Just when I think it can't get any worse, it does.  After viewing a couple of the preserve areas where he plans on hunting, he's decided that he needs an ATV in order to get his deer out of the hunting area and to the truck.  I gave him Bratfink's advice about needing just a tarp and a rope to drag the deer to the truck and he said, *Tell her that we are talking about steep mountain trails with just small areas where it's level.*  When I reminded him that Bratfink was talking about a mountainous area in Montana (Bean was a successful hunter and that was how he got his kills to his truck).

So the Beast starts looking up ATV's.  Gas engines.  Electric.  Starting at around $6K and up.  I almost shit!    I told him that he was going to break us before any economic disaster because he was one all by himself.  He did go down and pick up a couple papers plus that Used Car and Recreational Vehicles magazine.  He was looking through all those when the Princess got off work and came over to have dinner with us.  When she heard what he planned, she got online and found the site where a friend of Johnnycake's recently bought himself one.  She showed him some that were more reasonably priced and would do him very well.  They are nice 4-wheel drive vehicles and more than adequate for what he needs it for.

Me?  I figure he's making a huge investment in things that are really just a dream for him so far.  And to think this is the same man that is dragging his feet on getting me the freezer I want.  If he actually DID kill a deer and bring the meat home, I would have nowhere to put it.    Has he no brains?  This is the shit I put up with all the time.  It's enough to make you lose your mind.  There's just no reasoning with him when he gets like this.  If he buys one, bare minimum it means that he has invested damn near $10K for the purpose of hunting a fabled deer.  That's VERY expensive meat, don't you think???  I swear, he won't live long enough to make it worth all he's investing.

As to other things..... I had Chewlee today and she was cranky when she got here since she had to be woken up in order for her mom to drop her off.  When she woke up (and had something to eat), she became her cute self.  This is a great age and they can be so funny without meaning to be.  I learned that I can get her to let me brush her hair if I play with it when she's in my lap and just start pulling it back and stroking her hair.  It would be the same with us because there's just something so compelling about having your hair played with, know what I mean? 

I had this huge ribbon (and a nice one, too) that was tied around my Home and Garden sheet set.  I had saved it because it was a really good ribbed ribbon.  But I cut it in half and tied it around her head with a nice big bow.  She just loved it but she kept pulling it forward because it felt loose to her.  So, I pulled it behind her ears and tied it tighter.  I left the bow slightly to the side and it looked so cute.  Especially since I had brushed her hair and it was just so cute with it's nice natural curl.  She kept looking in the mirror at herself and smiling.  She wanted me to put the other half around her waist so I did and tied a nice bow in that, too.  Then it was grab her sun glasses and put those on and you would have thought she was a movie star.    But, she did look cute and even Papa said so to her.  He meant it, too.  I can tell by the way he said it to her.

He told the Princess to save the ribbon and he will take a couple pictures of her and we will use the ribbon in some of them.  I hope she remembers to bring it.  I think I might just have another one from the first set of sheets I bought but I will have to check around and look for it.  I think I might have it in my sewing basket.

I made us spaghetti for dinner since it was something we all like and it didn't take long to fix.  I let the sauce simmer so the spices could mix well.  It only took a half pound of linguine for the four of us and I still have plenty left.  I'll warm it up tomorrow and make some garlic toast for the Beast and I.  Add a nice salad and it will work just fine.

Guess I will call this a day.  I'm still just sick about the ATV.  Another useless addition to our household.  And it's just like an auto....it loses half it's value the minute you take it off the lot.  *Sigh*  All I can say is that it could, possibly, be also used to exercise Baron.  The Beast could take him to a few places where he could run long enough and hard enough to really tire him out.  Plus, it might just help Baron to lose some of his blubber he's accumulated over the winter.  Oh, he's not fat but I can tell the difference.

Baron seems to be becoming more of a watchdog these days.  When he's out at the park for a run, he no longer automatically runs up to strangers doing his jumping and happy dance as I call it.  Now he stops and goes into his guard stance and just watches and waits.  He's growled at a couple people which is definitely a different mode of behavior.  He doesn't growl at everyone but he's definitely not automatically accepting everyone as a friend.  That's a good thing, I suppose.  It shows he's maturing at least.

