The Princess had to drop off Chewlee today because she doesn't start day care until tomorrow. I didn't mind much because it gave me a chance to spend the day with the baby. I was glad she was in such a good mood. I let her play outside with the dog for a bit while the Beast and I had our morning coffee out on the deck and the weather was still nice (translate that to: not too hot). Then we headed into the house while I did some of my other chores, including ordering my medicine refills,which I had almost forgotten until I took the morning ones.

Buttmunch called me a total of three times today. Oh, it had nothing to do with her being excited. First she needed to tell me NOT to bring up the bathing suit thing since the price she paid for it had STILL not been talked about at all. He never asked, she never volunteered it. I was startled that she would even feel she had to mention it. I told her, *Hey, don't forget who I have been married to all these years! * No matter what I bought, it was always a fight because it wasn't something HE was buying. God forbid if I ever had a fit over money HE spent because he felt that HE earned it and I had no say in the matter. I kid you not. It's changed very little even now except for one thing....I am no longer afraid of his temper. I figure, if he has a fit and it's followed by a stroke, he's already beaten the odds this long. I no longer ASK, I just TELL him I am going to do it. I do, however, suffer a bit from not wanting to spend any money when I know he has spent a whole lot more than he should have. I will wait until those bills are paid off and we have some more money in the bank without drawing from our savings.

The second time Buttmunch called, it was because she had taken her old phone into the corporate store to have her old numbers changed over. The guy there did it for her but it wiped out her newly stored numbers. So she had a phone full of numbers and no names to go with them. She was having to go through them one by one to try to figure out who they belonged to and/or call them. She called the third time to find out the phone numbers for a couple people that she knew I had. Yeah, fun.

The Beast and I got the inside of the car cleaned out and vacuumed. I also dragged the cooler out on the deck to clean it and it was a mess. Chewlee had a ball when I was using the hose by getting totally in my way and she eventually got soaked. When I got done with the cooler, I had to peel off her clothes, change her diaper and then I did a quick wash with a few other odds and end so she would have clothes to go home in when the Princess came to get her. The Beast and I just ate sandwiches for our dinner because I was busy getting stuff done and making sure I had everything that I needed to pack in the car together. Then it was making trips out to the car and getting it into the trunk. Since I have a few things that have to go into my suitcase at the last minute (hair dryer, brushes, toothbrush, etc.), I have stuff stacked outside the trunk on the floor of the garage because of where the cooler has to go. I have to put the suitcase in FIRST and then the cooler. Oh well, it's not like it will take a long time.

The Beast ran up to the bank to get me some cash for on the road. He also filled up the tank for me, checked the air in the tires, checked the oil and other liquids so I am good to go. He's decided that he is going to leave on Thursday for Port Charlotte, probably early in the afternoon and just plan on stopping for the night. He told his aunt he would be there on Friday when they asked him for just one extra day at their house. They will be going over to Titusville on Sunday to spend time with their son (and the Beast's almost brother) and the Beast will leave from there to come home on Tuesday morning. It means we will probably get home the same day since I will spend the night at Buttmunch's on Tueday and then head over to Nashville to visit with my son's family for a bit before I come home. I WILL, however, be home earlier than the Beast and have to turn on the water to the house as well as hit the breaker for the hot water heater.

I will be able to post on Tuesday evening for Wednesday morning but it's a toss up after that. More than likely, you will all have to wait until July 1 to hear all about the trip, the reunion, etc. I will miss you all and I hope you have as good a week as I hope to have. Alcohol may or may not be involved....LOL (In the words of Bratfink)

Love you all.

From the moment that I got up on Sunday, I was busy. I stripped both beds and put clean linens on them. I washed the spread for the guest room because I found a couple spots on it that I suspect came from the baby's juice bottles. I did all our personal laundry. I swept the floors well to prepare for mopping and found a huge pile of dog hair was accumulating. It shocked me because it really didn't show on the floors when you looked around. I saved the pile to show the Beast because I was so shocked that a short hair dog like Baron was actually shedding that badly. Now the Beast wants to vacuum the couch because, even though we keep a blanket on it, it's the place the dog likes to curl up and nap.

I also got the dresser moved into the bedroom where it belongs. The Beast attached the mirror to it and I got all my *stuff* on the top (jewelry boxes, mirrored tray and perfumes, etc.). I went through the drawers to neaten them and also to pull out the stuff I needed for my trip and got it piled up since the Princess hadn't returned it yet. I started doing some serious selection of clothes (and had to try on a couple things because I have gained weight). I have a few things I need to give to my grandkids when I visit them in Nashville on the way home. Mostly jeans...I am no longer a size 1. I am almost too fat now for my size 3's except for the *stretchy* ones.

