And the Question is; "Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?"
I had to do this one. This is my favorite ending for that old question:
To prove to the 'possum that it could be done!
Play along, then click on the graphic/link above to leave your comment in Krissy's journal.
We've been having some hearing problems today.
I saw Eler Beth standing in my desk chair and reaching up to the cork board on the wall.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
I heard her say, "Something bad."
"Something bad!"
She actually had said, "Putting something back."
Later . . .
I said, "I'm running out of places to put things."
Eler Beth asked, "WHERE are you going??"
She had heard, "I'm running out to 'Places and Things'."
I forgot to wish AOL Journals a Happy Fifth Anniversary yesterday!! It is hard to believe that J-Land has been around so long. I have only been a member for three years -- three years and five months, actually. I have met a lot of very nice and interesting people and allowed them to entertain me, inform me, inspire me, comfort me, and share highlights from their lives with me, and I hope I've done the same for them. I've had the opportunity to welcome new J-Landers the way I was welcomed, and I've even been able to give some technical journal aid to some the way it was given to me. I appreciate this community of people whom I've come to know, and in many cases, whom I've come to call friends.
So Happy Anniversary J-Land!!
I will try to pop over to the Anniversary Journal to read the entries there.
There is an Anniversary Chat set up for today, and I will try to drop by at some point. I hope as many people as possible can join in, if even for only a few minutes. The link to the chatroom is at the top of your journal, and the times for the chat are at 8pm UK time, 3pm EDT on Saturday 23 August, as well as at 11pm UK, 6pm EDT.
Eler Beth and I went to my Mom's yesterday. I was able to sell a collection of books on Ebay for my sister, Lois, (for $300.00) and needed to pick up the books from her so I could ship them to the buyer. So we spent the afternoon and evening with them and had a wonderful visit.
I took along a tape recorder to continue interviewing my Mother. It's funny, when I pull out the tape recorder or a notebook and pencil and tell her I'm going to pick her brain again, she'll say "Oh my!" and look like she'd rather not. But once she gets going she really enjoys talking about her memories.
I got a bit of a bonus, too, because my brother Alton would interject a few of his own memories while we were at it, and he actually talked a bit about Viet Nam. There was a time when he would never mention his time in Nam, but in recent years he has a bit more.
And my sister Barbara was reminded of a few more of Dad's navy stories that she remembered. At one point I mentioned Dad's CCC stint, and that reminded her of a story he had told her that I'd never heard before. There was a young man in Dad's outfit who, in Dad's words, had "walkin' around smarts, and that was about all." Military ranks were used in the CCC, and one day this young man addressed his Captain as "Sergeant".
"I," the young man was told, "am a Captain!"
"Whal, ya hopes to be a Sergeant someday, doesn't ya?" was the young man's drawling query.
Later on some of the other guys tricked this innocent into standing guard duty on the flag in the rain when no guard duty had been assigned. That same captain came upon him, asked him what he thought he was doing out there in the rain, and then asked him who had told him to do it. Dad said that for the next two weekends, the guys who had played the joke stood guard duty on the flag. I guess that Captain had a soft spot for the poor young man.
I'll begin sharing some of the reaping from these interviews as time goes on. I have enough from Mom now to start putting them in some sort of order.
My niece Kelly (brother Alton's daughter) and her kids stopped by while I was there, and it was nice to see them. Her daughter is not quite eleven and is a bit taller than Eler Beth.
This is something Lois found at a yard sale, and I think it's so cute! It's a concrete morel. I must find myself one of these.
She found this little snail at the same yard sale.
I came home with some new books, too. Well, not new, but new to my shelves. I had asked Mom recently if she still had a couple of old primers that had been my Dad's when he was a kid, and that if she did and if no one else had placed a claim on them, that I wanted them. So she had found them and had them ready for me. There is a spelling book and a mathematics book, and also a book on agriculture and one on business that one of my uncles had given him. Then Lois sent me home with a couple other booksthat she thought I'd enjoy reading (and also with some more that she wants me to try to sell on Ebay for her.). When I got home I found that a package of school books had arrived that I'd ordered for Eler Beth. So I have a lot of books to have fun going through this weekend.
I've done laundry, dishes, and some cleaning so far this morning, fed and watered pets, given some exercise to some pets, and put dinner on in the crock pot. So I think it's time for a cup of something hot and some of those books to look through, and maybe some J-Land reading. I hope everyone is having a good weekend!
We are getting ready to redecorate Eler Beth's room, and her theme is "Foxes". She has been obsessed with foxes for almost a year now. Everyone in the family has stayed on the lookout for anything "foxy". She has fox earrings, a watch with a fox on the face, several fox figurines, a fox keychain, a fox beanie baby, and a Fox Crossing sign to put on her bedroom door!
She is going to be getting a loft bed with a workstation beneath that looks like this one:
She wants to put a curtain around the bottom part that she can draw back or close, and she's going to call that her "fox den".
