So, we shall have to see what kind of arrangements can be made.  There are several motels in the area that allow dogs (we've stayed before) so there are no problems with that part of our trip.  There's also lots of room for Baron to run and play at AM's new house.  I haven't been there but I have seen pictures.  The Beast built shelves in the garage for her a while back (at the new house) and Baron had a ball.

Me?  I shall probably have withdrawal symptoms about not being online there.  The cousin isn't online smart so she disdains having it.  AM could care less since she has her friends that keep her busy and they do bingo and play cards often.  She does love company, that much I will say.  I'm looking forward to seeing my nephews, their wives and kids and some of her old friends that we have known for years.  It will be fun to visit for a bit.  I will just have to prepare something for my blog ahead of time and let you know on Tuesday how everything went.  I should be home Sunday night since I will have Chewlee on Monday (Labor Day) because preschool will be closed.

I'm looking forward to Chewlee's reaction to so many relatives.  She loves the *cousin*, *aunt*, *uncle*-thing even though she has no real clue what that means.  She just knows they all seem happy to be around her and vice versa.  She just loves to bring up Sheepie and tell me how much she loves her and that Sheepie loves her, too.  I nod and tell her that I know and she is happy telling me that Sheepie is her cousin. 

The Beast started cleaning up, as I started to say, which meant he finally finished the areas under all his trees that needed trimming and along the fence, the base of the house and the stairs.  He then actually PUT EVERYTHING AWAY!    I swear, even the dog has a surprised look on his face. 

I looked at the finished product and everything looks so nice and neat outside now.  I had to smile.  It may not be a mini-mansion but it's comfortable and it's ours.  I really DO wish it were a bit bigger but, hey, it works MOST of the time.  The Beast also inspected the trees while he was doing his cleanup and was happy since they DO look healthy.

The spruce he planted a couple years ago is starting to really look nice and has gained some symmetry so I will probably decorate it for the Christmas holidays.  That was what the Beast originally planted it for (for me, he said).  Since the Beast broke down and bought a ladder that extends enough to reach the gutters, I will be able to put the outside lights up this year.  That tickles me.  I just hope all the bulbs still work.  I think that when they put them out in a couple months, I will have to get some extra bulbs, just in case.

Well, time to get this posted for you for later.  We actually had a nice day today.  They predicted much hotter weather for us but it only got up to 77.  I can handle that easily.  It will be hotter for the next few days but the temperature should be nice over the Labor Day weekend.  I will just have to pack a sweatshirt for the Beast and I for nights up in the mountains where AM lives.  It gets a bit cooler at HER elevation than at ours.

The mornings are going to be continuing to be cooler, thankfully, but the highs are heading back up into the 90's once again.  I keep praying for a break and La Nina is really starting to piss me off.  That's what they are blaming this on.  It always follows El Nino years so we should have expected it but.....I believe this is the worst we've seen in a long time.

The Beast and I were going to take a run up to Huntsville so he could show me Gander Mountain.  No, it's not a real mountain.  It's a store dedicated to hunters.  It amazed him and, when he told me this one sports store we used to go to couldn't even compare to this, I have to admit I was intrigued.  I also wanted to look over their hand guns since I still intend to get one for myself and then take the license to carry test so I can take it with me when I travel.  I've read the laws on all the states I drive through and they reciprocate with Alabama so it's worth the effort.

But.....when he decided we weren't going to go, I had to ask why since the store is inside and not exposed to the elements.  It was raining at this point...and raining hard!  He then admitted that he also wanted to make a *little side trip* to one of the areas that he can hunt deer.  He wanted to start scoping them out to select the one or more that he will *get his deer* at when hunting season opens up.  Yeah, right. 

Of course, he never mentioned this to me beforehand and I would have refused to go because I have been on some of his *excursions*.  Not for hunting, of course.  This is his new obsession.  His old one was photography and I became a mule for him.  I was only along for help carrying all the crap he dragged along with him to help him take his perfect pictures that very few people have ever seen except a few photography judges and professional photographers.  Oh, and some models because he did up portfolio quality pictures in exchange for their posing for him.  I know the way he thinks and I'll be damned if I am going to accompany him just because he doesn't want to be alone.  And I sure wouldn't have been dressed right for slogging through underbrush, either.

