36 thoughts on “Rants! and Raves! 5-18-13”

  1. 😦 Gastroenteritis… again.
    🙂 A quiet day at home – Aji suun and I have a theory that sickness is the Lord’s way of making us slow down and rest.

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  2. 😦 Bad week at school. Found a disturbing drawing on the floor and cannot find out who drew it. It had anti-Jewish and pro-Hitler/Muslim phrases and a picture of the WTC towers getting hit by planes. And this in a somewhat conservative rural area.

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  3. 😦 The Kid doesn’t appear to have made All-Stars. I’m betting the coaches’ kids and some of other not as good players did. Hoping they just haven’t contacted us yet. If not we will have to have a conversation about dealing with unfairness.

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  6. She was here. Either that or the children finally had time to do their cleaning and did an extra fine job of it. Though there was an irritated fifteen year old when he was nearly done with the bathroom when six year old had to go and managed to leave stuff on the seat. Needless to say, six year old went back and cleaned it up.

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  7. Peter, that must be, what word to use, frightening, discouraging, alarming….
    I would have once said nothing happens in a vaccuum, another kid knows what’s going on but I have learned that they can find all sorts of things on the internet. There is just so much out there. It is either really good or really bad that it is the end of the school year. Who knows? Thinking of you because I know you are one of those teachers who really does care.

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  8. Mumsee, you have put that out into the eather and child protective services will soon be after you. You have to get your “I voted for Obama” sticker out for protection.
    😦 There ain’t no such thing as a squirrel proof bird feeder.
    I knew a man in Virginia who had one, but I would never do it.

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  9. Mumsee, it is just Paul, me, and the cat. The Puppy Dog Boy ran off to be with George and the Sister Girl.
    I have been down on my hands and knees in the kitchen this morning. Vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing….and we have to leave with the cat! for a couple of hours for the flea stuff to work THEN we have to clean all over again.

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  10. Six year old was on his hands and knees this morning, scrubbing the kitchen floor.

    Chas, those people already know us and they love to come visit. They say it is refreshing to visit a functioning family for a change. And I must have lost the sticker….

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  12. I remember a 5 year old telling me the story of the squirrel that kept eating their birdseed. She said that the squirrel had a lead deficiency so her daddy gave it a little pill 🙂 She was so very serious and cute when she said that! 🙂

    I personally don’t mind having squirrels at our feeders – the birds have enough to eat even then. The squirrels definitely entertain our dog for hours.

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  13. The man in Virginia had a bird feeder with two strands of electric wire, not connected. When the squirrel got on his feeder, they completed the circuit.
    It worked. I don’t think any of them died. But there’s too much chance of accident to try something like that. Not worth it.

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  14. 🙂 Hey, this is rants & raves everyone!

    🙂 Bird feeders. But I also had a squirrel-proof model that still attracted some very creative squirrels — they would hang upside down by their tails to get at that birdseed.

    😦 I sadly took it down after a squirrel had a close call with my former dog, Pilgrim, and Australian shepherd who gave him a wild chase (just inches from the squirrel’s rear all the way) in the backyard one day. The squirrel barely escaped with his little life (chattering frantically, he finally jumped up on the fence) so I decided it was too much of a risk for them in my yard. They made Pilgrim crazy. But I actually loved watching the squirrels and all their antics.

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  15. 😦 The 88 yr. old at our music jam had a massive stroke. A couple people were able to play some music for her and she was able to give a message of love to the group to one of our members. She was only expected to live a few days, but is still holding on. The family wants the group to do music for her service. They have done that for another member and would be honored to do again. We continue to pray for her and her family.

    🙂 Had a lovely Grandparent’s/Special Person’s Day with one of our grandson’s. We were able to encourage him to try out for the play, “Annie” as a Newsy. His mom was also trying out. She has done many plays, but not for quite awhile. It would be a nice thing for mom and son to do together. She has four children, so I am sure he would appreciate that.

    😀 The stories of what the children enjoyed or did with each of their special persons was so touching or hilarious. We especially enjoyed the story of the grandfather who chased his grandchildren with the empty socket, after he took his glass eye out and threatened to suck them into it. This grandfather must have been a hoot, because there were a few more gems.

    🙂 We were wondering what our grandson would say. His class was kindergarten and they just had to fill in one thing they did with the person. His was that when he was with his grandparents they (or he) usually slept over. He was right, but it was something we probably never would have thought to say.

    🙂 He was also surprised when he was done trying out for the play. I had reassured him, that he would not be asked to do anything he was not taught to do, since I thought he was nervous about it. Turns out, he thought they would be DOING the play right then! You NEVER know what a child is thinking.

    🙂 More grandchildren coming for a quick overnight.

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  17. 🙂 This week I used a good coupon and finished a photo book project I’ve been working on for quite a while. It’s photos I’ve taken of various things (including quite a few pages of birds) that I’d like to use as drawing inspiration. It was a lot of work, but fun, and I hope it’s both pretty and helpful.

    🙂 Later today we’ll have everyone in the same house for the first time since Christmas break.

    🙂 My husband is getting over his bronchitis.

    😦 The antibiotics are wearing him out.

    😦 I’m not making very good progress on the project I’m working on.

    🙂 I’m nearly finished with it, and after that I just have one little one . . . for now. (This will make eight projects without a break, probably a record for me. Considering May and June are often my busiest months, I wouldn’t be surprised if I made it to ten before I get a break, but I’d be happy enough to get one when I finish these two.)

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  18. 😦 The end came for our beloved American Bulldog, Kane. He was such a sweetie, & he’d become my shadow while he lived here.

