The Princess dropped off Chewlee bright and early this morning. Chewlee was in a subdued mood for some reason and wanted loving and just to be close to me. I rocked her in the rocking chair for a while until she finally got her needed dose of loving and was ready to play.

She spent some time inspecting all the *stuff* that was piled up everywhere from emptying the guest room. She had to go in there and inspect the room. It was kind of cute watching her look around and she even noticed it was a new fan light in there. My room was a mess. It makes me crazy when I have stuff like the mattress and box springs in here because it was really blocking an area that I use quite a bit.

The Beast didn't have to put a second coat on the walls. It looked great this morning in daylight so we put the room back together. I got fresh linens on the bed and put the new homemade quilt I bought for that room on the bed. It looks great. I did find out that the Beast had not painted the doors in there yet but he had painted the baseboard so we could put the room together quickly. I thought that was sweet of him because he knows how much I hate having furniture all over the place during his *projects*. He claims he did it to minimize the time it stayed out in the living room deliberately. He also has decided he isn't in any hurry to do the floors. It's actually smart of him since we have a couple insurance bills coming up and the taxes for both houses and the property next door. Not that any of them are BIG bills but together it's a big amount. I hate taking money out of savings because of his projects but we do what we have to do. Having to do it because of HIS buying habits is bad enough. *sigh*

Chewlee loved sleeping on the freshly made bed. She likes the quilt design, too. She ran her hands over it and told me it was pretty. She also took a long nap for her today. She slept for almost 3 hours! I know! I decided to take a little nap in my recliner about a half hour before she would have been up and it was an hour and a half later that she came in and woke me. She climbed up and lay down on my chest with her head on my shoulder and wanted to be held for a while. I wondered if she might have had a bad dream or something. When she got off, she insisted I had to sit in my computer chair so she could sit in my lap while she watched Sponge Bob.

When Johnnycakes came to pick her up at 5pm, she was so happy to see him and she cuddled in his arms. He had a big smile on his face over it because she is just so damn cute when she does that. She barely kissed me because she wanted to stay where she was and not lean out even to kiss us goodbye. I had to lean forward to kiss HER. She can be a little stinker, too.

I spent the afternoon (while awake) watching the Blue Collar Comedy Tours on the Comedy Channel. It is the first time they showed them all. I just love Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engval. I also love Ron White...the one that drinks the scotch all the time. I didn't like him at first but his humor really seems better the last few times I have watched him, including two of his solo specials. Maybe he just finally found his *niche* in comedy.  Larry the Cable Guy is hilarious but I am not crazy about his movies.

Poor Buttmunch ran into problems at the hotel in Chicago when she went to check in today. It seems she either didn't read the small print on her reservation confirmation or it wasn't on it but they wanted a credit card in case she *caused any damage to the room*. Now the room cost her $300. and she paid for it in advance. She was beside herself because she COULD have taken care of it if she had known. Heck, she could have gotten a prepaid one. It turns out they wouldn't take my credit card information over the phone. I would have to fax them an imprint. She was so pissed and upset because this was after 4pm and the U2 concert that she flew in for was at 8pm. It meant that she wouldn't be able to put her luggage into the room and would have to lug it with her to the concert. It also meant that her $300 was out the window and she would have no place to sleep.

She called *K*, my sister-in-law and she was willing to pick her up and bring her out to her house. The hotel manager finally took a cash *damage deposit* from her and all was well. I'm sure she was glad to be able to shower and dress in her new outfit she bought for the event. She is a huge fan of U2 (I love their music myself) and has gone to every concert they have held that she possibly could. She even flew into New York for one a couple years ago with her now ex-husband. She will be on a cloud for a long time after this. I believe she had a great seat. She flies out late tomorrow for home and is going to meet up with *K* and her main squeeze for a tailgate party tomorrow where the concert is being held. K and her squeeze have tickets for the show tomorrow but will be there early to meet up with friends and Buttmunch. Then she will make her way to the airport for her 10pm flight home.

