TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

After checking out the Princess’s Face Book page, I discovered no mention of her and Chewlee going to either the aquarium or the zoo so it’s a pretty good bet they didn’t do either.  That means Chewlee didn’t get to go to the beach (not even our local lake), to the zoo or the aquarium.  Those are the three things she said she wanted to do but she would have been happy to do just one of them.  I know I will hear about it from her eventually when she comes home from school on Monday and we get back into our routine.  Kids are funny.  They may seem to accept your excuses but the disappointment is there.  I thought it would be a great mommy/daughter time but I guess not as good as it should have been. 

The Princess should remember her own childhood when dealing with Chewlee.  You don’t forget when you have been promised certain things and then the promises aren’t kept. 

Looks like I will have Chewlee tonight.  The Princess and Johnnycakes want to go out tonight.  But the Princess says she will be here early so that Chewlee can do her egg hunt and get her Easter Basket.  That should be fun.  I read on her Face Book page that she was ready to color Easter eggs (something Chewlee loves to help with) and Chewlee had fallen asleep….LOL.  I think I will wait until later to post this.  This evening with Chewlee should be interesting.

LATER:

Chewlee was dropped off a little after 8 freshly washed, in her jammies and complete with her blankey, Lady Bug night light and a brand new stuffed rabbit.  It seems that she was in an egg hunt, most likely sponsored by Tara’s church, that took place at the park near the lake.  I think they used the basketball court or some such area for it.  The object was to find the most eggs and Chewlee said she won that and that was how she got the stuffed pink rabbit.  It’s adorable.  She said she had fun so that’s what matters.  Thank you, Tara.  You’re a doll.

I let Chewlee stay up longer than I normally would since this is her last night before there’s school the next day for her.  We watched the Mummy with Brendan Frasier (drool) and Chewlee kept covering her eyes whenever the mummy showed up before he was fully regenerated.  She really doesn’t *get* the whole issue of a mummy and how it could come alive.  I told her it was all pretend and no mummy could come alive again.  I finally decided it was time for her to get to bed and she kept trying to make a deal with me.  It all involved her being able to stay up until the movie was over (she’s seen the end before) and who could find the most hidden items in a Claire Hart game.  However, she likes to be the one holding the mouse so you know who she would think won (and, in fact, she might have.  She’s THAT good.  )

Then she wanted to lay down on my recliner until *I* was ready to go to bed.  I told her she would already be in bed if she were at home.  She told me her mother leaves her door open so she won’t get scared and afraid that she’s alone.  I told her that I would try to get Baron to stay in her room if she just wanted company but she said she wanted ME.  I need to take my shower so I told her after I took my shower, I would go to bed with her even if she’s asleep. 

She’s come up with a new way to discourage me from smoking around her.  She told me that it makes her throw up when I blow my smoke in her face.  Since I never do that, I told her that.  But, I said to her, if she WANTS to throw up, she should just tell me.  She gave me the weirdest look and then said, *Grandma, I don’t LIKE to throw up so just don’t do it!*  When I said, *What?  Blow smoke in your face?*  She looked at me and said, *Just don’t smoke when I am in your lap.*  I agreed to that.  I seldom do that anyway so it’s a small price to pay.

I read this on the Princess’s Face Book page….it’s another example of how funny she can be without trying.  I have no idea what food they were eating but this was Chewlee’s comment to her mother:  “It’s a good thing we don’t eat dinner with our nose.” I (this is the Princess speaking) said “Why is that?” “Because mommy, this food stinks, but my tummy tells me it’s delicious!”    I really MUST ask what it was they were eating.

Tomorrow it’s supposed to be in the 70′s.  A great day for Easter in our parts.  Hope you guys all get some good weather, too, before the new cold front moves in.  The Beast is keeping close watch on his tomato plants because he  doesn’t want to lose more of them.  He’s going to be in Huntsville all day so I may take a run over to Lowe’s and get some cucumbers and a package of radishes.  I may also try to get some bush bean seeds and get those in the ground to get started.  We didn’t expect the rain today that we got in the afternoon.  It was really just a drizzle but Baron waited until he just couldn’t wait any more before he would go out in it.  When he came in, he kept stamping his feet until the Beast rubbed him down and wiped off his feet.  Not only is he a wuss, but he’s spoiled rotten, too.  I told the Beast, *That’s all YOUR fault.  You have never treated him like a DOG!*

Well, love you all.  I wish you a great Easter.  I hope you all have a great dinner with family and/or friends.  I may go out to lunch somewhere just for the hell of it.  BTW, I wrote to Bratfink and she knows we are all making a concerted effort to keep the internet going without her and that we miss her very much.  Be good.  Drive carefully. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

First of all, our peach trees are just full of blooms.  The Beast took one look at all of them and said a prayer that we actually get some peaches this year and there’s no more fungus to deal with.  I don’t hold out much hope for the fungus.  It really attacked our granny apple and sour apple trees.  The Beast had to pull them out of the ground and dispose of them at the city dump site.  He’s said if the peach trees don’t give us any fruit this year, he may pull all of them out of the ground until this fungus problem resolves itself.  Then he will plant one or two and see what happens.  It makes me sad because they produced such good fruit the first year they were in the ground but we didn’t have a fungus problem then.  In fact, this state was just coming out of a severe drought of five years duration.  All the waterfalls were pretty dry, too.  It was sad at first.  But, since the home garden boxes are up off the ground, we’ve been very successful with that.  TOO successful, actually. 

