The day started out nice although I know that is a relative term.  We woke up to 60 degree weather which feels great to me now that I am acclimatized....LOL.  It wasn't sunny out...yet...but that was still in store for us.  The storm was supposed to hit around noon, according to Weatherbug AND the weather service.  However, it was bright and sunny then and didn't have the look of a storm heading our way.

It stayed nice and sunny out until around 4:30 or so then it started to cloud over.  You could feel it in the air that a storm was definitely heading for us. 

About 12:30 or so, the Princess brought over Bailey to stay with us (and her buddy, Baron) for a couple hours.  She had set off some bug bombs at the apartment and didn't want to leave Bailey outside and make her a target again.  From the way she happily ran around all over the place and up and down the stairs to the deck, she's obviously healing just fine.  It still angers me that someone could shoot a beautiful Husky pup that was not a nuisance (and tied up to boot).  But.....she made NO friend of the Beast today.  She went and got into the veggie bed that had the watermelon seeds planted, dug up the seeds and then plopped down right on top of what she had dug.  I told the Beast that I had no clue why she picked the watermelon seeds but the box itself was nice and cool to her, I'm sure since it was moist.  We found out she had also dug around the pole beans, too but the Beast had extra plants so he wasn't as upset.

He brought both dogs into the house and they were both nice and quiet.  They laid down in separate locations and just napped for a bit.  The Beast had called up the Princess and told her to stop and pick up some seeds for small (preferably round...) watermelons on her way to pick up Bailey.  He told her she had dug up the only seeds we had for a regular size watermelon.  He didn't want to plant the giant ones (they grow up to 200 lbs) for obvioius reasons.  He then ran out to plant them before the storm hit.

When it hit us, it did it with a vengeance.  The rain came down hard, it thundered and we could watch streaks of lightning all over the sky.  When we got the tornado watch alert, I was not surprised.  It howled, it rained, it thundered and shot lightning everywhere for several hours!    I was totally amazed that we didn't lose power because we usually do when we are hit with these kind of storms.

Now they say we will be suffering with more rain (I can hear the rumble of thunder getting louder as I write this) until well after midnight Central time.  Then the rains will be gentler and further between.  Tomorrow will be cooler but sunny and then the week will warm up again.  Hurrah!  The poor dog was going nuts because he had to pee so the Beast took him out in the garage, opened the doors and Baron ran out quickly and then ran back in as soon as he was done.  He actually went on the other side of the truck because it provided some shelter from the rain with the way the wind was blowing.  I had no idea animals, well, actually dogs, could be that aware.  Guess a little of the *wild* still remains in them about some things. 

I worked on a big sewing project today.  I had another bedspread that I trimmed up.  I had gotten double-sided bias tape in the most prominent color so I could use it to bind the edge and could leave it that way.  Less bulk and a neater looking finish.  Then I sewed up another pair of the Beast's jeans (hems).  I swear he's getting shorter right before my eyes.  It's not like he was tall (only 5'8") but he has to have lost at least 3-4 inches.  I know you get shorter as you age and he IS 68 but it's still a surprise.  C'est la vie!

Today Sheepie spent quite a while telling me all about Teach's sister who is a bit loopy, I gather.  Personally, I think she is probably one of those sub-intelligent people who have no clue about real life.  The *needy* ones that have no friends and sleep with any guy who wants her to sleep with him.  They just have to lie a little and she is willing to exchange sex for the lie about caring or love.  Of course, afterward, she is often the butt of cruel jokes.  However, she has a vicious side to her and imagines that everyone means only the worst about her no matter what mild comment might be made.  Then she makes up tales in her mind but tells those tales to anyone that will listen.  And they are not nice tales.

What makes me nuts is that people (who shall remain nameless...ahem) allow themselves to get drawn into an argument with her.  I told them that when they start name-calling, they are lowering themselves to HER level.  In fact, she should just be ignored and avoided.  The more you try to explain or argue with her, the more she feels like she's the winner and the wronged.  It amazes me that the Princess could still end up in an argument with someone of her obvious IQ.  Sheepie is still young so it's not a big surprise that she still doesn't always know how to handle things but the Princess should know better.  At least, *I* thought so.  I'm just glad that I don't have to deal with any of that stuff any more.  There ARE some perks to being older and (supposedly) wiser. 