The Beast doesn't plan on starting on my computer room painting for a few more days so I plan on cleaning the carpet tomorrow. I really would prefer to keep the carpet for the winter but I know that isn't possible once the Beast has his plans set in his mind. It really has taken a beating with Chewlee here. When they were living with us, it was an every day thing that she played in here most of the time (it was cold weather here so not much time outside). Her sippy cups have failed a time or two because she always tried to open them up and sometimes managed to do it and spill juice or milk on it. You can tell when you compare the guest room carpeting with this.

I gave the Beast the color chip that I want for my room. He asked if I wanted a contrast wall and I handed him the other color that I wanted for a feature wall if he was up to it. I figure I am going to help him out with the painting so it goes fast and I can get him the hell out of here. I want to get some of the pictures we have of the kids and grandkids up on my feature wall once that's painted and dried. They have been sitting in a stack in my bookcase for two years. I also plan on putting a couple more things up on the walls in the guest room now that it's painted. In fact, I am hoping to get that done tomorrow after I do the carpeting in here. It should give it time to dry. The steam cleaner we have does a really great job and it doesn't take long for that, thankfully.

Time to get this posted so I will say my good night (or good morning, depending on when you read this). Love you all. Have a really great day. Here's my thought for today: Why is it that the harder you work towards something you really want, the more luck you seem to have? It doesn't seem to work the same way with lotteries, however.

If you have ever painted a room, you know the smell I am talking about.  It is thick, nauseating and seems to hang in the air like a fog.  It also seems to last for days and days. 

The Beast started his painting of the guest room today.  He said he was just going to do the doors and trim but, as I am sure you probably guessed....he lied!  When he got done with that, he started on the walls.  I give him credit because he did get the whole room painted.  However, it is going to need a second coat.  Shows you how cheap the paint was that was originally used.  The walls just drank in the paint. 

The thought for today is:  Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves (Carl Jung)

Today is AM's birthday. It was her birthday long before the tragic events of 2001 made it infamous. Her reaction on that day was one of absolute horror. She is a sensitive woman; always has been and always will be. She has started her day cheerfully since she was going to have a bunch of her lady friends over for lunch and had prepared for it the day before so her morning would be simple. A friend called her and told her to turn on the news. The rest of the next few days went pretty much the same for her as it did the rest of us.

I was watching the news that morning since I was home recovering from a broken foot and not at work. I saw the first film footage of the plane that flew into the first tower and was totally shocked. I kept thinking *How in the world did THAT happen? * I just couldn't believe that any pilot of a commercial airline could not see where he was headed no matter what instrument malfunction there might have been. I was sick to my stomach thinking of all the people killed. I called our secretary/dispatcher at the office since I knew she had a small TV there that we kept for emergencies since it also operated on batteries. She was already watching the news since our service guys had already called her about the *accident*. We were watching and talking when the second plane flew into the second tower and I remember shouting, *OMG! It wasn't an accident! It's a terrorist attack!*

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur of crying off and on for all those people and the families. Even now, as I am recalling my feelings and those of the people around me, I am brought to tears because the pain of that day doesn't go away. It truly was the day that our world changed forever for all Americans. We were bound together forever by two acts of terror and more to come but we didn't know that just yet. By the end of the day, it was almost too much to wrap your mind around. Even the Beast, normally a wise-cracking cynic was strangely moved and not his usual vocal self.

The next few days were pretty much spent in front of the televisions. I had every television in the house tuned to CNN I think it was. That was so I wouldn't miss a single thing going on when I managed to motivate myself to try to straighten up the house or make some food for us. When I had to go to the store, I listened to radio news. All the stores had news on their musak systems instead of the usual tripe. The department stores had all their televisions on and tuned to the various news networks. Of course, there was no such thing as normal television going on except on cable, perhaps. I don't know. Like all Americans, I was totally involved in needing to *be there* with all those suffering in New York, at the Pentagon and in a little known town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

We cried with the families and were overwhelmed at the tremendous suffering and the tragic deaths of the police, firemen and emergency personnel when the towers collapsed. My heart ached and I didn't sleep for several days more than a catnap here and there. It was the same everywhere and you could see it in people's faces. The first day people were strangely silent. Everyone's faces were full of sorrow and grief. I only left my home and television to pick up necessities.

