T-Day After! The Awful Void...

Hope your turkey (or filet mignon) was excellent!

As for me, I availed myself of the unseasonably warm temps and cleaned up the yard a bit. Had some branches cut last weekend that were left in the R/W of the ditch, and it was high time to pretty that up a bit. (Oh, who am I trying to kid? One cannot really 'pretty~up' these ditches)... But anyway, I did a bunch of clearing it all out; and have already started building my burn pile for next spring in the backyard.

The above picture is exactly what I have been seeing since I woke up at about 12:30 this morning...  And am very happy that I do not have to go driving in it- How ever do people see anything when it is SO foggy? This is Pea~Soup Fog, Folks-  I couldn't even see the darned kennel!

And yet, I know there are plenty of DieHard shoppers out there, already grabbing up the first bargains they can see- and fighting their way through the hoards of other shoppers.

Not me. Never did it, and hopefully will never have to either!

No way, NO how!

And it is NOT even the biggest shopping day of the year, as so many have proclaimed it to be... It hasn't ranked that way in recent history either.

Now as for yesterdays entry...

I was not too certain how to go about s~t~r~e~t~c~h~i~n~g  that little mouse with its broken neck into serving enough food for the minions that appeared on my doorstep in the afternoon... So I cheated and we might have eaten a bit of turkey; some mashed potatoes that Casey made- and a few other things too.  My GI tract is currently quite unhappy with all of that!  (Must have been that 'mousey mouse' gravy)? hehehe 

But NO PIE!!!  

How awful is that???   That's like bad 'secs' or something- It's just wrong, and what's the point anyway? !  

The Fed-Ex guy didn't drop off any pie-

Nor did the airlines...

None was found in my mailbox- (or my inbox for that matter)-

I looked in the fridge.

I looked in the cupboards.

And I looked under my bed. (No wonder the damned cat died)...

Just NO PIE anywhere!!!   It gave me such bad dreams that I couldn't sleep, (overcome by this one little section of my tummy that was just so completely empty).

VOID OF PIE!!! 

Casey, Jenne, Isaiah, and Roberta came out- (& they didn't bring pie either).  

Berta did Jenne's hair... putting the highlights in, and on Sunday she will be cutting it also-  Hopefully she will have time to also cut mine- Am thinking about shaving it off if I cannot come up with a style I like.   (Um, sorry, no 'double~dog~dares' will be accepted)!

And so, it is onward and upward to Christmas, and the New Year too...  That makes me tired even thinking about it all; and like some of my compadres on here I shall be at least thinking of finding those decorations...

...maybe anyway...

Time to jump start my day!

...(and YAY!, Casey has just come in)!!!

 

XOXO

Anne

T-Day After! The Awful Void...

Hope your turkey (or filet mignon) was excellent!

As for me, I availed myself of the unseasonably warm temps and cleaned up the yard a bit. Had some branches cut last weekend that were left in the R/W of the ditch, and it was high time to pretty that up a bit. (Oh, who am I trying to kid? One cannot really 'pretty~up' these ditches)... But anyway, I did a bunch of clearing it all out; and have already started building my burn pile for next spring in the backyard.

The above picture is exactly what I have been seeing since I woke up at about 12:30 this morning...  And am very happy that I do not have to go driving in it- How ever do people see anything when it is SO foggy? This is Pea~Soup Fog, Folks-  I couldn't even see the darned kennel!

And yet, I know there are plenty of DieHard shoppers out there, already grabbing up the first bargains they can see- and fighting their way through the hoards of other shoppers.

Not me. Never did it, and hopefully will never have to either!

No way, NO how!

And it is NOT even the biggest shopping day of the year, as so many have proclaimed it to be... It hasn't ranked that way in recent history either.

Now as for yesterdays entry...

I was not too certain how to go about s~t~r~e~t~c~h~i~n~g  that little mouse with its broken neck into serving enough food for the minions that appeared on my doorstep in the afternoon... So I cheated and we might have eaten a bit of turkey; some mashed potatoes that Casey made- and a few other things too.  My GI tract is currently quite unhappy with all of that!  (Must have been that 'mousey mouse' gravy)? hehehe 

But NO PIE!!!  

How awful is that???   That's like bad 'secs' or something- It's just wrong, and what's the point anyway? !  

The Fed-Ex guy didn't drop off any pie-

Nor did the airlines...

None was found in my mailbox- (or my inbox for that matter)-

I looked in the fridge.

I looked in the cupboards.

And I looked under my bed. (No wonder the damned cat died)...

Just NO PIE anywhere!!!   It gave me such bad dreams that I couldn't sleep, (overcome by this one little section of my tummy that was just so completely empty).

VOID OF PIE!!! 

Casey, Jenne, Isaiah, and Roberta came out- (& they didn't bring pie either).  

Berta did Jenne's hair... putting the highlights in, and on Sunday she will be cutting it also-  Hopefully she will have time to also cut mine- Am thinking about shaving it off if I cannot come up with a style I like.   (Um, sorry, no 'double~dog~dares' will be accepted)!

And so, it is onward and upward to Christmas, and the New Year too...  That makes me tired even thinking about it all; and like some of my compadres on here I shall be at least thinking of finding those decorations...

...maybe anyway...

Time to jump start my day!

...(and YAY!, Casey has just come in)!!!

 

XOXO

Anne

A Rodent For Repast!

gotcha...

hehehe...

And finally!!!! ...

Our Thanksgiving meal is secured!

YAY! (I was worried there for a while)...

There is a bittersweet end to this varmint. Meal for him, meal for us! How cool is that? And hopefully his family will read this, and see what will happen should they decide to enter my home! Din Din Morris!

I believe I might have even slept past 1:37 this morning had my cell phone not kept continually reverberating with a new text message for me... After I crawled out of bed- (ok, 'off of couch') I checked the text... It was from Jenne, and said simply, "Happy Thanksgiving!"

