After trying, unsuccessfully, to get Chewlee to nap, I finally gave it up.  Even she was disgusted with my insistence.  She lay quietly on my recliner and asked me if she could get up and I told her no (again).  She then said to me, *Well, okay....but just for one more!*  She meant one more Sponge Bob episode and her tone was empathic but quiet. 

I finally gave up because it was getting late.  I knew the Beast wanted to try to take a few pictures of her around the time I gave in so I told her about it.  She likes having her picture taken because everyone is using digital these days and she knows she can run over and see herself.    I told her we had to put on some clean clothes and then brush her hair so Papa could take pictures of her.  She does NOT like to have her hair brushed but WILL put up with it for a reason like pictures.  She looked at me and said in a sweet voice, *Can I have my hair in pigtails?*  She loves those because, with her hair so long, when it's in pigtails, she can swing them around and they brush over her face.  For whatever reason, she loves that feeling.  So, I agreed to put her hair up in pigtails for her.

I got her dressed up in the purple outfit I bought for her last week although she told me she preferred red or pink.  I had to prove to her that I only had the purple and an orange outfit in her drawer since I sent home the excess outfits that had accumulated earlier this week.  So, she agreed to wear the purple but I had to find her some purple hair *bows* as she calls them.  They are really the bands for putting the hair up that are supposed to be tangle-free.  I had two of them in one of my drawers so she was happy and she stood still the whole time I was putting her hair up.  It's gotten so long and is so curly and baby fine that, left down and free, she has many a *bad hair* day from the low humidity.  It gets much too fly-away.

So, she was ready and started pestering the Beast.  He finally got his camera together the way he wanted it and outside we all went.  Now Chewlee, like many kids, is easily distracted, even when she WANTS her picture taken.  The poor Beast tried as hard as he could to get her to stay still long enough for him to snap a picture.  She would look towards him and, just as he snapped the picture, she would turn her head to look at something else.  Either that or she would see something that interested her and be off like a shot.  The Beast said it was worse than trying to get a picture of a butterfly or a grasshopper. 

I could tell she was really acting hyperactive and, trust me, today it was NOT because she had filled up on candy or sweet stuff.  She ate normal foods for lunch (spaghetti-o's with a cut up hot dog in it) along with a fruit cup.  She did drink quite a bit of fruit juice but I added a lot of ice to kind of water it down a bit because I still think that is half of what causes her rashes on her bottom.  Even Baron got hyperactive and he can do it all on his own but I think the two of them just amplified the effects on each other. 

He managed to get a couple cute shots of her but they aren't finished being trimmed up to his satisfaction yet so you will have to wait until Monday's post to see them.  He is also having the Princess bring her by tomorrow so he can take pictures of the two of them together.  He's hoping the Princess will be able to make her stay still long enough for him to get a couple decent pictures.

Johnnycakes came by shortly afterward and Chewlee was so excited, she quickly put on her shoes, went and grabbed the *flowers* she had gather and gave them to him (she said she got them for HIM).  The poor guy looked at them with no clue what to do so I whispered to him to just keep them and throw them away later, after she went to bed.  You will understand why when I post the pictures on Monday.  Anyway, Chewlee grabbed up Ti-ti and shot out the door before Johnnycakes could finish his hellos and goodbyes. 

The Beast made some bread in the bread maker and it was actually incredibly good.  We ate  some of the bean soup he made the other day with a slice of the bread, buttered with real butter.  It hit the spot.

After all the activity today, it was nice to just sit and play a couple games on Pogo.  Bratfink and I chatted in between games and I hit some of the highlights of today with Chewlee with her.  I did share one picture with Bratfink that the Beast gave to me but it's not one you can see the baby's face in.  I only like it because Chewlee looks so small and delicate next to Baron (who is really a miniature horse....LOL).  I may add it to Monday's pictures, who knows?  Bratfink was shocked at how long Chewlee's hair is now.  It really IS and you can tell even in the picture I showed her, as bad as it was.

