that kids who grow up in the same family with the same parents end up so different? It's got to be something in our genes. Or maybe it's just the friends/times for us are different enough, even if we're only a year or two apart? We remember different things, and common memories in different ways...It's as if we had different childhoods sometimes!
I just wonder at my brother, sister and myself. We are very different. My sister is very much a Generation X California Yuppie. (Love you, sis, and that's not an insult.) My brother is a down-home, laid-back, family man type - dare I say a bit of a redneck? (Love you too bro, and that's not meant as an insult either!) As for me? I'm not quite sure. I used to say I'm a redneck yuppie wannabe. Mooner, my little's stepdad, calls me an "educated redneck." [g]
How did I get off track like that? I was originally meaning to talk about the differences in our reading habits!
I love to read. Live for it sometimes. I prefer romances and some sci-fi fantasy. Mixed with biographies of famous and not-so-famous people (mostly women, I'm fascinated by women in history), history, political history, religion in history, regligious studies, economics...
My sister has always loved to read. She reads less now, but that's a side-effect of having a child, I think. Especially one as precocious as my niece. She mostly reads fiction. But growing up, oh, the books we read! We actually had a system at night, of different knocks on the wall between our rooms. Meet in the hall, going to bed, finished my book...Our secret code...
And our brother, who was never very into reading. Oh, he had his moments. But this photograph we have of the three of us as little kids says it all. The three of us are sitting on our front porch swing in Oklahoma. M's about 6, I'm about 4, B's about 3? Something like that. M & I are sitting there so prettily in our dresses and ponytails. B is lunging off the porch swing toward the camera. [g] Always in motion my brother. ;) Too restless to sit still I think.
But there was that summer we spent in Spain with our maternal relatives where he read. Out of desperation, boredom, not sure which. And there was the time he tried to smuggle a book into church and dropped it in the parking lot.
Ruined a good thing for M & I. LOL. Mom used to let us sit up in the balcony at church as long as we behaved. So I'd sneak my book in in my purse - ah, the days of big purses! - and stick it in the bible. Did all the stand-up, sit-down, kneeling stuff while reading. Everyone thought I was reading the bible during Mass. Ah, such a devoted girl! We had to sit downstairs with Mom & Dad after that. :( I'm not sure which was worse. Getting busted for reading during Mass, or having the priest ask what my sister and I were signing to each other during the service. Man, he had eyes like a hawk! Mom hadn't even seen that!
Anyway. My brothers kids like to read, but aren't as fanatical from the little I know (I don't see them often enough!) as my sister and I were/are. My sister's little girl likes to read. But she's so young now, it's hard to tell if it'll stick.
My little sister loves to read. The older she gets, the more she wants to read. It's fascinating to watch. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing myself at that age discovering books; the possibilities are boundless, worlds to discover and explore...
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Books, Books, Books, and Books
Can you guess what I want to talk about today? [g] I promised a post on books last week and just didn't get there.
Saturday I went to the library with my little sis and her sister KT. We spent almost 2 hours there. I'm not sure who was more reluctant to leave. And we all came away with a handful of books. Plus we'd gone to the library the weekend before...We also take lists from their mom with us. [She's started calling me her personal librarian.]
She's gone through my TBR & storage piles to the point I don't have anything else for her to read. I got her hooked on Elizabeth Vaughan's trilogy - Warprize, Warsworn, Warlord. She'd call me every morning to "gripe" at me that she stayed up late reading them. She couldn't put them down. Mooner, her husband, picked the first one up the other day making comments about "romance novels" but actually stayed up late to read the first one. Which is - literally - a first for him! Or so he says. Next we'll get him reading Suzanne Brockmann's books.
So here's what I've been reading lately:
Never Lie to a Lady by Liz Carlyle
*****Fabulous. Loved it. Stayed up late to finish it. On a week night. Want more. And whaddaya know, the next book in the trilogy is apparently already out! Yippee!!! 2 Carlyle's in one week. How'd I get so lucky?
Web of Love by Mary Balogh
****It's a Balogh. Must I say more? Good read, follows Gilded Web. Not my favorite Balogh, but enjoyable.
The Fated Sky: Astrology in History by Benson Bobrick
*Would have been great if the author would have stopped trying to use every big word he knew in every sentence. For pete's sake!!!! Returned to library unread.
Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
*I could not get into this one. It was a BB recommended read, and I'm surprised I don't like it. Maybe it's my dislike of books that pull characters from other books the author didn't write. This one pulls in the characters from the book the Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. I don't like that. Too jarring for me for some reason. I also didn't like the writing style. Irritated/aggravated me somehow. I know it's her first book, and there you have it. :) Felt to me like a first time author attempting to write in the style of one of the literary greats. I'm just too picky. So I put it down (spent several hours trying to get into it yesterday afternoon.) It seemed a poor attempt at copying "Shanna" by Kathleen Woodiweiss. But not really. It wasn't similar at all. Bizarre, but I couldn't get that thought/book out of my head. Or my favorite The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Anyway. This book is now in the "return to library" pile.
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
TBD - just started last night. So far so good, but I'm only 5 pages into it.
Multiple papers on Legal & Illegal Immigration in the U.S.
***because it powered up my brain and I'm just freaky weird in that I enjoy this stuff. ;)
Sooooo. My TBR pile is small, mainly because the mood I'm in lately nothing really sounds good. And then when I read stuff by good authors, like Carlyle and Balogh...well, nothing else works afterward. [g] Good thing Suz is having another book out on August 15th. But what I'll do after that is the question. I'm probably good until the 17th. Then I'm in trouble...
Saturday I went to the library with my little sis and her sister KT. We spent almost 2 hours there. I'm not sure who was more reluctant to leave. And we all came away with a handful of books. Plus we'd gone to the library the weekend before...We also take lists from their mom with us. [She's started calling me her personal librarian.]
She's gone through my TBR & storage piles to the point I don't have anything else for her to read. I got her hooked on Elizabeth Vaughan's trilogy - Warprize, Warsworn, Warlord. She'd call me every morning to "gripe" at me that she stayed up late reading them. She couldn't put them down. Mooner, her husband, picked the first one up the other day making comments about "romance novels" but actually stayed up late to read the first one. Which is - literally - a first for him! Or so he says. Next we'll get him reading Suzanne Brockmann's books.
