So we are saying good-bye to 2013 tonight.  Since we are still in flu recovery our celebration is quiet family time here at home.  I made homemade pizzas and tried my first ever batch of cannolis.  My recipe needs tweaking but cannoli is something that takes practice.  I will get it eventually, I hope. 

Anyway, 2013 was a decent year.  Good things happened.  The kids are all happy with what they are doing, and that makes me happy.  We accomplished the monumental task of selling and cleaning out the house in Danville.  Everybody was healthy not counting this awful Christmas Flu.  We have so much to be thankful for.

As for 2014...I think it's going to be an awesome year.  Let's make that thought a reality!  I hope all of you are blessed with love, happiness and good health over these next 12 months.  Oh, and sometime in October would somebody here please remind me to get a flu shot.  Please!

It has been a weird Christmas.  Bruce, Erica and Hannia have all had a bad case of the flu.  This is not something that I want to contend with again especially when it's the season that is supposed to be all Holly Jolly and stuff.  Everybody is starting to feel a bit better...I think.  At least we have decided that everybody is going to survive which is a good thing.  I'm just a little sad that Erica was sick for her visit, but there was nothing to be done about it.  I'm just going to be thankful we all are alive and remind myself that we ALL are going to get flu shots for next year!!!

We are in the height of postal madness right now.  Packages stacked to the heavens!  I am so exhausted, working later and later every day.  But...tomorrow is my last day until next year!!!  I am so excited to be done with it for a few weeks.  And....Erica comes home Monday which makes me extremely happy.

Are you all ready for Christmas??  I know people (and I love them) who have finished the shopping, have been decorated for weeks now.....oh my God, they make me feel so inadequate!!  Our tree is up and decorated at least.  Bruce was the most excellent husband who was on top of the roof when I got home stringing lights around the porch.  Yay!  I was afraid that might not get done this year.  We still have to wrap lights around the columns but maybe that will happen this weekend.  

Anyway, we are all just fine and dandy.  Working hard and trying to get ready for the holidays.  Having all the kids home will be so wonderful.  That's the only gift I need!!!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving.  The food was perhaps the best we have ever had...many thanks to Chef Stephen and his fabulous assistant, Hannia.  The apple cider brined turkey was perfect.  Tasty, moist and amazing!  The sides were all delicious.  And the desserts?  Oh My Lord....Stephen did an Indian dessert called carrot Halwa.  It was a huge hit.  And Hannia's flan, which is always yummy, hit new heights of sweet creamy goodness.  The only things I did was the deviled eggs (all I really did was boil them.  Jeanne and Calvin did the rest), and Lila's dressing which turned out quite well even if I do say so myself.  The food this year?  Highly successful.  And Jeanne made us all what might be my new favorite drink....coconut rum, mango rum, and a splash of pineapple juice.  I'm not sure what it's called, but it's very Caribbeany.  LOL!  And delicious!

We also had fun beyond stuffing our faces.  Hannia's parents joined us for dinner and we all enjoyed that.  They stayed and played cards afterwards which was very nice.  Casey and Delaney learned how to play Rummy.....one of my favorites.  And after that?  The traditional bonfire.  Bruce had chopped up an oak that had fallen in a storm, and we had plenty of wood.  Enough to go for 2 nights.  We had a repeat bonfire on Friday too.  This is one of my favorite parts of the holiday.  We sat around toasting ourselves by the fire and had some wonderful conversation.  It was really frosty so 1 side of our bodies would be warm and the other side cold.  We determined that having those child's toys...the sit and spin (remember those? ) would be perfect.  We could turn ourselves like rotisserie chickens and keep the heat more even.  LOL!

We did do other stuff too.  Bruce, Calvin and Stephen managed to move our 500 pound granite mantle out of the house and tear out the fireplace!!  That was the first HUGE step towards the remodeling we want to do after Christmas.  We hope to repair and refinish these wonderful old heart pine floors.  I am excited.  But not until after Christmas.  I don't want to be in a huge remodeling mess while Erica is home for the holidays!  

Also?  We celebrated Stephen's 29th birthday!  Jeanne and Calvin got to have a tour of the kids' new house.  We had Saturday lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant and managed to even squeeze a movie in on top of all of it!  Whew....busy.  But fun-busy!  The best kind!

Which brings me to the only thing that would have made this Thanksgiving more perfect....having my daughter with us.  But we did get to Skype her, so that helped.  

I am off work for the rest of the week.  I have to go have my new crown put on, so a trip to the dentist is in order.  Also, I am very glad to have some time to start the pre-cooking.  I have sausage balls to make, a new recipe for pumpkin fudge to try, and lots of other little details that need attention before the holiday.  So, I figured I better sit down and write out what I wanted to say now, in this calm before the storm or I might not get the chance.

I am thankful for so much.  I have been blessed...with good family and good friends.  With wonderful kids, a sturdy roof over my head and never knowing hunger on a personal basis.  Our cupboards are full of food, and our closets are full of clothes.  All of our needs and many of our wants have been fulfilled.  What more could I possibly wish for?  I like to count my blessings during Thanksgiving and really honor the day for the purpose it was intended.  But there is so much to be grateful for, it can hardly be contained in just a single day of the year.  

This year we will share our table with Jeanne, Calvin and the girls.  With Stephen and Hannia, and Hannia's parents.  Possibly a lab mate or 2 of Stephen's who aren't able to travel home so close to Christmas.  We are happy to share the feast with all of them.   

I hope all of you have a lovely holiday.  If you are traveling, stay safe.  And take a moment or two to count your blessings.  

I think the holiday madness has already begun. I had to run a lot of errands today and it was crazy out there.  I bought the majority of the Thanksgiving feast and the grocery store was packed. I had to go to the mall which is something that I have come to loathe and it was insane already.  Parking was hard to find, stores were crowded, lines were long.  But I needed to replace a pair of my favorite jeans that are seriously about to die.  They are a somewhat thinner denim, which is fantastic for people like me who feel way too overheated most of the time.  I couldn't find an exact duplicate since these are maybe 3 years old, but I got some that I hope will suffice.  But even checking out was complicated....there were several different prices, some kind of door buster sale where things are 1 price until 12, then another from 12-3..... I don't know.  It was weird and stupid and I just wanted to buy these jeans and get the hell out of there.  

Which brings me to the insanity of Black Friday.  Will you or won't you shop?  It's a definite HELL NO for me.  I can't imagine anything being worth the hassle.  We don't really need more stuff.  And seriously?  I would rather pay a few extra dollars and shop at some calm, uncrowded place and time.  I know people who are waiting for it though....the Black Friday sales.  I have a few friends who love it and have spent weeks of working out a strategy, poring over ads online that have been showing their holiday sales well in advance.  Planning to get up way before dawn to go out and get right into the middle of the madness.  It makes my stomach hurt to think about it.

Not me, though.  I plan to spend my Friday eating turkey day leftovers, cleaning up the crazy aftermath of holiday cooking and just hanging out with family.  Maybe we will go see a movie....any suggestions?

It's a week away from Turkey Day!!  I will miss Erica dreadfully, as she hasn't made it home for Thanksgiving in several years now.  But we will go on with the celebrations anyway.  There WILL be roasted turkey, and all the trimmings.  The Overcashes WILL be here, as well as Hannis's parents.  There WILL be a bonfire.  And we WILL be thankful for all of our blessings, which are too many to count.  Seriously, we are ALL blessed with ridiculous amounts of good stuff...

And soon, in just over 3 weeks or so...Erica WILL be with us again and Christmas will be another celebration.  And I will count having her home with us as one of my blessings.  

So, I may have mentioned that we found a new dentist about a year ago.  This after realizing our old one was just awful.  Apparently a truly GOOD dentist?  Not as common as one might hope.  But anyway we love Dr. H.  We have spent crazy money this past year for Dr. H to fix the crappy dentist crappy work.  And Dr. H loves...apparently my husband.  He goes on and on about what a perfect patient Bruce is.  How he holds as still as a statue for hours on end and never complains....I was feeling some competitive pressure here.  I mean, geez.  

But anyway, I have had some crowns done and a bridge done in the past.  Granted it's been a long time, but I have been through the process and survived just fine.  Yesterday I was scheduled to get 2 crowns done.  And I don't know what happened.  I might have been the worst patient ever.  Everything he did made me have this reflex gag that I could not seem to control.  It took him 3 tries to get impressions made.  I gagged and moved and it ruined the first 2 attempts.  Then the X-rays.  More gagging, more moving, and several attempts before they could get a decent picture.  Oh my Lord I was horrified, mortified, and frustrated.  I have never had that happen.  But if anything touched my tongue, or the roof of my mouth it all spun out of my control!  They finally got the impressions and X-ray, but by that time Dr. H made an executive decision....he only did 1 crown yesterday and sent me home with a Valium prescription to take before the next appointment.  Which I will in hope that it helps.  

