Bratfink’s memories on her blog had me crying again after reading it.  Click here to check it out. ( http://bratfink.xanga.com/714997093/it-was-fun-while-it-lasted/)

We all have our memories of her and try so hard to understand what went wrong.  She truly was a golden child.  But, I know our family is not the only one touched by all these drugs that are out on the street.  We don’t know where Goldie is right now.  I doubt she has left Florida but she has probably worn out her welcome everywhere and with everyone.  I’m sure she will be spotted or arrested somewhere and we will find out when we occasionally check the police sites for Florida.  I hope that if something serious happens, the police will somehow be able to find us (meaning any family) to notify us.  Or, perhaps, even Goldie herself.  One never knows.

My internet connection is spotty at best so I want to get it posted while I know it’s still working.  The internet provider says they are doing some maintenance on it (a satellite?) but they might just mean the connection/program they use to access it. 

Love you all.  See you later……I hope.

I told you I was going to talk for a bit about my oldest daughter.  I call her *the lost one* because she truly is lost to us.  Mostly it’s the drugs that have their hooks in her and you can’t fight it.  I spent years trying to help her, listening to her lies, having her steal from all of us and her denying it and getting more lies.  I spent tons of money bailing her out of jail and turning my mind off to what she had done.  My concern became not only the idea of her spending a lot of time in jail or, worse yet, prison but also the effect of it on her daughter, who was a toddler.  I really hoped she would be a good mother because she seemed to love her daughter so much.  But she loved drugs more.  I kept her daughter most of her life and raised her like my own because of her mother’s inability to leave drugs alone.  She lived a trashy life and often in very bad neighborhoods.

If you are a parent,  you know how you worry about kids normally.  Try having one that can’t stay away from drugs, especially crack.  I’ve never tried it and never will.  I’ll admit to having tried marijuana but not when I was young.  (Color me very embarrassed to admit that).  I think I was about 30 the first time I ever even held a marijuana cigarette.  I can count on one hand, with fingers left over, how often THAT occurred.  That’s the extent of my *wildness*.  It happens to put me to sleep ad what’s the point of that???  Go figure.  I’m just not an advocate FOR that stuff, let alone the hard drugs on the street.

When I finally had enough and just couldn’t take the lies, the expense or the effect her behavior had on her daughter, I read all about Tough Love.  I also talked to several parents that had to use it for THEIR kids for various reasons (mostly drugs, of course).  It was eye-opening to find out how many people are going through the same thing.  Worse, how many grandparents are raising their grandchildren when they should be enjoying life and just having visits with them from time-to-time.

That was the toughest thing in the world for me to actually do.  It’s one thing to read it, it’s another thing to look that child you love, despite themselves, in the face and cut off thier access to your pocketbook and even your sympathy.  She tried blackmailing me with her daughter as the prize but that didn’t work.  She moved herself and her daughter totally out of the area but near another family member who wasn’t wise to her tricks….yet.   She ended up in deep trouble, living in a decrepit trailer with no water or electricity.  Someone called Child Services and the case worker ended up calling us because he really didn’t want my granddaughter in the system and floating from foster home to foster home.  That sojourn lasted about three or four months and we had our granddaughter back.  It was the last time she even saw her mother for over a year.

That year, my daughter spent in jail in two different counties because of tickets and other violations she had ignored like they would go away.  The end result is that she has a record now for several things.  She is a felon, not just minor things any more. 

Once she realized that I truly wasn’t going to rescue her any more, she dropped any communication with me.  She tried her two brothers and her sister, each in a different way, to attempt to move in with them and *start over* fresh in a new area.  They all told her the same thing….go into a rehab center FIRST and then she would be welcome.  This she refused.  I found out that her best friend had made that same offer and her father, who always loved my daughter and had gone through the same thing with HIS daughter, was going to pay for her to go to the same rehab center as he sent his daughter.  She refused this offer, too.  And the place she would have gone to THERE was more like a country club than any place the county might have sent her. 