So here's what I've been reading lately:
Never Lie to a Lady by Liz Carlyle
*****Fabulous. Loved it. Stayed up late to finish it. On a week night. Want more. And whaddaya know, the next book in the trilogy is apparently already out! Yippee!!! 2 Carlyle's in one week. How'd I get so lucky?
Web of Love by Mary Balogh
****It's a Balogh. Must I say more? Good read, follows Gilded Web. Not my favorite Balogh, but enjoyable.
The Fated Sky: Astrology in History by Benson Bobrick
*Would have been great if the author would have stopped trying to use every big word he knew in every sentence. For pete's sake!!!! Returned to library unread.
Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
*I could not get into this one. It was a BB recommended read, and I'm surprised I don't like it. Maybe it's my dislike of books that pull characters from other books the author didn't write. This one pulls in the characters from the book the Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. I don't like that. Too jarring for me for some reason. I also didn't like the writing style. Irritated/aggravated me somehow. I know it's her first book, and there you have it. :) Felt to me like a first time author attempting to write in the style of one of the literary greats. I'm just too picky. So I put it down (spent several hours trying to get into it yesterday afternoon.) It seemed a poor attempt at copying "Shanna" by Kathleen Woodiweiss. But not really. It wasn't similar at all. Bizarre, but I couldn't get that thought/book out of my head. Or my favorite The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Anyway. This book is now in the "return to library" pile.
The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
TBD - just started last night. So far so good, but I'm only 5 pages into it.
Multiple papers on Legal & Illegal Immigration in the U.S.
***because it powered up my brain and I'm just freaky weird in that I enjoy this stuff. ;)
Sooooo. My TBR pile is small, mainly because the mood I'm in lately nothing really sounds good. And then when I read stuff by good authors, like Carlyle and Balogh...well, nothing else works afterward. [g] Good thing Suz is having another book out on August 15th. But what I'll do after that is the question. I'm probably good until the 17th. Then I'm in trouble...
Too Smart for My Own Good
Well, that's me in a nutshell. See, I really didn't want to go home this Christmas. Not because I didn't want to go home, but because I really don't want to travel. Especially at Christmas. Combine stress over winter weather and then the record number of flight cancellations going on, it just seemed like it would be no fun at all. And then there's Scully. I'm really too paranoid to leave her for more than a few days anymore. Every day when I go home, there's a little part of me that freezes for a few seconds, as if holding it's breath, until she comes padding out of the living room or bedroom to greet me...it's like I expect to come home and find her dead. [Sigh]
So, during a casual conversation with my little sister (one I'd forgotten, ackkk) I apparently told her I'd think about taking her to Florida to visit her "grandparents" next summer. Well, she took that to mean we're probably going to go, as in 99% sure. And you know, that would be cool. A road trip, stopping to see some sights along the way. I could bring the dog with, so no worries there.
So I mentioned that to mom and she seemed thrilled. And we could time the trip with my brother and SIL's annual trip home, so I could see them and the nieces and nephew. So when I went to pick up my little sister Saturday, I mentioned it to her Mom. Who apparently knew all about it already. [g] So I said it would be around 2 weeks, if my little could stand to be away from her mom that long. And her mom could stand to be away from her...She (the mom) got this funny look on her face, and said, "oh, I didn't think it would be that long." [Heh, like we're gonna drive to FL, visit and return in one week!] KT, the older sister and quite the level-headed teen for a 16 year old, is standing there with this totally pleading look on her face saying "wow, Florida, that would be fun..." So my little sister pipes up to KT at the exact same time I pipe up to her mom with "You can come with us..."
Uh-huh. Next time, keep your mouth shut. LOL. They jumped on the idea, but I thought it was one of those casual conversations, you know, pie-in-the-sky dreams. Well, that evening I got a call from my little's mom. Wanting to know if New Orleans is on the way to Florida, and if we can stop there to see a haunted plantation or something, and why don't I look that up online and start planning the trip for next June?
It's going to be a blast, it really is. (Assuming we actually make it to Florida.) Now I just need to tell Mom & Dad. Isn't it funny how, for a single and childless person, I'm coming home for the summer with as much family in tow as my brother and sister with their families? It's kinda my equivalent of "child and in-laws". Too funny.
So, during a casual conversation with my little sister (one I'd forgotten, ackkk) I apparently told her I'd think about taking her to Florida to visit her "grandparents" next summer. Well, she took that to mean we're probably going to go, as in 99% sure. And you know, that would be cool. A road trip, stopping to see some sights along the way. I could bring the dog with, so no worries there.
So I mentioned that to mom and she seemed thrilled. And we could time the trip with my brother and SIL's annual trip home, so I could see them and the nieces and nephew. So when I went to pick up my little sister Saturday, I mentioned it to her Mom. Who apparently knew all about it already. [g] So I said it would be around 2 weeks, if my little could stand to be away from her mom that long. And her mom could stand to be away from her...She (the mom) got this funny look on her face, and said, "oh, I didn't think it would be that long." [Heh, like we're gonna drive to FL, visit and return in one week!] KT, the older sister and quite the level-headed teen for a 16 year old, is standing there with this totally pleading look on her face saying "wow, Florida, that would be fun..." So my little sister pipes up to KT at the exact same time I pipe up to her mom with "You can come with us..."
Uh-huh. Next time, keep your mouth shut. LOL. They jumped on the idea, but I thought it was one of those casual conversations, you know, pie-in-the-sky dreams. Well, that evening I got a call from my little's mom. Wanting to know if New Orleans is on the way to Florida, and if we can stop there to see a haunted plantation or something, and why don't I look that up online and start planning the trip for next June?
It's going to be a blast, it really is. (Assuming we actually make it to Florida.) Now I just need to tell Mom & Dad. Isn't it funny how, for a single and childless person, I'm coming home for the summer with as much family in tow as my brother and sister with their families? It's kinda my equivalent of "child and in-laws". Too funny.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Me
So I've rediscovered some stuff about myself lately that I hadn't even realized I'd forgotten! The debate on the BB about immigration, and my subsequent wading in and researching has made me realize how much I've missed discussing politics and economics and international affairs.
I mean, there was a reason that's what I majored in, and why I got my B.A. in Economics & International Relations in the first place.
Especially the economics stuff. I'd forgotten how much I really, really like this stuff. :) It's like my brain has woken up again.
Anyway. A few things in the news have gotten me going, and I'm just gonna post a bit here before going on to BOOKS.