Chewlee arrived bright and early today and in a great mood.  She was happy and that always makes for a great day with her.  Early on, she showed she was restless and eager to *do* things.  She happily chatted with Papa, loved the dog and played tug of war with him with the rubber rings toy.  Then she decided it was time for us to go outside.  She went into my closet, found a pair of my low heeled shoes and came clomping into my room with them on.  I thought she wanted to wear them but she had other plans.  She sat down on the floor and insisted on putting them on my feet.  Then she said, *C'mon, Gramma...let's go outsidel * as she was putting her own shoes on.  I told her I didn't need my heels to go outside but she insisted I had to have them on because there were *bugs* out there.  I needed my shoes so I could step on them. 

I told her I could step on them with my bare feet (I know she means the ants she finds walking on the deck from time-to-time) she gave me a look of horror and told me in a very firm voice....*Keep your shoes on*.  Because I didn't jump up, she then told me, *C'mon.  It's not hot out, it's just warm* as she hugged herself to show me her version of warm.  I finally got up, grabbed my cigarettes and coffee and out we went.  I got us both pads for the chairs since we bring them in every night to prevent them from getting wet with dew or, possibly, rain.

She had to bring to my attention that it was *just warm out, see?*  I settled down on my chair while she went over to inspect my Earth Box to see if any flowers were blooming (there aren't any) then headed down the stairs to go over to the rose bush by the barn.  It has several roses on it and she loves the smell of them.  When she came back on the deck, Baron was at the door, wanting to come outside so she opened the door to let him join us. 

Now Baron considers her his *play pal* so he always expects when she goes outside that they are going to play.  He bounded down the steps then turned to look at her and wait for her to join him, which she did.  She went and found a big stick in the yard which Baron immediately grabbed a hold of and ran away with it.  Now, he things she's going to chase him, which she did at first but then stopped because he's way faster than she is.  So she climbed back up the stairs to the deck (the Beast had now joined us), complaining the whole time that Baron had stolen her stick and wouldn't give it back.  Then she stopped, turned around and said, *I'm gonna find another one*.  Baron, in the meantime, was laying down in the yard, watching to see what she was going to do and then followed her around (without the stick).  I told her that he was only gonna steal it again if she found one and she said, *Then I can get the other stick* and gave me a big grin.

I had almost finished the blog I planned when the electricity started playing with us.  On...off...on again...off again and then it stayed off for almost two hours.  Because I hadn't clicked the button that would post my missive, it's somewhere off in cyberspace, lonely and unread. 

So, all I will say for now is that I will post another tomorrow during the day (probably around noon).  I also apologize to the Princess for snapping at her unfairly today.  I never got a chance to say *I'm sorry, sweetheart*.  I forgot she had an early meeting EVERY Friday morning.  I assumed she got off early but went to the gym without telling me that was her intention.  I don't mind her doing it.  I just want to know that's what is up.  Me bad!

Love you all.  Talk to you tomorrow.

I hate my cell phone.  Let's start there.  No, actually, I hate the service we get here from Sprint.  Maybe I am totally off the wall because we got great coverage when we lived in Florida but here I can't hardly keep a conversation going and am losing the signal constantly.  I may be able to hear the other person but they can't hear me or vice versa. 

Granted, we actually wanted the Nextel phones with Direct Connect but everyone I've talked to lately has the same damn problem with Sprint.  The Princess, of course, has AT&T service with no problems.  But she has one of those phones that you can do anything with....including going on the Internet.  She often checks and updates her facebook or reads her email.  All I want is a phone service that won't fade out on me and I don't have to walk outside and all over trying to get more than one bar on it.  Heck, some days, one bar would be nice!

The Princess, who is very familiar with all the different cell phone services due to working for places that handled most of them says she would go to Verizon if she didn't have AT&T (and if she had to pay for her service....LOL).  At the aunt's birthday party in NC, we had no service available.  NONE.  However, all the other cell phones had service even T-Mobile which I really thought was kind of a cheap outfit.  I was amazed and pretty pissed off.  It's not like having a cell phone is cheap.  When you add the fact that our cell phones are taking the place of a land line, it really gets more than a little annoying.

