Long weekend

Long weekends - my favorite kind. I took yesterday, Friday, off work and I won' be going back there until next Wednesday with any luck at all. I wrapped nearly all the Christmas presents in the house, and did some errands. I always overestimate how much I'm going to get done, and yesterday was no different. Even so, it was a good day to have off. Heck, everyday is a good day to have off.

Today, I must run Emily to her dance class/rehearsal here in a short time. Then, when I come back, I am ready to launch into holiday BAKING. I have big plans (again) - chocolate chip cookies for my brothers, oatmeal raisin for my grandfather, and oatmeal butterscotch for the Jerry. f course, the girls will be eating their fair share I'm sure. I have also bought stuff to make cream candy, so I am hoping to attempt a few batches of that as well. Then again, I'd love to go see Sweeny Todd today, but that might be an evening thing.



I really need to make time to load stuff on my new ipod. I still have a $25 iTunes card to use and I haven't begun to get through all the music Terry gave me. Not only that, I have 4 CD's waiting for me to rip. Here is a portrait of my little lovelies.
I got up at 4:50 this morning because I wanted to run. I was still too wiped out from last night, so I went back to bed until about 5:30. Then I got up and was on the road about 5:45. I haven't had a run in over a week now and the first mile about killed me, but then it all came back and I finished a 6.5 mile run in about an hour. Not bad. It was really nice out, no wind and maybe about 40 degrees. I smelled lots of wood burning, people must be burning in their fireplaces. I would love to have a fire in ours. I suppose I should bite the bullet and just open up the damper this morning and let the chimney start warming up. I hate to have all the heat sucked out of the house, but the last two attempts at a fire resulted in the family room full of smoke. It could be that the chimney just doesn't draw good enough, but more likely, I don't let it warm up enough before I light off the fire. The previous owners of this house used the fireplace, for sure. Perhaps I should buy an insert this spring, then I can have a fire without worrying about wasting so much electricity.

Black and White

I stayed up and played piano last night until nearly 2 AM. I think I would have sat there all night if not for knowing I had to get up and go to work the next morning. There at the bench in the wee hours of the morning, I had an epiphany. Sometimes, things are so random and yet so perfectly in order. I went to the gym last night and I wore pants that are black with white stripes down the sides of the legs. I didn't change when I got back home, just launched into chores and when I finally got time, I sat down at my piano. Sweet Jack had come in and he curled up on my lap, which is very unusual for him, he's not a lap cat so he must have just been cold. Anyway, I was playing and I realized Jack matched my pants - black and white cat on black and white pants. I then looked back at the piano keys - more black and white. Then I looked back at the music, black notes on white paper. Then, as if that weren't enough, my eyes traveled up to the picture hanging over the piano - my favorite Nancy Noel "Sarah" - Amish girl dressed in black holding a white cat. All this black and white in one place at one time, just like it was meant to be that way. For some reason, I got an idea about what I should do with myself. I think I want to go back to school and study music, and become a REAL music teacher. I have thought about becoming a teacher, but when I checked into it, I thought that if I did that, I would need to teach business, technology, math, or English to middle school or high school. That's what I could do quickest. BUT, if I could teach music, then that's something I myself could be interested in doing. I could be interested in teaching science too, but there's a lot I could do with music. The thing is, do I have to be a good musician to teach music? I will need to find that out before I put a plan together.



I have lots to do today - lots of errands to run. Our router bit the dust so I need to go buy a new one and install it sometime this weekend. I must go try to find bow resin. I need to deposit a check for Sarah (but first I have to FIND the check), and I need to pick up Emily's proofs. I can't wait to see them. These are photos for the Junior Miss Dance competition and ABT auditions next summer.



I am taking tomorrow off work to Christmas shop. I'm going to try to do it ALL in ONE day. Will that be possible? It has never worked out before, but I have been making a list so maybe I can get a lot done. This weekend we are putting up the tree and lights outside - do or die.



Here is a photo of the girls I took before their little piano recital out at Greenbo last weekend. The lodge was decorated for Christmas and the fireplace had a huge fire - it was very nice.

Happy Birthday to me

So I had a big one this year, and I survived. It was worth it though, I got some good gifts. Sarah gave me an unusual mug which she made herself - it has kitty cats of all sizes on it, I love it of course. Also some "other items" in the mug, which I will only "mention", and not comment on. I was rather shocked to receive such a gift, but it's coming from Sarah, and I have learned over the years that my Sarah is an unusually thoughtful person.

I am the proud owner of an 80 gig iPod now. I haven't even connected it to a PC yet, so it is still a virgin iPod. I haven't decided what to name it yet, or what I want to do exactly with it. My little 4 gig nano who is nearly max'd out, I just love it and I will keep near and dear to run with me and carry to the gym. My running playlist is only like 160 songs though, and the nano has about 750 songs total. I sync it to two playlists. I think I'll build a new playlist that is a merged version of the other two, and sync the 80 gig to the big new playlist. Perhaps I'll change Nano to be just my absolute most favorite songs in the whole world, and use the 80 gig for everything I love and everything I like.

Another gift I got was a food processor. It looks pretty capable but I haven't been able to get it to work at all. A food processor should not be rocket science and it seems pretty simplistic, so I've almost decided to pack it up and return it for another one. Maybe the thing has a short, or maybe I'm just too impatient to read the owner's manual thoroughly enough. It's supposed to save me time, not make me read a 600 page owner's guide.

Erin wants to learn guitar, electric guitar specifically. I taught her to play C and Am (two easy chords) over the weekend. She is learning on Sarah's old silver guitar. Erin has been loving it lately, and playing it "dead", I still haven't found a cable and maybe that's because the cable went with the other amp when it was loaned out (or given away...whichever). I suppose I'll have to make a trip to the music store and buy a cable and some resin for those crappy bows. Erin thinks the silver guitar is cool, as did Sarah when she first got it. She is talking about wanting to take lessons so if she still wants lessons in another month or two, I'll get her lined up with somebody. She would be happier not learning anything from me, I'm sure!

Thanksgiving, moon, oak leaves, etc.

A miscellaneous mish-mash of stuff here. Today is Thanksgiving, a 4-day holiday, I am thankful for. The old man and I ran the Russell Turkey Trot this morning. It's sort of an untimed free-for-all type race, you can run or walk, 5K or 10K or whatever, entry fee is food. I'm guessing 50 people showed up. I intended to run 10K but the wind got the best of me. It was warm and I didn't wear a hat or anything, after the first two miles, I had a killer headache from the wind and decided to just do the 5K. It was a lovely route though, all along the river, lots of pretty view (other than the sewage treatment facility in Worthington..or maybe that was Russell...I'm not really sure where Russell ends and Worthington begins).

I was driving south on 23 tonight (back from South Portsmouth) and the moon was lovely. There were patchy clouds but this thick bank of clouds which finally covered the moon completely. Here's what doesn't make much sense to me. If I'm on the Ohio side of the river, the highway that follows the river is 52 East/West. If I'm on the KY side of the river, it's called 23 North/South. It must be the overall direction the highway goes from start point to end point, but when I'm driving from South Portsmouth to Flatwoods, I feel more like I'm heading East than I'm heading South. I guess it's good I have a road to follow so I don't get lost.

About oak leaves, OK, I was taking a walk Friday and the oak leaves were raining down all around me. It must have been oak leaf drop day. Jerry's dad has an oak tree in his yard that has the most gigantic oak leaves I've ever seen in my life - like 15 to 18 inches long. He had a book on trees and we were comparing to pictures and descriptions in the book. We think we have the right acorns from that tree (but it's hard to say because there are so many oak trees there together), but we think it's a black oak with unusually large leaves.