Spent about a half hour talking to Buttmunch today about Sheepie and her grades.  It seems that Sheepie has kind of a bad attitude about the importance of good grades or at least TRYING.  Her ACT tests were horrible (the pre- ones) and her regular class grades suck,too.  Buttmunch told her that if they didn't improve, she couldn't spend her summer here with us (I didn't know we invited her for the whole summer but...it might have been that she would spend part with us and part with the Princess.  I'll find out more down the road....).  Her answer to her mother?  She started crying and was upset because it meant she wouldn't see her boyfriend for seven months!    Wrong reaction to that.  Her mother could care less about whether or not she sees the boyfriend.  The important thing is her grades.  AND....as I told Buttmunch......if her grades were no better during the first half of school, why would/should we bring her down here at Christmas time?  I'm going to have to sit down with her and have a serious discussion with her before she goes home next weekend.  Even if she has no plans on college and THINKS she might end up marrying Teach, he sure isn't going to want an ignorant wife around to embarrass him.

No Chewlee today.  Sheepie, Teach, the Princess and Johnnycakes ended up staying up all night playing cards.  They did a truth or dare type game and poor Teach ended up having makeup put on him.  I saw the video (which was hilarious and he was totally ticked off at Johnnycakes because he COULD have taken the dare but, of course, he passed.  ).  I think Johnnycakes just wanted to sleep and not go anywhere so Chewlee stayed home with him. 

ANYWAY, Buttmunch offered to come down to help me with the Beast after his surgery (and I wouldn't even have to buy her bus ticket ).  She said that, as much as the Beast was a jerk and a brute as a father when she was young, now tha the is old, has gotten shorter and weaker, she actually feels protective about him.  She doesn't understand it (I told her I didn't either so don't look to me for the answer why) and she really doesn't care.  He's her father and she loves him.  It's a lot easier to love THIS father than her old one.  The strokes did a lot to *gentle* him.

I told her that I wouldn't really need any help with him unless the surgery DID end up being more extensive than the last time (as far as the bladder went).  If he ends up with a permanent catheter, I would let her know and I would probably need her help.  She said I should remember that *she* could use a little bit of a *spring break* herself.    I did mean it.  If it's just removing part of the prostate and the tumor doesn't penetrate the lining of the bladder, he'll recover with just a few days of bitching and misery until his *buddy* stops hurting.  If it's more serious, I'm going to need someone else here just to give ME a break because he will make me nuts over his misery.  And he WILL be miserable.  We shall know in another nine days.  Until then......

Love you all and I sure hope you enjoyed some of the great weather it seems like most of the country enjoyed (some areas were darn right HOT! ).  It got up to 79 here and was very enjoyable although we had a wind advisory going.  Our humidity was so low, we were also in a fire watch situation.  Tomorrow, however, will be another story.  A nasty storm front will be hitting us around noon (that's on Monday....the day you may be reading this).  Since that means rain, the Beast hurried up to get more of what he is now calling *my* garden planted.  He told me he is making up one more of the *boxes* for the sweet potatoes instead of planting them next to the shed (our mini-barn).  He ran and bought the wood for it today and more of the mesh weed barrier for the bottom of it.  He'll wait until Wednesday to get the soil he will need to fill it until the rain is over and done with.  He actually did a nice job of planting the garden this time.  It's neat, has enough room between plants to allow for growth and will be easy to pull any weeds that pop up, too.  It's also located at a good spot for watering and doesn't block any of the dogs paths that he likes to make around the yard.

Today was the day Chewlee has been looking forward to all week long.  She was so excited.  She wanted to go with the Beast to pick Sheepie up from the bus station but, since his buddy, Baron, was going, there just wouldn't have been room.  So I distracted her with some flower seeds that we could plant and she went for it because SHE wants to plant any flowers that go into the flower box.  She did a lot better but.....I am going to have to keep an eye out for when the Baby's Breath starts growing and thin out the clump I am sure will result from Chewlee's planting the seeds.  They are so tiny that she couldn't really see how she was spreading them.  Neither could I.    They are tiny and black.  Against the topsoil we put at the last layer in the flower box, you can see what the problem was.

Sheepie's bus was late getting in.  Not a few minutes either.  It was almost an hour late!  That is really unusual for Greyhound.  Sheepie said they loaded up her bus at the stopover in Nashville and then they just sat there for an hour before a driver finally got onboard and they left.  No explanatiion at all but the driver did say they would probably be able to make up some time.  I guess it was about 10 minutes or slightly more he made up but she wasn't happy about it all.  She WAS glad to get off it and into a more comfortable car with the Beast.  The Beast was happier than she was because Baron was really getting antsy.  He walked him several times (the station is on a major street so he couldn't let Baron run around) so he was hurting by the time she arrived.  He didn't even stop at Publix   He had wanted to get some more lunchmeats and some of their wonderful bread.  Oh well.  Maybe Sheepie and I will take the ride up there some time during the week and surprise him.