The way that we finally got this done was Dr. H finally told me that sometimes holding your left foot in the air and concentrating on rotating your ankle slowly helps.  I am sure it looked silly but it worked enough that we finally were able to get the 1 crown prep work done.  I was fine after that.  I didn't flinch or have any problems at all once he started the drilling part of it.  I even made it through the final impressions where the tray of goo has to stay in your mouth for 3-4 minutes just fine.   All my shame happened at the beginning of the appointment.  But seriously?  If he had tried to do both crowns at once, we may still be back there trying.....

Next time?  Valium!  I hope it helps!

Thanksgiving is my son Stephen's favorite holiday, even more than Christmas.  He just loves the full on celebration of food.  Of turkey!  And cranberry sauce!  Do NOT even think of decorating for Christmas before you show that Turkey some respect.  It's just wrong, disrespectful even.  One Thanksgiving, when the kids were really young, and I was working full time and lots of family members were coming for the holiday....I made the executive decision to go OUT for Thanksgiving.  We went to River Forest Manor, a beautiful old plantation house in Bath, NC to enjoy their holiday buffet.  We went there sometimes for Easter, which nobody seemed to mind.  But for Thanksgiving???  I think it scarred Stephen for life.

If I remember correctly, the food was perfectly fine. But things just were wrong all the way around.  At the last minute, Lila (grandma) got upset and decided she didn't want to eat out, so both Grandparents opted out of dinner.  And Stephen?  He whined and complained and bitched for most of the coming year.  Seriously.  There was NO pie at home.  No leftover turkey.  It was an abomination.  I don't recall Erica being nearly as traumatized.  She doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK at all, and she seems to be able to go on with her life somehow.

Anyway, back to the present.....I got an email from Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse, a place that we enjoy going to when we are in Raleigh inviting us to their Grand Thanksgiving Celebration Buffet.  I laughed maniacally as I forwarded the email to Stephen asking if he thought that would work for us this year.  A few hours later he called, almost prepared to be furious.  He didn't even say hello.  He said, " Oh HELL NO, we are NOT going to Brasa for Thanksgiving!!!"  LOL!  As if.  I learned my lesson of the importance of a home cooked feast complete with plenty of leftovers!  I will NEVER make that mistake again.  

Everybody is getting better.  Penny Lane seems to be back to normal after her spaying and stomach distress.  Bruce is healing after his tooth extraction, just not eating anything too crunchy yet.  Last week was a hard one around these parts, but hopefully all that is behind us now.  So, what's up this week?  Well, let's see....

Erica is in Belgium with her friend Amy, and apparently is loving it.  She might be in Amsterdam this weekend...?   I can't recall her travel schedule, but I know she is having a wonderful time.

Stephen has been so busy lately at work and school that he might as well be in Belgium for as much as he has time to see us...LOL!  Seriously.  He is up against some big deadlines, trying to submit an abstract, and crunching research data, etc.  he explained it all to me, but I don't fully grasp it all.  I know he has been pulling some very late work nights though.  

Jeanne and family are coming to visit this weekend.  They are only here for 1 night on their way to the Outer Banks for a marathon...half marathon...?  I don't know, but I do know Jeanne is running in something on Sunday.  

Doug, and Emily...maybe Laura are visiting on Saturday.  I think Emily has something she needs to do at Duke.  Honestly, I can't even remember the last time they made it here for a visit.  It's been a long time.  Parker's Barbeque is in our future on Saturday night though.  

So, it's all good.  Busy, but much, much better than last week!   

I hope everybody has a fun, but safe Halloween.  There is no partying going on in this house this year.  

Bruce had a tooth extracted this afternoon, and the numbing meds are wearing off.  He is in pain right now.  Poor hubby.  His face is a little swollen, and I get the feeling he is not up for celebrating.  I just asked him how awful would it be to have a tooth pulled and be out of commission for Halloween as a kid?  It would be devastating!!!  I hope he feels better soon.  He took tomorrow off work to recouperate, so that should help.

Penny Lane is recovering from her surgery too.  She is more active and is eating just fine.  There is 1 problem though.  She has had diahrrea.  Bruce talked to the vet.  It could be from the anesthesia, the meds, or even the stress.  She is a pretty neurotic, high anxiety dog anyway.  But dealing with this is not fun.  She lets us know when she needs to go out, which is frequently.  But this morning....OMG!  It was a fitting start to a Halloween day.  Penny sleeps in a dog crate inside.  She loves her crate and usually puts herself to bed about 10pm most nights.  We usually lock the door just so she doesn't wander and get into trouble in the middle of the night.  I swear she sleeps right through until morning so it works fine.  But this morning...I could smell the evil all the way down the hall.  She had had an accident sometime in the night.  I was cleaning up poop, washing poopy dog blankets and scrubbing the dog with a wet washcloth at 6:30 this morning.  BEFORE I even had coffee!  I couldn't just bathe her, because she is not supposed to get these stitches wet.  It was NOT a good start to my day.

Oh well, we googled it and dogs can take immodium.  We even found the dosage per weight for dogs, so hopefully this will help with this problem.  I don't think she is sick with a virus or anything because otherwise she is recovering really well.  I just hope and pray I don't wake up to another mess like that tomorrow.  Bruce looks too much in pain to make him deal with it...and I don't know if I can do all that before coffee again.  

Our dog, Penny Lane, was spayed today.  The poor thing is so miserable tonight.  She is so restless and can't get comfortable.  She looks at me like she is accusing me of doing this cruel and awful thing to her.  I just hope she feels better tomorrow.  

Also?  Bruce went in to have an old crown replaced and the tooth is not able to be saved.  He has to have it extracted on Thursday, and eventually after that heals, he will have an implant done.  Apparently it can take up to 4 months to heal enough for the implant.  It's a back tooth with deep roots, so....ugh!  

I just hope he can get through this without too much pain.  A dog AND a husband out of commission is not my idea of fun!

It's getting down to 32 degrees tonight.  Bruce and I have been arguing about whether it's time to turn on the heat or not.  I keep voting for NO, but I think I have lost the fight for the season.  This nice chilly weather is the stuff that I dream about during the long, hot summer.  I sleep better if the room is cool.

The last thing I want is to crank up the heat.  Heat is a 4 letter word.  Oh well, he set it on 65 so hopefully it won't make me sweat...LOL!  

Anyway, I am thankful that it is finally Friday.  I have been trying to ward off some kind of bug all week.  Raw sinuses, sore throat, feeling tired.  It never turned into any full blown thing though so hopefully it's over.  A couple of days to rest and drink some Emergen-C and I should be fine. I keep meaning to get a flu shot though.  Maybe this weekend.  

Nothing much is going on here.  We are going to be low key this weekend, which is perfectly wonderful as far as I'm concerned.  

Finally we have a bit of sun after 2 solid weeks of intermittent rain, gloom and gray drizzle.  We spent yesterday at the river with Chris, Jessica and Jeff.  There was lots of good food and conversation on their screened in porch with the beautiful river views.  But it was a rainy, gloomy day.  Poor Jeff came here from Seattle to escape the rain and it never really cleared up for his whole week of vacation.  But maybe it's all over now for a while.  It's sunny, cool and dry today, and that is a beautiful thing.

Anyway, nothing much is going on since we got back from Boston.  It's all good though.  Everybody is fine.  The kids are all doing well.  Stephen and Hannia were here on Thursday bearing a still warm batch of homemade churros.  Very delicious.  I have talked to, emailed with, and Skyped Erica over the past few days  too. She is super busy and now has a grad student to mentor and is teaching a little bit as well.  In addition to her other work.  Bruce and I are pretty much the same, too.  Healthy and happy but busier than we would like.....

Which reminds me of something I keep meaning to write about.  I am confused about things like keeping busy and the virtues of relaxation and zen.  Some people swear by cramming their schedules full of everything from work to social engagements to exercise.....is that best?  There are others who claim simplicity and the art of living a peaceful existence is the way to go.  Less commitment, time to stop and smell the roses, etc....??  Some busy people see that as lazy.  I'm not sure that I do.  I haven't gotten it all worked out in my head just yet, but it's something I ponder fairly frequently.  Maybe one day I will figure it out.  

I really enjoyed our time in Boston.  I'm not sure if it's because the city was charming, or if it's because I had a week with Erica.  Either way, I had a blast.  We walked the freedom trail, had lots of delicious local cuisine, did a Duck tour in those vehicles that go on land and water.  That one was great...the guide was very articulate about the history.  And oh boy does Boston have a heap of great American history.  Then we drove right off into the harbor (haa-baa for Bostonians).  It was a lot of fun.

Hannia asked me if those New Englanders really have that intense of an accent.  The answer is YES!  They really do.  It's very different to my southern ears...LOL!  