Not much else to blog about. I have no pictures to post right now. Tomorrow, I'm cooking a turkey, I promised Someone I'd bake him a pecan pie, and maybe Sarah and I will go ride horses. I have a bit of a headcold so I'm not sure I want to be out all day. I don't want to go shopping but I realized today that Emily needs special panties to wear with her Arabian costume Sunday - I have no choice but to shop at least by Saturday. Fortunately, it doesn't look like they've planned a dress rehearsal. I hate shopping this time of the year. Emily is dancing at the Festival of Trees Sunday, so we'll be attending Sunday (to look at the beautiful trees and the beautiful dancers). The Arabian is the dance from the Nutcracker, which is one of my most favorite Tchaikovsky pieces of music. Hmmm...maybe I should buy an oboe some day.

jackolanterns

I meant to post a picture of our jackolanterns, so I'm just now getting around to it. Sorry for the poor quality, the picture was taken with my cell phone. The tall skinny one is Erin's, the little round one is Emily's.

The kids don't have school tomorrow since it's election day and the people vote in the school. They are already planning a day of what - nothing - stay up late, sleep until noon, invite friends over to play. Actually, the friends over might not work out because some parents don't let their kids hang out where there are no adults. The only thing I dread is the mess - it's for sure that when the kids are home alone, the house is going to get trashed (worse than it already is). Oh well, I'll clean it up one of these days - like when they move out.

A Day in Morehead

A lovely day today, and I had such fun! Erin and Emily attended a music festival in Morehead - they played in a trio with a pal, Brittany. Erin and Brittany played their violas and Emily played her ratty cello....I really need to find her a decent cello. I listened to them play and I thought they sounded...well...just like they always sound - rather painfully out of tune. They were playing the hell out of those instruments, let me tell you. There was only one judge, an older man, nicely dressed in a suit. Apparently, he heard something I didn't because he rated them a 2, which pleasantly suprised me. Even so, I'm proud that my girls went the extra mile and worked to prepare for the event.



I called Sarah when I got into town and she reprimanded me for calling her at the unGodly hour of 8:50 AM. She said she couldn't possibly roll out in time to hear her sisters perform. The performance lasted all of 1 minute max, so maybe the extra ZZZZ's were worth more to her. After they were finished, I escorted the 3 girls and two 6th grade boys as well, to Wendy's for lunch. It was quite an experience for me to observe these boys. I am not so familiar with boys, and I found one (Max) quite entertaining and the other (Trevor) just downright sweet. Still, boys will be boys, and I'm glad I have girls to deal with. Sarah met us at Wendy's for lunch.



Next up, we trekked back to the music hall just in time to hear the drum corps practicing out front. Morehead has one of the finest drumline's in the country. They are totally awesome, even when practicing. I can't even imagine how awesome they must be when they are actually performing. I stood there just spellbound watching. It makes me want to go ahead and get a drum set (which would be nothing like these talented young men and women were doing). Even so, I've often thought about buying drums - a little something to annoy Jerry and the neighbors. If I had lots of money, I'd buy drums, a french horn, a trumpet, a bass, and a Clavinova. I'll be a jack of all trades, a master of none.



The girls were preparing to board the bus and Sarah took me back to her dorm to see the pottery pieces she has made this semester. Such a talented girl! I totally sucked at ceramics, I attempted a class once, thinking it'd be an easy humanities elective. I have no talent for it whatsoever. The pottery wheel definitely humiliated me. Next, we drove out to her friends' farm so I could sort of meet Omie and Mary. I also saw Rain, but none of these equines were wanting to be messed with. They walked off when we got near. The dogs and people were much more friendly out there.



Next, we looked at property that might be for sale. I told Sarah that even though both pieces of property would suffice for me, the location was objectionable. Either piece of land was really not as close to Flatwoods as I would want. The one piece does border Daniel Boone National Forest. It's on a ridge and there's a huge pasture, that would be perfect for an orchard. I think I need to be looking in Greenup, Carter, or Boyd counties...maybe I'd consider Lewis county. I was thinking no more than 45 minutes away. These properties were more like 75 to 85 minutes away. Still, the valley property is almost exactly what I thought I was wanting. Some open pasture surrounded by woods, and a nice creek. The ridge has no pond or creek...but then flooding shouldn't be an issue either.

Sarah showed me her business plan. All I can say is, it looks very well thought out but a bit optimistic to me. But then, I'm mostly a pessimist, especially when it comes to risking huge sums of money. And, maybe my sweet Sarah is not afraid to plunge into 250 G's of debt, but I just couldn't! Gee, when I go to the races, I have to be pretty wasted to even bet $4 on a race! She must have gotten the risk gene from her Dad, because she sure didn't get that from me! We had an "interesting" long talk today. I promised to visit her in Ireland next spring. I am going to do my best to make that work out. I wonder if I can hire a nanny for a week or two? Next year, I get another 5 days of vacation thanks to enduring 25 years of service with the company, and unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to get all my vacation in this year. Looks like I'll be carrying over at least 5 days to next year. I will have lots of vacation next year.

hardware

Today was the Greenbo Challenge 5K, and it was cool and cloudy this morning, a decent day for running. It is lovely out there - we saw deer and the trees are probably as pretty as they're going to get around here this year. All the dry weather has taken a toll, it seems like the leaves are dropping as soon as they turn color. So I will brag a bit, I finished 2nd place in my age division, women 45 to 49, and I was immensely pleased with my time. I finished in 28:23, and it was a rather hilly course. The first mile was mostly downhill, part of it somewhat steep. The second mile was some downhill and mostly flat. The third mile was mostly uphill, killer. The last about .3 miles was level, but I didn't have anything left for sprinting to the finish line after the hill. I was hoping to finish in under 30 so when I heard my time, I was ecstatic.

So, the first part of the race, a younger guy was pacing himself with me, he passed me on the downhill and we ran side by side pretty much through the second mile. I lost him, for some reason I thought he got out ahead of me, but really, he dropped back. Then I was running side by side a woman who I thought was my age. She got in front of me on the hill, then get this, she slowed down and kept crowding me. I was trying to pass her and she kept moving so I couldn't. Can you believe that? It was just us two on the road, nobody close ahead or behind. I still find it hard to believe she was intentionally trying to keep me from passing her. Anyway, I slowed down to drop back where she couldn't see me, then charged around her (above her because it was on a curve and I took the higher part of the road). I got in front of her. She sped up and then we were shoulder to shoulder, she was crowding me - we had both lanes of the road to run on and she was so close I had to watch the ground to make sure I didn't step off the road into the gravel, that's how much she was crowding me. Finally, she pushed about 15 feet ahead of me on the last of the uphill and I never caught up with her again. I think she finished about 1/2 minute in front of me. Doesn't matter, apparently she was younger than me and she didn't place because they didn't call her up for a trophy. The woman who won my age division finished in like 22 minutes and some seconds. I will run like that in my dreams some day.

The next race for me will be on Thanksgiving, a 10K. I have been running 6.8 to 7.3 miles several times a week for a month or so, I think I can do it. I think it's a fairly flat course too, along the river. It should be a great run if the weather isn't brutal.

runnin' in the rain

I had a good run in the rain this morning. We haven't had rain forever so I'm not complaining. I liked it until it started running in my eyes and when my feet got totally wet, I started to not like it. Wet socks just don't feel good, any way you cut it.