The Beast got his calls from his kids wishing him a Happy Father's Day. He hadn't even realized it was Father's Day so it was a nice surprise for him. He kind of perked up after that. We had another day of weather in the 90's and the Beast was foaming at the mouth because he's dying to get the lawn mowed on both lots. He finally got on the John Deere around 6pm and started on the lot next door which he has kind of neglected so the grass is really long. It's got some large rocks on it so he tries to be careful and watch for them. He doesn't want to hit them and destroy the blade on the mower. So imagine his surprise when he suddenly see's sparks flying out of the discharge on the side of the riding mower. He was really startled because he hadn't felt anything nor was there the sound you expect when you hit a rock. It took him a couple minutes to realize that what was being *discharged* that looked like sparks was actually lightning bugs. I know. Imagine how surprised THEY were.....LOL I had no idea that they rested on long grass. I told the Beast he's got to make sure not to let the grass get that long again. I would hate to see lots of dead and dissected lightning bugs all over the place all the time.

After I got the dresser moved out of my room here, I got it vacuumed up good and moved the recliner into a better spot so the room doesn't feel crowded. I also started gathering together the stuff I am bringing up to Chicago with me and making sure my cameras batteries are charged. I was going to take the laptop with me but the Beast will need it more than I do. He wants to show his aunt pictures he took the last time they were all together (at Thanksgiving, if you recall or were around to read this blog then). He's got some great pictures of her grandkids and their families. So I told him to go ahead and take it since they don't have a computer. I know! Who would believe it in this day and age?

Okay, it's time for bed for me. I still have a lot to do although the Beast washed the car for me. I have to vacuum out all the darn dog hairs tomorrow and then get the trunk packed with the stuff I am bringing with me. I have my list made up of all the stuff I have to remember to get while I am in Chicago to bring back with me (so I am taking the cooler). Buttmunch has stuff she wants to bring so I need to get some ice in it before I get there so it's kind of pre-cooled. I even have a list of the stuff I don't want to forget to take with me....but you know I WILL forget something. I'm not sure how much access I will have to a computer at Kay's so I may not be blogging for a week. I WILL be able to do it at Buttmunch's so you won't miss hearing from me on Wednesday but I can't say for sure about any other day until I get home on July 1.

Love you all and wish you a wonderful (temperate) day. Hugs and keep your fingers crossed that I get everything done I need to before liftoff. Oh and here's a thought for today: Ever stop to think, and forget to start again? I bring it up because...well, I think I do that from time to time. Smile, it's good for your teeth and confuses everyone around you.

Bratfink, as you know, asked everyone to share their toast and toasters with her since she *shared* hers. I did my thing and took the necessary pictures this morning (although the Beast thought I was nuts). Then came the tough part. Once I realized that I could not find my regular little card reader, it meant that I had to try to use my printer's reader. And that's when the problems started. I could not for the life of me remember how I finally stumbled on a way to transfer the pictures to my computer. I seemed to remember that I only stumbled across the way to do it. So, here I sit, with pictures I want to send to her and I can't! I tried! I really did. <> Sniff, sniff. I will have to try to find the darn reader because I will need it on my trip. I know the Beast took it with him when he made his last trip up to his brother's house (or else it would be on the shelf here in my computer room where it belongs ). So, tomorrow, bright and early, I will go through all his cases and see where he shoved it AND if he still has it or has left it at his brother's.

I got a third coat of finish on the dresser top and it looks great now. Oh, the same problem areas are there but I will cover those up and curse the reason for it (damn you, Rooms To Go!!!) but I can then get the dresser moved back into my bedroom and finally finish cleaning up this room. I also have to call the Princess in the morning to make sure she gets my suitcase here so I can get it packed. Lots to do, lots to do.

I talked to Cinderella today and she's doing well. She sees the doctor on Tuesday for her final *all clear* on her surgery and recovery. When I asked if Frankenstein had rescheduled his surgery, she said he hadn't since he was either waiting for her to get her *all clear* or he had done some rethinking about it after seeing her in the hospital. She wasn't sure which and wasn't going to ask. He will tell her when he is ready, I am sure.

My stomach has been acting up today a bit so I have taken it easy. It isn't all that bad but it IS uncomfortable so I am heading for bed very, very early for me. In fact, it will be right after I put the time and date for posting on it. I need to get up early and get busy.

Love you all. Take care and have a great day. The thought for today is this: A hangover is the wrath of grapes. Smile for no apparent reason. It will confuse those around you.