She’s been offered many opportunities but the drugs hold her tightly in their grasp.  We have no idea where she is living but we do have an inkling how she is paying for it.  The oldest profession in the world.  How sad is that for a parent to admit?  I cry every time I think about it.  She’s no longer the cute, young thing she once was when she worked as an *exotic dancer*.  I fully expect one day to hear that she has been found under a bridge somewhere or in some trash bin because of the choices she has made.  Buttmunch’s friends see her on occasion (but avoid her like the plague) so we do know from time-to-time the last time she was seen alive.  It’s THAT bad these days.

When the weather turns cold, my heart aches.  I think about the fact that she might be cold, hungry or sick.  When she is doing drugs, her complexion looks like hell.  I personally haven’t seen her now in almost six years.  That hurts my heart more than I can even tell you here. 

This is my oldest child.  The first.  The one that couldn’t wait to walk and talk and run.  That was barely potty trained herself when she helped potty train her sister who was 10 months younger than her.  The one that set her pajamas on fire when she was five years old and had second and third degree burns that had to be taken care of daily.  Oh, not as bad as you might think but still……her chest and hands healed with almost no scarring thanks to a doctor that used a combination of modern and alternative medical practices.  I love Vitamin E and it’s many applications since then.

My memories are so strong and so full of love.  She was so eager to embrace life and yet so fragile.  She was brave but sometimes so stupid.  It’s why I tried for so long to save her, give her chances to change.  I ignored my other children for her sake.  My failure only makes my guilt for that worse.  I thought they were stronger than she was.  In reality, they resented it as much as they knew I was trying to save her from herself.  It’s one thing I wish I could go back and correct.  If only…….if only.  Hindisight is always 20-20.    I think if I talk about her in the future, she will be called Genie.  I would say Shaharazade but it’s too long.  The great story teller.  Yep, that’s her.  Only there’s no fairy tale ending here for me, our family, or for her. 

I have to go now.  Love you all.  Say a prayer for my daughter once in a while.  I wish I believed in miracles but I will settle for some mercy for her.

It’s like dreams.  Have you ever had a really strange dream that you just had no clue WHY you had it?  The Beast was telling me that he dreamt he was out shopping with Barack Obama.  No kidding!  Out shopping with the President.  They were in Miami and then, suddenly, they were in Chicago and looking for a go cart track.  Now how weird is that?  When I asked him what they were shopping for, he said he had no clue since Obama had just come by to pick him up without notice.

I was reading my daughter’s blog and she mentioned she had made some gravy (after breading and frying up some pork chops) that I had taught her to make.  How cool that she would mention that, although she DOES know I read it.  I was proud that something I taught her came in handy.

It made me think of the time my oldest daughter decided that she was going to make us all stew.  Now she was an adult at the time and had worked as a prep cook at several restaurants.  She usually could do a fantastic job at any meal she made.  This time, however, was a real eye-opener.

She claimed she had watched me often enough to do it even though she had not made it for herself since it can’t seem to be made for just two people.  Since she was trying to be nice and give me a break (I had a houseful of kids, mine and visiting friends of theirs), I left her alone to do her *thing*.  She finally came into the living room and pronounced dinner was cooking.  After about an hour, my sister, Cinderalla, and I went into the kitchen to take a look at how it was going and I almost died.  I called my daughter into the kitchen and had a big spoon full of the various veggies and the beef and asked her *Is this stew for GIANTS?*  The chunks of beef were huge, the carrots looked like they had just been cut in half (and they were large ones)….even the onion looked like it had just been cut in half and dumped into the broth.  My sister and I got out the knives and cutting boards and proceeded to cut everything into more bite sized pieces.  My poor daughter was humiliated and kept saying *Well, I’ve never made it before.*  To which my reply was, *But you HAVE eaten it!*  I gave her a hug and we finished up cutting everything up. 

It has been a family joke since then.  We talk about the *Giant Stew* dish we almost had to eat.  Like I said, since she had been a prep cook, it really floored me.