Some things are meant to be. There is a 5K at Greenbo I was wanting to run this Saturday. Timing was an issue because of Emily's dance classes (mandatory since she is competing), but her rehearsal starts an hour early this Saturday, so Greenbo is definitely a "do" for me Saturday - rain or shine, 20 below or whatever...I'm doing it. Emily has rehearsal/classes from 8:00 AM until at least 2:00 - busy girl! She loves it though, she's a dancer in her heart. Some people are just like that.

It's a chilly rainy night and all our pets are in the house right now, which is kind of unusual. Especially Jack, he's shunned us for the last few months, but lately, has meowed to come in. I adore him, probably because he's so aloof. He lives in the barn across the ravine from our backyard. If he doesn't come home for a few days, I walk back into the woods and call him - he almost always comes if I call him. He never stays long, but he's precious to me. Chewy is asleep on my feet as I type. She is getting old and hard of hearing and doesn't see as well as she used to, I think. She will soon be 9 years old. She is incredibly smart, but I doubt she'll live another 2 years.

Soon it will be Halloween. We have pumpkins in the back of my van to carve. Erin picked a tall skinny pumpkin and Emily picked a fat round one. I suppose we'll be making jack-o-laneterns this weekend. We are going to a Halloween party tomorrow night - a skating party given by the karate studio. I'm sure it'll be fun. Jerry and I decided not to wear costumes - there's nothing I want to be and Jerry passed on being anything I could think of. Emily is Elizabeth Swann and Erin is a goth zombie. Goth is a flattering color, no?

OH!!!

miscellaneous

Well, not much of anything going on these days. I got the rest of my tips tonight so I will be testing next Saturday for a yellow belt. I still haven't committed to running a race this Thursday. I want to do it, but I can't find a driver for Erin. If I could drop her off early, maybe I could do it, but I'd running the Greenup race rather then the Ohio race. I think the Greenup race is going to be a bit hilly, which is fine, it's only 5K. I think the Ohio race would be more fun, but I'm not really familiar with the area and it'll take longer to get over there and get back. I'll probably just do neither.

I took Sarah shopping and out to dinner this weekend and we had fun. She is such a hoot. I treated her to new bras at Victoria's Secret and she said the reason they call them Angel Bras is because it's just like having the hands of God right there on you. I'm not sure I want God's hands right there on me violating my space, but if Sarah's happy then I'm happy for her. And that reminds me I need to apply for my passport and get myself a will (no, Sarah, I'm not planning to die anytime soon). I will be traveling to Ireland or Spain or where-ever the heck she ends up next year. I want my will done because I'm doing some business trips soon and I do think about dying on those. It's double endemnity if I die on a common carrier, and I hate to let that much money go unplanned.

I hope Sarah lets me know how the recording session went. I bet it sounds great, and I still think you should have done something Christmas because I think you could make some money - yes, you whore, make some money singing Christmas carols!!! And by the way, you promised to help me with the tabs on Strong Enough. I'm getting better ar reading tabs but the ones I've found for Strong Enough are too hard for me. I know you used to make it sound really good, so please help out the old lady.

That's it for now, I gotta get some ZZZZZ's.

more runnin'

Another race last weekend and I had a disappointing finish - like 20 seconds slower than my first race. The thing is, I thought I was running a faster pace. The route was as flat as it gets around here and the weather was cool, sun shining, beautiful day, I felt good, BUT....I paced myself with two old guys that looked to me like they were running good. I finished just in front of one of them, the other right behind me. What does that teach me? Find some young guys the next time.

Let's see, not much else has been going on. I've got a couple of 6.8 mile runs in this week. I've got to get cozy with these longer runs so I get do that 10K in November. More importantly for now though, I need to figure out how to speed up my pace. Surely I can manage an 8 minute mile. There's a 5K in two weeks I want to do. I haven't committed yet. It's on a Thursday night meaning Erin will miss karate unless I can round up a driver. Also, it's our last karate class before testing. I think I'm good but Jerry has major concerns. I told him he doesn't have to run the race with me but he insists that if I'm running it, he's running it. I got another tip last night and I could have gotten one for gee-chew-hyong-ill-boo (not spelled right, I assure you) but I didn't ask to. It was a bit of a blow to Jerry's ego when I one-upped him, I thought two-upping him would be too much damage.

It's a perfectly beautiful day today, I wish I were out on a course somewhere knocking the little ball around. But no, I have a few minutes of my lunch break left so I'm going to go find some wild turkies, hawks, snakes, or something. When I come back, plenty more junk to dig into. I'm getting an extra lotto ticket before tomorrow night.

Unusual Fruit

I took a picture of the weird stuff I bought at the Farmer's Market last Saturday. The little round striped things are called plum-grannies, and the yellow melon is a canary melon. The big thing in the back is a watermelon, which is not usual, but it was sitting there and I didn't move it. The shiny monkey head behind the canary melon is probably one of the most unusual things in our house, but it didn't come from the Farmer's Market. It came from Sarah's imagination and hands.


We cut into the canary melon last night. The center looks like a cantalope and the rest looks like a honeydew. It smells like a honeydew, but it tastes like...neither one exactly. It tastes pretty good actually. In fact, Erin tried it and liked it. She won't eat any kind of melon at all, so it was suprising to me that she was willing to even try it. Here is a picture of the canary cut open.

I also bought butternut squash but those aren't usual, and I didn't take a picture of them. Today is Thursday and I haven't cooked them yet. I hope they don't rot before I get around to it. I could see it happening, but hopefully not.

First Race Ever, Fraley Festival

I ran my first race ever this past Saturday morning - the Holy Family 5K mall run. I was number 234, which is a number I was happy to get (I like the way it looks, don't you)? I knew I could run the distance, and I knew I wasn't going to win my age division (especially since I was the oldest my division), but I had butterflies anyway. I felt like I was running a slow pace (mostly ran in the last half of the pack), and finished in the last third I think. Anyway, my time was 29 minutes 34 seconds, and my goal was to finish in under 30 minutes, so I met my goal. It was a lot of fun and I had to jump in the car after I crossed the finish line, drive back and pick up Emily to take her to dance. No stretching out and today I'm so sore I can hardly move. The race was a lot of fun and there's another 5K next Saturday that I hope to run as well. Erin has a tennis tournament and the kids have an academic tournament we are supposed to work at, so I don't know if we'll have time for a race.

I took the kids to Carter Caves to go camping Saturday night. The Fraley Festival was going on, and we heard some awesome musicians. Sarah was there and she came up to the campground to have burgers with us for supper. She brought her banjo and her pal, Brett. Soon, a whole bunch of musicians wandered over and they started playing and it was totally awesome! There was a base fiddle player, a mandolin, 2 fiddles, 2 banjos, 2 or 3 guitars, and they were all masters (yes, Sarah, if you're reading this, I consider you to be a master...you sound great to me)! I could have sat there all night listening to them. The playing broke up around 11:00 or so, but we got a great 2 or 3 hour concert. One of these days, I hope to learn to play the base! At 5:00 this morning, I heard rain on the tent. Memories of last year's trip at Grayson, where I woke up with 2" of rain on the tent floor and all the sleeping bags and pillows sopping wet. Not this time though, we were under trees and the rain was light - very pleasant to listen to as it pitter-pattered on the tent over our heads.

