TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I've been kind of shocked to see how many people are following my blog these last few months.  And the number has been growing.  There are people from all over the world that read it and I wish they would also blog about their lives in their part of the world.  I'd be curious to find out how similar....or different....their daily lives were and the foibles of the people they live with.  I know my Beast is not the only male dumbkoff in personal relationships.  I love him but I can't stand him much of the time.  I get tired of being treated like I am stupid just so he can feel he's in control.  He can be so smart and so damn dumb at the same time.  Am I alone in being in a situation like this?  We shall be married 49 years this year (August 1st) unless he dies before that.  But it's not my luck.

After his strokes, his doctor gave him about 5 years to live due to his personality alone.  HA! HA! HA!  That same personality (mostly stubbornness) has kept him alive for more than twice that time now.  It was his own doctor that gave him the name of *Beast* due to how he treated me.  Did you know that most marriages end in divorce after a major stroke?  I guess *I* am stubborn, too.  I even wheeled his fat ass all throughout Busch Gardens in Tampa during that first year so he could enjoy a slice of life.  I thought I was going to have a heart attack because he weighed almost twice what I did at the time.  I was ill and didn't know it because I was so focused on HIS recovery.  I ended up having to have gall bladder surgery a week before our move from Florida to Alabama.  I wasn't supposed to pick up anything weighing more than 5 lbs. so it was NOT a fun move for me.  I DID manage to pack almost everything.  I just had to leave the boxes, once packed, for the Beast or his cousin (bless his heart for helping us pack) and then his brother came to help in the actual move. 

Oh, gotta tell you this....  More asparagus popped up because the Beast left all the roots and just cleared out the broken and dried out tops.  AND more popped up within two days of the recent rains so when Chewlee and I cut the asparagus that was ready to eat, we ended up with a hell of a crop so far.  More than enough for a side dish or two so far.  We left a few that are just too thin.  I retrieved some of the seeds from a few so that I can spread them out and start up more.  Too funny for words.  NOW the Beast is happy about the asparagus.

Everything is doing very well.  No frost his our area and the temperature didn't actually go down any further than 41.  One of the tomato plants that looked kind of peaked actually spurted up!  I have to put the string up to guide my cucumber plants now since I saw they were starting to have tendrils.  I have a secure trellis right next to it that I want to make sure it grabs.  Chewlee told me she just LOVES cucumbers and she is anxious that they do well.  When I showed her where everything is, she got a funny look on her face and said, *Eww...that's all SALAD!*  I told her that nothing beats fresh salad made from your own garden.  She just wants me to make salsa from the tomatoes....LOL!

My son, Marcus Aurelius, is battling high blood pressure.  He's been using Niacin (which is a natural vasodilator) when it seems to be getting high.  He's been impressed with how quickly it will drop his BP down to more normal readings.  He just HATES the full body flush it causes when it dilates the blood vessels.  It can be either painful or extremely itchy when it happens.

Mustachio is working some incredible hours but he is loving how much money he's managing to sock away to go towards his dental work and a new (used) car that he really, really needs.  I just worry about his getting enough rest.  He HAS put in 16 hour days at times.  He's guaranteed to get overtime every day.  His life is just work and some time online talking to me or a few friends.

Buttmunch is apparently doing well.  She seems to call her brother every few days.  He says she sounds happy these days.  I certainly hope so.  She needs a bit of happiness in her life.  She's been unhappy and cruel the past few years.  She's due for some joy in life and it should improve her relationship with Sheepie and the rest of the family.  At least, I hope so.

The Beast took Chewlee to the kids party thrown by his church.  She came home with her prizes from the various games they played.  He said she had a ball and was having too much fun to eat.  I made her eat before she got her salsa and chips here when she got home.  She actually came and ate it in front of me so I would know she wasn't cheating (her words).  How can you cheat eating?? 

One of her prizes was a cute little baby doll which she made a bed for from a shoe box and used the blanket that came with it to cover her up.  It's sleeping inside the box and that is in her *crib* (a clothes basket).  She read it a story, then kissed it good night before she curled up with me in bed.  Yes, I went to bed with her (and fell asleep).  I woke up at midnight my time and realized I hadn't blogged for today.  Sorry.

I actually got to talk to Bratfink today.  She is sorely missing her Internet but has hopes of having it back very soon.  She misses her twitter friends AND me.  She says she's taken some pictures she intends to post once she is back online.  Their phone they usually only use for emergencies but she just HAD to talk to me for a bit.  I hated to cut her short because we hadn't been paying attention to how many minutes we were using up.  Their phone is one of those that you buy minutes for at Walmart and they are expensive.  But she sends her love to everyone.  I miss her.

