TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today we had a lot of thunder that started WAY before we got any rain.  I have no idea why but the thunder was incredible and scary sounding.  I guess that is partly why Baron went nuts.  It would thunder and he would bark, bark, bark at it.  Usually he ignores thunder but that's when it's raining outside.  He knows rain and thunder go together.  But for a good half hour or more it thundered without any rain.  His bark, bark, barking was starting to make me nuts and I was yelling for him to go lay down (which he ignored).  When it finally started raining, he watched it out the door and then went into the bedroom, plopped down on his bed pillows and went to sleep!    What a weirdo!

The Beast and I collaborated and made some matzoh ball soup together.  It turned out fantastic.  He's stopped fighting me about the matzoh balls because when he makes them, the centers come out hard.  Mine come out perfect.  Even he said that to me today after I made them for the second time since his last fiasco.  Of course, I realize that he's come up with just another way of BS-ing me about making the soup.  All he does really is cut up an onion and measure out the water.  Today he DID mix up the matzoh ball mixture but that's not usual for him.  It works out just fine, however.  I have no idea how the centers of his matzoh balls come out so awful.  He must really put a lot of pressure on them so that the soup can't reach it to cook it right.

Another thing he doesn't know is that I do add some spices to the soup.  I add some garlic salt, a little parsley and some cayenne pepper.  Not a lot of anything but it does add a lot of flavor to the soup.  He's never mentioned it tasting different than the first time (he made it by himself) when our order got here.  The soup base was a little too bland so I started with my adding spices to make it tastier.  I think I have it down pat now.

I haven't heard how Chewlee's end of the school year thing went.  We didn't go to it although it would have been nice.  It's just I don't have any shoes that I can wear yet.  I wear socks but the rainy weather kind of makes me a poor pick since the wet ground soaks my socks and that can be risky.  Wet socks are slippery so I become my own worst enemy when I try walking on any kind of finished floor.  A cane won't help me if I slip because of wet socks.  A fall right now would be a real disaster.

Gotta get this posted while it's not raining and I have internet access.  Love you all.  Thank you for stopping by. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Now that I am so close to being healed, the Beast wants to start taking trips.  Now I want to go to Chicago to see as many relatives as I can muster and my aunt that has cancer.  That one would be a week long vacation and I'm even thinking about taking Chewlee along with us.  I would love for her to get to know her relatives up there.  They've never seen her.

But back to the Beast.  His idea of a DAY TRIP is going to the estate of the Biltmore family in Asheville, NC.  If you check it out, it's HUGE.  It means a great deal of walking no matter how you look at it.  He got really excited about it and wants to see it.  I checked it out and I just don't think I'm ready for that yet.  I don't have much in the way of endurance and I don't think just healing is going to make a big difference.  It figures though, doesn't it, that the Beast would react like that.  *Oh, let's go look over this huge mansion and 85 acres of flowers, ponds and who knows what else?  You don't mind walking your ass off, right??*  Sadist!  I told him *Maybe next year or when they make it all wheelchair friendly and have rental chairs.  You can push me all over the place and I'll be fine!*

Chewlee asked to see where my toes was just as I was putting on a sock and I decided to show her.  She looked at it and said, *Grandma, what are you going to do without a big toe?  You need it to walk!*  I told her that was why I used a cane but the doctor told me he was going to make me a toe.  Her eyes got big and she said, *How can he do that?  Will it be just like your old one?  Why did you lose your toe?*  I told her it would be a toe I could put on and take off and know what she said?  She got her *I have a great idea face* and said to me, *Can I see it and put it on for you when you get it?*  I laughed and told her no she couldn't but I MIGHT let her watch me put it on after I get it.  She looked a little disappointed but was glad of that much I think.

She was trying to be cute today and imitate her mother when she ended up smacking herself in the mouth with her play cell phone.  She was crying and I had her in a hug and tried to comfort her.  I told her she needed to be careful and she said, *I don't know how to be careful!*  I told her that wasn't true because I've seen her and she has told me things about being careful. (Don't walk in the street, as one example).  She then told me she didn't have a *list*  (????)  So, I told her that wasn't a problem.  We will start making a list of things she needs to be careful when she's doing them. 