And, the post wouldn't be complete without mention of plum-grannies and canary melons. I went to the farmer's market and bought these items since I'd never heard of them before. I will need to post pictures of these, but I suppose I'll have to take the pics with my cell phone since I still haven't found my camera cable. Plum-grannies are edible, but the guy told me they're better just to leave sit on the kitchen counter and let them smell sweet. They do smell very good. I bought two of them and I can smell them as soon as I walk into the door. The canary melon is a bright yellow, smooth melon. The farmer told me they are green like a honeydew, a very sweet melon, but doesn't taste like honeydew or cantalope. I will take a picture of it before I cut into it...tomorrow.

Moon Shadows and Skunk Adventures

The moon was totally an awesome thing of beauty yesterday morning. I started my run at 4:50 and when I started down the hill on Berkshire's entrance, I noticed the moon was huge, down close to the horizon, and yellow gold. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of it, but I doubt a camera could capture that much splendidness.

This morning, I slept in, and didn't get out on the road until 5:10. The moon was again full, but higher up. It was lovely but it's usual silver/white color. It was kind of neat making a shadow all the time. I like watching my shadow when I run, and since it's always dark, I only have shadows when I'm near a street light or somebody has their porch light on. With the moon, sometimes I made two or three shadows.

I have been seeing (and smelling) lots of skunks this past week. One morning, I very nearly kicked one, and thank heavens he tolerated me sharing his space. It was a dark stretch of sidewalk and he ambled onto the sidewalk right in front of me. I stopped abruptly and he stopped and stared at me. I took a few steps back and he ambled on across the road. Skunks must be either dumb or hard of hearing, or maybe the city skunks are used to people and not all that afraid of us.

I am ready for a race and have picked the Holy Family 5K run as my first race ever. It's in downtown Ashland so it should be flat, and it's only 5K, so it should be easy (oh, does that sound like famous last words or what!). Jerry says he wants to run it with me. My only goal is to finish the run, I don't need to compete with anybody. I figure he'll be way out in front of me after the first 100 yards. I hope there are little old ladies who just walk it, so I don't have to be the person finishing last. I have no idea how long it'll take me to finish 3.1 miles. I always run farther than that, so in theory, I should be able to run the shorter distance at a faster pace. I think when I'm running 4.5 to 5.5 miles, I'm running about a mile every 10 minutes. There are a couple of big hills I take too (up and down), so it's hard to say what I'll do with a flat 3 miles course. I might figure out a 3.5 mile course for myself this weekend and start timing myself to see what my time is, and work on improving it.

Shall I blog about karate? I'm still not sure I'm into it. jerry is definitely into it. I have to admit, I was pleased to get my first 4 tips - all in one day. I think the self-defense aspect of it is good to know...I can think of a few times in my long lifetime I wish I had been able to defend myself better. I think sparring will be fun (as long as I don't have to touch sweaty, gross people). As for the forms and all those ethics to memorize, it's going to be a chore. I like hobbies I can do without thinking. Maybe that's why I like running, gardening, and golf so much - I can just daydream the whole time.

Saturday Morning Adventure

I have to thank my dear, sweet Sarah for nagging me all summer. Sadly, she has gone back to school today, but this morning, I woke up early and decided that HECK, I'm going to throw caution to the wind and go get on a horse. She nagged at me extra hard last night, put a royal guilt trip on me. It worked, obviously. I'm so glad she did, because we no more than broke into the first canter and I decided this was the best day I've had all year. I do love riding horses.

Sarah saddled up her beloved Joey and Strawberry, a gelding, for me. I've been hearing what a gentle (predictable) horse Strawberry is, but I do know there is no such thing as a predictable horse, and knowing Joey is so young and Strawberry isn't ridden everyday, I was a bit wary. Once we were mounted, the beginning got rough. I almost aborted the ride. Partly my fault, I'm sure, I'd never ridden a horse with a bitless bridle. I was probably not giving him enough slack in the reins and he probably got pissed off at me. He side-stepped off the path then freaked out a little. He tried to throw his head and ended up bucking a bit, which started to freak me out since we were on a rather steep hill (not really that steep but definitely elevated, and I was up high on a horse so it seemed like a long way to fall...I can imagine broken hip at my age). Once we were out of sight of the barn, both horses settled down. Sarah taught me about posting when we trotted, which was hard for me at first but I got the hang of it. It makes it easier to trot without jarring your teeth loose. Strawberry preferred to canter and I love that, it's so much fun. Being unfamiliar with the trail though, and riding behind Sarah, I took a few branches to the face. Still, it was the most fun I had all summer.

The trail was pleasant. We saw thistle, queen anne's lace, ironweed, goldenrod, touch-me-nots, and some kind of red flowers that I don't know what they are. We rode through a field that had a thousand baby gum trees. Some day, it'll be a forest of gum trees (unless it's paved over into a parking lot or turned into a subdivision). We also rode through a dump, which saddened me. It was a contractor's dump and they dump explosives there, along with old PVC, brick, block, miscellaneous crap, etc.

We had our ride and on the way back, we neared the road just as a truck passed. Joey flipped out briefly and Strawberry stopped and reared up a bit...scaring me substantially...my heart skipped a few beats. Then he didn't want to move forward. He started backing up and I had concerns he might back himself into the fence row and freak out even more. But no, he chilled out and followed Joey across the road and into the field on the other side. It was a perfect morning for the ride, and I'm still totally in disbelief that Sarah actually rolled out of bed before 9:00 AM to ride with me.

Today was as fun (maybe more) than our rides at D.H., which is unfortunately now out of business. I've read that the D.H. property is now up for sale and if I could buy it, I'd love to have it. I found an awesome arrowhead in Indian Creek, which runs across the property. It is beautiful there. I'm sure it'll be carved up into housing sites, many of those beautiful hardwood trees will be cut down, the hills will be cut away to make level building sites, and the place will never be the same.

This reminds me that I need to renew my search for some land I can afford that's not too far from here. It needs to be within an hour's drive, and I want something way out, so there won't be noise from sirens, trains, boats, trucks, etc. I want space to plant an orchard and anything else I want to plant (pumpkin patch comes to mind). I want 30 acres, at least, the more the merrier. I might just have to dream about it, but I hope I can find it and make it mine.

The Summer JUST can't be over!!!

Where has the month gone? School started yesterday and it seems like it's as good as over now. We'll have frost on the grass before you know it, but no, I'm not even going to think about that! We visited Dad in Indiana earlier this month. We only had one day at the lake but we made the most of it. Brittany went with us and the kids tubed all day, Dad doing his part to keep the oil companies in the black (hmmmm...I think profits are black......in the red means you're losing money, right?) Jerry and I had to try out the tube a bit as well. It was a blast but all that bouncing around is killer on us old folks. If we'd had more time, I would skied a bit, just to see if I could still get up.The swans on Tippicanoe were just as lovely as ever. They are magnificent birds!

Last weekend, we just stayed home, or I should say, we didn't go out of town. Jerry and I got a round in at Sandy Creek and it was a perfect day for that - sunny and high 80's, the air was as clear as it gets around here. Let's see, I shot an 83 (41 and 42), had a couple of great drives (for me, anyway), birdied #13, lost 2 balls total but found 4, should have birdied #5, but didn't, choked on a 4 foot putt. I had a couple of awesome approach shots. We still need to use our raincheck at Shawnee...I hope we can get back there before the month is over.

