It was raining this morning when the Beast and I woke up. I let him get up for about 10 minutes before I got out of bed so he would have the coffee made already. I'm no fool. I wanted to get a couple cups down before Chewlee showed up. We chatted about this and that while having our coffee at the dining table and I finally laughed when I told him that he had picked up the piano player figure yesterday and again today and had never noticed the piano was gone. He was surprised because he really hadn't noticed and asked if I had broken it. I told him I was working on it while he was gone but had put it away with my paints and brushes once he told me he was on his way home.

When the Princess showed up with Chewlee, she told me that she had gotten excited when she was told she was going to Grandma's house. All the way here, she was chanting *Gramma....Gramma*. Yes, she is starting to call me that and it is very clear. She seems to find saying it correctly is fascinating for some reason. However, when she was calling me while eating breakfast, she reverted to calling me *mamaw*. I guess eventually she will find and use the word most comfortable for her.

I'm just loving how she chatters because she really IS trying to say sentences. You can recognize words here and there. For the most part, I can get the gist of what she is saying so I make the right response. It's just so funny to watch the Beast's face while this is going on. It brightens up when he starts being able to pick out various words. He can be such a *MAN* most of the time. It surprised me that he was even trying to understand her. I think it was because I was answering her and it confused him since it sounded like gibberish to him. That's why he listened more closely. Do you think he did that when our kids were little?? Hell no! I guess I shouldn't hold it against him at this stage of our life. It's nice that he enjoys anything about kids now. He sure didn't like his own. They were just *there* and he had to feed and clothe them. As long as he did that, he felt his job was done. Yet he never once considered a vacation without them and did enjoy camping with them and taking hikes. I have boxes of pictures he took of our various camping trips. He enjoyed those times with the kids but that was pretty much it. That still makes me sad and I hope in his next life he is a woman with children and he has a husband just like he was to me. That to me is karma.

After Chewlee went home, I ran up to Walmart to pick up another pillow for us. We are starting tonight to break Baron of sleeping on our bed. At least, when we are awake and aware. We needed the new pillow for US since Baron has this *thing* for the Beast's old feather pillow. We are going to give him that one on his *bed* that I bought him in January. He used to sleep on it when we had him in his kennel at night but has only slept on it a few times since we put the kennel away. I have my doubts about the Beast having the fortitude to keep Baron off our bed without me in there to help (actually it would be ME doing all the making him get off the bed since the Beast would, of course, be tired) but we shall see.

I also found some perfect flannel for a nightgown for Chewlee and some really cute trim. I can see it in my mind's eye and am getting excited about making it. I will probably end up doing that tomorrow because I will have Chewlee on Monday. It's Labor Day and the day care is closed. I also found the cutest Garanimal outfit at Walmart. I picked up the pink one mainly because they didn't have the pants I would have liked for it in brown. The little pull-on pants look like jeans. The top looks like it's two pieces (with long sleeves). The weather is getting cooler here so she will be needing stuff like that soon enough. It may not be official yet but summer IS over.

I had a good time today with Chewlee. She was in a playful mood and even the Beast enjoyed when she went out in the living room to sit with *Papa*. She sat quietly in his lap for about a half hour. She spent a lot of time today singing the *ABC* song and she is getting more and more of the alphabet correct. I know! I was going to sing it with her but she put up her finger and said *No! I sing*. I laughed so hard I thought I would pee my pants. It was just adorable and truly funny. She is also starting to tell when she needs to go potty. She ran to the door of my room and I said to her (as she was trying to get the door open), *Where are you going, baby?* She turned and looked at me and said, *Potty* while she patted the front of her diaper.

I helped her get her diaper off and lifted her up onto the toilet. She proceeded to pee and then tried to reach the toilet paper when she was done. I redressed her while she was trying to reach the handle on the toilet to flush. Like all kids, she just HAD to watch everything swirl down. Then she gave me a big grin and I clapped and told her she was a big girl. She hasn't learned to do the *other* yet, unfortunately but at least she lays down without an argument when I tell her its *diaper change time*. (singing....*You can tell by the smell....)

The Beast is in bed and I hear him yelling at Baron to get down. The door is closed to prevent Baron from going out into the living room and sleeping on the couch. That defeats the whole purpose of this. I will clue you in if it actually works. If he sneaks up on the bed like our other doberman, Domina, did once we are asleep (and we never felt her get up on the bed), I won't care. If he wakes me up doing it though, he's going to be sorry.