If the area he had in mind is a reserve, there would also be a lot of *scat*.  That's animal droppings to the uninitiated.  They KNOW where the protected areas are, I swear.  They have an underground that passes that information along and, pretty soon, the area is just rife with wildlife.  Not that I object to that but I hardly think sandals are proper footwear for that kind of a trek, do you?  He just never THINKS.  At least, not about anyone but himself.  Me?  I'm just a mule.  *Sigh*

I think he knew I was miffed because later on, he went to the store and picked up a couple steaks plus some fresh mushrooms and grilled a couple steaks for us.  T-bones.  They were delicious but it doesn't mean I will make the trek with him regardless.  I will refuse to go along with him in the future and I told him that.  I told him to take Johnnycakes along.  HE is the one that has been hunting and shot a deer or two.  HE is the one that should know a good hunting area.  I hope he takes it to heart.  I really don't think it's a good idea for him to go anywhere like that alone in his state of health.  But, he will do what he wants so all I can do is try not to worry too much and trust in his Karma.  It's taken him far, so far.   Especially when you consider that most people that have brain stem strokes either die or are vegetables.  There was a steady stream of doctors and nurses through his room to observe this phenomenon with their own eyes.  He was alive AND talking.  Amazing!  Incredible!  A miracle!  Those are all words I heard from them about the Beast.

Of course, his memory sucks about short-term stuff.  Sometimes what you tell him on one day, he doesn't remember the next day.  He really has to study hard to learn new things and remember them.  What he knew before the stroke, he remembers...mostly.  He did forget a thing or two but they were unimportant ... to him. 

I've learned most of his limitations at this point and I let him do his thing.  It keeps him busy and his mind busy, too.  Hopefully, it will keep him from more severe memory loss.  I can hope. 

Love you all and I hope you are having some decent weather.  Say a prayer or two for those of us still suffering that we get some relief that lasts for more than a day or two.  Before winter, I mean.    Be good, have a little fun, laugh out loud and tell those you love that you do.  Often. 

He had a lot of problems with chewing as a pup.  Not the usual stuff people expect like shoes or wood but with fabric.  He would actually suck on it and chew.  Many a pillow, pillow case and top sheet was lost to his chewing.  And, unfortunately, he chewed some holes in both bedspreads and comforters.

Not big holes.  Some were repairable like my patchwork quilt.  It wouldn't have been repairable if it it hadn't been a patchwork quilt however.   When he was a pup, there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it except try to catch him in the act.  The Beast was always clueless.  He never paid attention to a lot of the stuff the dog did just as he hadn't paid attention to the kids at home.  In his mind, that was MY job.  Of course, with everything else I had to do on a daily basis (I always worked full-time my whole life except when pregnant), watching everything else going on was EASY........NOT!   It has always, always pissed me off about him.

I started yelling at both of them when I discovered the destruction wrought by Baron's chewing fetish.  I told the Beast he had better start paying attention or he was going to be paying for a LOT of replacement linens, bedspreads and comforters around here.  It worked......for a while.  He made the dog keep off the bed and so did I. 

Then, I discovered more holes and it was a real puzzle because they weren't wet, which is the way I could tell the dog had been chewing on an area.  I started watching a bit closer and one day, I discovered how it was happening.

The Beast had been, and still does, buy the dog all kinds of rawhide chews.  Some are shaped like a pretzel; some like a bone; others are twists.  All to help with his need to chew.  I swear, the dog chews more than a damn beaver.  You would think his teeth were constantly growing and he HAD to keep chewing to keep them under control.  However, he had been chewing them ON THE BED.  All while the Beast was at his computer, of course.  He just didn't pay attention and let the dog stay there. 

What was happening was the holes were residual damage from the dog chewing his rawhide.  The pretzels especially have some rather sharp edges on both ends that the fabric catches in.  Also, when the rawhide gets soft and the dog bears down on it, he sometimes gets part of the fabric along with the rawhide.  Mystery solved. 

So I am back to keeping a closer eye on the dog and making him get off the bed.  I also yell at the Beast every time I go in and find the dog there.  He just looks abashed but STILL doesn't pay attention unless he gets up to use the bathroom and spots the dog there. 

The Beast and I have started noticing that Chewlee is actually using very complete sentences and losing the *baby talk* thing she had.  It seems almost like it was from one day to the next that it started.  Weird!    Kids are so darn smart.