I was right about the Beast getting up at 3am to finish downloading his updated maps for the Garmin. With the download manager, it was much simpler and clearer skies also made the completion of it go a heck of a lot faster. I stayed up (of course) to keep my computer from shutting down while this was going on but I played a couple games on Pogo so it wasn't all that bad. At 5am, I turned on local news and then laid back in the recliner and went back to sleep for a couple hours. The Beast came in, collected his finished download and went and installed it on his Garmin.

After I woke up, I did finally get to the job of completing the sanding on my dresser top and I have this to say......DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THAT *ROOMS TO GO* SAYS WHEN IT TELLS YOU SOMETHING IS SOLID WOOD!!! We paid a premium price for this bedroom set when we bought it back in 1995 or '96. Since the papers for it have long since been thrown out, I can't remember the exact date. The bedroom set was advertised as *solid white pine*. Well, folks, I am here to tell you that it is a lie. The posts on the bed MIGHT be but I no longer believe a word of it since sanding the dresser top because.....in two different spots (one on the large size) you can see that it is pressed board underneath a thin wood veneer. I kid you not. I am so totally pissed off that I will guarantee you this....I will never buy another piece of furniture from Rooms To Go and I will bad-mouth them to any and all if the conversation ever turns to furniture. There is much truth in the saying, *Buyers Beware!!* for more reasons than one.

I am stuck with it the way it is now and will have to see if I can find myself a long dresser scarf to cover the bad areas. But it makes me sick to think that I talked the Beast into paying the higher amount of money because of it being *solid wood* as I pointed out on their signs displayed on the set. We had never owned SOLID wood, having been like most people and settling for a nice veneer because we had to price shop. It was sheer pleasure to be able to do it. I should have known better than to trust any store that was giving people a whole year without paying any payments....and in some later advertising, 18 months!!!! What was I thinking???? Definitely not a top notch store, don't you think? Sheesh.

Bratfink and I are combining parts of our lists of things we need to either buy or bring with us to the reunion. I have to get on the phone tomorrow to contact a few people since I haven't heard a word from my cousin Richard or his wife, Cathy. I guess that means I can't count on him to be part of this gathering. Most of the people are right there and it sucks that he's leaving this in MY hands when I live so far away. Regardless of how many come, we will have a good time but it's been a while since I last saw some of my relatives and would dearly love to see them now that I feel and look better. I looked a bit like death warmed over last time I was able to make it up there. I couldn't make it last year due to the Beast having surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his bladder. But this year, I am ready and I am going, come hell or high water.

Due to the nap situation that I found myself doing during the day, I never got the floors done but I can get that done in less than an hour tomorrow so I am not worried. The Princess will have to bring over my big suitcase tomorrow or Sunday so I can get it packed and ready. Why is it that, no matter how you plan, the closer it gets to the time you need to be leaving, the more rushed you start to feel? I mean, it's like there aren't enough hours in the day to get the stuff done that you want done. I'm also finding myself jotting down notes for things I don't want to forget to bring with me. Some are minor, others very important (at least to me).

I am still tired as heck so it's an early (for me) goodnight tonight. Love you all and sending hugs and kisses your way. I wish you more temperate weather than we are having (mid to high 90's and high humidity) and no real relief in sight. Have a great day and a wonderful night. Angels on your pillows with sweet dreams.

The thought for today is this: Ham and eggs: a day's worth of work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig. Smile. It's healthy.

Last night was our literal last night with Chewlee here since Johnnycakes (gotta love him) has the next two nights off work. He keeps the baby with all her antics, stubborness and *terrible twos* problems and hasn't lost his mind yet. My problem was the Beast woke me up at 3am cussing and swearing and came into my room to use MY computer ! It was because he had purchased but not been able to download the map update for the Garmin. He thinks it's because he has a 64-bit processor that is NOT working like it should. That means that it's not working in a 32-bit format when downloading from sites like Garmin. Anyway, after a couple of attempts mainly due to his impatience (he thinks all this should be instantaneous like it was when we had cable but is NOT usual for satellite), the download got started. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy night and the download time was awful. Thankfully, we have the download manager so we can pick up where we left off. He CLAIMS he is going to my niece, Tara's, tomorrow because he called her to make that arrangement. However, if he isn't up at 3am tonight (when we have unlimited download access), I will fall over in a faint because of his IMPATIENCE. He wants everything NOW, just like some spoiled infant. If he ever grows up........

