Month: March 2010

  • Dogs Throw Tantrums Too!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    It's happened a time or two before this but never this bad.  Baron had a tantrum.  The Beast went to the shooting range and, when he goes, he knows it will be for a couple hours.  He can't leave Baron in the car that long.  Especially because there is no telling how he would react to the noise of all those guns being shot off at the same time.  The noise is incredible. 

    Baron knew he was going to be left behind before the Beast left.  He watched the Beast get the guns out of the safe and put them in the trunk of the car.  Baron followed him, trailing back and forth from the gun safe to the door out into the garage.  He didn't whine or get excited like he does when he knows he is going to go for a ride with the Beast.  He doesn't care where it is or how long a ride it is, he gets excited and will jump up and down and whirl around in excitement.  Don't forget, this 110 lb. doberman thinks he's a lap dog.  He's still fairly young for a male doberman (they mature slower than females).  He won't be 3 until June.  No matter what they say about dog years, I would place him at about a level of a 5 year old boy.  Just a bit better behaved most of the time.

    After the Beast left, as he walked past his food stand (the Beast built a stand for him because large dogs have a problem with their stomachs if made to bend all the way down to the floor to eat), he put his nose under the edge of the dry dog food bowl and flipped it over on the floor.  Dry dog food was everywhere between his stand and the garage door.  Right in front of my laundry area! 

    THEN!  Since he was still upset and frustrated, he went over to the garbage can and started pulling things out of it and throwing them on the floor.  When I came out of my room (I was cleaning off some trim up by the ceiling that looked dirty to me), I went berserk!  My language would have made a sailor blush I think.  The dog ran for a spot behind the Beast's recliner with head and tail down.  You could see him cringing.  I kept it up the whole time I was sweeping up the cigarette butts and coffee grounds that came out with the plastic bags that were thrown out by the dog onto the floor.  Then it continued as I swept up the dog food.  He is still hiding from me.  He KNOWS what he did was wrong! 

    If I hadn't had to get into my dryer, I would have left the mess for the Beast to deal with but....I wanted Baron to know what *I* would not tolerate!  I had yanked him over to point out the mess and he trotted back into his little corner when I let him go.  I didn't rub his nose in it (that always seemed ridiculous to me anyway) because that stuff doesn't work.  I knew that HE knew what he had done just by his demeanor.  I never let my KIDS throw tantrums and I sure as hell won't let a dog get away with it! 

    I took down my curtains in my room since they are those ruffled sheer type and you can see the effects of my smoking all along the edges of the ruffles.  Mostly at the top of the curtains since the smoke rises.  I'm seriously NOT going to smoke in this room during halfway decent weather.  That should help a lot.  Of course, winter is OUT.  I am NOT going to try smoking outside or in my unheated garage during the cold weather.  And don't tell me I should quit smoking because I already know that and hear it from everyone. 

    I will say one thing.  This crap they pulled with our cigarettes to make them *fire safe* is almost enough to make me quit.  You can't keep the damn thing lit half the time and I think it's made them more dangerous.  Let me tell you why.  If you smoke, you know what I mean because you have probably noticed it yourself.  The *bands* that are responsible for putting out the cigarette actually cause the tobacco to *clump* and those clumps CAN and DO fall off the cigarette. 

    Sometimes they fall on YOU and you have clothing that burns or you quickly brush it on the floor and you have a burn in your carpet.  That's if you are not quite quick enough to retrieve it (I keep a moist rag closeby at all times because of that).  I now also have more ashes all over the place because they are no longer *neat*.  You feel like you need to keep your face over an ashtray while smoking because of what is happening.  I just HATE it!  It's the worst thing they could have come up with as far as I am concerned.  Plus, does anyone else notice a kind of plastic aftertaste now?  Relighting it several times seems to me to be more unhealthy especially with whatever chemicals they have used.  You relight it where the chemicals are located that put the cigarette out in the first place.  That can't be good.

    I found out today just how much those guns and all the ammunition he's purchased in this past month or so have cost us.  So far, it's just under $5,000.    So you would have to say that, so far, most of our Coke stocks that we cashed in have pretty much gone to his gun collection.  I'm not counting the cost of the gun safe which came out of the regular checking nor the ammunition he's bought in the past week.  The ammunition will be on the NEXT bill (which he thought I wouldn't find out about because HE usually gets the mail).  He pays that one online and when the bill comes, it gets shredded immediately.  He thinks I am an idiot but!....I have ways!    Men really CAN be morons.  *Sigh*  He forgets that on our combined statement from the bank, it lists ALL accounts and shows the transfers from our money  market account to his bill payments.  Guess his short term memory loss accounts for that.

    Time to get this posted.  I may be posting twice tomorrow since only half the day is gone here.  It all depends.  Love you all and have a great day.  We should be having weather up in the high 60's today, the mid-70's tomorrow and up into the 80's for the weekend.  I am excited about that.  Hope you have good weather wherever you are. 

  • Some Men Are Morons


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    Buttmunch called me today to check and see how things were with us, which tells me she's not reading my blog daily or, as I suspect is more likely, it's because the sperm donor was up to his drunken tricks again.

    And he was.  At first, she answered the phone (which she knew was SD's phone but Sheepie occasionally uses it) but she hung up when she heard his voice.  Sheepie had told her earlier that he had been drinking all week long and so it was no surprise that the moron was calling her around 2am.  When he called again right away, she turned off her phone.  This morning, when she turned on her phone, she found several text messages from him.  All were filthy, vile and shows the extent of his education.  Many words were repetitive and even misspelled.  It still rankles him that SHE left HIM and, control freak that he is, he cannot accept it even after 10 years.  No woman leaves HIM, by God!  You know the type, I'm sure.  He's a dyed-in-the-wool redneck that gives rednecks a bad name.

    Buttmunch has saved all the text messages he's sent her and saved all his voicemails also.  You just never know when those things might just come in handy. 