Have a great day. Love you all. Time to get this posted for those of you that like to read this journal of mine. I want to thank all those California people that seem to look right after midnight for it. Smile and remember to share those smiles with the people who don't seem to have one. I did that today in Walmart and was amazed at all the people who smiled back. Their faces actually got brighter. It was heartwarming.

It was bound to happen. The Princess was in an accident in her new car. Oh, not a bad one and she's fine. She was actually the hit-ee and not the hitter. The had just gone through the drive-thru at McD's and this guy wasn't paying attention and scraped her front door on the drivers side. She was just sick. She said, *I had my old car for almost five years and never was in an accident. I have this car two weeks and have one.*

How the guy could NOT notice a bright red car is beyond me but he did. She called the cops and had an accident report made out and called the insurance company. The man admitted it was his fault to the cops and there was a witness that stayed and gave the cops their information. The man is a local and told the Princess to go to the dealer, get an estimate and he would pay for the repair. Apparently, he is wealthy and the cop said there would probably NOT be a problem. But she wanted to be safe and not sorry. She was just worried about the Beast's reaction. I took a look at it and it's not as bad as I imagined. The problem will come in with when she brings it in for the repair and how long it will take. I don't think the Beast thought to put rental car coverage on it but I can imagine we will probably have to lend her OUR car for a few days and we will use the truck until it's ready. That's because of both her job and the baby. Her seat has to be in the back and that's not possible in the truck.

The Beast really IS mellowing a bit these days. I expected he would have a shitfit but he didn't. He kind of rolled his eyes as she was telling him about it and all he wanted to know was if she was alright, was it drivable and did she report it to the cops and insurance. She breathed a sigh of relief because she had done it all right and he was happy to see that the door, although there is a rather long dent in it and a scratch at least an inch and a half wide, the frame of the door wasn't touched and it opens and closes just fine. Hopefully, it won't take longer than two or three days to repair. It's the painting that's the real time consumer. Oh well.

No rain today so the humidity wasn't as high as yesterday. I am still having some sinus problems but that will be better once fall really hits here. Our high was 82 and there was a nice gentle breeze so it was pleasant. The Beast nagged me until I finally sat down and wrote out the bills to mail tomorrow. A whole $300 worth.

I was really tired for some reason today even though I got plenty of sleep last night. I took a nap or two as I felt like it and the Beast had the good sense to leave me alone. I still feel tired but I will go to sleep early tonight and see how I feel tomorrow. I need to go to Walmart and pick up a couple things tomorrow so I need to feel like moving my butt early. Especially since I will have Chewlee tomorrow. I'll run up when she takes her nap if I need to.

Have a great day. Love you all. Smile often, it helps prevent wrinkles those darn old frowns make on your face.

Short and sweet, the Beast returned home around 10pm tonight (yesterday to most of you reading this) so he totally ruined my plans for the rest of the night and tomorrow. I had to get everything put away (for now) because he has no idea how much he interrupts me and the aggravation he causes when he does that. As it is, he's been home for 45 minutes and has already interrupted me four times to *come see this* or *could you do that?* Grrrrrrrrr!

I spent almost an hour today just cutting some of the pieces of the pattern for the pajamas apart. You would think they would do that for you with the price you pay for it. I didn't cut it on the lines because I have learned better than to do that. But it was an aggravation I didn't need. After doing that, I decided that I would work on the painting instead since it takes time for the paint to dry between coats (and, yes, it takes more than one coat). The piano is so detailed that it was slower going than I thought. I haven't even got the wood sections of it completely painted for the second time. However, I did get the keys done with their *ivory* since it's an old style player piano and I wanted that *aged* look to it. Doing the keys is going to be tedious and delicate. Had to find my very fine brush and make sure it was still okay. It was packed away nicely but you just never know.

I'm going to try to actually get the pattern cut out and ready for sewing together tomorrow. The material I bought for the pajamas just screams for a pretty applique or some pretty trim, which I will run out tomorrow and see if I can find some that I like. Other than that, I'm not sure what else I will get done.

The Beast wants to take my computer and blow out all the dust and stuff that accumulates inside a computer when its located low or on the floor, especially on a rug. Until we got the wood flooring, I had no idea how darn dirty rugs actually can be even when they look clean. When I got my Dyson and vacuumed my bedroom rug, I was stunned at how much stuff it pulled out of it. It didn't get any better for a couple vacuumings. That is when the Beast decided to put the wood down in the bedroom, too. It's destined to be in all the rooms and I would like for it to be next spring (crossing my fingers). I'm not quite ready to take my chances on this room being cold this winter.