And really Folks, that is enough Thanksgiving wishes for me! Although I thank you all for them, I have received a thousand reminders that I need to find something to be thankful for or I am unpatriotic or even un~Christian- Hence, un~American... (The thought itself brings on a whole slew of attitude for me)! After all, being Indian, how much more 'American' can one get?

And yet, that said, George Carlin begs to differ...

Across my desk from Cousin Buttercup aka "Nishgiggles"...

George Carlin on Indians.....

"Now the Indians. I call them Indians because that's what they are. They're Indians. There's nothing wrong with the word 'Indian'.

First of all, it's important to know that the word Indian does not derive from Columbus mistakenly believing he had reached 'India.'

India was not even called by that name in 1492; it was known as "Industan".

More likely, the word Indian comes from Columbus's description of the people he found here. He was an Italian, and did not speak or write very good Spanish, so in his written accounts he called the Indians:

"Una gente in Dios."

(Translated): "A people in God."

In God. In Dios.

Indios. Indians.

It's a perfectly noble and respectable word.

As far as calling them 'Americans' is concerned, do I even have to point out what an insult this is? -----

We steal their hemisphere, kill twenty or so million of them, destroy five hundred separate cultures, herd the survivors onto the worst land we can find, and now we want to name them after ourselves? It's appalling!

Haven't we done enough damage?

Do we have to further degrade them by tagging them with the repulsive name of their conquerors?

You know, you'd think it would be a fairly simple thing to come over to this continent, commit genocide, eliminate the forests, damup the rivers, build our malls and massage parlors, sell our blenders and whoopee cushions, poison ourselves with chemicals, and let it go at that. But no. We have to compound the insult.

...I'm glad the Indians have gambling casinos now. It makes me happy that dimwitted white people are losing their rent money to the Indians.

Maybe the Indians will get lucky and win their country back.

Probably wouldn't want it...

...Look at what we did to it." ...end quote...

.

.

Amusing? True? (Again, "bittersweet")...

I do not know whether Mr. Carlin actually has penned these words...

Irregardless, it reflects many points...

"Food For Thought" if you will...

.

"Food"? (Did somebody say "FOOD")????

Mmmmmm-

.

Oh, and just so you know... I DO hate all of your entries that bespeak of your many recipes and references to food... (They always make my stomach growl).

And that would be funny enough if I didn't have a pup at my feet that, every now and then 'growls' in her sleep. (And no, my feet don't stink)!?! hehehe...

I have taken to growling back at her- I do not know whether she wakes or not, but she will definitely try to keep it up then. How fun!

Punkins sister, Sadie, even made the newspaper- Being the 'daughter' of a photographer, she is featured as the 'salesdog' for Coleman Pillows for ShopKo! And so, Miss Milly has birthed a celebrity!

.

.

.

(Maybe if I buy one of those pillows, Punk will sit pretty on it too)?

Do ya think?

(Me neither).

.

.

.

.

And so begins my day for me... I shall have to go surf the 'www' for some special "Recipes for Rodent flesh" now.

hehehehe?

Have a wunnaful, warm, and cozy day!

XOXO
Anne

free hit counters

The Day My Big Sister Lost Her Mind!

 

First of all, I MUST caution you all-

(The blog ahead, and the pictures enclosed, should carry a Parental Warning)!!!

Good Morning!

I have been up for so very long already and am only now getting to my own blog here- And I haven't even gotten in the shower yet- just reading and reading and reading...

(You guys are all too very interesting for me to have to put the proverbial book down)!

And so I shall begin speaking of the weather... hehehe... But it is noteworthy (yesterday and today)... Not enough sun, but was almost 70 degrees outside- Punk, Milly and I 'played' for quite a while. (OK OK, so the dogs played while I dug out my flower bed).

Jenne and Isaiah came out last night, and if I would have planned ahead, I would have made some supper for them. (But there is little cooking when I am outside too)... But such a wonderful evening out there as we sat and talked a bit. My Little Man Isaiah played with the dogs, and then took to showing his mama and myself how to do exercises.

First, you put your right foot in... you put your right foot out, you put your right foot in...

...(Because yes, the hokey-pokey IS what it's all about)!...

 

 

 

Then there are the push-ups...

UGH~ (I had all I could do to lift the darned camera)!

 

 

 

Later, you must be able to reach for the moon and the stars...

...(with your feet)!

 

 

 

 

And you always, always have to be ready and able to pick Mama up when she gets stuck...

(and that's a LOT)!!!

 

 

It made my day to romp around a bit after dark...

 

...And you have yet NOT even been enlightened as to how my day began...

 

CLOSE YOUR EYES NOW IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH!!!

 

 

(This IS where the CAUTION FLAG goes up)...

This is how my day began!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hehehe

 

Going down to the basement a few days ago, and KNOWING I had 'company' of some sort; I opted to put the mousetrap out again. I put Peanut Butter in it.  (Since this is Punkies most favorite treat in the whole world, I have to put that trap out of her reach)... And so, I chose one of the two crawlspaces/shelves.

Being overly concerned about the pup, never for one minute did I think about "what if I trap one?"
And even MORE importantly "Where WILL that trap, and its contents, BE in direct proportion to my face???"

As I went downstairs yesterday morning- (having forgotten ALL about the trap), I came almost face-to-face with the above picture- A mere 9" away...  And I am not afraid of mice, and most especially NOT afraid of a little old dead one...
...But they startle me, (most especially when there is a dead one IN MY FACE)!

Dead mice--- Hmmmmmmmmm  

Gets me to thinking back...

 

(Oh no, here I go again)!!!

 

When we were kids, Mary and I did NOT get along one teeny tiny bit, (unless there was some real juicy blackmail involved)...

And another thing that I had neglected to write about yesterday was that 'on the side' Dad had sold new and used machinery-
The machinery field was behind the barn, about the size of a football field.

Now you are really going to have to stay with me on this...

One morning I was particularly mad at Mary (I think just for being here and all- Who knows)?  And I went about my chores at the speed of sound... While pitching the hay down, I had 'company' in the hay mow too- A cat, owned by Jim Peters, would always come around in search of mice- (and female cats). He was a very skittish cat- We called him "Blackie" ...(Guess why).