Then she told me that it wouldn't work because she can't do the words.  I said I would do that for her.  Then she said something that totally stumped me as to why she had it in mind as something she would need for her *list*.  She said, *But Grandma, I can't draw food.  Not apples or peaches or anything*  I told her it wasn't a grocery list we were going to make.  I told her we would write down all the times she did something that she WASN'T careful and what she SHOULD have done so she didn't hurt herself or someone else.  Then she said, *OOOOHHHH!*  I think that's when she *got it*.

I believe she's got a taste for more matzoh ball soup because she started a lot of talk about it tonight.  She said, *It tastes good with celery, doesn't it?*  I agreed.  Then she pulled my shoulder towards her and whispered in my ear, *Know what else is good in it?*  I told her *No, what?*  Again she pulled me close and whispered, *Onion!*  *Oh, really?*, I said.  She shook her head yes and then said, *I just love them both in it*. 

What you have to understand about this is that I usually put onion and celery in the soup portion.  We always told Chewlee that we only put in celery but this kid isn't dumb.  She probably saw me do it more than once and Chewlee HATES onion, cooked or raw.  But, since she has learned to love the soup, she made up her mind that she had to let me know that she likes onions....at least in the soup.    She might have thought that she could do more *helping* me if I didn't try hiding the onion I put in it.  As it is, I just let her help with rolling the matzoh balls.  Now I'm wondering if she's going to angle for trying to cut up either the celery or onion.  She is always trying to convince me that she is BIG.  She also really thinks that when she turns 5 she will be tall.  She is always assuring me of that and tells me to just *wait and see*.  She will be five in less than two weeks now.  Yeah, I will wait and see. 

It's late so let me just say love you all and thanks for dropping by to see what's going on here at the Brat Farm.  Have a wonderful weekend and hope you all have great weather. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today was shower day and it worked out just perfect.  The nurse called and told me she would be here some time between 1pm and 3pm.  Knowing her the way I do, I got in the shower about 12:40pm.  I spent more time in there than I really thought I would because she arrived here at 1:10pm and I had just gotten out of the shower.  I had my clothes in the bathroom so I finished drying off, brushed my hair out of my face and got dressed.  Perfect timing!

She was almost as excited as I was.  She said she loves it when she can write on her update sheets that a wound has  healed or is closing up.  She used the term *fully granulated* but that sure didn't sound anything like *healed* to me.  She also wrote across the paper that it was healed.  I have no idea why she had to write both.  Then she measured the remaining wound to see how much it had closed and it was half the original size.  Of course, every time the doctor debrided it, he made it bigger.  It was really frustrating to me because I thought it would never heal with him doing that all the time even though I knew in my head that he only got rid of dead tissue. 

The water hitting my head and shoulders felt fantastic to me.  It was nice to shampoo my hair and just let the shower flow over it to rinse all the soap away.  Even the cream rinse felt fantastic as it was rinsed off my head and then off my body.  I used the scrunchie to wash my whole body, including my legs and feet with all it's dry skin.  My legs feel wonderful now.  I truly missed taking a shower but how often do you go without one for almost five months?

After I got dressed, the nurse started doing her thing (blood pressure, temperature, lungs and heart beat),  Just as she was going to apply the honey on my wound, I got nauseous.  I ended up having to make a run for the bathroom (thank goodness it's close) and vomited in the sink.  I have no idea why I vomited but obviously something upset my tummy.  I had only had cereal and coffee up to that point and was vomiting up both but not in the quantity I had ingested.  I finally felt good enough for the nurse to finish up and then, after she left, I HAD to lay down for a while.

Chewlee woke me when she got here and gave me a kiss.  When she heard the Beast walking around in the living room, she ran out to talk to him.  Next thing I knew, I hear her say, *Papa!  We need to run Baron outside on the mooder skooder!*  I thought the Beast would fall down, laughing.  He said, *Mooder skooder?  I think we have the only one in the neighborhood!*  She then said, *And it's OURS, isn't it?*  He was trying to hold back the laugh trying to bubble up and could only shake his head *yes*.  He then came into my room to see if I had heard the conversation.  When he saw ME laughing, he knew I had.  I had to share that with Bratfink because a little laughter is always a good thing.