    We DID know the type of person he was and we did try to warn her but, as most kids do, she thought she knew him better than us old folks did.  She was in lust and there's that *bad boy* thing he had going, too.  Whenever we didn't hear from her for long lengths of time, I was so afraid of what might be happening to her.  She hid a lot of things from us for years.  Like her broken arm that HE did to her.  The trips to emergency, the black eyes, the time he threw her down a long flight of stairs when she was pregnant hoping she would miscarry.....  All because she was ashamed.  I know the feeling.  It's why he scared me.  I knew the type just because I had married someone with similar traits.  Oh, not as blatant but the signs were there.  We are too soon old, too late smart.  *Sigh*

    He thinks he has Sheepie in his grips and that she doesn't want to live with her mother.  Her life, after all, is there, amongst all her friends and with him.  Little does he know how much she hates living with him but she wants to graduate with her friends as long as things don't get worse for her.  He hasn't laid a hand on her that she has admitted to me but I have no idea if that's true or not.  I hope not.  I think she would have told her mother, however.  They have become very close since being reunited and I am so very happy and grateful for that.  They are more like best friends, although Buttmunch tries not to be judgmental.  She gives her good advice like an older friend would and Sheepie can see the wisdom in much of what they talk about.

    I often wonder how much wisdom we might have picked up along the path of our lives if we had the sense to listen to those that really WERE older and wiser than we were.  I wish I had spent more time with some of the people I loved along the way that are now dead.  I know more about them from stories other people have told than I actually heard from them.  How sad that a couple generations of people have passed away and no real record of their views on things to pass along the way.  At least, not that we know of or may be aware of.  Who knows how much our attitudes about certain things were not in some way influenced by them via people THEY influenced?  It's food for thought. 

    I learned and heard things from aunts and uncles that were influenced by them, I am sure.  So, perhaps, not all their influence has vanished and will still be passed along in the years ahead.  Do we really know where all of our likes and dislikes come from?  Our feelings about family?  Country?  Politics?  Religion?  If they came from our parents, who influenced them?  See where I am going with this?

    Anyway, time to end this here.  Love you all.  Have a wonderful day.  Be happy and think about loved ones long gone today.  Not in sorrow but in gratitude for the time you were allowed to spend with them. 

  • Why Do They Think It's Always About Them?


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    It is absolutely gorgeous outside today.  Not much wind, bright sun, warm (it's 65 degrees as I write) and we have more fruit trees blooming.  It did rain early this morning but it was a short, gentle rain.  The coffee was hot since the Beast had gotten up just a bit before me (nothing better than fresh, hot coffee in the morning).  It seemed like it was going to be a great day for me to get a few things done that I have waited to do until I *felt* like it.  Some tasks need you to have the right energy, if you know what I mean. 

    I wanted to change the curtains in the guest room, get the bedspread washed since the Beast had sat on it several times after being under the house.  He was full of dirt that you just can't brush off.  What's so bad is the bedspread is a white (yes, I said white!) eyelet.  *Sigh*  They just never use their head.  I didn't worry too much about it when he did it because I knew it would wash out easily.  But then he started putting his rifles on it as he cleaned them.  So now it has gun oil on it and needs some pre-treating. 

    I could just kill him for that.  When I yelled at him, he didn't believe me until I shoved it under his nose and pointed it out.  I told him to just rest them against the side of the gun safe until he put them away but to stop acting like there are no consequences for his actions.  He thinks because they are CLEAN (in his opinion), it won't hurt a thing! 

    It's like our pillows.  Pillows are a personal preference and we are no exception to that.  I have both a feather pillow (pricey down one) and one that is some kind of fiberfill.  Non-allergenic, not too stiff or over-filled.  The Beast also has a feather (down) pillow and a fiberfill one.  He bought it himself and his is fuller, stiffer and that was okay with me.  It actually made it easier for me to tell which pillow was which. 

    The problem is this:  he constantly takes MY fiberfill pillow when he goes to bed at night.  I get into bed, lights out, late at night and when I feel for MY fiberfill pillow, it's gone and I have the stiffer one that belongs to the Beast under my head.    Sometimes, I can grab it because he's got it next to him like a body pillow.  He'll rouse sometimes and yell at me even as I toss his pillow to him.  He'll get mad and say *I* am being ridiculous.  It shouldn't matter.  When I tell him *..if it doesn't matter, then leave MY PILLOW THE HELL ALONE!* 

    He still doesn't see it.  He thinks I should just go ahead and give him MY pillow and take HIS.  I told him it was the difference in the firmness of it that matters to ME.  When I suggested he just buy himself one that's less firm, he snorted at me like that was unacceptable.  So, we do the pillow fight every night.  A little thing but it bugs me.  It's always, always about *HIS* wants, *HIS* needs.  It is one of the things I will not miss when he dies.

    What's funny is how well I sleep at night when he is gone to his brother's house.  I don't wreck the bed when I am sleeping.  I'm comfortable and I sleep all night long.  No waking up because he's gotten up to pee and then comes back, falls on the bed and jerks the blankets all over like he's alone.  It always wakes me up and then I have to try falling asleep while he wiggles and jerks for a few minutes.  HE falls asleep almost immediately.  ME?  I'm trying to get comfortable again and wondering if I will be able to pick up where I left off on that great dream I was having.  Usually it's no dice.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I spent the day changing sheets and pillowcases, washing and drying clothes, folding them and putting them away.  I cleaned the bedspread from the guest room and my bed.  I got them folded up and put away for now.  With warmer weather on the horizon, I'll just use the summer quilts on them now.

    The Princess called earlier when they stopped at a fish market in the Panhandle of Florida before they came home.  She decided she wanted to see if we wanted anything from there.  I asked what they had and when she hit snow crab, my mouth started watering.  Sure it takes a little more work than King Crab but what the heck!  It'll fit in my steamer.    She said, *Well, YOU gave us the big one!*  Like I didn't know that?  But it would just take up space here for the few times in a year I might need it.  She gets more use out of it than we did.