Time to wrap this up. Love you all. Have a great day.

The Beast was finally on the road by 9am. I got up around 7:30am and the Beast was already on his second cup of coffee. I joined him and we talked about what he was planning on bringing with him for the dog. I packed his overnight bag and added the three cans of (very expensive, natural) dog food as well as adding some vegetables in the bag with the chicken we had cooked up yesterday. The veggies had been frozen for the trip so it would help keep the chicken cool, also. By the time the Beast debones the chicken, the veggies will be thawed. The dog loves the broccoli, cauliflower and other veggies so he will be very happy.

As soon as almost everything was packed, the dog got up off the bed, stretched and wanted to go out. When he came back in, he came and laid his head on my lap. I really got the feeling he was saying *goodbye* to me since he knew he was going away for who knows how long. I scratched his head and his ears and he put one paw on my lap while I did that. Then I patted his back and he went over to lay down next to the Beast until it was time to go.

As soon as the Beast went out into the garage and told Baron to *come* so he knew he could go out there, Baron ran out front to do a last minute *relief* before they took off. It's something he always does since he knows it will be a while before the Beast stops. Baron never eats before noon, no matter what time he gets up. It's not like they are like people. He has to do some exercise before his appetite kicks in.

So off went the two road warriors with a warning about driving careful. After closing the door, I headed back to my bed for a little more sleep. But it was so nice to be able to do it and know that I could sleep as long as I wanted, eat when I wanted and what I felt like eating. For today and tomorrow, that's a little slice of heaven for me. I will enjoy every hour of it, too.

I want to get a pair of the pajamas made for the baby since I will have her here on Saturday and can then measure and hem the pants to her. I can also measure her for the nightgown while I have her here. So today I will pin the pattern pieces to the fabric (not a lot of fun since the top is a stretchy fabric and extra care has to be taken to make sure I am cutting it correctly) and then cut them out. I probably won't sew it unless I get excited and want to see it done. I think I forgot to pick up one item I needed (a type of finishing *tape*) but I won't be sure until I get the pieces laid out. I decided to make the pj's a size 4, did I mention that before? She's growing like a weed and that way they might actually last her through the winter.

The other thing I decided I am going to do is start on painting my little piano and piano player. I can put them on my etagere to dry well before I seal them and then do the banjo player next. I went through my paints and picked out the colors already. They and my brushes are sitting on the table waiting for me now. So I will post this and let you know later how the day actually went. I am assuming that I am not going to be interrupted by anyone or anything. That can actually be a toss-up some days.

I am off now to first do some housewifey things like changing the linens on my bed while I have no dog who thinks I am starting a game. Have a great day and do something you really enjoy doing today.

I really do believe in ESP, partly because it's something our family has demonstrated for years,mostly with each other. I also believe in auras. I've brushed past people that have made me shudder out of some sense of having *felt* their aura and it hasn't been a nice one. I think that is how animals and babies can tell good people and bad ones. Animals because it's a sense they have been given to help them guard their owners. All of us have experienced a time when a dog we have owned has reacted badly to someone for no apparent reason. The person has just walked past you while you were walking your dog or past your car when your pet has been in it and you've heard that deep,quiet growl of protection when there was no obvious reason for it. It the *aura*of that person.

Until we owned Baron, I didn't think that dogs might have ESP, too. I'm having to rethink some of my premise about dogs ready JUST auras because, I swear, Baron reads minds. Let me explain.

All dogs know that certain things you do mean that you are going to take a ride in the car (grabbing your keys, for example) or you are going to take them for a walk (you grab their leash). Those are obvious and both visual and aural clues. They have good eyesight and learn the sounds of both items. But what if you are just sitting, talking about doing something and don't even mention the key words like *ride*, *walk*, *run* or *park*? We know that Baron knows what those words mean so we try to avoid using them since the dog gets excited when he hears them. We have found, however, that just thinking about taking him to the park will bring an instant reaction, even bring him out of a sound sleep and on his feet.

Tonight I asked the Beast if he was going to take his son (I used those words) with him to Tennessee tomorrow to meet up with his aunt. I never used Baron's name; I really did call him *your son*. The Beast said, *Yes, he's good company.* The dog came running into the room, really excited and even jumped into the Beast's lap, tail wagging a mile a minute. He KNEW he was going on a *trip with daddy*, I believe it with all my heart. After that, the dog has kept close to the Beast, head constantly looking up adoringly at the Beast and a grin on his face. He has been so good all evening and he's content because HE KNOWS.