It's 46 outside right now and almost no wind.  Chewlee got to see one of the hummingbirds and was in awe of it.  It was one of the cute, little ones that are iridescent.  Beautiful little creatures.  Eventually they will get used to us when we are sitting outside drinking our coffee and they will be more relaxed while feeding.  I can hardly wait.  Chewlee gets really quiet and still when they start feeding since we told her that it scares them.

It should be another great day here tomorrow.  Nice, warm weather and no rain.  Our rain barrel is full and we will be using it to water the garden soon.  It does much better, believe it or not.  I think it's because there are no chemicals in that water.  That's another thing the Beast added when he was doing his preparations for a major outage in our area.  It DID come in handy when we had the tornado damage and no power for a week.  I also bought us a solar shower.....just in case.  We didn't have to use it, thankfully, but we have that handy so we don't have to take cold showers during another catastrophe.

Love you all.  Have a great Sunday.  Remember to thank whatever God you worship for your life and the love of family and friends.  Don't forget to tell those you love that you do love them.  Life is too short sometimes. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Got more snail mail from Bratfink.  She wants everyone to know that she's surviving.  She's been playing mahjong and a couple different games of solitaire to keep from going totally nuts.  She hates not knowing the news or the weather forecast or temperatures.  She hates being surprised by hail and green skies (signs of a tornado but the sirens never went off!).  She misses tweeting or twittering, whatever it's called and she misses all her friends she's made online.  But the bills are being paid and they are eating just fine, including the animals.  No, Sheldon and Bratfink aren't eating the animals in case that's how that sounded to you.  It means the animals are eating, too.

She should be back online sometime next month (I sure as hell hope so!) and I am going to be SOOOOOOO HAPPY when that happens.  We help keep each others partners alive (trust me....the Beast has no idea how close he's come at times).  I missed her today when the Beast and I got into an argument.  He swears that Blu-tooth only works when it's tied in with OnStar (which costs money every month!).  I told him that I read the several various pages plus knew people who used it all the time and they did NOT have OnStar.  He told me I was stupid and I told him he had a closed mind.  I said there are many options for the way it's hooked up but he swears you cannot tell a non-OnStar application to call a certain number.  I told him that the commercials they run then are deceptive because they say nothing about needing OnStar for that.  But what do I know?  *I'm* stupid, doncha know?

Chewlee, bless her heart, heard him call me stupid and she said, *Papa is being mean and he said a bad word.*  I told her that I knew it but that was just how Papa was.  You see, in MY family, calling anyone stupid got your mouth washed out with soap.  I made that a rule because psychologists have said for years that if you tell a child they are stupid long enough, they start to believe it's true and they BECOME stupid! 

My daughters used to call Mustachio stupid a lot, not usually when any adult was around.  That was around the time we found out that the tubes in his ears were clogged solid and he was air wave deaf.  Surgery and buttons in his ear drums cleared that up although it surprised me that one button stayed in place for over a year.  His doctor said, *It will drop out when it's ready and not needed any more.*  But he admitted that it was the longest he had ever seen one remain in place.  He was very relieved when it finally had fallen out.  But only Buttmunch ever got caught using the word and had her mouth washed out with a bar of soap.  I ground that sucker across her teeth so it took her about 15 minutes to get her mouth clean using lots of toothpaste and mouthwash.  I won't deceive you and tell you that she learned a lesson and never used that word again.  Untrue.  The only lesson she learned was NOT to ever get caught again.  I guess that's the trouble with some of the ways we punish our kids.  Do they really learn a lesson?  Not usually.  They just learn to do what it takes so a particular punishment isn't used again.  They think we (parents/grandparents) are dumb and haven't caught on to them.  All I can say is that they will learn their lessons WELL when they have kids of their own. 

We have frost warnings here locally between the hours of 4am and 8am.  It scared me until I realized that the forecast for our zip code showed a low of about 38 so the frost warnings are really for the low lying areas (the valleys around us).  The sensitive crops that may be in will be protected by the farmers if needed.  I'll still go out and check on our garden when I get up....maybe even before my coffee.  We shall see.  I'll be wearing warm pajamas and can wear my robe and slippers outside if I need to.  Unfortunately, if we did get more than an hour of frost during that time, it will take  a day or two before we can tell what plants were affected.  I'm crossing my fingers.

Love you all.  I need to carry Chewlee into her bed.  She's sound asleep in my recliner here in my computer room.  After her bath, she got into her pajamas and curled up there.  When I saw she was asleep shortly afterward, I figured I would leave her there until I was ready.