1) Obesity is Contagious. Heard it on the news this morning. Uh-huh. Apparently, according to a new study,
2) Housing Market "Slump". Now it's not just subprime mortgages defaulting. Another "well, duh."
When I took the first time homebuyer's class out here in the beginning of 2006, they brought in a bunch of banks/mortgage companies to meet with us individually. I met with 3 of them. One of them was Countrywide. All three of them looked over my credit report and credit score (I'd already obtained them, it was part of the class to get them for the bank meetings). I have excellent credit (yeah, I'm boasting. It was hard work to get that credit score) the highest my banker said she's ever seen. Anyway. ALL of them said I qualified for $120,000 to buy a home. Countrywide was even willing to loan me up to $140,000 for a mortgage. WTF?
See, I'd already done my homework. There was - still is - absolutely no way for me to afford that. Not and buy groceries, put gas in the car, pay the utilities, keep a little set aside for house repairs/emergencies. Not to mention cable and phone and internet. And entertainment (for me, that's my book budget.) Or clothes. What the hell do these people think? That people will live without these things? Hardly. Life isn't worth living otherwise! (Or possible if you have no food!)They absolutely did not take into account any of that. Crazy.
Most I could afford is $80,000. That's $40,000-$60,000 less than what they were willing to give me. That's a big difference when it comes to mortgage payments. So I am not surprised that people are defaulting, even those with good credit. Not with the way gas prices and other prices are rising...seriously.
We live too much on the premise that "bigger is better." And appearances mean everything. Must have the biggest and best of everything. I shake my head as I watch the HGTV shows "Househunters" or "Designed to Sell". A lot of the time these families are saying "We have to get a bigger space because we've run out of room." And as the cameras pan through their homes, I almost inevitably think, "Geez, get rid of some of that stuff and you'll have tons of room!"
Most people I know are appalled at my little house. It's tiny and old and needs work. But it's just me. What do I need with several thousand square feet and four bedrooms and three baths? I don't even use the upstairs space - that's about 600sq feet used on storage. Oh, I have dreams of a craft room and guest room. But all my time is spent in the living room and kitchen.
All those people who are appalled at my little house, are struggling now. But I've absorbed the increased gas prices and other prices (including property tax increases) into my budget. Oh, don't get me wrong, money is tight, but not that tight. I was able to pay Scully's vet bill of $125 in cash this month. Bought that new storm door with pet door in it and paid it off in 2 months. So. Anyway. I just want to know: what the heck happened to personal responsibility? Everyone let the apparent "richness" of the housing market go to their heads. Short term thinking. Hel-lo-o-o. What goes UP must eventually go DOWN.
It's a hard lesson to learn, and I probably sound harsh and full of myself. But hey. It's not like this is new. It's basic personal finance.
And now I've rambled enough...and used up so much space on these two items I'm going to postpone my book post until later. :)
I mean, there was a reason that's what I majored in, and why I got my B.A. in Economics & International Relations in the first place.
Especially the economics stuff. I'd forgotten how much I really, really like this stuff. :) It's like my brain has woken up again.
Anyway. A few things in the news have gotten me going, and I'm just gonna post a bit here before going on to BOOKS.
1) Obesity is Contagious. Heard it on the news this morning. Uh-huh. Apparently, according to a new study,
Our ideas about what's a normal amount of food or exercise, and what counts as a normal body size, all seem to be influenced by the people to whom we're connected. And researchers believe these "norms" ultimately shape our weight.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12237644 Well, duh. Coulda told you that.
2) Housing Market "Slump". Now it's not just subprime mortgages defaulting. Another "well, duh."
When I took the first time homebuyer's class out here in the beginning of 2006, they brought in a bunch of banks/mortgage companies to meet with us individually. I met with 3 of them. One of them was Countrywide. All three of them looked over my credit report and credit score (I'd already obtained them, it was part of the class to get them for the bank meetings). I have excellent credit (yeah, I'm boasting. It was hard work to get that credit score) the highest my banker said she's ever seen. Anyway. ALL of them said I qualified for $120,000 to buy a home. Countrywide was even willing to loan me up to $140,000 for a mortgage. WTF?
See, I'd already done my homework. There was - still is - absolutely no way for me to afford that. Not and buy groceries, put gas in the car, pay the utilities, keep a little set aside for house repairs/emergencies. Not to mention cable and phone and internet. And entertainment (for me, that's my book budget.) Or clothes. What the hell do these people think? That people will live without these things? Hardly. Life isn't worth living otherwise! (Or possible if you have no food!)They absolutely did not take into account any of that. Crazy.
Most I could afford is $80,000. That's $40,000-$60,000 less than what they were willing to give me. That's a big difference when it comes to mortgage payments. So I am not surprised that people are defaulting, even those with good credit. Not with the way gas prices and other prices are rising...seriously.
We live too much on the premise that "bigger is better." And appearances mean everything. Must have the biggest and best of everything. I shake my head as I watch the HGTV shows "Househunters" or "Designed to Sell". A lot of the time these families are saying "We have to get a bigger space because we've run out of room." And as the cameras pan through their homes, I almost inevitably think, "Geez, get rid of some of that stuff and you'll have tons of room!"
Most people I know are appalled at my little house. It's tiny and old and needs work. But it's just me. What do I need with several thousand square feet and four bedrooms and three baths? I don't even use the upstairs space - that's about 600sq feet used on storage. Oh, I have dreams of a craft room and guest room. But all my time is spent in the living room and kitchen.
All those people who are appalled at my little house, are struggling now. But I've absorbed the increased gas prices and other prices (including property tax increases) into my budget. Oh, don't get me wrong, money is tight, but not that tight. I was able to pay Scully's vet bill of $125 in cash this month. Bought that new storm door with pet door in it and paid it off in 2 months. So. Anyway. I just want to know: what the heck happened to personal responsibility? Everyone let the apparent "richness" of the housing market go to their heads. Short term thinking. Hel-lo-o-o. What goes UP must eventually go DOWN.
It's a hard lesson to learn, and I probably sound harsh and full of myself. But hey. It's not like this is new. It's basic personal finance.
And now I've rambled enough...and used up so much space on these two items I'm going to postpone my book post until later. :)
Monday, July 23, 2007
It's Definitely Summer, and I got a new Toy!!!