When I had to have my vascular surgery, that left me unable to can a lot of my veggies.  This year should be different, although my kids and Tara would prefer to see me make salsa out of all my tomatoes.  I may just do it 50/50 and make everyone happy.  I can make both the salsa and canned tomatoes or spaghetti sauce.  I will have canned green beans, some canned squash, canned banana and jalapeno peppers.  I haven’t decided what else to put in the garden boxes that can be canned because I want cucumbers, salad greens and radishes, too.  Those take up space but are so yummy out of a garden because it doesn’t get any fresher than that. 

Tonight I made potstickers with our sweet and sour chicken (which the Beast loves).  The bad part is that WE have to eat it ALL because of the onion in it.  We can’t give it to the dog even if we scrape the onion off it.  It can be lethal to Baron and the lethal part seeps out of the onions into everything in the pan.  I don’t use much onion but the taste is definitely there, regardless.  I love the way the pineapple tidbits taste (so there are a LOT of those…LOL). 

I made both pork and chicken potstickers and the Beast whipped up the sauce for dipping.  It is made up of soy sauce and a Chinese hot sauce (that green stuff I can’t remember the name of right now).  He bought this soy sauce from a real oriental shop in Huntsville and it has a bit of a sweet side to it instead of being really salty tasting.  I’ve learned to like it better than the stuff you buy at Cheapmart or any other commercial store.  Add a little rice to the menu (I like it but the Beast usually only takes a tablespoon or two), and it was delicious.  The potstickers were perfect.  Nice and browned after being steamed then lightly fried up in peanut oil.  Yum!

It was in the 70′s today which was warmer than predicted.  I sat outside for a while, drinking coffee and just looking at how pretty the peach trees look dressed up in their pink blossoms.  My dogwood trees should be blooming any day now and here they say we will be getting a last blast of cold by Sunday night.  **Sigh** I hope the blossoms are strong ones.

Love you all.  Have a Happy Easter celebration and I hope you celebrate with family and friends. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The Beast broke the flush handle on his toilet today.  They were cheap.  The builder didn’t build this to last more than a few years as far as things like that are.  So off he goes to Lowe’s and buys some new hardware to install.  He’d been having trouble with that toilet that he never mentioned to me.  Once he had the stuff in hand, he changed both toilets so that it was over and done with.  Didn’t take him all that long either.  He CAN be useful at times….LOL

I did manage to get my room straightened up and the quilts washed and dried.  The Beast then did a load of his under things (tshirts, underwear and white socks) and he just set the basket with the dried results here next to my chair.  I fold them and mate the socks then pile them in the basket and he carries them into the bedroom and puts them away.  Since he’s already gone to bed, he’ll do that tomorrow.  I’ll just set the basket in his recliner.  That will serve two purposes:  it will keep Baron off the chair and it will ensure that the Beast can’t ignore the basket.  Last week I put the basket on the coffee table and the Beast ignored it for three days!    Yeah, and he’s normally almost anal about keeping things off that table. 

My room still needs vacuuming.  The Beast was using it in our bedroom and he says he’s still not done with it.  He’s moving furniture so he’s doing a spring cleaning in there.  Since that’s what my plans are in here, I told him to just make sure I get it when he’s done.  He’s also going to bring the rug cleaner back in the house since he put it out in the cottage.  I was looking for it out in the garage but there aren’t many places he could have put it so I figured it out that he had either put it in the cottage or the barn.  I wanted to get rid of this one large plastic container in here but Chewlee calls it her *drawing table*.  She likes it because she can draw on it AND still watch TV, too.  It takes up a lot of space but I decided I would leave it for now.  I’ll have the Beast put it in the cottage in a couple weeks.  Then Chewlee will have to use the table in here, instead.

I was watching this program called *NY ER* and it’s amazing the number of young and attractive doctors they have.  I’m sure the hospital was chosen for that reason and others (busy ER comes to mind).  Some of them are amazing in how they handle even the most difficult patients.  BTW, that’s how the Beast is when he ends up in an ER.  You should have seen him when he had his first stroke.  Strokes are funny things.  There’s no pain involved so it’s hard for a patient to believe they need to be in a hospital at all.  Which is why the Beast even tried to run away and he suddenly discovered that he truly WAS paralyzed on his left side.  He kept saying that he couldn’t find his arm and STILL didn’t realize what was going on.  After his failed attempt to get up and get dressed to leave, he felt lucky to be able to fall back on his bed and then wait for the nurses to come and move him back in place (his head ended up at the foot of the bed). 