She goes to her doctor tomorrow and I hope he finds out why she's having such a tough time with her right hand that doesn't require another hospital stay or surgery.  We'll find out tomorrow, I guess.  I know how she feels because I'm having a problem with my right foot that I think is going to send me to the orthopedic doctor.  It's just not *right* and it wider than it should be.  That needs to be resolved before I go to get my shoes fitted and my prosthetic toe.  My heel needs to be fully healed before I can do that.  I should call the doctor's office and set up an appointment for me now that the wound from the amputated toe is fully healed.  He'll probably want me to go to the radiology department at the hospital for a full set of xrays.  He can look at them on his computer which I think is pretty cool.  Bratfink's doctor can do the same thing but they have their own xray department right there in his office.  My doctor has one, too, but they can't do the type of xrays on my foot that the doctor will want to see.  I'm sure he doesn't want me to be standing on his xray table. 

Chewlee gets to go to bible study with the Beast tonight and she's so excited about that.  It's not the bible study that she likes; it's the other kids that come with their parents.  Some are older than she is and they look after the *little ones*.  They must do a good job because Chewlee sure loves to see them.  One of the girls lives here in our neighborhood and, on occasion, she gets to go over there to play with her.  The girl looks after the little ones in her family and doesn't always want to *play* with Chewlee when she gets a break.  I can't blame her.  I was the oldest of 7 kids and had to look after the little ones from an early age.  We seemed to get a new baby every two years except for the last two who are only a year apart.

Chewlee told me just a minute ago that she has to practice some words until she can say them right.  Today's word(s) was *needle nose pliers*.  She asked the Beast for them since that was needed in order for me to fix one of the *jewels* on her sandals that had fallen out.  When she finally mastered that one, she told me she was learning to say a word every day CORRECTLY.  I figured that it must be something one of her teachers got her to do as a project or just because she found a motivator that Chewlee went for!    It can be tough to motivate Chewlee, let me tell you.   

I'm trying not to remind Chewlee that she goes to Disney World next week because she gets so wound up and excited.  So what does the Beast do?  He starts telling her about all the different rides she can go on.  Duh!  The man is a moron since she is going to be spending over two hours with him in that state.  I went out and told him he should really think about what he's doing and he finally shut up.  Whether she will stay calm now is a matter of opinion.  He shall see.

Going to get this up early because the weather is so *iffy* and I keep losing the internet.  Tomorrow is Friday and the end of the work week for many.  Regardless, I hope the day goes well for you and you have some fun with family and/or friends this weekend. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I've mentioned a time or two...or three that I haven't been able to bathe or shower since I was first admitted to the hospital back in January.  I've had the surgery for the obstruction in my arteries in both legs, one of which left me cut from ankle to mid-tummy.  With all the stitches and staples, it meant a P.T.A. bath.  If you haven't heard of that one, ask your mother or grandmother to translate.  It means just you and a wash cloth with some soapy water in the sink.  Period.  Can you imagine how much I missed being able to shower?  I also had the amputated toe injury that needed to heal.....again, no shower.  The heel wound....no shower.  **Sigh**  I am very, very tired of not being able to shower OR bathe myself in the tub.

It's a simple thing....just a tiny part of our lives, really.  But, just wait if it happens to you.  I have constantly worried about missing something and having offensive body odors wafting off me.  I was seriously thinking about just spraying myself constantly with Febreze or some similar product just to get over the paranoia.

Today the doctor looked at my foot....the one remaining wound I have.....and said we are now changing how it needs to be dressed.  The good news?  It's healed enough that I can now shower.  No baths but I prefer a shower anyway.  I can use soap and water on it, no problemo!  I can stand under the shower and shampoo my hair instead of holding it over a sink.  I told the Beast to not be surprised if I drain the water heater.    I can't take a shower today because I don't have the new stuff that must be used on the wound. The Home Health nurse should be bringing it by tomorrow around noon.  She always calls to let me know when she will get here so I will shower before she comes and be ready PLUS smelling good. Believe it or not, the new *med* I have to apply is actually HONEY!    I kid you not.  It's medicinal honey that's been irradiated to kill spores.  I have to change it daily so I figure I will take my shower before I change my dressing every day.  That way the old honey gets washed away before I put the new on.  Can you tell I'm excited?

So I am counting my blessings since I can TAKE A SHOWER.  **Grin**  A little thing but try going months without a shower and you learn to appreciate that *little thing*.  Love you all. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Old age and old-timers is not a fun thing to contemplate at all.  For example:  the new Burger King commercial that came out has what I KNEW was a guy in some band that I knew, dammit!  But I'll be damned if I could remember what the band was or his name, either.  So I asked Bratfink.