I think I've mentioned it many times before but Baron is a wonderful traveler. He is calm, content and waits for our stops because he knows he will be walked. We don't travel longer than a few hours without a stretch and potty break for us all. We even stop somewhere comfortable so the dog can be fed, watered and walked. If the area permits, Baron is even allowed to run around for a while and he returns promptly when called. He loves to ride in the car AND take trips. When we pack up the car for a trip, he gets excited because he knows WHEN we will be leaving. I've even seen him be so excited that he has a difficult time sleeping the night before.

But today there was no packing. Since the Beast isn't planning on leaving until around 9am (it's only a 3-1/2 hour trip according to the GPS), and he's only staying overnight, there wasn't even any need to pack up his overnight bag. We can do that in the morning.

It's not just today that has made me a believer. There have been plenty of incidents. Today there were no visual or key word clues. Our day was very normal and we hadn't done any discussion of the trip at all until I asked that question of him. Baron wasn't even in the room.

I know many people believe that babies can *always tell*. I believe they can tell when people mean them no harm or ones that have gentle natures. As they get older, they lose that sense. In dogs, it seems to get stronger. But children get a different kind of education from parents, neighbors, kids at day care or school and they learn not to trust or that people (or kids) can hurt them one way or another. A sad lesson and it changes their ability to trust and believe their own senses. Sad but true.

The Beast, who is probably the most *bah-humbug* person you would meet, has become a believer. He knows about our *family thing* because he's experienced it often enough in all the years we've known each other and been married. He thinks we are just *weird*. I think he's a sorry excuse for a human being at times but that's another story altogether.....LOL But he has never had a dog of his own at a time when he could really pay attention to what is going on. He's retired now and has a lot of free time that he fills with a vengeance because he's a bit on the hyperactive side. It leaves him with a lot of time to PAY ATTENTION to things other than himself now. Not that he always does but still.....

He's suddenly decided, after watching Baron pacing back and forth, plopping down then getting back up and pacing some more that the poor dog needs some exercise. As soon as he THINKS this, the dog instantly reacts. It's so amazing that even the Beast had to believe there is more going on than having a smart dog.

I'm sure other people have seen this in their animals. I know I have seen it in other animals we have known and owned even. The Beast is just a little late in experiencing this and his education has me laughing at times. I've told him a few times that the saying is, *Trust the instincts of dogs and babies* What I haven't done is finish that and tell him why. It's because it is said that angels watch over them. He would be a real scofflaw if he heard that. That's just the way the Beast is these days. Well, honestly, I shouldn't say that. He's been a scofflaw his whole life. Who am I trying to kid?

Ya'll have a wonderful day now, ya hear? Love you all and I'll let you know what I do with my days while the Beast is gone.

I spent the greater part of this morning looking all over different Google sites looking for a picture of a caterpiller to find out what the hell it was. Unfortunately, I didn't just go to Google but used the little Google window on my Firefox. The Queen of Google (aka Bratfink) finally sent me a Google Photo link that allowed me to find the darn thing. It was really strange and I wanted to know what it was. Here's a picture that the Beast took of the one we found in the remains of my garden.:
Strange looking, isn't it? It's a TOMATO HORNED WORM ! Picture is courtesy of the Beast; worm courtesy of my garden.  From the information I found on it, it also is a predator in tobacco fields, too. No wonder it's in this area of the country. I was beginning to think we found some mutant from outer space.

Another weird thought that crossed my mind. Why is a thorough forensic examination of a human body called an autopsy and the same for an animal is called a necropsy? Yet, someone who has sex with a dead human body is called a necrophiliac? What is it that *necro-* has in common with the two different actions???? Just a thought.

After reading a comment from my sister, Bee, I wondered, *Why can girls from the same talented mother have such different talents?* I mean, SHE knits AND crochets beautifully yet claims she never was able to master sewing. I crochet but mostly afghans, which can be fairly simple to do (and, trust me, I prefer SIMPLE) but never mastered knitting. It's all I can do to knit and perl and even that is suspect. It seems she envies the fact that I learned (mostly self-taught through necessity) how to sew and did so much sewing for my girls (and some for my boys, too). I even did a winter jacket for the Beast that I was proud of that ended up going to my brother. I was shocked to find out that it ended up with one of his sons after all this time! Wow! I guess we all just can't master everything. Not even the same things, huh?