It was absolutely gorgeous out today but I didn’t end up having Chewlee.  The Princess was notified that she didn’t have to come in until one day next week so she was able to make other plans for the day.  I’m really hoping that they make it to the aquarium and the zoo since Chewlee has been going on and on about both places all the time.  You never grow tired of the zoo and I am hoping one day to be able to go with them on that adventure.  I don’t think I can do it without being able to rent a wheelchair.  I KNOW I will probably never have the stamina to walk all over the place for hours.  And I have always loved the zoo….any zoo.  I used to take my brothers and sisters to Brookfield Zoo all the time on *free* days.  We would pack a lunch and spend the whole day there.  I loved to watch how excited they got about all the different animals.  They didn’t really like the snakes but the Reptile House was a great place to go on hot days because it was air conditioned inside.  We would stay long enough to cool down.  When they opened the Penquin feature, that was a favorite place because it was really COLD but they were fun to watch.

Ahh, memories.  Memories can be both good and bad.  I think I have an equal measure of both although my worst memories are involved with the Beast.  My best involve my family….my siblings mostly.  I think they were the most fun for me.  How about you?  Best?  Worst?  How is your life NOW?

Well, more nice days ahead until Sunday or Monday, I think the weather channel said.  And even the states that are getting some snow today will be getting warmer weather that will melt all that stuff away.  Just cross your fingers that you don’t get flooding now.  Love you all.  Be careful.  Stay dry. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I swear I am not going to take another pain pill unless I just cannot take another minute of pain!  I took just half a pill so my sleep episodes were much shorter but I still hate having them at all.  Of course, the Beast took all three of his prednisone for the day all at once so he was either asleep or a walking zombie today.    I told him it wouldn’t be as bad if he took them one at a time spaced out during the whole day instead of all at one time.  He said he was going to try that tomorrow and see if it was better.

I did a load of wash (sheets) but didn’t get to the comforters.  I’ll do that later tonight after the Beast goes to bed.  He can’t hear any of it but it ensures that I will stay awake for a few additional hours and go to bed at a fairly decent time.  I’ll also wake up at a fairly decent time.  The Beast was sleeping late even before this medication he’s on now.  He’s not feeling better yet and still looks pale.  He says he doesn’t think he’s going to go to his bible study at church tomorrow and I should let the Princess know.  She asked about that tonight when I talked to her so I need to email her about that.  I know what it is…she bought Chewlee a new outfit for church and was planning on dropping it off when she brings Chewlee over.  Oh well, another day.

The Princess has to go up to Huntsville tomorrow to fill out paperwork for the new job.  I guess after being gone for over a year, they get rid of the original ones.  Only her address has changed but it’s a real pain in the ass to fill out all new paperwork, especially for a company like AT&T.  But it means regular insurance for Chewlee and for her, too.  Plus there’s the life insurance card and the infor for the union.  It will probably take her an hour to fill out everything.  I hate that crap.  It’s like the stuff you have to fill out every time you go to a new doctor.  All kinds of information you need to give them…name, address, insurance, family history for various medical problems, your specific medical history, all the medications you take…it seems endless.

Bratfink’s letter was full of things she missed while they are living like cave people.  There was even a touch of despair there with her only having Sheldon to talk to.  They had some kind of an argument which left her not speaking to him at all.  He just HATES when she does that and makes all these feeble attempts to make-up without once saying he’s sorry.  But that’s a man thing as we women know.  Men just hate to say they are wrong.  She’s also tired of actually using *snail mail* and having to write out a letter by hand.  Especially since her arthritis is so painful during the kind of weather they’ve been having.  I’ve typed up a three or four page letter to her so I guess I need to print it out and get it in the mail.

The Beast and I noticed something interesting about me today.  I’m walking almost normal now.  Hurrah!  I used to pretty much hobble along before but now I am taking normal steps that look like my hips are working right.  I have no idea why it changed from one day to the next but I’m glad.  I look less like an old woman now (at least in my gait…LOL).  Nothing short of major surgery is going to make me LOOK less like an old lady.

Weather here today was  cold but clear.  Lots of sun and Baron was happy about that.  He even went out on the deck to sun himself for a while.  We need to get him some sun lotion with a decent SPF since Doberman’s get easily sunburned during warm weather.  Yeah, it’s just like having a little kid in the house.  You have to rub in some lotion when they are going to be outdoors for any length of time.  Especially if you are going to be around water.  Water reflects the sunlight and just makes your exposure more intense.  Same thing for animals.  You have to watch the ones with short hair, especially if they have dark coats.