I meant to tell you why I was a bit pissed at the Beast taking it upon himself to pre-record music for me. Oh, I know in some instances, people might think that was sweet. But I know the Beast's taste in music and what he has is NOT my taste. And he has a LOT of stuff that I just don't like. He has Perry Como for cryin' out loud! He's got some stuff that I will have to find a way to delete and I also want to put on some of the country western that I enjoy. He's got Willie (whom I like SOME of) but, my lord, he's got TEX RITTER! I wouldn't waste my time putting it on there. His taste in music is just not mine.

Today Bratfink sent us a link to Garmin voices. Some of them are hysterical and the Beast just HAD to get them. I think he only bought two of them. One of them is the voice of Stewie from Family Guy and that's the one he put on my GPS. It's hysterical and will be fun for the long run although I will change to a regular TTS voice when I am in Chicago because of the more detailed instructions and, trust me, I will need them.

He also bought Wrong Juan which you would have to hear to believe. He's also funny and will make you laugh. If you have a GPS and are tired of the voices you got with them, here's the link:http://gps.about.com/od/testcategory1/a/three_things.htm

I did make the stuffed peppers tonight and we will have them for tomorrow. I also made some mashed potatoes (real ones) to go with them. I add onions, green pepper (the tops that are cut off and I had one long pepper that need to be used) plus some sliced carrots to the pot. I kid myself that it counts as more veggies so I don't have to do anything else. We use the sauce as a *gravy* over everything and, trust me, it's wonderful. I usually use some crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and some chopped tomatoes and then season it to taste. We like it and even the Princess requests it at times. I made one for her as a kind of *welcome home* treat and will have to call Johnnycakes to come over and get it when he takes Chewlee over to his mom's house for a visit. The Princess will be home late Friday afternoon. I know that Chewlee will be happy to see her mother but at least the Princess tried to call every day to talk to her for a few minutes. It made Chewlee happy.

It was horribly hot here today. So hot that the Beast broke down and turned on the AC. It got up to 97 with a heat index of 110 because of the humidity. It's down to 79 now but tomorrow is supposed to be just as bad. I have no idea when I will be able to vacuum the car unless I do it early in the morning on Monday (I leave early on Tuesday). I don't want to do it until and unless the dog won't be riding in the car afterward.

As you read this (if it's in the morning), I should be finally getting this room organized and working on my dresser top. It must get done before I go and just needs another hours work, I think. Then I can really clean the room and also clean the rug. It should take the Beast's mind off doing anything to THIS room. I want him to think GUEST ROOM first.

Time to get my butt to bed. Love you all. I hope you all have wonderful weather and some fun. The thought for today is: The original point and click was a Smith & Wesson. Remember, laughter is healing.

Yes, I did. I found a day care center with an opening for a two-year-old and it's the one the Princess was really hoping for to begin with. It's close to her house, is open from 6am-6pm and the cost was really about half of what I expected it to be for full-time. I know! I am amazed. I even explained to them that she was behind on her shots due to moving up here and the Princess having a tough time getting the Medicaid transferred. As long as the Princess tries to get them caught up, they are willing to take her. I am glad on one hand but sad on the other since it means I will see her less often.

Of course, I know I will have to take her when she is sick and can't go to day care and I will get her on an occasional Saturday each month but I won't be seeing her as often. That's both good and bad. I will miss her terribly because, as much as she can frustrate the hell out of me, she also has the cutest smiles and such a loving disposition most of the time. The operative words are: MOST OF THE TIME! She is, of course, a normal two-year-old. She has her stubborn streaks and she wants to find out just what is in all those cabinets and drawers. If she gets a pen, she wants to write on anything that's handy, including herself. She will touch anything and everything she can reach even if it means climbing up on some really scary stuff (pulled out drawers, shaky boxes, toys that have wheels on them that can move away easily...those kind of things). I saw her stack up a toy talking cookie jar on an empty diaper box and then put one of her thick books on top of THAT and she was going to climb up on it to look at what was on one of *Papa's* shelves....a definite *no-no* and she knew it. She darn near made it, too, except I came back into the room from getting her a cookie because she had been so good up to that point! LOL

Johnnycakes took a picture of her playing in her pool this afternoon. She was starting to get a bit bored with just sitting in the pool, even with the spray from the rim so he moved her playhouse over and put the bottom of the slide into the pool or just next to it (not sure) and she LOVED that! After that, there was no stopping her. It was climb up, slide down into the pool and climb back up again, etc., etc. She did that for a couple hours. Poor Johnnycakes didn't realize that she had taken a nap earlier in the day (before he picked her up) and he kept expecting her to flake out and want to sleep. As it is, it's almost 10pm and she's fighting sleep here. She's very quiet but not quite ready to give in. As soon as my movie is over, into bed she goes, regardless.