Oh, if you read this, Princess, please let Johnnycakes know that either the Beast or I will be stopping by the house before he goes to work (around 2o-ish?) for Chewlee's sneakers.    I don't have his cell phone number so I can't call him.  She will need something to keep her feet warm since it's going to be cool here.  Her flip-flops just won't do, especially for the kids party the church is having.  Oh, you have to hear this.  When I told Chewlee I wasn't going with the Beast to the party, she said to me, *When we are gone, could you please clean up my drawing table?  It's really getting messy and you said you were going to vacuum anyway.*  It just flowed out of her mouth like silk.  What she wants me to clean up is some of the light marks that her marker pens make when it goes through the paper she's drawing on.  And her *table* is actually a big, covered storage bin that hasn't been put out in the cottage yet.  I kind of left it here since it IS a good place for her to draw and ensures that the marker pens don't leave marks on the craft table, which is wood.

Time to get this posted.  Love you all and have a super duper weekend. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Chewlee got a squiggly face today and I really wondered why so I asked her.  She told me that she was just talking (which means she was also out of her chair and disturbing the other kids....likely during a test).  Sure  enough, she finished her test early and she told me she even got some candy from her teacher because she did excellent on her letters.  I know what happens.  She gets bored.  Her teacher needs to give her something else to do when that happens to keep her occupied and busy.  As I questioned her further, she said to me, *I didn't want my mommy to leave me again.  I didn't want her to go to another country.*  Her mother didn't go to another country, she went to S. Carolina again for more training classes.  Chewlee will be with us (again) from today through Sunday when her mother picks her up.  We have two more weekends like this to go through.

Today Chewlee got to play for a while in the little boy next door's electric car.  I made her put it back so she didn't wear down the battery for him.  He IS able to drive it even if he is not yet 3.  Chewlee spent some time playing with Baron and the Beast was yelling, *Run! Baron...run!* when Chewlee was trying to get a stick out of his mouth so she could throw it again.  It was funny how Baron made her chase him but he stayed out front and didn't run far.  It was really cute.

Chewlee and I went to Chick-Fil-A around 6 for a school promotion.  I got to see her teacher who gave Chewlee a big hug when we got there.  Chewlee was so happy that some of her friends from class where there....and the store had a play area!  The class that has the most money spent by their parents/grandparents/family gets an ice cream party.  I don't think that's the extent of it since it's supposed to make money for the school, too.  I'm sure we will be informed somewhere down the line about how much was earned for the school.

Afterward, Chewlee and I went to Walmart to see if they had this one lotion I am looking for (it's new) but they didn't have it yet.  While I was there, I bought a brush for Chewlee and she spotted a couple things she wanted for her hair for church.  Some are sparkly clips, there are two head bands (one with a pretty red bow on the side) and some ouchless bands for when I want to braid her hair or put it up.  She thought she wanted a toy but really couldn't find one that peaked her interest.  She couldn't even find a book that interested her.  So.....I bought a bag of bubble gum balls but told her that she only got TWO a day at the most when she got a smiley face.  (Am I evil or what?  )  I did let her have one tonight when we got home.

She and I made up *her* bed with clean sheets and pillowcases tonight.  She really loves to help and she's starting to get good at it.   She fixed up her little blanket and decided that was going to be her pillow tonight.  I finally got her to bed around 9 and she only got up on me once when the Beast got home.  She said she had to tell him good night, which she did and then she got back in bed and tried to tell me she wasn't tired.  I told her that I would shut the bedroom door so she wouldn't be disturbed and she had a fit.  I checked on her 15 minutes later and she was sound asleep.  I KNEW she had to be tired just by how active she was outside and then at the chicken place.

I decided that we must use up all our energy when we are young.  The Beast and I were talking about all the things we used to do and it was amazing to think about.  If I had half.....or a quarter of that energy now.....I WOULD BE SO DAMNED GRATEFUL!   

Amazing weather and more hummingbirds showing up but just looking over the feeders.  We've only seen two feeding so far but it's early yet.  We aren't focused on  watching the feeders all the time so who knows?  WE may be the reason they aren't feeding because we are on the deck.  Chewlee and I didn't get to cut the asparagus so I'll do that in the morning, after coffee.  Oh damn...just checked the forecast and it's saying much cooler AND rain (possibly thunderstorms) in the morning.  More wind.  Our neighbor in back of us lost a tree this morning (and it hit a transformer that supplies our electricity).  I can't believe they told her that SHE would have to pay for the service to restore power to our area because it was HER tree.  The transformer is on private property (hers) so where do they get off on that?