I continue to add things to my grocery list.  No, I still haven’t done it and it doesn’t look like the Beast is going to get his lazy butt out of the house to drive to Huntsville any time soon.  I’m going to have to make the trip to drop off the sewing machine by myself OR take the trip with the Princess.  I’m not really crazy about that idea except that we really haven’t spent all that much time together lately.  She wants to do some shopping.  Having gone shopping with her, however, she can be a whirlwind.  I like to do mine in a more leisurely manner.  I’m not really in the market for anything but I suppose I could start doing some Xmas shopping. 

Thinking about that made me think about the little LED lights I bought (solar-powered) and whether or not I want to put them on the spruce (young) out front OR string them along the bushes beside the walk under our bedroom window.  I still haven’t decided.  I will probably try them both ways and THEN decide.  That’s more my way of doing things.  I want them to really look nice and Christmas-y. 

I had the baby tonight for about an hour.  Johnnycakes had to go to work and the Princess was at a meeting at her manager’s home.  At least I think that’s what she said.  My phone service has been so lousy the last few days that I have either not had service or I keep losing my connection.

Chewlee had been missing me the Princess told me when she picked her up.  I could tell because she really wanted me to sit and hold her for quite a while before she finally got down and went to get her composition book to *write* in.  She made me laugh because she kept making her little scribbles and got very frustrated telling me, *A*, gramma!  I went over and made an *A* for her and told her to copy it.  Her *writing* got smaller and smaller as she tried.  She finally got down off the chair, came over to my desk, opened the drawer and got a different pen.  I guess she thought she couldn’t do it because of the pen. 

Oh, I had a lot of stray thoughts all day long but this is already too long, I think.  Thanks for stopping by and, if tomorrow is like today, expect some more of my stray thoughts.  I also thought about my oldest daughter, the lost one.  But that will be for tomorrow, perhaps.

Love you all.  Have a great day.  The Beast spent it cutting grass and muttering about how dumb it was to have to mow a lawn in late October.  He also said, *Didn’t I say something last DECEMBER about how weird it was to be cutting grass then?*  Of course he did.  But he was the one that thought it was too long for the Holidays since we were having a houseful.  I don’t want to live where you don’t have to mow the lawn at all during the winter.  No mowing=snow country.  Hasta manana!

I also woke up with a bit of a headache.  I think it was because the Beast has the little electric room heater on in there at night and it dries the heck out of the air.  I have no idea what time the Beast got up but when I came into my computer room, he had brought in the heater for my room and had it going.  It sure didn’t help my headache.  I took a couple aspirin after having my coffee and lay back in the recliner hoping it would go away.  It got better but only after I cracked open my window and turned that heater down a bit.  It was only set at 70 degrees but I dropped it down to 68 degrees hoping that might allow a little outside moisture to hang in the air. 

We have freeze warnings out from now until after 9am tomorrow (Monday) morning.  It did warm up to 55 degrees but it was NOT warm by any means.  I have no idea what the wind chill is/was but it’s more than *nippy*.   I think this will be the last hurrah for the leaves remaining on our fruit trees.  The Beast is happy that he got the trees sprayed so he won’t have to worry about it again until this spring.  I’m going to be sorry to be looking outside my window and seeing the poor tree bones for the next few months.

I didn’t tell you about the argument that the Beast and I had over the hummingbirds the other day.  I had been doing some reading about them (again) and decided it was time to stop putting out any more nectar for them to feed on.  An ample supply can delay their migration to Florida and other places until it’s too late.  I just love having them around so, as much as I knew I would miss their daily trips to the feeder, I figured I would let this last batch be used up and put it away for the winter. 