I wanted to tell about a couple other things this afternoon but had to run some errands, including getting my hair cut for my trip. It was overdue for a trim and my hair stylist even commented on it (and she's the one who cut it so she knows). My hair seems to grow faster in the warm months so I really have to go by the way it looks and feels more so than by how long a time has passed.

The Beast is now thinking of waiting until I get back from Chicago to go down to Florida so he can use the car. The truck is a gas guzzler and he says it would be about half the cost if he takes the car. I know what he means and I told him that was up to him. I also offered to go ahead and paint my computer room while he was gone (notice how I am avoiding making that trip with him with subtle grace) so that he could feel free to do the floor when he came back or whenever. The real idea is that I don't want him to do anything to MY room without me being here.

It might be a futile effort but I have told him that I would paint the room if he had a problem with my wishes. He CLAIMS he will let me do that but I don't believe him. I said if he wants to paint anything, go ahead and paint the guest room. I want that to be a soft yellow or mint green color...something light but bright. Hopefully, he would do that since his trees are now almost a total loss this year. The plums...forget it. The apples look small and misshapen. The peaches have gone to hell except we did manage to salvage a few of the Alberta peaches. They are incredibly juicy and sweet but many of those are rotting, too. It's really sad. The only things looking good are the pears. The cherries were fine but the birds got to them before we did. As a result, we only got ONE and we shared that.

Tomorrow starts some serious getting ready for my being gone to Chicago. I have a lot I want to do and I also promised the Beast some stuffed peppers (my style, not the Boy's since that's what the Beast asked for) and it's not as labor intensive as the Boy's. Since I have a lot to get done around here, that works for me.

I did get to do my own GPS entries. It almost surprised me since the Beast usually *takes over* that stuff since he feels he has more experience doing it. I have to call and get one friend's address and phone number from another friend since I can't seem to find the phone book that had that information. I never got it transferred into my big one. I know, I know...it was one of those *roundtuits*.....LOL.

Okay, time to get this posted. The baby is in bed with her teddy bear, blankey and a fresh bottle. She's so tired now that I doubt it will be more than 5 minutes and she will be out like a light.

Have a wonderful day. I wish you great weather and lots of love and laughter in your life. Live every day to it's fullest so there are no regrets. Forgive everyone so that hate has no place in your mind or heart. I love you all.

I have been waiting for an MP3 audio book to be delivered from Amazon. It's *Lightning* by Dean Koontz. The Beast wanted me to order a couple that I might enjoy listening to on a long trip. He meant either this trip to Chicago I am making or a future trip we make together. I thought that was a neat idea although the GPS that he bought for me didn't have this capacity but HIS did. I figured he would make me take HIS and that was okay with me, too.

So I was shocked and stunned when my audio book came (via UPS) AND there was also a big package for the Beast. I raised my eyebrow over THAT because he hadn't said a word to me. So I said to him, *Okay...you might as well tell me what you ordered.* He just smiled and said, *Go open your own package.* When I told him I could do that any time but I wanted to see HIS package. He then told me that it required some preparation but I would see it in a few minutes. With that, I went into my computer room, totally pissed over his spending MORE money, and opened the package with my audio CD in it. It's in an MP3 format to make it easier to put on one of the MP3 cartridges. I tried it in my CD player on my computer and it worked. I'm not too crazy about the reader (Christopher Lane) but I didn't listen to a lot of it so I am going to reserve judgment.

About then, the Beast came into my computer room and handed me a couple of envelopes that were obviously going to be birthday cards (and they were). The box was part of my present and he had two others that were just in bags that he held in reserve. I opened the big box and it was a GPS. A Garmin 760 with blue tooth capability and a lot of other bells and whistles on it, some of which I know I will never use. It does, however, have real time capabilities of alerting me to traffic problems and re-routing me around problem areas. THAT one I know I will like.

Then I opened the first bag and it had a headset with a super long cord on it that plugs into the side of the GPS so I can listen to either the music that the Beast put on the MP3 cartridge he had bought in anticipation of this gift or the books I ordered. The other book I ordered is *Shelters of Stone*, one of the first of the Earth's Children series and it's also written by the gal that wrote the Clan of the Cave Bear series (in conjunction with another writer). I should get that one by Friday and will add it to the MP3 cartridge. I already tried it out and it has a shitload of music on it plus the Dean Koontz book and there is plenty of room left. I was kind of shocked that something so small could hold so much.