Of course, Sprint tells us that we can upgrade, drop our direct connect...whatever....IF we sign a new two year contract.  I'm reluctant to do that.  I admit I did take a look at the new phones available to us and found a couple I actually liked.  But, I drag my feet here.  Our contract has been up for two months now so we keep getting advertising from Sprint about *deals*.  So far, none have hit my hot button.  It's the service that sucks and a new phone isn't going to alter that.  Shoot.  Even the battery won't hold a charge for 24 hours.  I have to keep it on my charger almost all the time since MY number is the one used for doctors, pharmacy, our insurance companies, etc.  But, I hate having to run out to the deck and HOPE that I can keep the connection.

The Princess has applied for one of her additional phone coverages at a huge reduction for me but the process takes a while.  The Beast has one already but he seldom uses it so I have no idea how much better THAT is than the Sprint one.  If and when I get that one, I will certainly let everyone know.

Today, Chewlee informed me on the way home that she wanted to watch cartoons.  It just so happens that the Princess once supplied me with a dvd collection of cartoons that I had never opened.  So, we opened it today.  The cartoons are out of MY childhood.  Many of them were the ones shown at the shows we went to on Saturday.  Superman, Mighty Mouse, Felix the cat, even those cartoons that had the *follow the bouncing ball and sing along*.  THAT was a real trip since they were songs we all heard as kids.  *She'll be coming around the mountain...*, *Yankee Doodle*, *Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight*, *I'm An Old Cowhand*....you get the idea. 

I was singing along with them and Chewlee got a kick out of it.  At the fourth or fifth cartoon, she finally looked at me and said, *Ok, Gramma...that's enough!*  When I continued to sing along, she came over with a grin on her face and covered my mouth (but I kept singing, of course).  She did giggle over that. 

Today she also wanted an ice cream cone and all I have here are Drumsticks.  I know she really doesn't like the hard chocolate crust and nuts on them so I was forced to eat that part off for her (I know...such a hardship...LOL).  She then sat down and was both quiet and happy until her mother came to the door for her.  Then she almost threw it in my hand (yes, I finished it) then had to run back to get her *Ti-ti*.  I couldn't figure out why the Princess was standing with the screen door open, watching the driveway while telling Chewlee to hurry up.  Then I saw why.  I guess Johnnycakes was urging her to hurry so every time she looked away, he was backing down the driveway and would stop as soon as she looked at him and look innocent.  She was laughing at his antics and I thought it was kind of cute.

Okay...another question now.  When, oh when, is this incredibly hot weather going to end?  I love the cooler nights we are getting here but it sure isn't keeping the days from being horribly hot.  It's mid-September and that is usually the time we are getting MUCH cooler weather and it starts to get the feel of fall.  My concern is for the smaller, more vulnerable birds not migrating when they should.  Like the hummingbirds, for example.  I usually have to bring in my feeders somewhere after the beginning of October so they don't stay here longer than they should.  I won't dare if the hot weather continues.  They are using up about a quart of the nectar every 7-8 days.  I guess it's also how they hydrate as well as get their energy.

First, let me tell you that the Beast, loathe to finish cleaning up his garage AND the tool chest, continued on his cleaning kick.  But this time, he cleaned the microwave, which had been messy from his crap that he refuses to cover when he heats it in there.  Like his canned chili that he loves.  I refused to do it and decided to see who would last the longest before they broke down and cleaned it up.  I found it amazing that I went as long as I had because every time I used it, I almost had to close my eyes when I opened and closed the door.

He did a great job on it.  He then cleaned off the counter and threw out all the damn excess bread he buys since he can't drive past Publix when he's up towards or in Huntsville.  I love it, too, but......enough is enough.  We came the closest this last time to actually using it up before it started getting stale.  I'm usually the one that clears out the bread box and counter and we end up with 1/3 of a garbage bag full of stale or science experiment breads.  He keeps buying pita bread when it's readily available locally and I usually buy it when I plan on using it.  It does NOT keep well in the bread box, especially if the Beast doesn't tell me he's bought it.