Along with the grief came a strange anger and resolve. I have read many blogs, talked to many people and we were all changed and filled with a type of patriotism that we hadn't realized we had for many years. It was this that the terrorists hadn't considered. They expected us to react differently, I believe. But instead we had a surge of anger and a patriotic fervor that we have even now after 8 years. Although our leaders have waffled in THEIR resolves and did not do what we had hoped for, our sons, daughter, nieces, nephew, friends and neighbors are fighting for this country and we support THEM. We pray for them, we thank them with a new salute that they recognize to let them know that we love and honor them. We may even wear red on Fridays to show a silent support that is a ground movement our leaders haven't dictated but the more of us that do it, the stronger the message to those in office.

I tear up when I hear certain songs that came out of that tragic day. I play them a lot even now and know that no matter how our leaders may fight amongst themselves, waffle in their resolve or misinterpret what we, the people, expect or want from them, this is still a great and wonderful country. No terrorist can change that or make us quake in our shoes. We would also fight and die to preserve this system and that day in 2001 reminded us that it may still need to be done. It's worth fighting for. It's even worth dying for. I don't speak for everyone but there is no place else in this world that I would rather live.

Have a wonderful day and remember to wear red today. Red for support of our troops. Red for remembrance.

They have finally diagnosed his problem. It is called TTP-HUS. Here is the link to read about it if you are interested.
http://moon.ouhsc.edu/jgeorge/TTPFAM.htm

They have put a stent in him and started doing the plasma transfusions at 9pm (Central) on Thursday evening. They will continue to do so until he responds. He is also getting dialysis since his kidneys had failed him. They believe that they will start working again once the plasma does it's work.

Tara thanks everyone for their prayers. She is feeling a lot more hopeful since they at least have a firm diagnosis. After reading about it, I can understand why it's so difficult to figure out and to treat. I will keep you posted.

I don't have an update on Tonto as I start this. I may not get it until after I post it but I will add another post whenever that occurs. We are just hoping and praying for the best at this point. I watched their baby from around 8 or so until after the Princess got done with her dental appointment. It was sure a different experience this time. He never cried but was happy and smiling all morning. When I fed him around noon, he was ready for a little nap so I rocked him until he fell asleep. It was then I realized that I didn't have a safe place to put him down partly because Baron was so excited about a baby in the house (he just HAD to keep sniffing him and licking his face) and I would have to close a bedroom door to keep him out. I didn't dare close the door because he is just mobile enough to get past any pillows I would place around him to keep him from rolling off the bed. A real catch-22. So I let him sleep in my arms until he woke up. It wasn't long, perhaps a half hour and I knew that wasn't a real nap for him. However, once he was at the Princess's house, SHE has a crib and he could, and probably would, sleep for her.

*Note: He fell asleep on the way to the Princess's house and slept until she drove him home so his big brothers could take care of him when they got home from school.* Figures, right?

I really should have known that the Beast was running out of projects that I wouldn't mind him doing. Today he started working on THE LAST REMAINING ROOMS, which includes my computer room. He got the guest bedroom and bathroom ceilings done and also put up a new fan light in the guest room. Tomorrow he is going to do MY ceiling and then start on the doors and trim in all three rooms. He feels they have yellowed although I took a bit of soap, water and Clorox 2 to them and they looked fine to me afterward. I don't believe these doors were a brilliant white to begin with. You would think he would be happy to have LESS to do but his mind doesn't work that way. This is going to be another nightmare since he insists he is going to work on all three rooms at the same time. I guess he is going to clean doors and trim, paint doors and trim and then paint walls. He also informed me that he hates my fan light so he is going to replace it. I understand why he hates it (the blades and body of it are a flat white) but I spent over an hour cleaning it the other day. Too bad he hadn't been as insistent BEFORE I cleaned it.