    I can hardly believe the forecast for the week coming up.  Other than some chance of rain tomorrow, the rest of the week will be in the mid-70's.    Tomorrow should be about the same as today which I would not be unhappy with at all.  I'm so tired of cold weather.  I know ours is not as bad as other areas of the country but it's way colder than I have been around in years.  In some ways, I've learned to live with it but, if it were worse, I think I would seriously have to leave the area and move to South America.  Or Jamaica if global warming doesn't flood it out. 

    Time to wrap this up and finish up the folding of some sheets I have here.  Love you all and I wish you great weather and lots of love.  Do something nice for yourself today.  Hugs! 

  • It Must Have Been Something About The Day


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I guess it wasn't just me that got introspective yesterday.  I play games on Pogo and chat with the people in the game rooms.  I've made friends with a lot of people over the years.  Some I know a lot about; some I have actually met in person; others I know only in the game room and nothing much more about them....except whether they are married, widowed, divorced, single..that kind of stuff.  We talk about kids, grandkids and great-grandkids for a few of us.  We talk about what we are doing for Holidays.  There are a lot of things we share without going into depth about ourselves.  I'm sure you know what I mean.

    Last night, after I had blogged, I was playing with a group I play with on a daily basis.  One of the girls knows I blog and she asked me what I blogged about that day.  I told her (and the room in general because it wasn't a private chat).  I was stunned at the reaction. 

    At first it was very general in nature.  Discussing how awful it is that women and children go through that.  Several people popped up with different views about why it was worse before there were shelters for abused women and children.  Others talked about the social stigma that isn't the same any more.  Then, little-by-little, a few women opened up.

    One woman I have *known* for about two years admitted to a husband that put her in the hospital for four months.  That was the FIRST time he got physical.    I know!  Can you imagine?  Anyway, she said the very first day she was home from the hospital, he got angry at her (for being such a *baby* for so long) and came towards her like he was going to hit her again.  She had placed a baseball bat within easy reach and she said she came up swinging when he brought his fist up.  She broke his arm and kept going.  The neighbors called the police and it took four cops to pull her off him.  She said she was so scared and so angry at the same time but she wanted him to know what it felt like.

    After being brought to the hospital, he was jailed for about two weeks until his trial (over putting her in the hospital for four months for a start...).  The State Attorney's office had the pictures of her, the hospital and test reports.  The husband ended up in jail for several years for...get this!  Attempted murder!    I know!  What a great judge.

    She, of course, divorced him.  Luckily, they had no children together but the whole room was cheering for her since this was over 30 years ago.  But that was about the time the tide was turning.  Suddenly, several more women were telling their stories of abuse by a husband and, in one case, a boyfriend.  Their responses were as varied as the stories.

    I was so taken aback by all this that I had to relate it here today.  But I won't go into it any deeper than this:  IF YOU ARE AN ABUSED WOMAN OR SEE YOUR CHILDREN BEING ABUSED, RUN, DO NOT WALK, AS FAST AS YOU CAN.  THERE IS HELP OUT THERE FOR YOU.  YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  THERE ARE MANY WOMEN WHO HAVE SUFFERED AND HAVE BITTEN THE BULLET AND WALKED AWAY.  No, it's not easy.  Yes, it may be lonely ... at first.  But you will be able to stop being afraid all the time eventually.  There is legal and psychological help available to you no matter what your income.  There will also be job training and help with the children.  You will be SAFE and that is what matters.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Today started out pretty good for me although it was cold outside.  The weatherman (and weatherbug) said it was going to go up to 65 but I didn't believe it.  I was right...it never got over 60 and even that wasn't until after 1:30 or so.

    Then, I went to go put some clothes in the washer and almost had a heart attack.  I know what happened, although the Beast tried to deny it.  I think he went into the cabinet in the laundry area to look for something and he knocked over my concentrated hummingbird food.  I admit, I made the first mistake by NOT putting the top on tight.  But...typical Beast, he ignored knocking it out of the cabinet and onto the top of the washer and just left it there.  It leaked all over the top of the washer, down the side and onto the floor!  Worse...it HARDENED.  Know how tough concentrated sugar is to get up when it hardens?  I wish it on no one.  What a mess.  I made him pull the washer and dryer out so I could clean the side and underneath both of them since it had spread nicely and wasn't the least bit picky about WHERE it hardened.    Yeah, I'm laughing now but I sure wasn't during the hour it took me getting it up.  And, yes, I did try scraping but..remember we have Bella wood floors and I didn't want to injure it.  It took some soaking to even get it to move under the scraper.  What a mess!

    The Beast tried to say *I* did it but I told him I had just put the open bottle and the unopened one into the cabinet yesterday when I put some stuff that had been stacked on top of the dryer up on top of the cabinets in there where I store them between Holidays.  Crystal bowls and stuff.  That's when the Beast knew I had him because he realized they were gone and he hadn't even noticed.  He knocked the bottle out and just left it there without even standing it up.  I was really angry with him and myself for being so careless.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    The Beast got his new scope via UPS yesterday and took it out today to *fine tune* it on the rifle he plans to use to do his hunting this fall.  He didn't leave until the temperature was over 50 but he hadn't counted on the wind.  It was very windy today.  I saw his target for 100 yards, however, and he did very well with it.  The scope is just great and he's tuned it perfectly.  Lets hope he can actually hit something living (other than accidentally hitting another hunter) with it.  I told him he had better think about getting his orange vest and not wait until the last minute for it.  That's just another way he ends up paying a high price for things.  He waits until he absolutely HAS to have it.  Or else he buys something as soon as it comes out and pays the premium price for it because he can't wait.  There's no winning with him.

    All the blossoms seem to be holding on well despite the heavy winds today.  All four of the plum trees are just thick with them.    We will be doing a lot of thinning.  We have four different varieties of plums and three trees are just in their first year in our little *grove*.  Those will be thinned the most so they don't suffer the fate of the first plum tree we planted.  Our little *weeping willow* plum, as I call it. 