I bit the bullet today and booked my plane flight for Fort Lauderdale for my cousin's son's wedding on May 22nd.  It suddenly dawned on me that it was next month and, although I had checked on flights, I hadn't booked anything.  The Beast and I had debated on Huntsville vs. Atlanta, me driving myself down and parking in long-term or the Beast driving me down.  Turns out that waiting actually worked out well.  I will fly out of Atlanta and save myself $200 doing that.  Even with the $35. that it will cost me for long-term parking, only paying for gas one time round trip makes it worth while.  The savings wasn't nearly so good nor the flights as cheap as waiting to book until now.    I know!  Who would have thought????

Anyway, I fly down on the 20th and should get there in time for lunch (hint! hint! Cinderella).  I'll go home on Monday, the 24th at 1:30 (or so) and probably be home by 6pm or so.  I hate driving after dark so that part really makes me happy. 

In case you can't tell, I feel better today.  Getting more sleep really does work for me.  It's not gone yet (the sinuses are always the last to dry up.....and it doesn't help that there's all this pollen in the air, either).  I even went outside to check on everything after the Beast sprayed his trees again.  No sign of any Japanese beetles so far, thankfully.  His main concern, however, is avoiding peach curl.  I was stunned by the amount of blossoms on everything.  Since the last time I looked, it was like they doubled.    I told the Beast to keep on talking to them. 

I also got out and checked on my strawberries, which are doing great!  They actually have quite a few little green strawberries on them.  Plus lots of little blossoms for more to come.  *Grin*  My upside-down tomato plant looks good, too.  It's not in the upsy-downsy thing they advertise on TV.  I found birds like to nest in THOSE...at least mine they did.  The Beast got rid of them so I bought this other one at Walmart.  It's more like a hanging basket and they include seeds for the plants they recommend.  I didn't have time for that so I bought a regular tomato plant and decided to use the upper part for another strawberry plant instead of the cherry tomato plant they had seeds for. 

We finally put our tax papers in the mail.  Yeah, even retired people still have to do that stuff.  Because we cashed out some stocks, we ended up having to pay Alabama state income tax.  Broke my heart because it's not like we are rich.  It's not that we paid all that much but it would have almost paid one of our insurance payments for six months on one of our vehicles.  That's why it bugs me.  But, I made out the check and sent it in.  It might help pay someone's week of unemployment here where ours is so high.  For that, I pay it gladly.

Poor Bratsis is going nuts.  She wants to strangle the Mother of the Weirds, and I think she's torn between wanting to soothe the Boy and strangle him.    If you've kept up on what's going on there the past couple weeks, you might have some idea.  Me?  I would love to throttle that woman but it wouldn't do any good.  The Boy has to deal with it until HE can see clearly.  He sees only the best in people, which is a good and bad thing both when someone takes advantage of that.  Poor Bratfink needs some Xanax and lots and lots of Tums.  She's right there and can't really open her mouth.  She loves the Boy and hates to see him so upset but the drama just goes on and on and on and on.....ad infinitum. 

I told you it was gonna happen.  Do I know the Beast or what?  He went today to check out that Skyline wildlife area.  I was sick as a dog this morning when I got up.  Coughing, congested chest, leaking nose and all.  I even had a fever.  The Beast looked at me and said, *Well, I'm not going to ask you if you want to go with me.*  I thanked him (sarcastically, of course) as I blew my nose and contemplated hari-kari or however it's spelled.  Please, no corrections on this.  I really am not all that interested in how to spell it.  I know how it's done. 

So, he left for Skyline and I took a big dose of the severe cough and cold medicine I have here.  Kicked my ass!  Knocked me right out and put me down for about 3-1/2 hours.    I kid you not.  But, I guess I needed it.  When I woke up (with a jolt because I needed to pick up Chewlee and was afraid I had fallen asleep too long), I DID feel better.  It's still there but the chest congestion is gone.  My sinuses are resting nicely, too.  I guess I will have to hit the sack early again tonight because rest is always good for what ails ya!