I turned and saw Blackie behind me, having caught a mouse, and he tortured it while I was doing my work. When I was done, I closed the door to the barn- This scared Blackie off, and he left his mouse behind- (it was, for the most part, UN-eaten)... Devious little hellraiser that I might have been in those days, I got to thinking, and when my chores were done I collected that mouse and deposited it right into the pocket of Marys barn coat...

What else may/may not have happened that day escapes me now. I only know that, by the time our evening chores rolled around I had plum forgot all about that little bitty deceased mouse in the pocket of the snippy elder sister...

As we were doing chores that night, Dad had a customer that had come to check out a plow... Mary agreed to do the milking while he was in the upper field with that man- and I went up to the haymow. Mom was in the kitchen still doing the supper dishes...

ALL OF A DAMNED SUDDEN, I hear the biggest, loudest most desperate scream/screech that I have EVER heard in my life (before and since), coming from the barn under my feet. I ran across the hay mow, to peek out between the barn boards... At this point, I see my sister, dancing around the yard, still screeching... (Even at that point it still hadn't jogged my memory)...

When she became a bit more coherent, (still dancing around the yard, trying desperately to remove all of her clothing without undoing any of the zippers and buttons)...   

I could not know what she was shrieking-  The fearful word(s) spewing from her piehole, consisted of a two-syllable word...

"MOW-ISS" "MOW-ISS" "MOW-ISS" "MOW-ISS"

(C'mon, what the heck is "mow-iss" anyway)????

On and on and on she danced and shrieked...
Meanwhile the awful moment of truth strikes me when I decipher her noise...
...to be a ONE-SYLLABLE WORD = 'mouse'.  

...And just to cover my 10 year old butt, I go running down to the yard-
Just as Mom is trying to comfort Mary- (and just as Pa is rounding the corner of the machinery field, with that perspective customer right on his heels)!!!

Everyone is bewildered as Mary still is attempting to strip naked in front of God, her family, the customer, the cats, the dog, the cows etc etc etc...
She does NOT stop this dance until the coat is physically removed from herself, and from her sight...
Taking a breath as her eyeballs are now almost popped out opf her head, matching the artery in her neck,  she threatens my life about 10 times in as many seconds..  

And she is so overwrought that she is allowed to be dismissed from the barn as soon as the customer left- (Which wasn't very long after that display of "WACKY" Mary behavior)!!!   
...Oooh, Pa was MAD!

 

And then they ALL had the nerve to try to blame ME!!!! ???

(I even got 'swored at')...

And so I said the only thing I could say at that moment in time...

"Yeah right- I know that stupid mouse just must have crawled in there, realized it was Marys coat, (because SHE stinks), and then he died from it."

That was my story and I stuck to it!!!

Up until about 10 years ago anyway, when I could no longer keep my secret.... (It was simply burning a hole in my halo and I couldn't take it anymore)!

For some strange reason,  Mary still doesn't 'feel the love' or see the humor in that situation...
(KillJoy)!!!  
Even Mom laughed then...

Yes, Mom was still alive at that point- (If she laughed NOW, I would be a little freaked)...
hehehe ... And I would just have to get going on that deja vu, and paranormal entry I have promised to you all...

 

I will get to it SOON...

XOXO

Anne

 

PS~ to Miss Splurk6K... No need for that danged snowdancing- we will have 3-4" of new snow by tomorrow night...

If I Could Turn Back Time...

Good Morning!

You had better grab a cup of coffee- (it's a windy one)!

I thought I would, at the suggestion of a very good friend, go back to when times were harder-( yet so simpler and easier)- for everyone.   Just to go back to my childhood, if only for a few minutes here...

 

the sign hangs in my entrance... (A gift from my sister, Barbara)

 

 

Having been adopted so young, the memories I have of my childhood are only of this place I now call home...

 

 XOXO  

...We had a dairy farm.

 

 

 

That said, here is a sidenote for anybody that has no idea of the work involved...  That meant there were no other involvements. Not even a vacation; as cows need to be milked twice a day, and it is not something you can just hire somebody else for.

We didn't travel far from home on any given day- Even a trip to my mothers homeplace in Sidnaw, Michigan meant rising way early to get the 'bossies' milked and fed, and get the barns cleaned so we could get away... We then came back later in the afternoon to do the chores all over again. Tired, but having spent a beautiful day in 'Copper Country' too.

Upon rising in the early morning, the first thing we did was to change into our 'barn clothes'- Usually quite a casual attire, and not the warmest- (When you are working in a barn with about 100 head +/- of cattle, you do not need any extra body heat)...

We wore these same barn clothes for our work in the barn, until Saturday- At that point Mary and I would go into town with Mom and do the laundry for the week. Getting those old pinstripe overalls off of Dad to wash them was kind of tough sometimes- (After all, he had just gotten them comfortable once again)!

He was a deservedly proud man. Once he had been offered $50.00 for his very worn denim jacket... He always had the dark blue jackets- ($10.00 apiece at Kmart). But HIS had a few tears, patched elbows, and were worn in places that there was no blue left. When this offer came up, he declined the money, telling the guy, "I 'earned' this jacket- Go buy one and EARN your own."

He also wore brown leather boots- The kind that lace up and then tied over in a criss-cross pattern. When they got old and needed fixin' he would bring them in to the shoe repair man; it was too expensive to go out and buy a new pair (again, he had 'just gotten them broken in')... They didn't have lined boots in those days- That was a 'do-it-yourself' job.  In winter he would wear sometimes TWO pair of wool socks. When summer came, no matter the heat, he would still wear those boots each day...