Today we looked at some paint swatches of earth-tone colors for her wall and trim, and some bright oranges and maroons for some splashes of color. We'll have to replace her blue carpet, eventually, with maybe a wheat color. So we're saying goodbye to the little girl pinks and purples and blues and making a move to a more mature-looking room.
I really like that she wants to use fox colors as her scheme. It will fit well with all of the fossils and minerals she has to display also. Of course, her Barbi collection isn't going anywhere, so they'll just have to fit in as best they can. She has a collection of Princess Barbies, which includes not only the Disney Princesses, but the Dolls of the World princesses; then she also has some of the Dolls of the World that aren't princesses. She told me that she wants a bit more of a grown-up looking room, but she still wants it to be girlie. I said that would not be a problem.
She told me yesterday after she washed her hair and was busy fixing it, "You know Mom, when I turned twelve I suddenly took more interest in doing my hair." And today she said, "Just because I want to do my room like this doesn't mean that I don't like girl things. I think I should be able to like foxes and fishing and hunting and still like clothes shopping and getting my nails done and stuff like that." I just love my little girl!
My sister Barbara is painting something for her that has a fox on it. We don't know what yet. She has this genius for looking at a rock or piece of driftwood and seeing a figure or a scene in it that suggests something to her, and then she paints what she sees on the object. Eler Beth has a wall hanging in her room that Barbara made for her called "The Tea Party". That will stay also. I'll have to get a picture of that to put here.
She and I spent about two hours at the Sherwin Williams web site tonight playing with color combinations. That was fun! I want to paint my living room and dining area this fall, so it wasn't just bedroom schemes we were playing with.
I'm looking forward to doing this. The agreement is that she will do a good thorough seasonal cleaning of her room (with my help, of course, but she'll be doing more of the work than she has in the past), and she will have to get rid of a LOT of things (which is a really hard thing for her to do). The new bed is the reward for getting rid of stuff. She told me this evening that she was going to spend most of the day tomorrow cleaning and getting rid of stuff. I said what about school work? She said, "I'll do tomorrow's work right now!" And dogged if she didn't! When she sets her mind to something she doesn't hold back!
I'm trying to read a few more journals, but there are two impediments to that goal.
1) There is a cat sitting on my chest. He won't sit in my lap; he prefers to sit right up under my chin.
2) There is a little girl (who should be in bed) standing behind me braiding my hair.
Between the two of them, I'm just about to give up and go on to bed.
Heard from my niece in Ocala, Florida today. They took their daughter down to her campus on Sunday (USF), then had to turn around and go back down to get her because of the storm. Now they have to take her back tomorrow.
Andrew's friend "A" in Melbourn says it isn't too bad where they are, but there is a river in her back yard.
My sister Maxine is doing okay in St. Augustine. I hope all J-Landers in the storm's path are safe tonight.
I caught up on 18 journals today, and I'm going to try to read a few more.
I bought a bag of Hershey's Miniatures today, and I ate all of the "Mr. Goodbar" ones. All.Of.Them. For some reason they hit the spot. Wonder if you can still buy Mr. Goodbar, other than the miniatures?
Eler Beth told me today that she was working on something to her heart's "contempt". She meant "content", but it started me thinking -- we do sometimes do things to our heart's "contempt", don't we?
The little stray is doing well. He is living, temporarily, at Eler Beth's friend's house (Brianna), and she may be able to keep him long term. Her mother hasn't given the final word yet. The girls bathed him yesterday, and they are making sure he is eating. I hope he fattens up soon. He does look like a Sheltie mix. I hope when his hair grows out he'll be a little prettier. He has a sweet face. Brianna is calling him Foxy, but Eler Beth wants to call him Jasper.
Well, more "betimes" than I thought I'd be, anyway.
I have a mission today. I'm going to read a BUNCH of journals. I'm behind on everyone's lives, and I'm wondering what's going on out there! I thought I'd pop in here for a few minutes before I have to get the kids up and start getting ready. So this afternoon I'm carving out a niche of time for J-Land -- hopefully. Thomas has to go into work for a few hours this afternoon (but don't worry, we had some time to ourselves this morning. ;).
Getting up today and thinking about having a hard time getting to sleep last night made me start remembering some family "wake up" and "good morning" stories.
My father was always a very heavy sleeper. He retired after 30+ years from his job and the only time he ever missed a day of work was when he was in the hospital with appendicitis and ONE TIME during a blizzard. (And even that time I think the family story is that he started walking, but his boss called and said to stay put.) So, heavy sleeper that he was, he always did get up for work. And for that we have my Mom to thank. It might have taken a lot of effort on her part -- she might be hoarse and extremely put-out by the time he woke up -- but she always managed to get him up.
