So it looks like May is going to go out as busy as it came in.

I was just thinking today that it's still May. It feels like June. For being so busy, May seems to be just slowly going by. All too soon schools will be out for the summer and there will be kids all over the place. The Zoo will become the busiest place around... gee I can hardly wait *snort*

Two Evils?

When one has to choose (then again, sometimes we don't even get a choice) between the lesser of evils, can we simply just not choose?

Apparently the rain is on its way in but we've still got the heat, not as high as it's been lately but certainly not cool either. At ten thirty in the morning I have the swamp cooler going as well as the fans and the livingroom curtains are still pulled closed. I am one that likes to let the light in but the necessity of keeping the coolness in rates first. I am hoping that the rains come and clear the air. I always did like the Earth smells after it rains. Humidity is not my friend.

Pookie Girl has been out of school this week so that means I won't get the munchkins this weekend. Her temp has returned to normal but she isn't keeping a lot of food down yet. Of course, the other day when they were over here, and after conversation with Troll, we found out that girl was eating a whole lot of stuff she shouldn't have been. She managed to get around all three of us, Troll, Daughter(Mom) and me. That's one smart little cookie, let me tell ya.

Bubba got medicine for his eye. It has an ulcer we're a bit concerned about. He could still lose the sight in it. Hopefully between the drops and the salve, it'll all turn out ok.

Both psycho momma cats from hell are doing well as well as the collective 9 kittens. The Grove has returned to normal, whatever the hell that is.

My blood sugar seems to have returned to normal standards too, thank the Lady for Her small Graces. I have an idea what elevated it and have taken steps to make sure it continues to do well.

Dad called last night, he saw both his doctors yesterday. His newly implanted whatchamacallit, the defib and pace maker, is working like it should. His other doctor says his kidneys have returned to full functional status and are even better than normal. So, he's doing good. Looks like my step-mother is going to have him out there painting the porch just as soon as they can get the paint.

Today's plans are no plans. I have a couple of things I want to accomplish but other than that, I'm making it an easy day/evening. I want to make the changes to the web site I'm working on so I can move all the files over to its original site. It'll be nice to at least be moving toward a functional working place again. I also want to work on getting my Camelot site/stories moved over to their new place as well. I'm closing out my old one on snowcrest by the end of the month. So, if any of you out there don't have my new email addy or haven't gotten it from someone, please let me know. It's been a hair pulling experience to try and remember who I got it to and who I still need to, to change over all my web subscriptions, yadayada and all that. I'm sure I have accidently forgotten some or someone.

I hope all has gone well in court and visiting relatives are a blessing... hugs and good thoughts...

I take that back, I do have one plan.. another cup of coffee.

Cookin' It

It's not hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk yet and according to the weatherman, we're suppose to get rain this weekend and into next week. Now, the rain isn't such a bad thing, but the humidity the high and low fronts has established is blech. I don't deal well with humidity at all.

I did manage to get outside for a bit and get my planter bed above the pond done. I'm going to have to invest in some algae stuff to eliminate the algae from my pond. I used the old waterbed mattress from my side of the bed as a pond liner. It's works really well. The only thing is it's blue so the pond being in the sun half the day means algae. I need to get something into the water to control it before I can put in plants and gold fish. The planter running the length of the south side of the house is almost complete. I have some gnomes to integrate and some more flowers to get into the bed and the new planter. I'm thinking moring glories. I want something that cascades over the sides of the planter and something with some color to give it some pop. I couldn't work out there too long because it's about 93 degrees out at the moment and I'm not sure what the humidity factor is.

Good News: My blood sugar has finally gone back down into the acceptable levels. I am happy to see that.

Dad called while I was outside but according to his message he's got some good news for me. I can't think what it is. He's been doing pretty good.