One more thing we have to do before we give up on summer - go camping. I'm hoping we can fit that in this coming weekend if the weather cooperates. The girls have been begging me to go all summer. Last weekend would have been ideal but I was not wanting to go anywhere. I'll have to make a reservation tomorrow if we're going to go for it. I'll have to check the extended forecast and make a decision (and start collecting paraphenalia...seems like there's so much stuff we need to take for even a night or two). I think we'll try Grayson since it's so handy, but Cave Run would be an awesome adventure. I love Cave Run.

the party's over :-(

Vacation is over....back to reality. It has been nice having a few days home before going back to work. The trip home was extra long thanks to a wreck on I-77 which closed north and south lanes. It must have been bad because we saw helicopters, two ambulances, firetrucks, and a hazmat truck. We were in a construction zone and there were concrete barracades blocking us, not to mention all the trucks. We parked on the interstate for over an hour and a half. Finally, state patrolmen started having people back up to the previous exit and gave us detour instructions. Unfortunately, their instructions caused 421 to back up really bad. We didn't take the exit they recommended since it looked to me like we might be waiting to get onto the exit for at least an hour. Since I had an atlas handy, I decided to go another 12 miles up the road and catch another route. It was pretty smooth sailing except we did have a wait on that road where they were working on a bridge, and had only one lane open. We finally made it home around 11:30, rather than 9:00, which was the goal.

I can't show off any vacations pics because I still can't find my camera cable. I did a lot of running and I think I'm ready to try a 10K now. I know I can do a 5K pretty easily, no matter how hilly. The 10K will be an effort, but I think I can make it..as long as there aren't any really big uphills.

We saw Sarah at the Fiddler's Convention in Morehead. She was awesome, and she had Jesse and Matt playing with her. The storm was a major destraction and the fact that tent posts were falling around us and at one point I thought the whole tent top might rip and blow off. Sarah was a bit unnerved too because at one point, she stopped singing and just looked up like "what the??". I promised her I would come back today but I think I've convinced myself to stay here and get some work done. The place is a wreck and I have SO much I'd like to get done before Monday. It looks like the weather is clearing here so hopefully it will be a pleasant night in Morehead tonight.

Jerry made it home from the beach early this afternoon and he unloaded his car and has gone to bed for awhile. A nap sounds tempting. I got up early today and got in a good run. Also went to the farmer's market which is fun. I bought lots of stuff because the deer have been munching on our garden all summer and we don't have much. Old Chewy isn't keeping the deer out like she used to, I think she doesn't hear them anymore. I know she doesn't see as well as she used to.

Vacation Almost over...

Tomorrow is the last day, and this is the first time I can ever say I am sad to be leaving Myrtle Beach. I have really had a good time this year. No golf, and not even one visit to the driving range for me, but I've been getting a good run in every day and playing quite a bit of tennis. The weather has been great and Jerry and the girls are letting me NOT play mini-golf...which I detest.

Miss Sarah will be pleased that I acquired her a gift of her favorite fish stew from Chesapeake House. They sold me a quart of the stuff and it's in the freezer now. The cook told me it freezes wonderfully and will taste even better when it's thawed than if she'd eaten it fresh in the restaurant. I ran 4.8 miles this morning and tomorrow's goal will be to survive 5 miles. The girls want to play MagicQuest in the morning which means another trip to Broadway on the Beach. I will take my iPod and some crackers to feed the fish and ducks, it should be a pleasant morning. I went to the music store and bought 3 new music books. I can't wait to get my hands back on a piano.

I have been playing Sarah's guitar which she kindly loaned me. I like hers way better than my old Harmony. I would sell the thing but it's gone up in value quite a bit so I'm hanging onto it for a bit longer...which is stupid since I don't like playing the thing.

OK, Sarah, if you're reading this, I took your advice and went out today and bought myself some new clothes. I've been thinking about what you told me about my pants looking like clown pants because they're so big. You were right because you know I always like to buy my clothes a bit big in case they shrink, and the new pants and shorts I bought are two sizes smaller than what I'm currently wearing. I didn't buy any skirts or dresses though, which will probably disappoint you. I just can't be that girly for you, sorry. You'll have to settle for your dykey mommy (maybe that should be dikey...I don't know).

Well, time to go check on my laundry and get out on the deck with my guitar. I have just enough turkey left to get through tomorrow night, I think. I think I'll be gobbling in my sleep tonight.

More vacation

Today is day...4.5 of vacation, it's easy to lose track. The bottle of Turkey is more than half gone, I might just have to make another trip to the red dot before I head home to listen to my sweet Sarah sing her lungs out on Friday night. My ear infection is getting worse, dang it, no more wave crashing for me.

Jerry is 50 today and we had a heck of a party for him. I would add some pics but I still have no camera cable...I'm going to have to buy a new one. I have been running every day since we got here and I am now pretty capable of running about 5 miles without stopping, and that's with a hangover! Jerry and I played tennis this morning, I was on today, or maybe he was off. Anyway, I think I could have won a set today...maybe. We just beat the ball, we don't really try to play games very often. I'm starting to get my old serve back...it has taken months of work to get it back to where I can hit a decent serve.

I don't think we'll get to play any golf but maybe we'll go play some more tennis tomorrow. I still want to get out to that big mall and visit the music store. I haven't gotten any decent new music in a long time...I'd love to look and see what they have. The store could be totally different now that they've moved though. The time I was there before, they had file cabinets and racks and racks and RACKS of sheet music and music books. It's so much nicer to thumb through and see what you're buying than buying it blindly off the internet.

I'd better go mingle with the ranks. Kristy and Sherri are drinking Tarrantulas tonight - I think those are something like weird margaritas. As for me, I'm a Kentucky bourbon woman. I think Sarah would have me be a moonshine woman..not that I have anything against moonshine. It's a tad too oily for me, I prefer bourbon.

Vacation

Today is day 4 of the annual Myrtle Beach vacation, Saturday, the day we move into the beach house. This is also girls' day out since Jerry usually plays golf on this day. Erin and Emily are all too happy to spend the day with me at Broadway at the Beach. Today they have planned to play MagicQuest, have nachos and beer at the Liberty (well, the beer is my idea...they can't drink the stuff), go to the dreaded Build-a-Bear, make a tee-shirt, and get some cotton candy. I just go with the flow as the money flows out of my purse.

I think I have a pound of sand and a gallon of Atlantic ocean in my ear so now that I've got a bit of infection brewing in there, I'll call CVS and see if there wasn't a refill on Erin's prescription and see if they'll fill it here for me. That should knock it out before it becomes a misery.

I have gotten up early and had a good run three days so far. It's way too hot to run late. I was running yesterday and my ipod fell out of it's skin. I lost the little plate that protects the screen and I was sad about that but oh well, SHT happens. I was running this morning and behold!!! I found the little clear plastic plate on the sidewalk. In fact, I almost stepped on it. I usually don't even look down while I'm running but it must have been fate - I glanced down and there it was.

I miss Sarah and I haven't been able to work on my laptop - apparently the wireless card in Sarah's PC is much more capable than the one in my laptop. I did find a bunch of websites that offer free repair of shdoclc.dll, which I think is the problem with my piece of junk. The big question is whether or not my machine will be too locked down to do anything about it. I will have to get to a place with FREE wireless (or not wireless) and log in via VPN which means I'll have to use my most managed account, which means our firewall probably won't let me run anything corrective on my piece of junk. But, if I can save something to the desktop and then log off and back on with my least managed account, then I might be able to run it and maybe it will fix something. I have a feeling the problem exists in two places on my PC. Bad news.

weekend reality

OK, well first off, the forecast was wrong. We got a rainstorm Friday night and one on Sunday. Saturday was very nice though, mid 80's and sunny, though a bit windy. I played Sandy Creek and my partner was a bit chatty, but I tried to block him out as best I could. Still I shot an 88, not a great score (45, 43...I think). I lost at least 4 balls. I think I was actually playing better than the previous weekend although the score doesn't show it. I lost no balls at all the previous weekend, so no penalties, but I had a couple of awesome chip shots and putts this past Saturday, which are just so MUCH FUN! The short game is starting to come back a bit. I had a bad case of yips the first few holes.