She laughed.  Told me he was Stephen Tyler from Aerosmith.  Duh!  He's also the father of Liv Tyler (whom I love...she is so lovely and played the elf princess in Lord of the Rings).  I couldn't believe that I couldn't remember Stephen Tyler's name.  Just his mouth is memorable.  He's so strange looking that it was why I remembered him in a band at least.  But what is truly embarrassing is that I love Aerosmith.  But that's old-timers for ya.  Strikes when you aren't expecting it and causes you intense embarrassment. 

Worse than that is you start to get a little scared.  Am I going to be one of those people that forgets their own family?  Will I end up one of those pathetic people in a nursing home, shuffling along in my blue bathrobe (inside joke for Bratfink)?  Will the Beast end up winning by being the true survivor? No, no, no!  Can't have that.  Guess I need to go back to doing my crossword puzzles and keep my mind more active.  Pathetic how the memory can start failing without any real warning.

We are going to have some bad weather later on today and tonight so I wanted to get this blog done early.  I didn't have THIS early in mind for my Thursday blog but I didn't want to *forget* it either.  Better too early than not at all.    If I manage to keep my internet connection (a failing that wireless and satellite both share I've discovered), I may put up another blog after Chewlee leaves.  Next week she goes on her big adventure to Disney World and (we hope) Universal Studios (to see the Harry Potter section).  I can't wait to find out how much she enjoys that one.

Love you all and I hope you are having a good week so far.  Smile a lot.  Spread your smile all over the world as people pay it forward.  One unsolicitated smile spreads like wildfire! 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It was truly a dull, uneventful day here at the Brat Farm.  The most exciting thing that happened involved the Beast and his sudden obsession with artificial flowers.  He bought some last week and added them to the flower box out front.  They DO look real and even fooled the home health nurse that comes here.  So that gave him the idea to fill in some of the bare spots with more artificial flowers.

He called me out front to show me and said he bet I couldn't tell which ones were artificial.  I pointed them all out and told him that you can't fool a woman who picked out everything in it.  I told him to spend his money on REAL flowers if he thought there weren't enough in it.  He wants it to look like something that should be in a botanical garden or something.  I said he could be doing that with REAL flowers.  He's just got to realize the difference between annuals and perennials.  I told him the perennials would be the more expensive since they show up every year.

He did get one good thing done.  He finally picked up some rose food for the two rose trees and my rose bushes.  One of the rose trees wasn't looking great and my bushes will need the food for later blooming.  Other than that, he just cleaned the toilet.  I'll admit I did almost nothing except fold some clothes.

So I would have to say today was a big zero for us both.  Tomorrow Chewlee will be here to add excitement and, hopefully, the weather will be better.  I really want to go out and pick a couple of our tomatoes and check on the squash.  I have a taste for some and it would be nice if at least one of the summer squash was ready.  We also need to pick more of the strawberries which we have in abundance. 

Love you all.  Sorry nothing exciting is going on here and I have no real bitches.  I'll see what Chewlee can stir up tomorrow and let you know. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It was a very peaceful day today.  That is, until Chewlee got here.  She has an end of the year performance the kids at her school are giving on Saturday at 5pm.  So, of course, the Princess has to take off work for the evening, at least.  I asked what they were doing for their *show* and she said she thinks they will be dancing and a song or two.  Dance?  Five year olds?  It's not like they were in a dance school so it will have to be something easy or fun for them.  It made me wonder if it might end up being an easy country-western type dance or if they are just going to shake their booty.    That I know they can do since all the kids programs Chewlee watches has times they encourage the kids to get up off the floor (or out of their chairs) and dance!  What they show is pretty much just shakin' that booty.

Anyway, because the Princess needs Saturday evening off, she can't work her usual double shift.  So she had to work today so the schedule could be altered and they would have enough help for the dinner hour.  She works at a nice Italian restaurant and it amazes me how busy they get even during the week.  But I have to admit, their food is excellent and cheap, too.  If you don't buy drinks (I think it's beer and wine served there), you can eat like a king and only pay about $10. per person.  Trust me on this, you would have to get a doggie dish because their entrees are very large portions and there's no way you can finish it at one sitting.  Not if you have a salad and garlic bread while waiting for your meal to be served.