The Beast watched the nectar dropping and dropping drastically and told me I needed to refill it.  I told him I was done for the year and he tried to say I needed to fill it because they were constantly coming to it and drinking it like crazy.  It was down almost to the last inch (which really told me they were *stocking up*, so-to-speak).  He tried to talk me into refilling it again and I told him NO.  He got a bit pissed at me and I think he was going to do it himself but he couldn’t find the stuff to make it (premix) and doesn’t know how to make it from scratch.  What’s funny about all this is…..when I had mentioned to him that I thought the last batch I put out might actually BE the last batch (but I hadn’t decided then for sure), HE took the premix and put it up on top of the cabinet in the utility room to *get it out of the way*.  I cracked up when I realized he was looking for something that HE had moved.  When he asked me where it was, I just said (innocently), *I keep it on the bottom shelf in the utility room cabinet, left side.*  I do but I knew it wasn’t there.  He, however, never remembered moving it.  I just stuck to the truth. 

I tried to suggest to the Beast that he might want to use the electric blanket tonight instead of having the little heater on but he felt it *wasn’t quite the time for it yet*.  *sigh*  It would sure keep the room from drying out and giving me a sinus headache, though.  Oh well.  C’est la vie with the Beast.

I mentioned to the Beast that he might want to think about a 3-wheel bike and take a look at Sam’s Club to see if they had any when we go there.  I told him it was Bee’s suggestion and he just sighed and said he was almost afraid it WAS time.  I, personally, was worried about him being able to balance on a bike but, since he can do okay on his scooter, he really thought he would be all right.  Unfortunately, I know that it’s very different.  It’s much easier to keep your balance on a motor scooter than a bike.  Even the Princess was horrified that he would even consider it.  She remembers why he gave his bike away to Tara’s kids.  I had forgotten that was the reason, actually.  I knew, at the time, that the kids weren’t eligible for the bus and had to walk to their middle school and that bothered the Beast.  Heck, it bothered me, too, but I had to walk further and survived so I just let it be.  But they are boys and the Beast remembers when HE was a boy (what a memory!).   Now they get the bus since they live in the new house.  I wonder if they even ride them any more.  Hmmm. 

I guess I should get this set up for posting later.  I need to think about getting dinner ready for us.  Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and some applesauce is on the menu for tonight.  Good, old-fashioned meal, don’t ya think? 

Love ya.  Have a great day.  Keep warm, stay healthy and no words to the wise or thoughts to ponder today.  Just think of your loved ones near and far and be sure to tell them you love them every time you talk to or see them.  There’s no such thing as too much love.

We did our usual playing together with me doing some tickling, hugging and wrestling with her, too.  She let me brush her hair, which is getting really long and curly.  Best of all, it’s a pretty curl.  I put part of her hair up in a pony tail and let the rest of it just hang down in long curls.

She had the cutest pair of beige jeans on and her *Who Needs Santa When I Have Grampa* shirt.  Hint, hint.    That time of year is fast approaching, after all.  It’s never too soon to start hinting at the presents you hope to get.  I found out she not only knows how to take off her shoes and socks but she also can put them back on and on the right feet!    I know.  She looked at them before putting them on her feet to make sure she had the correct ones.

The funniest thing she did today (at least it was funny to ME) was this:  She was being a bit of a stinker and I said to her, *Chewlee, you are supposed to be a good girl!*  She looked at me with the most serious look on her face and said, in a solemn tone of voice, *Gramma…I am NOT a good girl*.  It was all I could do not to laugh out loud at her.  I had to leave the room, it was THAT funny.  She was SO serious.

When the Princess got off work, we ran up to Walmart together to pick up a couple necessary things.  I hadn’t picked up the last of my prescriptions and the dog was completely out of the chicken we feed him as a supplement to his dry food.  She bought Chewlee a pair of footie pajamas that were on sale and picked up some vitamins for her, too.  Chewlee has had a cold that she just can’t seem to shake and the Princess said if she hasn’t gotten better by Thursday, she’s taking her into the doctor.  I personally think that kids in day care don’t get over colds once they have them because they are constantly reinfecting each other.  Just a sad fact of life.