How well I can remember hearing her calling him of a morning, "Jeff! JEFF! Get up!!" And sometimes he'd make our day by saying something very funny in his half-wakeful state. Once it was (in a very irritated voice), "Well, I WILL get up, if you'll stop waving that eight o'clock in my face!" And once to her call that, "Jeff, you need to get up. It snowed last night, and the roads are bad," his answer was, "Yeah, and it hasn't been all that long since we've HAD roads out here!" (Which was not only very funny, but untrue, although it really hadn't been all that long since we'd had PAVED roads out there.)
Once he was awake he wasn't a grumpy morning person at all, and neither was my Mom, at least not after they'd had their morning coffee. But there were times ----
Like the time my wonderfully-cheerful-in-the-morning-make-you-want-to-smack her sister, Lois, bounded into the living room where Mom and Dad were sitting having coffee. Unknown to Lois they'd just had an argument.
"Good morning!" she said to my Mom.
"Aw, shut up!" was the VERY unusual reply from Mom.
Undaunted, Lois turned to Dad. "Good morning!"
"What's so good about it?" he snapped.
Lois' face fell and she started to leave the room, and my Mom and Dad, meeting each other's eyes, started laughing.
Lois has ALWAYS been an early riser and a cheerful one. She has an internal clock that will not let her sleep past a certain ungodly early hour. And unless she's sick she's in a good mood as soon as she gets up (pre coffee even!! -- gasp!). I, shall we say, was the opposite.
When I first get up in the morning I like to have a few minutes to myself to get my bearings. I actually do LIKE my sleep and have a hard time parting with it each morning. When it starts to drift away I like to call it back for a few extra minutes. I cajole it, and it caresses me and whispers, "Just a few seconds more." And MY internal clock tells me EXACTLY when I HAVE to get up and how much longer I have before that time. MY internal clock knows to the second if someone is waking me up BEFORE I have to get up. I have been known to tell my Mother before she even spoke, "I have three more minutes!"
"I hadn't even said anything! How'd you know I was there?!" she once said.
I am usually a light sleeper. Knowing this, and knowing how much I hated cheerful conversation first thing in the morning, Lois used to try to sneak in on me and wake me before I could catch her at it. Yes, she's evil that way.
Lois, as I've mentioned before, was given a parcel of land on the Southwest corner of my parent's property, where she put a mobile home. Every morning before going to work, she'd walk up to the house and have coffee with Mom, and this was WAY before I had to get up, either for school or for work. I'd actually hear her coming, and she never could figure out how I did that. I don't know either, but I'd hear her walking to the house, hear her come into the house, and then I'd hear her tiptoeing down the hall to my room. And just as she got outside my door, I'd say "Go away!" Then I would hear her giggle and leave. This became a bit of a ritual, and I don't think she ever did take me by surprise.
And then there's the family story that everyone likes to tell to embarrass me. I think I was about eight at the time, and my sister Maxine and her family were visiting. Actually, there may have been others visiting as well, because I know our house was full and I was sleeping on the sofa bed in the living room. One morning of their visit, it is SAID that I suddenly sat straight up in that bed and announced to whoever was in the living room, "Quack, quack, quack . . . quack, quack . . . quack, quack. Now that's a quack." And then I lay back down.
And I was awakend by laughter.
The sky is very bright out there tonight. How do I know? Because Eler Beth and I just made a run to White Castle.
I know. I know. But once in a while you've just gotta have one, you know? And cheese fries. Mmmmm.
Eler Beth's friends found a dog today. It looks like a sheltie or collie mix -- looks like a fox, actually. The little thing is bony as can be, but he wasn't dehydrated and his eyes are bright and clear. He's very good natured and interested in things. Hopefully they'll find a home for him or take him to a no-kill shelter. He's a young dog, but not a puppy.
I've been missing my husband lately! He has been working so much, and even when he's home he gets calls from work. He got in about 6:30 this evening, and within an hour a friend came by to see the snapping turtle. (That's the third man who's made a special trip here just to see Bowser!) Then he got three work-related phone calls in a row, and just as we were getting settled in to bed, Eler Beth ran down the hall carrying Thomas' work cell and tossed it to him. He was being called on the two-way. He took the phone, grinned at me and said, "It's my OTHER wife." Ah well.
He likes to be this busy though; it won't last forever, and in the meantime it means lots of overtime and double time. He's having to help cover first and second shifts right now because they are short on QC guys. Also there is one department that's running a third shift, and that's who was calling on the radio. He's asleep now, and I'm sitting here TRYING to get sleepy.
I can't believe how nice our weather has been. We have had less humidity than usual, cool, fall-like mornings, and bright sunshine. We're supposed to get some rain Monday and Tuesday, and we do need it.
Wow! There's a commercial on right now for something called Mighty Mendit. Has anyone ever tried it? I might have to. Eler Beth has a dress that has a little rip in the overskirt. It is very thin material and I was wondering what I could possibly do to mend it because she really likes the dress. Wonder if Mighty Mendit would work. I may have to give it a try. It's a good thing I'm not watching the Home Shopping Network right now. I'm watching a movie with Louis Gossett, Jr. and Jonathon Silverman on Hallmark Channel. It's pretty good.