The Beast is using the ATV to take the dog for his run now that the scooter has died on us.  The dog is not as fond of it but he still cheats to win by cutting across this one neighbor's yard.  It still cracks me up to watch the two of them going around our circle here.  Especially the spurt the dog makes at the end to get back here to the garage before the Beast does.  I told the Beast that he should take the same shortcut since the ATV can manage it and shock the hell out of Baron but so far, he hasn't done it.  I think he doesn't want to break Baron's little heart. 

Love you all and hope you have a great Sunday. 

From what I understand, his recruiter is putting all the delayed entry recruits through some really incredible physical training.  Guys that are now Marines have visited the recruiter and told the boys that Parris will be a breeze compared to what they are going through now.  I'm very proud of him.  So are is parents.  His father is my son Marcus Aurelius and his mother is my daughter-in-law, Raven.

Today my one and only grandson turned 18.  I'm still in shock thinking about it.  I remember when Hurricane Andrew hit our area and my daughter-in-law was due at any time.  She was supposed to be at the local hospital since so many women that are due give birth during hurricanes due to the barometric pressure.  She and Markus Aurelius came to our house to wait out the storm.  We had a cement reinforced concrete block house with cement tile roof.  They lived in an apartment building that we weren't sure what it was made out of.  I kept telling her she could NOT give birth because it was not in my job description to help bring my own grandchild into the world.  She gave birth two days later, phew!  So, I say, *Happy Birthday, Doc.  I love you!*  Doc is my nickname for him because his initials are MD (first and middle names).  I also knew it irritated my daughter-in-law a bit so there's a bit of the bitch thrown in there, too.   

Chewlee was cute when we got here after preschool.  The Beast was sitting in his recliner, watching TV so she just looked at him, grabbed her high chair and started pushing it towards my computer room.  As she's doing that, she was putting in her order for what she wanted to eat (noodles...of course...and juice).  After getting her settled, I filled her order and she settled in to watch Dora while she ate her noodles.  The Princess told me she doesn't eat chicken noodle at home but she gets a different kind.  In a way, I was kind of glad to hear that because I could imagine her eating it at both places.  Yuk!

I told the Princess it seems like every kid has some food they get obsessive over for various phases of their life.  Mustachio did it with hot dogs; the girls did it with fried bologna.  Those were the longest lasting phases so I remember those the best but there were others. 

When the Princess got here, she was a bit stressed.  She surprised me by getting here early and Chewlee hadn't been eating long.  I expected the Princess to hit the gym before picking her up but she said she had a bad day and only wanted to get home and decompress for a while.  Chewlee told her in no uncertain terms that she was EATING.  While the Princess and I were talking, she had her eyes glued to the TV while continuing to eat.  She did, at one point, tell me that she couldn't eat with the spoon I gave her.  She needed HER spoon...the one with the red handle....and told me I had to get it for her.  That cracked up the Princess that Chewlee had to have her *special* spoon. 

Every time the Princess asked her if she was done yet, she would say, *I am almost done* or *Pretty soon* or *Almost*.  She finally looked down and told her mother, *I'm done now*.  The two of them left and I turned off Dora (I had seen that episode...LOL).  The sudden quiet was really wonderful.  Chewlee comes in here super-charged most days and you are scarcely aware of it until she leaves and the quiet descends on the house.  It's amazing.  I do know that it really can wear me out at times.  When I have her all day on Saturdays, I am totally worn out when she's picked up.

The Princess signed up Chewlee for the *Head Start* program here.  The list is long and places are limited but she is hoping that Chewlee may get in by the first of the year.  The Princess would like to be able to work part-time and go back to regular college classes instead of online ones.  She misses that and could get a babysitter for the couple hours every day after the Head Start classes are over.  I guess that means she is taking some pity on me since she knows the Beast and I do like to travel together at times and I can't do that as things are right now.  We shall see.

The Beast installed the spring (I told you about that a few blogs back) that the engine ate and couldn't even get it to start up.  As he said, he's not up to pulling the whole engine apart and his hands are too big to work on it anyway.  I suggested he give it to the older of Tara's boys that live with her since he took a small engine class through school (and has done a fantastic job repairing lawn mowers), doesn't work and has more free time to get it done.  Besides, he would have been highly motivated to get it running.  I didn't know he had already offered it to Johnnycakes and I guess he wants to take on the job.  I just know that, somewhere in that small engine, a spring the Beast inadvertently loosened up and didn't even THINK it might have to go back in a special way, is caught up and preventing the engine from running.  C'est la vie, scooter.  The dog will miss you, too.