Oh hell.  It is what it is.  Love you all.  Have a great Friday. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I was barely into my first cup of coffee this morning when the Beast comes up on the deck and tells me that I have to come down into the yard and take a look at my asparagus.  I just raised my eyebrow and gave him *the look*.  I was still in my jammies and had no shoes on my feet.  He was so excited over something to do with my poor asparagus that he finally blurted out, *You won't believe it!  There's a bunch of asparagus and it's ready to eat!*  I just laughed.  I told him that I wasn't surprised because all he had done was chop some of it at the top of the dirt (leaving the root area, which keeps producing asparagus) and he just bent over the rest and let it dry out and then started pulling at it to *clean* the area.  Well, after almost three years of growth, the roots were deep and he couldn't pull them out so he just bent them over the other way until they snapped.  He did pull a few out, roots and all but they were very thin since he had been careless when he had put the seeds down.  Men are idiots when dealing with seeds unless they have been trained.  He watched me put the seeds down for my lettuce and radishes (also my bush beans but those seeds are much bigger).

When I had started into my second cup of coffee, I finally put on some clothes and shoes and made the trip over to look at the asparagus that had sprouted up.  Damn if he wasn't right.  I was shocked since it's only been four or five days since that area was cleared, dirt added and the veggies were planted in it.  There are probably two dozen asparagus ready to be cut.  Plus there are others that will be ready in a few days.  I decided to give them another day (or maybe two) then I will cut them, wash them and refrigerate them until I have enough for a nice side dish for our meal.  What surprised me is that they ALL have nice spear heads on them.    I found a squash the Beast had planted in the same area and told him it had to be moved.  Tomorrow we will clean out the last area of the planters and he said he will move it then.  I'll make sure of it, trust me.  I won't have some squash choke out my asparagus at this point.

We finally cleaned out the weeds that grew in the flower bed out front during the winter.  The Beast had put down some ant poison at one end where we had found an active ants nest in it.  We discovered that the nest was empty or dead and broke it all up before we added more enriched dirt to it.  My rose bush presented me with a thorn that I had to pull out of my finger.  Why wasn't I wearing my gardening gloves?  Because the Beast either threw them away or moved them from where they were kept and can't remember what he did with them.  All my hand tools are gone, too.  My little rake, trowel and a few other tools used for trimming plants like my rose bush out front.  Where I pulled the thorn out of my finger bled like a sumnabitch, too. 

We put in an oriental lily (a beautiful plant), plus a bunch of annuals.  I told the Beast that he needs to think *perennials* and spend the few extra dollars so we aren't constantly having to plant new flowers every year.  However, it was fun to watch Chewlee dig right in with her hands and dig holes for *her* flowers.  I was in charge of taking them out of their containers, handing them to her and then helping her cover them with the dirt from the holes she had made.  She would dig a hole, then go over and rinse her hands off, come back and cover the plants with dirt, go over and rinse her hands off, come back, dig another hole in another area....well, you get the idea.  She knew just where she wanted the plants to go with the exception of the lily.  We had to tell her where it needed to be planted but she gladly accepted that.  The Beast had to help her with that since it was the biggest flower pot and needed a deep hole. 

The flowers out front are now *hers* but she has accepted the fact that she can't pick them.  Otherwise, they would all be picked within the next couple of days.  We know our girl.

I was upset to find the lilacs out back of our lot next door are all gone.  It looks like some of the neighbors might have helped themselves to a few, too, and I can't blame them.  I think they all know the land is ours but they don't last long anyway.  The hydrangeas are gone, too.  They were cut so they ARE gracing someone's home.  I think I know who probably took them since she walks the circle every day but she's a sweet old woman and probably thought I wasn't interested in them.  I'll get them earlier next year but I was told I may get more this year since hydrangeas will grow similar to my asparagus.  They CAN keep growing all summer.  I reserve judgment on that until/unless I see it.

I have both my hummingbird feeders up.  The Beast bought me one to replace the one he bought me that we can't get the suction off.  It's not working like it's supposed to and wouldn't feed the syrup into the bottom.  I really liked it, too.  But the new one he bought also has perches so the birds can rest and feed.  That will help the mothers feeding their babies in a couple weeks.  It will also help the Beast take some pictures of the beautiful variety of hummingbirds we have, we hope.  He claims he will share them with my family but he lies.  We shall see.  One of the hummingbirds that came to look them over and then feed was just gorgeous.  It had red, green, blue and gold coloring.  I don't remember seeing one like it before but my memory sucks.  It's just a tiny thing, only three inches or so in length.  I'm amazed at the difference in sizes of some of them.

It was gorgeous outside this morning for our morning coffee, other than the damn yellow pollen everywhere.  Baron was lying on the deck and we had to brush him off before letting him back into the house.  We sprayed off the table and then wiped it down along with the chairs before we could sit down.  Oh!  We discovered the pollen is coming from our pines out back!    I know!  I was surprised, too.  However, when the Beast was coming home from picking Chewlee up from gymnastics, he ran into a regular pollen storm just down the road.  He actually stopped the car on the road because it was just pouring down from these couple of trees so thickly that you actually couldn't see beyond it.  After about five minutes, it was thinning enough that he drove through it and returned home.  Mystery solved.  We really hadn't been sure which trees were responsible for it but it makes sense now why we get it so heavy out back.  We DO have 50 and 60 foot pines in back. 