He looked a bit shocked when I told him the color I wanted for this room but he was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself. I asked him to pick up some of the color charts when he ran up to Lowes but he wasn't going to the paint department so he didn't bother today. I will probably do that myself tomorrow while he is painting the ceiling in here. I have my usual list of things I need from the grocery store and can do that tomorrow too. He seems to have forgotten that we had decided on a real COLOR for the guest room (just a nice pale yellow) since he started talking about the damn beige again. We must have over a gallon of it left out in the garage or something. He becomes cheap (thrifty?) over the dumbest things....and the LEAST expensive. I just checked and, sure enough, that's exactly why he is doing it.

He also wants to get me a room air filter (since we smoke) and it will help keep the ceiling from yellowing over the long haul. I've never seen one that really works well so I am a bit tongue-in-cheek on that part. *Insert eye roll here* The one he has in our bedroom where his desk and computer are sure didn't help even keep the white decorator towels hanging in our bathroom from yellowing. It's not a cheap one and the filter for it costs over $50. The man has the taste of someone with a lot more money than WE have, trust me.

I am going to put in War of the Worlds (the Tom Cruise version) and watch TV for a while before bed. Love you all. Have a great day and have a few laughs. It's good for your health and your mood.

The thought for today is: "Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its trouble, It empties today of its strength."

Tonto had to be taken to the emergency room a couple days ago and they ended up admitting him. It seems his kidneys were not working correctly. After the usual round of tests, they still could not find what was causing it and his condition worsened. He was transferred last night to Huntsville Hospital where they have a special nephrology center and many specialists. He's lost 60 lbs. so far and is in ICU. I don't know if they are going to start dialysis or what since even Tara doesn't know yet. She just knows that he is in serious trouble with no answers.

So, please, if you can spare a moment or two, say a special prayer for the doctors to find out what is causing this. Tonto is in his early 50's and too young to be going through this. And say a prayer for Tonto and Tara, too. My niece is taking this very hard. He has a six month old son that should be able to know his father and be taught about his tribal family from him. God bless.

AM and Godzilla left this morning around 10am. They were well rested, bright eyed and bushy tailed. The Beast took them out for breakfast and left me alone to sleep longer since I don't eat so soon after waking up. I told him *GO!* and he did. I got up after they returned and had a cup of coffee while they chatted. I have to have my first cup of coffee before I can even smile in the morning. It's kind of an old family joke; just ask Bratfink, who once snapped a picture of me in my infamous blue robe before I had my coffee.

I enjoyed AM and Godzilla's visit. Godzilla never had time to get on my nerves. For that, I am grateful. AM, of course, wants us to come up to The Cottage for Thanksgiving but I told her that I was going to have my kids here. I hope so anyway. I'm not sure how many of them will come but I'm sure I will have a few of them.

On to other things. Bratfink and I were talking about MEN (capitalization deliberate) and their moods. She thinks they PMS and I think I agree with her but......the Beast is waaaaaaay past the age of PMS-ing so what is HIS excuse? I think that some of the crap that some of us women have to listen to is just a *MAN THING* for men who believe the world should be ordered to their wants and needs. And, when it isn't, they become potty mouths and yell at inanimate objects or people they can't see and who can't hear them even. They blame US for shit WE do NOT control or they snap at us because THEY can't control whatever it is that is pissing them off.

Personally, I had enough one day and told the Beast that he was a hypocrite. This evoked a shocked look on his face and a snappy *F--k you*. I told him that he looked down on people that used bad (cussing) language all the time and yet he was doing it more and more and I was sick of it. I told him I didn't want MY HEARING contaminated with that kind of language from HIM and to close the damn door!!!!

Would he apologize? NEVER!!! And it's not just that. He's blamed me for a lot of things that he found out later that I was not responsible for and never apologized for it. *I'm sorry* is just not in his vocabulary. Yet he once asked me (when I was wrong about something) to apologize to HIM. I looked at him and said, *Oh, I thought that since you never apologize for anything that NO ONE had to apologize.*

Like most men (I say *most* because I have been privy to some men apologizing to their wives), he will apologize to OTHERS but not me. Never. So sometimes I say out loud when he doesn't, *I am soooo sorry, Bratsis* and I will drop my voice and say, *Oh that's okay. We ALL make mistakes!* . Then I walk away with a smile on my face. It annoys him to no end but hasn't helped any. Just so you know and you can try some other tactic if you are in the same boat. Let me know what works for you if you find something. Personally, I think the Beast is too old to change and will go to his grave never once apologizing to me. *sigh*