    Love you all.  Have a great day.  Take care of yourselves, please.  Friends are tough to replace. 

  • Abused Women And Anger Issues...Thoughts


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I was watching a History special on the 7 Deadly Sins and how they came to be called such.  They are not listed in the bible as such but were actually compiled by a priest that had been exiled to a monastery for his lustful actions with a married woman. 

    While in exile, he gave much thought to the things that actually lead people to break the 10 Commandments (himself included) and he compiled a list of these things.  Many years later it was considered by the Pope and given credence by decree.  Other religions have adopted the same sort of list (and ways they are punishable). 

    What I found interesting about this was the fact that Anger was considered the worst of all the sins because there is no way to tell how or who would end up being the focus of anger.  In the world at large, they say this is how wars come about.  Someone's anger focuses on some man, nation or religion and war results.

    But, it has lead to a lot of abuse, both verbal and physical in nations all over the world.  The worst part of anger is that sometimes the target is not the real source of the anger.  That is how spousal and child abuse has grown and is now a real major problem is every nation.  Some nations it's more widely known than others (such as the United States, Canada, South America and a few other *civilized* nations).  It has probably been going on much longer than known because of tracking of such things in the past 75 years or so.  Less than that in nations ( like the USA) where women were considered chattel for so many years and have only achieved recognition as separate human beings in the past 50 years.  Even that was little-by-little.

    I grew up in a Catholic household.  That changed later but that's another story.  The nitty gritty is that there were certain things drilled into me both at home and in school.  Marriage is a sacrament that was established by God.  Marriage is for *better or worse*.  Let's just stick with that much.  I truly believed that with all my heart.  How could I not ?  It had been such a part of my life that the idea of a divorce was truly abhorrent.  It was failure to live up to what God wanted.  It meant a separation from God and any hope of Heaven or happiness.  It was failure.

    So, when the Beast (much younger at the time and frustrated with other aspects of his life he couldn't control) began being abusive, I tried to understand and make life more pleasant for him.  Keep the kids from being noisy or bothering him when he got home from a hard day at work.  Keep the house nice and clean and neat.  I stopped asking him to discipline the kids because he became brutal and cruel at times.  I often became the target of his unfocused anger because I would step in to protect the kids.  He stopped being verbal and became physical. 

    I called the police.  I had him jailed.  I bailed him out to my shame.  I left him several times and even filed for divorce once.  We were within 30 days of a divorce becoming final when we reconciled.  Shameful, isn't it?  I can't believe I actually put my kids through all that turmoil.  It's my biggest regret.

    Of course, since he's had his strokes, he's a different person.  He's not physical (although partly because he knows I wouldn't hesitate at this point to get rid of him).  He still can blow up at times but it's because of his physical limitations these days.  THAT frustrates him to no end at times.  It no longer bothers me because I know it's not directed anywhere else but at himself.

    Some people would say he's now an old person trying to get into heaven (my favorite Bill Cosby quote).  I suppose that's partly true.  He's felt his own mortality.  There have been plenty of people who have pointed out to him that other women would have left him long ago to face those strokes and the rehab on his own.  He knows it's true.

    I suppose the bad part about me these days is the loss of love for him due to what he put me through.  I mean that kind of love that makes you cherish a person.  Color that gone.  I care about him.  I worry about him and his health.  I will miss him somewhat when he dies.  But I won't be devastated like I once would have been back in the days when I thought he loved me.  But to know he never loved me in the same way I loved him was a rough road to travel.  He couldn't have and treated me or our kids the way he did.  He might never have been capable of that and I feel sorry for him about that.

    I also feel sorry for me that I have never been loved like that.  I will never even look for another man once the Beast is gone.  First of all, I am too old for that.  I have other *loves* in my life...my kids, my grandkids and my great-granddaughter.  Second of all, I have been fooled once before in a big way.  I would not only NOT trust my own judgment any longer but I could never entrust another man with my emotional well-being.  I know it's partly my age.  If I had been braver when I was younger and realized how much damage this was doing to my kids, I might have figured I could find a man that would truly love me. 

    But, at this stage of the game, I don't need a man to validate my life or to help support me.  That's a lousy reason to bring a man into your life anyway.  Better to do without and live within even a tight budget than to do that to two people (yourself and someone else).  Although I believe everyone deserves to find love, I don't find it necessary now.  I have the love of my family and my children, etc.  My great-granddaughter makes me feel so loved and useful still that she brings me joy even when she's being naughty.

    But, I know many abused women don't know about all the help available to them.  There are special shelters in every major city.  Yes, it's scary and can be lonely.  But for heaven's sake...don't wait!  I know now that I could have ended up dead.  Sure, the Beast would have been in prison for it but I would rather be alive, wouldn't you? 

    Don't put up with broken teeth (thankfully mine were false so it just meant repairs), black and blue marks, black eyes, swollen face and broken ribs.  You do NOT DESERVE ANY OF THAT.  His anger is not directed where it has actually been inflamed.  It has just been focused on you and all his verbal abuse is just to put the onus on YOU and not himself, where it belongs.  STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR HIM AND TO YOURSELF.  GET THE HELL AWAY, NO MATTER WHAT!

    Not everyone is as lucky as I am that things turned out the way they did.  Let me tell you about something that happened to the Beast after his stroke.  A stroke is a silent, painless thing.  He just *felt a little dizzy* and decided he needed some fresh air.  He collapsed on the stairs in the theater (he was there with our daughter and granddaughter) because he couldn't stand up.  His left side was paralyzed.  They called 911 and he was talking when they loaded him in the ambulance.  I spoke to him before they took him to the hospital so I knew it was bad but not as bad as it could have been.  If it had been a left brain stroke, his speech would have been affected.