Love you all.  Have a great day. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Remember the guy on the mower that showed up at our house and cut our lawn out front?  Turns out it was a neighbor we know (Jack....his wife was the one that stayed with the Beast all day after his last surgery).  He got his zero turn radius mower delivered and had the guy that delivered it to him bring it over to our lawn so he could give it a good tryout.  The Beast has loaned him tools when he's doing work on his house since Jack leaves HIS tools at his shop most of the time.  Mystery solved! 

Chewlee has two smiley faces for this week.  Tomorrow we don't usually have her since her mother usually picks her up after gymnastics but her mother has to work at her new job tomorrow after class.  She got out of her evening classes early so Chewlee is spending the night in her own bed.  She wasn't really happy over it either, which was a surprise.  The Princess, however, told her she needed a good cuddle partner and asked her if she was interested.  I could tell by how the smile spread across her face that it made her VERY happy.  It made me happy, too, since I don't sleep well when I am worried about not waking up in time to get her ready for the school bus.  It's also why I fell asleep at 8:30pm and didn't wake up for my bathroom break until it was almost 12:30am.  Sorry 'bout that.

It was so beautiful out today even though the morning was overcast and dismal.  Chewlee and I sat outside this morning while we waited for her bus to come for her.  She was cheerful and energetic.  When she came home, she was very depressed looking and reluctant to turn her backpack over to me.  I, of course, figured she got a squiggly or sad face so I was surprised to see the happy face in her notebook.  When I asked her why she was unhappy, it was because our neighbor next door wasn't home so she didn't get a chance to play with the electric car.  Our neighbor had told Chewlee yesterday that they would be home and she could play with her son.  It would have made Me unhappy if I were a kid, too.  I just hugged her and told her that sometimes things happen and people can't be there when they say they will be.  Especially our neighbors, who work in a hospital and sometimes have to work long hours.

She cheered up, however.  She was outside trying to beat Baron down the road on her bicycle.  I realized that those training wheels actually slow her down.  I think I need to get the Beast to take them off for her and let her try riding without them.  We shall see. 

Today her mother asked her if she would like a bounce house for her birthday (a rented one) and guess what she said?  LOL...you guessed it.  She already knows which kids she wants to ask to come to her birthday party.  She made up her list about two or three weeks ago.  It's sitting in my DVD bookcase I think.  Most of the kids are from her class.  Then she also will be asking her cousins that live next door to her.  Knowing her other grandfather, he'll invite himself but, unfortunately, Chewlee will be happy if he's there.  He really spoils her rotten and what kid doesn't love that?

It's late and I should get this posted.  Love you all and have a great *hump day*. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The weather here was fantastic after some brief morning showers.  It was both brief and more like a mist.  I laughed and said, *It's like the rain just wants us to know it's still around....LOL*.   It warmed up fast and there was just a little bit of a breeze.  I sat outside for about a half hour shortly after waking up (around 9:30am) and just enjoyed it all while I drank my coffee.  Then I went inside and worked on washing the few things I had here that belonged to Chewlee (pj's and socks were important).  I then promptly forgot about the clothes until that evening and finally threw them in the dryer.  I'm glad I remembered since Chewlee's pajamas were in that batch.

When Chewlee got home from school, she promptly handed me her backpack (she got a smiley face) and then gave me her *food order*.  She told me she was *starving*.  She had her chips and salsa, some milk, an apple and two cookies, although those came later.  She came outside to ride her bike and I sat on the stairs while she ran around our driveway and the driveway next door for a little while.  She went and got her two cookies but gave me one and we sat there eating them together.  She then wanted to watch cartoons on *Papa's TV* so I turned them on for her.  She ate some of the spaghetti that the Beast made yesterday with no comment, of course.  She really just likes to slurp the noodles.  It's funny at times because she WILL sometimes smack her own face with a noodle or two.  We both laugh at that.

She took her bath and then got her jammies on.  When I told her it was bedtime, she said to me...*Grandma, don't take your shower tonight.  Just come to bed with me.*  I told her I had a couple things I *had* to do but I would come to bed early.  And I will be heading to bed after I get this posted.  It's 11 or shortly after and it's still around 63 outside.  I went out earlier just to wipe the table down and the chairs out on the deck.  I don't know why, they'll be full of yellow pollen again in the morning.  But I just hated to see it when I let Baron out so I grabbed a rag and dusted it.

I got my hummingbird feeder filled up and hung outside.  Chewlee wants me to make sure SHE gets to see them when they come to feed.  I told her whatever will be, will be.  She wanted to know what that meant and I told her I didn't control when they *ate* but we also seem to get them feeding in the afternoon so, if they are hungry, she will get to see them feed.