We recently had two homes in the general vicinity go up in flames. One wasn't a shock because it was pretty ramshackle and the story was that it was a meth house. It was far enough away from us (about a half mile) that I wasn't concerned if it was true. However, it didn't blow up; it just burned down. Then another one had an electrical fire about a quarter mile away and, by the time the fire department got there, the whole back of the house was pretty much destroyed. It's so weird to drive by and see the untouched front of the house after you get a shot of the side and see that it's pretty much gone. They managed to save some of their stuff and it was all out in the yard for several days.

Those two events made the Beast go out and buy us some fire extinguishers that were certified for both electrical and grease fires. I now have one in one of the pantry closets and the other is in our coat closet. It makes him feel more secure (and me too to be honest) since it would take us too long to get a hose in here. We also don't know how long it would take our fire department to get here. I don't even know where it's located. If the closest one is in town, we might as well kiss our house goodbye if such a thing happens. I don't care how fast they can go, it would still take them almost a half hour to get here with all the twists and turns.

He has decided to get busy and get the ceilings painted in the last three rooms that remain to be done. That's the guest bathroom and the two bedrooms (one is MY computer room). I am cringing at the thought because, although they need it since the paint is original and was cheap, cheap, cheap, I know how the Beast works and he can be really sloppy. If he is trying to be careful, he finds it necessary to take EVERYTHING out of the room. That makes my life a nightmare of mess all over the place. Worse, he will start moving stuff without any thought about whether or not there are fragile things to consider on/in it. I have seen books and things hit the floor because he wanted it moved NOW and I wasn't fast enough or else he thought that it was empty enough that he could *manage*. I told him he is NOT painting my computer room. *I* am going to do that. I am also choosing the color/colors I want in here. It IS my computer/craft room and will soon be my sewing room if I ever get my table back that the Princess has been using. I was hoping to have it back by now but they have had a lot of other things going on that they are spending their free money on. *sigh*

Well, it's time to get this posted. I know that some readers in NJ start looking for it long before this. Sorry NJ. Love you all and have a wonderful day. Here's the thought for today:

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile..

I'm glad after all that AM and Godzilla took the time to come and see us. I understood better when it dawned on me that they were just making a slight detour on their way back up to their *cabin* in NC. I've told you about the *cabin* before; some homes should be so nice. It will take them 5.5 hours to get back there. They will be up there until probably mid-November or, possibly, after Thanksgiving depending on the weather. Then they will close it up until next spring and head back to the house in Florida.

The last time I saw AM, she was suffering from advanced Parkinson's we were told. Her shaking was really awful for a woman who has always been so vital and energetic. She had been falling a lot and was actually fearful and acting timid. It was heartbreaking. We were told that her doctor had been trying out various medications on her and it seems the medication she is on now is working wonderful for her. They believe that the diagnosis of Parkinson's might actually have been a mistake since there are many problems that can mimic the symptoms. I can believe it because she is more like her old self than I have actually seen her in a long time.

Godzilla, as usual, smothers her with care and concern. I sometimes wonder how much that kind of smothering actually leads to people becoming dependent and sort of frail. Especially if you need that for a short time (as when AM broke her foot and had to have surgery on it. Godzilla was in her heyday during that.) When she was recovered and told to resume normal activities, I saw and heard Godzilla and it almost sounded like she didn't WANT her mother to NOT need her help constantly. I actually got short-tempered with her in one instance and saw the most shocked look come over her face....like *How DARE you say anything to ME about MY mother!* If AM had not agreed with me, that could have escalated into something nasty, I think and it wasn't what I wanted.

Godzilla, however, has been only supportive and not smothering. AM still has to use her four-prong cane for balance and walking since the foot just doesn't hold her weight like it once did. She's lost some weight, which has helped her a great deal, too. All-in-all, she looks so very much better than she did and she seems both healthier and happier. Godzilla does, too. Perhaps it is due to the fact that she is no longer afraid that she is going to lose her mother any second now. I just know that her smiles now seem genuine and not forced. It's been way too many years since I saw any of THOSE on her.