This evening is pretty low key. I'm working on making some chocolate chip cookies. Dinner is going to be fried chicken soaked in buttermilk. Don't go making that funny face. Buttermilk is good for chicken to soak in. It's makes the chicken really tender. Drain off the buttermilk, dip it in a milk wash (that contains hot sauce) and then roll it in flour and fry it up. Yummy. If you like that thick crusty crunch on your chicken you can dip it back in the milk wash after you roll it in the flour the first time and then roll it the flour mixture a second time before frying. The Zoo likes it either way.

The psycho momma kitty has settled down, finally. I have her in the crate with the door open but a sheet draped over it to keep it dark. She seems to be fine with that *knock wood*.

Bubba (Cherokee-the male Sheltie) went to the vet today. What we thought was a war wound to the eye (a fight with the psycho cat) turned out to be a nasty long foxtail lodged in his eye. The vet got it out and now Bubba is our 'satellite' dog for a ew days in order to give his cornea a chance to heal. He could lose the sight in that eye if we aren't careful. The poor baby is sulking because he has to wear that collar, but he is etrenally grateful to have that foxtail out.

Other than that, all is quiet on the homefront, just the way I like it.

Prayers and positive thoughts...

Craziness Still Abounds

So, like, the psycho mama-to-be cat finally gave birth. It's where she gave birth that I could choke her. She was strutting around here and looked thinner. She really didn't have any signs of having given birth so we just thought she was getting ready to get ready, you know. Then a bit later I was getting dinner in the oven and I heard a kitten in distress, in the pantry. So I checked on the other kittens and they were fine, sound asleep and it didn't sound like the sound was coming from any of them anyway. I yelled for Mr M and we kept trying to go through the pantry shelves to find this crying kitten. The sound was coming from the ceiling.

We had re-sheet-rocked the office and the pantry (they're ocnnected) and ran out of sheet rock so there was a portion we left empty. I can't see buying a full piece of sheet rock for just a small piece. I knew we'd be buying more sheet rock in the future anyway. The bottom line is the psycho wench went and had her kittens up in the area, among the insulation and between the roof itself and the sheet rock. You get the idea. Mr M went and got a ladder and sure enough, there were four kittens. So we pulled two of them out and then the other two were so far back that Mr M wanted to get his long bbq tongs to get them out with. I asked him if he was crazy. Those things are not forceps and he ain't no doctor. I got him one of my canes instead. We got them out and I locked them all up in a crate in my bedroom and tossed a sheet over it. The wench can stay in there for now. I need a bit of peace and quiet. I'll let her out tomorrow when I can deal with tracking her down and seeing where she moves her kittens to. At least that's all over with now.

It got pretty warm here today. Right now, it's 99 degrees. I've been hiding indoors. I am not sure if it's the diabetes, the high blood pressure meds or my age that is making the heat affect me. I'll have to check with doc on Monday. Needless to say, I guess I'll be working outside in the early mornings and the evenings now. More than likely the mornings as I don't like getting bitten by insects.

Still have the family for dinner but after that, it's home they go so Pookie can get a good night's sleep so she can go to school tomorrow.

Needless to say, it's been a long eventful day.

Tell Me Something I Don't Know

Just out of curiosity I took this mini stress quiz at Woman's Day and the answer came back, " Most times you are calm and collected, but now and then, you get thrown for a loop." Uh.. yeah. Okay, so maybe I'm not as stressed out as I thought or at least, I deal with it better than I thought.

What is up with all these new truck drivers today? Give me the old timers any time. I sure did feel safer way back then. These days I always am on my guard. Today I had to go pick up Daugther and her family (their air conditioner is broken)and I had this truck just pull out into my lane, without thought. If I hadn't hit the brakes, I would have plowed right into the truck. I know everyone is a rookie at some time, but I also know some of these guys don't get a lot of driving time with a partner. My ex-husband is a truck driver, his dad was a truck driver so I am not completely talking out of my hat here. More and more I am able to tell the rookies from the experience.... I think the hair on the back of my neck has finally relaxed.

Well, all my plans for the day have fallen by the wayside because of the family being here, but that's okay. Being semi-retired allows me to adjust accordingly.

Arrrruuuuugh!!!!!

