This keyboard can change from the standard qwerty to an A-B-C-D, etc. keyboard which makes it easier for those so handicapped to locate the letters they need.  When I saw it, I KNEW it was meant for the Beast.  He claimed he really would like one but didn't want to order one.  At the time, I didn't realize that he didn't want to because he was spending so much money on all his guns, ammunition and assorted paraphernalia. Or else he didn't want anyone to know (even those anonymous people who process orders) to know that HE couldn't type.  **Sigh**  So, I sent for it for him.  It came today.

He hasn't installed it yet but probably will tomorrow.  He's been too busy fine-tuning his sights on his guns today.  I shall give you reports on this in the future.

Chewlee was perky as usual.  She was happy and kept singindifferent songs (like the A-B-C song) and *Ring around the rosy*.  The Beast heard her singing her A,B,C song and thought it was cute.  She even went out into the kitchen to sing it to him when he was sitting at the table.  What made her a bit unhappy was the sound control on my DVD player for the TV went out.  The DVD's showed, played but no sound.  My TV sound was okay and the DVD's worked in my computer.  I made the Beast go buy me a new one and he got one that also plays Blu-Ray.  He even got the special cable for it although he bitched about how much THAT cost for *just a cable*. 

I avoided installing the new one while Chewlee was there and we just turned on the Monster du jour on SyFy Channel.  When it started to bore her (whenever no monsters were coming or on the screen), she spent some time with her counting book and counted every thing on each page (correctly) then made me point to them as she counted.  She had me read *Green Eggs and Ham* to her twice then decided she would read it to ME.

After she ate lunch, I could see her fading so I got her to lay down on a pillow on the floor to watch TV with me and she was asleep within 5 minutes.  When I got up, I looked at her and she looked so darn cute.  Bratfink was annoyed with me that the battery in my camera was dead so I couldn't take a picture of her.  I plugged it in to charge up but she woke up before I had it charged.  Figures.  I'll have to take one another time and post it.  Of course, they all look like angels asleep, don't they? 

After she woke up, she decided she was going to play teacher and *I* was the student.  What's so funny is that once I was a bit tired of it and got up, she insisted I had to go to a *time out* on the bed in the guest room.  Get this.  I had to SIT on the bed.  I couldn't lay down on it.  She shut the door and left me there.  I turned off the light and hide behind the door on her.  When she went to look and see where I was, I snuck back into my room and then she came in and yelled at me and told me I HAD to go back into the room for my *Time Out*.  I was hysterical with laughter.  When the Beast came in while she was yelling at me, then HE had to have a *time out*.  She was so cute...she said, *Take my hand...come on, let's go!* and she would lead you into the room and pat the edge of the bed.  She would turn at the door, shake her little finger at you and say, *Now STAY there until your time out is over!* and then shut the door.  Just too funny!

The Beast got her distracted and then she was *high 5-ing* us both.  We had our cuddle time as she was winding down before she got picked up.  She kept saying that Mommy was picking her up because Daddy was sleeping.  She must think he sleeps all day.  SHE got the surprise because it WAS Daddy that picked her up.  She kissed me goodbye, said bye-bye to Papa and doggie and left without a backward glance.

The Beast met up with the Princess, Johnnycakes and Chewlee a little after the Princess got off work and they went out to have a nice Mexican dinner.  I didn't go because my stomach was out of sorts.  No, not really IBS but the whole idea of Mexican food (which I love) just made me nauseous.  The Beast brought me home some of his meal and a while Chile Rellano (my favorite) but I only managed a couple bites.  I did eat the rice but had to throw out the rest.  I couldn't even look at the refried beans without feeling sick.  It was sweet of him to think of me but I HAD told him I just wasn't up to it. 

Tomorrow our high is supposed to be up in the lower 50's but our low tonight is in the 20's.  Go figure out that one.  The dog will be happy because then the Beast will take him down to the lake and let him run around for a while as long as it's not too windy.

He turned on the fireplace and I kidded him that he just loved watching it and that was the real reason he was in his recliner instead of bed.  I have no idea how long he was out there but I did notice he kept bopping back and forth from the recliner to the bed and back to the recliner. 