The Princess, Johnnycakes and Chewlee came over to grab a potato pancake or two (another new *treat* for Johnnycakes) and to see AM and Godzilla. Chewlee, like all kids, suddenly got very shy and mute. It took perhaps 15 minutes before she loosened up and became *our* Chewlee. They laughed at how she said their names (I can't even repeat it phonetically the way she did but it was recognizable ... almost... and adorable) and how she chattered once she got used to them. Godzilla kept telling the Princess that she would be able to tell Chewlee was hers in a crowd of kids because, except for the different hair colors, their faces were the same. It's really true and I can see it more and more as she grows. Except for the ears, of course. THOSE she got from her father, dammit. At least she's a girl and can keep them covered if time doesn't help draw them just a tiny bit closer to her head. I have noticed that it seems like that is happening but I can't be sure without checking pictures to make sure it isn't my imagination or what. It doesn't matter. She has so much personality that you don't even notice them after a while.

I'm exhausted tonight and am going to go to bed early. Godzilla and AM want to leave early so they can get back to the mountains early. AM has some event or other she wants to attend tomorrow evening and wants to be able to unpack from their trip to St. Louis for a family reunion and take a nap before she has to get ready. I will be happy to have my routine back and get on with the sewing of the things I am making for Chewlee.

Love you all. Have a great day. Love deeply. Laugh often. Smile broadly. Take a walk in the rain and dance like a child. Live life to the fullest because it can be too short at times. Rekindle your joy in small things and great. Read just the comics and ignore the news for a day....or a week. Sleep whenever you feel like it when you are not working (if you do). Run naked with scissors. Have a drink to celebrate the fact that you have lived yet another day. Skoal!

The Beast's aunt and cousin are coming to visit. We got a phone call around 9pm letting us know that they would be here at Brat Farm tomorrow morning. *stunned* Nice of them, wasn't it? It's just a good thing we keep this house neat and clean for the most part because AM is the *Queen of Clean*. She grew up in during the depression and was farmed out to people to literally be a slave in my opinion. In her case, it was a distant relative that had a farm and lots of farm hands and children. The woman was a tyrant and very exacting in her demands. AM learned how to clean and take care of things and kept that ethic even when she was no longer under that woman's thumb. She found she liked living that way.

She is, however, a bit of a nut in the way she decorates her home for every single holiday. Her whole house has knick knacks everywhere appropriate to the holiday. I mean to the *nth* degree. Down to napkins, plates, salt and pepper shakers...you name it. I don't know where she got THAT from. Perhaps it was from a mother that celebrated nothing and her feeling of deprivation that way. Whatever it was, she requires and incredible amount of storage just for her holiday stuff.

Her house is full of tchatskes (as my son calls them) or what other people call knick knacks, etc. Many of them are valuable (Rockwell plates, Hummel figurines...that kind of stuff). Her deceased husband collected beer steins from all over the world. Not that they traveled anywhere outside the US of A except for one trip to Peru back when their daughter was in the Peace Corp (but that's another story). The did, however, have many friends that DID travel all over the world so they were gifted with many of them. Even the Beast, when he went to Germany, came back with a stein for his uncle. The end result, from MY perspective, is that she is a slave to her home. She always has a day full of such things as dusting or shining up the silver or she's changing some of the decorator cups since she has quite a collection of THOSE, too.

Her old maid daughter, Godzilla, is just like her. The family joke is that the house will become a shrine to her mother when she dies. I would laugh if she sold it all after AM dies just because the other thing Godzilla loves is $$$$. I swear to you, she probably has most of the money she's earned her whole life. She lived at home until her parents finally were sick of it and actually went out and bought her a house, put a big down payment on it and told her she had to move into it. She liked the house and the neighborhood (it was only a couple miles away from her parents) but.....it took her a year to move into it because it wasn't up to *her standards*. She replaced all the wiring, the flooring, the cabinets, the toilets, the bathtubs....got the idea? She then had a surveyor out to make sure when she fenced in the yard that she got ALL her property fenced. Once that was all done, she moved in. Actually, she really only slept there. If she had friends come in from out of town, she would let them stay at her house and she might even stay there instead of *giving them privacy* and staying at *her* room at her folks. But you could find her at her parents house pretty much all the time anyway.