Finally!!! I have just finished uploading all our personal website stuff to our new subdomain. What a friggin' PITA that was. I have yet to relocate my Camelot stuff. I figured after spending at least two hours on moving the other stuff, I'll work on my Camelot stuff tomorrow. The old web site is still good until the end of the month. I'll be emailing everyone with the new url when I have the new one completely functional.

In other news, I still have the psycho cat trying to steal off with the new babies. I heard one in distress in the pantry and had to dig to find it. Apparently Miz Pyscho dropped the goods. *eye roll*.

Daughter is feeling much better today but Pookie is still fighting that low grade temp. She's going to be headed for the doctor's office on Thursday if it doesn't break.

As for me, I don't know if it's just the heat making me feel icky or if something is going on. I'm glad I have a doctor's appointment on Monday. It's not too bad but I'm hoping it's just the lack of enough water in my system. Guess I'll find out next week.

Mr M is holding his own. They moved his group meetings back to the old place and out of the Veterans Post. Thank the Lady for small favors. Apparently the higher ups felt like I did that a group should not be meeting where alcohol is so readily available.

Well it's cooling down outside so time for a bit of work before coming back inside and starting dinner.

What The Heck?

I'm not sure what yesterday was all about, but you can be sure I kept a low profile. For starters:

Daughter: Not only is she dealing with a mild case of food poisioning, she calls me up, whimpering. "What did you do now?" I ask. She tripped on Topper's comforter and bend her big toe over and under so badly she not only heard this loud crack but she thought she had broken it. Then I get a phone call during the heat of the day with her whining that her air conditioner is broken or least it appears that the fan is broken.

Troll: Troll goes fishing, having a grand old time. Because he is exercising along with me, he's been losing weight. So, he decides that he wants to try another place, gathers stuff up and heads back to his SUV. About this time, his shorts start to slip down. He clutches it so as not to lose them and ends up banging into a tree and bush (with thorns) and not only cuts the back of his arm and shoulder up (accompanied with a great deal of bleeding) but he also scrapes the same area up via tree bark. Ouch. Oh yes, and Troll was moving downhill toward the lake at another spot and nearly collided with a nast looking thorn bush.

Mr M: The day went gently with Mr M until he went to bed. The new cat accidently fell off the headboard of our bed and landed across Mr M's face. Needless to say, Mr M is sporting a nasty looking cat claw scratch just below his left eye and it extends just above where his neck and shoulder meets. Nasty looking. I got to play nurse and got him all cleaned up, not to mention getting to kiss him better. Well, it use to work on boo-boos.

Mama Cat: On top of all this, I have a neurotic cat, who's a mother for the first time and just way too young to boot, deciding now would be a good time to move her kittens from the master bathroom closet to my kitchen pantry. I found her in the bathroom closet with three of her kittens and I know she had five. Since we couldn't locate the other 2. I aggrivated Mama cat to take one of her kittens from the bathroom closet and followed her to the pantry where the sly puss had hidden the others. Instead of arguing with her (because you really can't win with a cat) I just brought her the other two then she promptly took them and deposited them with their siblings. I hope that's the last move.

Bubba: Bubba (a nickname for Cherokee, my male sheltie) got too close to the new cat and forgot to move his eye out of range. It's doing better. I've been treating it, and if I can get him to leave it alone, it'll heal faster. I really don't want to put one of those funnels around his head. He gets upset with me when I make him wear horns for Halloween.

Da Shroom: Even I didn't escape scot free. I wasn't gloating. I wasn't. I wasn't even smirking but before the night ended, I got scratched behind my right knee by the new cat who was making a mad dash for the headboard having been chased by the psycho mama-to-be cat. He used the back of my leg for a springboard and clipped me just behind the knee.

Psycho Cat: I am beginning to think she is not going to deliver and is suffering from false pregnacy. The jury is still out on this one. I may have to take her to the vet's office and have them figure it out. Needless to say, she is driving me insane. I'm about ready to squeeze whatever it is in her belly out.. like a grape. At least she stopped stealing kittens that aren't hers.