Chewlee was in one of her *needs to keep her body moving* moods.  That means she kept running in the house and making both me and the Beast nuts.  I think I yelled more at her today than I ever have.  She even got a (single) swat on the butt because she started running around after being told not to.  If I had made up the bed with the clean linens and blankets, I would have put her in bed.  Once I got her sitting quietly, she got so quiet that I had to keep checking she was really in the room.    I don't think she got a nap today but she was fighting going to sleep.

She helped me make matzo balls.  The Beast put together the soup portion and I made the matzo balls.  When Chewlee saw that, she pushed a chair close to the stove and kept begging to help.  I gave her some and she lightly rolled the matzo mix and added it to the soup.  She kept saying how much she loved matzo ball soup and couldn't wait until it was ready to eat.  She DID eat it, too.  She must have eaten six or seven matzos along with quite a bit of soup.  I drank up the little bit of liquid she left in her bowl which she thought was funny.  She then said, *We did a good job, didn't we, Grandma?*

She's really getting so grown up so fast.  Talking to her isn't like talking to a little kid most of the time.  The Beast had cut the lawn today and when she got here, she was really upset with him.  She came in and said, *How could you do that without ME?  I know things you don't and you should have waited for me!*  She really WAS upset with him.  She loves to sit with him because he will let her steer the John Deere.  She also loves to ride with him on the motor scooter when he runs Baron around the Circle here.  When she's in her loving mood or at least is calm, she has her grandfather wrapped around her little finger.  She will stay at his side and help him water the garden (when it needs it) or harvest the strawberries (of course!).  She can hardly wait for us to start picking the tomatoes and the squash.  She doesn't know we have green beans yet and we even have a black bean plant that we are trying out for the first time.  I also have a jalapeno plant that is doing nicely. 

She talks all the time about going to Disney World soon but I discovered she really has no clue what it's all about except for Hogwart's and Harry Potter.  I told her that they weren't at Disney World but at Universal Studio.  It's not all that far away and I was sure her other grandfather would take her there if she told him she wanted to see Harry Potter.  I loved Universal Studio.  They have some really great entertainment there.  I told her that she would love the *It's a small world* ride (it's the music!) and also the E.T. the extraterrestrial ride.   She got to see the movie for the first time (her words) last week and she told me she really, really liked him. 

On that note, I will just say I love you all.  Thank you for dropping by.  My internet connection is weak on this Droid right now so I want to get it posted.  Hope your week started off well and continues to be good.  Be happy. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Let me cut to the chase.  Tara TEXTED me (forgetting I no longer have a cell phone) today to tell me she wasn't coming for dinner.  Why?  She SAID it was she was so far behind on her housework and wash that she really felt she needed to stay home and get some of THAT done.

Now, as mothers, we DO know that happens to us from time-to-time.  But, like the Beast quipped to the Princess (who had called Tara to find out how close she was to arriving), *Hell, YOU are behind on that, too, and it doesn't bother YOU.*  Men can be real jerks sometimes.  I need to remind him that HE is the one that committed himself to cleaning the floor and even bought special cleaners and a special wax/finish that cost BIG $$ to *do it right*.  Hell, when hasn't he spent big money on something HE wants.  Sheesh. 

The Princess bought me an orchid plant for Mother's Day.  She knows how I love them and even remembers I did well with them in Florida.  I had them in Margate and then had to separate them when we moved to Port Charlotte because they had propagated so well.  What's funny is I had actually been thinking about where I would put one here in this house.  The best place is actually on my kitchen table OR on my desk where they can be shielded from direct sunlight.

She got one for Tara, too, but *shhh*....don't tell her that.  She's going to go over to Tara's tomorrow and give it to her.  I'll give the Princess the two commandments of good care for them to tell to Tara so she won't unknowingly kill them.  You can keep the moss and only water it when the moss is pretty much dry throughout or use wood (orchid) chips (no dirt) since orchids are parasitic plants.  I used to use chips and then just soak the planter in water in my sink until the wood was thoroughly wet then put them on my patio.  That got no direct sunlight because of the huge trees in back of the house (in Margate it got morning sun; in PC it got no sun because when the sun started to set, it hit the huge clump of pines at the rear of the house).    Tara can put hers on the mantel of the fireplace and will get indirect sunlight since it sits on an angle from the sliding doors at the rear of her house.  No direct sunlight hits it at all.