Guess I'd better go now though. This is getting pretty boring. Not boring enough to make me sleepy, but still boring.
This little guy was sitting on a post at the riverfront this afternoon.
Eler Beth and I had to stop by to see Thomas at work for a minute, then we drove on down to the overlook. She wanted to get some video of herself saying "hello" to J-land. I think she's going to post it in her journal today. You won't see me in it, but you'll hear my voice.
This is the amphitheater in Jeffersonville. They really did a good job with it. They have concerts there every Friday night, and they've had some plays there on Saturdays.
Eler Beth looking at the river
We got a pic of The Belle of Louisville, making her way down the Ohio River back to her dock, with the Louisville skyline in the background.
Yesterday was the first official day of school, and we got started with a bang. I didn't sit down with any time to myself until late yesterday evening.
Andrew had a dentist's appointment at 1:40; a consultation about getting his wisdom teeth and two other teeth out. I took the kids to IHOP for lunch. I had what I always have -- the Chicken Florentine Crepe -- that is my favorite item on their menu, and I can never seem to bring myself to try anything new.
Then the kids wanted to take some pictures. Well, Andrew wanted to take some of himself for his MySpace, wearing his snazzy new hat, so I obliged. In a previous entry -- the one with the energy drink and the book -- no, that was not really set up. He wanted to get pics of himself sitting out there in the middle of nothing, drinking an Adrenaline Rush and reading a Manga. That part, at least, was planned. He had set them down and then walked away to do something or say something to Eler Beth, I don't remember which, but while he was walking back I just snapped a picture, with no plan in mind really. It just so happens that he had turned his head when I took it. Then he picked up the can and took a drink, and I snapped another one. Then he sat down to read, and I got several of those, which were the ones he wanted in the first place. The picture of him with Eler Beth wasn't staged. So when we were looking at the pics on the computer we thought it was funny, how he looked like he had just happened to find an energy drink and a book in the middle of a field.
Someone asked if that was our creek in some of the pictures; yes, it is the creek that is at the back of our yard. That particular spot wasn't at the back of our yard, though, and our part of the creek doesn't have that algae on it. I was surprised to see it because it usually runs better than that. Behind our house it is wider and a bit deeper, and there is a higher bank.
The kittens have been racing around the house like little mad things for the past few minutes. We had a shower come through a bit earlier, so maybe the weather is making them feel their oats. (Can kittens feel their oats?) Samuel kept twitching his tail, laying back his ears and randomly attacking harmless objects -- so cute! Now they are asleep. I guess protecting the home and family from plastic grocery bags, table legs, and laptops is exhausting work.
Speaking of laptops -- I just picked up mine from the computer guy. Last week the charger jack welded itself to the place where it plugs in. I couldn't pull it out with pliers! The charger had overheated I guess. Anyway, they had to replace that whole part of the computer (where the charger plugs in), and I got another charger. He said he hopes it was just the charger going bad, but that if it happens again, then my motherboard is probably gone. It's an older Dell, anyway, and I use the desktop more often, but I do like my laptop and don't really want to have to buy another one.
Want to see how pretty my Canna Lily is? Well, here you go. It just started blooming this week.
Clark: "What's this? A Rose?" (Love that dimple in Eler Beth's cheek)
Clark: "Yep, it says right here, 'Parade Rose.' " (Now the dimple by her mouth is showing.)
Ranulf: "Can I get down now?"
Clark: "Yeah, I'm leaving."
Hey! What's This??
An energy drink and a book?
Great! "Adrenalin Rush"!
Cool! Azumanga!
I love this Manga!
MOOD: Amused
Somehow I knew this would happen.
I saw it in Thomas' eyes when he looked at that turtle.
I saw it in Eler Beth's eyes when she looked at that turtle.
Yesterday morning she said, "I kinda don't want to kill this one, Mom." I'd been thinking the same thing.
I said, "Well, tell Dad."
Then last night Thomas said, "I have a feeling Eler Beth doesn't want to kill and eat this one."
I said, "I was thinking the same thing. To tell the truth, I kind of hate to. He's obviously lived a long time."
"Yeah," he said, thoughtfully. "And you know, it's an older one, you'd have to cook it longer."
And I thought, Yeah, you old softie!
Then he admitted, "To tell you the truth, I'm having a hard time thinking of killing this one, too."
So this morning he asked Eler Beth if she'd rather just let it go and assured her that it would be okay either way; it was her decision. Then he made some calls to try to find a place to take it. If he takes it back to the pond where they caught it, it'll just get caught again. But if we knew of someone with an old farm with a pond -- someone who wouldn't have to worry about it eating baby ducks, and who doesn't care if it eats all the fish in the pond -- then that would be the perfect place to take him.
Eler Beth took pictures yesterday, so I'm sure she'll be posting them soon. A friend told us that he'd heard that they grow about a pound a year, and that's how you could tell how old they are. So if he weighs 50 pounds, he's about 50 years old. I don't know if that's true, or not, but it's interesting.