The damn dog started his whining and light, short barks to wake me up so he could go out.  I dragged myself out of a nice warm bed because the Beast had closed our door when he made the trip back out to his recliner.  Otherwise, Baron would have woken HIM up to let him out.  It was only 6:30am.    I grabbed a cup of coffee and waited for Baron to want back in and found myself more awake than asleep.  After Baron came back in, I turned on the computer in my room and read the news until I got tired enough to lay down in my recliner and grab a bit more sleep.  Not the smartest thing to do since it leaves your daily clock all screwed up.  *Sigh* 

The Beast was sleeping in his recliner for a lot of the morning but finally dragged himself out of bed because he had some running around he wanted to do.  He wanted to go to the Shooting Club so the guy there could tweak the sight on his OTHER gun and, while he was out, the gun shop in Huntsville called so he drove up there to pick up the new gun.  I have to say, it's a really nice looking gun as those things go.  The new 30.30 rifle has a stainless steel barrel with some kind of other coating on the outer barrel.  The stock is black so it has to be some kind of hard plastic/vinyl/rubber something or other.  I didn't ask.

Then, of course, he had to attach the scope, try to adjust it, etc.  He bought a new program that allows him to print out a target for the distance, ammunition, and a whole lot of other information so that you can check out your sight at different distances.  *Insert eye roll here*

He's never so happy as when he has a new toy and the rifles are it, I guess.  He's printing out more targets so that he can use the laser thing he bought (to the tune of $200.) and check out the scopes at various distances.  He says he's going to tape them to the garage door and the laser light will let him know if they are correct.  The laser light slides into the rifle barrel so I guess it will.  All I know is that he stopped complaining about his back or lack of good sleep once he had the new rifle in hand.  MEN!!!!

Sometimes there is no pleasing them and other times they seem to be so easy to please.  What's up with that???

Tomorrow (today) is my day with Chewlee and I prepared myself for the day with Godzilla by watching Godzilla movies today.    I watched the Godzilla movie with Matthew Broderick in it which I happen to enjoy.  What's funny is the studio got permission from Japan to make the movie and the Japanese were so upset by the movie that they vowed never to allow us to make another one.  They spent YEARS turning Godzilla into a Japanese friendly monster who only defends Japan now (and the destruction comes only from his fighting these other monsters).  OUR Godzilla was a true giant reptile who could care less about people, buildings or anything except his own agenda.  He also seems to like the taste of people, too. 

Poor Baron is so bored that he's like a lot of people....he's eating more food than he is working off most days.  Today, since the Beast had him already in the car with him, Baron took the ride to Huntsville.  The Beast stopped up by the park along the lake and let him run before he headed that way and then stopped again on his way back home.  That run was cut a bit shorter than Baron would have liked since the Beast was anxious to get home and work on his new *toy*.  So, Baron had to be let out in the back yard and I watched him run around the yard a few times and then bark at the dogs next door before coming in.

After that, he kept sniffing around for food.  Not his dry dog food but he wanted either the canned or his chicken and veggies we feed him.  He knew the Beast had cooked up fresh chicken yesterday for him.  He's got a memory like a darn elephant. 

Have a wonderful day and smile at everyone to make them wonder what you are up to...LOL.  Love you all.

I cleaned underneath our bed again and collected a few smaller dust bunnies that got left behind from my hasty (and shocked) cleaning yesterday.    I dust mop just about every day and I am still startled at all the darn dog hairs that I get each time.  This dog should look like a Mexican hairless.  I didn't know that a short hair dog could shed this badly.  It's just a good thing that none of us are allergic to it.

I hemmed the Beast's jeans and darn near broke a needle on the sewing machine going over the thick side seam.  I wasn't really paying as close attention as I should have been or I would have hand turned it slowly so that there wouldn't be a problem with the feeder plate moving it along.  Of course, part of that was the stitch pattern I had picked out so that it would hold the raw edge on the inside and keep it from fraying and still have a nice even pattern on the outside.  When I got done, it almost looked like that was the way it came from the factory.  Of course, the Beast won't notice this or appreciate it but I do it because it makes ME feel good.