Tomorrow is the day I am going to give this room a good cleaning.  The rug needs both a good vacuuming and even another cleaning.  If the weather is nice, I’ll open up my window and turn the fan on to help the rug dry faster.  I should have asked the Princess what time she was dropping off Chewlee because she is sure to want to help.  She wants to do anything a *big* person does.  I’ll let her vacuum if she’s here for that.  It just means no computer playing.  If it’s warm enough, we can go outside and she can draw out there.  We can also have our first *outdoor* picnic.  **Grin**  I KNOW she would love that!  We might even get the Beast to join us.

I just checked.  Should be a fairly decent and not too chilly day here.  Good.  That should work for us and I can get some more sun.  Hope ya’ll have a great day and an even better week.  Don’t despair!  Spring weather is trying to get here for us all. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

For some darn reason, today I had that pain in my left leg.  The one from the knee to the hip.  Hurt like hell so I broke down and took a pain pill.  Since I’m not using them like I had to once upon a time, they now knock me out and send me to sleep.  There doesn’t seem to be rhyme nor reason as to how long it knocks me out.  But that is why this is late.  I apologize.

The Beast finally went to see a doctor today.  Not our regular one but one at a Walk-In Clinic down the road from us because one of the guys from his church recommended he go there to find out what the hell was wrong with him.  He said his buddy went there and got a shot and was feeling much better after having some of the same complaints the Beast had.  Ha!  I told him that I doubted a shot would heal him.  He said, *Why not?*  I then said that I really felt he should see a pulmonary doctor but he just shrugged and off he went.

He told me that the doctor had him breathing with some kind of oxygen thing (Men can be such idiots!) for 20 minutes and he felt much better after he got off it.  He then got two shots and a prescription for several different medications.  He had dropped off the prescription at Cheapmart and would go back in a half hour to pick them up.

So I said to him….*Two shots?  Of what?*  **I don’t know but one of them really hurt like hell!**  *So what did the doctor say you had?*  **(Shrug)  He didn’t tell me.**  *Didn’t you ask?*  **No.**  *OMG!  There is no way in hell I would have gotten two shots without asking what they were and why I was getting them!  If the doctor didn’t say what he was treating me for, I would have asked.  You men drive us women nuts because you don’t ask the questions we would have!*

When he got back from Cheapmart, he told me that the pharmacist told him that people were really suffering with what he had.  Some had it for months!  But he didn’t ask the pharmacist what he was suffering from either.  (Banging head on keyboard!!!)  His prescriptions are for some liquid that he takes when the coughing starts, some prednisone tablets (he takes those in a specified order…3,3,2,1) and some amoxicillin tablets.  Since those things (except for the liquid) are pretty much generic for many things he COULD have, I’m left in the dark.  I WILL make sure he takes them though.

He went to church tonight for a special event they were having and, of course, got all dressed up.  He was making jokes about *looking good* for a walking corpse.  I told him he would look good in his coffin and I promised to dress him in his *Mafia* outfit (it makes him look like one of the old Mafia dons) when he died.  He laughed and said that would be nice.  He also knew I was being truthful.  He loves that suit jacket.  He should.  It cost more than most people pay for their electricity in a month.  It beat OUR bill, that’s for sure.  Hell, it could have paid for two months of electricity but, hey, who’s counting? 

Even though my leg was killing me early in the day, I managed to wash a load of clothes and one of towels and wash cloths.  I dried them and then folded them.  I discovered that somehow I have acquired a hell of a lot of Chewlee’s clothes.  I need to get the Princess here to go through them and leave me just three outfits for those days I have Chewlee overnight.  Right now, I think I have almost 10 pair of Chewlee’s pants and about that many tops, if not more.  That’s way too many of her clothes to have here.  I’m sure the Princess is wondering where the heck some of these things are. 

Tomorrow I will be washing some blankets and quilts that could use freshening up.  Especially the ones in the guest room because I am constantly throwing Baron off that bed when the Beast leaves that door open.  I keep shutting it to keep Baron out but the Beast leaves it open every time he goes in there to hang up his *dress* clothes or to get them out of the closet.  That drives me nuts and so does the fact that he’s leaving the toilet seats up now, too.  We’ve been keeping them closed to make sure Baron isn’t drinking out of the toilets.  He dribbles water all over the place afterward like he’s a damn hound or something.  I am constantly wiping up his dribbles on the wood floor.  So I have been yelling at the Beast over THAT now, too.  Sheesh!  He makes me crazy at times.

It WAS a bit warmer today.  Yeah, a high of just 36 degrees and it’s only dropped down to 32 so far.  It will drop down to probably 28 or 29 before daylight.  They claim we will see 50 tomorrow (Yay!  Heat wave….LOL).  At least it will be sunny and bright out again.  I’m a *sun* person so I can endure almost any kind of weather as long as there is sun outside (and I am inside if it’s cold…LOL).  I have a feeling there are a lot of us *sun* people around. 