My goal was to get the van packed for vacation and I failed. Oh well, I guess that means I'll be staying up all night tomorrow night. I hate packing and unpacking. I did gas up and I'm getting laundry done.

I think I've partaken enough of the Maker's Mark tonight to vent off about Walmart. I HATE THAT PLACE. It's the bane of all America. I know it's great for people who don't have a lot of money, but I HATE THAT PLACE. They never have enough people working and it's always crowded. Even if I go at midnight, it's crowded. I wish I could place my order on-line and drive through and pick it up, then I wouldn't have to deal with the crowd and stocking people blocking the aisles. Not only that, I have to walk miles to get what I need since they spread everything out (so I'll have to walk for miles and pick up stuff I don't need..which is their master plan). Their produce has been on a truck for a month and I don't want to see 44 brands of bread on their F'ing shelves...I just want a F'ing loaf of F'ing bread... Maybe I just hate shopping in the first place. To me, a store is like a war zone - get in and get out - get 'er done. Lord knows I can't take Emily in there...she would have me empty my bank account in there! I think Sarah hates that place even more than I do.

We saw the new Harry Potter movie this weekend and one of my favorites things about it was the decore in Umbridge's office, the cat plates hanging on the wall. The plates had images of cats that seemed to be alive (like all newspapers and pictures at Hogwarts). Sarah made an interesting comment about what wether or not you could put those plates in the microwave. Well, you can imagine what the cats would do. The potter movie was really good, but I hate it about the person who was killed off (I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it). I do hope he's not really dead.

I must get back to packing....did I mention how much I hate packing?

no camping

God saw fit to rain on our proposed camping trip, no matter, I really didn't have time. We are leaving for the beach Tuesday night, as soon as I get off work if at all possible, and I have nothing ready for this vacation yet. I need to get it in gear and start organizing and getting our SHT together.

My sweet Erin started her blog this evening. She is an extremely capable authoress. I think someday that girl is going to write a best seller. I hope it's a scary story because I really like that kind of book. Stephen King is still my favorite author. John Alexander Thom writes totally differently, and I like his books, but King is king for me.

I think I'm playing golf tomorrow...I hope so anyway. Also, I think we're going to go see the new Harry Potter movie. A busy weekend, but it should be fun!

camping?

I do believe we have a decent weekend in the forecast. I promised the kids we'd go camping and we're running out of weekends before school starts. I think I'll commit to a campsite at Grayson for the weekend. We'll have to get up early saturday and drive back for Emi's dance lessons, but then we can go back out for the rest of the weekend. We'll swim, ride bikes, PLAY IN THE FIRE (my favorite part of camping), and tell ghost stories. I'm sure Erin has a bunch of new ones for us.

Sandy Creek

Yesterday was a great day. The girls were wiped out from a sleep over they went to and they didn't want to do anything, so the "old man" and I went out to Sandy Creek (aka The Creek) and got a round in. It was a gloriously beautiful day, sunny, humid, and hot, just the way I like it. Jerry is getting a tad too comfortable in having me back on the golf course with him and he's falling back into that bad habit of his - giving unsolicited advice. I didn't assess him the appropriate penalties, but next time I might have to. When I want advice from a person who swings the club like a gorilla, I'll ask for it. Jerry is easy to play head games with though, he always has his head in the game. When he's getting on my last nerve too much, I'll make some innocent little comment about the road (OB) or the creek (lateral hazard) or the railroad tracks and sure as heck, his ball goes there. Then he's off hunting for his ball and I have quiet again. I often wonder why some men ever play golf. It's as if every shot is a test of their manhood.

I was having some trouble getting my mid-iron shots lined up yesterday, I kept pushing everything right, probably where I've been working so hard on my draw. Finally, by the back 9, I was getting things turned around. I did have a couple of amazing putts on the front and one awesome 3-wood shot (on the par 5, #4 hole). I had a couple of birdie putts but I missed both of them. On the back 9, I was finally able to get the fade out of my drive and getting better distance. I think I hit my most perfect, magnificent drive ever on the par 4, #17 hole. I played from the reds yesterday and I'm not sure of the yardage, but the ball went dead straight and stopped maybe 15 yards from the front of the green. The sound of the club hitting the ball was music to my ears (clink) and there was like zero vibration on the club. I must have hit that sweetest part of the sweet spot on face of that driver.

My final score was nothing to be proud of, 86, 45 on the front and 41 on the back. Still, it was below 90 which was my goal for the day. It's going to take time to get back to the shooting in the mid to low 70's. For now, I'm just delighted to have a chance to get out and play. When I start scoring in the low 80's, I'll move back to the white tees. Actually, if I do that now, that would probably be good but not as much fun. The Creek is a fairly short course so if I hit a good drive, I only have a short iron to the green. I need to get better with my long irons.

I don't think I'll be playing any golf today - got other irons in the fire.

River Hole

This is view of #7 green at Shawnee - my most favorite hole on my most favorite golf course on this entire planet. To me, this is not the most attractive angle, the shot is taken from the rough on the par 3, #8 hole. I like the view from about 120 yards back from the green in the fairway on #7 - you can really get a good look at how the river makes a bend there.

Could it be any better of a day than today? It is cloudless, the birds are singing, and it's supposed to get really, REALLY hot. Perfect day for golfing, but I doubt I'll be playing any today. I probably will go to the driving range though. I've been working on the draw at the range and I'm getting some of my old distances back. But really, I'd take accuracy over distance any day of the week. I pitched quite a few balls at the 40 and 75 markers last night, and I'm still struggling with that dang 3-iron. I'm almost thinking about switching that bad boy to graphite, the steel just isn't doing anything for me. I have the same yardage with the 3-iron as the 4, and I'm a whole lot more consistent with the 4. I guess I'll just give it some more time (and more work).

Lies

I was reading an old post and saw where my lovely daughter, Sarah, mentioned building a glorious bonfire with little girl toys. It reminded me of how I use to get her to clean her room. I would explain to her how when her toys piled up in the floor, there was this thing called spontaneous combustion and they would just burst into flames, and it could burn our whole house down and we might die in our sleep. She bought into it and she would pick her toys up and put them back on the shelf. Nevermind that she still has screaming nightmares everynight, at least the toys were put away.

And how does one get their children to brush their teeth before bed? All my kids believed me when I told them bugs would grow on their teeth at night. Never once did I say insects, but I'm pretty sure that is what was running through each kids' little brain. I could usually see the wheels turning when Sarah was thinking on something real hard. She was only about 2 the first time she put up a fight about brushing her teeth. I didn't think she'd understand about bacteria rotting her teeth so I told her that SOMETIMES people who don't brush get bugs growing on their teeth. She looked concerned and asked me what kind of bugs. I was vague, I said "Oh, like spiders and cockroaches." She looked horrified and quite scared. I told her she wouldn't ever have to worry about it if she brushed her teeth and she jumped right up and took care of business. Erin and Emily didn't even question it. Akiko even told them the bugs ate their pacifiers when it was time to get rid of them. I still remember the sad look on Erin's face when she told me about her pacifier. She said "No more bobble. Bug eat" and looked like she might cry. I wasn't sure I understood what she said and I looked at Akiko and she had that SHT-eating grin on her face. When the girls were out of ear-shot, she told me that she told them the bugs ate their bottles and pacifiers, and they totally accepted it.