Oh verily, I say unto you all, I live in a cotton picking ZOO!! I'd open my storybook and have my knight in shing armor come to my rescue but I'd be afraid he'd hurt himself! *amused grin*

Monday, Just Lovely, Thank You

I just love starting my week out with an overnight fast and a blood test in the morning. Ugh. It's not a big thing, but when I have to offer my arm to have blood sucked out of it and I can't even have my first cup of coffee, well, that's just wrong.

It's kinda wispy cloudy today. I'm betting that it's either going to be a bit cooler today or downright humid or maybe even both. I'll take cooler.

Yesterday's Mother Day was quite nice, thank you. We had a bbq and it was great. A lot of good food and good conversation. You can't beat that.

Today is starting off in slow gear which is not going to bode well for this afternoon. Troll, who is on vacation has gone off to do some fishing. I don't expect to see him back until later today. Sprout went out and got job applications yesterday so he'll be filling those out today. Pookie is starting to feel much much better but they can't seem to eliminate that low grade temp. Daughter has a mild case of food poisioning. Yesterday was no fun for her at all. She's still pretty out of it today. FB starts his finals today. Mr M has group tonight. I am really starting to dislike Mondays. That's a whole new topic for someplace else. As for me, I'm feeling good. My blood sugar is still a little higher than it should be and I haven't gone beyond my carb limits. Doc may have to up my metformin (my diabetes meds) a bit. I get to see her next Monday so we'll see how that blood test comes out. Not only will get a 411 on my blood sugar but my cholestrol as well and a report on how my liver is doing. Then I hope I don't have to see her again for another 6 months to a year. Probably more like 6 months since my blood sugar is a bit elevated, is my guess.

I think I'll go have another cup of coffee to enjoy in this peace and quiet before the rest of the world intrudes as per usual in The Grove.

Mothers

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's alright honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

And for the mothers who lost their baby in that precious 9 months that they will never get to watch grow on earth but one day will be reunited with in Heaven!

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" They could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner.

And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, realizing how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.

And for all the mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school.

And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home... or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the step-mothers who raised another woman's child or children, and gave their time, attention, and love... sometimes totally unappreciated!

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all.
For all of us.
Hang in there.
In the end we can only do the best we can.
Tell them every day that we love them.
And pray.

Please pass along to all the Moms in your life.
"Home is what catches you when you fall... and we all fall."
Please pass this to a wonderful mother you know.

Happy Mother's Day

... to all the lovely mothers out there and in memory of those not with us any longer. There are times I wish we had kept Mom's ashes here in Calif. but I have always felt her heart (aside of being with her children) was always in Hawaii and just as she and I took her father's ashes back to Hilo, so I took her's back too. All I have to do is think of her and I feel her close to me and that's good enough.

Today, Daughter and I did the mother-daughter thing. Tomorrow will be hectic enough around town. Going out to eat will take forever. So, I paid for her pedicure and took her out to lunch. She bought me a couple of gifts for my garden, which were greatly appreciated. Believe it or not, it was my first pedicure and I rather enjoyed it. I'll probably try and do it once a month. Daughter and I had a good time together, like we always do. Tomorrow will be spent as usual for me. I'm looking forward to a slow day.

Pookie is still sick but I am happy to report that her fever is now a low grade one. She still looks like a pretty sick little girl and probably won't go to school on Monday.

FB went on a job interview today. This one store interviewed him twice already and scheduled him for a third one today. I hope he lands it. He is not going to summer school this year so he needs to go out and work.

Dad called me today. He sounds really good. My step-mother keeps threatening him with having to paint the porch. LOL. They not only put in a pace maker but something else that I can't recall at the moment. Whatever it was, I hope it does its job and helps to keep him around for a time to come.