    He really had no idea what happened to him and, we found out later, he wasn't really aware of anything even though he was talking to us.  When he woke up (and was truly aware) in Intensive Care, he looked around and thought, *Ut oh!  What the hell am I doing here?*  He had a nurse there taking his blood pressure and he asked her why he was there.  This was her reply: 

    *You're here because God is punishing you for all the bad things you've done in your life!*    I know!  I couldn't imagine a nurse actually saying that but......later on, when I wanted to thank her for that little jibe, there was no nurse that matched that description that was on duty at the time.

    I often think that it might have been an angel giving the Beast a warning.  He thinks he hallucinated her or something.  Maybe the medication?.....  I prefer MY explanation, TYVM. 

    My life is not unhappy now.  The Beast is tamed and, perhaps, even grateful that I stuck with him.  I feel I certainly lived up to my end of the marriage vows in many ways.  I will be with him to the end but, like I said, there are no happy endings for most abused women.  Get help.  I will pray for you all.  I love you and know your pain.  I still revisit my own from time-to-time.  I guess because he has never acknowledge a single regret for HIS actions.  And most abusers never truly will. 

    Love you all.  Have a wonderful day.  Reach out and touch someone today. 

  • Good Weather, Bad Weather...Taking Chewlee Shopping


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    Early to bed, early to rise.....really is true.  I guess once you start hitting the sack early, it's inevitable that you get up early.  I don't mind that because I love light, sun and the more of it there is, the happier I am.  I had to settle for light today.  It had rained and stayed overcast pretty much all day long.

    The Princess came by around lunchtime or so to take her jog with Baron.  It was raining so we sat around the table talking about this-and-that.  They are leaving in the morning for the Panhandle of Florida for the weekend.  She was having the bedroom furniture delivered later (around the time to pick up Chewlee) so she asked me to do it.  I said *no problem* and figured I would just drop her off at her house since it's on my way back but I ended up (whatever possessed me???) taking her with me to Walmart. 

    She was entranced and acted like she had never been there before.  She was very happy and had to say hello to everyone.  At least we had a lot of people with smiles on their faces that didn't have them before we passed.  When we got to the pharmacy, she said to me, *This isn't Walmart* while shaking her head *no* but I told her it was.  She got a shocked look on her face and said, *Walmart is BIG! *  I just agreed with her and smiled a lot at her wonder. 

    As I walked through the store and down the aisles, she named the things she saw like *ladies clothes* *helmets* (those were ATV helmets for kids) and when we hit the toy section she was ecstatic!  We walked down the Barbie aisle (I wanted to get her one) and she picked the Mermaid Barbie.  No, it doesn't have a tail instead of legs.  It just has a bikini on. 

    As we walked along the back towards the beverage section on the food side, I spotted the summer Garanimals separates.  I can't resist them because they are cute, well-made and very cheap.  I bought her a cute purple skort that the baby loved because it has two pockets on the butt section and she picked a matching (one of three offered) top that has the layered look.  The Beast just rolled his eyes when he saw it.  He doesn't know how lucky he is.  If I hadn't pulled another sheet set (Better Homes is the brand) out for us and extra pillowcases, as well as two complete towel sets for the guest bathroom, I would have bought her more.  I love to dress her up cute and see her in the things I've bought for her.

    While we were out, I ran up to Guntersville with the intention of buying us a pizza for dinner.  I almost died when I found out our absolute favorite pizza place is out of business.  They moved it to Huntsville and that's just a little too far to drive.    I called the Beast and we decided on KFC instead.

    The Princess was at the house waiting for us when we got back.  She needed to pick up a cooler to take with them for the beach (and to bring home some fresh clams for Johnnycake's father).  They both ate with us before the Princess headed home. She was eager to get Chewlee's room decked out since the furniture was put together and ready.  They didn't put her bed together for her and it was too heavy for her to manage on her own.  She is going to have to wait for Johnnycakes to get home from work to help her.

    I am hoping the day is nice tomorrow so I can hang out the set of sheets I have on the bed now.  I should have washed them today but it was just too dismal to do more than necessary.  I'll wash the new towels and sheets, too IF the day is nice.  The towels will go in the dryer because line drying just does NOT make them soft and fluffy, no matter how much fabric softener you use.  It's been years since I could hang out my linens.  I will always remember how fresh and clean they smell.

    It was funny when the Princess was ready to go home.  She cleared off the high chair tray and help Chewlee down but when Chewlee heard they were going home, she ran to me here in my computer room and said, *Your lap, Gramma!  Put me in your lap!*  She then said, *Not home, gramma's house!*  She didn't want to go home.  That made me laugh and I told her she had a new bed she had to see and a new bedspread that Mommy was going to put on it for her.  I then reminded her she didn't have her new Barbie so we had to go look for that.  She resigned herself to the fact that she HAD to go home because *tomorrow you are going to the beach!*  She wanted to go and look for Dora so she could help clean up the beach (like Dora and Boots do in one of the Dora movies). 

    I'm getting tired after pushing Chewlee around Walmart in the cart.  Figures I would pick a cart that was tough to push.  I knew I should have changed it.  *Sigh*  My legs were actually shaking by the time we got back to the car.  I almost hated to think about driving into Guntersville for a pizza (and look how that turned out). I have been taking it easy since we got home but it took it's toll on me.  It really made me wonder how in the hell I used to manage taking four kids shopping with me all the time.  The Beast wasn't *into* watching our kids for me, no matter WHAT I had to do.  I actually didn't mind taking the kids along.  Must have been brain-damage. 

    Love you all.  Have a wonderful day.  Give yourself a break today and do something you like to do....alone.  Take that long bubble bath.  Take a nap....anything you don't usually allow yourself time to do.  Life will continue.  It always does. 

  • Strange Day....But Warm! Warm! Warm!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I woke up early....8am, almost on the dot!   I got my butt out of bed and headed for coffee.  The Beast had been up since about 6am so he had finished a pot by himself and made a fresh one so my coffee didn't have to be nuked for a change.