It's unbelievably hot, supposed to be in the 100's again today. It seems sinced I moved here 6 years ago the summers get hotter, earlier. Fire season is upon us several weeks early. The valley is filled with smoke, has been since mid-week last week. They say it's not actually from any of the MT fires, but from the ones in Idaho. Much worse there than here.
But they've closed a good portion of the Bob Marshall, and quite a few other popular camping/hiking areas. Most places seem to only be under Fire Restriction 1, which means you can have a camp fire in an established campground & fire ring. There are 2 fires just north of me, the Meriweather fire and the Little Wolf Creek fire. Neither poses a danger to my town, but they are just a short drive away, and plenty of people live up in there along the Little Wolf Creek. Seems like just about everyone I know is cancelling camping trips and planning for the Lake instead. I have a feeling it's going to get ugly out there this weekend. I'll stay away, thank you very much.
I'm just so glad I have my portable A/C. It vents out the bedroom window, and now that I have the doorway from the living room to the kitchen blocked off with heavy curtains, it actually keeps the living room bearable. It's running on high constantly, which is going to kill my electric bill, I'm sure, but at least neither Scully nor I are having problems from the heat. No need for long drives in the car with the air running, or coming in to work with her on the weekends just for the A/C!!! [Did that my 2nd summer here.]
Anyway. I had an uneventful weekend. Harry Potter arrived, and my little sis was thrilled. :) Even if I did insist on reading the end. Hey, it's not like I'm actually reading the series, I'm just curious. Or was. But not going to say what I think of the ending here, not for awhile. Don't want to spoil it for others!
Went swimming in their (little's family) new pool on Saturday. That was actually nice, until I had to head inside because the smoke was irritating my allergies. Sigh. It's one of those above-ground inflatables, and at 5'2 it comes to just above my waist when standing. Kneeling, it comes up to chin. Quite nice! Then we headed out for lunch and I got a new toy. A new cell phone. LOL. I finally decided to actually get a decent one this time. Usually I opt for the cheapest phone with the shortest contract...but I was getting so tired of the battery needing to be charged after just one 20 minute phone call, so I did a little research.
I ended up with the Samsung SCH-U740. I confess, I fell for the gadgetry-ness of it. :) What can I say. I love the fact that it's a flip phone, and also has a qwerty keyboard when you flip it open sideways. It has the notepad feature, something my old phone didn't have, so I can now make lists again. :) I already started at the bookstore this weekend. My little sister and her older sister were really wanting me to get this one. It was between this one and the Motorola maxx something or other. With my $100 "customer loyalty credit" (ie, no longer on contract, sign another one enticement) plus a $50 mail-in rebate, I got this one for $29.99. Not a bad deal all around. It has a camera, and camcorder feature. Plays music and all that other fun stuff. But I got it just for the phone part and the qwerty keyboard to make those lists when I see stuff in the store. I already have a list started for my little and her sister. Birthdays and christmas are coming, doncha know.
So of course I was dying to play with the new phone yesterday once I had it all charged, and wouldn't you know it, no one was home!!! I finally got to use it in the evening for a little bit.
I'm trying to decide on the ringtone I want to download; I used to have the Empire Theme from Star Wars, but it's not available. Bummer. I always knew with that that it was my phone ringing, and never blocked it out...I'll have to come up with something else....
But they've closed a good portion of the Bob Marshall, and quite a few other popular camping/hiking areas. Most places seem to only be under Fire Restriction 1, which means you can have a camp fire in an established campground & fire ring. There are 2 fires just north of me, the Meriweather fire and the Little Wolf Creek fire. Neither poses a danger to my town, but they are just a short drive away, and plenty of people live up in there along the Little Wolf Creek. Seems like just about everyone I know is cancelling camping trips and planning for the Lake instead. I have a feeling it's going to get ugly out there this weekend. I'll stay away, thank you very much.
I'm just so glad I have my portable A/C. It vents out the bedroom window, and now that I have the doorway from the living room to the kitchen blocked off with heavy curtains, it actually keeps the living room bearable. It's running on high constantly, which is going to kill my electric bill, I'm sure, but at least neither Scully nor I are having problems from the heat. No need for long drives in the car with the air running, or coming in to work with her on the weekends just for the A/C!!! [Did that my 2nd summer here.]
Anyway. I had an uneventful weekend. Harry Potter arrived, and my little sis was thrilled. :) Even if I did insist on reading the end. Hey, it's not like I'm actually reading the series, I'm just curious. Or was. But not going to say what I think of the ending here, not for awhile. Don't want to spoil it for others!
Went swimming in their (little's family) new pool on Saturday. That was actually nice, until I had to head inside because the smoke was irritating my allergies. Sigh. It's one of those above-ground inflatables, and at 5'2 it comes to just above my waist when standing. Kneeling, it comes up to chin. Quite nice! Then we headed out for lunch and I got a new toy. A new cell phone. LOL. I finally decided to actually get a decent one this time. Usually I opt for the cheapest phone with the shortest contract...but I was getting so tired of the battery needing to be charged after just one 20 minute phone call, so I did a little research.
I ended up with the Samsung SCH-U740. I confess, I fell for the gadgetry-ness of it. :) What can I say. I love the fact that it's a flip phone, and also has a qwerty keyboard when you flip it open sideways. It has the notepad feature, something my old phone didn't have, so I can now make lists again. :) I already started at the bookstore this weekend. My little sister and her older sister were really wanting me to get this one. It was between this one and the Motorola maxx something or other. With my $100 "customer loyalty credit" (ie, no longer on contract, sign another one enticement) plus a $50 mail-in rebate, I got this one for $29.99. Not a bad deal all around. It has a camera, and camcorder feature. Plays music and all that other fun stuff. But I got it just for the phone part and the qwerty keyboard to make those lists when I see stuff in the store. I already have a list started for my little and her sister. Birthdays and christmas are coming, doncha know.
So of course I was dying to play with the new phone yesterday once I had it all charged, and wouldn't you know it, no one was home!!! I finally got to use it in the evening for a little bit.
I'm trying to decide on the ringtone I want to download; I used to have the Empire Theme from Star Wars, but it's not available. Bummer. I always knew with that that it was my phone ringing, and never blocked it out...I'll have to come up with something else....