Still only one cat has had kittens. We're still waiting on the other one. Both females jumped the poor cat we adopted thanks to Daughter. That poor guy not only just got fixed but found himself in an unpleasant sandwich between both females. All he did was head for the food dish. He's came out of the altercation with a small boo-boo on his nose, poor baby. Now, everytime one of those females come sauntering by he leaps for the window sill. I can't say I blame him one bit, not only did he have some surgery, he came home to an unknown house (although he knew me), one that has other cats and dogs (he had never seen a dog before he came here), and then runs into two hormonal female cats. Come to think of it, he's the only male cat around. No wonder the poor boy looks ready to attach himself to the ceiling.

Our days are heating up around here, but they say we might get a bit of rain this week. The winter grasses are now all turning brown in what seems like a blink of the eye. That does not bode well for a mild fire season.

I saw a wonder earlier this evening. I was outside watering the strawberries and a hawk came swooping through. It landed on the phone pole and gave voice and then took wing again. So graceful, so magnificent, just a gorgeous bird of prey. There's always been a special place in my heart for them.

Where is my weekend going? And does Monday have to come?

How Was Your Night?

Mine? What night? Mine turned out to be one continuous day. I got a phpne call around midnight with Daughter asking me if I could take her and Pookie to the ER. Pookie's fever shot up to 103.8. FB had school today (a short day however) and so what did I do? Got up, got dressed and by one in the morning I'm headed south of town to pick my girls up.

It must have been a full moon last night. For one thing the ER was filled with critical patients. It took Pookie three hours to get in back to be seen. I don't know how long she and Daughter were in one of the trauma rooms before the doctor showed up. The doctor was talking to Daughter about her concerns of Pookie's appdendix when a nurse came and told the doctor that a person had just come in complaining of chest pains. So, as you can guess, that put Pookie on hold again. In the meantime, the vampire came and took a vial of blood from Pookie and bless her wee heart, she was a brave one. She says she didn't even cry, just did a tiny whimper. She did good. People came and went from the ER waiting room. One of the intake personel brought me a blanket around 4 or 5 this morning.

I finally walked through my front door a little after 7 am this morning. I managed to feed the dogs, change my clothes and hit the bed. I got four hours of sleep before the phone woke me and then one of my cats had kittens in my pantry (which we had to hunt down and relocate) and my other cat is now in labor. These are two cats Troll brought home that someone brought into the store. I think I'll strangle him if he EVER brings home another stray. Well, I keep saying that at least. So at the moment I have 3 kittens by one cat ( she may have one more to go) and the other one, I suspect, will have about the same amount. In the meantime, my brain is swiss cheese. Mr M is appointed cook tonight (they really don't want me to cook when I am like this and they speak from experience. he). I'm the veggie. I need more sleep but my body won't let me yet. It's 2:30pm and I am just now having my first cup of coffee. So pardon me if I blip off the radar today.

PS... Pookie's appendix seems to be fine but we have to keep an eye on her, her fever and her abdominal tenderness.

My Poor Baby

i just got a call from Daughter and she had me on speaker phone. Apparently Pookie's fever was 103.5 if it climbs that half a degree more, they'll have no choice but to take Pookie to the hospital. (Daughter and I got reamed one time for letting Pookie's fever get so high. We didn't know it had spiked that high) I could hear Pookie crying. She was scared. She rememberes vividly about beng admitted to the hospital for pneumonia and she certainly doesn't want to go back there. I tried to reassure her that Mommy and Daddy knew exactly how to take care of her and if she did have to go to the hospital, she would more than likely get some medicine is all.

Apparently last week when I took Daughter to the ER at Sisters of Mercy, there were a lot of pediatrics with this bug going around.

Daughter had Pookie in the tub working to bring down her fever. It seems that the last hour before Pookie gets some Motrin or Advil, her temp spikes. Pookie's got a fever and yet she feels cold so she wants to cover up but she can't. If Pookie Girl is lucky, this will run the gauntlet for about 3 or 4 days, if Topper was anything to go by. We just need to get Pookie to drink more water.