Chewlee apparently waited until we started for Walmart to do all her pee-ing and also a poop.  It was more than her diaper could hold so she had a big wet spot on the back of her pants.  We hated to drag her out in the cold (it was just 40 degrees with a nasty wind)but really had no choice.  We almost ran through the store, gathering up what we needed and ran back out hoping the car wouldn’t have cooled down much.  (It hadn’t)  The poor Princess, being in the midst of moving from the old house to the new one, has a trunk full of her clothes and is hesitant to go through them to find warmer clothes.  But they will be bringing them over to the new house tomorrow (on their dual day off).  Even she admits that the warm days of summer are gone and we seem to be skipping most of our regular autumn weather.  It’s darn near cold enough to snow, for crying-out-loud. 

I did finally make my meatloaf but it’s much smaller…well, smaller…than the one Bratfink made.  It’s only about 3lbs…..if you don’t include the onions and green pepper, eggs, etc. added to it.  But, OMG, it tastes WONDERFUL!  Or maybe it’s just because I was so meatloaf hungry.  Naw….it tastes good. 

Monday is going to be our busy day I think.  I definitely want to get my sewing machine fixed and we need to get the shopping at Sam’s Club taken care of, too.  The Princess owes us some money that she will be giving us next weekend when she gets her commission checks so that should more than cover anything we buy and still leave the Beast extra money for his trip to his brothers.

Time to relax and get this posted for later.  Love you all and I hope you have wonderful weather to enjoy a bit of life.  Here’s another quote from Maya Angelou that I just love.  What a nice, insightful view of life she has acquired in her lifetime.  Here’s the quote:  “I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.”  That is such a true statement if you think about it.  Well, don’t forget to smile and do something you enjoy today.  Don’t be a slave to routine.

While sitting at the table, however, he realized that his power pack had capacitors in it and could cause the same thing.  He found he had a brand new, still in the box, power pack in one of his many drawers he uses for computer *stuff*.  He DOES have this tester thingamabob that he checked out the old power pack with and it showed that one volt/amp/something wasn’t working.  The new one was installed and VOILA!  IT WORKS!  Amazing.  And, of course, HE didn’t lose a thing.  Doesn’t it just figure? 

I encapsulated the day down to two paragraphs but it was much more complicated than that, trust me.  It meant we DIDN’T go to Huntsville to drop off my sewing machine nor to Sam’s Club to stock up on some things for the winter.  Not that it was just the computer that kept us from going.  It was COLD outside AND windy.  The Beast even turned on the HEAT!    Yep, it looks like it’s official.  Winter is rearing it’s ugly, cold head.  Warm is over.  Gone.  Kaput.   Time to drag down the winter clothes.

I do have two of my packs down and ready to drag in the house.  I’ll have to throw them in the dryer to de-wrinkle them and freshen them up with some Bounce thrown in.  They were all nice and clean when I packed them away.  You don’t want to attract any unnecessary bugs with some of those attractive (to them) stink aromas, do you? 

The Beast finally got dressed (yes, he was SO ATTRACTIVE running around in his underwear most of the day and complaining about the cold).  *Insert eyeroll here*  He took the dog out, got the mail and even cut up some more boxes from HIS stuff that was hanging around in the bedroom.  He also threw out some old power packs he had been saving because they won’t work with any new equipment and he’s not doing service work on anyone else’s stuff.  What WAS the point???

He came in complaining about the cold and then…..now get this!…..he says he’s going up to Walmart to look for a bicycle to use to run Baron around during the winter!  He’s having a problem using the scooter (he tells me this NOW) and he doesn’t want to have to walk around the circle since his leg gives out too easily these days.  Then he looks at me and says, *I don’t know if I even want to ride a bike around in this cold.*  Talk about an understatement!  This is the least cold we will see this winter and he’s not sure he wants to ride in IT?????  I just don’t know about this guy.  Even after 45 years, there are times I think he’s nuts.  No, I take that back.  I KNOW he’s nuts.  But as long as it’s HIM that will be riding the bike, why should I worry?