Chewlee decided she liked my sliced *chicken* (good beef roast but if you say it's beef, she won't eat it) and ate a couple nice slices of it.  She also ate about half a can of French sliced green beans.  The Beast made popcorn later and she ate a BIG bowl of that and then a yogurt pop.  She drank a couple glasses of milk and then damn near drank my big glass of orange juice, too.  I told her she was a piglet.  She said she was eating and drinking a lot because she is going to be a giant when she turns 5.  She then said to me....*Watch and see, Grandma!*

She's going to Disney World for four days!  AND they are staying at the Resort.  That's the paternal grandfather's present to her for her fifth birthday.  He is the one that is taking her, apparently, but he's also paying the Princess's air fare down to the resort, too.  I guess he will drive down there from his home on the gulf and pick them up at the airport.   I know she will have a great time.   If she's staying in the Resort, she will have breakfast with some of the Disney characters.  That's something special they offer.  The Princess will bring her bathing suit, too, I'm sure.  They have some of the most interesting (and different) pools.  I loved them back in the day we used to go up there from time-to-time.

The Beast gave the Princess a hard time about not getting new batteries for Chewlee's Leap Pad.  She doesn't work tomorrow and I'll bet you she gets them then.    He got her the Learning to Read stuff and wants Chewlee to practice her reading.  He'll nag the Princess if she doesn't get them.

Even though Tara didn't end up spending today with us, we had a nice day and the food was great.  Although it rained during the night and early morning hours, the rest of the day was nice and sunny.   Our high was only 70 so it was pretty much perfect.  We found we have six tomatoes on our plants (which I swear are over 5 feet tall) and are as big as a fist already.  I checked out the grapes and they are also getting big quickly.  Not fist-sized but surprisingly big for as tiny as they were just a couple weeks ago.  We also have four or five nicely growing summer squash and some small crooked neck squash.  My asparagus are doing nicely and should be ready to start harvesting about the end of August, if not before.  I've waited two years for those suckers.  I almost strangled the Beast when he suggested he was going to tear them out at the beginning of spring.  He should have known better than to even THINK about that shit!

Love you all.  Bratfink hit the sack early and it looks like I am, too.  I didn't sleep well because of Baron.  Between his farting (and it's enough to gag a maggot!) and his waking me to let him out, I felt like a dishrag this morning.  His problem is he's a wimp.  It was raining out so he would NOT go out in it.  I finally made him stay out of the bedroom by closing our door and letting him sleep in the recliner.  If he had tried scratching at the door ONE MORE TIME, I would have made the Beast get up with him just to be mean. 

I hope all mother's had a wonderful day.  My son, Marcus Aurelius, left me a message that he didn't have our new phone number so he couldn't call me.  He's usually the first of the kids every Mother's Day.  This year, his brother IM'd me shortly after midnight (my time) so HE was first this year.  His sister is apparently the only one with our house phone number.  I was hoping Mustachio would call over at her place and get the number, then call his brother with it.  I could have done it, I guess but the weather has been so crappy that I'm afraid I will lose our internet connection if I call out on it (we have Magic Jack and wireless internet).  Bad weather affects it, however, so nothing is perfect.  Again, love you all.  Have a great week. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today the Beast discovered a chip for the Leap Pad that included a section on learning to read.  He couldn't wait to buy it for Chewlee and she loves it.  He even spent time with her showing her how it is to be used.  It shows her how to spell the word and write each letter and then how they combine to make a word.  However, the Beast knew it needed batteries and thought of all his rechargeable ones he had at home.  He put them into the Leap Pad and it was fine.....at first.  But the rechargeable ones don't last long.  They were damn near dead as a doornail within just two hours.

I've put regular batteries in it and those last for a long time.  A couple weeks, actually.  I told that to the Beast but he never believes anything I say.  He's got to be the expert in all things.  He thinks I lie about stuff to try to show him up or some such thing.  I just don't *get* the male ego. 

Chewlee got very frustrated because she LIKED the part about learning to read.  She wants to learn so desperately.  But the Beast told the Princess about getting it for her and the fact that it needs new (regular) batteries so she should pick some up for her soon.  At least, I hope so since it keeps her entertained at the same time that she is learning something.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day (OR TODAY, WHEN YOU READ THIS SO......HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!)  If your mother is still alive, be sure to at least call her.  Mine died in 1985 and I still miss her every day.  She wasn't always a good mother but we became friends and I loved to talk things over with her or go out and have lunch and a few drinks.  We never seemed to run out of things to talk about.  It was different when I was a teenager but, as adults, we finally became friends when I was learning that kids don't come with instructions.  We all just do the best we can with what we know.