So in the end, Pookie got to get out of her lukewarm bath, got dressed and got her meds, I'm sure. At least I got her to quit crying. I hate it when she cries. Pookie doesn't cry over nothing and she's such a sweet child. One can't help but love her. I'm sure Daughter will have to get up one more time in the wee hours of the morning and coax Pookie back into the bath for as long as she can. I sure will be glad when Pookie is on the mend. I know I'll sleep better and so will Daughter.

It's Thursday?

We're at the end of the week, already? Where did the week go to?

It hit 90 degrees today, but it didn't feel like it. I got a lot of stuff done today and my old body feels like it too. I got my pond in and it's the best effort I have done to date. Now it just needs to spouting frog, the gold fish and the plants. I also need to fill in the palnting area. Slowly but surely, I am getting there. Earlier this evening I got the backyard mowed down. Mr M has some serious allergies and they are acting up something fierce this year. So, I have been doing all the mowing.

Pookie is sick. She's finally come down with that same bug that Daughter, Topper and I came down with. They were waiting for it. Her fever was spiking earlier this evening when I called. Daughter has it under control.

My step-mom called earlier. Dad came through okay. His color even looks better and tomorrow after some tests to make sure the leads are where they are suppose to be, Dad will be discharged. I could hear the relief in her voice. I know she was worried. I wasn't. The old coot. I knew he'd be okay.

That's about it for The Grove.

Beyond The Grove

National Anthem:

I have no problems with translating this into Spanish. We do it with books, movies and a host of things. Should the Spanish speaking community then be able to go to such places where our anthem is sung and sing it in spanish? Sorry, no. Maybe this country was not founded on the English language but it did adopt it as its official language, therefore, if you want to live here, learn to speak English.

What I DO have a problem with? Is changing the lyrics. Don't give me this crap about changing some of the lyrics to make it seem more passionate. Our anthem is passionate enough. We know where it comes from. We know it's history and by the Lady, we're damn passionate about it as it is.

Immigration:

What we need to do here is overhaul the process. After all, our children pass through high school with barely a knowledge of their constitution and their history. Why is it so necessary for immigrants to do so? They will most certainly learn about this nation as they go through their every day life here.

Come on people, we have to do something to stem the growing tide of illegal immigrants. If they want to be a part of this country, have a piece of the American Dream, I'm all for it, but don't steal into our country like a thief and then expect us to support you. Contribute to this country's economics legally, pay your taxes. Hell, you want us to give you free medical care, free food and you aren't doing your share by paying taxes because you are here illegally? Nuh-uh. Sorry, I have a problem with that. I also have a problem with coyotes who earn money off of desperate people and don't care whether they live or die. They simply want that money in their pocket.

Another thing I want to know is, why don't they change the tides in their own country? Is it far easier to spend your life hiding than to stand up for what you believe in, be willing to die for that change? No, apparently it is far easier to sustain your future on the backs of others who are willing to do so for their country. The better things in life aren't free, they come with a price.

Oil:

There's something I want someone to explain to this country bumpkin please. People on The Hill are claiming that the rise in prices is due to 'supply and demand'. Okay. So, China has been using more, asking for more... I got that. People here in the states supposedly are using more... I got that. Now nothing has truly changed in the last few days in the 'supply and demand' sooooo, why are the prices currently stable? Shouldn't they be going up? One thing I noticed is that people are using less and less from the well known gas stations and are seeking out the lesser priced gas from the not so popular name brands. Gee, have the big wigs figured out that they have overplayed their hand or they merely retreating just long enough to find another way to play the market? Is this just a momentary lull while the share holders sell off their current stock, pull their profits before they reinvest? Shouldn't we all be that lucky. I keep hearing people say we need more refineries. I concur to a point. But at the same time why are we selling Asia our supplies from Alaska instead of using them ourselves and making us less dependant on other sources from other countries? Self reliant? Maybe we need to look in our own backyard. I understand good will to our neighbors, but what about helping thyself first? Why must we suffer to feed out good will? Take care of home hearth first then spread the leftov4ers around and if we don't have leftovers, let 'em buy theirs from the same places we get ours and pay our prices.