Love you all.  Hope your weather is improving, too.  Be good.  Stay warm and safe. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Yes, that’s what Chewlee told me when her mom dropped her off while she went to the gym.  I give the gal credit for being persistent with her exercises.  But, I think the gym getting them involved in different types of races makes it more interesting for everyone.  There was a time she couldn’t have done a 1K race.    Now she’s doing 5K obstacle courses and having fun doing it.  It’s a good habit for good health.  I would love to be able to join in but my exercises are kind of limited right now.

Speaking of which, I’m using two 5lb. weights to help build upper body strength and also to start strengthening my legs….don’t ask.    I’ve devised a few exercises of my own plus I found an internet site that features…OMG, I can’t believe I’m saying this…..exercises for the *older person*.  Some of them are ones I can do in a chair.  I think I originally got that site from an email someone sent me a long time ago.  They just ran across them and said they had finally found exercises they could live with….LOL.  In spite of the humor, the exercises are meant for helping build lower and upper body strength both.  If you want to check it out, here’s the place to go:  http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/no-excuses-chair-workout.  You can copy and paste it.  The exercises are by Doctor Oz.

Here are the ones for the arms (no flapping skin here):  http://www.fitsugar.com/5-Low-Weight-Exercises-Tone-Arms-11138470.  Here’s one I’m using but conquering them one by one.  Use the arrows to check out the exercises:  http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/551492-2o-best-body-weight-exercises/#slide-1.  I admit that there are a few she recommends that aren’t easy for us but most of them are doable.  Chewlee laughs and does some of them with me….but with much more enthusiasm than I can manage. 

It was really cold here.  I watched the weather channel and saw the cold front and how it bent down to hit even the panhandle of Florida.  Poor Jacksonville had some record breaking cold even.    We managed to get all the way up to 35 degrees.  Tonight we had snow flurries for a little bit.  Enough that Baron, our ever brave Dobie, almost had to be kicked out before he would pee for the night.  He’s such a wuss.    He’s a great watchdog these days but, oh boy, don’t expect him to go out in the rain or snow.  But yet, he will romp in a good heavy snowfall.  Go figure.

Well, Chewlee showed up with an armful of goodies to show me.  She had pencils, a pencil sharpener, crayons, an eraser and a little clear pouch for it all.  She had a new coloring book and a big book of stories.  Her mother also bought her a spiral notebook to draw in.  She’s so funny.  She had made drawings that different ones of her *students* (we play school, remember?) had drawn.  She will use them the next time we play it here.

That’s about it for my day.  The Beast seemed to be recovering from whatever it was that had him in it’s grip but now he’s relapsing.  When he started feeling better, he decided that he didn’t need to see the doctor.  It has to be a *man thing*.  Now, I think I will just have to go ahead and make an appointment for him.  I’m sure the doctor will refer him to a pulmonary specialist.  I’ll let you know.

Love you all.  Stay warm.  Spring really IS almost here.  Cross your fingers for Bratfink and Sheldon.  They might actually get back online soon if the gods are willing. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

When the Princess kept saying *they* were going to the races, I made an assumption that was totally wrong.  I know that Johnnycakes loves NASCAR and that they have started their racing season so…..I assumed (made an *ass…out of  U..and ME) that the Princess was going to the races with Johnnycakes.  Wouldn’t you?

It turns out that she and about 20 other girls from her exercise class made the trip to watch an obstacle course race (at least I hope they were just watching but I could be wrong about that, too.  She was in a hurry to get home to soak her sore body….hmmm).  She mentioned that part of the obstacle course included something that was *flaming*.  Eek!  She did say she had fun but one of the girls hurt her back and thinks she slipped a disc.  Hmm!  It’s starting to sound more and more like I should have asked more questions. 

Chewlee was anxious to get started on our list of things to do.  When I finally poured enough coffee down my throat to wake me, we ate our breakfast (pancakes made by the Beast).  Chewlee only had a few bites of mine (soaked in syrup…I avoid that), then she grabbed an apple and declared it her breakfast along with a big glass of milk.  That’s when she got herself dressed nice and warm (it WAS sunny but cool), put on her pseudo sheepskin vest jacket and told me she would meet me outside.  She declared we had watched TV (on the list) so next was riding bikes.  I told her I would watch her (too windy for me).  I got dressed nice and warm with my NBA sweatshirt (real one) instead of a jacket.  It’s actually warmer than any of my jackets.  Add some blue jeans and warm socks and I was fine for sitting on the stairs with more coffee and watching Chewlee.