While I was at the machine, I decided to get a few other things out of the basket that needed some minor repairs.  I left it up so I can go ahead and put together the outfit for Chewlee I have cut up and ready for sewing.  Tomorrow before I do anything I MUST clean this rug.  As I vacuumed it today, I could see all the little spots where Chewlee has dropped a little of her milk or juice.  She tries to be careful but she IS just a baby still.  She hasn't learned all those skills of being aware of what she is doing or holding while she is trying to watch TV or if she gets excited and jumps up.  You know what I mean if you have children (or have had children that are now grown). 

The Princess was telling me today that she, Johnnycakes and Chewlee are going to go down to Florida for an extended weekend in a week or so.  Then, later, when she has a full week, they will go down again.  I don't think Johnnycakes has ever been there and the idea of warm weather and sandy salt water beaches appeals to him.  I know he will like it a lot better just because it won't have all the turtle weed that plagues lakes and freshwater canals.  It feels icky around your legs when you just want to enjoy yourself and swim, dive or horse around.

Of course, they will be heading towards Clearwater, I think she said.  I was glad because it's a few hours closer than our house in Port Charlotte was and won't be such a bad drive with two drivers.  The Princess has driven herself down there before to visit with friends but it always worried me.  They will be staying with a friend there and it's close to the beach from what I'm told so they should have a good time.  It will be a different experience for Johnnycakes and for the Princess to, perhaps, see his reaction to the differences.

Time to get this up since I am so late already.  Love you all.  Have a wonderful day wherever you are.

He bought some *tool* or other today for installing his scope on one of the rifles he bought.  I think it's the .22.  He had to get a bunch of odds and ends because it's not really set up for a scope on it.  So there he was, happy as a lark for about an hour or so, getting it ready for *tweaking* at the gun range next week. 

I had to fish out some toy the dog was whining over from under my bed today and was horrified at the dust bunnies that had accumulated in just about 10 days since I last cleaned under there.    I kid you not!  There's just the two of us (and the dog, of course) here most of the time.  We aren't running in and out of the house so where does all the dust come from?  Or is it just that wood floors attract dust?

So, after I dust mopped under there, I took a wet mop and cleaned it up just a little more.  I didn't want any dust to stay under there to start reproducing other dust bunnies.  You know how those things go!  If you don't, they get together and before you know it, your whole bedroom is covered with them! 

The Beast came in with one of his new pair of jeans that he was wearing for the first time since he bought them a couple months ago.  I guess he just worried about the waist measurement and not the instep so I have to hem them up and take about 3 inches off the bottom.  I'm glad I have the sewing machine because he'd have a heck of a time returning them otherwise.

I spent about an hour just walking around all the rooms and grabbing stuff that was out of place and either stacking it up for the Beast to put away in his garage or where it belonged.  What ticks me off is the majority of it is the Beast's mess.  He seldom returns anything but his hand tools to where they belong....and sometimes, not even them!

It was cold today, as expected.  If we got any snow last night, I couldn't tell it when I got up.  It was bright and sunny and already 9:30am before I dragged myself out of bed.  I had to get up because my nose needed blowing.    I found the Beast asleep in his recliner.  He'd had a bad night of coughing and finally decided to try sleeping in a different position.  It worked for him, I guess.  Having done it myself a time or two, I couldn't blame him.  Especially since coughing makes his back hurt even more.

I know they want me to use IE (Internet Explorer) but I use Firefox because I love the features and I have less trouble with it.  I also have the new Windows 7 but I had it when I downloaded the new version of YIM and it was supposed to be compatible.  They (Yahoo) keep sending me surveys about my feelings on their customer service and I will NOT fill one out until I AM satisfied.  I'm still sending complaints on an almost daily basis so how could there possibly be ANY satisfaction.  Worse, the surveys are very slanted in the responses they allow you.  So, like I said...until this problem is resolved, no survey.

Still haven't heard from the gun dealer in Huntsville.  Oh, and I thought the Beast was buying another .308 but I was wrong.  That was the perfect rifle, according to the Beast but he says he couldn't really handle it at his age and due to the effects of the strokes.  What he already has and also ordered was a 30.30.  A Luger, I gather but I only half listen to his rantings about bullets, their differences, the costs, etc.  It's not MY obsession.