Her parents finally moved into a beautiful house on the other coast of Florida to get away from her, I swear. So she sold her house and moved into an apartment until she could retire from the Post Office. Her plans were to move over to THAT coast after she did because *her parents needed her. They were getting old, ya know*. Sadly, her father died a couple years after they bought the house and just before Godzilla retired. Her mother continued on and Godzilla settled for driving over on Fridays after work and driving back to her apartment on Sunday evenings. Shortly after she retired, her mother's health took a turn for the worse so that was her cue to move over there and in with her mother. She has been there ever since. She is another clean freak and it's a good thing because if you were to visit the house, you would be slightly confused because it has all the appearances of being a store of some sort. Everything is *just SO*.

I've gotten used to it and am quite comfortable there now. At one time, that wasn't true. Especially when my kids were young because they were normal kids and wanted to touch everything. I have spent time there, even staying for a few days as a guest and I met the *test* (if you can call it that) when she once came over to my house and I was exhausted and sound asleep. She went through my closets looking for her card table that I had borrowed for a party and then bragged to her friends that my house was neat as a pin and my closets organized even though I wasn't expecting her. I just rolled my eyes when she said that but she had a point. I had four kids and one was a year old baby. However, the *house* was a mobile home and neatness with four kids and two adults was a necessity as far as I was concerned. Our home was only a 14x65. It didn't take all that much time to clean it up.

Well, all I had to do tonight was sweep the floor and damp mop it. I also threw the scatter rugs in the washer and have to go dry them now. I will put fresh linens on my bed in the morning since we will let them have OUR bedroom. The Beast made sure the bathroom was squeaky clean and I put clean towels out for them. The Beast wants to get up early and cut the grass since their dog, Koley, is blind and almost deaf. He's also a pug and the grass is almost long enough to hide him. He says he doesn't care if the grass is wet with dew even though it means he will have to unclog it several times while he's doing it and there will be hug clumps of grass matted together.

I'm going to close for now and I will tell you anything new that happens on tomorrow's (Wednesday) blog. I'm hoping there will be lots of gossip and some strange things to tell you about them and their reactions to our house. It will be their first visit here.

Love you all and hope you have a better day than I have a feeling that *I* will have. Smile even if you don't feel like it. It will eventually defrost those muscles and feel normal, watch and see.

Talked to my nephew, Destructo, for a bit yesterday. I had called him by mistake and he wasn't home. I didn't leave a message. Just slapped myself on the forehead when I heard his voice. Found out his marriage is kaput which is sad. He waited until he was about 30 to marry but he travels a lot in his work. His wife spent a lot of time lonely. She's from South America and was a teacher there. However, her English isn't very good even after all this time so she was limited on what she could do. She's got a decent job with the Dept. of Agriculture there in Tallahassee so she won't be moving back to Miami any time soon. She lived in the Cuban section and was happy there where everyone spoke HER language. Destructo thinks she has a boyfriend there because his last trip, she took off for Miami without mentioning it to him and she has gotten a couple calls from the same guy. Oh well. He sounds sad (they have a baby that is almost 2 now) but is glad he will still be able to spend time with her.

His sister, Tara, was annoyed that he returned my call when I didn't even bother to leave a message and hasn't returned any of hers. She was glad to hear that he has to travel to Birmingham and spend three days there training someone so he's going to try to arrange it to start on a Wednesday so he can drive up here after he's done on Friday. He needs to get away, I think, and be with family. It always helps when you have a good support system.

I spent part of today cutting out the pattern for the baby's nightgown. OMG...you can't believe all the bits and pieces. Simplicity has lost their clarity on explaining how to put it all together, too. I would have a huge problem if I depended on their instructions, let me tell you. If I hadn't sewn so much for my kids for years, I would throw up my hands and toss the whole thing in the garbage. On their package, where the notions needed are supposed to be listed, they forgot two things that the instructions mention but not the package. Bias tape and buttons. I know, I know! The picture shows buttons on the bodice but I forgot. *blush* BUT....if it had been mentioned on the package, I wouldn't have.