I wish you could have seen Baron when the Beast said *Walmart*.  He started jumping for joy because to him, it meant *road trip*.  It still amazes me how he picks up on key words and just KNOWS he’s going for a ride.    He’s amazing in the car, too.  He sits up and looks out the window or lays down quietly.  Not the least bit nervous or anxious.  If you leave him in the car, he gets into the drivers seat and just watches the people walk by.  No barking at people like some dogs.  He KNOWS no one is going to mess with HIS car. 

When the Beast got home from Walmart (and more goodies *sigh*), it seems he forgot the onions I asked him to pick up.  I’ve had a taste for meatloaf since Bratfink talked about making hers.  Thank goodness I have two still in the crisper or I would have been totally pissed off.  BUT…..he bought two Hungry Man TV dinners (chicken) so I forgave him.  I’ll make the meatloaf later today and cook it tomorrow.  It’ll help heat up the house at the same time.

Wonder of wonders, the Beast ended up not buying a bicycle.  You’ll never guess why.  He had a tough time trying to lift his leg up high enough to get on……and I mean a girl’s bike; not even a boy’s bike.  I asked him why he didn’t just stand on his left leg and lift the right leg over since he CAN lift that one and he said his left leg was too weak to hold his weight up.  So he’s going to have to try to figure something else out to exercise the little beast this winter.

Now he’s got me worried.  I had no idea that he was feeling that weak.  Knowing him the way I do, I know it’s because he didn’t want to worry me (or worse, make me celebrate!….LOL).  It also explains some of his frantic need to finish doing some of the stuff he thinks needs doing around here.  He thinks he’s getting weak because he’s afraid he’s going to die sometime soon.  It makes me sad that he is thinking that way and that he is afraid to put it into words and share that with me.  But then, when he was afraid that *I* was dying, he could never accept it enough to voice that fear.  I’ll have to find a way to help him open up and share those fears with me.  Maybe I can find a way to allay them.  Have to give that some thought.

Your home should be your *center*.  A place you can leave but are always happy to return to when you do.  It should put a smile on your face and a lift in your heart.  Not just because it is familiar and you can take off your bra or run around in your underwear if you feel like it, but because it is your joy.

I guess I was thinking about this because a woman I know slightly had her home burglarized.  Having had that experience several times in my lifetime, I knew exactly what she was feeling.  You feel not only invaded but almost raped by the experience.  Someone came into your sanctuary and invaded it without your permission.  Your *stuff* can always be replaced but never your security.  She was having an alarm system installed because of that.  We did the same thing but that same feeling never really returns to you.  I’m just glad that we live in a different area of the country than she does.  It might be a false sense of security but having a doberman that weighs 110 lbs. (no fat) and a bark that makes your ears ring if you are nearby gives you a certain sense of security without all the alarms.  It probably would be cheaper than feeding the dog is to have an alarm system but I don’t like the feeling that you *need* one to feel safe.

Our community here is considered a farming one.  We have all the common stores, restaurants and other niceties nearby, don’t get me wrong.  It’s just smaller, not as developed and a lot more peaceful than other areas are.  If we want something from a more upscale type store, we just have to plan to travel about an hour away.  I like that better than living in a city where the traffic is a nightmare, drugs are on every corner and prostitutes ply their trade every night.  Give me the cows and horses that we can hear from our deck every evening, thank you very much.

The program *Sanctuary* on SyFy channel is very different.  They find and provide sanctuary to the *unusual* creatures of the world that need to be protected and hidden from society.  Some of them are truly unique.  Some shows drag but, for the most part, it’s an interesting concept.

I almost clobbered the Beast today.  I got a small box that contained a couple items I had ordered (LED solar lights for the bushes in front this Xmas and some Bondini glue).  I want to try the solar lights out. They are small and white ones but should look nice.  Anyway, I removed them from the box as the Beast was emptying the garbage can and getting ready to tighten up the bag.  He looked over at me with his hand out for the box and had the nerve to say *I’m really getting tired of all these boxes from the stuff you are getting.*  I turned and shot him a look that should have killed since HE is the one that has been ordering stuff for the past few weeks.  I DID hit him….HARD….on his shoulder and tell him he had a lot of damn nerve.  He just laughed because he knows HE is the one with all the boxes.  He just wanted to get a rise out of me. 