I spent a half hour on the phone with Buttmunch today.  I'm not sure just why she called but we had a few giggles.  I won't go into what we were talking about just because it really was disgusting but we managed to find something funny about it.  It reminded me of an episode of South Park about the biggest turd in the world.  That was such a man-thing episode.  We all have such weird senses of humor. 

As predicted, our temperature dropped today.  Our high was 37.  It was down around 28 last night...not sure if it dropped lower than that.  I was nice and comfy under the down comforter and electric blanket.  It's going down even more tonight and they are predicting snow.  Not a lot of it but definitely flurries that should last into late morning.  It will get warm enough to melt it off and then down to about 22 at night.  *Sigh*  It's no wonder so many people get sick with this weird weather.  Hope you all have managed NOT to be sick.  If you are suffering from a sinus cold, like me, I sympathize with you on that.  It's miserable and I have used up almost two full boxes of Kleenex in just three days.  I get them with the aloe in it so at least my nose isn't raw.

So, stay warm (or cool if you are in that kind of climate) and have a great day today (tomorrow...LOL).  Love you all and thanks for stopping by.

It was overcast due to the bad weather moving in on us.  Yesterday, shortly after posting my blog and going to bed, we had one heck of a thunderstorm.  It just poured down rain and was still going on when I drifted off to sleep.  This morning there was little sign of the rain except everything was wet and we were overcast.

The temperature got up to 61 but no sun.  The dog (what a wuss!) was actually hesitant to putting his feet into the wet grass.  Finally, his need to pee became stronger than his dislike of wet feet.  As soon as he was done, he headed for the deck like a bat out of hell.    Sometimes, he is so funny.

I had a couple little errands to run and I figured I would do them before I picked up the baby so it all got done in one trip.  I figured it would probably take me a little more than an hour, depending on how many people were shopping.  It ended up that even with three stops, it only took me 45 minutes because I didn't want to be late picking up Chewlee. 

I took Baron with me since he loves to ride in the car and is so good.  He was great, as usual....at least until we got to the school to pick up Chewlee.  He has been there before and KNEW that I was going to get Chewlee and he got SO excited that he really, really wanted to go with me to get her.  Ri-i-i-gt!  I gave him a firm NO and got her from her classroom.  There were still quite a few of the kids there that hadn't been picked up yet and it was so cute because one little girl came over to tell me her name, very shyly.  She tugged on my jeans and said, *Chewlee's gramma...I am (blank). *  She turned around and pointed to the whole room and then said, *These are all my friends!*  I could have just hugged her to death, it was so cute.

The baby wanted to watch Gamera tonight so I put it on.   She corrected me when I called him a monster and told me he was a *turtle*.  I just laughed and said, *He is one BIG turtle though*.  She gasped when he was eating the fire and kept saying, *He's eating it....he's eating it.  Gramma, stop him.  Fire is bad.*  So we both yelled out for him to stop eating it and when he did, she jumped up and down, yelling *We did it!  We did it!*  I about fell off my chair laughing.

The kids ended up in Huntsville buying their bed because the store they thought they would buy from didn't have all the pieces for the bedroom set she wanted.  So they ended up looking at places in Huntsville and bought a king-size Se*ly Posturepedic instead of the memory foam.  I was really disappointed because I am still trying to get the Beast to buy one for US.  A good review by the Princess and Johnnycakes would have helped out tremendously.

Oh well, like I said, *the best laid plans......just go right down the drain*. 

I'm really getting ticked off at Yahoo Messenger.  For some ungodly reason, I keep getting knocked off it around the same damn time each day (sometime after 7pm Central).  I get this popup that tells me it *must be my internet connection*. Yeah, right.  I will still be playing a game on Pogo and have my Weather Bug working.  Plus, if I sign in onto Messenger via my email site, I can get on.  So what the heck????  I wrote to them about the problem.  The first reply was inane.  The second one admitted (finally) that my problem was a known one and then gave me instructions for the next time that would have to be done by a techie, I swear.  And that was just to get them information they needed that was buried in my computer somewhere.  They haven't solved the problem yet.  If it weren't so easy to use (normally), I swear I would use something else.  Especially since I AM using their last upgrade on it and they sure didn't say it was a Beta program.