*Thomas heard a story of a man who caught a snapping turtle once and left it in his garage overnight. The turtle had still been in a state of hibernation when the guy caught him; the weather was still pretty cold. Well at some point the turtle warmed up in that heated garage and in the morning the guy heard his dog, who slept in the garge, barking like crazy. He went out there to find that the turtle had the dog treed on top of the car!
I did finally get to sleep Saturday night, although I lay in bed for quite a while before sleep came. I did manage to get up at 7 a.m., though, and I took a nap in the afternoon.
I'm not officially starting school with Eler Beth this week until Wednesday, since that's when school starts here in the county. I was going to have lessons today, but decided to give her a two-day break. I took Eler Beth out to do some shopping today, leaving it up to her where we would go to eat, and she chose Denny's. I haven't been to Denny's in years. After that we met up with Andrew and went to the mall, just the three of us.
We mostly just window shopped, but we did a little real shopping as well. Both the kids needed shoes and some other essential items. I of course had to visit Waldenbooks while I was there. I had ordered three books online from eBay and Amazon to send to my niece in Florida; they'd come in this past week, and I wanted a couple other things to send her as well. Summer is my oldest great-niece, who graduated from high school this year. She is going to USF and will be enrolling as a Sophomore. My niece Sheila sent me an email yesterday in which she bemoaned having to take her down on the 17th. They're really going to miss her, but at least she's not too far away from their home in Ocala.
We're sending her some money, but I also am sending her three books that I think are great for graduates going off to college or young people who have their first place of their own. They are: Where's Mom Now That I Need Her?; Where's Dad Now That I Need Him?; and You're Officially A Grown-Up. The first two are chock-full of tips and advice for everything under the sun as well as simple recipes and blank pages where you can write your own mom's or dad's recipes. The third one is a cute, witty little rhyming book. I actually ordered copies of the first two for myself, too! If you have someone graduating and going off to school or moving into their own place, these make great gifts.
Then at Waldenbooks I got her a copy of The Last Lecture. I got ME a neat little tome called The Amazing Book of Useless Information. (You can never have too much useless information, you know.) And I was charmed by an attractive volume entitled i before e (except after c), old-school ways to remember stuff. Ostensibly I bought it for Eler Beth, but -- who am I fooling? I bought it for myself! But I'll share with Eler Beth! And then I dragged myself out of there and had a 15-minute massage in the massage chair while the kids shopped some more.
Lucy, the cockatiel, laid another egg yesterday. Only instead of laying this one in the nesting box, she laid it on the floor of the cage, just beneath the water dish. So I gingerly picked it up and put it in with the other one. I hope this one is fertilized.
I know Eler Beth has told the story of catching the BIG snapping turtle on Sunday. She exaggerated a bit about the weight, but it is at least 40 pounds. They took pictures today and I think Thomas measured it as closely as he could without getting TOO close to that head. Its head is the size of Thomas' fist, at least.
I couldn't tell the story of the BIG snapping turtle here because she needed to tell it first in her own journal. I'm competing with my daughter for journal material!
Well, I guess that's about it for today. I'm off to try to read a few journals.
I can't believe it -- the girls are already asleep!
I never did get back into my cleaning this afternoon. B came over to play and ended up spending the night. She's going to go fishing with Eler Beth and Thomas tomorrow.
Eler Beth and Thomas got all the fish cleaned -- 9 catfish and 5 red-ear. I guess I know what I'll be fixing for dinner tomorrow!
I took both girls with me to Meijer this evening, and we had a great time. It is fun shopping with two giddy girls sometimes. They were being silly, and thankfully I was in the right mood for "silly". B goes back to school on Wednesday, so I think they were wanting to get in another sleepover or two before her school starts. I told Eler Beth that by Wednesday we'd be back on a stricter school schedule, too. They have added an hour to the school week in this school district. I'm not sure what that is about. Apparently it is only on Wednesdays, and I really don't understand how that's going to work or what its purpose is. I need to talk to one of the mothers I know who can explain what's going on. It doesn't affect me in any way, but I'm nosy!
I guess I'd better get out of here and TRY to get some sleep.
I had coffee later in the day than I should have! Do I have NO willpower???
My previous entry reminded me of a "Lois" story. My sister Lois is 10 years older than I am. When she was little my parents lived on a dairy farm. She used to wander a lot. They had a cattle dog named Butch that would help my Mom keep track of her. It wasn't unusual for Mom to be working in the kitchen one minute with Lois nearby and then turn to find her gone. And she was fast, too! She'd be out across a field in no time flat. Mom said she'd call Butch and tell him to go find Lois, and he would. If they were outside and she wandered off, Butch would come get my Mom.