Thursday, July 19, 2007
A Trip to the Old West
So, I'm back from the convention, and lucid. Managed to drag myself away from the BB where I've been engaging in a debate over immigration. Yeah, I know, but I couldn't help myself! Anyway.
The opening night of the convention we held our Company Appreciation Night on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. Company appreciation night is to show our appreciation (duh) for the companies our members do business with, and who sponsor many of the events at our convention. It gives the company reps face time with our agents, and is usually a fun evening.
This year since the convention was in Lewistown, we had dinner on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. It's about 3 hours on a train (thankfully air conditioned!) that leaves - literally - from the middle of nowhere about 8 miles outside of Lewistown.
We bussed everyone there from the hotel. That was fun. Have you any idea how hard it is to get people on buses? Seriously. I have no idea how many times I had to holler "I need FOUR MORE PEOPLE ON THIS BUS." Finally I just started grabbing people and shoving them on. :) I got quite a few comments of "You're as bad as Roger." To which I always replied "Well, I was trained by the master! Do you want to make the train or not???"
It really was a lot of fun. Dinner was fabulous, excellent prime rib and baked potato, beautiful scenery! We didn't see too much wildlife, some bald eagles and antelope and deer. That's about it. But it was a fun and relaxing evening.
Even when the young agents took over the bar car. Ooops. And one of my coworkers had to make a mad dash through the cars to the engine in order to take the microphone away from one of the more, uh, overzealous young agents that had too much to drink and started to do a one-man radio show...Yikes.
Halfway back to Lewistown, we heard all these loud noises coming from outside the train. Everyone jumped and exclaimed, especially when we looked out the window and saw we were being robbed!
They stopped the train, got on, and "robbed" us. The train provides fake $7 dollar bills. There were even old-west "ladies of the evening" that got on the train and kissed the gentlemen before robbing them. :)
The opening night of the convention we held our Company Appreciation Night on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. Company appreciation night is to show our appreciation (duh) for the companies our members do business with, and who sponsor many of the events at our convention. It gives the company reps face time with our agents, and is usually a fun evening.
This year since the convention was in Lewistown, we had dinner on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. It's about 3 hours on a train (thankfully air conditioned!) that leaves - literally - from the middle of nowhere about 8 miles outside of Lewistown.
We bussed everyone there from the hotel. That was fun. Have you any idea how hard it is to get people on buses? Seriously. I have no idea how many times I had to holler "I need FOUR MORE PEOPLE ON THIS BUS." Finally I just started grabbing people and shoving them on. :) I got quite a few comments of "You're as bad as Roger." To which I always replied "Well, I was trained by the master! Do you want to make the train or not???"
It really was a lot of fun. Dinner was fabulous, excellent prime rib and baked potato, beautiful scenery! We didn't see too much wildlife, some bald eagles and antelope and deer. That's about it. But it was a fun and relaxing evening.
Even when the young agents took over the bar car. Ooops. And one of my coworkers had to make a mad dash through the cars to the engine in order to take the microphone away from one of the more, uh, overzealous young agents that had too much to drink and started to do a one-man radio show...Yikes.
Halfway back to Lewistown, we heard all these loud noises coming from outside the train. Everyone jumped and exclaimed, especially when we looked out the window and saw we were being robbed!
They stopped the train, got on, and "robbed" us. The train provides fake $7 dollar bills. There were even old-west "ladies of the evening" that got on the train and kissed the gentlemen before robbing them. :)
It was hilarious. Once they finished with us, they got off the train and proceeded to fight over the money. The women won, naturally!
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Speed of Light
I can't believe I actually have a moment to catch my breath and get online! I'm currently out of the office running our annual convention. Obviously, my boss was unable to attend and do this as usual. He is actually doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.
The last 2 weeks have been insanely busy. But we're here, the convention is here and the first general session is under way. All afternoon needs have been taken care of, and I am manning the registration table. Thank goodness for wireless internet. :) Even in the backwoods of MT we have free wireless internet in the hotel.
So. Not much else to say. The morning inner tube float went well. Law class is under way. Only thing I need right now is the two speakers for the 3pm program. I just realized that starts in one hour and ten minutes. Yikes. Okay, breathe, don't panic. If I can handle one of our key note speakers, the Insurance Commissioner, cancelling on us 2 days before he speaks, I can handle this. At least we got a good program set up to cover his spot.
And tonight should be a blast! We're having our annual Company Appreciation Night on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. And yes, that is spelled correctly. I can't wait. I've got my fancy digital SLR, and both lenses. Gonna be swapping for that zoom lens, I'd guarantee. There is even supposed to be an old fashioned train robbery. Whoo-hoo...
The last 2 weeks have been insanely busy. But we're here, the convention is here and the first general session is under way. All afternoon needs have been taken care of, and I am manning the registration table. Thank goodness for wireless internet. :) Even in the backwoods of MT we have free wireless internet in the hotel.
So. Not much else to say. The morning inner tube float went well. Law class is under way. Only thing I need right now is the two speakers for the 3pm program. I just realized that starts in one hour and ten minutes. Yikes. Okay, breathe, don't panic. If I can handle one of our key note speakers, the Insurance Commissioner, cancelling on us 2 days before he speaks, I can handle this. At least we got a good program set up to cover his spot.
And tonight should be a blast! We're having our annual Company Appreciation Night on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. And yes, that is spelled correctly. I can't wait. I've got my fancy digital SLR, and both lenses. Gonna be swapping for that zoom lens, I'd guarantee. There is even supposed to be an old fashioned train robbery. Whoo-hoo...
Friday, July 6, 2007
Fireworks - the Good Kind.
Well, I had a bit of a pity party below, didn't I? Sheesh. . I'm in a better mood now. Went out back and did some Qigong from memory. Helped me center and settle down a bit.
I think I'm getting a handle on this convention. Despite finding out the bus transportation from the hotel to the Charlie Russell Chew Choo on Friday night, where we reserved the train for the 135 people we're expecting to attend our Company Appreciation Night, was never arranged. Oooops.
So about my party on the 4th. I had an absolute blast, in spite of a few minutes of guilt for feeling happy while R's world has come apart at the seems.
The day started early. Got up around 8am. The dog even let me sleep in! Probably because I kept her up late the night before. [g] Picked up my little sister S and her older sister KT. Originally it was just going to be Shani and I, but their Dad decided Tuesday night that they couldn't come to my party. The 4th is his holiday, etc, etc. Gave their Mom grief to the point that their step dad Mooner was mad. Which is unusual for him. Even though the girls were originally only coming for an hour or so and weren't going to eat and were going to his house for the fireworks. FYI, their Dad's house is walking distance from my house. Everyone who knows me knows that for me, walking distance = really close!