Enough of my bitching about that.  I'm trying to get onto Messenger right now and it's been an hour since they knocked me off.  I don't WANT to use the one on my email site because it's so darn tiny in comparison. 

I got ambitious and decided to make a good meal.  I made home-made stuffing for a roasting chicken I had in the fridge and then peeled some potatoes for mashing.  I just opened a can of corn instead of anything more ambitious but the Beast said he felt like it was Thanksgiving.  Just less people....  As I sit here, I still haven't put everything away just because I am worn out from dusting, mopping the floors and making beds.  I figured I would wait until later and do it once my poor aching back settles down a bit.  I took an extra pain pill because of it.
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The Princess and Johnnycakes are finally getting rid of the extra furniture that Kym didn't want from the house they are in.  She and Johnnycakes are taking the income tax refund she got and buying some new bedroom furniture.  It seems her box springs got broken and they had been using one from Kym.  The Princess tried out a memory foam mattress and decided she wants one for herself.  The baby is getting one of those courtesy of her paternal grandfather for her new bed.  She told me that they are also giving away two free memory pillows (the Princess had threatened to steal the ones I have on my guest bed) with the king-size bed and one with the twin size that the baby will be getting.

I told her she was going to have to invest in all new bedding since her old bed was a queen-size.  She gave me this look that made me smack my head because I was talking like that was a bad thing.    I have no idea what else she might be buying or replacing because her living room set is fairly new and very nice.  But, I am sure I will find out.  They are going to buy everything on Monday.  I am picking up Chewlee from school because they won't be home in time.  Like I really mind that....LOL. 
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The weather here today was awesome.  It was virtually wind-less, sunny, bright and 67 degrees.  I took time out to enjoy it because tomorrow it changes.  Figures, don't it?  (wrong usage intended for the great unwashed)
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The Beast spotted a tiny little field mouse in our bedroom tonight and came running out of the room like it scared the crap out of him.  I laughed when I found out what he was running from.  I told him I thought that was supposed to be *my* job.  When I went into the bedroom, I asked him where it ran to and he told me under our bed.  I looked and didn't see anything but it could have run anywhere after he ran out of the room.  Since we have no glue traps left and no other kind of trap in the house, I figured, *Oh well!*  We can worry about it tomorrow.  I'm sure it's a field mouse that was just looking for a warm place to stay.

After the auction, I told the Beast to call and find out what they would take for that lot (and to check on the one adjoining our other lot next to the house that *I* like).  They were down to about $8K then and I told the Beast we should jump on it if he really wanted that one but I thought we might be able to get the lot next to ours for around $6K.  He hemmed and hawed and said, *Let's wait just a bit longer.*  I told him that he was going to be sorry and today proved me right.  He was stunned to find out the lot he wanted and could have bought for $8K sold for that price to a nice couple that showed up today with a contractor. 

They are dead serious about building a house on it because the lot was already leveled a few months back by the owners.  Today the contractor brought in equipment to start digging the septic field and an area for the septic tank.  This was AFTER they had measured and put up the stakes and string for the house.  It looks like it's awfully small but I told the Beast I bet it's going to be a two-story.  It reminds me of how the newest house in our area looked at first when it was staked out.  And that one turned out to be a nice tri-level. 

It was when the Beast saw the equipment on it starting to dig, he knew it was gone.  He was so upset with himself.  I had to rub it in and say, *You snooze, you lose!*  I told him he should call them on Monday and see if Lot 6 was still available.  I have always liked that one and also lot 8.  If I had been here early on and could have chosen my lot (and the house plan), it would have been lot 8 most likely.  I'm glad I didn't though because that lot, we've discovered, will need a lot of fill.  The lot next to it was built on and they didn't add any fill, just leveled it without a thought about where it was in relation to the lots around it.  They had a real problem once our rains started.  Their lot was solid mud and they had all kinds of septic problems.  It cost them a small fortune to resolve that problem.  I would guess that Lot 8 would suffer the same way without fill.