Once, though, my dad and uncle had to come in from the dairy barn to join Butch in his search for her. They looked everywhere and were beginning to get worried, when a car pulled into the driveway, and some people they had never seen before deposited 2-1/2 year-old Lois at the gate to the yard and asked if she belonged there. They found her walking along the highway about a half mile from the house!
Don't think my mother was inattentive or neglectful. She had four older kids, my dad, and a farmhouse to take care of, not to mention chickens and a garden. She kept Lois with her all the time unless one of the older kids was there to watch her, but she'd manage to sneak off as soon as my Mom's head was turned. When they found her down the road one of the older ones was supposed to have been watching her and wasn't watching carefully enough. I think it was Maxine, but I may be wrong.
Keeping the gates closed meant nothing to Lois. She was a climber even then. I think she could probably walk the top posts of a fence line before she started school. It's rather funny that she was always wandering off back then, because as an adult, she's the one living with and caring for Mom. To have always been in such a hurry to run off when she was little, she's the one who has stayed closest to home as an adult!
At Lois' third birthday party, 1959. Around her, left to right, Maxine, Alton, Dennice and P.J. According to the caption with this photo, "P.J. blew out her candles"! She was a few months younger than this photo when she wandered down the highway.
This kid takes the cake, or some kind of sweet!
I don't think my kids at age three would have had the sense of direction that this child had.
We have been having some absolutely beautiful weather here for the past few days! Yesterday Eler Beth and I did some work in the flower beds, and we took advantage of some sales at a local fruit and vegetable market, loading my car up with plants that I really don't need. But they were so pretty and the deal was so good! Then we came home and happily potted and watered and fed plants, new and old, to our hearts content.
Thomas and Eler Beth were up early this morning to go fishing nearby (which they haven't done much this year). She called me excitedly about 20 minutes after they got to the pond to tell me that she'd already caught a huge catfish and a big red-ear. I think she caught about 10 catfish all together and she caught her first snapping turtle. There is an interesting story of how she caught the turtle, but I'm going to let her tell it first in her journal if she wants. Yes, we do eat snapping turtle. I have actually never had it in a soup though. I cook it differently, and I really, really like it. (The white meat under the shell and on the neck tastes like shrimp!) I have some funny snapping turtle stories to tell sometime.
Now Eler Beth is outside clipping the dogs' toenails. The catfish are on ice until Thomas can get to them, and the turtle is in a bucket of clean water until Thomas can get to him. Andrew has been busy all week and is laying around in his room, but he's got a few chores to get to this afternoon. Thomas actually had to go into work for a while this afternoon. Before he left for work he said, "Well at least I feel like I've accomplished something today, getting the girl out there for some fishing." I would have thought that going into work for several hours was accomplishing something, but if he's home in the morning he feels he should be getting something done. He hits the ground running, and he hits it early, even on the weekend! I'm glad he's like that though. I, on the other hand, feel like I'm accomplishing something just getting up in the morning! lol
Now I hear Eler Beth's friend B outside. I think we'll get cleaned up and run out for some lunch somewhere. Then maybe I'll continue my cleaning this afternoon -- and maybe I won't. I hope everyone is having a very nice weekend.
*To answer Paula's question in her comment, #2, I used to go fishing ALL the time -- every time Thomas did. That was when it was just the two of us or when the kids were little. For some reason, now, I guess I just have so many things going on that I just don't feel up for the quick fishing trips. I can't get my mind to relax and stop thinking about all the other things I could be doing. But if we are on an actual fishing trip or camping trip with fishing, then I do fish a bit -- and then, like you, I usually try to get some reading in. (I still hold the family record for biggest catfish caught.) I haven't gone deer hunting in four years. But I would like to get out there again. Every year I say I'm going to go during muzzle loader season, but then either it's just too cold for me, or I have a head cold (can't be coughing or sneezing while you're in that tree stand) or something else comes up. But every year I sight in my guns, muzzle loader and 12 gauge, just in case. And somewhere I have a picture of me in all my camouflage, taken while hunting with Thomas one year.
I officially feel old! Everywhere I've gone recently female cashiers have called me "sweetie" or "hon".
Thank you to everyone who has commented in Eler Beth's journal. She has really enjoyed reading the comments. She has spent the afternoon and evening at her cousins' house, and she wrote an entry today about the movie she watched there. Her older cousin M starts high school this year and went to register today.
It has been rainy again today and I've felt blah. Yesterday evening I started getting a headache that I get sometimes when it's stormy. I had a cup of coffee late to help with the headache and ended up staying awake way into the night, so I've been drowsy all day and accomplished very little.
Yesterday Eler Beth had a doctor's appointment and afterwards we had a late lunch at Piccadilly Cafeteria. It was the first time either of us had been there, and we really enjoyed it. The food was delicious and the portions were huge -- too big, really. The restaurant itself was bright, clean, and attractive. It reminded me a little of the old Blue Boar Cafeterias that used to be in the Louisville area. We will definitely go back there.