    He was busy cleaning the guns he'd shot over the past three days.  I was kind of surprised he hadn't done it each day because he's like that.  He doesn't usually neglect that kind of thing, especially maintenance on his *newest* toys.

    What he intended to do, as he explained to me, was take one of them completely apart and put it back together again.  That made me pause because the Beast has never done anything like that.  He skipped the military because at the time he might have been drafted, married men were exempt.  So...no military experience doing things like taking apart a rifle.

    He actually did it and got it back together.    No one was more surprised than HE was. 
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I love being able to go out on our deck still in my pajamas.  I carried out my coffee and we finally decided where the rose bush can go without it creating a major mowing problem.  Although I had thought about putting it in a different spot altogether, I decided I would put it alongside the barn.  I can add more rosebushes there and it won't cause more problems because the Beast has to use the weed-whacker there anyway. 

    He's out there digging the hole for it now so that will finally be taken care of.  It's almost 70 degrees right now and the day is just perfect.  I still have to water the seeds that I put out because they are barely below the surface and need to be kept moist to properly germinate.  At least it just takes a light shower for those.  I don't have to worry about anything else at the moment, thankfully.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    The Beast UNordered the sandbags for the moment.  He only wanted them for the *other* gun range, which I said I would tell you about later.  Well, later is TODAY.    He put the address into the GPS for it that was posted on the internet site and he had the foresight to jot down the CPS coordinates for it, also.  That's due to some experience with sites that give those.  It means their *address* might not quite work out well.  As it was in this case. 

    The address took him into the town of Gadsden and then to the east of it.  He got to the area and.....nothing.  So he typed in the GPS coordinates and it said the location was another 26 miles away.    So he decided, from the looks of the area, that it was going to be one of those remote sites.  Since he hadn't left early enough in the day to make the trip, spend times talking and then shooting and make it back here in a timely manner, that he would put it off for another day. Especially when you consider they mention the fact that it abuts one of the areas that is used for hunting.  As he said, he has several months before he has to actually worry about that.

    We did get into a discussion of what to do with the deer if he actually shot one.  I mentioned that we need to find a person locally that does the actually butchering and packaging of the meat.  He stated the obvious....there should be someone or several someones in this area that do that since hunting is a big deal here.  I told him I intended to ask Johnnycakes about it.  As I mentioned before, if he doesn't know, his dad surely will.

    The Beast said he had asked about what people normally do with the meat and he was told they mostly just have it ground up.  I know some friends of ours in Minnesota love deer meat salami (and we had it...it's a bit greasy but delicious).  It's just what the Beast loves in salami...the greasier, the better.  No wondering why HIS cholesterol is so high, is there?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Poor Beast is going through another *pizza* craving and our favorite pizza place was closed.  What did he settle for?   French toast!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I've been waiting for the Beast to change two lightbulbs in the laundry area for over a week now.  When I first noticed they were out, he said he would take care of it.  I got tired of waiting so I got up on my little step ladder today and discovered I apparently don't have the *key* to getting the cover off it.  I asked the Beast what the trick was when he got home from whereverthehell he was and he said, *Oh.  I'll take care of it.*  My reply was that I had already gotten THAT promise from him and he just got annoyed and said, *I said I would do it and I will.*  I waited...walked past him once or twice then decided it was time for throwing a load of wash in.  When I got done sorting the clothes in our hamper, can you believe it?  He had actually changed the bulbs!  <<THUD>>  
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    The Princess made it over here this afternoon and took Baron for a couple laps around the circle.  Not just once but TWICE.  She brought him in once because his tongue was hanging out so she let him get some water and plop down.  She was taking a bit of a rest, too...  Then they headed out again.  She's lost two pounds since she started a couple days ago.  Let's hope she keeps it up.  Remember when it really mattered how good or how fit and trim we were at that age?  Now, give me a decent weight and lots of comfort. 
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Well, it's time to close this missive.  Love you all.  Hope you have great weather.  If not, keep a smile on your face and think of all the little things you enjoy about your life.  There are lots of simple pleasures we take for granted.  Make a list for yourself of the little things that make you happy...nothing is too small.  From the smell of freshly mowed grass to that perfect cup of coffee.  We all have them.  What are some of yours?

  • More Plantings Going On Here....And It's ME Doing It!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    Score another one for both Weatherbug and the weatherman today.  It was gorgeous out...and warm.  There wasn't even a lot of wind, either.  The Beast took Baron out for a good run at the park then stopped and bought him some more of the very pricey dog food we get for him.  Damn things run over $2. each.  The dog always impresses everyone that sees him because his coat always shines like it's been polished and he really IS impressive looking.  He's also very well mannered when he's in the store with the Beast.

    After that, the Beast grabbed a couple of his rifles and headed out to the state run firing range supposedly around Gadsden.  More about that later.  I decided to plant a couple of the strawberry plants I had here because the weather was so fantastic.  I put one in a hanging planter and another one in a big pot that I have on one of my plant stands.  The strawberries are in peat pots that I had been keeping moist.  I cut off the plastic that was kind of keeping it from falling apart and got busy. 

    First I mixed together some of the great coconut planting material that I had moistened with the potting soil and got the plants in place.  After that was done, I wet them down good with the hose (and with the Miracle Gro bottle attached to automatically add needed nutrients) and put them in place.

    After that, I pulled out all the old plant material in the window boxes that I didn't want/need.  I mixed the soil well to both loosen it and make it a bit easier for me to scatter and cover my Impatiens seeds.  Those then got watered well and set out into the sun.  One of them has my miniature roses in it that I had cut back and I can see some of the new growth on them.  The Impatiens will provide a backdrop in that box.  I'm going to look for some of the trumpet shaped flowers (there are many) that will attract the hummingbirds.  I like to have some natural food things around for them when I can.  I'll add those along with the Impatiens in the one window box and it should be pretty within just a couple weeks.