ANYWAY... After Mary and I woke up and changed into our barn clothes, we would then go out to the barn. (Mom and Dad rose earlier by about an hour, and so the cattle were already in the barn, and the milkers were already going). We did not have a pipeline, and so carried the two buckets that we had, to the milkhouse, dump the milk in the strainer to the bulk tank, clean the teatcups and put them on another pair of cows.. (Having only two milkers, the milking took nearly 3 hours morning and night). During the milk time, the hay and straw was pitched down from the mow, cows were fed, the barn cleaner run, the calves fed- Mary did the grain, and I usually pitched from the mows... For practical reasons there was no electricity in the haymow, and so for half a year, I did this by flashlight. (Brave, huh)?!

Dad always pitched the silage down too, saying it was too dangerous for anyone else to do so- We were allowed to do this only when the silo had been emptied of about 3/4 of its contents. We would not have to climb so far then- (or maybe would not have so far to fall if we missed a rung on the way down)!

In the mornings after the chores were done, Mary and I would take fast showers, get redressed and head out to catch the bus for school. In the evenings we did our homework BEFORE watching any television, and still had to be in bed by 9 or 10, depending upon the night of the week, and whether we had school the next day.

We didn't get summers off as so many of our classmates did- There was moms garden (about 1/4 of an acre) that needed hoeing and weeding. There was 3/4 acre of pickles to be picked and sorted each day for the pickle company-

Earlier in the summer there were strawberries that needed picking. People would buy them a case at a time for their own freezers, and every now and then a few of moms friends would come help pick the darned things. (This was never true of the cucumbers; we were on our own)...

In mid-summer came the raspberries- Both the raspberries and the strawberries were everbearing, and we didn't like much when they would produce the smaller berries at the end of the season because it took too long to pick. (As if we really had any other stuff to do)? Um yeah, we did...

...Near the end of June there was haying- Usually we chopped it, but in later years, Pa had bought a baler. (Truth be told, I wasn't impressed with either one).  When it was chopped, it was my job to run the tractor that was attached to the blower, and Dad and Mary would remove the hay from the wagon into the blower. I watched for clogs, and even got hit by a broken belt once. (While it hurt like heck and left a huge welt, it was NOT a good enough reason to retire for the day). Again, in later years, dad had purchased a self-unloading wagon- they didn't have to remove it then, but I still had to man the blower! (Not fair)! Oh we were SO abused!    ...Not.

There were the quiet days of summer too when Mary and I would jack a few inner tubes from the garage and take them down the river. REAL inner tubes, patched by Pa, (and we had to look out for the valves too or they would embed themselves in our backs). We also had to look out for the bloodsuckers- Mary wound up with more than a few each summer, I never did get one. Lucky me!   

Maybe on a rare occasion, we would go fishing at the little lake on County C- Only dad and I ever went, (and that was only if I would dig the worms)! But it was so nice to just sit there for a couple hours, shoot the bull, and catch the bullfish just to throw 'em back.

There was an old man that lived in a house not too far away. His name was George Weslosky. His home had neither electricity, nor indoor plumbing; and he would make the rounds in Flintville to those families that would offer him supper and a night of television every now and then.

George would come to our home on Saturday nights, and after the chores were done it was an evening of Mannix and Mission Impossible. (Remember those)?   Sometimes we would fall asleep on the couch, and in those days that was a big 'no-no' ...Mom would wake us, seemingly abruptly, and send us straight upstairs.

We said our prayers every night as a family too. On our knees and with the family rosary. Most nights we would only get through the 1st Decade- Usually Mom 'led' the prayers and the rest of us responded. Then it was up to bed.

Winter always brought more than its share of problems due to the weather. As soon as time permitted during chores, Dad would plow the yard out after the snows came. This had to be done to allow the milk truck to get in/out each day. Our milk was sold to Fairmont in those days, and the drivers name was Bernard Young. A funny man too.

Anyway, Dad had finally broken down one year and bought a brand new Leyland tractor with all the necessities- a front end loader to plow the snow- with chains and weights on it to make it safer. We still shoveled out the barn and the house, doorways and such. During the winter, the cows were stanchioned in the barn, and so the barn cleaner was run morning and night. When pulling a heavy load, it would undoubtedly break a link and the only way to repair it then was outside on the slide. Dad worked many, many times in subzero temps to repair that darned thing. And had to do so without gloves because he needed to be able to grasp things...

He retired in 1973- After chores were done that morning, we had an auction to sell the cattle and the leftover machinery... While I do not remember too much of the auction itself, I do remember that cars were parked up and down the road as far as we could see- and further too.

I remember having the snack stand parked in the yard- and the burgers were like 30 cents!

I remember the following day though- rising at the same time as I always did, coming downstairs and finding Mom in the kitchen- (In my 'still-asleep' mode, the events of the day before were not on my mind, and I was still of a "chore" mind).

Seeing her in the kitchen, looking out the window with tears in her eyes, I chose to stand with her for a time...

... As I saw what she had been focused on, I too began fighting the lump in my throat. Looking out, my father was walking in the yard, hands in the pockets of his overalls;  kicking a little stone around... and looking much like a little boy whose puppy had just died... 
The farm was all he ever knew...

But it didn't end there for him- He would still rise early, and either go down to Vickery's Store in Suamico for a cup of coffee with the guys (by the old pot-belly stove), or he would go fishing- either at Kewaunee or Shawano Lake too.
Come to think of it, I haven't been fishin' since Pa died in '84.
Maybe someday again I will.

My apologies as I have rambled and rambled on here- Mom, Dad, Mary and I. And while we were NOT abused like we wanted to believe in those days, we learned how to work, how to sweat, how to deal with the living and the dying-

We WERE, oh SO LOVED...

And in the end, that is all that matters, isn't it?

XOXO
Anne

In Loving Memory...

Rita Louise Rose (VandenPlas) Yusvak

~My Mother...

~Born March 7th, 1916

~Married June 7th, 1949

~Died November 7th, 1998

 

Daughter of Francis VandenPlas and Zoe (Radart) VandenPlas-

Loving and beloved wife of the infamous and hilarious Lawrence Ramon Yusvak-    (Hope that silly link works)...

BELOW>>> 

Mom circa 1944-

Dad 1984 (the last picture taken of him),

cooking venison for halftime.