I have been enjoying helping to proof for Distributed Proofreaders which I wrote about in a previous entry. One of the projects I recently helped with was a biography of Dr. Russell Conwell and his famous lecture entitled "Acres of Diamonds". I found it so interesting that I did some research on him and looked for a copy of the lecture and the biography. I'm not sure if what I helped to proof is available yet as an e-book on Project Guttenberg or not.
Well, I don't think I have anything else to write about, certainly not anything interesting. I need to do some seasonal cleaning -- I mean I REALLY need to do some seasonal cleaning! -- and that's about all I see happening in the near future.
So let me get my blah self off of here. I caught up with about a dozen journals on Monday, but haven't read any more yesterday or today. I'll try to work onthat tomorrow. Goodnight, and I hope everyone is having a good week.
Did anyone else see this news article?
"Young Mother Chases Down Man Who Groped Her"
She was riding a bike at the time and was carrying her 10-month-old on her back!
Eler Beth wanted to me to thank "the one of your friends who put that comment in your journal about being a big Eler Beth fan", and that was Nelishia. lol That comment is what inspired her to open a new AOL Journal. So thank you, Nelishia.
Eler Beth just got her first comment (thank you, Donna!) and discovered that some of her pictures aren't showing up, so I showed her how to fix that problem. She's busy right now getting them in there right. (She's so excited!!)
I want to introduce another new journal, WomenSpeak, created by Mara at I Have Tea. This is a shared journal created specifically as ". . . a place where women can write on women's issues, from careers, home and family, nutrition...a place to ask advice and share our collective wisdom."
If you would be interested in being a writer or manager on WomenSpeak, email Chaispice1023@aol.com.
The idea for this shared journal came about in connection to Mara's entry previous to the one I linked to above, where she shared a personal experience regarding a certain aspect of life peculiar only to women -- actually two aspects of life peculiar only to women. Be sure to read that entry here.
I think this journal could be very interesting and helpful, and have asked to be a contributor for it. I hope you bookmark WomenSpeak as a regular read or make a point to contribute if you feel so inclined.
Thanks again!
Tags: New Journal
Yes, I know "Diarys" is spelled wrong. But she likes it that way.
Eler Beth surprised me a couple of days ago with a new public AOL Journal that she has titled The Fox Diarys (because Foxes are her favorite animal). She really did a great job on it; it's very attractive. I'm not sure how I feel about her having a public journal, but I agreed to let her try it and to introduce it to my own friends, and as long as she doesn't start getting any inappropriate comments, . . well, we'll just see how it goes.
She has left a comment in almost all of the past few entries I've made, saying "hi" to me and inviting "all Mom's friends" to visit her new journal. Then she asked me if I'd introduce it for her here. So I would appreciate it if you would drop by to visit The Fox Diarys and say "hi" to my baby girl.
Yesterday she asked me if I'd edit her entries for her because (as she said) "I know it must be driving you nuts Mom!" Does she know me, or what?
Thanking you in advance!
Note: I will put a picture of me in my journal soon. I really don't have a problem with it, I just don't have a current picture that I like. It may just be a pic of my face, but it will be current.
I really do like being able to put a face with a screen name or Journal, and I'm sure others feel the same way. But I also respect anyone who isn't comfortable with putting in a picture of themselves or family members.
Now for the real reason for this entry, and it ties in with the previous one and the above paragraphs: I keep seeing J-Landers in my town. And they aren't really there!
Earlier this week I saw a lady in Meijer who looked to me just exactly like the pictures of Kelly (Noonmom). I actually followed her about a bit. It was uncanny. I had to keep telling myself, "Kelly lives in California. She wouldn't be in Jeffersonville, Indiana!"
A while back I swear I saw someone who looks like the pictures of Martha (lifes2odd) (who lives in Florida) getting into a car in the Kroger parking lot. She was putting her cart in the cart corral when I spotted her, and then she stood talking to a young girl for a few minutes before she got in her car, so I had a minute to study her.
Then this morning I was getting gas and while I was in line to pay at the counter the lady a few customers ahead of me finished paying, turned, and walked outside to pump her gas. She looked just like Pam (lanurseprn). Pam also lives in California, and I knew it wasn't her, but she really looked like her, smile and all!
So I guess for me the downside of seeing pictures of J-Landers is that I see their doubles all over my town, and it's a little unnerving. Or maybe I'm developing a serious case of paranoia. You guys aren't stalking me, are me?
I suppose alerts are still down? This usually doesn't happen to me. I get most journals by RSS Feeds, so I'm missing private journal alerts I know. I don't think I've ever had a problem with getting comment alerts untilnow. I hope AOL is working on the problem.
In other news:
I overheard Eler Beth explaining what ecosystem means to her friend B yesterday. She did a pretty good job, too.
We went to a graduation party today, and even though it was very hot, we had a nice time. While there someone asked Eler Beth what was wrong with her arm and she said she had a "gangolian" cyst (instead of "ganglian"). That was kind of funny.