The first thing she did was look for Chewlee who practically jumped into her arms.  She spun her around just to hear Chewlee laugh.  Then *I* got my hug and kiss.  After she settled into her room, she headed right for the shower.  Unfortunately, the hot water lasted only long enough for her to wash her hair.  Then there was this scream because she had sat down in the tub to shave her legs and so she got a full body *rinse* of cold water.  I gave her my robe to put on and then went out and turned on the hot water heater (the Beast has it on a timer and it was off even before he took HIS shower this morning).  I had washed clothes last night in warm water so it wasn't as full of hot water as it usually is.  We sat and chatted while Chewlee climbed in and out of her lap.  When we had hot water again, she finally finished up her shaving needs and her shower. 

What was really funny was Chewlee.  When Sheepie was combing out her hair before she blew it dry and then straightened it, suddenly Chewlee saw the need to brush HER hair.  You usually have to fight with her in order to brush her hair except after her bath.  She brushed it herself and it made me cringe because she brushed one side (front and sides only) then the other but she kept pulling hair from one side over to the other and back again.  Needless-to-say, her hair was getting a bit *fluffy* and I'm sure she got some new tangles in it.

She then decided to play with me.  She grabbed this hat of hers that's a bit like some that guys use for fishing.  You know, soft and a brim all the way around?  She would put it on her head, tell me she had to go to work, then open the door to leave.  Before she closed it, she poked her head in and said to me, *Have a nice day!  I love you!*  A few minutes later, she would knock on the door, I would tell her to come in and she would come in, say, *I'm home!*, take off her hat, turn on the big overhead light and sit down on my recliner.  It wasn't long when she jumped up again to tell me she had to go talk to Papa and then go to work, pull on her hat and we repeated everything until she tired of it and decided to just sit in my lap (she was waiting for Sheepie to finish getting dressed.)

She talked with Sheepie for a bit and Sheepie told her that she was going to stay at Chewlee's house tonight.  Chewlee thought that meant Sheepie was going to go home with her when Johnnycakes came to pick her up.  So, when she was sitting watching Sponge Bob (quietly for the first time all day) and Sheepie left with Teach (the boyfriend), she got very sad and quiet.  She looked at me and said, *But Papa picked her up!*  That, in Chewlee-speak, meant since Papa picked her up, Sheepie shouldn't leave to go with someone else.  WE should have gotten first dibs on her.  I told Chewlee that her Mommy (the Princess) was going to call Sheepie after she got home and then Teach would bring Sheepie to HER house.  That made her a little happier but even the Beast noticed how downcast she was.  After all, Sheepie is HER cousin and she expected to be with her today of all days.

When Johnnycakes got here, Chewlee didn't want to leave until he told her they were going to go see Mommy.  I had to make the Beast turn off the TV or she would have insisted on watching it instead of getting her shoes on.  As it is, she has this idea that turning off the TV saves the program for her.  Like everything is a DVD. 

When she left, I grabbed myself a snack and headed for the recliner.  I was really, really beat.  And feeling a bit beat-up, too.  You would understand why if you saw how we play together.  She is so ACTIVE compared to my sedentary self.  At least, more sedentary than she is, that's for sure!  I do things at a leisurely pace while she literally throws herself into everything she does.

It wasn't a warm day but it was sunny with almost no wind so today was the day that Chewlee and I planted flowers.  She was so excited that she suddenly had to run to the bathroom.    When she was done...and she rushed....we grabbed the trowel and headed out front to the flower box.

I showed her how to start digging a hole (for the flowers I bought at the nursery) and she enthusiastically started digging and flipping the soil all over the place.  I stopped her, took her hand and showed her how to do it properly.  I'll say this:  she really tried.  I had to have her dig a little deeper (and had to show her what *deeper* meant because she just thought it meant *bigger* and started widening the holes and tossing the dirt everywhere.  I gave her the job of filling in the dirt around each plant and tamping it down when she was done.  She could hardly wait to do the next one!    She grabbed up the watering can and handed it to me with her order to *fill it up with water*.  She followed me to the rain barrel while I put some water in it because the soil was still really damp from the rains we've had this past week.  But, I knew she would have to water them or she would be crying because *flowers NEED water*.  I've heard it from her before.