 

 

Mother to Mary and Anne (that's ME of course)... And through it all, a saint who had chosen to turn her Wings to Feet so that she could walk among us; sharing all the wonderful things that this life has to offer with anybody who would listen...

Oh goodness, I miss them both dearly sometimes-

Last year, during the dead part of winter, I had gone through all of mom and dads clothing that had not sold in my previous years rummage sale-  As I was sorting through it, the thought occured that I was very hard pressed to give it to charity- (Sort of parting with all the memories in each article of clothing)...  

...At that very point in time,  'the romantic' in my own soul rose to the occasion.    I have since made a 2 queen sized quilts from those clothes- One for my sister, Mary- and one for myself too...

(This is the first one, given to Mary for her birthday in February... and she cried and cried, recognizing almost every square for the memories it brought to her too)....

 

(The quilt is way oversized for the bed I had thrown it on here)...

There are times that I can speak of my parents, and others that my heart closes up my own throat. But that is only because I am left behind for now-   A virtual orphan, and have taken up the stick, so to speak, and will pass it on to my own daughters when the time comes for them...

Mom could always see the good in everyone; be they great or small, living or dead, good souls or not...   Yet I learned that this too had its limits for her- which got stretched considerably when I had called her one night after I had tucked little Casey in for the night. (KCN was maybe 5 or 6 at the time)...

...Casey and I would always say our little prayers, ending with her "God Bless so and so"...     On this particular night, (after having seen the news more times than she probably should have),  Casey had also added "God Bless Jeffrey Dahmer" And I was rendered completely speechless... She ended with "and God Bless me too".

After she slept, I called Mom and shared Caseys prayer with her... Even my sainted mother had a problem with it~ (Know there weren't too very many things that left HER speechless)...   One of those "WOW" things, and that maybe I should have a talk with all of my daughters... And so, at breakfast the next morning we spoke of what Casey had allowed for in her prayers; explaining that this man was such a terrible human being. She calmly stated that he would then really need all the prayers he could get. And so there was NO arguing with that. We all slowly had to agree...

I can remember countless nights, falling to sleep to the sound of my mothers voice; either reading to us; or on the phone with one of her sisters, laughing almost uncontrollably. Those are such fond memories for me, but can also remember wondering if Mary and I would ever share and know that same love of sisterhood???   (Which incidentally we HAVE found throughout the years).   A legacy to us both, from our mother.

Mom loved poetry- ALL poetry. And her favorite poem was always "The Adoption Creed"- She was always so very proud of her daughters- (yes, even when we did our level best to be completely undeserving of that pride and her love)-

Like my father, her love was/IS steadfast, as only that of parents can be. Only 5'3" at her tallest, she was short of stature, but HUGE of heart too.

Like we should ALL- (and always), strive to be...

To borrow from my Unca BoBBie, can I write her name in today as candidate for 'angel' ?

 

XOXO

Anne

 

(Oh, and Mom, the poem works BOTH ways, and ALWAYS)...

Not flesh of my flesh

Nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculously

My own.

Never forget

For a single minute:

You didn't grow under my heart,

But in it.

--Fleur Conkling Heyliger

"Buddy" is a Wino!

Good Morning!

I received a phone call last night from my sister Mary...And find that I am still laughing at our conversation too-   She had finished up supper; and after relaxing a bit with a glass of wine,  she had picked up a few things in the kitchen...  As she went back to her glass, it was a bit less full than it had been before; as she caught Buddy in the middle of helping himself!  Gee, I wonder if he has a touch of a headache this morning?   A dog with a hangover!  Absolutely funny to hear about...  "Mmmm, Yap!"    (Buddy is the pup on the right in the above photo with Milly and Punk)...

And I would have sworn it had been Punk that had done the imbibing- She was SO tired last night-

And lots of fun playing hide and seek with her mother too...

 

 

A wonderful sunny (and 60 degree) day here-  And since my 'Pack' was trying their level best to make me hyperventilate, we all were outside and enjoying the weather.  

Perhaps they should take lessons from my Little Miss Valerie... 

 

 

 

I took that picture around the end of August-

But lookee- A 'double' touchdown for her!!!

 

Jenne, Isaiah and CaseyAnne were here after mass- (and after doing a bit of shopping for me)- A bit of french toast, some bacon- and potatoes, and the energy levels peaked. As Punkies did too!  She has been sleeping for the most part for about the last 12 hours! 

Jenne, finding herself in a bit of a quandary at the moment, as her ex has now reneged on his permission to allow her to take Isaiah to Texas with her- so she can get married... What to do? 

Any legal (or otherwise devious), words of wisdom for this crazy s(h)ituation ???

Her ex is drunk and belligerent, (and has children in all 4 corners of the U.S. too).   He has walked away from all of them without a backward glance- WHY do parents DO this anyway? (And HOW can they walk away from their own flesh and blood)???  I will never understand...

Please wish Jenne well on her interviews too- She has a flight out this Friday to go down for a few potential jobs ...   (I did tell her it is time to put a call in to her attorney- all should work out fine then). 

No Roberta, and no Zoe yesterday, which ultimately means no Gabriel and no Valerie either... (Girls)?         (I do hate withdrawals from my kids and grands)...

On top of those withdrawals, I am also battling the 1st migraine of the week... Crap. (So, what else is new)?

Having posted my question to you on 'the topic of topics', I will be posting my own little experiences with hauntings and other related spiritual things.  Soon anyway...   Maybe I shall do that tomorrow, instead of harping on my poor unsuspecting friends to get out and vote? Hopefully I have no apathetic friends here... 

And yes, I'm sick of all the negative campaigning too...  

Barf. Barf. Barf....   ad nauseum....

Have a grand Monday- (if there IS any such thing to begin with)... 

-And I shall get my enigmas blog on my mind today... 

In the meanwhile, you can read my highlighted entry entitled:    "Deja Vu? Afterlives? Spirits? Hauntings?"  

Please feel free to leave me a comment on there if you haven't already done so-   (Am I weird, or what)???    ...Never mind, don't answer that-  (I already KNOW what you're thinking)!!!

