May 12, 2010

  • Grandkids

    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I can be bad about reading my email, depending on what is going on around here.  If I get busy washing clothes, mopping the floors, changing linens, washing windows, etc.  I don't always put it in my blog when I do it piecemeal, only when I make a day of it.  So that explains why I hadn't read this missive from my girlfriend, Martha, about *being a mother*.    I'm going to include bits and pieces of it in my blog this week.  Mostly because, as I read it, it really hit home.

    I know this section will be clear to anyone my age with grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.  I feel so blessed that I can be a part of Chewlee's life and that she loves to be with *gramma*.  I sincerely wish I could have been as close to all my grandchildren.  Most of them are on the verge of college or have lives that are slowly taking them into other directions.  Their interests are taking them away from family and into a bigger world of friends and activities.  God bless the children.

    Anyway, here's part of it that I relate to very much:

    Somebody said a mother's job is done when 
    her last child leaves home......

    somebody never had grandchildren.

    Lord knows I love my grandkids and my one great-granddaughter.  I hope and pray that, as I gain more of the great-grand's, I am around and can be an active part of their lives.  Enough for now....

    The Beast was motivated by the warm weather today to work on one of the *round tuit's* that he's had.  Now that we have an extension ladder (and it is SO going to be used this Christmas to get the lights up on the house...), he got busy pressure cleaning the aluminum siding.

    He had picked up a cleaner to use that he really felt so-so about but was going to give it a try.  Well, it did a fantastic job!  Much to his surprise, it not only worked great but it made the job much simpler for him because it did such a thorough job.  Hurrah for small favors!

    He checked out the new wiring he had pulled and connected up to a new circuit (it was for the heat strips on the air conditioner).  They work just great.  He had to separate them because he was afraid of a fire with the way it WAS hooked up.  Unless you are an electrician, you wouldn't necessarily understand why he did it but suffice it to say it was a 40 amp circuit with a 60 amp breaker in it and it did NOT have the correct wiring to handle that kind of load.  It wouldn't have shut down in time in the event of an overload and we could have had an electric fire.  There ARE times I am very glad that he has the ability, training and experience to know and understand these things.

    He split the unit wiring so that the cooling works on one circuit (with the proper breaker on it) and the heating works on a separate one (also with the proper breaker).  About the only thing I split these days is an egg or two. 

    I took Chewlee with me to Walmart to pick up a few items we were out of.    She loves to make the trip and sings her little *going to Walmart...Walmart...with Gramma* song as we drive there.  I told her I would give her a sucker when we got home if she was good.  She was.  She picked a pineapple tootsie roll....LOL.

    When Daddy came to pick her up, she ran to shut my door and was laughing while she leaned against it to make it hard for him to open it.  Then she ALMOST ran out the front door without saying goodbye.  She DID run back to give me a kiss goodbye then yelled, *Bye, Papa!* as she headed out the door.  Johnnycakes just laughed.

    The Beast made *his* pancakes tonight for us for dinner (we do that on occasion).  What makes them *his* is the blend of buttermilk and milk plus he uses Crisco to cook them.  Oh, not a whole lot but enough to give them crisp edges.

    Looks like Sheepie is going to come and spend two weeks with us at the end of this month and the first week of June.   I'm making her reservation in a bit.  Not sure if Buttmunch is thinking about coming down while she is here or not.  She may not even know. 

    Time to get this posted.  Love you all and will have more thoughts on motherhood tomorrow.  Be good, stay healthy and drive carefully.