I wish I had the answer

No quotes today, although I'm sure there is an appropriate one for what I want to write. Maybe I'll even find it by time I'm done.

I'm not big on celebrities...I'm not a movie goer......old stuff in the comfort of my own livingroom is just fine. I've met famous people....mostly political ....like former President Ford. I was impressed, but certainly not just awed by meeting him.

So, why am I just bowled over by the death of Dana Reeve ?

I admired her strength when her husband was injured horse back riding. She was beautiful, young, and had so much to live for. Yet there she was at her husbands side, devoted to his care and comfort. After his death, she finally had the freedom to do anything she wanted. She had her son, who is now maybe 14, but she was still still young and beautiful, poised, talented....oh, I could just go on and on.

Then she announced she had lung cancer. That was maybe 8 months ago...and she never smoked. Yesterday she lost her battle with that disease, and it just doesn't seem fair !
My heart goes out to her son, and her family ! The world has lost a wonderful person.

uninvited company

"Drop in on anyone at anytime if you feel like it. If they say "bother", you can drop out again." -
Pooh's Little Instruction Book

It's been a very long week ! We've had lots of people who think they are somebody milling around at work (we're in the middle of a BIG merger). My signif's parents were both rushed to the hospital at 4:30 am yesterday - one a stroke, one a heart spell. A somewhat major snow storm dumped 6 inches of that lovely white powdery snow on my yard yesterday. Yeah, all the other yards have it too, but only mine has to be shoveled by me !

This morning at 3 am I could not fine my ice scrapper for the car windows, so I had to use the pancake spatula. At 3 am I'm in no mood to look for something lost, especially on Friday.

And finally, for the moment anyway, I come home to an uninvited guest - I have a rather tubby bird in my fireplace. It's not a sparrow, and it's not an eagle - just something in between, and it wants out. Oddly enough, I want it out too ! I've tried saying "bother" to it, but it's still here, fluttering behind the screen - and flutteringly very loudly. Personally, I think he's very ticked off. The way I see it, I didn't put him there, so now he's gonna have to wait until help arrives.
This is not a project to take on alone. Hopefully, the GUN won't be necessary.

We needed the gun the night the bat was flying around the bedroom, and that dummy lived to tell about it. My white egyptian sheets had just a few blood stains - nothing major - and we see that bat every once in a while. He flies in circles with a small crutch under his left wing (wait....I think it was his right). Oh well....and, would you believe the two dogs are absolutely ignoring our guest.

To be continued.......

-adult games

"Before you begin a hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it" - Pooh's Little Instruction Book

I live in an adult neighborhood, pretty much. Until last April 28th, there were absolutely no children. Now, Lexi lives next door, so I can't claim this as an adult community anymore.

But, being adults doesn't mean we can't play like kids, with adult rules. Our annual adult Easter Egg hunt is a prime example. I hide 500 plastic easter eggs, each with a piece of candy in it somewhere outside - on the properties of my yard, and two or three others. Ialso hand out 6 empty eggs to each neighbor who participates ( that's usually 5 of the 8 neighbors on the street). Each neighbor must put a prize inside - or a piece of paper telling what the prise is. Examples of past prizes have been a homemade chocolate cream pie, Christmas wrapping paper, empty paint cans, and a trap to catch the Easter Bunny (a cardboard box with a stick and rope tied to it, and a large carrot to set in the box when you propped it up).

The hunt itself always takes place after dark and, alcohol is involved. I have often wondered what my little water front community must look like the night of the hunt as a dozen adults search the yards, flashlights in hand ! The men get just as involved as us girls, and it really is lots of harmless fun.

Oh, last year's egg that gave away the chocolate cream pie was never found - even in the daylight. Think the pie is still good ?

It's only Tuesday ! ?

Spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't matter" - Rabbit

I have discovered there are things I simply can't do ! I can mow the lawn, work the log splitter, mix and work concrete, arrange flowers attratively in a vase, bake really great cinnamon rolls...
but I cannot for the life of me get the stupid green plastic top off the 5 gallon Poland Spring water bottle. Short of using a stick of dynamite, that top is there to stay. I bent a steak knife
trying. Even the dumb pliers didn't work. So, I guess I'll just have to wait for for my signif to come home and do it for US ! Not that he will mind....it's just that it's one more thing that needs to be done before the evening ends.

I have just returned from the vet. My little Sadie has a stomache bug...nothing serious, but worrisome for me. I didn't tell the vet about yesterdays lockup in my car for two + hours.
He thinks I'm a responsible pet owner - oh, if he only knew.

May I please go back to bed ?