Bratfink and I do a lot of talking on an IM online. It's not like we talk constantly but we keep it up and talk about this and that during the day and evening hours. What IS funny about that is we sometimes have exactly the SAME reaction to different things that happen or we hear about. It gets weird at times. We have finally started calling it *the family thing* since we seem to share this with our siblings, especially when we are together for some reason. The Beast used to call me, Bee and Cinderella *Huey, Dewey and Louie* because we would be sitting around a table talking and one of us would start to say something, the other would continue and the final one would complete the thought. We did it so naturally that we didn't even notice it. It was like we were hooked up telepathically and were just verbally sharing it with those around us not so *connected*. I was wondering if that was something that happens in other families besides ours. Or do we have a little something *extra* going for us?

It's not like we have lived close together all our lives, we haven't. I moved to Florida a year after the Beast and I got married. The kids pretty much didn't see me for quite a few years since the Beast and I were pretty poor once the kids started coming. Everyone got married, moved away from the homestead (although not as far away as *I* did) and had their own lives. But, get us together and that fades away and doesn't seem to matter. We CARE about each other and love each other (although, I admit, we have streaks when we might not always LIKE each other). But that's family. You circle the wagons when someone is hurt.

When our mother died, an uncle of ours saw how we were looking out for each other at the funeral. We wanted to make sure that someone was with each of the siblings for support when we were taking Mom's body to the crematorium. He said to me, *I had no idea you kids were so close. You all live so far away from each other.* I won't go into the logistics but we were scattered from one side of the country (California) to Florida. His family (kids and grandkids) all lived within a mile of each other. He didn't know, I gathered, that love knows no distance. We were united in our love for each other and the pain of the loss of our mother. We had spent a few days crying in each others arms, drinking ourselves silly trying to bear the pain of our loss and talking, talking, talking about our mother, good and bad included. We couldn't have done it and gone through it without each other. I pity people who don't have that kind of support. It makes me feel so sad for them. I don't know how they can bear such a loss.

Bratfink and I have been discussing some things, half-jokingly, about the Weirds. I am sure she told you that we decided that they were, indeed, dropped off here by their TRUE home planet because they were not wanted in THEIR orderly society. In fact, we think that the planet Earth may actually be the dumping ground of the universe for all their weird and crazy *people*. That explains some of the stranger people walking the planet. Doesn't it really make sense? It does to me. I can accept that. *grin*

I really go crazy at times because of the Beast. He thinks ...really and truly thinks....that HE is organized when he actually is a mess. He has so many cabinets dedicated to HIS stuff out in the garage, for example. Yet, if you go out and look through them, they are a disaster. He keeps saying, *I really need to go out there and straighten it up*. What he means is he needs to throw things into cabinets to clean off the top of the work bench and saw table so it looks neat ON THE SURFACE.

I had my closets neat and organized *once upon a time* until the Beast ran out of places for all his camera equipment, computer parts, bits and pieces, photo papers and picture frames. He started moving them onto shelves, on the floor in closets, in between my dresser and the wall and, finally, into various drawers. He took over both nightstands, three of the six drawers in the dresser in the guest room AND the nightstand in there, too. I told him, *This house is definitely TOO FREAKING SMALL for all YOUR SHIT!*. He had the nerve to look hurt. He thinks *I* have too much. I laughed and told him that all my clothes fit on the small wall in the walk-in closet and his are crammed into the LONG side. Yet, he wears pretty much the same three or four pairs of jeans and only pocket t-shirts on a daily basis. He has more shirts than some stores (well, not quite) yet has some he's never worn. Trust me, I have worn everything I own and more than once. I have clothes I still wear that I've had for years. Because of his *stuff* that needs to be in a more controlled environment than the garage offers, I had to pack up linens and towels and put them up in the attic. Not that I wanted to....I tried keeping just two or three sets out but, wouldn't you know it, one of the sets is NOT a deep pocket one and another has two out of four pillowcases that the dog chewed before he stopped that stuff. I was going to throw them out when they got noticeable but forgot until after I put the others up in the attic. *sigh*

I have plans when the Beast dies that might seem cold and callous but isn't really. I will be giving away most of his camera stuff, three of the computers in the house (Did I mention we have FOUR here not including the laptop?) and pretty much all his fishing rods. I will keep MY two for when I want to just quietly fish and relax. I will sell the boat or maybe it will go to one of my kids. It all depends on circumstances AFTER we throw the Beast's ashes into the ocean. His clothes will all go to one of the resale shops here (I'm no dummy....some are like brand new, including a couple of his winter jackets he's barely worn). If my boys want some, they will get first choice, however. He owns no jewelry because we had jewelry stolen from us years back that was never recovered and we didn't have the extra insurance we should have had to cover it's true value. He had a beautiful gold eagle that was a present from our son, Mustachio. The 24 carat gold watch he gave me was stolen then, too. Along with other jewelry since I loved rings of many kinds and styles. I pretty much gave them up after that. I only have a few now that are sentimental more than valuable. I will merely be simplifying MY life and, hopefully, it will be easier on my kids when *I* die. I plan then to give most of the good jewelry I own to those I want to have the various items.