Happy Monday!

XOXO

Anne!

 

Re-Paid and Laid-Back!

Top O' The Morning to all!

The picture is my payment for all those silly hours messing with Casey's laptop!  (Kind of makes it all worthwhile then, wouldn't you agree)?!? 

So, I see you want to know what I did to fix the blasted thing??? 

In all honesty I would have shared that with you ...if only I really knew...  (I know what I didn't start with though- and that is I had no idea how I was going to even get through all of the testing)-   You have to be real fast in order to even catch the F12 on that first page as it is trying to start up windows-   Call me 'Speedy Gonzales'...       After so darned many hours of running through all those tests,  I then did everything that you all had suggested- (and thank you for those)!    I believe, that coupled with your suggestions, and many prayers, (and yes, even a few cuss words),  it all paid off in the end!  I held my breath as she checked into it- all of her files were there; and all of her pictures too! YAY!

She came out then yesterday afternoon- and her car was followed within seconds by Jenne and Isaiah too!  (I just love it when they're all here... or even any ONE of them too)!

And so does Miss Punk...  Getting real excited even when the cars pull in (that is, if she recognizes the cars)...  although she did try to take out the delivery man from Townline Sports Pub!    ...But that's a whole 'nother blog!

Punkie kisses Isaiah all over, and over again- and he says "OW!" ...and then giggles, because of course it doesn't really hurt.  Such a funny little man we have!   I think she really loves kissing him because he is almost two- and given that, he always has yummy leftovers on various parts of his unclothed and exposed anatomy!   The fingers, the face and the neck- (and if he is really sloppy, it is then that he might even get a stain licked right off his jeans or his shirt)!  

After the kisses, Punk thought once more that her single most important duty in this world is to be a lapdog; taking a running jump to 'F~L~Y ' through the air and land on Jenne's empty lap!   

ALL 75 pounds of her...

Isaiah, seeing that someone else was on Mammas lap was more than a bit concerned, and also had to find a spot for himself!

 

 

It was hysterical to watch...   "Jay-Jay-saiah" was so very good yesterday, many kisses for his grandmother too! (Oh, the JJ part? Stands for "Jenne Junior" of course)!

They didn't get here early enough to join us in our daily walk to the woods... but those dogs had more than a ton of fun back there. Punkie still thinks that all leaves are toys, and are hers alone; and that the remaining corn stubs are also there for her entertainment.  Remember that this pup always helps me pull weeds, (she really DOES); and seeing all this stubble in the cornfield she proceeded to try to pull out the stubby stalks.  (That, or she was using it as 'doggie-floss')!  Either way it was fun to watch.  A rabbit threatened to have me lose Miss Milly, but after a little squeak on her special ball she came right back to me.    Milly went down by the river, and Punk was having nothing to do with navigating that cliff... 

 

 

 

Not much other news...  More laid back this morning than anything else- at least until I start on the brunch!

I have checked out my eBay junk, and I am so sad   to report that I will not be made rich from all this stuff I have on here...   But at least I shall be bringing it to the trash tomorrow and cleaning my back room out that way- (that is, only until I go back up to the attic and start digging around again)!  We shall see...   (Go ahead, make my day)!!!

Time for me to close and don my lucky Packer sweatshirt once again!

Before I do, I do want to ask you this...

Are you sick and tired of looking at pictures of my life and times?    

Are you tired of hearing me endlessly prattle on about unimportant things?  

(As most of you know,  I do have an opinion on just about anything in this world)... 

... That written,  I am going to go out real far on my proverbial limb- and must ask everyone, what do you think I should write about tomorrow???

You got questions???  I've got answers!!! 

You got topics, I've got opinions on those too!  

(You like teal?  I don't).

In the meanwhile, have a 'wunnaful' and warm Sunday!

...And may all your favorite football teams win today... (Unless you are rooting for the Buffalo Bills)!   hehehe...

XOXO

Anne

I AM the "Alpha Dog" ...

Good Morning Family, Friends and Lurkers... You will be much relieved to know that I have readjusted my "pity-pot" attitude and feel much better this morning!  (Colder, but better)...

KC's laptop is up and running!!!  Say YAY!!!  

After driving all the way to Appleton yesterday, she found out that The DELL Store does NOT repair what they sell, (and there are NO geeks around that are authorized to do so)...   So, after another long night of me being ready to throw her laptop in the river, it is up and running... And I also believe she has all of her files, pictures and settings! Not my business, and I am not going through it...  I have already called her cell; having to leave a message because it is shut off at that ungodly hour in the morning- But this kind of news makes me want to load Punkie in the car and drive over there and share!  (Yes I am tooting my own horn, but I am proud of myself too)!  And MORE than a little overjoyed, (and confounded), that my little efforts have paid off!

Another noteworthy problem, being my darned Rendezvous... Casey drove the rental down to Appleton yesterday, and picked the Buick up... (and cautiously drove it home too).  She parked it on the apron of the garage... and it is still there....  

Hmmmm...   

...I'm not even so sure that I want to bring it into the garage...

How would I go about that anyway if it again malfunctions?  Do I put it in drive and then back up into the garage, or do I put it in reverse (and then back up into the garage)???  Guess the worst of the problem is that I only have one garage door.   SO,  if I do back it up into the garage, just how the hell do I get it out if I have all these 'reverses' on my PRNODL123???    hehehe... ???   ...or not...

So they have told me that there is nothing wrong with it- (a point I shall try not to debate until it either happens again, OR is in my obituary)...  They say I should just trust the possessed car?   Ok.  I will.  ...(but ONLY with a certain solid trepidation).

Miss Milly, Miss Punk, and myself took our daily walk back to the woods yesterday afternoon. I do love the longer earlier shadows of the trees now that daylight savings time has ended...  A bit of a breeze, and two dogs that are doing their level best to not get along. To not jinx it all,  I hesitate to even say that Miss Milly is being very intolerant of Punk at this point. Her "wrestling" has turned a bit too mean for my taste, and for Miss Punks as well...  Punk is having quite a time getting away from her own mother when that happens...  I shall keep a very close eye on the situation and hope that Miss Milly will once again be a little more gentle with her dog.  And I know dogs will be dogs- but the fact is that I had to separate them twice now as Millys jaws were almost unrelenting on Punkies neck. 