I really haven't seen any yet but it's getting close to the time that some of the tubular flowers will be blossoming.  The neighbor in back of me has some wisteria vines that are looking nice and green.  The hummingbirds love those.  I love how they look but those wisteria vines are murder to keep from taking over your yard and trees.  They are the larger version of morning glories.  I keep ripping those out of the ground but they pop up somewhere else.  The Beast says to just let them go because they are pretty but I showed him how they can obstruct and choke out other plants.  He then just shrugged like *I* was the fussy one.  Sheesh.

Got to go now.  Love you all.  Hope you had a nice start to your week.  Keep your chin up, spring is near for everyone. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today was not bright and sunny.  Overcast, rainy and cold.  Our high was 55 for about 10 seconds.  Guess where I spent most of my day?  You got it!  My computer room.  But at least my fingers weren't hurting.

Well, my trip is now an official commitment.  I talked to my ex-sister-in-law but sister of my heart and told her the dates I would be up there.  We discussed my trip plans (seeing Marcus Aurelius, Raven, Traci and my grandson, Doc, the Marine then seeing Mustachio and then spending a day with Bratfink...grin).  I'm just awaiting Bratfink's return to the Interweb to make sure she knows my plans.  Actually, I am sending her some snail mail since I have no idea when she will be returning.  I miss her but Mustachio has been spending an hour or so talking with me online when he gets home from some long-assed working hours.

My poor son, Marcus Aurelius (he uses Maurelius here on Xanga), was having problems with bloody nosebleeds so he went to see his doctor and discovered he had high blood pressure.  He was on a special medication because of having Meniere's syndrome (it's like tinnitus) but now they had to terminate it to treat the high blood pressure.  His stepmom gave him a blood pressure machine because his doctor wants him to take and record his pressure at scattered times during the day until his next appointment.  He was a bit depressed because he felt his body was falling apart on him and he's not even 40 years old (he won't be 40 until July 19th).  His hair has turned grey already and I had to remind him that it was about this time in his life that his father started using Grecian Formula because HE was so grey.  At least I think I reminded him.  I know it was on my mind.  Oh well, when he reads this he will probably remember that.  It's only been the last year or so that the Beast stopped using Grecian Formula and accepted the fact that his totally grey eyebrows gave him away. 

Marcus Aurelius will be hitting middle age officially with 40 looming and I really think it's the *Middle Age Blues*.  They hit ME at 30 (but I was always an early learner) and by 40, I was having the time of my life and enjoying life so it was no big deal to me.  I celebrated my birthday with a couple of my girlfriends and had FUN!  I wish the same kind of enlightenment for my youngest son when he finally hits that birthday in a couple months.  I will be celebrating my 67th birthday with Bratfink (I really kind of planned that).  I shall be back with the Beast by his birthday.  He will be turning 70!    Not that he celebrates birthdays but he will be thinking about how old he is.  I need to be here to cheer him up and I HAVE PLANS.  **Grin**  Now let's see....Depends (yep), Metamucil (yep), Men's hair dye (YES!).......suggestions, anyone?  Just want to line them up on the sink in our bathroom for him to see first thing in the morning......they must be things for really OLD people.  Just put your suggestions in a comment.  TYVM!

Cooler weather here for the next two days but then it will gradually make it up into the low 80's.     I'm going to have FUN!  The Beast hates the heat but I really, really love it!  Screw air conditioning.  Give me a fan and I'm happy.  **GRIN**

Did I mention that Chewlee had a lot of fun at her sleepover at Birdie's house.  Birdie's daughter gave Chewlee a bunch of little widgets and gidgets to keep.  To Chewlee, they will always be precious just because she loves Birdie's daughter, too.  She was in a great mood when she got to church with Birdie and the Beast could see how perky she was.

Love you all.  The Princess made it home in one piece, despite having to take two commuter planes home.  One of the planes had mechanical problems so it delayed their takeoff for an hour.  However, the connecting flight she had to meet up with was also delayed a half hour and it worked out just perfect for her.  It also meant less time waiting around a terminal.  Chewlee was upset because I was just going to give her some salsa and chips but her mother told her she could have some at home so she was happy about that.

Be good.  Stay safe.  Have a fantastic week. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Is it that I am just getting old and have less patience with a man his age or am I plagued with a man who has no memory of me and my most intense idiosyncrasy?  I do NOT like the cold.  I have a very intense dislike of cold weather.  For one, I now suffer from arthritis in my pinky and the finger next to it on my left hand.  It hurts like HELL in cold weather if I don't keep it warm.  I also have traumatic arthritis in my left knee and, once it gets cold and starts to ache, it doesn't subside until summer.  That pain feels like a huge icicle has been thrust into the very marrow of the knee and surrounding bone.  Nothing short of a heating pad helps.  No aspirin or substitute nor arthritis medication helps (not without side effects that I would rather NOT suffer through).  So, I just stay inside and stay warm.  My computer room is always the warmest room in the house unless I am doing a lot of cooking and baking.