He ran up to Pet Depot to pick up some of the incredibly expensive natural dog food he is feeding Baron these days since we were out of it.  While he was there (you can take your pet in with you), Baron found this HUGE pillow-like pet bed and yanked it off the shelf and laid down on it.  Well, the Beast figured that means that Baron had selected the bed HE wanted and bought it for him.  I told the Beast that he probably should have tried that before he went out and bought the crib mattress for him.  Now we have to find someone that might need it.  Forget giving it to the Princess.  The baby’s paternal grandfather is going to buy her a Princess bed now that Chewlee is able to sleep on a regular bed without constantly rolling off it.    I know, it’s really not funny but it IS!  So I think the Princess is going to give the crib to Tara for her little one.  It’s an incredibly expensive one that actually converts to a youth bed. 

I asked the Princess why they weren’t just going to do that and she said since the OTHER grandfather wanted to buy it for Chewlee, she was going to let him.  I guess it will be an early Christmas present for the baby. 

Baron IS using the pillow bed.  He seems to like it or else he’s just doing it out of spite.  Who knows what goes on in that dog’s mind?  He has the strangest personality but then, so does the Beast.

Also, I found out that the Beast is definitely going up to Centralia the first week in November.  He’s going to spend the week there with his brother and then go back up to Chicago with him to see his OTHER brother, Renoir.  Renoir has MS and it’s very bad for him.  He’s pretty much confined to a wheelchair these days and he shakes enough to make you nuts.  However, once he starts to do something, the shaking stops.  It’s amazing to me because I wondered how he actually could do some of the things he does.  He’s an incredible artist.  Not just drawings, paintings and graphics, but he makes boat models.  The work is fantastic.  You have to see it to believe it.  He used to make and build furniture but it’s become much too dangerous for him now.  His talent seems endless.  It’s just a shame that the MS hit him at such a young age.  He was only about 23 at the time.    He has, however, lived much longer than most that get it at that age.  He is very close to 50 now.

The Beast is going up there to build a computer for Renoir.  He and Renoir were discussing the cabinet for it and the motherboard that Renoir wanted.  He does a lot of his graphic work using the computer and all the Photo Shop programs that he’s accumulated over the years.  Thankfully, Renoir married a very talented woman that makes good money so his life has been comfortable.  The house they live in is like something out of House Beautiful, including the landscaping which he and his wife designed and she pretty much did by herself.  It includes a type of creek bed that is beyond belief and an open air Greek style patio.  Some magazine actually DID feature it but I didn’t find out about it until too late. 

Once the Beast puts the computer together (he’s going to be showing how to do it to his brother so he can take care of any future problems on his own), he’ll come back.  I figure I should have at least 10 days to myself here.  The invitations go out at the end of the month….

Time to send this down the wire.  Love you all.  Have a wonderful day and don’t forget to smile.  Here’s a thought for the day:  Never buy anything just because it’s practical, won’t show soil or is guaranteed for a lifetime.  Buy something that makes you happy.  Life is too short and uncertain not to have yourself surrounded by things you love and use.

They do, however, allow unlimited downloading between the hours of 3am-5am.  After checking on the Microsoft site to see how much downloading was needed, I decided I would just stay up and play games on Pogo while waiting for 3am.

I did this and started the downloading.  I was surprised that it went as fast as it did since it only took about 45 minutes.  I then had to install Spysweeper, which is both a virus program AND it searches and destroys spybots.  That, also, requires downloads since we all know that most virus programs update on a daily basis.