I AM THE ALPHA DOG!   ...(And a darned good thing it is for me, that for some reason, they both still believe that)!

I received a phone call from Miss Kara last night- (She is one of the people that have adopted a pup from this litter).  Her "Lily" is going through all of the things that Punkie is, develop'mental'ly speaking.  But Lily has an outbreak of some sort- I do not know if it is allergies or even a yeast infection. Disease and infestations have been ruled out by her vet- but yesterday to have had her pup break out- open sores on her feet and back, reminds me of when Mary was going through her weekly chemo treatments...  I wonder many things about Karas pup... If it is a reaction to anything in her home, why would it take until now to manifest itself?  Or perhaps the lawn maintenance has changed their treatments of the lawns surrounding the apartments she lives in... I am at a loss to help her out...    Any suggestions???

The picture above?  I have it hanging in the bathroom- a reminder of how life can be...   and a "Good Morning" greeting for myself every day!  (Punk cannot yet talk to greet me herself... Bless her heart though, Lord only knows, she tries)!!! 

 

Have a grand weekend!!!

 

XOXO

Anne

 

(Look out Casey, here we come)!!!!

 

FAILURE! ...NeedaGeek...

I've seen better days...   And quite frankly, so has Casey! (The picture above indicative of what she would like to be doing to her computer)...

In my own humble opinion, her laptop is ready to be shot... 

So,  in an attempt to keep me from doing so, she will be bringing it down to Appleton today...  I have run every test known to mankind on the freakin' thing, to no avail... But I have isolated two error codes that may/may not be her problem- (or may just be the beginning of the diagnosis for her)... She has a Dell Laptop, and the two error codes are OFOO:0244, and OFOO:1344- oops, make that three- there is also an OOFO:1A44...  

 

 

 

She was attempting to read her blog comments yesterday, and to even write a blog- and to also try to set up her classes for January. (She has so little time to do all this)...  In the meantime, a friend had called, and the call had knocked KC's computer offline... After this, it never did start up again... (wtf?)...   Oh well,  I tried to save her a dollar or two...   My friend Kelli said that her geek friend doesn't work there anymore, so off to the Dell Store in Appleton she goes...

 

 

She had dropped the computer off here before going to work.  She was so very excited to finally be back at work and all- (Even though she could have returned 2 weeks ago with her Dr.s blessings, the gal that manages Suamico Citgo said she didn't want to take a chance on having Casey have a relapse or something)...      ...And so,  Casey patiently had waited out the entire month of October, listening to her "Dr." Manager)...   

SO anyway, back to work, finally, for CaseyAnne!    YAY!!!    When she got there, the manager told her that she was "letting her go because 'things were not working out'" ...

 ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Casey returned here in quite a panic, and so full of tears too.... All the real important things to her,  lost to her within the last few weeks, (including part of her damned lung)!   How much can a kid take anyway?  (And this is WAY past 'things that make one stronger' so please do not even go there with either of us)...    Kind of a frustrating way for her to be quickly approaching her 2nd decade of life...   She'll be 20 in January.

About that job now, she has filled in on the schedule countless times- she has worked many, many times to help everyone out.  NONE of her customers EVER had a problem with her either. She has had NO complaints of any kind- She is always smiling and cheerful.  She has worked through this latest pneumothorax, (an entire shift)! She has worked through much of her other pain as well.  (AND she levelled with this gal during her interview too, about all of her medical problems and all)...   Oh, I am so upset with this wench for doing this to her... For making her wait to return, through the whole month, (while KC could have been looking for something better)- and then telling her to go home?!?!?!?  After just having given her a substantial raise???

Wow-  Much less than a 'class act', wouldn't you agree?   I just feel so damned bad for Casey...  Her rent was due...  How nasty... I will help, but she hasn't asked... yet...

Now, in response to my defective, possessed vehicle...  (I DO believe now that this Buick Rendezvous will be the death of me)... I have just spoken to the service guy from Gustmans- HE says there is nothing wrong with my car!  A wrong comment to make, but certainly NO big surprise there... 

I have already been told there is no way this could have happened either...  Cars simply do not go reverse when they are in drive... 

(Duh, well--   They're not supposed to anyway)...  

He said they put it on the little handheld computer thingamabob and there was nothing wrong- That they did a physical inspection of the transmission linkages, (is this even possible to do without taking anything apart)?, and they 'saw' nothing wrong with that either....   He also told me, when pressed that  they have done nothing to it.  Great!   I am having as good of luck with this car as I had with my brand new cub cadet.

150 thumbs DOWN to both of these things...

My last 3 vehicles have been buicks, and I never had a problem with ANY of these cars.  I actually have driven them into the ground so to speak, (and even $old them afterwards)...   Built like tanks and ready to give their own lives before they will ever take yours...  One was a 1986 Buick Electra Estate Wagon (and on a comfort level alone,I could have put those 200,000+ miles on it all at once and never suffered any back pain)...  The other was a Roadmaster. It currently has 230,000+ miles on it and still runs beautifully...   So what the heck is up with this unsafe Buick Rendezvous???

I have ranted long enough here... My apologies for that.

Nasty.   Two days in a row that literally and figuratively knock the wind out of a person... (Hey, I had a husband like that too, but that's a whole 'nother blog)!

Hope your days are going much much better in your own little corner of the world!!!! 



XOXO

Anne

 

I shall promise to try to return tomorrow in a better frame of mind!

(and if by some chance I do not ever return, please make sure that it will be in my obituary that my car killed me)!

hehehe ?

"Unca BoBBie" Speaks!

All this, and after I told him it wasn't MY Fault!!!