If it had a lot of water in it, I knew she wouldn't be able to lift it so I had only put about an inch of water in it.  I told her that she had to give each flower *just a little bit of water* because it might make them lose their flowers if she gave them too much at first.  I told her in two days, she could check and see if they needed more water.  She listened and then proceeded to water the first one with...you guess it....all the water in the watering can.  I grabbed it to stop her and showed her how to give them just a little.  She did much better with the others and then tamped down the ground around them all one more time and pronounced herself happy.  She stared at her dirty hands and suddenly she was horrified.  I had to open the door and tell her that we would wash our hands together.  She ran into the bathroom and got her stool so she could stand on it next to me at the kitchen sink.  We washed our hands together and she smiled at me and said, *We planted the flowers TOGETHER, didn't we, Gramma?*  I had to smile at the look on her face.

The Beast was still laughing over both her enthusiastic attack on the dirt in the flower box with the trowel and her having to get the stool because she didn't want me to lift her up.  She was tall enough on her step stool to *do it herself*.  I had a bit of a hard time getting her to finish washing her hands until I told her she couldn't have her popsicle until after she had finished.  That's when she decided her hands were *clean enough*.

Later, *we* helped bathe Baron in the Master bathroom.  It has the spray head that you can take down and spray in different directions.  The hardest part is getting Baron into the darn tub but, once in, he's very good about staying in place.  Chewlee threw herself into the action and helped spread the shampoo around but got mad at Papa when he accidentally sprayed her.  She told him not to do it again because her mommy would get mad at him.  She stood there with both hands on her hips as she delivered the threat.  She turned to me to push her sleeves up so she couldn't get anything on her top.  She was in the way more than she helped until I gave her a washrag and told her to wipe off the dogs face and she did his whole head several times.  I was amazed the dog didn't protest.    I finally had to usher her out because she kept getting between the Beast and the dog when he was being rinsed off, all the time complaining because she was getting wet.

THEN....when I told her she couldn't have another popsicle until after we ate, she got her mad face on and told me she was going to tell Papa.  I told her that he wouldn't let her have one either.  A few minutes later she came back in to tell me (wth a smug look on her face) that * Papa is going to spank you tomorrow.*  When I asked her why tomorrow, she said, *Because he is busy now with Baron.*  The Beast was trying to dry Baron off more with my hair dryer.  I know Baron's reaction to my hair dryer so I knew he really was busy.    It's not easy trying to get Baron to sit still with the noise of the blow dryer that close to him.

I said something about being cold and right away she got into her *little mother* mode and went to get me a blanket.  I keep a small nap blanket in here that is folded and put on the back of my recliner when not in use.  She grabbed it and opened it up, shook it a couple times and then proceeded to cover me up with it while I was sitting in my chair.  When the blanket kept falling off my shoulders, she ran and grabbed a towel out of my clothes basket, spread it out and then put it over my shoulders.  She then decided that my neck must be cold so she found a small hand towel and had to pat that nicely around my neck.  She then ran to tell Papa that I was sick and he needed to come see how she was taking care of me.  The smart-ass told her not to worry that they would just go to the new grandma store and buy another one.  But he did follow her after she kept telling him to get up and come with her.  When he saw how she had me all covered up, he just cracked up, laughing.  Chewlee had a big smile on her face because she was proud of how she was taking care of me.  She stood in front of me and told me she was going to make me some soup so I would feel better. 

She ran out to tell Papa that she needed some waffles, salt and pepper and some pineapple for soup for grandma.  He told her that I had already eaten and I really didn't need soup.  Besides, he said, waffles are for breakfast.  She had to run back to tell me that she would make me waffles for breakfast.  Okay?  Okay?  She has the most expressive face on her and a new one for every occasion, I swear.  It's half the reason she can be so darn funny at times. 

Later, I took everything off me and refolded what needed refolding and told her I felt MUCH better now.  She patted me on my arm and said, *Chewlee takes good care of you, right Gramma?*  Then it was sit on Grandma's lap time and I could tell she was getting tired.  After I checked what programs she liked were on, I struck a deal with her about what programs she could watch and, when the last one I selected was over, she had to go to bed.  She agreed.  What's funny is all the programs were about being tired and getting ready to go to bed.    It was almost like it was planned.

Another unplanned day that I picked up Chewlee.  The Princess called me while I was out shopping and, I have to admit, I got a bit pissed off.  This is not the first time that Johnnycakes has decided that he didn't want to postpone something he really wanted to do to pick up Chewlee.  I know that's what it was because I was only supposed to get her on Wednesday and Friday.  When I pick her up tomorrow, that will make four days this week I had her, not two.  And I still have the weekend, too.  I'm beginning to think I should be getting paid a bottle of vodka or some mudslide every week.  Enough of this *Grandma has nothing else important to do so let HER pick her up*.  But, I admit, Chewlee IS a weakness with me.  I love that little one a lot.  She sure fills my life with smiles and laughs just being herself.