I also found out that the Beast forgot that I needed the Power Point reader so I had to go to the site and download that.    I managed to get it all done and installed before 5am.  I was so wide awake at that point that I made some fresh coffee and just cruised some sites that Bratfink (bless her heart) had emailed me that she knew I had lost.  I then read the news and my comics (gotta have those laughs every day, ya know).  By then, I was finally starting to fade. 

The Beast had been up until 2am but he went to bed and got some sleep.  He did wake up at one point since he had some downloading to do also (just 51mb…sheesh…piker!).  He set his computer to do that, check to see if I was doing my downloading and my progress and went back to bed.  He knew his computer would automatically restart to finish installing the downloads and would go to *sleep* by itself.

He was still asleep when I laid back in my recliner and took a nap for a couple hours.  I woke up around 9:30am and tried to get my act together for a bit but it was no use.  I DID manage to do one of the weekly challenges on Pogo but finally had to go back to sleep.  My day has been one of getting up to take meds, grabbing a bite to eat and then laying back in the recliner and slipping back asleep.

The end result will be that I am up very late before going to bed tonight because sleep will not be on my personal menu.  Oh well.  C’est la vie!  All because the Beast is a jerk!

I caught up with KP on Pogo.  Actually, she was playing my own personal challenge for me on Pogo and I knocked her off when I went online.  I told her I really hadn’t expected her because it was her normal time to be on duty.  It turns out she had the night off so she stayed up longer than normal and decided to do that for me.  Thank you so much, KP….love ya!

I told her I would do HER challenge which was for a game she doesn’t like so we switched identities.  She cracked me up when she came into the room I was in after I had finished her challenge and she had finished mine.  She *reported* to me the time she had completed it and said she was heading for bed.  Very military like….but she called me by HER name (since that was the name I was under….LOL).

Bratfink had a headache and went to try to get rid of it but we will be playing the final challenge for the week together, I think.  There’s really no rush since we have the whole week to get it done but it’s nice to get them over with right away. 

Don’t ask me how.  He swears that is all he did.  But I know he can be rough at times when he really doesn’t care or when he thinks he is so skilled, he doesn’t need to be careful.  All I know is that I now have NO bookmarks; have lost programs that I paid for and can no longer re-download because the confirmation pages I saved are gone with the wind, too.  I have to redownload all the damn updates to my Windows Vista which means I must stay up tonight until 3am to get that started.  I also have to download all the updates to my Spy Sweeper and a few other programs like my Virus protection (and we know how THAT can be).    I am still in shock over this all.  I swear, whenever he touches anything that is MINE, he breaks it…someway, somehow.

I listened to his protestations of innocence and I told him….*All I know is that it was working fine and now it isn’t.  If I hadn’t let you touch it, it would STILL be working fine.*  He tried to say I had no way of knowing that; it could have crashed tomorrow.  I just waved him away and said *I know it wouldn’t have.  It was just YOU.*  He did manage to save all the stuff I had in My Documents, which is where all my pictures were so I let him live.  I am so tired of losing all of those and I think that stuck in his mind because he saved that before he even touched my computer.  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he KNEW!!!!

I got on my laptop and had to download YIM on there so I could leave a message for Bratfink (she was offline due to it being their *rearrange the living area due to taking out air conditioners* day).  I didn’t know that until I read HER blog but it’s just as well because I was fuming all evening and wouldn’t have been good company for her.

The ONLY good thing about this whole mess is that I ended up with a 500gb hard drive (a new one he had intended for his own use…LOL) and double the RAM that I had.  I have the 64-bit Vista program on here now although I can’t foresee any use that I can think of for having it.  I don’t have any programs that require it, unlike the Beast, but it was the only legal Vista left that he could still use.  He has that new Windows program coming in January so it’s not like he won’t have anything to put on HIS 500gb hard drive (which I am sure he will be re-ordering tomorrow).  One thing for sure…..I don’t think I will be running out of hard drive space any time soon. 

Well, I’d better get this posted with my apologies for Beast Lead Hands.  He will NOT be forgetting this any time soon, let me assure you.