    The dog drives me nuts when I am doing things like planting.  He's got to get his big old nose right in there to see (and smell) what you are doing.  He's really as bad as a little kid.  I dumped some of the wet dirt/coconut mixture on his nose but he didn't seem to mind.  Nutty dog.  Must be a *guy* thing. 

    Talked to my sister, Cee today.  She called so she could put the wedding on her calendar and I got the reply out to say we would be attending.  I told her some of the Polish cousins would be coming to the wedding according to my cousin's wife.  I'm hoping her brother, Kenny, and his wife will be there.  I haven't seen his wife in ages.  I still haven't made my reservation to fly down there yet mainly because I haven't decided when I want to leave.  I don't want to leave TOO early because that would stress out Cee's hubby too much (although he seems to like visiting with me when I DO come to stay).  His health hasn't been good and I worry about that a lot.  I know Cee loves him and she is all he has left of family (along with us, of course). 

    His brothers are all dead now and the few kids of his one brother proved themselves to be not very nice people.  Enough so that their father cut them out of his will entirely.  I don't understand people sometimes.  How can kids not love their parents?  How can they be like sharks when they smell money or the possibility of it?  Even the Beast's sister proved her mettle when her mother died.  None of the boys will speak to her now.  It's just so sad sometimes.  That saying about money being the root of all evil?  It actually goes, *The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.*   I've seen what is meant by that on more than one occasion.

    I hate when Bratfink isn't online all day long.  I know the reason for it today (she's battling with the Boy and it's another way she will get under his skin) but I enjoy our bouts of conversation off-and-on during the day.  At least today I had other things to keep me occupied.  Tomorrow I have some shopping to do.  I won't do it using the truck if I don't have to.  Today the Beast had the car all day but I'll go early enough tomorrow to keep him from doing anything he might want to do. 

    I'm pretty sure he has plans to hit Lowe's for something or another since we will be having some great weather the next few days.  He will be thinking about his fruit trees and getting the lime put out.  That way, if we DO get rain this weekend, he'll be ready for it.

    Love you all.  Have a great day.  If you have good weather, try to get out and enjoy it for a little while.  It always makes ME feel great.  Hope it does the same for you. 

  • WHO THE HELL ORDERED SNOW?


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    The Beast woke up early today, around 5am or so.  He got up and made the first pot of coffee for the day and sat down at the table.  Imagine his surprise when he glanced over at the window and saw....snow on the table on the deck.    I know!  It was just a smattering of snow that quickly melted as soon as the sun came up.  It was, after all, 34 degrees when he got up and he was surprised ANY of it was on the table.  It continued to snow and was still snowing when I got up much later than he did (around 10:30am).  It snowed until around 2pm when the temperature climbed up to a whopping 48 degrees.    It stopped snowing but the day continued dismal and cool.

    The Beast fretted about his peach blossoms but finally settled down when I reminded him that it was too damn late if they were going to be affected.  He might as well just make up his mind that he has to wait and see what happens over the next couple of days.  Besides, all the buds had NOT opened up so he would still get fruit.  It was only the early peaches that had blossomed.  He admitted it was a bit late to worry but, since the temperature never dropped below 34 during the night (he had checked) he was probably going to be all right.  (HE was???)  Good lord but that man identifies too closely with those trees!

    Now get this!  Tomorrow will be sunny and temperatures in the mid-60's.  The low will be around 40.  The rest of the week is supposed to continue to be nice and temperatures up into the 70's.    The Beast has decided he's going to make that trip to the shooting range operated by the state down around Gadsden and get the information about the wildlife areas where he can hunt while he's checking it out.  He's hoping the range is a larger one where he can feel less claustrophobic.  The one he's been going to, although long enough, is rather cramped for the shooters. 

    Because they are so close together, you really CAN'T use just earplugs.  He was forced to buy regular ear protection *muffs* and he says you can feel the percussion from the shooter next to you, as well as still hear the noise of the recoil.  It's just quite a bit lower in volume.  When we used to shoot our black powder rifles and guns in Ft Lauderdale, it's was at a county run range that was darn near into the Everglades and we could get away with just regular ear plugs.

    I discussed it with the Beast today and he has decided he does not want to go to Florida with me to my cousin's son's wedding so I am going to make reservations and fly down there.  I'm hoping I can grab my sister Cee's couch to sleep on and stay with her and Baby Brat.  She IS going to have to pick my up from the airport so I have to check and make sure I can get a flight in at a good time for her.  I'll check it out online and call her to make sure of that before I book a flight.  I hope to be able to get a good fare since I am booking it almost two months beforehand.    We shall see.

    I made a totally disastrous (as far as cholesterol goes) dinner tonight.  I made pork chops, country gravy, mashed potatoes and asparagus.  It was delicious.  I also threw some brownies in to bake and even chopped up pecans for them.  I know walnuts are more traditional but I have pecans here, not walnuts.  I use what I have. 

    I have my list made up for picking up a few things we need at Walmart tomorrow.  I'm also going to pick up some lightweight canvas to allow the Beast to make himself a couple sandbags for shooting.  I'll have to sew them up, of course, but that way he will have them to prop his arms up on.  I have no idea if this is something he needs for the shooting range or if he's got some idea for when he goes hunting but he sure better think about it.  If he's going to have to lug a couple sandbags (albeit smaller) along with his rifle and whatever else, it's all going to help tire him out....fast!  It's not like he can hire someone to carry it all for him.  This is not going to be an African safari, after all.    At least, I sure hope not.