I had given her some salami (of course) but I didn't want her to fill up on it.  She goes through these fazes of food preferences until she gets tired of them and then won't eat them again for ages.  We went through the chicken noodle soup every day.  Before that it was spaghetti-o's, or hot dogs until I almost begged her to try something different for a change.  So, when she asked for more, I told her *No*.  So, as she is stomping out the door, she says to me, *I am going to tell Papa.* and she storms into Papa's room, where he is on his computer.  A few minutes later, she comes running back in and she's all excited.  She tells me, *I told you!  Papa is MAD at you.*

With that, the Beast comes in and he's smiling and half laughing and tells me, *You asked for it.  How could you be mean to that sweet little girl?*  He leans down, gives me a half hug and pretends he is spanking me.  I'm watching Chewlee over his shoulder and she has this huge grin on her face like she has pulled off a real coup.  I couldn't believe how smug she looked but I pretended Papa was hurting me a little.  He turns around to Chewlee and says, *There?  Is that better now?* and the little stinker shakes her head *yes*.  So, she's looking very smug and then looks over at me.  I am staring at her with a mean look on my face and her face falls and she looks away.  The Beast almost fell over laughing but managed to contain himself while she walked out of the room.  He says to me, *Did you see her face?*  I told him, *Do you mean the one when you spanked me for her or the one when she got a look at MY face?*  He said that both were funny as hell.

Chewlee decided after that that she was going to hang out with Papa for a while until she thought I would get over being mad at her (which I wasn't, of course).  Later, when she made her way back to my room, she stood in front of me and asked, *Are you mad, Gramma?*  I said, *At who?*  She looks at me with this angelic little face and just points to herself.  I told her, *No, I'm not mad at you.*  Then she wants to know if I am mad at Papa or Baron and I tell her no to both.  She then says to me, *I love you, Gramma.* and gives me a hug and a kiss.  How can you not love a kid like that??

I told Bratfink about an incident yesterday and forgot to mention it when I blogged.  When I picked up Chewlee from preschool, I surprised her with some gummy bears.  I wish you could have seen her face and heard her voice when she said, *For ME?????*  You would have thought I gave her a diamond necklace or something of great value.  But, when I asked her for one on the ride home, she grabbed the bag to her chest and said, *These are mine, Gramma.  Get your own!!*  I told her that *I* share with her all the time and I was really sad that she didn't share with me.  She thought about that for a minute and then grabbed a red gummy bear (those are her favorites so that was a big deal) and handed it to me.  She then said, *I am sharing with you, Gramma.  Now chew it slow and only one at a time.*  She then clutched the bag to her chest and kept glancing over at me to see when I swallowed.  She was afraid she might have to give me another one.    When I did finish it, she pointed at my coffee cup and said, very quickly, *Don't forget your coffee, Gramma.  Go ahead.  Drink it.*  She was trying to distract me, don't you know? 

Okay.  Now on to the Beast.  Today was his appointment with his urologist and he wasn't really looking forward to it.  He went to bed early last night (after showering) so that he wouldn't sleep too late to leisurely get prepared in the morning.  The dog didn't give him a hard time about being left behind because even he could tell, I think, that the Beast wasn't liking the whole idea.  When the Beast got home, he handed me this sheet of prepared instructions from the doctor. 

The Beast has another tumor in his bladder and his prostate is enlarged.  The surgery will be outpatient (which surprised me because they will be removing part of his prostate, too) on April 13th.  It's scheduled for 1pm. but he still can't eat or drink anything after midnight on the 12th.  He is going to be miserable about that part.  But, his pre-surgical exam is on the 11th and he will also have a catscan done at the same time.  A catscan is not a normal procedure but the doctor ordered it because he has some concern for the Beast's kidneys.  THAT bothers the Beast big time.

I'm very concerned this time because the doctor said last time (before the surgery) that, if they had to cut into the bladder, the Beast would more than likely have to have a permanent catheter.  I know the Beast and that will just kill him.  He will hate it more than you could possibly know.  He's not one of those accepting people who can roll with the punches and do what must be done.  He will be humiliated and feel degraded because it's something only really old and infirm people have to have in his mind.  He doesn't see himself that way and doesn't want anyone else to, either.