CIA:

I dont think a military man should be in charge of the CIA. Nuh-uh, no way. That's making a very thin line and not one I am conmfortable with. What is the President thinking? I don't care what this man has to offer by way of expertise or knowledge. The military needs to remain a separate entity from the CIA. Whose lame brain idea was this in the first place?

Big Brother:

What's this I hear that millions of phone calls are in the hands of our government? They say no names or addresses and they are just using the information to cypher possible terrorist communications by patterns. Uh-huh. Can we hear another fairy tale please?

For All The Moms Out There (and a good giggle)

“Why God made moms” answers given by elementary school age children to the following questions . Be sure to read the two short stories at the end!!!!

Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of string.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1 God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?

1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your Mom?

1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

1. Moms work at work &work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2 Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your Mom do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.

THE MOMMY TEST

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.

"Why?" my daughter asked.

"Because it's been laying outside, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs" I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Wow! How do you know all this stuff?"

"Uh,"...I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.

"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the daddy."

"Exactly" I replied back with a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.
________________________________


"Dear Lord," the preacher began with arms extended and a rapturous look on his upturned face, "without you we are but dust..."

He would have continued, but at that moment one very obedient little girl (who was listening carefully) leaned over to her mother and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice,"Mommy, WHAT is butt dust?"

Church was pretty much over at that point...

Whew!

*tap*tap*tap* Yeah, it's me. I finally feel human today. I don't have quite the energy to get on the exercise equipment but I did go out and mow the grass again and I worked on the house a bit. That was enough to take up what energy I had. *chuckle*

The rest of the week is suppose to be warmer. We're headed into the 90's. That does not surprise me one bit. The surrounding foothills still have snow and Mt. Shasta is still really covered. I'm not sure if I am getting the grandkids this Friday. That will depend on how much energy I can muster between now and then.

Hey Partner, I got the rest of the web site done. When you get the chance to read it, take notes and let me know what needs changing or could be done differently. I just sorta tinkered it.

Dad called, he won't be going in for the pace maker until Thursday. I can tell he's a bit nervous about it. I hope I said some reassuring things.

Okay, I'm beat so off to the shower I go and then bed. Morning seems to come all too soon to me. It sure is nice to feel almost like my usual self again.

They Mean Well.....

...the men in my family, I mean, but when I get sick, I swear they make more work for me. Last night I was stretched out on the bed fighting a $%#@#!*& fever and I heard this familar sound (having made this same mistake myself when I was younger), it was the sound of something cold hitting something very hot. Translation: Mr M decided to make dinner himself last night. Dinner was simply hot dogs and french fries. I came out in the kitchen to find oil all over my stove top, the frying pan topped with half cooked fries and hot dogs steaming in a pot. Okay, I simply throw the hot dogs in a pot of boiling water. Who actually takes the time to steam 'em? I went to move the frying pan of french fries and the stove top lit up. Mr M reached for the fire extinguisher and I reached for a pot lid. Bless his heart. He is great at cooking some things but frying anything is not his forte. I cleaned up the mess, poured everything into a dutch oven and made Troll take over the frying and I went back to bed.

This morning I got up to get myself a cup of coffee (sick or not I want my coffee) and came out to find my kitchen a disaster zone. Now tell me, how hard is it to unload and then load a dishwasher? Pluuuuease. There are three able bodied males in this house and I swear they all suffer memory loss at the same time. Go figure.

Needless to say, I'm still fighting a temp at this time, but my kitchen is cleaner. I had to get up. I may be moving pretty darn slow, but after being in bed for two days, I need to get up and move. I probably should be drinking a lot more water, I feel like I need more but I'm not a goldfish bowl.

Time to retire again.