I actually made up the bed after letting it air out for a while.  The day had turned out fairly nice.  From rainy in the morning (it had thundered and rained all night long) to bright and sunny when I woke up the second time.  It also warmed up quite a bit, to my relief.  So, when the Beast got home from his sojourn, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed.  *Grin*

He tried to be sneaky about it but I caught him so he showed me what he had stopped off to buy at some place or another in Huntsville.  There's a vest that actually has a drop down CUSHION for when he sits on the ground!    I kid you not.  It was all I could do not to laugh.  He also bought a camo backpack for his lunch of all things.  He's not done yet, either.  He still needs the shirt, hat, pants and probably a wallet just to annoy me since I've made jokes about that.  I will let you know when he gets those things AND when he starts checking to see whats on the hunting list because he will want to kill something once he gets a full outfit. 

No Chewlee tomorrow for me but we watched Harry Potter today.  This time it was the Chamber of Secrets.  BUT...she told me when she comes back we are going to watch the *birdie* DVD.  That's the Hummingbird one that I sent away for about a month ago.  She spotted it today so that's what she will be looking for on Saturday.  I'm going to have to feel good enough tomorrow to do a little shopping since I have no Eggos and she will be here for breakfast on Saturday.  I could just make real waffles but she might not like them as well.  They are, after all, a bit softer than Eggos out of the toaster. 

She's also a big juice drinker and I am out of juices now.  I get 100% juice for her since that's healthier and you know what's in it.  I want to pick up some different fruits and have them in the house for her (and for us, too).  I get tired of the Beast constantly getting bananas like we are some kind of chimpanzees. 

Last night I ended up watching a DVD the Beast bought for himself even though I really had no interest in it at all.  It's title?  *Turkey Hunting*.    Three hours of video of turkey shoots in the South.  All of them instructional, very different terrains and actually it WAS interesting.  Oh, not worth three hours worth of my time but I learned several things.

First of all, turkeys can really FLY.  They roost at night high up in the taller branches of trees.  They are so camouflaged that you almost miss them.  I would NEVER have thought to look up, especially that high up, when searching for where turkeys were sleeping.  For some reason, I thought they were a bit like chickens.  Not able to fly very high or for very long.  More like *coasters* than flyers.

Another thing I noticed is the males definitely did not look the least bit scrawny.  I once saw a turkey in the wild, a female, and she looked so scrawny that I couldn't see why anyone would prefer a wild turkey to the well-fed ones in the freezer section at your grocers.  I mean, it's all well and fine that you can say you shot/caught it...whatever...but can it feed a family?  I now know that the one I saw was NOT typical.  The males seem to be very meaty indeed.  *Grin*  I wonder what a really fresh turkey might actually taste like?  Hmmmm. 

I told you the Beast is trying to locate some of these reserves but having little luck.  Well, he dedicated himself today to trying to find out where they are located.  He just wants to be able to go and scope them out.  He started by googling Alabama Wildlife Management.  Talk about making a nightmare out of something that should be simple.  It became a round robin.  If he gets a permit, they give him the information about where these places are located and how to get to them.  How do you get the permit?  Oh, they aren't issuing the permits for the October Deer Hunting Season yet.  Ya think?  Where does he have to go to apply for the permit.  Oh, I can send you that information via (snail) mail.  Please do that.  Now, if I leave my house with the idea that I want to go visit one or more of these reserves, just how would I go about doing that?  I can't tell you that because you can't get on them without a permit and you get that information once the permit is issued.

The Beast told one gal, *It's a good thing I started this in March because it looks like it might take me until October to find out where the hell I have to go to shoot a damn deer!*  To say he was a bit frustrated was a little short of the mark.    He did, finally, get ahold of a gal that seemed to have a bit more on the ball.  She told him about this one area about an hour and a half north of us (called Skyline) that he could go and check out.  She said she really recommended it due to it being a beautiful area AND it was a very productive area for wildlife.  So, of course, either Thursday or Friday, he and Baron will be taking that ride.  She also told him that he should be careful since it IS turkey season and there are bound to be hunters in the area.  Although, she added, they usually only shoot during the early morning hours.

So, of course, Mr. Plunge Right Ahead Before You Are Ready went out and bought some turkey callers or whateverthehell they are called.  *Sigh*  He's so predictable even though he swore he had no intention of doing any turkey shooting this year.  Ahhh, the best laid plans......  We shall see.