The other package was the MP3 cartridge that he had pre-recorded and says it's Bratsis's on it. He did put some of the music HE likes but I don't but it's in a separate folder that I don't have to play, thankfully. I hope to add some more of the country and western songs that I really enjoy. But it has a shitload of music from the 60's since we bought a collection by the original artists from Time-Life and it's all there. I love it because I know all the words to the songs (to my surprise). I guess you just never forget the music you grew up with.

When Johnnycakes dropped off Chewlee, he told me that he had put the sprinkler on that Tara had given her on her birthday (it is really cute) but Chewlee was very suspicious of it and would hardly go near it except at the very edge. BUT...after a while, she got braver and braver. While Johnnycakes was distracted and talking to the Princess on the cell phone, he suddenly saw out of the corner of his eye, the water moving closer to him. When he turned his head, there comes Chewlee, holding the sprinkler and getting wet but she chased him all over the yard to wet him. She wouldn't let him get near the hose bib to turn off the water (smart kid, huh?) and she was laughing the whole time. When he finally could put the cell phone down and out of the way of the water, he got into the spray and managed to get the sprinkler away from her. She still laughed because he DID get wet and she was soaked.

She was in a good mood when he left and she kept saying, *Bye daddy! Bye daddy!* and he got the biggest grin on his face. It was really cute.

I actually have a couple other things on my list to tell you but I will save it for tomorrow afternoon when I will post again. I know...I think that will only be the second time since I started this blog. I will have to wait for Chewlee to be picked up to do it because she requires a lot of my attention and I am trying to enjoy it while I can. Once she starts day care (keep your fingers crossed on that), I will only get her on Saturdays a couple times a month.

Love you all. Hope you have a wonderful day with great weather. We are heading toward weather in the mid-to upper 90's and I think that will make the Beast put on the air conditioning. The thought for today is this:
God must love stupid people; he made so many of them.

Smile; it's good for your teeth and spreads to the people around you.

It seems I am getting the best part of Chewlee's day with having her here at night and until shortly after her nap. She has been getting up here around 7am when she spends the night and is ready for her nap around 11 or 11:30am. If she sleeps her normal two hours, she gets up right around the time Johnnycakes gets here to pick her up. He would normally bring her back here sometime between 8-8:30pm but tonight I got her shortly after 7pm. She was in her nightgown, ready for bed and had even had a bath. When I remarked on it, Johnnycakes admitted that she had dumped a bowl of spaghetti-o's on her head so she HAD to have a bath. I'm going to have to dump her in the tub tomorrow to get her hair properly cleaned (you can feel a coating on it still) but, bless his heart, he sure tries.

When I talked to the Princess this evening, she told me that he is getting frustrated with her because she is just constantly getting into trouble. She gets into pens and writes all over things (including her baby doll that now looks like her face is tattoo-ed)...and all the usual things that come with the *terrible twos*. I know part of it is her missing her mother. Another part is her testing HIM to see just how much she can get away with and she will push and push until he snaps and she might be very sorry even if he is a gently bred Southern boy.

I do feel bad for him. After all, she isn't his flesh-and-blood so his being this loving to her is amazing to me. Especially at his age. His mother told us the story of his taking care of HER when she was so sick during her pregnancy with her daughter (and he was only about 8 at the time). He would get her tea and cold rags and make sure she got anything she needed. I thought that was touching but it shows that he basically has had a sweet and loving personality all his life. He's definitely a keeper.

The Princess wants me to check with some of the day care centers in the area to see if they have openings for the baby. She agrees that Chewlee needs to be with kids her own age. I have to call the one close to her house first to see if they have an opening (yet!) and any others in between her house and her job. She doesn't want to have to depend on Kym keeping her until she can find one after she gets back from Birmingham since she will have to call places during her lunch hour and then call Johnnycakes to have him go check out the places to see how they look. So, that's MY job tomorrow. She can't have Johnnycakes wake up at 8am in the morning since he works until around 5am and take care of Chewlee until she gets home at 5 or 5:30pm. The poor guy will be dying on his feet. I may call Kym tomorrow to find out if they can work on her taking the baby a half day or some such thing and have Johnnycakes come to get Chewlee after he wakes up. That way, he only has to watch her for a couple hours until the Princess gets home and no one is burdened much. That is only if I can't find a day care for her. I will keep you advised.

The kicker here is that Chewlee is not caught up with her shots yet. The Princess only got the Medicaid and records moved up here from Florida a month or so ago. She was taken in for her the shots they COULD give her to start bringing them up-to-date but she has a couple more to go, I gather. I may have to get exact information from the Princess but I will wing it until I find out. The day care she was waiting for an opening was willing to take her as long as she continued to get the shots and get them caught up. Others might not be so willing.