The best part, though, was when she said she was done and I asked her to mop the floors. Now, I always ask and thank them for helping me and on. And they knew before coming over the entire list of things to do and picked the items they wanted to do. Floors were hers. So she shoots back at me "No, I want to watch TV or play. I'm bored." In a very whiny voice. Her 6 yr old voice. Considering she's almost 12, I hate it when she does this. So I just turned, looked at her, and said (quite calmly, I thought) "Fine. Then go clean the dog poop out of the yard. You know where the pooper scooper is." She kinda sputtered "wha...." But went straight to do it. I don't know if it was the look on my face or my tone of voice. But it shut her up in a hurry. LOL. I have an edge over her mother. I can return her to her parents whenever I want. ;)
After getting the house cleaned and the foods ready for the party, we crashed on the couch with our lunch. KT got on the computer immediately, just had to get into her MySpace account. [Yes, we check it, yes it's private, yes she's monitored.] Then S and I went outside to decorate the fence out front with balloons. We called for KT to come help us. When she got outside we ambushed her with water guns. Heeheehee...We were kind; we set 2 filled water pistols on the ground just outside the door for her to grab. Then the melee ensued. It was fun. We dragged my sprinkler out and turned it on.
Of course, all the neighbors were looking at us like we were insane. In my opinion, they're the insane ones. It was HOT. And really. Hardly anyone out here has AC. I know my house doesn't. Except the small portable unit I run in the bedroom when it gets crazy hot. Like yesterday and today; we're over 100*F. Yuck. According to Mom on the phone last night it was 10 degrees cooler where they are in FLORIDA. There's something wrong with that!
Well. Lunch break is over. I made myself take a lunch. Needed a break from work, and if I have to I can come in this weekend to get stuff done. I'll post about the party later. :) Ta-ta.
I think I'm getting a handle on this convention. Despite finding out the bus transportation from the hotel to the Charlie Russell Chew Choo on Friday night, where we reserved the train for the 135 people we're expecting to attend our Company Appreciation Night, was never arranged. Oooops.
So about my party on the 4th. I had an absolute blast, in spite of a few minutes of guilt for feeling happy while R's world has come apart at the seems.
The day started early. Got up around 8am. The dog even let me sleep in! Probably because I kept her up late the night before. [g] Picked up my little sister S and her older sister KT. Originally it was just going to be Shani and I, but their Dad decided Tuesday night that they couldn't come to my party. The 4th is his holiday, etc, etc. Gave their Mom grief to the point that their step dad Mooner was mad. Which is unusual for him. Even though the girls were originally only coming for an hour or so and weren't going to eat and were going to his house for the fireworks. FYI, their Dad's house is walking distance from my house. Everyone who knows me knows that for me, walking distance = really close!
Aside: I'm trying to come up with nicknames for the regulars in my life, in order to preserve their "privacy". I'm calling their step dad Mooner after the character in the Stephanie Plum books, for this one reason: In a transcendental experience, Mooner discovers the meaning of life. Unfortunately, a couple of hours later, all he can remember is that it has something to do with peanut butter. The Mooner in my life is addicted to PB.Anyway. We met at our favorite local Coffee Shack (that's the name), filled up on high test. Why the heck we let S have a double shot is beyond me. Maybe we were thinking it would last long enough to irritate her dad? We hit WalMart on the way back to my house, because of course, in spite of 3 trips the night before in a 2.5 hour period, I still didn't have everything. Sigh. Got to my house and proceeded to clean. And I do mean clean. Both girls were forewarned that we'd be working not playing. KT was a sweetie; she usually is. Pitched right in and everything. My child (Misdmeanor, my little sister's mom, often says "You know she's your child too." Usually when my little is misbehaving or being irritating). So my child jumped in. Only she had 3 tasks done while each of us was on our first. Suspicious, I went into the living room where she'd swept with the regular broom & swiffer, and dusted. Yet half the entertainment center was coated with dust, as well as the entire area below the TV stand. Sigh. So I made her redo that part. She kept saying "But I did it already." To which I replied "When you're asked to do something you can't do a half-assed job. Do it all and do it right the FIRST time." Probably not the best language to use, but I was hot and irritated. Sigh.
The best part, though, was when she said she was done and I asked her to mop the floors. Now, I always ask and thank them for helping me and on. And they knew before coming over the entire list of things to do and picked the items they wanted to do. Floors were hers. So she shoots back at me "No, I want to watch TV or play. I'm bored." In a very whiny voice. Her 6 yr old voice. Considering she's almost 12, I hate it when she does this. So I just turned, looked at her, and said (quite calmly, I thought) "Fine. Then go clean the dog poop out of the yard. You know where the pooper scooper is." She kinda sputtered "wha...." But went straight to do it. I don't know if it was the look on my face or my tone of voice. But it shut her up in a hurry. LOL. I have an edge over her mother. I can return her to her parents whenever I want. ;)
After getting the house cleaned and the foods ready for the party, we crashed on the couch with our lunch. KT got on the computer immediately, just had to get into her MySpace account. [Yes, we check it, yes it's private, yes she's monitored.] Then S and I went outside to decorate the fence out front with balloons. We called for KT to come help us. When she got outside we ambushed her with water guns. Heeheehee...We were kind; we set 2 filled water pistols on the ground just outside the door for her to grab. Then the melee ensued. It was fun. We dragged my sprinkler out and turned it on.
Of course, all the neighbors were looking at us like we were insane. In my opinion, they're the insane ones. It was HOT. And really. Hardly anyone out here has AC. I know my house doesn't. Except the small portable unit I run in the bedroom when it gets crazy hot. Like yesterday and today; we're over 100*F. Yuck. According to Mom on the phone last night it was 10 degrees cooler where they are in FLORIDA. There's something wrong with that!
Well. Lunch break is over. I made myself take a lunch. Needed a break from work, and if I have to I can come in this weekend to get stuff done. I'll post about the party later. :) Ta-ta.
Take a step back folks
'Cause I'm gonna get loud here:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Do I effing care about the non-golf activities for the 2008 convention?