Johnnycakes and his father are meeting up with male relatives in southern Alabama this Saturday to go turkey hunting.  The DVD showed that there are as many different ways to hunt for them as there are terrains.  I was also surprised at the turkey *callers*.   Some hunters walk through the woods and call the turkeys and wait to hear an answer.  When they hear one, they immediately set up their decoys, hide and get themselves set up and then they wait.  They continue to *call* to draw the turkeys towards them.  Sometimes it's just two or three but one scenario we watched, it looked like a whole flock came and one of the tom's rushed a decoy and tried to molest it!    It was funny as hell.

I think the thing that surprised me was if the hunter (who is really, really camouflaged) moves, it spooks the turkeys immediately.  But, if a turkey is shot, the other birds will run off a short distance then return and peck at the downed bird so that you can actually shoot another one!    I know!!  Weird, huh?

Enough of that.  We woke up this morning to the annual dumping of the pollen.  It's EVERYWHERE.  There's a thick layer of yellow pollen on my deck and, believe it or not, all over my house.  The kitchen table had a layer on it and it extended all the way over to the coffee and end tables in the living room area as well as the fireplace mantel.  I know I am going to have to dust mop a couple times to get what blew in with the fans and just from the breeze coming in through the screens.  We will have about a week or so of this before it's over and you forget what a pain in the ass it is.  *Sigh*  But it's nature's way of ensuring the trees and plants will reproduce themselves.  You just have to grin and bear it.

So there I am at *o-god-thirty* in the morning, cleaning the table, the coffee and end tables, the fireplace mantel and base, the countertops in the kitchen and I happen to notice that there is a thin layer of it on the Beast's recliner.  I even saw the screen on the TV as well as the stand it's on had a layer on them.  I'm going to have to get out the vacuum and clean the upholstery even.  *Sigh* 

I checked in my computer room and, surprise!  Only a small area at the rear of my desk got any pollen on it.  I was totally amazed.  Of course, the window sill is another story but I can just use the vacuum hose and suck all that stuff right up.    This room has enough *stuff* in it that I could use a break now and then.

Luckily, we had our bedroom door closed so there was no breeze coming through there.  I won't avoid it, since it is going to last for days,  but at least today I don't have to deal with that room, too.

We had a small thing happen on Easter that I never mentioned.  I did tell you that I bought us some nice big, oval Chinet plates to use for our dinner so it cut down on the dishes that needed to be washed.  What I didn't tell you was the plates left marks on my dining room table finish.    I couldn't believe it.  I have no clue what the hell kind of finish was on the wood but, once we got the paper plate residue off it, the finish on the table was gone! 

So the Beast went and got a gloss finish of some sort and had to refinish the top.  He did have to put two coats on and did the fine steel wool between coats to get any small bubbles out.  The bad thing is now he has to do the two leafs for it, also.    The Beast says nothing he does is ever easy.  Too true.  He looked at the chairs today and said, *Now the finish on them looks dull.  I probably should have gotten a semi-gloss.*  He then perked up a bit and added, *...but at least the glossy finish is a harder one.*  Ya think???  I'm waiting on him deciding he's going to *have to* put a coat or two of the glossy finish on the chairs now.  I'll strangle him, I swear!

Time to call it a day and end this journal.  Love you all.  Have a wonderful day and be sure to expose your teeth to the sun.  It's good for them and the people you meet. 

It was a nice, hot but boring day today so I thought I would just hit the top *news* and then pass along some cute things from some of the emails I've gotten the past couple days.  I'm sure some of you have seen some of them but there might be a couple things that are new to you.  At least, you should get a few laughs.

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and
Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case
against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The
argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate
presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case
dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your Honor,
How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas,
Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my
client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client,
counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or
holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1
states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the
opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is
a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

The Beast did his usual inspection and, I am almost certain, pep talk and was so happy to find out one of his Black Tartarian cherry trees is blooming.  He wasn't expecting it because it was really one that Lowe's found somewhere, stuck in a corner of their warehouse and put out in January.  The Beast dug a hole even though it was so damn cold and  plopped it and a brother tree in holes with the thought that they might...just MIGHT...do exactly what it did.  Bloom.  Duh!