We had to get the Beast outside with us so he could tighten up her training wheels.  One of them would kick UP at the slightest bit of weight on it.  How does that happen to a bike that has just been sitting for a while?  Sheesh.  She raced up and down the driveway while the Beast encouraged Baron to *go get her*.  It meant both of them got some good exercise and fresh air. 

Chewlee searched for a rock that we could use to mark her fish’s grave but couldn’t find one that suited her.  I told her that I would try to find a piece of wood that would work and we could do that in a few days.  We should have her tomorrow since the Princess has an evening class at the other campus that she attends.  She had spring break from those classes last week.  That’s the downside of attending two different campuses when their spring breaks are different.  But, when pressed by Chewlee, she told her that they could go to the aquarium AND the zoo on different days and that *daddy* might be able to go with them on one day (I assume that means on his day off). 

She didn’t balk at leaving but I know she doesn’t really understand what spring break will mean to her normal daily schedule.  I think she will enjoy her extra time with her mother but she will also not like all the changes this week.  She does love to know what to expect every day and this week will throw her a curve.  It’s funny that she knows she won’t have any school but doesn’t realize that she won’t be spending Monday AND Tuesday nights here.  Also that there is no bus that will be coming into play with bringing her here every day after school (except for Wednesday when she has gymnastics and her mother picks her up afterward).  It’s going to be a shock to her….LOL.

She is so excited about the idea of going to Chicago and seeing Kay and her cousin, Ray.  She also is eager to see my girlfriend, Marilyn, again.  She even sent Marilyn an *I love you* message.  I still have high hopes of not having the Beast along with me but will have to get closer to the time before I know for sure.  I lost a toe, not my ability to drive.  He still has this idea that I am not able to manage even though I planned my trip carefully so that HE would not have a reason to worry. 

Oh well.  Much cooler weather expected tomorrow but sunny and clear.  I can go along with that.  I decided to encourage the Beast by peeling potatoes for him tomorrow so he can make his potato pancakes.  He loves feeling that everyone loves them because he worked hard to perfect them.  Actually, everyone here DOES love his potato pancakes.  I know Tara and the Princess will scarf them up if he makes enough and they are here.  They just nuke them and add butter, salt and pepper.  Me?  I like sour cream on mine, too. 

Love you all.  Have a great week.  I’ll be here. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I apologize to everyone for not having a blog yesterday but you have to understand…..Chewlee fell asleep in my arms and there is nothing that is more wonderful than a child who loves and trusts you enough to do that.  I, of course, fell asleep with her after a bit.  It was thundering outside and it was very loud thunder.  That scares her and is why she curled up in my lap in the recliner.  I rocked her while watching TV and she fell sound asleep.  Now I may be a real sucker but there was no way in hell that I was going to give up the feeling it gave me to have her arm around my neck and the other arm across my chest.  I finally kicked back the recliner and we both went soundly asleep.

Today she wrote *I love you, I love you, I love you Grandma* on a sheet of her paper.  It was kind of dismal today and a fine mist fell down for most of the day.  It’s supposed to be clear and sunny tomorrow but I don’t believe the weatherman is really sure.  We have rain and more thunder tonight and I am trying to get Chewlee asleep with the idea that the angels are bowling up in heaven (I was told that same sad story as a kid….LOL)  Unfortunately, she has no idea what bowling is so I switched it to playing soccer.  She knows what THAT is.  I’m not sure she’s buying it but she is staying in bed.  Boomers are getting louder so I may end up with her in here after all.  We shall see.

I got another letter from Bratfink today.  Chewlee was all upset that she never gets anything unless it’s from Aunt Bratfink.  She thinks no one else loves her.  I read her some of the letter but her little heart was broken that she didn’t get anything.  She did like that SHE was mentioned in the letter, however, so she calmed down.  I had to show her where Auntie Bratfink mentioned her and she got a kick out of being called Chewlee.

Poor Bratfink said that even Sheldon said he feels like they are living like Cave people.  She has no TV (only DVD’s), no Internet, no Tweets.  She’s been doing a lot of cleaning out things and even cleaned off her desktop once again.  Now THAT is BORED!  LOL  She’s hoping Sheldon gets all his legal problems straightened out soon so they can once again enter the human race.

Another thing Chewlee did was make a list of things that she and I can do tomorrow.  Eat breakfast, find a stone we can use as a grave marker for her dead fish (yes, it did finally die.  I think it was lonely), ride her bike, eat lunch, play a computer game.  Since her mother is going to pick her up once they get back in town (around 3 or so, depending on traffic), I told her we might not get to do all that but she has a heart full of hope.  She keeps telling me *it’s Spring Break, Grandma!*.    Like I wasn’t aware of that.  I have to check with the Princess about what is going on next week with HER break from the OTHER college campus she attends.  **Sigh** I can’t keep up at times.