Now, for the REAL news.  I think I've mentioned a time or two that the Princess and Johnnycakes have been seeing each other A LOT these past couple of months.  It's included a lot of doing things together (which was one of her big complaints when they broke up).  I think he found out he really CAN enjoy himself without it being a crowd of his buddies.  The Princess is also doing some stuff she hadn't done before, like taking a canoe trip around the lake here....an all day thing.  I know that Chewlee has been very happy that she's seeing so much of *daddy* again.  Well, today they finally moved back in together.  **Insert big grin here**

Of course, I knew the two of them were spending a lot of time between the two households and I had a feeling it was only a matter of time but didn't want to be too nosy.  Just the other day, the Princess made the statement that it was *hard to be living in two different places* when she asked me if I had an outfit here that Chewlee could wear the next day for school.  I just smiled and handed her two different ones, since the weather has been a bit unpredictable in the morning.  I've tried to help out by watching Chewlee when they did things like go to the show or just *go out*.  They still did things like go out to dinner with Chewlee and Chewlee was happy with that, too.

Today they had to borrow the Beast's truck and our trailer so they could move the Princess's refrigerator and maybe a few other things over to Johnnycakes, too.  I gather the Princess got a release from her lease (IF she had one since that was an *iffy* thing after the tornado hit the area) or they figured out something.  Either way, THEY ARE BACK TOGETHER!

I knew the Princess loved him.  That was never her problem.  Her problem was with HIS attitude about the whole relationship and what it meant.  I think she felt he didn't love her, regardless of the ring.  She didn't want to be a wife that never went anywhere unless it was to one of his buddies homes where he would sit around schmoozing with them and literally leave her alone with girls she had nothing in common with or a history to share.  She wanted to *do* things like go to the show, spend an evening together, alone, watching a DVD while cuddled together on the couch....even spend the day in a canoe on a lake.    She wanted to be a couple, not two people who happened to be married to each other but spent little time together in any way that mattered.  I am praying that this time it works out because there IS a third person in this mix.  Chewlee.  She loves them both and another breakup would break her heart.  So, keep them in your prayers that they both have the same world view this time and understanding.  I know they have spent a great deal of time talking about everything.  I have great hopes.  I love them both...no, I love them ALL.  All three of them....together.

I don't know if you remember me mentioning it before or not, but the Beast is smoking a lot once again.  I've pointed out (to him) how even what he smokes in our bedroom causes the bathroom towels to discolor.  He went to open the blinds in the room today and took a good look at them.  We cleaned them about six months ago but they were all yellow again.  He then went into the bathroom and saw the towels (which I had changed a week ago....the decorator ones, I mean) were also yellowed.  They are supposed to be white with a light blue trim.

He then went into the dining area and looked at the blinds there (since he sits at the table to read a lot) and, sure enough, those were also very yellow.  So, he went a bit nuts.  He filled up the bathtub a few inches with soapy bleach water and took down both sets of blinds and cleaned them.  It actually cleans easily since the nicotine coating is just that....a coating.  But, he was shocked at how dark yellow the water got.  He was glad to see the strings were all nice and white afterward when he rinsed them off and rehung them.  He then wiped them down to help dry them and rehung the curtains.  I wash the curtains every two months so no worries there.  He also spent time while the blinds soaked for a few minutes to clean the windows.  Those also were coated and he had to call me in to show me how yellow the water was as he took the squeegee to them.  Since the blinds are wooden, he knows better than to let them soak in the water for too long.

After that, he progressed to doing the other windows in the house (except here in my room because I do them regularly) but he was very surprised to see that my blinds are not yellowed.  I told him I don't smoke as much as he does by half plus I keep an eye on them.  They are easy to take down and to clean so I sometimes do them every three months or so just because I don't like to think of them getting as bad as they could if I only did them once a year like many people do.  He even cleaned the doors and the glass on the storm doors although I did them just a little over a week ago so they weren't bad at all.  The dog is the real villian on the rear storm door because he keeps hitting it with his diry, wet paws at times to be let into the house.  Other than that, it's usually Chewlee's hand prints on the garage storm door or the front one.  What can I say?  It's the usual suspects. 