We have this one peach that is an unusual one.  It's called a sweet peach (?) and this year is the first year it has bloomed.  The bloom is actually beautiful.  There are quite a few and I like where they are located because the branches should have no problem holding the fruit without damage if they get big and juicy.  One can only hope.

The baby ordered Harry Potter to watch and she selected the Order of the Phoenix one.  She called Voldemort *the monster*.  She can tell, can't she?    She also left me for a minute and told me she would be back but she had to talk to Papa.  I waited a bit and followed her out and guess what she was doing?  She was berating him because he didn't take her picture yesterday.    I couldn't believe she had really been paying attention.  She was such a little stinker yesterday because she hadn't had her nap.  Everyone knew she wouldn't have been cooperative so they decided to do it another day.  We will try for this weekend.  The kids want a picture with all three of them in it. 

I found out something really interesting to me.  I gave the baby a stick of gum and she chewed it like a pro.  I know her mother hates when she has gum because it always ends up in her hair.  I always ask the baby for the gum and we throw it away after about an hour or so of her chewing it.  This is not the first time I have given her gum.  It keeps her from asking for candy and it's sugarless.  But....what I found cute and unusual was that she won't take anything else while she is chewing her gum.  She wanted an orange section but then said, *Oh, no...I am chewing gum.* 

When I asked for her gum before she left for home, she tried to just give me a part of the gum but I got it all.    She didn't want to leave without seeing the rest of Harry Potter but her mother promised to read a book to her at home.  With that, she finally decided to leave me but not without a huge hug, once again, and telling me she loved me.  *Sigh*  Gotta love the little stinker.

Well, time to wrap this up and get it posted.  Hope I haven't put you to sleep since nothing exciting is going on at the moment.  Oh...Oh...I got a card for the NRA today.  Yeah, the Beast signed me up for it.  I told him, *Oh, great!  Now we both can be on the Homeland Security Watch list.*  Sheesh!  But, truth be told, I do believe we all have the right to at least have a gun for home protection.  In some areas of the country, I would say it's almost a necessity.  Here, we are kind of isolated and not many neighbors around.  If it makes the Beast feel more secure, well and fine. 

Love you all and have a wonderful day.  Smile and think happy thoughts.  Don't lose your temper for your OWN well-being. 

I can tell I have to get used to the Beast making his trips to visit with all his trees once again.  For the sixth or seventh day in a row, he was outside bright and early inspecting each and every one of them.  It will get worse once they start fruiting.  He's also concerned about the dogwood trees that just have NOT burst into bloom like they should have.  Well, I didn't think they should have but he measures it against all the mature trees in the area that are just loaded with blooms right now.

At least he stayed out from under my feet while I made up the bed, dust mopped the floors and cleaned the coffee and end tables off.  They have glass inserts on their surfaces so I had to take some Windex to them.  I cleaned off the glass in the storm doors where Baron's nose and paw prints were smeared.  Worse than a kid, I swear.

I then turned my attention to the food preparation.  I figured out just what had to be started cooking and when in order for it to all be ready on time.
Even though I was making sweet potatoes, I decided today that I just HAD to make mashed potatoes.  Let's face it.  *I* love 'em and so do a lot of others.  But everything went smoothly except for the Princess getting here early enough for the sweet potato casserole to get done.  As it was, she forgot the pineapple and it boils down to being MY fault.  I KNEW I should have called to remind her.....and to make sure she came early enough but I knew they were going to Johnnycakes grandparents. 

Turns out that, this time, the grandmother cooked and Johnnycakes (always the compassionate one) ate there.  Especially since his mother never showed up (and these are HER parents!)  Of course, with a working chicken farm, I'm sure there are a lot of chores that never end so...who knows?

The day was absolutely perfect!  Sunny, clear and about 82 degrees made for a day you couldn't order and have turn out better.  So dinner was glazed, sliced ham with sweet potatoes (and homemade cinnamon butter), mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), green bean casserole and hot dinner rolls.  I also made the chicken and noodle casserole for the babies but....Tara came sans boys.  I told her that I knew Geronimo wouldn't eat ham at his age so the casserole I figured he would like.  She did take about half of it home with her.