Sorry, I can't provide a link to Erin's blog since she won't start one. it's a pity, she is an excellent writer. I do have a lovely picture of her though. She is the little girl in the middle wearing the black dress.

Flame ON

Look at this magnificent shot - another compliments of Terry Spears. He knows that there are two things I really appreciate in this life - fire and water. Gosh, some guys get to have all the fun. What I wouldn't give to be right there at that grill, grease fires are really hot. You can almost smell those babies burning can't you? That flame is at least a foot tall.

lovely

I just had to add this shot to my blog - isn't it beautiful? The best photographer I know personally sent this to me and it is AWESOME! It was taken after the freak storm we had last spring (the one that wiped out the cherry trees this year). The photographer is Terry Spears who has some of his best work out on flickr. These beauties are bleeding hearts, one of my most favorite flowers in the world, right up there with violets, daisies, and lily of the valley.

Swimmin' with da fishes

Oh happy days. I figured out how to edit a post that I've published! No longer will I fret if I fat finger a URL or whatever blunder I let slip through the cracks. I think I am far too lazy to go correct the link I screwed up on a previous post though, it's all water under the bridge now.

Yes, it's summer for me. Today, we went to Grayson Lake and I went swimming. That's always the official start of summer. We had blue gills and minnows swimming with us, some of the blue gills were rather big, Emily was afraid of them. She was also afraid of the butterflies. Is this really my kid or was there a mixup at the hospital?

I saw lots of people picking blackberries along the highway today. That's a job I don't miss one little bit. We used to be handed buckets and told we couldn't come back until the buckets were full. Hmmmmm...what if we'd never come back?

I wanted to post pictures of Grayson but my cable is lost in the abyss of the rat-hole room. I think it would be quicker and easier to declare it gone forever and just order up a new one. That's the easiest way out for me anyway....unless of course, my dear sweet daughter knows where I can lay my hands on hers???? Perhaps somewhere in that den of germs you call a bedroom?

Link error

It ticks me off that I screwed up the link in the previous post. I hate making a mess of things. I can't find a way to edit a post once I've posted it, but it seems to me I did that once a long time ago.

We need to go camping. This weekend was supposed to be the Louisville trip but looks like Erin has something she has to do Saturday which screws Louisville. We could still camp though, Grayson Lake is not too far and we could come back for Erin's thing and then go back out afterwards. Only down side, it's likely to be horrendously crowded out there, being the weekend of July 4th holiday.

The summer is slipping away. Not enough weekends! Emily starts her 2 week intensive dance classes next week, that's gonna suck. More being tied down. Also, I need to call Mr. Chapman and schedule those lessons..somehow fit those in. And, piano will start up again next month. I need to devote some time to my beloved piano....I have been neglecting him lately, and I never did get to try out those paint pencils I bought. If we could win the lottery, I would have time to paint, play music, lay in my hammock and dream....assuming I could find the *^@&*^&*^@ thing. Where did I put it??????

un-blogged

I was reprimanded by my sweet daughter for not blogging, so here I am, blogging about NOTHING again. I just read her blog and I have nothing so exciting to report about. I did get to play several rounds of golf, even got 9 in at my most favorite course in the world, Shawnee. The skies opened up on us after we walked off the #7 green (which is my most favorite hole in the world, the river hole). We took cover under a tree which worked out OK until the wind started blowing the rain horizontally. We tried running around the tree to find the most protective angle but there was none. The wind was whipping around in all directions. PLUS, we started hearing thunder in the distance and since we were already as wet as we could possibly get (of course neither of us had an umbrella), we decided to run for a shelter building two holes back. We were halfway there when the first streak of lightening flashed right over our heads. Over along the creek was a back-hoe and dump truck. We took cover under the truck until the storm passed. We finished our 9, soaked, but once the sun came out, I was fairly dry after 20 minutes or so. It felt like my clothes were steaming. It started thundering again on hole 10 so we got a raincheck for the rest.

I went shopping with Sarah last night. She is such a trip. We had Mexican salads (the kind in the shell) at La Finca's. They were OK, but I don't think I'll be going back there for awhile. We went to the mall and Sarah talked me into buying clothes for me and her. I would have spent way more on her if we'd had time.... I never buy clothes for me in stores, and I'm still undecided about whether I'm just going to return the outfit I bought for me. I think I bought it on impulse, not because I wanted it.

I am home alone tonight. The little girls are still gone to geek camp and Sarah is visiting Dale and Jerry is at a training seminar. HOME ALONE!!! No telling what I might get into. I could build a small bonfire in the living room if I wanted to, or shave a cat (or dye him blue, which would be way better than shaving him).

He's b-a-c-k!!!

I thought Jack had left us for good, but the girls went into the woods and called him, and he came back. We were all so happy to have him home again. He had gone missing for nearly 2 days. He has been staying closer to home since returning to us. Here is a picture Sarah took of my Jack.

I found a milkweed pod today on one of my "freedom" walks today. Sometimes I just got to get out of cubicle world and see something besides paper and taupe, gray, cream, and ecru walls, furniture, and carpet. The milkweed has two seeds left in it so there is hope that I might one day grow my own milkweed plant. I intend to try.

TGIF - I live for weekends. I have to take Emily to Portsmouth tomorrow to try on and buy her tap shoes. I should cook for the folks this weekend, I didn't make them anything last weekend. Clean house, work in the garden, and anything else I can get into.

Out Catting Around...

Molly left last night and chose not to return. Erin said there was an obviously MALE cat hanging around and I'm hoping Molly hasn't decided it's time to start a family. I couldn't give her any medicine this morning because she didn't come home. I'm supposed to take her to the vet tomorrow to recheck her eye and schedule her surgery...so we don't have to worry about kittens. Kittens would be awesome, but I don't want any more cats and I fear we'll have trouble finding homes for kittens. There are always kitten ads in the paper.

I'm taking the afternoon off today. A breath of FREEDOM. I can't wait to get outside and see what happiness feels like, and it's a perfect day today for it.

Molly

I suppose we are officially owning Molly now. After two months, there's still been no lost ads in the paper and since she has totally moved in on us, we'll keep her. I have an appt to take her to the vet this evening. We'll have her checked for worms, get her shots, and have her eye looked at (she either got stung or scratched in the eye - looks gross). I have no picture to post of her, I don't think anybody has taken a picture of her. She's getting better looking as she gets older - the rest of her fur has grown long to match her fluffy tail.

As for Jack, he has disowned us since Molly moved in. He only comes home now if we call him. He'll come in for a few hugs and a bite to eat, then he's yowling at the door, wanting to leave again.

Next up on my to-do list, call an exterminator. The ants are back. I HATE ANTS. Maybe I should start raising ant-eaters...they're similar to cats.

paradise in Carter County

The weather this weekend was divine. We took Erin to a karate tournament in Olive Hill and then drove over to Carter Caves for a picnic and a walk. Some pics of that adventure, first of all, I snapped off one while I was laying on a grassy bank while the kids played in the creek:

The girls played in the creek and climbed rocks. We found a little waterfall which was pleasant. We walked through a big cave which the creek flows through. We found a log fallen across the creek and the girls took turns trying to walk across. It's up pretty high on one end..nobody was brave enough to go all the way across.