I laid back in my recliner about 2:30pm because I was really tired and hadn't slept well the night before.  I usually only sleep about an hour but.....the Beast crept in and turned off the TV (he knew I hadn't slept much and thought he was doing me a favor).  The TV is kind of my alarm clock for my naps.  When the programs change, it usually rouses me just enough to keep track of time.  When I woke up with a jolt and looked at the time, I almost screamed.  It was 5:45pm and that meant I would be an hour late picking up Chewlee from school from my normal time.  Oh, there wouldn't be a problem since it's open until 6:30pm but.....I knew most of the kids would be gone and Chewlee would probably feel she had been forgotten.

I yelled at the Beast for letting me sleep so late (he looked at the clock and got a stricken look on his face) when he knew I had to pick up Chewlee.  I strongly suspect that he had laid down to take a nap and slept longer than normal also.  However, I rushed to pick up Chewlee and actually got there before 6 which meant I was really flying!  Good thing it's almost all country road that I have to travel. 

Well, I'm going to post this for you now so you know basically what you missed.  Sorry again.  I still don't know what happened to the original one.  Love you all. 

The news is about the death of the Honda, my almost being late-ness picking up Chewlee from preschool and a couple minor things.  Look for a post later today. 

The news is about the death of the Honda, my almost being late-ness picking up Chewlee from preschool and a couple minor things.  Look for a post later today. 

He hadn't wanted to do that since there was a 50/50 chance that the barrel was stainless steel.  However, when he went to do something that required removing the sights, he found it was beginning to rust underneath it so he bit the bullet and treated the barrel after all.  That should take care of any rusting now.

The Princess went to work today (Tuesday) and came over for lunch.  I made us all grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches and some tomato soup.  It hit the spot.  She still doesn't sound good but she says she is lots better than she was.  Good thing since she has a training class in Birmingham tomorrow and has to be there by 8:30am.  That means she has to leave the house around 6:30am.  As a result, I kept Chewlee for the night. 

After I picked her up from preschool, we went to Wally World to pick up a couple things.  She had to remind me several times not to forget milk (it was on my list but...).  When I told her that, yes, we had to get milk for Papa, she put her hands on her hips and very seriously told me that SHE liked milk, too.  So, I told her not to worry, Papa would share with her.  They had some bags of mini donuts on special (powdered and chocolate) so she insisted I had to get the white ones for her and the black ones (that's what she said!) for Papa.  Then, when we got home, she absolutely insisted that SHE had to be the one to give them to Papa.  He was out in the garage at the time, so she laid in wait for him to walk in and then ran up to him yelling, *Look, Papa!  We got you these!* 

He thanked her nicely and took them from her and turned towards me and gave me this shit-eating grin.  It was just so damn funny.  She said to me, *See?  Papa is happy now.*  Yeah, really made his day.

I bought her another Garanimals outfit after she begged me to buy her some clothes.  Like the little stinker doesn't have a ton of them.    But, she had spotted this double ruffle skort in red and black that she liked.  She leaned over and grabbed it (without regard to size, of course) and I almost had to pry it out of her hands to get the correct size.  There wasn't really a matching top that wasn't long sleeved but she spotted a cute white top which I got for her.  I'll let her wear it to school in the morning which made her happy.  She's already a typical woman with her love of new clothes.

For the first time EVER, I had a hard time getting her into the bathtub.  She just was NOT in the mood for a bath.  I offered to let her shower but she folded her arms across her chest and got this mean look on her face and said, *NO!*  So, we compromised.  She let me was her face, hands, neck, legs and feet as long as I didn't get in the way of the television.  But, by 9pm, she was ready for bed.  I love how she will put her hand on my arm and say, *I am ready for bed now*.  She got upset that Baron was asleep in *her* room and told me I had to tell him to get out.  He did, but took his time about it.  When she said to me, *No kisses, no kisses!* I kissed her on her forehead anyway and told her, *I am grandma and I get kisses even if you don't like it.*  I covered her up, tucked her *ti-ti* in by her head and she turned over with a smile on her face.

When we get up in the morning, it will be a scramble to get myself ready then her and get her fed before I take her to school.  I really hate hectic mornings so I am going to go to bed early enough tonight to ensure I am up early in the morning.  I might get a cup of coffee down before she gets up or I have to wake her. 