I invited Tara and the boys over for dinner tomorrow.  She's bringing a salad.  I'm making a roast, gravy and potatoes.  I'm seriously thinking about making sweet potato casserole and serving the roast sliced thin with gravy over bread.  Maybe a jello mold or something.  We sure have enough of that in the house.  The Beast can go crazy at times.  I also invited the Princess, who has to work so she will come a little earlier to eat (before the Beast gets home from his meeting, unfortunately).  But the reason I wanted Tara to spend the day with us was because this will be her first Mother's Day without Kevin.  That's going to be hard on her because, of all her kids, she was closest to him so it will be a day she needs a little more support than usual.

It will be nice for her to watch Chewlee and Chance playing together, they really love each other.  Chewlee will probably be closest to Chance as they grow up since he is her cousin closest in age to her and they will be able to see a lot of each other as they grow up.  Tara and the Princess are close, too, and that helps.  They'll have lots of time they will probably be able to spend together, especially after the Princess graduates from college and gets her teaching certificate.  Once she starts teaching, she will have a schedule that will allow her more time to actually visit with people again.

That will allow her to spend more time with Tara like she does when there's no school.  I hope that part continues for both her sake and Tara's, too.  I love them both so much and I love *family* getting along and spending time together for Holidays and other special times.  Like Chewlee's upcoming birthday.  She's excited about that and has been for months!  She thinks she's going to wake up and be BIG.  I mean TALLER than she is now.  She keeps telling me to *wait and see*.  I guess we are going to have to go along with that when she tells us that she is so much bigger than she was. 

Time to get this posted and make myself a snack.  The Beast bought some nice strawberries and some strawberry sponge cake.  I forgot to take out the Cool Whip so I need to do that as soon as I finish.  Love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day.  Spend it with family and friends if you can. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today the Beast bought me a Nook.  It's the Barnes & Noble answer to a Kindle.  It was a Mother's Day present (he said) but he couldn't wait until Sunday to give it to me and, after playing with it most of the day, I have to say *I LOVE IT!*

I was surprised to find a LOT of free books offered.  I am embarrassed to say how many of those I took advantage of and am eager to read more of them.  One of the first ones I purchased was the John Carter of Mars collection.  I haven't read those books since I was in eighth grade and I couldn't resist starting to read it.  I stopped only long enough to watch *Undercover Boss* with Bratfink.  She had it on at the same time I did is how we watch things *together* in case you are wondering.

After downloading a bunch of free books and the six I purchased, I was shocked to discover I had 35 books in my personal library and my Nook battery needed charging.  It offers a lot of apps free also and others (Like Hulu Plus) give you a week's free trial.  I've been hesitant to start that one mainly because I want to make up a list of movies I want to watch before I do that.  I won't pay 7.99 a month for it, thank you very much.  But I will take advantage of it before too long.  I'm sure it's only offered for the first 15-30 days after you register your Nook.

There are games offered, too.  The Beast wants to try out the Chess app and see how that works.  I'm still exploring all the games offered since some I was unfamiliar with so I had to read the *How to play* portions and it all takes time.

We were supposed to get Chewlee tonight to spend the night but the Princess decided she really didn't feel like going out tonight.  She feels like she doesn't spend enough time at home or with Chewlee. 

They went to the zoo on Tuesday as one of the school's adventures.  Chewlee actually begged to ride the camel.  Chewlee told me, *I wasn't even scared, Grandma ... and it was BIG!!*  The Princess said she went ahead and paid for the ride (with some trepidation since the camel scared so many kids when they were put into the *saddle*).  She said she figured *what the hell* since they got into the zoo free.    The zoo is one of Chewlee's favorite places.  She wants to go with me when my feet are all healed.

Time to get this posted.  Love you all and I wish you a fantastic weekend with good weather.  Chewlee gets here bright and early tomorrow and we have her to ourselves all day.  We have tomatoes ready to be picked and more strawberries, too.  I want to check the other veggies we have out there and see how they are doing.  She loves checking them out with me.  Be good.  Have some fun.