Chewlee was saying something to me the other day when we are all out front, sitting and enjoying the warmth, about my missing big toe.  She acts like I'm not able to do anything until I get my *new* toe.  I laughed at her and said, *Chewlee, now you sound like Papa who thinks I can't drive myself anywhere except to the store because I don't have a toe!*  The Beast says, *Oh, it has nothing to do with your toe.  You need to get out of that room and out in the fresh air more.*  I couldn't believe my ears.  I turned to him and said, *Beast, just how many warm days have we had lately?*  He ACTUALLY said to me, *What has that to do with anything?* 

I said to him, *A couple things if you had a mind left to think with....for one...other than going to work and doing grocery shopping, how much time have I EVER spent outside doing ANYTHING in the winter?  Plus, just how much do you think I could do with arthritis in my left hand and in my left knee?  ESPECIALLY when I asked you to bring in my winter coat from the cottage several times since it turned cold last October and it's STILL not in the house?*  His answer?  And note the part that is the only thing he addressed....*You should have kept nagging me to bring in your coat.*  As for the rest of the question, he totally ignored it.  I have NEVER, EVER liked the cold and I like it even less now.  I just rolled my eyes and vowed a good talk with the Lord later on.

I spoke with my son, Mustachio, and my best friend, Marilyn in Chicago, tonight.  Mustachio called me shortly after he got home from work.  Poor guy has really been working some brutal hours the last couple of months but he's been able to save some money to pay off old bills, pay his medical insurance deductible so he can FINALLY get into a dermatologist AND he's saving for a new (used) car if nothing else.  His brother, Marcus Aurelius, is feeling kind of depressed because he's having all these medical problems (Meniere's and now high blood pressure).  Plus he's not going to be 40 until July and he's already totally grey (he says).  He's either outgrown or pissed off his old friends (from when he was a kid) and he says his new ones are just too young to relate to.  I told him, *So what if they are young?  That makes you the wise person (life experience).*  He feels he came too close to having either a heart attack or a stroke with how high his BP was when he got into the doctor's office for being NOT EVEN FORTY!  His father never thought he would live to be forty.  After two strokes, he's outlived his expectations by...gulp!...thirty years this July. 

Marilyn wanted to know when I was making my trip up to Chicago and I told her I would be leaving here on June 25th.  I was leaving early so I could get to Nashville around lunchtime and have lunch with Mustachio and family (My grandson will be home on leave then so I will be able to see him, too...GRIN!).  I'll then drive up to Mustachio's where we will go out to eat at Outback or Red Lobster (Chewlee prefers Red Lobster...she thinks it's fine dining).  Chewlee and I will spend the night with Mustachio and leave some time the next morning for Bratfink's.  We've been invited to spend the night with her and that works out great for us.  It's only about a five hour trip from there to my sister-in-law's house.  In fact, it brings me close to Marilyn's house so I may stop there for a little bit and say hello to her hubby before heading to Kay's.  That won't make Chewlee happy because she will be chomping at the bit to go swimming at Kay's but she'll live.

Tomorrow I have to call Kay and go over the dates with her to make sure they work for her.  If not, well, my plans are adjustable.  I don't want to outstay my welcome from Kay (who has to work).  I will more than likely head back home on the second of July and take the same way back as I did coming up.

Love you all.  Sorry about that last blast of cold weather to the central plains area and upper New England areas.  Crossing my fingers that you get your spring weather shortly.  Be good.  Enjoy your Sunday and drive safely next week, okay? 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It's not that I don't appreciate the Beast's intentions but I just wish he would ASK me JUST ONCE if I would like this or that from the fast food joints around here (and we have many!).  But, no....he buys what HE likes and he ASSUMES that *I* will love it, too.  I may like something he picks up....just not TODAY.  I would have picked another item at the same place even but I was never asked.  **Sigh**  The end result is that I keep the item until I am damn near starving and then eat some of it.  It upsets my stomach more than it should because I am not happy with the feeling I MUST eat it or it's a total waste of good money.

We had something unusual happen to us today and the Beast wasn't home when it happened either.  A tractor-flat trailer stopped across the road from our house and unloaded a riding mower.  I figured it was a hired person that was going to mow the unsold lots that really needed it.  But I was shocked to see the guy tearing around our lawn and the lot next door.  And I mean *tearing* around, mowing faster than I had ever seen one of those things move.  I was shocked.  All I could think was the Beast had asked him to do it OR a friend of his (the Beast has been trying to help him out because his allergies are so severe that normal medication for them has been hindering his healing from surgery) might have had the guy do it to return the favors.  I kid you not.  I had never heard of such a thing but Jason isn't one to shirk anything.  He'd been reluctant to even do the surgery but older injuries were becoming infected due to certain metal items being left in his body (buck shot).  He used to be a kind of *wild* guy once upon a time but that's another story....LOL.  It wouldn't have been unlike Jason to do something like that.  But as of this minute, we are bewildered.