We spent our last morning at the Langham hotel enjoying their incredible Chocolate Bar.  For $42 you can experience the closest thing to Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory that real life has to offer.  There is a huge buffet of fancy desserts.  There was a giant chocolate fountain surrounded by fruits, pretzels and goodies to dip.  There was an ice cream bar with loads of toppings, and more stuff that I didn't even get around to see.  There was chocolate soup. Oh and cotton candy....LOL!  I ate tiramisu, and rice pudding.  I had a chocolate, banana and BACON tart.  I can't even remember what I ate.  It's amazing and decadent.  But it's not something I would do often.  The desserts were high quality, and beautifully displayed.  But after a few things, I started to feel a little bit icky.  Things lost their flavor and all I could taste was sweet.....but still, it was worth it for the experience.

We also went to a Drag Queen show and had a blast.  At one point Bruce got dragged on stage to dance....hahahaha.  There might be pictures of this event, but he might kill me if I share. One Drag Queen in particular seemed quite taken with him.  Our waitress was a tranny named DeAnna.  She was very talkative and tried hard to make us feel at home.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if all 3 of us were molested at one point or another....the show was VERY interactive with the audience.  The club is Jacque's and if you are ever in Boston they do shows 7 nights a week.  A bit risqué, but lots of fun.  For adults....

Anyway, it has rained every single day since we have been home.  I am dying for some sunshine.  But all our travels went smoothly, and Erica made it home safely today.  She was at a conference after we left town, but is back in York now.  It's hard to adjust to work and real life after having such a fabulous time, but we are managing.

I sent Erica a text asking her to call me real quick to go over some last minute packing details.  30 seconds later she called.  Over the course of our call it came up that she never received my text.  It was a total coincidence that she called.  Or is it?  LOL.  I prefer to believe in Mother/ Daughter (let's say child to be inclusive of our sons) psychic connections.  

Anyway, I am getting really excited.  I will be taking pics although probably those will be posted on Facebook.  Now I have to go finish packing.....have a great week!

I am in the heat of battle against advertising email.  I get so many advertisements that it has become unmanageable.  I cleaned out my inbox yesterday morning before I left for work, and still....I had 183 emails waiting for me when I got home around 4pm.  Some are unsolicited spam.  But most are places that I shop.  Stephen and Hannia came by for a visit last night, and Hannia and I agreed that Loft is one of the biggest offenders.  Like 4 or 5 a day sometimes.  It is insane!

Anyway, I am considering abandoning my email and opening a new account.  Just let the junk mail multiply exponentially in my gmail inbox.  If I do, I will send out a notice to friends and family from my new address.  But first, I aim to stand and fight.  I am waging a war.  Which means lots of tedious clicking on unsubscribe links in each and every email that I receive for a while.  I may not be able to win.  But I am going to try......

I am so happy to see this week come to an end.  It's been hard dealing with Shingles.  It is quite painful, and even though I am so much better than I was on Monday....I still have it.  Working with it was hard.

But not only is it Friday, the most blessed of ALL days of the week, it is also the start of my vacation!!  Shingles or not, I was floating when I walked...make that RAN out of my office this afternoon.  LOL!

I vow not to let that office even cross my mind for an entire week.  It does not exist!  I am a FREE woman.  At least for this little while.

 Bruce is currently engaged in an activity that just teases me mercilessly....he is browsing the web for our perfect retirement home.  No, we are nowhere near ready yet, but it is wonderful to dream sometimes....right?  Our perfect place would be a riverfront home in the mountains.  Western NC, northern Georgia....mountains in Virginia...we both agree we would prefer the southeast.  In an out of the way place.  I used to think lake front, but most of that is too crowded and residential.  

He just showed me a gorgeous property with amazing views, porches to take advantage of those views, it was breath taking.  It was also just under 3,000,000.  That price broke my heart.  Stop teasing me....LOL!

At work on Friday, I started to feel some pain on my left side, from my shoulder blade to under my arm.  I just thought I had pulled a muscle because seriously in my line of work it happens.  On Saturday I felt a prickly, burning pain that felt somewhat like a bad rug burn....UNDER my arm!  LOL!  Explain that one to me.  By Sunday I had a rash...not huge, but really painful and the tender pulled muscle pain was getting worse instead of better.  I hadn't said much about it, but I finally got Bruce to check it out.  The first thing he said was SHINGLES!  Ugh!  

I thought about trying to work with it and hope for the best, but it was more painful than your average sore muscle.  I started thinking about our upcoming trip to see Erica in a week.  So, I broke down and went to the Doc today.  It's definitely shingles.  But hopefully I caught it before it got too bad and spread much.  It's still this one little rash-like area under my arm.  I'm on an anti-viral which should help speed things up.  It's the same one they prescribe for herpes.  Awesome.  I just hope it works really fast.  And once this is gone I plan to check into the new shingles vaccine.  I don't want a repeat of this again if I can help it.  

The Dr said that stress usually causes a flare up.  I can honestly say this whole thing with my sister and Sydney's wedding that I am not invited to upset the hell out of me.  Oh well....hopefully it will clear up in time to have fun in Boston.  Have a great week everybody.  Mine is not off to the greatest start, but it's going to get better.  I insist on it!  :)

Let's start with the good things.....I had a wonderful birthday.  I got to celebrate with my girlfriends early, and my family on the actual day.  Erica Skyped me, Hannia made me an indescribably delicious birthday FLAN!  So much better than cake!  We had a lovely dinner out with Stephen and Hannia where I had not one, but 2 (!!!) black cherry/peach Mojitos.  Those were amazing!  I had so much love and so many happy wishes on Facebook!  And every single card that I got this year had a CAT theme....thank you all.  I feel very blessed.  I have awesome friends and family!

But what's that saying about how in every life a little rain must fall?  I can't remember it verbatim.  I found out my niece, my sister's daughter is getting married.  Next weekend!  It was last minute...I get that.  It is a very small civil service.  I get that, too.  But I am not invited.  And that?  I do not get.  It hurt me so much.  I flipped out a little.  I said harsh things.  My sister said harsh things.  It's been awful and sad.  I'm not even sure if we are speaking now??  I assume we will both get over it eventually.  But still...it hurt.  Oh well, I assume most families have occasional unpleasant drama.  It just hurts.

Our electricity went out tonight.  The whole incident lasted maybe 45 minutes, but it's funny how antsy we got in that short amount of time.  It is also funny how quiet it gets with no electrical gadgets on.  I don't think any of us actually realize just how much background noise we hear all of the time.  The television is obvious.  But the sound of the ceiling fans, the AC units, the refrigerator ...when it all goes off it is unnerving.  Bruce started speculating that if it was a solar flare, then power could be off all over the world and we might not even know it...LOL.  We called Stephen on the other side of town who had electricity so that disproved Bruce's prediction of doom.  Thank God!  I still had 3G on my phone but I was planning to recharge it overnight so my battery was kind of low.  Our WiFi was out!  I started wanting coffee which I never drink in the evenings because it keeps me awake. Just knowing I had no way of making coffee brought on instant cravings.  Insane!  Then we began panicking that this mini-series we have been following was coming on later tonight and we might have to miss an episode (Under The Dome, by Stephen King).  Luckily we should be able to see it and the minute all of the electricity came back on again my craving for coffee completely disappeared.

Anyway, no idea what was going on.  There was no storm, or wind, or anything like that....but life has gone back to normal.  The house is cooling down again.  It got really stuffy really quickly, but then temps were in the low 90's today.  Everything is fine again.....yay!

Dear Summer,

Please leave me the hell alone.  I broke up with you years ago when I realized that "real life" didn't give me 3 months off to celebrate you like it did when I was a kid in school.  We are OVER!  Stop relentlessly stalking me.  I have found somebody new.  His name is Fall and he is sweet and gentle.  Never harsh!  He woos me with sweaters as cuddly as a baby's blanket, and boots in buttery soft leather.  Fall understands me.  He would never ask me to appear in public in a bathing suit.  He never allows loathsome mosquitoes to suck my blood.  He keeps those abhorrent snakes at bay.  Fall is cooler than you could ever hope to be.  He makes me happy.

You can never win me back so please stop trying.  It's September already, so pack up your disgusting heat and your tiresome humidity and go away already!  Seriously! I am on the verge of taking out a restraining order.  I hate you and that is never going to change.  

Sincerely,

Me. 

Today just wasn't my best day ever.  I felt tired before I even left the house this morning.  Just out of sorts for no particular reason.  Work was a challenge (re: exhausting, annoying, frustrating...the usual).  No one thing went wrong, at least.  I can't pinpoint anything that was upsetting.  I slept fine last night.  I wasn't sick or in pain.....I was just very apathetic and slow.  I felt like I was wading through waist deep molasses all day long.  What the heck? 

Oh well, I'm fine.  Tomorrow is a brand new day.  I guess everybody has an off day occasionally.

Also?  The cherry on top of my blue, blah kind of day?  Bruce and I were in the kitchen late this afternoon discussing the fact that he needs new dress shirts.  Something caught our eye out of the window......a big ugly snake right in our backyard.  INSIDE the fence!  Snakes apparently have no respect for private property.  Oh God, I HATE those things.  It made me cringe to think that Penny Lane (our dog) had just come inside.  Anyway, Bruce went out with leather gardening gloves to inspect it.  Apparently it was a non-venomous Rat snake....still....eeewwwww!  But he picked it up by the tail and hauled it off to some other more appropriate place.  Another planet would have been nice, but he didn't carry it quite that far.  I dunno but seeing that snake just kind of summed up the day for me.