Tomorrow I have to get into the garden and get the tomato plants into some of those *cages* because the tomatoes are now too numerous and too heavy for the plants to hold them up on the branches. I have some nice crook neck squash starting and I also have jalapenos, green peppers and some nice blossoms on my cucumbers, too. I think I am going to have cantaloupe galore because I can't believe the number of starts on it! Once they do start looking like melons, we will then have to prop them up off the dirt. That seems to be at least one good thing about all the rain we've had.

We had a scary lightning and thunderstorm tonight. I mean scary! Not a whole lot of rain with it at all although I heard that other areas to the west of us got hail AND rain. But even the dog came into the room and lay chewing on one of his rawhide bones while it was going on. I was amazed that it didn't wake up the baby.

Chewlee went to bed at 8pm (which is early for her) so I am sure she will be up bright and early tomorrow. I need to be ready for all that energy so I am heading for bed myself. Love you all and I wish you a bright and sunny day. The thought for today is this: The trouble with life is that there's no background music to give you a hint about what is going to happen.

I didn't get a whole lot of sleep Saturday night due to a storm or two that rolled in and was exceedingly noisy. The Beast, however, slept undisturbed, damn him. I got up to check to make sure we weren't getting any rain in the screen doors since we had locked them but left the inside doors open to the night air. Oh don't worry about intruders. First of all, they had best be wearing night vision goggles because it is SO dark here at night that even with headlights on your car, you can be hard put to find your own driveway without markers on them. And our mailboxes are across the road and not necessarily directly across from your home. But that's the post office for you. WE get to erect them but THEY tell you where to put them or they don't deliver.

Once I got up and checked both doors and the floors inside them for any wetness, I found that I was no longer sleepy. So I got up to read the news online, figuring that I would get tired soon and go back to bed for a few hours. No such luck. I went through my email, read the Sunday comics online and then made a list of things I wanted to get done once the Beast woke up. At 7am, I finally got up to make a pot of coffee and found the Beast asleep on his recliner. He had gotten up at some time or other and fallen asleep again in it instead of going back to bed like he normally does. He had put the coffee on, had his cup ready beside the coffee maker but never poured himself any. So, I did it for us both.

He did crawl back into bed for another hour or so (I wasn't really keeping track) and then he got up and decided he was going to make us some of his special buttermilk pancakes....made with real buttermilk. I feel so-so about them until I taste them because, like all novice cooks, he experiments too many times. They never seem to taste the same twice, if you know what I mean. But they were good today or else I was hungry. It could have been both.

To push him along, I got dressed and proceeded to get busy doing my normal routine of making the bed (today is clean linens day so I had to strip the beds, put the new clean sheets on them and get the old sheets into the washer. It finally worked and the Beast took the hint and got dressed and got HIS butt moving. He started cleaning the inside of the car although I told him not to vacuum it if he has plans on taking the dog anywhere in it between now and a week from Tuesday. Since he did, he cleaned the inside glass, cup holder area and dash. He didn't wash the outside since, with all this rain, it's an exercise in futility for us.

I had to nudge him (read that NAG) to get him to sort through his shirts that he wanted to put up for the summer. I stood there as he handed them to me and made him take a few more down than he had. I swear, even when *I* am doing most of the work, he can be lazy.

He made himself busy when I got started on the floors. He suddenly thought of things he could do on his computer. He had said he would put a coat of shine renewal/sealer (whatever it is. I really should read it) but he never did get around to it. His excuse was that we were on a severe storm watch and that would mean it would take too long for the floors to dry.

When the rain still hadn't appeared and he didn't like the fact that I was still doing stuff like getting the comforters and blankets up on the shelves in the closets, he went out to inspect his fruit trees. He came back in with several different fruits in his hands and a puzzled look on his face. It seems that some of the fruit is actually rotting on the trees. Others look like they have had insects laying eggs in them. About half of the fruit is fine but all of the plum are rotted and no where near ready for picking so it's a real puzzler. The Beast thinks it's probably about all the rain we've had along with the high winds buffeting the poor trees, too. The fruit probably was injured on the younger ones that are not strong enough to hold up to the winds. It's a shame but there will be other years (won't there?).

I still haven't reorganized my DVD's and CD's but that's about all. When Johnnycakes dropped off Chewlee tonight, she was just about ready for bed. I had to get her the *real* bottle and not the sippy cup but when she turned on her side in my lap, I knew she was ready. I carried her in and tucked her under the covers, kissed her goodnight and almost had to force the dog out of the room. He wanted to play, not sleep with her like he does us as soon as we fall sound asleep.