Chewlee is asleep in my chair right now.  She asked me NOT to take a shower before going to bed so that we can *go to bed together*.  I told her that I had a few things to do (folding up a load of her clothes was one of those things) and she knew taking my shower was one of those.  I think she only fell asleep in my chair to make SURE I went to bed with her.  She told me that she can sleep alone at her house but, here at my house, she gets lonely without me.  I know when she was younger and slept here, she would come into my bedroom late at night and crawl in with me and go right back to sleep.  She would curl up with me and she was so cute, cuddly and warm.  I know that's why she now feels like I HAVE to go to bed with her or she doesn't sleep well (her words).

Today was her day to play with Baron.  It was funny.  She had his favorite toy (a squeaky little dog) and she would throw it for him to get it, then march over and pull it out of his mouth, run a bit away and throw it again.  Dumb dog has always loved games where he has to go chase something to get it but has never learned to bring it back.  He'll sit down and then wonder why we don't throw it again.  Only Chewlee has the energy to do both fetching it and throwing it.  But I had to force her to stop when the Beast decided to go to bed early (around 8:30pm) and Baron wanted to do both play and go to bed with the Beast.

Baron stinks and I told the Beast that tomorrow he gets a bath.  It'll be warm enough to bathe him outside in the afternoon and the Beast can then take him down to PetsMart and get him some of those chew bones for dental health and fresher breath.  You can't stand to have the dog breath near you, his breath is that stinky.  I checked his teeth and those look okay but I may brush them tomorrow anyway.  PetsMart is having a nail grinding special so the Beast can take care of that at the same time. 

Chewlee is so excited about her sleepover at Birdie's house that she can hardly stand the wait.  She's been packing for three days.  But we finally got it down to an acceptable amount of things once she figured out that she didn't have to bring play clothes (she would be wearing them) so it is just pajamas, clean underwear, her Sunday Go To Meeting dress, socks and shoes and the things she is taking for playing with.  That's just some blank sheets of paper (for drawing), her markers and crayons and a coloring book.  Oh, and one of her bedtime story books.  It's a Dora one, I believe.

Time to get this posted (past time, I think).  Love you all.  Hope you all get some good weather and can enjoy your weekend.  We will have a good weekend at least.  The Princess will be back from Raleigh on Sunday.  I think she only had a day and a half of training classes and Chewlee is so happy she will see her mother.  She told me, very seriously, that she loved her mother just a little bit more than she loves me.  I just smiled.  I knew she didn't want to hurt my feelings. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The Beast and I spent a couple hours today trying to get the garden ready for the thunderstorms the weather station said were heading our way.  Around noon or so, we were suddenly under a tornado warning until 7pm.  I watched the skies but it didn't look really threatening except to our north.  We put down some green netting to help diffuse the force of any raindrops hitting the freshly planted seeds.  I also decided to put in another row of lettuce.  That way we have plenty of lettuce for fresh salads this summer.  The Beast broke down and bought me a cherry tomato plant that sits alone in my *salad* planter, across from the trellis where my cucumber plants will be.

It rained...hard but no boomers except off in the distance north of us.  I haven't watched the weather station yet so I have no idea if any tornadoes actually formed.  The bad weather was why all the schools got out early today (right after lunch) and the college evening classes were cancelled.  This town/state is nothing if not cautious about protecting their children. 

Chewlee got two squiggly faces...one for Wednesday, the other for today and I was at the teachers note.  It said Chewlee was BULLYING!  I told Chewlee that I couldn't believe it!  After all the talks we've had about how bullying is bad, that SHE would bully someone was shocking.  I'll say this much, when I said to her, *YOU were bullying someone?*  She looked at me and said, *Yes*.  I just said, *Explain that to me.*  She said she wasn't bullying really.  She was just getting this kid that bullied her back the same thing.  She said she was tired of it.  I was at both ideas.  She told me the teachers don't do anything unless they see it and bullies wait until the teachers aren't looking.  I know she had a point and I really hated to tell her that one bad thing doesn't make another one right.  Knowing Chewlee, she will just take her licks for it and feel that she did what SHE thought was best, especially if the kid now leaves her alone.

Well, time to get the little Beast into bed.  She's been giving me a hard time and that means she will be tired in the morning (although she DID nap when she got home today).  Love you all.  Be good.  Stay dry.