Ok, I'm going to shake it off, go to bed early and wake up to FRIDAY!  Fridays are just more friendly than Thursdays anyway.  And this one I'm declaring "NO SNAKE FRIDAY!!!".

Dear Amazon,

I love you.  I really and truly do.  The convenience of one click shopping for almost anything my mind can imagine,all at great and competitive prices makes you invaluable.  Priceless even.  I can get anything from cheap refill bags for our litter lockers (a diaper genie for cat boxes), to some obscure movie that only 3 people on the planet have heard of, to the Rieker German-made shoes that never ever hurt my feet in more styles than any shop in NYC could ever carry.  But....and you knew there was a "but" coming, didn't you?  Your packaging drives me insane.  

I checked your packaging policies on your website.  There is even a link to provide customer feedback....WHICH I DID!!! The problem is not safe shipping.  All of my items have arrived perfectly intact.  It's not even environmental....exactly.  All of your packing materials are recycled AND recyclable, which I seriously appreciate.  But the size!?!?!?  OMG, does it have to be so freaking HUGE?  

Ok, so my daughter asked me to bring her a pair of running insoles when we meet up in Boston later this month.  She lives in the UK and certain items are not that easy to find. I opted to go the easy route of ordering on Amazon instead of fighting traffic to find a running store here in our town  They came yesterday.  A pair of running insoles in a package that could have fit 20 times over in my mailbox were in a box that could have fit 2 large sized laptop computers.  Our mailman left it on our front porch because there was no way it could go in a mailbox.  How aggravating for both me AND him.  Also?  We ordered a large sports net (we use it to corral our cats into the courtyard for a safe cat-friendly outdoor space for them).  These are hard to find but Amazon has them available for a great price.  The folded net was approximately the size of a medium sized clutch handbag.  But it came in a box large enough to fit one of those old- fashioned, oversized microwave ovens.  You know, the ones that take up ALL of your counter space?  

Anyway, I  adore your website.  I puffy pink heart freaking LOVE it!  But I (and my Mailman), would so appreciate it if you could package items in an appropriately sized box.  I am tired of hauling cardboard to our recycle center.....

Sincerely,

Your Biggest Fan

Rebecca

Does everybody have some fabulous plans for this holiday weekend?  Bruce is fishing with Calvin down in Wilmington.  He seemed excited about it although I have never really known him to fish.  I opted to stay home, not because I don't love my in-laws but mainly because I am tired and needed a few days to just get some rest.  Also?  I managed to get an appointment at the salon for a haircut this afternoon. I have this 1 stylist that I like and she used to be able to take me almost anytime.  Now its much harder to get an opening. I guess the secret is out now...haha.  She also opened her own salon which is part of it too.  I'm glad she is busy because I want her new place to stay open and do lots of business.  

So haircut at 2, followed by late lunch/early dinner..(...linner?  Like brunch?) with the kids.  My salon is just around the corner from their house.  No idea where we are going to eat yet.  Stephen is looking into a couple of new places so we might try one of those.  Adventure!  I had considered maybe shopping a little, looking for some fall clothes.  But it's ECU's first home game and town is a nightmare.  Plus, it's 90 degrees which makes trying on long pants or sweaters kind of icky.  I guess that will just have to wait....maybe I will take a nap later instead!

Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy!

So, Stephen and Hannia are homeowners.  But the day that should have been a happy celebration didn't go quite as smoothly as they hoped.  The bank called about an hour before the closing at the attorney's office saying they still had to contact Hannia's boss to confirm her employment.  An hour BEFORE the closing!!!  And this is weeks AFTER their loan had been presumably approved.  Or they had been told it was all done and ready to go.  But now this clerk said that if they couldn't get up with Hannia's boss the closing might be delayed.  Stephen had taken the day off specifically to get the closing done, so needless to say the kids were NOT happy.  

Ok, so they did get up with Hannia's boss, but the boss called Hannia the next morning to say that the woman who talked to her was extremely rude.  I think Hannia was mortified.  Plus, while all of this angst about whether the closing could proceed as scheduled BOTH of their cars broke down.  BOTH! On the SAME day!!!  All these things sucked a bit of joy out of the occasion.  But it worked out in the end.  The closing happened, the cars are repaired...and today Stephen and Hannia took the initiative to go to BB&T to register a formal complaint about how sloppy and unprofessional the whole closing went down.  Not only about how slack it was to wait until the last minute literally to get that paperwork done, but how embarrassing it was to hear Hannia's boss felt insulted by how rude the person was who called.  I'm glad they did because they were told that this woman had several other complaints, and they were asked to write up what went on in a formal letter.  Even Hannia's boss offered to write a statement about what happened to her.  To be fair, the loan officer who assisted the kids overall was fine.  He was nice and professional.  This was a clerk who assists...I think.  Hopefully the complaint will help.  Stephen said he didn't want to get anyone fired, but the whole incident was unacceptable. 

Anyway, it's fine now.  Bruce and I have a condo rented for our trip to Boston in October and Erica is working on her flight schedules too.  I am very excited.  So this condo is in the historic Brewery district.  When Bruce called to confirm with the Landlord she "warned" us that it was full of art.  Since it was called "The Art House", we kind of had an idea that it might be.  But then she said a lot of it was risqué Drag Queen art!!  LOL!  I heard Bruce tell her, "Oh, I'm sure my wife will LOVE that!"  And you know what?  I absolutely will.  It's a funky, ultra modern place and we really liked the look of it.  But I might have paid extra for the Drag Queen Art!  Oh my!  The landlord then told us that there was an excellent drag queen show very nearby and that we should be sure to see it.  I feel like we definitely will.  I have such a soft spot for Drag Queens.  They generally end up looking far more glamorous than regular women.  

After reading multitudes of articles written about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, we are trying to break our diet soda/equal in coffee and tea addiction.  Ugh!  It's not easy.  Not for someone who loves the sweet bubbly goodness of Dr. Dr. Pepper.  But we are trying hard.  We have a few left, but I am not buying anymore.  We are drinking more water, seltzer, and attempting to force ourselves to like our tea and coffee completely unsweetened.  My only indulgence is 1 teaspoon of real sugar in my 1st cup of coffee in the morning.  It is way less sweet than I am used to, but I am determined to acclimate.  It's really interesting how my body has responded...like truly breaking a real addiction.  The first few days I felt tired, out of sorts, and headachey.  I am still drinking coffee and tea so it shouldn't have been caffeine withdrawal..?  Unless it was a matter of less caffeine than usual.  I don't know, but this hasn't been as easy as just deciding to stop using artificial sweeteners.  It's getting better though so it's not impossible.  It helps to picture that can of Diet Dr. Pepper as a cesspool of toxic chemicals, which seems to be more of a reality than any of us realized.  Oh well, I am going to keep on with this and hope it will eventually feel more natural than depriving.

So, our rescue pup, Penny had to go back to the vet this week.  She is still undergoing treatment for a stubborn case of mange.  Its not contagious and is brought on by a badly suppressed immune system, and she is still battling it.  Poor thing.  She had been particularly whiny and restless over the past week and we weren't sure what was going on.  Turns out she has a nasty ear infection that probably was awfully painful.  More meds...more medicated shampoos....I am so tired of it.  I KNOW she is tired of it.  But the good news is that she is getting better.  Her ear must be a lot better because she is resting better and is calm and happier.  She has been through so much trying to get well again.  

Hopefully she is well on her way to recovery now.

Anyway, that is our past week in a nutshell.  Bruce is exhausted from working these 6 day weeks but it looks like his sub will be back by the end of August.  Stephen and Hannia close on their new house tomorrow, so that is really exciting!  And Erica got accepted to attend a biology conference in Boston in October, so I now have plans to see my daughter this fall.  That makes me a happy camper and gives me the resolve to make it through the rest of my most dreaded of all seasons....the long, hot summer.  There is light at the end of the tunnel after all.  :)

It's August already!  That's crazy, isn't it?  This year is going by way too fast.  Anyway, I am off work for a Dr. appointment tomorrow.  Having a Monday off is good.  But I find it somewhat annoying that I have to take a day off, and pay for a Dr. visit just to know the results of the latest mammogram.  Couldn't they just call, or send a letter or something?  Hopefully it's good news and I can be done with all of this.....but still....a day for sitting in a Dr.'s office is not my idea of a good time.  At least I am lucky to be able to see a Dr. though, so I should be grateful that we have decent medical care.  

Friday was Bruce's (29th) birthday and our 31st Anniversary.  Don't get all specific with the math.  LOL!