Right now, the only good reason I can think of for buying Lot 6 is the possibility that when and IF we get paid off on the balloon note for the other house in three years or so, we COULD build a house just a bit bigger on it and sell or rent this one out.  We have learned so much about all the features we truly want in a house now, it might actually be a smart thing to do.  But a lot depends on how the economy goes and how close to recovery it is at that time.  Personally, I don't think Obama will be able to help much that way.  He's too off-the-wall on many things.  He's in such a hurry to make changes that he is doing it just for the sake of change.  And, OMG...he's printing money so fast that it will be worth no more than toilet paper soon.  I can't remember a time when our national debt has been in the TRILLIONS.  Pretty soon we will be signing over the states of California and Alaska to China with all the money we are borrowing from them.  *Sigh*

I had Chewlee today and, of course, we had to watch 'Zilla but...we got to watch DIFFERENT  Godzilla movies.  First we watched *Son of Godzilla* which actually shows how Godzilla's son was born (an egg, like almost all reptiles).  They didn't show just HOW the egg came to be but Godzilla knew it was HIS son so we can presume there was a female involved at one time or another.

Then we watched Godzilla 2000 which, although his son wasn't a part of that, it intrigued Chewlee from the beginning and she just loved the alien monster.  She yelled and clapped for Godzilla to win all through the movie.  After that, it was Harry Potter she wanted.  So we watched the third one, *Prisoner of Azkaban* because she just LOVES the bus in that one.  If you've seen it, you know what I mean.  She also loved the griffin which she calls the *big birdie* even though it has the body of a horse with wings.    The head looks like a bird so bird it is!  Life is simple for a child.

After lunch, we watched Dora and the Mermaids.  She finally got tired enough that she stopped fighting taking a nap and took my hand while I led her into the bedroom and tucked her in.  She had dragged along her blankey (which she calls *tea-tea*...that's phonetic) and got herself wrapped up in it.  She started crying when she couldn't untangle herself (that's another way you know she's tired) but settled down when I got it off of her and she could clutch it.

Before that, the Princess had been here for a late lunch (a sandwich) and Chewlee was in a good mood still.  She was very loving and gave her mother kisses and hugs and then ran over to me to give ME some.  I wondered if she thought I was jealous or something?  But, even after kissing and hugging her mother goodbye (and getting a good tickling from the Princess), she had to run out into the living room to give her mother just *one more * hug and kiss goodbye.  Then we both stood at the door so Chewlee could wave at her mother when she pulled into the street as she left.

They were headed over to Kym's house from here to a big planned bonfire since the night was so gorgeous.  They and a few friends from what I gathered, are going to camp outside but Chewlee will sleep indoors with her *other* grandma and grandpa.  Chewlee loves to go over there to chase the cats in the barns and pet the horses.  They also have a lot of chickens but I doubt Chewlee gets to see those since it's a commercial chicken farm.  I don't think they are *free range* chickens, either.  That has it's own problems.

I'm tired after a whole day with Chewlee.  She wouldn't even leave me alone to do my exercises today.  Every time I laid down on the floor, she thought it was time to climb on Gramma.    My stomach (and my IBS) can't take that stuff.

Love you all and I hope you have a wonderful day.  Remember to say I love you to those that you do when you talk to them or see them.  You just never know what life has in store for you OR them.

I told him if he still wasn't feeling good tomorrow, guess what?  I would pour something down his throat, make him get in the car and *I* would drive but we are going to Sam's Club.

He changed his mind about buying the AK-47 now.  He wants to get the fancier version of one of the rifles he already has.  I think it has a stainless steel barrel and fancy stock.  I really don't care.  Just the idea of having one of those in the house bothers me.  I'm sure that *whomever's list we are on now* probably thinks he has the technical know-how to convert it into an automatic.  Or knows someone who does.  No way.  What the heck are two old people like us going to do with something like that?  Anyway, I feel better about him buying the fancier one than buying that one.  I watch too much TV and even what I have seen on *48 Hours* makes me cringe.