Well, I love you all. Hope I didn't bring confusion into YOUR life or make you think I'm nuttier than you thought. I hope you have a wonderful day. Remember to tell those you love that you do as often as you can. I believe in karma. And remember....if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.

Raining here again but lightly. Just enough to keep you from doing anything outside. The temperature was close to perfect at 80 degrees. Nice wind blowing through the house with the doors open. I had to change the fans to blowing IN just because it felt good. The window is just on the other side of my desk so it's not like it blows directly on me but I get some air movement. I only did it because I wasn't getting it like the rest of the house for some reason. Go figure!

I got dressed after lunch (yes, I am a slug) so I could make my trip to Walmart in Boaz and check out the fabrics there. I needed to do a little shopping anyway besides that and I needed three prescriptions refilled. I had them at our local Walmart but I knew I could transfer it while I was doing the other shopping.

I bought the case for my sewing machine. Actually, it's a universal one and it's bigger than my machine is but has some gripper stuff on the bottom to help keep it from sliding around inside. I can put the embroidery section that's installed only when you are going to use it on the side of the case so it stays with the machine. I also bought a nice case that is full of sewing supplies (yes, I am taking advantage of the Beast's feeling bad with all the money HE has been spending lately..*grin*). Since I know ME, I got a nice storage container with a handle and a lid that's attached to keep any sewing that I am working on (or have cut out but am not ready to sew yet) as well as any extra material I have. I bought enough really neat material to make the baby a night gown or two and a pair of jammies, too. I looked for a pattern for nightgowns and couldn't find anything except jammies. One of them, however, has a top that I can just lengthen into nightgown length since the top is slightly flared. I used to do stuff like that with patterns for my girls when they were young and I sewed almost everything they wore. After I got all the stuff I wanted for sewing, I picked up the stuff I needed from groceries.

I have to tell you that the Boaz Walmart is one of the largest of their stores I have been in. It was amazing. Ours is big but this one was HUGE. I swear it seems almost twice the size of the one near our house. I know the fabric section is much, much larger. I am going to go back there just to look around because I saw clothes styles that I know we don't have at our store. Since the Beast is going to TN on Wednesday or Thursday, I figure I can do it then. I won't have any pressure on me to hurry back or any phone calls because he's *worried*.

I was gone about two and a half hours (it's almost a half hour drive from the house) and when I got home, the Beast was just finishing up putting together his new computer. I knew that was planned. He was just waiting for the case and the mother board and AMD processor to arrive. It seems it got here while I was gone and he had it put together by the time I returned home. He had the memory and the hard drive all ready for it since he bought the hard drive a couple weeks ago and the memory last week when we returned from Centralia.

So he was happily checking to make sure he didn't forget any of the updates on the new hard drive (he didn't) and setting up his icons he wanted handy. This is the SECOND spare we now have BUT...it's really set up for him to do his photos exclusively...well, I think MOSTLY. He makes me nuts with his *faster* & *better* crap for his computers. He is just never satisfied. I feel kind of bad for him because it makes me think he has never really been happy with what he has. To me, that's very sad.

I made us a nice round roast for dinner with some shells alfredo (I like the shells better than noodles) and sliced up some nice ripe tomatoes; the last from my garden. It was wonderful. The roast was a nice medium rare and really hit the spot. We haven't been eating much beef except the ground kind for a long time. I didn't realize how much I missed it. Now I have a taste for a nice charcoal grilled steak. *grin* I guess I will wait until the Beast gets back from his quick trip up to TN to see his aunt.

That's pretty much my day. I had to put everything away after dragging it all in BY MYSELF. *sigh* and then had to find spots for everything I bought for sewing. I cleared a spot in the computer room closet for the sewing machine in the case but still haven't made a place for the other stuff. That will be tomorrow because I can see it's going to be a job and a half redoing the shelf in here.

Love you all and wish you a wonderful day. I spent a lot of time smiling at people in the store today and was gladdened by the smiles returned. Try it! You'll like it.