It was less spectacular than last year's celebration basking in the glorious views of Niagara Falls.  But Stephen and Hannia came over with armloads of delicious Mexican food and I had ordered Bruce's favorite flavor of Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.  Daiquiri Ice with Devil's food cake.  Very yummy, but it's a special order so you have to request it at least a week ahead.  It's worth the wait.  Our celebration was low key, but it was a good time.  Even Erica managed to catch Bruce on Skype just before dinner and while we still missed having her here, it was really cool to see/hear her for our little family party.  

Also?  We have been watching a Netflix original series on instant view.  It's called "Orange is the New Black", and it is extremely entertaining.  It's about a young white woman who has an upscale kind of life.  She makes some bad decisions, does something stupid and ends up in prison.  Can you imagine trying to deal with a situation like that?  To learn how to survive in a scary place with a different set of rules?  The creators of "Weeds" ( which is a show we also liked a lot) did this one too so it's full of dark humor.  We just finished the first season....complete with a huge cliff hanger, so now we have to wait for Season 2 to be released.  I was skeptical about Netflix's ability to put out a quality show but it will definitely hook you and make you want to see more......

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!  :)

I spent my morning running errands, which is not one of my favorite things to do.  But it's a necessity as long as we keep requiring things like food.  I absolutely detest running errands after work, so I have to do it on my weekends.  It's more crowded then, but at least I feel halfway sane and lots less weary.  But anyway, I am about to get on my soapbox about those fashion faux pas again.  I love fashion.  I love clothes and shoes and accessories.  My lifestyle is just way too casual to need a lot, and I lean towards comfort and practicality anymore.  I am too old to suffer for fashion.  I can admire it from afar if its going to hurt.  But still....there are lines that should not EVER be crossed.  Like....ever!  At my Harris Teeter today there was a woman in her late 40's/early 50's.  So pretty much my age.  She had on the tiniest pair of athletic, running type shorts that I have ever seen.  She was overweight, way too white and really frumpy looking.  Ok, I get that.  I need to shed some pounds too.  It gets harder as we get older.  I will never fault anybody for their weight.  But please, dear God, please cover that shit up.  This woman dropped something and bent over right in front of me.  It was something no one should ever have to witness at the grocery store.  It was not a sight to drive men insane with lust.  It was heinous.  

The inseam on these shorts couldn't have been more than an inch.  I have seen panties with more coverage.  I can't imagine any sane woman of a certain age getting dressed and thinking that was ok, even to just run to the store for a few items.  Eeewwww!  It really bummed me out, pun intended.

Ok, let me cheer myself up after that stressful shopping trip.  So yesterday I called Bruce to let him know that I was running really late at work.  I was also going to let him know that if he would pick up something for dinner, it would be much appreciated (he did....yay).  I didn't get him, but he called me back a bit later.  Our conversation went something like this :

Bruce:  Did you call me?

Me:  Yes, where were you?

Bruce:  I was up in the barn.....(long awkward pause).....looking for certain items.....

LOL!   That part, the "looking for certain items" part had me laughing hysterically.  It sounded so strange and mysterious.  Like what could possibly be in our barn that must not be named over a phone call???  Ok, so aforementioned "certain items" turned out to be car parts that I guess he just didn't want to have to take the time to describe to me.  Maybe I read way too many mystery novels.  I don't know, but it was certainly good for a laugh.  Oh and thanks for the Mellow Mushroom pizza when I got home.  It made my day a little brighter.  :)

Friday is almost here.  I'm not supposed to talk about it because Bruce's sub is having surgery tomorrow which leaves Bruce working 6 day weeks for at least a month.  I am going to have to keep my Friday Happy Dance under wraps for a while, but just know I'm still doing it secretly.  

We've been busy lately but that's nothing new.  Not as busy as Lori getting ready for their move....I talked to her earlier in the week and I think I had heart palpitations just listening to everything she has going on.  Lori, if you read this I hope you all have safe travels and a smooth transition to your new digs.  Hopefully we can fly out for a visit sometime, but we will let you get settled first.  Keep up us posted on whats going on.

Anyway what else has gone on?  Erica loved her week long whiskey walk through Scotland.  She got back to York yesterday.  Apparently she and Amy spent their days walking to different small Scottish villages during the day and sampling multiple kinds of Scotch whiskey in little pubs in the evenings.  They stayed at different B&Bs every night.  It sounded like fun although I would probably prefer a drive and whiskey tour more...LOL!  At least she said the weather was excellent which is something to brag about in the UK.  She is now settling into her new flat and seems to be really happy about that.

Everything else is good.  Stephen closes on his new place on the 12th.  We are just working a lot during the day and trying to recover from the heat at night.  I'm ready for fall....but all this rain has kept the heat from being too insane so far.  It's been plenty uncomfortable, but we have only had a few days of death heat so far.  I hope August is the same.....

Anyway, I hope everybody has a safe weekend.  

I worked Saturday which really kind of sucked.  Constant rain and a day of heavy parcels almost like Christmas time never makes me a happy camper.  But I survived it so my sub could take a vacation with her family.  She works every Saturday, holidays, for other carriers during the weeks and rarely asks for time off.  I felt like she deserved it.  I was still plenty happy to be done with it though.  Now I have tomorrow off which is nice.  But I have to go have the 6 month recheck mammogram after last December's biopsy.  Wish me luck.  If this is clear then I can actually go back to a regular mammogram schedule.  I have my finger's crossed because this is NOT one of my favorite things to do.  Is it better than working?  Well, at least it takes less time and that's all I have to say about that.

So today was my never ending story.  I hadn't been off in days, work has been kind of tough. I've been getting home later than I like....stuff piles up, you know?  I had so much to do that it wasn't even funny.

Laundry, litter boxes, cleaning out the fridge, sorting through stacks of mail.  It seems like skipping just a few days causes some kind of cosmic build up that's hard to ever catch up on.  Tomorrow will be part 2....the errands and grocery shopping because that hasn't been done either.  I really liked those days off that I spent sitting on the beach.  Why can't that be the never-ending story instead?  

We had an amazing few days at the beach.  The weather could not have been more perfect.  And for the 4th of July we walked out of our hotel onto the beach and was able to see at least 6 fireworks shows.  No crowds, no traffic...we loved it.  All of the little townships: Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, Pine Knoll Shores, and more that I can't even name did fireworks for the 4th.  We could see them in both directions for miles.  There were more further away, and still more over the sound that we could see occasionally when one went off really high.  It was so beautiful that this might be my new 4th of July plan.  It beats our crowded, hot town commons and consequent sitting in traffic afterwards.  

So we found a new place to stay down on our coast.  It's further down than we usually stay.  6 miles after the Atlantic Beach bridge....a little past the aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores.  It's called the Clam Digger Inn.  All rooms are oceanfront.  It has an on site restaurant that was pretty good....food was fine, prices were good and the convenience of not having to go search for breakfast or lunch was priceless.  They rent beach umbrellas with lounge chairs and there is a poolside bar right on the edge of the beach that had delicious frozen margaritas.  So the place is not fancy.  The rooms are pretty standard and the bathrooms are minuscule.  But it was clean, comfortable and took care of every possible convenience you could need.  You could stay right there without leaving at all but we wanted to have dinner at our favorite places there.  The scallops at Sanitary Fish Market did NOT disappoint.  

One of our other favorites let me down to the point I may not go back....Queen Anne's Revenge, you sucked big time Friday night.  Also?  Fix the A/C in your restaurant.  I won't go back to a place that makes me sweat!

Speaking of sweat, our room had this super powerful A/C unit....I slept in a room that almost had icicles forming and I loved every single minute of it.  I sleep best when the room is nice and chilly....it was heaven.  I'm a bit spoiled now and feeling unsatisfied with the thermostats set on 74 degrees here at home....LOL!  But anyway, we had a lovely little getaway.  I hope everybody else enjoyed the holiday too. I have tomorrow off so I get to postpone reality for 1 more day, but it's back to work on Tuesday.

Yuck.  But I don't have to think about that for at least another day!  

Hannia poses this question:  is it better to have our typical hot summer weather, or the endless rain.  Which granted keeps the temps down, but still it's been cloudy and rainy for something like 2 weeks straight now.  Not as hot as July generally is....but oh my Lord....the rain.  I can't decide which is better.  Bruce votes for a cloudy rainy, cooler day every third day...LOL!  But I don't think that was one of the options.  My vote is to skip summer altogether and just let dry warm spring days turn into crisp, dry fall days.  No heat, no humidity......like ever.  I have no idea why I'm not allowed to make the rules???

Erica was supposed to have lunch with the Overcashes today as they will be in York for just a few hours For the last leg of their trip.  I think they will be back State side July 4th.  Just in time for the holiday.  Erica will not be celebrating Independence Day in the UK.  HaHa.  

Ok, so have a safe and Happy 4th!  

2 more days until my vacation which will include lots of lounging on the beach, hopefully.  If the weather cooperates.  I am so ready to get away.  Bruce and I were talking and we don't think we have been anywhere since October of last year.  Except for cleaning out the house in Danville, that is.  We usually take a spring vacation but things got busy.  It's always busy.  I am very ready to be un-busy for a little while. 