When Johnnycakes got here, he tried the sweet potatoes and the cinnamon butter and told me he really liked it.  He also had a bit of ham and something else but I don't remember what it was.  I was just a touch too busy trying to get everything done and then eat something myself while it was all hot. 

Chewlee looked adorable but was one cranky baby.  If she tripped and fell, she cried like she was really hurt.  I looked at the Princess and said, *She hasn't napped today, has she?*  The Princess admitted she hadn't and said Chewlee wouldn't lay down for one.  She actually fell asleep for a bit (but not long) in her high chair.  She is big enough to eat at the table but when she's here at my house, she LIKES the high chair most of the time.

We put on another Harry Potter movie to watch.  She sure loves them, almost as much as she loves her Godzilla movies.  She sat quietly (due to lack of nap I think) and watched it intently.  This time it was *The Prisoner of Azkaban* episode*.

About the time the baby and I retreated to my computer room for Harry Potter, Tara had put together her *doggie bag*.  She DID take home most of the chicken and noodle casserole for Geronimo.  She also (bless her heart) took several of the sweet potatoes a big glob of the cinnamon butter, a lot of the ham and some of the green bean casserole.

The Princess didn't take anything home with her because she will eat dinner with us after work tomorrow.  I can send a plate home with her for Johnnycakes then and it will all work out great.

Chewlee loved her bunny.  But she was also excited that the Princess had let her make colored eggs yesterday and she brought those over so I could see them.  They had planned on letting Chewlee and the boys search for the eggs and some plastic ones filled with candy but, oh well, they lost out.  The Princess wanted to go home early because she wasn't feeling well (I think it's THAT time of month or almost).  She just wanted to get comfy and lay down in her own bed.

The Beast and Johnnycakes talked guns and hunting and we found out that Johnnycakes can not only field dress a deer but cut it up into workable sections and pack it up in the cooler within 30 minutes.  I think that's why his dad takes him along.    He said he usually gets the meat cut up into steaks and then the rest of the meat is made into ground meat and sausage.  Tara knows where a place is located not far from the house where that's all they do.  They cut and prepare deer meat in season.  Looks like our great white hunters may be all set now.  The Beast wants to check out some of the various areas to decide which he wants to try out once the season starts.  Hurrah!  Something to keep him busy and away from home for a few hours.  *Grin*

So, off I go to Walmart to pick up a few things and, as I am inspecting a few of the various priced Easter baskets, I see a clerk changing a price on what looks to me to be some soft, plush animal toy.  I wait until that's done (they have some hand-held gadget that they record the change in I gather so it rings up correctly at the register) and walk over to see what it is.  Lo-and-behold, it's BIG, SOFT, PLUSH Peter Cottontail stuffed animal.  As I stood there hugging one, I decided that was what I was going to get the two babies.  There's nothing hard in it or on it anywhere and the ears are even long and floppy.  Just so adorable and I know the kids will love them...even if it's just because they are so soft.

That's Chewlee and Geronimo that I am calling the babies.  Geronimo is Tara's little one.  The bunny is going to be bigger than he is but it is something I know he will love.  I got a pink one for Chewlee and a blue one for Geronimo.  Of course, there is always the chance that Chewlee will object to that since she's had a *thing* for blue lately.

After I got done at Walmart, I made a quick trip to ABC Liquors and picked up a bottle of Orange Dream to make some icy drinks with tomorrow.  It tastes like a really wonderful orange sherbet or remember those wonderful pushups?  Those are what the drink reminds me of. 

When I came out of the store, there was a woman that looked at me like I was some kind of bad smelling creature and it made me wonder what someone shopping at ABC Liquor would feel so superior about.  As I backed up my car, I realized she was in a Jaguar.  My Toyota was what she was sneering at and that made me laugh.  Like possessions make you a good person!  Poor misguided woman.  What a sad state of affairs that she would judge someone by what they possess and not by the state of their heart.  It makes for a very shallow and lonely life because those kind of people don't ever know what true friendship is like.  Isn't that sad?

The mystery is solved.  My Lincoln hybrid is actually a miniature rose ... a fragrant miniature rose.  (Thank you Bratfink!  You ARE the Google champ).  The article Bratfink forwarded to me was how to make the roses grow larger than normal.  I don't want to do that (mainly because I am too lazy to go through all that BS) and I have a couple other miniature roses that I will probably put all together in one of the earth boxes.