Me?  I just let the Beast do his thing while I washed a couple loads of clothes.  I didn't rush because I am tired today.  The dog woke me up twice during the night to let him out.  I gave up at 6:30am and just stayed up.  I read the news online and waited for the Beast to get up so I could clean up the bedroom a bit and make the bed.  I have a few more loads of clothes to do and then I'll strip the bed, put clean sheets on it (since I loafed this weekend....LOL) and mop the floors.   When the Beast doesn't want to do something he's started, he kind of looks around MY usual area and will get involved somehow or other.  A lot of times he just gripes, pisses and moans about where he thinks I'm slacking off.  He finally seems to have learned to just pitch in, especially when he knows HE is the culprit responsible.  I never EVER smoke in my bedroom or even the bathroom so he can't blame me.    If I am in my bedroom for any length of time, it's because I am tired and I am scared to death of falling asleep with a lit cigarette so I just won't smoke in the bedroom at all.  Problem solved.  *Grin*

When Baron realized the Beast was carrying a bucket (he equates a bucket with his bath so he skedaddles), he came into my room to hide, I guess.  I turned to look to see what he was doing because I didn't hear his usual *thump* when he plops down on the floor and what do I see?  He's sitting in front of the full length mirror just admiring himself.  He turned his head one way, then another then just looked at himself.  It was about five minutes of that before he lay down but was still looking at himself.  It cracked me up.  He knows it's not another dog in the mirror or he would have been sniffing at it.  So, I wondered if he was thinking whether he looked like he needed another bath as the reason the Beast had the bucket.    Who knows what goes through a dog's mind?

I went to check on the *footprints* of the people reading my blog, which I do every once in a while just to see what newcomers there might be.  Imagine my shock and surprise to find out that yesterday's blog seemed to attract an amazing amount of people.  105 in all.    I know!  And they were from all over the world.  Must have been a dull news day because it's not like it was an exciting day for me or anything.  I believe a couple of them found my blog and started reading back ones but there were people from Malta, the Czech Republic, Vietnam, the Russian Federation, Malaysia, Brazil, Belgium....you get the idea.  It can be quite shocking for someone that doesn't live an exciting life at all.  Thank you all for coming...if you come back to read more.

I slept in again today...oh, not too late but it's so nice not to have any kind of deadline you have to meet.  The Beast and I sat at the table, having our coffee and talking while Baron (all 110 lbs. of him) just HAD to lay on my feet.  He will reposition himself if I move them out from under him because HE MUST BE TOUCHING YOU when he lays down by you or he's not happy.  I think it's something they never quite get over from when they are puppies and all huddle together.  He does the same thing to the Beast when he lays down by him.  I seem to get mornings.  The rest of the day he's the Beast's shadow.

The Beast must be preparing himself mentally for his next big project.  He hasn't shared what it will be with me yet but he's been cleaning up the garage the past few days.  He got a bigger (and better) tool chest from his aunt that had been left at her new house.  The owner died and the heirs took the tools but left the chest in the garage.  The one the Beast has/had was over 30 years old and he had used it for years on all his jobs.  It was moved from truck to truck and wasn't easily used, so-to-speak.  So, he's spent the past few days transferring his tools (and putting them in better order) from one to the other.  The drawers on this one open easily so I am hoping he will be more inclined to put his tools away every time he uses them.  Ha!  Ha!  That would be a real change of habit.  He always....always....had to take a day to go through his truck to *straighten it out* and put all his tools away.  He hasn't changed in over 40 years so I don't think he will now, regardless of how easily the drawers open on the new tool chest.

However, the reason I know he's obviously planning on a project of some sort is just because he IS cleaning it up .  He won't start a new project in a messy area.  He's done a few other things to make more room in the garage so I believe it's going to involve wood in some way.  He will have plenty of room to pull out his table saw, as well as room for the wood.  I can't even begin to imagine what it will be since he has several *promised* things he said he was going to make for me, the Princess and a couple other people.  I will just have to wait and see.

For the first time, Chewlee tried throwing a tantrum for me.  I smacked her bottom once and sent her to *her* room for a time out.  She cried the whole way.  When I told her to close the door, she did...with her head sticking out until the very end.  She was actually very surprised when I did it.  It was the first time she had thrown a tantrum (because I told her she had had enough popsicles and couldn't have any more) AND I had womped her bottom before sending her to a time out.  When I finally let her out, she came over and looked at me so sweet and sincere and said, *I sorry, Grandma*.  I gave her a hug and told her that if she didn't learn that *no* meant NO, I wouldn't buy popsicles any more.  I said, *Is that what you want?*  She quickly said, *No, Gramma...I like popsicles.*

I told her I knew she did and that's why I got them.  She looked at me, tilted her head a bit and said, *But Papa likes the orange ones, too.*  Yeah, like that counts with me. 