Speaking of vacations, I just saw a post on Facebook from Casey who can't wait to get back to the US.  Particularly American food.  LOL!  I can see that for picky teens.  

Also?  Stephen and Hannia officially put an offer on a house.  They had hoped to hear back by this evening, but I'm guessing that didn't happen.  But wish them luck.  I think they really like this place!  

So now all I have to do is get through the next couple of days of work.....wish me luck, too!  

Things are good here.  Of course, it's been pretty hot and muggy all week, but all I have to do is check the weather channel forecast for where the evil stepmom who no longer wishes to hear from any of us ever again moved and I cheer right up.  115 degrees, 117 degrees...LOL!  It makes me feel blessed to have these mid-90 temps, seriously.  

So Stephen and Hannia have decided to buy their first house.  It makes sense now that he is committed to his PhD program and will be here for at least 4 years or so.  Plus it's a buyers market right now.  They narrowed it down to 3 and we went with them to see the houses yesterday.  They have a really nice real estate agent....I liked her a lot.  She was very good at listening to what the kids need and didn't drag them around to lots of places that were unsuitable.  Bruce and I were immediately drawn to 1 property that was on top of the list for Stephen and Hannia too.  It's a duplex in a nice neighborhood.  Its very close to Stephen's lab.  And it was immaculate inside and out.  It was built in '11 so the kitchen and bathrooms are up to date, and the space was laid out really well.  I think it's about 1,400 sq feet with 3 largish bedrooms.  It has a garage ( huge bonus), and a nice covered patio, and small backyard with a privacy fence.  It's move in ready and the homeowners association takes care of the front yards.  It's not like Stephen has much free time for maintenance and yard work. I think it suits them well.  And I think they will be making an offer really soon.  I hope they get it!

Erica has also secured a new place in the UK.  I haven't seen more than the realty pictures but it also has outdoor space and lots more storage.  She just decided that the roommate situation was not really for her, so she found a place that she really liked and signed the lease just yesterday.  She is happy about it and can't wait to move in and have her own space again.  Yay!  Everybody is doing well, and seems to be happy.

We don't have a lot going on other than work and trying to keep up with the grass that grows overnight with all the rain we have had.  We have reservations for the beach for a few days over the 4th though.  I am looking forward to getting away for a bit.  And I am excited about seeing the fireworks over the ocean in Atlantic Beach for the 4th.  Should be fun!

We had a shooting incident at our local Walmart today.  4 people and the gunman were shot, but the last I heard everybody survived.  I think a lot of thanks should go to our police department.  Apparently they were on the scene and had half the town locked down tight within a couple of minutes.  And according to the news, strategies for mass shooting incidents were already in place.  That is wonderful, although it makes me sad and frightened that its almost not a matter of "if", but "when".  You know?  I shop at that Walmart.  Not often because its dirty, never has enough cashiers and the employees generally have a bad attitude.  Our Target is cleaner, nicer, better stocked, better staffed and the people who work there are usually friendly.  Still, some things can only be had at Walmart so I am forced to go there.  

It's all so scary, feeling like you are never safe in public.  But you can't stop living your life either.  I have to go to work, the grocery store, the bank and dentist and vet.  What would life be all holed up in the house out of fear??  I know that something needs to be done.  Laws need to change.  But in the meantime what do we do?  I wish I had answers.  I guess we all just have to keep on living our lives and keep the faith that if its not our time to go, we will be safe.  If it IS our time, it probably won't matter if we are huddled at home in fear, or enjoying a meal at a favorite restaurant.  Even so....something needs to change!

Remember my old blog "The Fishbowl Chronicles"?  We still live like that...in a glass house, apparently.

I'm not complaining, there are some good things about being "watched" I guess.  We live in a rural area with no close neighbors.  But everybody out here knows everybody else.  Plus working with the postal service means you know everybody and are known by everybody in the zip code.  Most of them drive by our house several times a day to work, to school, to the grocery store, the bank, to wherever.  All roads lead past our house in this town it seems.

The truth is that we can't step out of our front door without somebody saying later, "I saw you and Bruce leaving the house/getting out of the car/unloading groceries/cutting grass....etc".  Who would have thought our lives were so interesting?  LOL.  If Bruce sneaks out to smoke a cigar (not something I condone, but what can I do?  He's grown...), somebody reports the incident to me later.  If we have company, I am asked who was visiting and did we have a good time?  If we have something new like furniture or appliances delivered the whole area knows and wants to ask what it was, where we bought it, how much we paid....and on and on it goes.  I can't walk out to the mailbox without a passing acquaintance honking as they drive by.

So today this guy stops by and talks to Bruce.  He has a nursery business in nearby Grifton, he deals in trees and shrubbery and stuff.  Bruce is planning to contact him later to see about maybe buying some magnolia trees for the yard.  I LOVE magnolia.  It's so specifically southern.  But anyway, this man asked permission to cut some of the flowering greenery out of the bushes that line our driveway.  Bruce hates those bushes.  He has tried to kill those bushes in every way imaginable.  They are hard to cut around when mowing the lawn, and they harbor bees when blooming.  The man did floral arrangements and wanted to use these branches for some sort of wedding arrangements...?  I don't know, I didn't talk to him, but Bruce gave him permission to help himself to all the branches that he wanted.

True to form, in under 10 minutes my phone was ringing.  It was Doil who has worked with me for years and years.  Our joke is that he has been with me longer than any of his wives (which would be 3.  2 exs and the current Mrs. Doil). He said he was just driving by my house (of course) and spotted a man lurking out there in our bushes and Doil didn't like it.  LOL!  He said the bush lurker gave him bad vibes.  So I guess that's the upside of being under such scrutiny.  People see everything that is going on.  I assured him that we knew the guy was out there and it was ok, but then....I just had to have a good laugh.  You know what?  If I got creative, I bet I could have a whole lot of fun with this fishbowl situation.....if they are going to watch, maybe we should put on an entertaining show.  Ha!

Stephen asked me to list my top 5 fictional evil villains of all time.  The ones that scared me or impressed me with the intensity of their evil.  I say fictional, because actual villains would be an entirely different sort of list.  One that might include Bush/Cheney, and Hitler.  But that one is for another day.

Here it goes:

1.  Michael Myers from "Halloween".  I mean seriously, the original film was scary as hell.  The myriad sequels went downhill.  But the first one was about pure faceless bloodthirsty evil.  

2.  Hannibal Lector from "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon".  He was diabolical with a cultured twist of impeccable manners.  Unless he decided to make you into a tasty meal with Chianti and fava beans.  

3.  Pennywise, the clown from Stephen King's "It".  Pennywise was scary enough not to have to do all that much.  Standing around looking scary was plenty enough to give children AND adults nightmares.

4.  Norman Bates from "Psycho".  Not only is the shower scene from the original version frightening enough to make anybody hesitate to take a shower in a strange place, but dressing up like your dead mother is one step beyond creepy.

5.  Mountain man and Toothless guy from "Deliverance".  Oh my Lord, just hearing banjo music makes my nerves jangle.  

Honorable mentions include Annie Wilkes from "Misery" (hobbling anyone?), Heath Ledger's Joker from "Batman", and "The Terminator" because an unstoppable robot programmed to kill is pretty darn scary.

Yikes!

I hope everybody is having a nice Father's Day weekend!  Bruce said that all he wanted was to go shooting, so he and Stephen are spending the afternoon at the gun range.  I am cooking a full roast beef dinner with all the trimmings.  It's what Bruce asked for.  He was very specific about not wanting to go battle the restaurant crowds today.  He deserves a day to do whatever he wants.  Between dealing with Dad's house in Danville, the endless yard work, and car repairs, he hasn't had time to do anything remotely fun.  We generally don't do gifts for Mother's/Father's Day.  I know lots of people do, and that's fine.  We just prefer, in light of already having too much stuff, to gift a day of leisure and a nice meal. 

So, Jeanne and Calvin are in England with Erica this weekend.  Calvin called earlier today to taunt Bruce a little bit.  He wanted to let us know he was sitting in our favorite pub " York Tap", and was close enough to touch Erica...LOL!  I am seriously, insanely jealous.  Not of their vacation...with all the grief Jeanne has dealt with over the estate, and Delaney's illness, and everything else that goes along with family life with teens in the house....they deserve this trip.  But I AM jealous when it comes to my kids.  I can't help it.  But I hope they are having a blast and will thoroughly enjoy the rest of their UK tour.  

Anyway, hopefully everybody will have a great week ahead.  Nothing much going on here other than work.  The calendar end of spring is this coming week, but honestly?  It was already over when the mercury reached 98 degrees this week past.  LOL!  Now, I am going into my hibernate as much as possible mode and dream of those lovely crisp cool days of fall!  