We HAVE been enforcing his not sleeping on the bed with us at night but it's all for naught as soon as we are sound asleep. He sneaks onto the bed and curls up. Of course, as HE falls soundly asleep, he stretches out and darn near pushes US off the bed.

I'm really tired tonight and want to head for bed as soon as I post this. I do have to tell you about another of the Beast's little escapades pissed me off. I just hate when he wants to get on my computer and he won't tell me why but I will tell all tomorrow night. That way I can check through and see what extra work lies ahead for me due to it.

Love you all. Have a great day and a wonderful week. The thought for the day is: A picture is worth a thousand words but it takes up a thousand times the memory.

Yes, I finally got my butt up the ladder into the attic and grabbed the containers with the stored summer clothes. It was kind of tricky to get down since the Beast wasn't here but I didn't want to wait for him to come back. I ended up going down the ladder and lowering the end of the container on my head (like I was one of those women that balance huge loads of water and other things on their heads). I went down the ladder slowly, trying to make sure the top of the container didn't come loose and dump everything on the garage floor. They were clean going in and I really didn't want to have to wash them all again. I came down slowly, slowly and was grateful when I finally felt the garage floor under my foot and was able to slide the container down the rest of the way slowly. It figures that I would grab the heaviest one first, doesn't it?

The second one was much lighter and I didn't have to head carry it down but could easily slide it down without fear of losing my grip. Then it was time to drag it to the utility area where I was going to *refresh* what needed it and hang them up afterward. I sorted them out, started a load and then proceeded to pull all the winter clothes out of my closet (on their hangers), put them on the recliner in my computer room and start putting them into the empty container.

The hangers went into the utility area and on the rod the Beast put up for me a while back. That enabled me to pull the clothes out of the dryer, grab a handy hanger and hang it up until I could carry it into the closet. After all my anxiety about getting this done, it really didn't take long at all to finish that up. The Beast, however, has still not gone through his winter shirts and pullovers to give to me to pack away. I told him to keep a few things out for any cool spells we might still have in our future, especially with as weird as our weather is turning out this year. I did the same thing. The winter coats are all going to go into the closet here in my computer room. There's lots of room and it won't be in anyone's way. I don't think the Beast has plans on doing the floor in the closet but will probably just cut the rug because it would be too wasteful for him to try to do it. That's because of the direction of the laminate and the size of the closet. I would rather he avoided that than to spend the hundred plus dollars he would have to spend to do that floor in it. I guesstimated it but I know that's what it would run.

As soon as I nag the Beast into going through and giving me the clothes to be packed for him, I will make him put them up in the attic. I want to have all that done before we get Chewlee for the night. I also want to have time to clean the floors in the kitchen, dining and living rooms. They need it and it's been a couple weeks since it was done last. It's very easy because you just damp mop it with some water with a bit of ammonia in it (use the lemon, it smells better ). The Beast brought home some kind of sealer/shine for laminate floors that he wants to use and that's another reason for doing it before we get Chewlee. It's also my day for changing the linens on the beds so there's washing to do also since I don't want to let anything go between now and when I leave for Chicago. I'll do a load a day if I must (or every other day).

I looked around and decided I have some stuff that needs *completing*. Now maybe you have your own idea of what that means but mine is this: I have some bedspreads that I got into their special plastic bags for storing once they were clean but.....I haven't put them up on the closet shelves where they need to go. I have three different ones that need to have this done in two different closets. I also have two heating blankets that need packing up that are nicely folded and ready to go but I haven't gotten them done. Those are just a few of the things I need to get done. I also need to reclaim my DVD shelves to some semblance of order. I can't get at it easily with the TV under it and on an angle so I need to move the TV and get that done so I can get the rest of the ones I have stacked up hither, thither and yon back where they belong. It's the messiest I have been in a long time and I really hate it. I'm going to stack up some stuff that I need to take with me to Chicago (some stuff for Buttmunch, some for Bratfink, some for my son Markus Aurelius and some for his kids). I can't pack them into my trunk yet but I want to have it ready and together so nothing is forgotten.

Well, I have a bit of a headache so I am going to take a couple ibu's and my night pills and get ready for bed. Love you all and hope you have a great day. We have more rain due tomorrow so the Beast will be chomping at the bit because he has so many outdoor chores he wants to get done and can't. He's been having to cut it about every four days or so with all our rain this year. I can tell you this much.....our drought is over! Even our waterfalls here are looking VERY lovely now....LOL

The thought for today is this: Children can ask questions that even a wise man cannot answer.....Anonymous. Very smart person that Anonymous, don't you think?