Do I effing care if we've booked a golf course yet for the 2008 convention?
Do I effing care why the local paper only has a 3-line obit for Laura while her hometown paper has a major write up?
Do I effing care that you disabled your wireless in your never-ending tinkering around with the computers when you don't know what the heck you're doing and now you can't get online unless you're physically connected to the network?
Do I effing care that you can't remember your password to logon for the fifth day in a row?
Do I effing care that you can't find work in your department for your part-time data entry people?
Do I effing care that we're out of coffee?
NO.
I DO NOT.
So stop pestering me every flippin' other minute! And don't ask me again if I have anything for your data-entry to do. Nothing changed since the last time you asked me - 10 freakin' minutes ago. I've got a convention starting in one week and I've got a program and roster to get to the printer; program sponsor hasn't sent me their ad for the back cover; entertainment hinted at but no contracts; no idea who is to be paid what, when and where; two hikes to arrange beverages/snacks for and I have NO sponsor that I know of for these events; one of our major prize sponsors hasn't confirmed they're donating this year and I need to go buy the prize; courses filed for continuing education credit but no approvals yet; paperwork yet to prepare for a course that must be filed today or I lose a major in-house program and source of income...
Screw the coffee. Someone get me a long island iced tea.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Do I effing care about the non-golf activities for the 2008 convention?
Do I effing care if we've booked a golf course yet for the 2008 convention?
Do I effing care why the local paper only has a 3-line obit for Laura while her hometown paper has a major write up?
Do I effing care that you disabled your wireless in your never-ending tinkering around with the computers when you don't know what the heck you're doing and now you can't get online unless you're physically connected to the network?
Do I effing care that you can't remember your password to logon for the fifth day in a row?
Do I effing care that you can't find work in your department for your part-time data entry people?
Do I effing care that we're out of coffee?
NO.
I DO NOT.
So stop pestering me every flippin' other minute! And don't ask me again if I have anything for your data-entry to do. Nothing changed since the last time you asked me - 10 freakin' minutes ago. I've got a convention starting in one week and I've got a program and roster to get to the printer; program sponsor hasn't sent me their ad for the back cover; entertainment hinted at but no contracts; no idea who is to be paid what, when and where; two hikes to arrange beverages/snacks for and I have NO sponsor that I know of for these events; one of our major prize sponsors hasn't confirmed they're donating this year and I need to go buy the prize; courses filed for continuing education credit but no approvals yet; paperwork yet to prepare for a course that must be filed today or I lose a major in-house program and source of income...
Screw the coffee. Someone get me a long island iced tea.
Monday, July 2, 2007
I lost my temper
Sigh. To those of you that know me well this comes as no surprise. To those of you just getting to know me through the luxury of distance, you might be a wee bit surprised. All I can say is it has been a rough day.
My boss's wife has been feeling sick for a few weeks. Last Friday, afraid her symptoms were pointing to a heart attack, they went to the ER. Everything was fine with her heart, but they did some blood tests and found she had Acut Lymphocytic Leukemia. She started Chemotherapy on Saturday. Sunday night they moved her to ICU. This afternoon she died.
I cannot begin to express how horrible this is. Oh, I'm glad that if she had to die, she didn't have months of agony fighting the cancer. That's no way to live. But for my boss. Who came through a nasty bitter divorce (after 20 years of marriage) and finally found a way to move past it and trust and love again. Only to have her taken from him after 8 months of marriage. (They'd been together for several years before that.) I'm just glad that they did have the chance to get married and have these past happy months.
But that's not where I lost my temper. Although it helped - a lot - in unleashing my tongue. It was a series of posts on the BB about President Bush pardoning Scooter Libby. I mean, the anger and party line crap that gets poured out of all of us. It just hit all my buttons. Especially the idea that Bush leaving office is going to bring about some kind of miraculous end to everything wrong in this government and country and world. Please. What's wrong has been wrong for generations. And will be wrong for generations to come. It's nothing new. Won't ever be new. Anyway. Here's what I posted:
So there you have it. I'm so disgusted with it all I could just scream. The politicians don't care. And frankly, we don't care either. Not really. Because if we did we'd change it. We'd find a way. My god. We put a man on the moon in the 1960's. Get real. We could change it if we damn well wanted to.
My boss's wife has been feeling sick for a few weeks. Last Friday, afraid her symptoms were pointing to a heart attack, they went to the ER. Everything was fine with her heart, but they did some blood tests and found she had Acut Lymphocytic Leukemia. She started Chemotherapy on Saturday. Sunday night they moved her to ICU. This afternoon she died.
I cannot begin to express how horrible this is. Oh, I'm glad that if she had to die, she didn't have months of agony fighting the cancer. That's no way to live. But for my boss. Who came through a nasty bitter divorce (after 20 years of marriage) and finally found a way to move past it and trust and love again. Only to have her taken from him after 8 months of marriage. (They'd been together for several years before that.) I'm just glad that they did have the chance to get married and have these past happy months.
But that's not where I lost my temper. Although it helped - a lot - in unleashing my tongue. It was a series of posts on the BB about President Bush pardoning Scooter Libby. I mean, the anger and party line crap that gets poured out of all of us. It just hit all my buttons. Especially the idea that Bush leaving office is going to bring about some kind of miraculous end to everything wrong in this government and country and world. Please. What's wrong has been wrong for generations. And will be wrong for generations to come. It's nothing new. Won't ever be new. Anyway. Here's what I posted:
contempt for the rule of law and the public
Pretty much covers every administration out there in my opinion. Past, present, future.
I'm probably going to regret posting this. All I can say is in my grief and anger over the extremely unjust death of my boss's wife, this irritates me. I'm sick to death of stuff like this. Of drawing these lines in the sand by party, and carrying on like one is better than the other. They ALL do stuff like this. It's just whichever one is in power that gets slammed the most. Switch the party in power, and we get selective amnesia. Just wait until after the next election and everyone will be slamming the democrats again.
I think what is getting people so riled up is the fact that it IS both parties. That it never changes. And just gets more blatant with each administration. It's so infuriating, we have to believe "our" party is better than that because it is "our" party. We know we're better than that, so of course any party we affiliate with must be better than that...
Add in the fact that all we see day in and day out on the news and everywhere else is endless arguing and refusal to listen to other opinions and black-and-white reporting, and name calling, and yet more arguing and talking over each other. It's insane.