I hope everyone is having a good weekend, and I'll be around to read journals tomorrow afternoon.
Current photo of Lori?? Are you kidding???
Hmmm. Maybe I'll work on that. Let me see what I can come up with. (But don't hold your breath!)
By the way, are alerts down? I didn't get alerts for the comments for my previous entries, which makes me wonder if everyone got new entry alerts from me and if I've missed some private journal alerts. Hmm?
I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures in the previous entry. I have some more for you.
I wrote about Eler Beth's new kitten Samuel a while back, and that Andrew had decided he wanted to have Samuel's sister; he named her Kana. Well, there was just one more left in the litter, and secretly I thought he was the prettiest of them all. He has been coming across the street to play with his siblings, so I finally decided that he'd adopted us and told Thomas so. Thankfully I have a really wonderful husband who said, "Well, what's one more?" (Now the neighbors just need to find a home for the momma cat {who is actually a stray that just decided to have her kittens across the street} before she comes in season again. She is still nursing these kittens. When they're outside she'll call to them or come over here to nurse them. But she won't let me catch her.)
So the new addition to the family is a blue/black tabby named Ranulf. Eler Beth was trying to think of a name for him and she said, "Mom, what do you think of Ranulf?"
I stared at her in disbelief. "Well I like the name Ranulf, but where in the world did you get it?"
She said, "Why?"
I said, "Because it is an Old Norse name that came to us by way of Scotland, and it means Wolf-Shield. Where did you get it?"
"It's the name of a character on one of Andrew's video games."
Well, duh, of course it is! (!?!)
(We get the names Randolf and Ralph from Ranulf -- Randwulf in Old Norse -- by the way)
So, without further ado, I present to you Samuel, Kana, and Ranulf Helms.
Samuel, Kana,and Ranulf. Kana and Ranulf don't have their collers and name tags yet in this picture, but we rectified that today. Please ignore the shopping bags and clutter on the sofa!! I believe I see some papers and a box that were supposed to have been put away WAY before this photo was taken.
Ranulf, The Wolf-Shield. It really does fit him, doesn't it? Isn't he pretty? He picked me, you know. He is exactly the type of cat I like, friendly, alert, and playful without being too aloof or TOO juvenile, if you know what I mean. (Kana is more aloof and Samuel is very juvenile -- which he is supposed to be, of course, being only 13 weeks old.)
Sam and Kana
Samuel in the back window of my car on the way home from Pet Smart.
The three of them playing under the water maple tree where I'm trying to turn a bare patch with lots of roots into something pretty with some fossil-encrusted rocks and plants -- it's still a work in progress, though! Please ignore the weeds (some of the things that look like weeds are actually live-forever plants!). See the little pink flea comb? That's Ranulf standing; he's bluer than Kana, and Kana has some brown on her.
And now that I feel like a new cat has chosen me, I can bring myself to admit something it hurt too much to write about here until now, even though I know that my J-Land friends would be understanding and sympathetic. My beloved Freedom died a while back. She was absolutely the best cat I've ever had, and I miss her terribly.
Perhaps I'll post a picture of her in time, but it will be in an entry all for her if I do. She was so smart and so special. She was only 6 years old, but she got sick and died before I could get her to the vet. I believe it was just a virus that worked fast, perhaps one that affected her heart. One day whe was fine, and the next she was gone. She was up-to-date on all of her shots, but she was off her feed for a few days, then suddenly she got lethargic and was breathing strangely. I don't know. It's very hard to accept when you don't know what happened. She had a really good life, though, and she was absolutely THE BEST Friend I've ever had in a cat.
I've had to grieve carefully. Eler Beth watched me carefully for more than a week to make sure that I was alright. She still has a problem expressing grief, so I tried to set a good, healthy example for her, letting her see me cry and be sad, but not burdening her with my own grief too much. I remember how she took it all on herself when my Father died, and instead of doing her own grieving when she needed to she gave herself the job of comforting me -- not good for a six/seven-year-old!
Anyway, I'm formaly saying goodbye to my Freedom now, and I thank you for letting me do so here.
I need a new camera. These pics are horribly grainy, but they'll have to do for now.
Andrew, My Mom (Eler), and Eler Beth at my Mom's house on July 19.
I like the way the kids are smiling in this one. Andrew is almost 19, Mom is 84, and Eler Beth is 12-1/2. If you look closely you can see the cyst on the back of her left wrist.
In the background of this photo is the portrait that a friend of ours, Monica, painted from a photograph of Mom and Dad. Also the two round paintings of cedars and broom sedge were done by my sister, Barbara. They look like they are photographs, but she painted them.
This is Andrew and Eler Beth with my sister Maxine who was in visiting from Florida (she'd kill me if she knew I was putting a current photo of her on here!!). In the background you can barely see another painting my sister Barbara did. Someday I need to get a good close-up photo of that one. We're hoping she gets her web site up and running soon, and I can show off her talents to all my J-Land buddies!