Today the Beast decided it was time for Baron to be bathed.  I had to agree.  One of the things I don't miss since he has been banned from the bed is the *doggie* smell he left on my pillow.  I have a house full of different Febreze sprays because of him.  Oh, and the Beast whom the Princess says has an *old person* smell to him.  I spray his recliner at least once a week and his side of our bed about every other day.    I actually spray our whole bed once a week anyway and especially when I change our linens.  I always hated the smell at some of our older relatives homes when I was a kid. 

I am very scent/smell oriented anyway.  I can tell more about food from the smell than most people can.  I remember the look on this one woman's face when I took a fork full of food (I don't remember what it was right now) and smelled it before I put it in my mouth.  She had this horrified look on her face and said to me, *Did you just smell that?*  I looked at her and said very matter-of-fact, *Of course.  Don't you?* and kept on eating. 

Why would that bother anyone?  What if the food smelled BAD?  If bread is not fresh and is getting ready to mold, I can smell the difference in the yeast even before the bread turns green.  What is bad about that is I can't eat something that doesn't smell good to me.  If it has a spice in it that I don't like, I can't even put it in my mouth.  That doesn't happen often but I don't even think about it any more.  It's the same when I am cooking.  I can tell by the smell if something needs more seasoning.  It might be a weird thing to admit to but it's something I do that I can't help. 

Back to the dog.  The Beast walked out of the house onto the deck carrying a bucket of warm water and one of our big towels over his shoulder.  Baron looked at him and took off like a shot.  He found a spot on the lawn that he felt was far enough away and laid down facing the deck.  The Beast ended up having to grab his collar and bring him up onto the deck where we put the leash on him to keep him in place. 

He's actually good once we drench him with the warm water and start shampooing him with a good flea and tick shampoo.  It smells wonderful and has some neat stuff in it to help the skin.  We rinse him off with the hose and then use a good creme rinse on him that we leave on for 5 minutes then hose him off.  After that, we let him shake first and then dry him off as best we can with the towel.  As soon as we take off the leash, he shakes good a few times then is off and running to roll in the grass.  To watch him is funny.  You would think he was playing a game with the way he is on his side and sliding over the grass by pushing himself with his legs. 

The Beast decided we needed to make some hot dogs or hamburgers on the BBQ.  You remember, the new one that he bought in the middle of winter.  I thought, *Hey, not a bad idea.  HE is the cook when we bbq.  Why not?* So I told him it sounded good to me.  I DID open a can of baked beans and I cut up onion and tomato.  I gathered up most of the condiments we use plus some pepperoncini that I like to add on my hot dog.  I also steamed the buns for us.  The Princess got off work early so she walked in just as the food was ready and she invited herself.  It was okay with me.  She's our kid after all. 

Chewlee said she didn't want to eat (yet) but I told the Princess that she had a hot dog at school for lunch so it probably didn't appeal to her.  She waited patiently for me to finish eating.  She kept saying, *Are you done yet?*  I thought she wanted to watch something special on TV but she was waiting for me to help her find the dogs ball so she could use the special ball thrower(see note below on this) and get Baron to chase it.  As soon as I finished eating, she grabbed my hand and said, *C'mon Gramma...lets go!* as she headed towards the door, barely waiting for me to move my chair so I could follow.

She's actually not strong enough to use it so she handed it to Papa for him to throw the ball.  Then she ran to the railing to watch him chase and catch up with it.  The problem is trying to get the ball back from him to throw it again.  He hasn't learned to do that.  We were watching our neighbor playing frisbee with the young dog there.  HE brings the Frisbee back and gives it to him.  Sheesh.  I wondered if Baron could learn something by watching through the fence.  He can't be outside while they do it because there would be a fight for that poor Frisbee then. 

Okay, I think this has gone on long enough.  Love you all.  Hope you have a great day.  It's almost the weekend...yay!!!!!!  I also hope you didn't fall for any April Fools Day joke.  If so, you aren't the only one I'm sure.   * * A GOOD PUN IS IT'S OWN REWORD * *