She spent some time trying to tell me about the new puppy.  I wasn't sure if she was telling me that the puppy pee'd and pooped in the house and that wasn't good or if she was telling me that they were teaching the puppy that.  I know she doesn't like the fact that she can't sleep with the puppy (like all kids want to....at least, at first).

She wanted me to play kissy face with her when she came over to hug me before she left.  She took her blankie and put it over her head so I started the game.  God, I love how she giggles and laughs.  They come from deep inside her and give her the hiccups every time.

I made sloppy joes for dinner tonight and it turned out so good, the Beast ate three of them.  I ate two.  **Color me embarrassed**  The Beast told me to make sure to refrigerate the leftover when it cooled down so we could have it for lunch tomorrow.  He doesn't usually DO leftovers so that was an accolade in itself.    I don't use that manwich stuff for my sloppy joes.  I find that kind of gross compared to the way I'm used to it tasting. 

I'm really enjoying the cooler nights although the days are still very warm.  At least the breezes have returned so that helps when you have things you have to get done outside.  I had to cut off the rose hips from my one bush.  That was really long overdue.  It only took me about 5 minutes but it was in the full sun so the breeze helped out there.

We all know how the Beast *knows it all*, right?  Well, he screwed up again because, even though he KNOWS when he skips a step while doing something, nine times out of ten, it's a disaster.  He went to the gun range to adjust one of his rifles for 100 yards and that went just fine.  His smaller rifle needed to be adjusted again because he had changed the sights on it from plastic to metal.  The plastic sights *move* when the gun barrel heats up.

His normal routine...and the correct one for a black powder rifle.....is to fire a special charge to foul the barrel just a smidgen before you do an actual round.  You are also supposed to swab the barrel so that any excess oils or powder are removed.  Well, he skipped BOTH of those steps and, lo-and-behold, it wouldn't fire.  So, there he was with a gun that had a full charge of gunpowder and a bullet that wouldn't fire even after two or three tries.  It meant taking the barrel off to get both the bullet and the gunpowder out of the barrel. 

When the Beast told me about it, I told him that he had to take it out on the deck because I could hose off blood and guts from the deck but not from inside the house.  He and I both laughed about it but he knew I was thinking about how easily he could screw things up because he gets impatient.  So, he got a bright idea and, after removing the barrel, he put it in a pail of water to soak into the black powder.  It made it a lot easier later when he cleaned out the barrel (he has a special tool for that).  Sure enough, he had sprayed too much oil down the barrel and it had soaked into the gun powder.  You would think it might make it more flammable but that's not really the case.  The oil makes the burn temperature much higher than a percussion cap provides.  But, all is fine once again and he will have to go to the range once more to start his adjustments.  Oh well.  At least I didn't have to worry about blood and guts. 

The Beast is now taking Baron for a run twice a day since we got the new scooter.  He's fascinated with the difference between the old one and this one.  Baron comes home now with his tongue hanging out because it's much faster than the old one.  He throws himself down on the floor with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and he pants heavily for about five minutes.  This is after coming in and heading directly to the water bowl and lapping it dry.  After he finished panting, he will then go to the other water bowl and drink even more water.

I know this won't last but I'm glad for Baron's sake that he's getting the exercise.  He loves it and will sometimes beg in his own way for the Beast to take him around the circle again.  It's really funny.

Chewlee was here today bright and early and we were very busy.  Besides going outside for a couple times today (until one venture when she wanted to go back in because it was *too hot* outside).  We watched Sponge Bob, Scooby Doo and the Penguins of Madagascar all day long.  When I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie, she told me *not today*.    She kept me kind of busy and we both ended falling asleep on the floor while watching TV.  The Princess snuck in after work and retrieved Chewlee without waking me up.  I woke up about 15 minutes later and knew just what happened.  The Beast laughed when I got up because he knew I was surprised.  I was THAT tired out.  It's amazing how much energy a 3-year old has and I don't.