I cannot truly be the only one that this did not come as a surprise too. I figured he'd be pardoned as soon as the courts said he couldn't stay out on bail. What did any of us expect? Justice? There's no such thing.
Republican OR Democrat - it doesn't matter. They ALL play the game the same way. It's how you get and stay in office. If you have money or power or both you will get away with whatever you want. Regardless of anything or anyone else. Regardless of the law.
And while I'm not an expert, and as much as I dislike Bush and the current administration, this is nothing new. Clinton is always brought up in comparison. You can look further back than that. Look at President Grant and his administration...I mean, talk about corruption and graft and blatant disregard for the law...
It's there. It's always there. No matter what we do as voters. Not even a revolution, which we tried in 1776 and look where we ended up. With the same old same old. Frankly, the only way to stop it is to remove humans from the equation.
So there you have it. I'm so disgusted with it all I could just scream. The politicians don't care. And frankly, we don't care either. Not really. Because if we did we'd change it. We'd find a way. My god. We put a man on the moon in the 1960's. Get real. We could change it if we damn well wanted to.
The things I don't know CAN hurt me.
Like how to use a weed eater. Seriously. No wonder those things come with a warning. Although "Wear protective clothing" hardly works. Not when it's 90*F+ outside. Got a nice welt on my leg from a piece of the line when it broke off. And that hit me on the upper leg on my jean shorts! Yikes. :)
As you can probably tell, I decided to do more yard work this weekend. Mowed the lawn again with my old-fashioned push reel mower. (Had a neighbor ask me where I got it, she didn't think they made those any more!) And finally used the weed eater I borrowed months ago from a friend. She doesn't use it anymore since she lives out in the woods.
It was a trial just figuring out what kind of line it uses. There's umpteen million types of line and do you just want the line or the line in a replacement spool. (FYI, get the line that COMES ON THE SPOOL). And of course, my friend has long since lost the manual to the weed eater. So I do some research online, and narrow it down to one I think will work.
Get home and realize I have to manually wind this stuff onto the spool. Lovely. Especially when you factor in my butterfingers. So I finally get the stuff wound, and put back on and out I go. Long orange cord trailing behind me like a line of fire. Turn it on and the thing goes wild. Okay, not wild, it just startled me. Startled the dog too. She ran back inside and spent the rest of the time watching me warily through the doggie door. I could SEE her there, just staring at me. Silly dog.
Then I had to figure out just how to hold the thing. But it stopped cutting after a few seconds. Darn it. Turns out I had the line wound too tightly. Sigh. Fixed that, and put it back together. Turned it on and the whole spool and cap went spinning off across the yard. I kid you not.
So I had to rewind the thing, put it back on, and go at it again. To make a long story short, it took me over an hour to get the back yard done Saturday evening, and then I spent over an hour on Sunday afternoon on the front and side. The stupid cap kept coming off and the spool would go careening all over the place. Lost the stupid ring that locks it on a couple of times...only an idiot would design a lawn implement in GREEN. Darn thing blended into the grass. Turns out the little things the cap and ring hooked onto were worn away. So it didn't have much holding it on. And the line kept sticking every few minutes so I had to keep taking it apart and pulling it loose.
By the time I was done, my legs were green from the knees down. My fault because I let the stuff on one side of the house get over knee high. Turns out it was pretty wet, not that I water that section. Must not get enough sun to dry it up from the rain we had a month ago. Wet ucky mushed up grass is not pretty. It really isn't. I had to rinse off in the sprinklers. That was actually one of the nicest parts of the day. :) That and helping my little sister and her family plant some Chinese Elms on their property. That was fun. Although my legs and arms are achy today. And my butt muscles got a workout from squatting to plant the trees.
So today I'm sore and have bruises all over my lower legs. Guess I got hit with more stuff while using that weed eater than I thought. :) And I dreamt I was chasing that darn spool and cap all night long. But my yard looks great.
As you can probably tell, I decided to do more yard work this weekend. Mowed the lawn again with my old-fashioned push reel mower. (Had a neighbor ask me where I got it, she didn't think they made those any more!) And finally used the weed eater I borrowed months ago from a friend. She doesn't use it anymore since she lives out in the woods.
It was a trial just figuring out what kind of line it uses. There's umpteen million types of line and do you just want the line or the line in a replacement spool. (FYI, get the line that COMES ON THE SPOOL). And of course, my friend has long since lost the manual to the weed eater. So I do some research online, and narrow it down to one I think will work.
Get home and realize I have to manually wind this stuff onto the spool. Lovely. Especially when you factor in my butterfingers. So I finally get the stuff wound, and put back on and out I go. Long orange cord trailing behind me like a line of fire. Turn it on and the thing goes wild. Okay, not wild, it just startled me. Startled the dog too. She ran back inside and spent the rest of the time watching me warily through the doggie door. I could SEE her there, just staring at me. Silly dog.
Then I had to figure out just how to hold the thing. But it stopped cutting after a few seconds. Darn it. Turns out I had the line wound too tightly. Sigh. Fixed that, and put it back together. Turned it on and the whole spool and cap went spinning off across the yard. I kid you not.
So I had to rewind the thing, put it back on, and go at it again. To make a long story short, it took me over an hour to get the back yard done Saturday evening, and then I spent over an hour on Sunday afternoon on the front and side. The stupid cap kept coming off and the spool would go careening all over the place. Lost the stupid ring that locks it on a couple of times...only an idiot would design a lawn implement in GREEN. Darn thing blended into the grass. Turns out the little things the cap and ring hooked onto were worn away. So it didn't have much holding it on. And the line kept sticking every few minutes so I had to keep taking it apart and pulling it loose.
By the time I was done, my legs were green from the knees down. My fault because I let the stuff on one side of the house get over knee high. Turns out it was pretty wet, not that I water that section. Must not get enough sun to dry it up from the rain we had a month ago. Wet ucky mushed up grass is not pretty. It really isn't. I had to rinse off in the sprinklers. That was actually one of the nicest parts of the day. :) That and helping my little sister and her family plant some Chinese Elms on their property. That was fun. Although my legs and arms are achy today. And my butt muscles got a workout from squatting to plant the trees.
So today I'm sore and have bruises all over my lower legs. Guess I got hit with more stuff while using that weed eater than I thought. :) And I dreamt I was chasing that darn spool and cap all night long. But my yard looks great.
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