    😦 Lee’s route takes a lot of work, so he’s going to need Chrissy to work with him every day. This is a 😦 for me because I have come to greatly rely on her while taking care of Forrest. She is really good with him, & I like having her around to help.

    The thought of taking care of Forrest on my own (which I have done occasionally) is making me nervous, but I guess it is a matter of being more proactive & organized in some areas.

    🙂 Very grateful to God to have my little guy here, & to be available to take care of him.

    🙂 Also grateful for my husband’s business, which is growing.

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  19. 😦 Losing a good dog like Kane. So sorry, I understand how uniquely hard a loss like that is.

    😦 🙂 Just got back from a rather informal memorial held for my long-ago former editor. Lots of the townsfolk turned out, as did many of my former colleagues, some of whom I hadn’t seen in a while. It was a nice time of sharing memories.

    🙂 😦 A friend and former reporter said to me at one point “Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew and could enjoy going through what later would become your ‘good old days’?” So true. At the time, you’re busy getting through life, dealing with the problems. Later, they’re “the good old days.” You look back and it’s all awash with your sentimental memories of youth, faces long ago departed and suddenly newly missed. 😉

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  20. 🙂 Making some progress this weekend on a freelance story I’m hoping to sell.

    😦 The sad transformation of the newspaper industry in the past decade plus. We were reminiscing quite a bit today about the “heyday” of the 1980s and 1990s when we were young, eager reporters, before everything just went Ka-BOOM and the bottom fell out (and the free fall hasn’t stopped yet).

    In those days we used to have working presses, cranky editors (well, we still have those), enough reporters to cover what needed to be covered, actual copy editors to check & fix your stories and people who actually ‘proofed’ the pages before they wound up getting delivered to readers.

    🙂 At one point during the informal speeches, someone said the town just wasn’t the same without what used to be its beloved daily newspaper there (where many of us initially worked; it folded in 1998 after 106 years in business). A big round of applause went up.

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  21. 😦 Back left window regulator on my Jeep gave out while driving to the dog park. It’s now stuck half way down so until I get get it to the deal for repair I need to be careful where I leave it as an open window around here makes a car pretty easy to steal or burglarize (and that’s not a rare happening in my neighborhood).

    😦 Jeep has had problems with these power window regulators which were just plain faulty or cheap. I’ve had all the other windows replaced already since buying it 6 years ago … I *think* the company finally extended the warranty on the regulators because the issue was so endemic.

    So this should be be a free fix.

    They should have just recalled them years ago but never did. Some people have horror stories of having to replace the same window regulator over and over again. 😦

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  22. 🙂 Another plug for the advantages of FB — I have a FB ‘friend’ (no, not personal friends, but she does live in town and we have mutual acquaintances) who works for a local Jeep dealership (not the one I have used, however). She said she checked with her sales mgr and he does think the windows are covered — I remember that they extended the warranty to 7 years from date of purchase — and she also reminded me I could make a service appt online with the dealership near my office.

    So I’m set to drop it off Monday morning.

    Meanwhile, I was fiddling with the window and it dropped all the way down into the door panel, so now it’s no longer visible at all. That may be OK, though, it’s not so obviously “down.”

    🙂 But for now it’s parked safely high up on my driveway, far away from the street, so it should be OK there for the night.

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  25. Son learned an important lesson today. Just because a guy is naturally gifted does not mean he is going to conquer at State, especially if he does not do any training prior. But he enjoyed the opportunity and hopes to be more competitive next year.

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  29. 🙂 As we were gong into Dennys for lunch, I noticed a humongous Dodge diesel pickup park beside me. A young kid was driving. Dad was in the right seat. I figured this is a kid with a learners permit, driving dad’s monster truck.
    I remember when I let Chuck drive the “big car” when he was a learner. It’s a big deal. I’m sure you women can’t understand how important that is, but the guys remember how it feels.
    The next stage is when dad says, “Chuck, grab the keys and run down to Lowes’ for…..”.

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  30. Chas, here the kid with a license still hasn’t been allowed to drive her Dad’s Prius. She’s a girl and the dynamics are different, but she likes to drive more than I ever did. She likes riding the lawn mower; I’d rather not, myself.

    My one time of driving a full-size pickup without power steering I was terrified and would not have driven it if I didn’t have to. (I’d rented it from my workplace to make an in-town move, thinking I’d let a guy friend drive it. Then I found out the employee who signed it out had to be the person driving it, so I was stuck.) There’s nothing in me that is excited about driving; the scenery might thrill me, but the driving is simply the easiest way to get from point A to point B, and I’d rather do it in the smallest, simplest car that’s safe.

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  32. 🙂 That goes for some girls, too, Chas. I loved to drive as soon as I learned how and so did all my girlfriends for the most part. 🙂 Wheee. And I still want a horse. 🙂

    🙂 As I opened the door of the Jeep to leave for church this morning, Annie Oakley the cat leaped out. She apparently discovered the “stuck” open back window and curled up inside (in the back cargo area, where the dogs usually ride).

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  34. From the time I got a learner’s permit I only rode one last time in a car with my mother. Usually I drove everywhere we went but I had a migraine, was nauseous and pulled the car over, crawled in the back seat, curled up in a ball and she drove straight to the emergency medical center.

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  36. 🙂 😦 Forrest spent a good deal of time, between yesterday & today (while his mommy was working), with his Daddy. When Emily arrived to pick him up to bring him home this evening, he said “Me ‘cited [excited] to go home!”

    The 😦 is for the fact that he isn’t happier to be with his daddy. (After a while, R just doesn’t know what to do with him anymore, & Emily thinks he gets short-tempered with Forrest, or starts to ignore him.)

    The 🙂 is for the fact that our home is his home, & he loves to come back home after being away for a bit. And that we are able to give him the security & love he needs.

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