The Beast is still not well and not breathing well either.  He gets very pale if he does too much.  I’m definitely worried and will INSIST the doctor sees him tomorrow.  He may have to get to a respiratory specialist.  I know he can’t go on this way.  He’s scared although he won’t admit it.  I can tell.  I saw him looking out at the garden and he has things he wants to do but he can’t while he’s feeling like this.  There may be things the doctor can prescribe for him.  At least, I hope so.

Sheepie called me for my salsa recipe and I gave her the quick way to make some up and some spices to add.  She wanted it soupy or with a lot of liquid so I recommended the V-8 spicy for that.  I hope it came out okay for her.  I do that at times when I want some with my tortilla chips.  Chewlee likes the liquid more than the real salsa and it can be very HOT and she will still eat it.

Love you all loads.  Thanks for coming by.  The rain is a torrent right now but the boomers are gone.  Poor Baron wants out but he won’t go out in this kind of rain.  I really feel for him.  Hope your weather is better. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The Beast has not been well almost the whole day.  It’s not being tired from the long day trip we took.  He’s having a problem breathing.  He’s actually afraid to lay down for fear he won’t wake up.  (I should be so lucky…..LOL).  He filled up the water tank for the vaporizer in the bedroom before he went to bed tonight.  I’m going to keep my room door open just in case he really needs me.  I asked him if he wanted to go to the emergency room but he said no.  However, I think I am going to keep my jeans on….just in case.  I’ve never seen him complain this long so it worries me.  He has the door closed due to the vaporizer but Baron will start barking if the Beast gets upset or panicked.

Chewlee got on me again about smoking.  She had this very upset voice while saying, *Grandma, smoking isn’t good for anyone and not even for Grandmas!  Why are you smoking?*  I showed her my *pretend* cigarette and I think she thinks it’s some kind of toy.  She wanted to *try* it and I told her it wasn’t meant for kids, only grownups who want to quit smoking.  She thinks that’s a good idea but she did pick it up and jumped when I told her to put it down.  She didn’t know I saw her.

The Beast bought some Greek yogurt the other day.  One is mixed berries (great!) and the other is pineapple.  I love the mixed berries but the pineapple comes up short.  Not enough pineapple taste to it.  The brand is Chobani.  There are lots of chunks of pineapple in it but I don’t know what they did to the pineapple before adding it but it didn’t do it any good.  Still, I ate it, strange taste and all.

I want to thank all of you that are following my blog.  The number of you is surprising.  What is it that appeals to you about it?  I think my life is rather on the dull side.  Leave me a comment and let me know, won’t you?  I know my family follows it to know what’s going on in my life.  It’s news about Chewlee, the Princess, Johnnycakes, Tara and her kids, Sheepie and Teach even the Beast.  Then there’s always news about Mustachio, Buttmunch, Bratfink and Sheldon, Marcus Aurelius, Raven, Amy (who is preggers now) and my Marine grandson, Doc.  I’m not forgetting Traci either.  It’s all family stuff so they read this and keep in touch in a way.

Actually, I guess it’s great to know there are other families more screwed up than yours….LOL.  Whatever the reason, I am grateful for your patronage.  **Hugs, hugs**

It was cooler today but bright and sunny.  Chewlee said they played in the gym because it was too cold outside.  I think it was the wind that made it seem so bad.  There were some rather stiff breezes for a while, which is why I wasn’t eager to go outside.  How was it where you are?

Love you all.  I’m going to get this posted early for you.  Enjoy your weekend.  The Princess and Johnnycakes are going to some race and will be gone tomorrow and Saturday.  Chewlee is excited because she’s going to have a two day sleepover with us.  Silly baby.  I just wish we had kids that lived closer to us that were able to play with her.  Hell, I wish we had kids that lived closer to her that LIKED playing with her.  She’s a bit on the bossy side, I’m sure. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

All right!  I confess.  We weren’t gone two days.  Just one.  But, by the time we got home, it was truly the end of a long day and the start of another.  I was in pain.  Caused by sleeping wrong and with my leg twisted in an odd way.  It felt like I had a knot in the center and, at first, I thought *blood clot?*But as I walked, I found out it wasn’t.  But….we got home so late that I slept until almost one o’clock.  That’s *PM*.

I know I’m late getting this up but I fell asleep watching this boring documentary (I won’t tell you which it was but it has this Scottish guy narrating.  I had hoped it would be interesting.)  I will now tell you about our *road trip* yesterday.  First of all, the route was fast but boring.  I tried to sleep most of the way because the Beast, worried () about my leg, decided I shouldn’t do any.  Somehow I doubt he was really worried but he did manage to keep the hope off his face. 

I will tell you two things about both the city of Mobile and the city of Birmingham.  They both give you the impression of cleanliness.  A type that I haven’t seen since I first drove through Florida.  I think all people are stunned by that.  Mobile actually has some of the most interesting looking architecture that I have ever seen.  Many of their downtown buildings are truly beautiful and impressive as you drive along I-59.  We didn’t hit any real traffic but had the weirdest experience.  We had a hell of a time finding a damn beach!