    The Beast brought home the new prescription from the doctor today.  They had to order it from their central warehouse I guess.  It's not something widely used and, even with insurance, it's a bit pricey.  It is actually a medication used primarily for arthritis but it was also found to have an unexpected use.  It helps clear up skin cancers without some of the bad effects that other creams have on the skin.  The Beast had found this out from his dentist, who used it for the same reason.  So he asked his doctor for a prescription for it.  After the doctor looked it up on his laptop, he wrote the prescription for it.  The Beast has to use it for 90 days and then see how things look from there.  He seems to be willing to do a lot of things to avoid going to the skin doctor we have here.  He knows that means burning those places with nitrogen and then there's the healing process afterward.  That's what he really hates.  It looks worse than the skin cancers do and he's always worried about Chewlee's reaction. 

    I told him she would want to bandage his *boo-boo's*.  She's got a soft heart that way.  She's always checking me out to make sure I don't have any.  If I do, she starts telling me I need a bandage as she looks me in the eye and is shaking her head *yes*.  She will always kiss it and pat me and ask if it feels better.   

    My son, Markus Aurelius and his wife, Cleo, close on their house this Friday.  To say they are both excited and terrified is kind of what's going on with them.  It's their first home after almost 18 years of marriage.  It's been a long time coming.  I'm excited for them.  I love the house from the pictures I've seen.  Of course, I like open floor plans and she's going to have lots of cabinets, a very modern kitchen and an island, too.  That's one thing I really miss in this house.  Just not possible here.  I know she will enjoy that kitchen.

    So here is where I will leave you for today.  I hope you had a better day than we did here.  If not, I feel for you.  Love you and let's all hope for a wonderful day tomorrow now that Spring is officially here.  Isn't that a laugh????  Oh well.  Be good, drive carefully and smile.  It doesn't wrinkle the face like a frown does.

  • THE PEACH BLOSSOMS ARE OPEN !


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    The day was rainy, overcast and chilly but the peach blossoms started opening today!  The Beast was so excited you would have thought he got a check in the mail.    He went out inbetween the rainy sessions to check on the apples and cherries but they are still just buds.  I'm hoping I will actually end up with things I can freeze and can this year.  We just need to hope that we don't get too much rain this year.

    Because of the weather, I got to be lazy today.  Just the normal making up of the bed and keeping the kitchen straightened out.  I always clean up the kitchen before I go to bed.  The Beast can be awful about making a mess in the evening with his hot chocolate (on cool evenings) or his chocolate milk (on warmer evenings).  He can get the Nestle's powder all over the counter and, of course, he wouldn't think of cleaning it up.  He also has the bad habit of never putting anything back.  I forgive him because he will put dishes in the dishwasher or, if they are clean, put them away.  All I need to do is get him to stop putting my cookie sheet in the oven and I will be happy.  He knows perfectly well where it goes because he has no trouble finding it when I put it where it is supposed to be.  Men just aggravate the piss out of me at times.

    Family Channel has been running all the Harry Potter movies since early this morning.  They are doing it in order, thankfully, or anyone who hasn't seen them might get thoroughly confused.  They are up to The Order of the Phoenix right now and it's probably the one I really get aggravated over the protagonist in it.  She's a real bitch and brown nose.  I know they won't get to show the next one (The Half Blood Prince) because it's way too newly released on DVD and Blu-ray for them to allow it.  That's okay, though, because I can always slip it in if I feel like it once this one is over. 

    The baby got up around 7am this morning and came over and climbed into bed with me.  Her baby doll included.  We slept until almost 9am.  She pushed her high chair in front of the TV because she wanted to watch it while she ate her cereal.  I had called Johnnycakes as he instructed and he got there while Chewlee was eating her cereal and watching the first Harry Potter movie of the day.  She finally decided that she was done only because daddy reminded her she had her own TV in her room and they have Eggo's (which is what she really wanted for breakfast but I am out of them....color me embarrassed).  She pronounced one of the characters in the movie as *nasty* and cracked me and the Beast up.  Her face was so serious and you could tell she sure didn't like him.    It struck us as funny because of her choosing the word *nasty*.  It just seemed so...well, fitting.

    As time goes on, you will be hearing more and more about the doings here on the actual *farm*.    All I need now is to keep the Beast from adding more trees.  There is, however, one type of cherry tree that he will probably be replacing if it doesn't recover.  He'll have to make a bit of a trip to replace it however.  The only place we know of that will have it is in Georgia, south of Atlanta.  I'm hoping he gives up the idea.  We have all the ones needed for pollination.  That one is just a type he read about and thought he would like to try. 

    I'm going to be buying some netting a bit at a time since what's needed is kind of expensive.  I told the Beast he will really need to get a taller ladder than the six foot one he has.  I also want him to get an extension ladder for us so we can clean out the gutters this year.  We haven't done it since we moved in and, with all the debris we get in the yard, I'm sure some of it got blown from the various pines into the gutters.  I'm not even counting the maples and oaks.  Those at least break down quicker than pine needles.  We had clogged gutters at our house in Port Charlotte the year Charley hit there and we ended up with several big bags of debris.  We haven't had a hurricane here but we have been in this house now for almost five years.  That's a long time to go without clearing those out.

    There's also another reason we need an extension ladder that's tall enough to allow us access to the roof.  The Beast needs to pressure clean the mildew off the siding.  It looks awful.  Oh, not from a distance.  But when you get closer to the house, you can see it.  Last year he cleaned off the front and back but he couldn't really get the sides since that is where the peaks are for the roof.  It's the darn crawl space that makes it tough because that just brings the roof line up higher off the ground.

    Nothing special is planned for tomorrow for me.  The Beast may take a ride to the site of another gun range we read about on the internet.  It's a state range which means it's bigger and, best of all, it's free to use.  He can also find out about the hunting areas for the handicapped while he's there.  He didn't want to do it today because the day was so nasty and grim.  He's extremely pale so I know he's not feeling up to snuff.  It's the only time you can see he's freckled. 

    I guess I will just go ahead and do some of the washing I should have done today.  I need to get my bedspread done so we can start making the dog stay off the bed.  I haven't done any wash in a few days so that can keep me busy enough between games on Pogo.  Love you all.  Have a great day. Here's a thought for you:  A clear conscience is the sign of a bad memory.