K.O.'ed

I went all winter without getting sick and what happens? I'm felled by a sinus cold. Arugh! After getting home yesterday it was all I could do to simply fall into bed. I spent the whole night there sneezing and all the other not so pleasant things that come with one of these colds. I simply refuse to let it completely get me down so I compromised, I'm going to go out and mow the lawn today and that will be the extent of my outside work for the day, darn it. I really wanted to work on the pond and the planters around the oak trees today. I have got to be prudent however and take it a bit easy.

Mr M is out doing a funeral today so I won't have him hoovering over me. *grin* When he hoovers it usually means I don't get to do anything but rest in bed.

Dad tried calling me yesterday but I was in bed so I missed his call. I'll get back with him tomorrow when I know he's home.

I wanted to make some comments on current events but I feel like melted pudding.

It's What, Again?

Gods! What time is it? At this point in time, I am still in a fog and with so much to do today, I really need to pull my head out and become functional. My day yesterday started at 7am and didn't stop until 4 am. Yeah, you read that right.

My day was winding down about 9 pm when the phone rang around ten. Daughter was in tears and asked me to come get her and transport her to the ER room. FB was arguing with her and she just didn't want to deal with that. Daughter had her gallbladder out a few ago, but she had complications. There was bile leaking into her body cavitity. The doctors told her it could happen again and the way she would know is that she would be in the same kind of pain. Well, that's how she was feeling last evening. First they were going to ER and bring me the kids and then they weren't. Then the call from Daughter came. I went and got her. We were there from about 11:03pm to 3:30 am. The doctor seems to think she has a severe case of acid reflux. He ordered meds.

This morning we have to deliver a piece of furniture to Daughter's house for Pookie. I got it from Free-cycle and from a lady I gave a puppy to a couple of years ago. So, it cost me nothing. Not bad. Then I have to drop Daughter and Topper off for Topper's last day of school (no bus today and FB is at school), come home, take Mr M to his funeral, go back and take Daughter and Topper home. I'm back and forth across town today (oh my aching gas tank) and no relief in sight for you know who.

Dad is going in for a pace-maker today. His heart did no recover as much as they hoped for. It only recovered 20 percent and they were hoping for 50 by now. I'll get a call later today to let me know how it went.

If I disappear off anyone's radar today, not to worry. If I am not busy, I'm asleep. I promise I'll catch up with you this weekend.

Thursday's Kick The Can

I wanna kick something alright, and for the lack of something else, a can will do. It all comes down to the fact I can't send Mr M back East next month. Don't ask. I don't want to talk about it.

Topper has been sick all week. He seems to be fighting that same viral/bacterial bug Daughter caught the week before. His temp has really been trying his parents' patience. He's been averaging about 103 degrees. Yesterday Daughter texted me on the phone and informed me that Topper's temp seems to have significantly dropped. We're all hoping that means he's on the mend. His last day of Head Start is tomorrow but he won't even be able to go today to do his t-shirt. Poor sweetie. We're all just hoping that Pookie doesn't come down with it next or FB. FB has finals coming up. This week and last week, Pookie's been in testing.

It's been another long and busy week and I am looking forward to Mr M birthday on Sunday. We're going to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. Translation: lazy day, don't bug us. Mr M turns 60. Don't even think for one minute he's an old man. I may call him that affectionately from time to time but that man can still keep me on my toes.

My wedding rings are on their way back. We had to send them down to our jeweler to be resized and welded together. The ring was especially designed for me in the shape of a heart with a diamond in the middle. For one of our wedding anniversaries Mr M had three small amethysts set on the outer sides of the heart. My wedding ring is a thin band shaped like the top of the heart, that's what I wanted welded to the engagement ring itself. Eventually, this set will go to Pookie and with it welded, it won't look like a wedding set for a young lady. My left finger has felt naked without it. I'm glad its on its way home.

Well, I've fiddled around enough, time for me to get outside and get some stuff done before it gets too hot and I need to retreat indoors again.

Leilani, thank for the pictures of the baby. He's just a darling and growing so fast. I still can't believe my neice is a mother now.

Daddy, I hope the hospital stay goes well. I'll be holding nothing but good thoughts. Have Joyce call me when it's over.