Everybody who knows me even the least little bit knows that I have an aversion to hot weather.  I despise it, loathe it even.  I don't think there is a word in the English language that fully encompasses my deep levels of hatred of it.  And yet....here it is.  Mid -90's today.  98 degrees tomorrow.  In the middle of June no less.  It makes me feel afraid of what is to come in July and August.  But let's not go there yet.  It is way too depressing to contemplate.  By Friday we will be back to more tolerable lower 80's so at least there's that.  We really need to retire to someplace less hot and humid, but there are so many stipulations to accommodate the both of us that it's not as easy as it sounds.  It can't be too hot, but Bruce also requires that it doesn't have brutal winters.  We both agree that it needs to be off the beaten path....crowded cities are a turn off.  I prefer a place to have distinct seasons...I need turning leaves in fall....??  And trees and grass, NO desolate desert landscapes.  It is a dilemma, for sure.  

Anyway, speaking of weather....the Overcashes are heading to LOL UK tomorrow.  I warned them that it will be chilly.  And it will rain.  But they get to see Erica and that makes me insanely jealous.  I want to see her so badly.  I hope everybody has an excellent time.  Erica has been contemplating which of the highlights of York to take them to.  I advised her of our favorites, so I hope that helps!  I want pics.  Lots and lots of pics!  A few with Erica in them, too.  LOL.  Good luck with that.

Other than the dastardly hot weather, we are all fine here.  Stephen and Hannia are doing well.  Busy, but happy.  They stopped by to say hello yesterday evening.  I LOVE having them in town again.  Stephen has instructed me to write a blog detailing my top 5 favorite evil villains of all time.....I have to think about that one for a while.  I am pretty sure Hannibal Lector will make the cut.  Michael Myers from "Halloween" most likely will too.  I was in high school when the original movie came out and I can honestly say that it scared the crap out of me.  Any suggestions here?  I have only thought of those 2 so far.  I need help!

I have been dreading Tropical storm Andrea for a couple of days now.  Delivering mail in inclement weather is...well...unpleasant and that is an understatement.  I envisioned torrential rain and howling wind ALL day long.  But it really wasn't like that.  I think we must have gotten the worst of the rain last night.  There were occasional brief squalls of rain, and there was wind.  But none of it was too awful.

The worst part was the humidity.  If you are familiar with hurricane weather, with air so thick you practically need to swim through it....that's what today was like.  Swampy.  But better than what I was dreading so it was ok.

Now it's Friday and it has been such a long week with all the moving that had to be done.  I'm ready for a break.  

We all came together and got Dad's entire house emptied and cleaned.  What a mess.  Seriously, something very wrong was going on in that house.  It was filthy, and trashed beyond anything we expected.  Of course, Step Mom had not allowed any of Dad's children to come into the house in a long time so we were really shocked by the condition of things.  We don't know if Step Mom has had an onset of dementia, a bout of alcoholism, or if she purposely created a mess of things out of spite.  

Honestly?  All 3 scenarios are equally plausible.  But it's done, it's over.  She is moving across country and the last thing she said to Bruce was that none of us were to contact her again.  I have a feeling that won't be much of an issue...LOL!  

Anyway, it was a long and tiring weekend, but it was cathartic...therapeutic.  I feel like we can all wake up from the nightmare now.  I hope the new family moving into the house has a lovely time there.  I feel like. along with the cleaning, we should have hired an exorcist.....but maybe those mean- spirited, bitter vibes are over and done with now.  One can hold out hope.

Beyond that, things are good here.  We are exhausted, but happy to have accomplished the goal of clearing the house in a single weekend!  We all deserve a fabulous vacation or something, don't you think???

It's crazy around here.  Insane, even.  We have been so busy I haven't had time to catch my breath.  Last weekend Stephen and Hannia had their convalidation in the Catholic Church.  It was small, personal and just lovely.  We had a reception here afterwards and I enjoyed meeting Father Bill after hearing many good things about him from Hannia over the past several years.

This weekend we are all convening in Danville for 1 final time to clear out Dad's house.  It's been sold and the new people are moving in soon. This is stressing me out big time.  We have lots of help, but still....it's a big house and there is a LOT of stuff.  Stuff makes me hyperventilate on a good day.  I had trouble being in that house because the amount of clutter made me claustrophobic.  Oh well, it has to be done but this is not going to be an easy fun time for any of us.  I can't wait to get this over and done with.  Bruce's parents bought this house later in life, none of the kids ever lived there, and I don't think anybody is particularly nostalgic about the place.  

And after that?  Hopefully we can relax and have a chance to breathe again.  Maybe???  

I was talking/gossiping with a woman at work today about how we have so many new people at our office that we don't even know who is who anymore.  Like not sure if this person is a new employee, or visiting from another office or ...??   Even our management changes fairly frequently, as we apparently don't actually hire people, but borrow and shuffle people from office to office within the district.  I used to know everybody, but now....not so much.

But what's even more disturbing is that a lot of our new employees are younger than my children.

Oh my God!!!  I am a relic around there anymore.  I feel these young folks wanting me to retire ( or die) so they can move up, and take over my position.  Circling my body like vultures...LOL!  I'm not kidding that some of them have asked when I plan to retire.  I wish that I could....retire, that is.  Not die.  But I have 5 more years unless by some miracle I get offered an early out.  Or win the lottery.  The lottery would be preferable, but I think you have to buy a ticket to win.  We buy a random occasional ticket when the jackpot is large enough to make the news, but it's not something we do often.

Oh well, I just wanted to share that bit of weirdness.  One day I was one of the regular crowd, knowing everybody by their first names, their spouses and children's name.  And then one day the majority of my regular gang has moved on, retired, and I am one of the old timers.  It's so strange.  Like I woke up in somebody else's life.  But whatever.  It puts me closer to that glorious day when I walk out of that building forever, so I will take it.  And who knows....maybe I am just getting senile and I forgot that I know these people.  Maybe they aren't "new" at all.  Now that's a scary thought.  Haha!

Today is Erica's birthday.  I made the grave error of wishing her a happy birthday yesterday, which upset her that her own mother couldn't remember the day that she was born.  I will never forget that she was born on the 16th.  The problem was that I was off a day and completely thought Wednesday WAS the 16th.  I probably dated everything at work wrong, too.  Which can only mean that Erica got to have a 2 day birthday this year.  

I haven't even heard from her today.  She is at a conference in Cambridge for this entire week, so I knew contact would be minimal.  She has emailed a couple of times to say she arrived safely and she is fine but the conference and required networking is keeping her really busy.  I only hope she is having some fun and celebrating her birthday a little bit.  

So I'm a little sad, and missing Erica quite a lot this week.  But she is doing well and that's wonderful.  I wish her a really awesome birthday, even though its almost over in the UK by now.  And I also hope she has a really fabulous year ahead....I just really REALLY don't like having her out of the country when I want to celebrate and eat cake with her......sniff, sniff.  

Happy Birthday, darling!!  We love you lots.  We miss you terribly but we are also very proud of your accomplishments and your courage to go out into the world and make a life in another country!

I see a lot of posts on Facebook. Some are inspirational, some hilarious. Some are sad, some enlightening. Some are stupid, the worst are hateful. But this one resonated with me a little more than most: "One day I decided that I was beautiful...."! Just like that! No surgeries. No fad dieting, or pills, or grueling exercise routine. No cosmetics, or miracle creams and lotions, no lasers. Not even a shopping spree for expensive clothes to cover figure flaws! None of that at ALL! Just a mind shift, a quick change of perception that doesn't take more than a moment and doesn't cost a dime. Imagine that!

It resonated with me because I am the queen of self criticism. I beat myself up daily with abuse that I would NEVER dream of heaping on another human being. I would never say the kinds of ugly things to my dog that I say to myself! Fat! Old! Disgusting! Stupid! If you were smarter, less lazy, tried harder .....but not today! Just for today I am going to be beautiful! I hope you will be beautiful too! The world might be a better place with less frustration, less anger, fear and loathing if we were all wandering around being beautiful.

I spent the largest part of this day thinking it was Thursday. Thinking about how great it was that tomorrow was Friday. When it finally dawned on me that I was completely WRONG, I felt completely sad and dejected. Ripped off even. Cheated! Oh well, at least tomorrow really WILL be Thursday. I hope I don't wake up thinking its Friday or I might run screaming into madness at the loss.

So this week has dragged on and on. Last weekend seems like months ago. Nothing particularly awful has gone on, just monotony. Everything has been fine, really. I go to work. I come home and deal as best I can with the cat/dog situation. The cats still strongly disapprove. Penny chases them if they try to come into the den to see us. We are still a house divided. I keep hoping things will get better....

It's cloudy and chilly today after a week of full sun and mid-80's temps. Am I the least bit down because the weather changed for my weekend? Not in the least!!! Yard work is in full swing already and Bruce and I need a real day off. The past few weekends have been full of projects. These are necessary, I know. But so are days to rest up a bit. And today my friends?? Today is the day! Yay!

Oh, I will still do some laundry, and later make a small grocery run. I will also meet the kids at Anchalee's for crispy chicken pad Thai for dinner. But beyond that, I am having my day off. We all deserve that once in a while!