Here is part of a note I had in my inbox this morning-

Lordy he has been so busy (HVAC), with service calls that he hasn't written in more than a few days...  (And I don't mind telling you I was getting a little worried)...

His subject line:  "I don't have enough adjectives to describe you"... 

Uh oh...    (So then I worried just a little bit more)-    

 

Here's the note...

Good Morning Anne;

     What can I say to you that doesn't bring tears to my eyes---You don't know just how much I appreciate you and your friends sending me all the greetings. Believe it or not I finally did read all of them finally today. Almost a week late. Just so busy, I just couldn't find time to read them all the same day. So many.

     Sure wish you would thank all your friends for the greetings. It was so kind of them to take their time to make me (big) happy. Makes me feel so good inside, but brings tears in my eyes. A million thanks to you.

     Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday and maybe the day before. Just busy bigtime.

 

..(he then wrote about his work- and his (soon-to-be ex) wife,

and then, he finishes his letter THIS way)...

 

Want to thank you a zillion times for being so thoughtful in having your "Blog" friends send me all the greetings.

I will never forget it.

In the next election have you thought of running for "Angel"?       

 

I would vote for you twice!

 

                           Unca---------------Booobby

 

 

This is one of the nicest, kindest men in the whole world!  And you have given him a birthday to remember!!!

And since he has asked me,   I will thank everybody on here for him.

Thank you SO much- (not only from him, but from me as well)!

The above picture is Unca BoBBie and Casey-  last year at his sisters home.   A grand memory that was too!

For those who took the time to send my octegenarian uncle a few breaths of fresh air on his birthday, I thank you again... 

Know this too,   If it was within my power to hand out 'wings' to you all, I would do so in a heartbeat!

You have certainly earned them, and more!

I love you guys!!!!

XOXO

Anne

 

 

"She" Stepped on My HEAD! ARF! # 3

ARF!!!!

Yeah- It's me again- PUNK... And so I am laying at her feet, (What more does she want for cryin' out loud?), and she moves off of her chair and she steps right on my head!

Now granted, I might have grown a bit lately...

I don't fit under her desk like I used to, so now I lay kinda backwards under there... but for her to step on my head is nasty! Now I have a headache- YAY- Just like she does sometimes... (I hope I barf all over)! (No, not really. I am just being sassy). I really do try to be good...

But still, I do that a lot- (Be sassy)... And sometimes I just can't help it. C'mon, ya gotta give the kid a break here I am only 7 months old... plus a few days too.

Talk about barf- She took me to Alabama with them- and after I did just that, she tried to hide my most favorite blanket in the whole wide world. (She is mean, remember)? And then she buys me a different one that smells like new... Sorry but I don't be liking that smell...

They had a "Change Your Fur Day" just a few days ago- "She" tried to make me change mine, but no~siree~bob I wasn't going to parade around like some weird thing. I am DOG! Maybe I was kinda sassy that day too... She put me in the entrance for a while- and even tied me up with my leash because the little man, Isaiah kept letting me in the house! (That was so nice of him)!

I have never been stuck to anything like that when I had my leash on;

and I got all confused and tangled up...

But the treat was really, really yummy. (And better than mine ever could be)! I stole a bat candy- right out of the garbage- ("she" wasn't looking)- And I had almost the whole thing gone, (wrapper and all), before she caught me. Honestly, you would think she was gonna have a heart attack by the way she freaked out! But I'm OK already! I tried to tell her that the silly bat was NOT made out of REAL chocolate, but she just looked at me funny when I tried to talk. (I tell ya, I don't have any luck with the talking part)...

My tongue gets all knotted up when I try...

See????

And then she laughs at me!

I HAVE to be the very most abused puppy in the world! Don'cha think?

She makes me go outside- even though I am begging her to let me out- and then doesn't let me in real fast... It is pretty COLD out there in the middle of the night; maybe I shouldn't be waking her up to let me out then, I don't know. She makes me wait a whole two or three minutes sometimes -and my paws get SO freezie cold!

And it ain't like I can rub 'em together, (although I tried THAT once and almost broke my neck)... But that's OK, I almost broke her neck too when I tried to wave when someone was leaving- I jumped up on the door, MISSED, and fell into herself. Oops...

She called me a big...

(what was it again?)?!?

...Oh yeah, she called me a BIG LUG!
(What's a lug)?

But I am not so big that I still don't fit on the couch with her- and sometimes she falls asleep, rolls and stretches, and kicks me then. I just go down from there until I wake her up to let me out. 'Payback' I think she calls it...

She wasn't going to write at all today- I heard her say that her niece is going to try to marry a man she only talked to over the internet, and that this niece is going all the way to India to marry him too. (She says that's just plain nuts; and has written to Tanya many times about the whole thing, and she won't listen to her). 'She' called them "words of wisdom"; but if that's what they are, then I don't ever want to talk anyway- (These words of wisdom make her cry LOTS).

She is online a LOT, and just keeps going to her nieces page and trying to make sense of it all.

Sometimes there is something for her to read, but mostly there isn't. She keeps writing anyway, and leaves LOTS of comments for Tanya to read on all of her blogs.

Her sister adopted Tanya about 10 years ago; so that makes Tanya as lucky as my 'she' is- Two whole families! But one of them isn't so nice to Miss Tanya either, and that is SAD.

And NOW, The Little One
Anyway, KC has just called and said her Dell Laptop is broken and that it appears to be all empty... But maybe my "she" knows this person who will take a look at it for her too, and she told CaseyAnne to call them.

KCN is REALLY upset now too, and cannot even get it running. 'She' told her to to not be so upset, and to cross that bridge when she has to...

Maybe some of you know what happened after the little had to start it in "safe mode"? I'd be a real hero then!

So it started out as a fine fine day for me, and now everybody is real upset...

Maybe she will go to the woods with us (me and my mama) ...

...At least then she cannot step on my head-

But wait, she can throw me over a cliff... Yikes. (Yokes)?

(Oh, what's a dog to do)???

ARF! ARF!!

(remember, that's like 'aloha' in dogspeak)...

PunkiePup