The dog DID end up sleeping on the floor NEXT TO ME FOR SOME DAMN REASON. I had to throw him off the bed when I went in there and then make him get down twice more when he started to get up. He finally plopped down, not on his *bed* but right next to me. It's a good thing I didn't have to use the bathroom during the night because I would have stepped right on him. I probably would have hurt him, too. He was mad when he plopped down and managed to hit the bed hard enough that I worried he HAD hurt himself. His *huff* let me know he was pissed. I really didn't care. It was wonderful not to wake up because my feet had gone numb or, worse, wake up with dog breath in my face. We shall see how it goes tonight. I know it's going to take more than ONE night for him to get the message.

The Beast had to jump out the network that was built into his new motherboard. He had gotten a separate one from Tiger Direct after he figured out that it was causing him a problem. He did it and it's working just fine now. Get this. He had two DIFFERENT motherboards but the network module on both was made by the same manufacturer. The model number on them was just two numbers different and they were BOTH bad. I know! Who would have thunk it? I swear, he has a gremlin that does shit like that to him. My computer WAS his. I haven't had any of the problems that he has had. It drives him nuts but makes me laugh. Of course, I'm more selective on the programs I use and install. That probably makes a difference but he wouldn't believe it. Oh well, c'est la vie!

We have the baby tomorrow for Labor Day. I can't wait to try the new outfit I bought for her on her. I think it's going to be adorable. Of course, she is anyway. Her new hairstyle is a ponytail on the side instead of on top or in the back. I know you've seen it on some of the teenagers and I thought it was really kind of cute and casual. Her natural curl makes the hair hanging down look so sweet that I smile when I look at her. The combination of the hair style and her personality just seems priceless. Especially some of the looks on her face. It's really and truly funny when she is trying to be serious and is jabbering away. Can you tell I just adore her?

I was looking at our dogwood trees since the Beast put all the lime down in the yard. They look like they have buds on them (white) that are going to burst open any time now. The Beast claims they had them last year but I sure don't remember that. It's nice that all the rain we had after he put the lime down was gentle rain so it helped it soak in. He took another reading with his meter and the PH seems to be almost perfect now. He looked funny poking it here and there, all over the place. He gets so damn serious about the weirdest things. *rolling my eyes*

Talked to Cinderella today, too. I didn't know that our youngest sister is moving in with her on the 15th. She's already gotten most of her stuff shipped to her and she got a dresser for her stuff and put it away. She was telling me the dresser she bought had to be assembled and she would never do THAT again. She also cleaned out the closet in the second bedroom so baby sis will be able to hang up her clothes in there. I guess she shipped some of that but not all since she would have a couple weeks to get through before she flies down to Florida. She was making the comparison of putting up with baby sis to Frankenstein and I guess she IS right. A lot of similarities there. Baby will benefit by the regularity of their schedule however. She needs that kind of discipline. And she can also get some regular exercise even if it's just going down to the pool. Cinderella is looking forward to the company. Frankenstein sure isn't any.

Buttmunch's ex- finally moved out of town and she's really looking forward to what it means for her. As big as Louisville is, it is a small town in many ways. Her ex- was an executive and a big spender. He actually kept her from getting any bartending jobs that would work for her because of that fact. The owners/managers wanted his business and it wasn't going to happen if SHE worked there. And he always found out where she was. It was depressing for her. I know she's going to be happier once she really and truly knows he's not there any more. Good luck my darling daughter. I would love for her to be happy again about something in her life.

I haven't heard from my son, Mustachio, in a while. Makes me wonder what's going on in his life these days. I hope it's because he's busy and making enough money to get him through the tough winter months. Hopefully, the program he's been designing is keeping him busy in his free time and he's gotten a couple *bugs* he found worked out now.

That's all my bits and pieces for now. Love you all and hope you have a great day. Here is my thought for the day, courtesy of Maxine. Enjoy!