We finally found Dauphin Island, located just off the coast and still considered a part of Mobile.  There is just a short bridge over to it.  We found the public beach and there were no restrictions listed about dogs (but we try to keep Baron leashed at first until we scope out the scene).  There were others with their dogs along with them and not leashed so the Beast eventually DID unleash him and let him run.

I had forgotten how difficult it was to walk on sugar sand and I pooped out because the beach was so far away from the walk.  I just sat down and enjoyed the sun while the Beast took Baron down to the sand and water.  Baron DID wet his feet but I saw him run back to the Beast’s side almost as fast as the water had lapped his feet.    Baron ran up and down but it was the first time we ever saw his footprints fully extended and looking HUGE!    I know!  It was the sugar sand effect.  No one in their right mind tries to walk in it with shoes on.  It’s like walking on quicksand.

So I spent about a half hour in the sunlight and got a little bit of color in my face and along my arms and chest.  I had my bathing suit top on.  I also have freckles that popped out (which Chewlee will notice as soon as she gets to see them if I don’t keep them covered up).  I had to take my shoes and socks off to get back to the car on my own.  I was exhausted.  Poor Baron was both thirsty as hell (he drank almost a quart of water when we got back to the car) and tired from the sugar sand walk.  He plopped down and closed his eyes once he finished drinking and got into the car.  It was lunch time when we left the beach.  He told me no one was swimming because the water was really, really cold still.  If it had been warm, I would have kicked myself but the fact that no one was in the water was telling.  They had all just come to picnic and enjoy the warm weather.  Warm?  It was damn near HOT!  It was 79 degrees at the beach with no wind.  Beautiful!

They had a ferry on Dauphin Island that took you to another island with a bridge to some city right on the edge of the panhandle of Florida.  I begged the Beast to go there but he didn’t want to pay for a ferry ride.  I was totally pissed about that since I thought the short ride would have been a cool experience.  But the Beast was really tired of not being able to find some of the attractions we read about.  The GPS tried to send us down roads that didn’t exist because there were now construction sites where some might have existed last year.  I had told him to download the updates (I got an email from Garmin about doing that.  We have lifetime downloads.)  Now he’ll do it in time for his trip to NC with the Princess to see Auntie Em. 

We ate at a really nice restaurant on the Bay and one of the shrimp boats was in and unloading.  Baron (still tired), plopped down on the deck and went to sleep.  The poor waitress almost tripped over him and woke him up in time for him to see and growl menacingly at a pelican swimming around the deck.  He was fascinated with the gulls that were flying around but, since none dropped down on the deck, you could tell he hadn’t made up his mind about how he felt about them.  Growl or not growl? 

I felt the restaurant (called the Pelican Inn) was a slice of heaven.  Their fried shrimp was fresh and I had almost forgotten how good that tasted.  The owner told us he bought them fresh every day from the shrimp boats.  I just know they were wonderful.  It was so peaceful there that I hated to leave.  Our plans were to get just outside Mobile and get a room.  However, the Beast said we might as well head home even though we would get there late and be driving in the dark for most of the way.  I had hoped for a motel with a pool (that was warm) but I had to admit, I like my own bed.  This WAS just a short trip (relatively) so I let him drive.  I had taken a pain pill for my leg and it knocks me out because I don’t take them often.  I finally managed to get it into a good position and went to sleep (that was the pain pill’s fault).  I woke up about an hour from home and was shocked at how late it was.  I knew the Beast was tired so I stayed up and talked to him to make sure he didn’t fall asleep at the wheel.

When the Beast said he was hungry, I reminded him that I had sandwiches in our little cooler.  He stopped to let Baron pee and grabbed a sandwich.  After a couple bites, he declared them GREAT!  They were just ham and baloney with either Monteray Jack or Swiss cheese.  I also had sliced tomatoes to put on them (which he had done).  I made two with just mayonnaise and two with mayonnaise and Deli mustard.  They were all great.  I ate one for my lunch today. 

The Beast made some sloppy joe that was really good.  He’s gotten a knack for making that.  Very tasty.  We also discussed my using one of those electronic cigarettes and I discovered he had bought one last year and never opened the package because he really wasn’t having trouble with quitting other than constantly reaching for one in his pocket.  He had broached the subject back then with me but I wasn’t having any of it because I had just read some negative things about the vapor producing liquids.  But I told him that I would give it a try….I just wasn’t promising anything.  Let’s face it….we all know by this time that smoking is bad for us.  I would like to be a non-smoker one day.  I’ll let you know how that goes.  It DOES produce the vapor-smoke and that may help mentally. 

Well, I’ll go ahead and post this.  Love you all and I apologize for posting this late.  But I am an old person and I either forget or I am asleep sometimes.