I remember a long time ago when I had both my girls living at home.  I think they were about 13 & 14 at the time.  Both of them were gorgeous and always caught people's attention wherever we went.  The Beast was on one of his three-day trips to the Bahamas that he took with his cousin to go fishing.  I had four kids at home and I didn't like the way his three day trips went anyway.  It truly WAS a *boy's weekend* thing. 

They would end up not bothering to get a hotel or motel room and live on the boat.  Why not?  They had the cuddy cabin to sleep in.  They could pee over the side.  There was a portapotty in the cuddy cabin.  He even had a sterno stove if they wanted to prepare hot food.   I packed a huge amount of food for them and packed it into the ice chest.  The darn thing was HUGE.  They had ice coming out of their ears if they didn't open it up too often and his cousin was in charge of making them coffee.  I swear, they could have stayed out for a week.  But, I digress......

It was a Saturday night and all the kids were home and tucked into bed.  I was in the living room, watching TV with the lights out when I saw a figure sneaking around my house out back.  At first, I thought someone was cutting through to walk along the canal there but then I heard noises on the side of the house.  I got up and crept over to my door into the garage and could see someone turning the door handle.  I almost had a heart attack right then.  Someone was looking for an easy way into the house.

I went and got my Beretta out of my bedroom, put the clip into it, then started turning on the lights as I walked back to my living room.  All the curtains were open, including the one covering our oversized patio doors.  They were the kind that slid out of sight so you could open up the living room and patio area to each other.  Beyond that was our pool.  It was all screened in back there but anyone could have kicked in the screens and gained access.  I put the Beretta in plain sight on the coffee table, within easy reach.  Every single light in my house was turned on and stayed that way.  I figured if someone wanted in there bad enough, they should know I was armed and ready for them.  I stayed up all night long like that, barely noticing anything on TV.  When it got light and my oldest son was up, we walked along the perimeter of the property, checking all the bushes then I finally came in the house and went to bed for a few hours.

The strange thing was that, as I sat there, faced with the idea of possibly having to shoot someone, I wasn't really sure if I could.  I thought about all the possible scenarios.  I mulled them over in my mind several times and then I came to the decision that I COULD shoot someone if they invited themselves forcefully into MY home.  It was a strange feeling because I knew I would probably be sick over it but, faced with the alternatives, I WOULD do it.

I knew I wouldn't bother with trying to wound them.  They tell you in the classes that you either go for the chest area or the head.  I figured a .38 was a big enough weapon to aim for the chest.  I did well at the shooting range.  All I had to do was try to keep from shaking with fright if it became an actuality.  But, I found out that my classes and practice with the weapon had given me the confidence I needed that I didn't think I would shake at all.  It was a strange feeling to realize that about yourself.  I WOULD shoot rather than be violated that way. 

It had been bad enough that we had been burglarized TWICE.  The first time, it was probably young kids (so thought the cops) because of the damage that was done but nothing was actually taken.  It was almost like some kids were pissed at my kids so they came in to destroy stuff.  The second time was different.  There was lots of stuff stolen.  The cops were like...DUH!  Believe it or not, through talking to various neighbors, the Beast actually found out who had done it and went to the home of the youngest person.  Some of the stuff was recovered but.....because WE had found the perp, guess what?  The cops said now it was a civil matter.  **THUD**  <== that's me, hitting the floor in shock.  So we got no satisfaction and what wasn't recovered was mostly stuff that insurance really couldn't pay for.  Some of the jewelry stolen (and never recovered) was of sentimental value and not truly worth more than a few hundred dollars each. 

It was a real lesson for us.  After that, we had Brink's monitored service and didn't have another burglary while we lived in Florida.  Here, we don't worry about that.  We've pared down and given away some of the stuff that might tempt a burglar.  We live in a middle class area but out in the boonies.  We live simply.  Why would we have to worry about a home invasion or robbery?  Also, we have a huge doberman.  He IS good for something other than company.    Too bad most people don't know what a pussy cat he is.  He has rarely reacted suspicious of anyone.  I can think of only two instances where he has gone into his stance and started that low  pitched growl that means *Ut oh.....watch out!*