That's pretty much how my day has gone today.  I did the usual; made up the bed, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, did a load of towels and things, dust mopped the floors, you know...all the crap that we women have to do even if we ARE retired.  Ain't that a joke. 

Today was the day the Beast took the new rifle....the one he built.....to the gun range to sight in.  He did, however, forget to take along the special screwdriver (or whatever the hell it is) that makes the actual adjustments to the sights.  He was impressed by how little it was off, even so, but has given in to the idea that he DOES have to put a scope on it.  His eyesight is just too bad.  Once the target is more than 50 yards away, he is only guessing where it's at.  He does pretty well at his guesses but it's a strain on him.  He doesn't think it's going to be any good when he goes hunting, however.  He has a point there since he's only going to get one chance at hitting his *target*.

I woke up almost screaming around 4:30 this morning.  I had the muscles on both sides of my right shin contracting.  When I managed to get out to the kitchen and a light, I was to look down and see two big bulges on either side.  That's how bad those muscles were contracting.  How I managed NOT to scream, I'm not sure.  Even massaging the muscle was incredibly painful. 

I'm not sure why it's doing that to me or why I am getting any kind of charley horse at all.  I take vitamins every day and I am eating a banana about every other day.  It shouldn't be happening but it is.  I was trying to figure it out when I did something this evening (Monday night) that gave me a clue.  I like to sit with one leg kind of tucked under me.  In my computer chair, the arms of it make me tuck my foot in a peculiar way.  It's not uncomfortable initially for me but, when I go to pull it out from under me, I find it is sometimes numb.  Since I tend to tuck my right leg under me most of the time, I think I may have to stop doing that.....if I can remember that.    It's such second nature to me, that might be difficult.  I'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, it took me an hour of standing and massaging before the muscle fully relaxed.  I was so damn tired that I just laid back in my recliner and fell asleep.  I was so soundly asleep that I never heard the Beast come in, turn off my TV and my computer and leave.  Normally, if I am not exhausted, the minute he shuts off the TV, I wake up.   I've caught myself two or three times tonight starting to tuck that leg underneath me but it give me a *twinge* and I stop immediately.  This is not going to be easy.

I did manage to make up my bed and get a couple loads of washing done.  I was tempted to hang on the clothes but there was no wind so I gave up that thought.  They just don't do as well if there isn't a breeze. 

The Beast took a ride into Huntsville today to get some finer black powder for the new rifle.  He said it's weird how each one of the muzzle loaders seems to require it's own special amount of powder and type of powder to fire without a lot of fouling.  This barrel has an awful lot of rifling in the barrel so the finer powder should do less fouling, I'm sure.  He took Baron with him this time but borrowed my key to the car so he could leave the car running and the AC on for the dog and still lock the door.  He's never sure just how long it will take him at the store and he doesn't want to take the chance of a lot of heat building up with the dog inside.

We got up to 91 today but the humidity went from 94% down to 50%.  It still felt like you were smothering when you stepped outside but we have some good news.  The overnight temperatures are dropping A LOT.  They expect it to get down to 62 tonight.    I know!  I was surprised.  It's supposed to be like that for at least the next week.  I told the Beast we could probably think about opening up the windows at night.....maybe.  Depends on how much it drops after the sun goes down.  Like right now, it's 8:30pm when I am typing this up but the outside temperature is still 81 degrees.  I doubt it will drop a heck of a lot more by the time the Beast hits the sack in an hour or two.  He's watching preseason football so he'll go to bed around 11pm, I think.  Whenever the game is over.  He'll be able to tell more when he lets the dog out before they go to bed so we'll see what is what then.

Since the Princess didn't go to work, I didn't have to pick up Chewlee today which was kind of nice after the leg incident.  It's amazing how pain can just knock the hell out of you, isn't it?  I'm sure Chewlee wasn't entirely happy unless it was Johnnycakes that came to pick her up.  She still likes it when HE comes to get her.  She gives him less trouble with leaving even when he comes to get her from here at Brat Farm. 

The Beast checked his beetle traps and found a couple dead beetles in there but not as many as he would have liked to have found.  I told him they might just be a few strays since he sure sprayed the hell out of the trees when they were thickest.  We shall see how they do next year since he plans on getting more then.  I'm just hoping we get rid of the fungus that has plagued us.  Especially after all the work the Beast has been doing to combat it.  Maybe next year I will actually have plenty of fruit to can and freeze.