"It is hard to be brave, when you're only a very small animal" - Piglet

I knew it was Monday the moment the alarm clock DIDN'T go off ! It just didn't want to, would be my guess, but here it was, 2:15 am...and I just knew my day was going to be a challenge.
A normal alarm for me is 2 am, and it was only 15 minutes beyond the norm, but....I just wanted to stay in bed and pretend I wasn't the responsible one. Sigh....I got up.....did the normal early am things likes make lunches, shower, feed the old cat, and the bouncing puppy and the trying-to-be mature big dog. Set up the coffee for my signif, start the car, and let it warm while I made the bed, open the drapes, put out fresh water for stay-at-home Daisey. Sadie, the bouncer, comes with me, and eventual goes to day care, after my 3:30 to 6:30 am warehouse work.
Yep....I'm the smuck who unlocks the door and sorts out the overnight crash parts for delivery the next day.
It was 15 degrees at 3:15 am....but my little car is very warm, and will hold the heat for an hour or two. Therefore, leaving Sadie locked in the car, outside the warehouse, asleep on my down jacket was not a concern. However, by 5 am, it was getting kind of chilly, so I had a marvelous brain storm (something I should never do on Monday). I started my car, removed my car alrm and lock from my key ring (the little plastic remote that goes beep beep) and put it in my pocket. My plan was to let Sadie sleep another 1/2 hour, I would be able to get the two trucks on the road that leave early, and then fetch my little Sadie for the rest of the early work.
Only, my car won't unlock with that little "beep beep" IF IT IS RUNNING ! Unfortunately, I didn't know this, but I sure do now ! Not only do I now know this, so does everyone I work with - all 27 of them.
Poor little Sadie - you want to talk about a sad face ? I felt so bad - just darn right awful. It wasn't until 7:15 that my signif showed up with spare keys to unlock the car which was still running, by the way....and the gas gauge hadn't even move !
I'm just thankful no one was harmed, except maybe my pride. Just goes to show....we learn something new every day !

Doing Nothing

"Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering" - Pooh's Little Instruction Book

Every day I walk my dogs for an hour or more. We have woods and fields and a state park near by, so we have plenty of options. We even have the river.

Work days I have a 30 minute drive home after picking up Sadiee at my daughter's house. Sadie usually sleeps (I call it her re-charging time) and I sometimes play the radio, and sometimes I don't. Yesterday I was reminded just how connected the people around me are. We have a state law that forbids the use of cell phones while driving, unless they're hands free. Yeah, right ! Everybodies talking....some hands free, some not.

That same day, at work, everybody's cell, except mine rang at least once (we have 9 office personnel) - all different rings, and I can now identify them all. I have a cell phone - I got it two years ago, when I changed my work hours from 8-5 to 3:30 am to 12:30 pm. I have never heard the phone ring ! We had a dozen counter people in before noon, all of them were cell-phone connected - and they were all men !

I met a lady out walking this afternnon....she was talking on a cell phone. She nodded at me, patted the dogs on the head, and kept talking. Wow ! She never heard the woodpecker, or the geese calling as they took flight, Did she miss anything important ? Probably not, but it reinforced what I have old-fashionly felt - we are a society that is never alone with ourselves. They is always someone just a call away - no matter what we're doing !

We found a snake

"When you see someone putting on his big boots, you can be pretty sure that an adventure is going to happen" - Pooh's Little Instruction Book

Today I was going to write about the fax machine at work, and how the bookkeeper touched it and the static electric schock created blew it up ......only, today , being the 16th of February in New England (I guess it's the same date everywhere, huh) it just so happened we (my dogs and I) found a snake in the woods.

Five days ago we had a blizzard, and the snow was anywhere from 12 - 24 inches, depending on who you asked. Today, Daisey, Sadie and I took our afternoon walk in the big woods near our house. I had to put on my big black boots, because there is still lots of snow, and a fairly decent size creek to cross. The boots slow me down ! Climbing thw "mountain" in the woods is something the dogs and I do several times a week, and today, because of the snow, Daisey and Sadie made it to the top well before me. This gave them ample time to explore, and Five month old Sadie was intently studying the base of an oak tree when I reached the top. The snow was melted in this particular spot, and there, in the decaying leaves was a SNAKE. It's little head was upright and reminded me of the snakes in the baskets you see in cartoons - the ones that have a snake charmer playing the flute. This was not a happy snake. I'm sure it was before Sadie arrived - sunning itself on the top of the mountain - and now an inquisitive puppy wants to play with it. I myself am not a snake person - so I directed Sadie away from her new found play mate and we continued on our walk.

Our local television loves e-mail, espcially weather related, so I e-mailed the station when we got home....letting them know today was a "snake warm " day. Maybe my e-mail will appear on the evening news!