It's been a different experience dealing with a dog. I know, I know....we used to have dogs. But that was before I fully recognized my calling as a Crazy Cat lady. I have been so immersed in cats, and cat toys, and cat furniture etc...that I can hardly remember how to be a guardian of a dog. And to be what this dog needs without shirking my duties as cat mommy. It's a delicate balance especially right now while they are trying to get used to each other. Well, the dog is trying. The cats are having none of it.

Our house is divided. The cats have once again retreated to the bedroom end of the house. They can still access the pet door leading to the courtyard. The dog is not being allowed to venture down into their space right now. She gets too excited and jumpy and barky which freaks the cats out. They seriously disapprove. But today we had a small victory. The cats came out into the fenced backyard while I had Penny on a leash outside. Well, 3 of them did. Omen did NOT! But she is more of an indoor kind of girl most days anyway.

So 3 cats and the new dog occupied the same backyard space for a half hour or so. Penny was excited but managed to calm herself to a manageable level. The cats were wary and tentative...but brave enough to wander for a little while. It was a start. Hopefully we will have more progress soon.

So this is Penny Lane. You can't tell from the picture but she has freaky light blue eyes. We have no idea what she went through, only that she was starving when Bruce found her. She is trying to learn how to behave in a house, in a family and as the only dog in a cat household. Wish her luck!

My daughter pointed out that I have been extremely lax in posting lately. So, I will try to do better.
We have just been so busy with stuff....projects, pets, work, dentists....the list goes on and on. An update on the rescue dogs: 1 had advanced liver disease and had to be put down. 2 have been adopted, and we are left with 1. I have named her Penny Lane. We call her Penny. She has heart worms and has to go through treatment which will eventually involve having to be in a crate for up to 8 weeks. I have spent most of this week trying to get her used to the crate. The first day was awful, she wailed and howled and whined the whole time we put her in there. Seriously, it was all of 5 minutes but she acted like it was killing her. But last night she went in the crate willingly at bedtime and stayed there quietly all night long! Success!! The cats don't like any of this, but I am working on it. Penny gets a little calmer with each passing day and that will help the cats feel less freaked out by her. I hope.....

Besides that, it has been in the 80's here for the past week and a half. Which can only mean 1 thing in Eastern NC.....yard work is now in full swing! Bruce has been working on getting our grape vines and muscadines strung up on proper posts. It sounds like an easy enough project, right? But it has taken trips to Lowe's for supplies, time, effort and sweat, more trips to Lowe's, time for cement to set up, a new drill....and on and on. What we both thought was a quick-ish weekend project has gone on for 3 weeks, and taken way more money than we envisioned. But it's done, almost. Those damned grapes better grow and that's all I have to say about that!

So we have been seeing a new dentist. Our old one was really lousy. Apparently lousy dentists are more common than you might think. We feel really good about this one we switched to, even though he has found lots of things that need to be done for both me and Bruce. I had to take Monday off to have a couple of fillings done. One of them was deeper than he thought, and he warned me that it might be sensitive for a couple of days. He was right. It's better today at least. I still have to have 2 crowns done....ugh.

Anyway, I hope everybody has a wonderful rest of the week! I really will try to post more often.

And now it's April already....where is this year going?

A sore throat this morning has turned into some kind of full-blown raging cold this evening. Lovely!

Maybe it's the time change, which I am generally in favor of...but I seem to be sleepier than usual this week. By mid afternoon I want/need a nap. Today I just went for it and it was wonderful. Hopefully I will get acclimated soon. I mean honestly I am sleeping just fine at night. I shouldn't be this sleepy by 4 pm. Oh well, I think I always struggle a little bit and then things get back to normal. I do love longer days. I disapprove of that initial loss of an hour of sleep but I admit its worth it in the long run. Dark by 5 or 6 pm is just too depressing.

So Bruce rescued some dogs. 4!!! I came home from work last Friday to 4 dogs in our backyard.
They were all so pitifully thin that I couldn't be too angry with him. The fact is that I do NOT want another dog. I do NOT want, no how, no way a whole pack of dogs. Oh Lord. Bruce says we will fatten them up, get them healthy and start trying to find homes. I am a cat person. I like dogs just fine, especially when they belong to other people. My cats just sit and look out the windows at these dogs and you can feel their disapproval. If anybody out there can help us out with a possible adoption, then please please please contact me or Bruce. The dogs are all friendly and are starting to settle in and calm down now that they aren't starving.

Anyway, everything else is going well enough. I had my annual eye exam on Monday and let myself be persuaded to order a new pair of glasses. I wear contacts pretty much 100 % of the time that I'm not asleep and while I have a pair of glasses they are old and the prescript is nowhere near accurate anymore. I hope they come in soon as I am anxious to try them. I got the darkening transition lenses and I want to see how that works!

I had the day off and nothing to do until a vet appointment at 3 pm, so I did a little shopping for some spring clothes. Not very successful...as I guess you can tell by the title containing the word "rant". I was mainly looking for tops as I already know that pants pretty much have to be ordered. First of all....bless the stores that include lengths in the online description of their tops and blouses. Seriously, I love you. Sites that use things like "mid-hip length"..... Really? On who? Mid-hip length on me or on somebody who is 5 ft tall? Because my biggest rant is tops that are too short. I hate, hate, hate that!!!! I try to abide by the rules of decent fit that specify that most tops need to be crotch length to give the body a good balance. Ahem. Ralph Lauren, you miss that by at least a foot on me. And to get a halfway decent length requires sizing up to the point the shoulders and neckline are huge. I got so freaking frustrated today trying on about 100 different tops and finding just a couple that would do. That would do....IF I never put them in the dryer.

On the flip side, I ordered a few tshirts from a "tall" women's site (long tall Sally). Their tops are pitifully few as they seem to concentrate on long inseam pants. But these tshirts come to my knees almost! I still wear them for bumming around the house but is there NO middle ground?

My second biggest gripe is the tissue thin fabrics everybody uses these days. I don't want to wear a tank or cami under everything I own. I am terribly hot natured. Hell, I can barely stand to layer a jacket over my clothes even on the coldest days. Is it too much to ask for tops in fabrics that are not completely sheer? And long enough? Apparently it is, because I can't find much of what I am looking for anywhere. Neither cheap or expensive....at this point price is the least of my concerns.

A few other of the rules of fit that make it so difficult for me to find clothes:

Pants should always fall within a quarter inch of the floor WITH shoes on.

Nothing, not dresses, skirts, or capris should EVER fall to mid calf. It cuts the body off, and looks awkward and frumpy. Lengths should be above or below the calf muscle.

Tops should be crotch length, Tunics should completely cover the hips.

Leggings are NOT pants. Nothing can make them pants. They are essentially hosiery without feet. If you insist on wearing leggings, at least put on a tunic that covers your booty. Nobody should have to look at that, EVER! If you are in doubt whether your skin tight, Lycra spandex
Leg coverings are leggings....they probably are. Cover your behind accordingly.

Women over 40 should leave the short shorts to the younger people. Even if you are in relatively good shape.

Banded bottoms on tops look good on about 5 people in the whole world...it's not me and chances are its not you either.

Just because you can get it on and fastened doesn't necessarily mean it fits.

Sigh......I'm over it now!

I think I posted before how much I LOVE my Droid phone. It's been solid since I got it over a year ago. There are newer Droids out there, but I get comfortable after finally figuring out some newer technology and don't want it to change unless its an absolute necessity. I get a new phone when my old one is no longer functional. I don't rush to upgrade every couple of months. I know a lot of people who do, and hey...if that floats your boat then go for it. I just hate the awkward phase of figuring out a new phone.

Anyway, like I said my Droid has been rock solid, reliable, nary a glitch. So I was completely surprised to find it on and frozen on the start up screen first thing this morning. It was plugged in to charge overnight...something my old non-smart phone didn't need. It would last for days. But my Droid lasts a full day even with heavy use. I just need to recharge every night. When I saw the screen on and in a mode that it was not in when I plugged it in last night I panicked. Not my phone! My cats were swarming around my ankles frantically trying to persuade me to stop delaying their breakfast, but I was as frozen as my Droid's screen running through the scenario of the day. Busy! How to find time to run into our local phone store?? How long will I be without a phone until I can get there? I broke out in a cold sweat as I started feeling cut off! What if somebody was trying to reach me at that very second?? Would I be able to use a loaner phone until mine could be fixed? Should I upgrade to something new? Oh Dear Sweet Lord this day is starting to suck before even that first cup of coffee!!!

What actually happened was that I took the battery out while I fed the cats ( yes they finally got to eat after a 5 minute or so delay....tragic!). I held my breath when I put the battery back in and turned it back on. But it booted up normally and has been fine all day since so maybe....knock on wood....it was just a crazy little glitchy thing. I haven't turned it off to reboot in months, and I know it's a good idea to do that occasionally. So hopefully it's fine. It made me nervous though.....