I found a use for my ceramic baboon head Sarah crafted for me. Here's a picture of him listening to my iPod (you can tell he likes the music I chose for him). He has a dual purpose in life - he can hold my cooking tools and he's a paper weight of sorts - holding mail against the wall.

I called about another farm in Lawrence County. This one sounds alike a dream but it's got buildings (barn and shed) and double wide 4 bedroom 3 bath trailer. It's more expensive than our house, so I can't afford it. It has 45 acres of bottom land (cleared) and about 25 acres of woods. I could have a massive pumpkin patch and orchard there, but it's about $150,000 over the price limit. Sigh.

happy music

My iPod is making me happy today. I love music, what would life be without it? I can be sitting in total silence and still hear music in my head (it's pretty hollow in there...acoustics are really good). Someday, my sarah will write and record some music so beautiful it will change the world. I think she will...some day.

Decisions

My sarah will be singing at the Fiddler's Convention in Morehead and the girls and I will be leaving Myrtle Beach early so we can be there and see her. I can't wait! To describe in terms Emily would understand, she will be wickedly awesome!

I suppose I should start looking at airfare to Vegas for the UFAF convention this summer. Also, need to pencil in a weekend to visit Dad at the lake. We didn't go last summer, there weren't enough weekends. We also need at least one weekend for camping.

I downloaded some more iTunes stuff last night (and yes, did a backup...I have learned). I could blow a whole paycheck out there, I think. I've ripped every thing I like that I already own (that isn't seasonal). Our next PC will have a DVD burner...it takes 3 CD's to back up our iTunes music. I feel like a disc monkey.

Back to the Grind

Spring break is over for the girls and everything is back in full swing. We saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last night and that was delightful - lots of color, visual effects, dancing, and comedy. We all enjoyed it. Emily wanted a tee shirt but they were $30 each. Too expensive, I will look and see if there are any on eBay.

I've set a goal to run the 5K Summer Motion race this summer. I can run 2.5 miles on a treadmill now, so I have 3 more months to get ready which should be plenty of time. It's a lot harder to run outside than to run on a treadmill though. I will get there, it's just going to take some work.

My iPod is back, and I will run a backup of our library and playlists tonight. Emily spent her iTunes gift card (compliments of Easter Bunny) Sunday night. I have a stack of not so great CD's to look through and see if there's anything worth ripping. I have used a little more than a gig of my free space so far. Podicus Maximus is becoming my best friend.

ipod is on the mend

My poor iPod is getting better. SOME LITTLE GIRL deleted a bunch of my music and when we sync'd up, we lost a lot. I have recovered about 80% of it by now and hopefully be tonight the iPod will be happy again.

I saw the property I had hoped would be my dream place. It's close, but not the place I want to dive into debt for. The log portion of the house is indeed awesome. The rest of the house needs lots of work. I love the location, it's back in a hollow, you pass lots of horses and cattle to get to it. The down side, there is another house 50 feet away, owned by the house owner's uncle. Even though he is rarely home (he travels a lot), if he were to sell the property and people were to live there, it would be a bummer. Also, you have to cross the uncle's property to get to the lake. No access to the lake from this property. Also, the property is very rocky and steep. The hills are of course beautiful, but it would be a very difficult hike to enjoy 95% of the land I'd be buying. I will keep looking.

I must now put eggs on to boil. We are going to color eggs for Easter.

Raped

My iPod is sad. Some LITTLE GIRL got bored on her spring break and deleted 90% of his happy music from the iTunes library and then I sync'd him before I realized the library had been purged of most everything I had ripped and downloaded. I lost about $15 in music that I hadn't backed up. I learned a valuable lesson the hard way. I will have to re-rip all those CD's this weekend in all my free time and I'll probably download a few of those songs again. I miss my happy iPod.

dreaming....

I called about the Grayson Lake property last night and it sounds perfect, other than the price. I'm driving out on Friday for a look. There are about 4 acres that are cleared, 34 acres that are wooded. There is an old log/stone house, very small, but people are living in it now. It connects to the state property which surrounds the lake. We can access the lake but we cross the state's property to do so. I'm already dreaming of a pumpkin patch, chestnut trees, a grape arbor, and an orchard.

My cherry tree is blooming and I admired a patch of lovely violets today. Then I saw this magnificent speciman that I totally forgot about planting a few years ago. It's one of my favorite plants (bleeding heart, if you don't already know).

severe spring fever

I came back to the office after running some errands (children) and decided I just had to get out and get a healthy dose of spring in my lungs. Oh my gosh! I could have stayed out all afternoon, I wanted to strip my clothes off and roll in the grass and dandelions. The highlight of my walk was the hawk. I could hear him somewhere in the tree tops but I couldn't see him. Then, finally, he screeched over my head and there he was, way up high. Soaring on the wind, I never saw him flap his wings once, even though I watched him for several minutes. He must get plenty of loft with those big wings. I have never seen any bird so fine as that one. I do hope he can survive with so little fee land left around here.

Which reminds me, I need to call about that acreage at Grayson. I don't really want to go into debt like that but that's the only way I can acquire my dream. I'm also sure that 35 acreas is not enough to get out where I can't hear cars and sirens, but that depends on what's around the area, where-ever that property is.

My Sarah is singing tonight and I know she will be awesome. I wish I could hear her, but she knows I will be thinking about her. I hope she feels better soon, I'm so sorry she is sick.

ZZZZZZZZZ

I am sleepy today. I stayed up late ripping songs for my beloved iPod. I love it, all my favorite music moved off the CD's and all packed together in one little device. I've got 90+ songs on it now, and I haven't even bought anything new yet...but I have been making a list of stuff to acquire one of these days. Sure wish I could find my Nitty Gritty CD's....little girls........ok, I won't go there again. Anyway, it wasn't the little girls this time...Sarah.

Erin wants to go to the mall tonight to look for denim capri pants. She wants to wear them to school Friday for some stupid gym class thing - kids were grouped for a dance assignment and Erin's group dances Friday. Do we really need a "costume" for a 60 second dance? Oh well, she thinks she's too fat to wear shorts this summer so she'll be wearing them a lot anyway, I imagine.

The girls want to go camping next week. We'll have to see what the weather looks like and if I can take any time off work. I love camping, but I don't like to be cold and I don't like camping in the rain.

opportunity knocking?

There is an ad for 38 acres on Grayson Lake, with a small house. I haven't seen it but I want it. Should I take the ultimate plunge into debt and just buy it...knowing I'm still paying on my car for the next 3 years, and the house for the next 12 years?? Can I really afford a $80,000 vacation place? If I buy it, I can't ever retire, I'll be working until I'm 107.

I feel spring

It must be spring at last. The sun is shining, birds are singing, daffodils are blooming, bushes are leafing out....I love it! I spent nearly the entire day outside yesterday, it was a perfect day.

I played tennis and hit a bucket of golf balls. My golf game has really suffered from neglect the last 10 years, I might never get it back.

I went shopping with Sarah Friday and that was FUN. I hope she had fun with me, even though I'm old and so uncool. She told me she doesn't like my black jeans. I used to have green jeans, but they wore out. I will need to buy some new green jeans one of these days.

I have nothing to blog about. My life is as exciting as a bag of unbleached flour. Maybe Martha White gets excited when she hears about unbleached flour, but me...well...one of these days I'm going to break free from the chains. It's hard to break free when you have a job, bills to pay, kids to take care of, etc. I love my kids though, I'll keep the chains until they are done with me.

My blog

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