TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

When Chewlee got here this morning, she came fully prepared to give ME a makeover.  She had several different eyeshadows, lip glosses and lots of ideas.  In fact, her idea of making me over included making my eyes a *rainbow* of colors clear up into my eyebrows.  It was almost scary and she laughed like an idiot over my reaction when she showed it to me with her little hand mirror.  That was her first play.  Then she cleaned up my eyes aand redid it.  Her final makeover was actually nice.  She was using a three shadow combo of blue, greenish yellow and pink.  She blended the colors nicely and I was very surprised at the end result.  I think she really watches her mother closely when she puts on her makeup.  By the time she can use it herself, she will be a real expert, I think.

It was too hot for her to even want to go out and ride her bike today.  When I asked her if she wanted to go out (I was dressed and ready if she did), she told me no.  If the Beast hadn’t taken Baron for his run early today, I know she would have gone with him on the *mooter scooter* but she never even asked about it today.  Now THAT is hot! 

I took a short nap while she was here and watching cartoons on the Beast’s TV.  You can’t take a long nap with Chewlee around but that was okay.  I didn’t want to.  When the Beast reclaimed his TV, Chewlee immediately came in here with me, turned on her cartoons and then crawled in the recliner with me.  I spent half my time tickling her and the other half trying to get her to calm down (and then tickling her again!).  We have our fun in different ways sometimes but I knew she wasn’t tired enough to nap herself so….what the heck!  I love the sound of her laugh.

I love watching some of the nature films on TV, don’t you?  Some animals are amazing and I love to see the ones that I would never have a chance to see due to where they live.  Chewlee likes the ones about bears and different birds.  If they have one with hummingbirds, she’s ecstatic!  She gets to see some in our yard at times but she’s too loud usually and chases them away just because she gets so excited.

We are having a bit of rain right now.  Nothing heavy, just persistent.  I ran up to the store a little while ago and had to use my wipers.  It’s supposed to continue overnight and all through the day tomorrow with some thunderstorms expected.  Fun! Fun! Fun!  It means the Beast won’t be able to go out and do *stuff* so he will be underfoot all damn day long.

Love you all.  Going to play some of my games for an hour or so and then hit the sack early.  Chewlee will be here all day due to the Princess working a long day.  School starts in a couple weeks here and we will have a whole new schedule to get used to with Chewlee, depending on the Princess’s school and work schedule.

Be good.  Drive carefully.  Keep cool (except in N. Minnesota, which had frost warnings! )  It IS only the end of July, right?  If you have kids that will be returning to school, remember the tax-free shopping days next weekend.   

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It’s not bad enough when I fall asleep but tonight I was just totally involved in a game and the time just flew by.  As it is, I finally cost myself 15,000 points because I clicked out of a game when I realized I was just going on and on.

Yes, it was hot here today and, of course, the Beast insisted on mowing the yard.  He did it in sections and the lot next door still needs to be done but he also took a nap or two when he over extended himself. 

We cooked a piece of bottom round in Italian spices and some au jus I saved from the last meat we tried and what was left over from the au jus gravy we used to dip the sandwiches in.  It’s in the fridge now and the Beast will slice it nice and thin tomorrow.

If he slices it as thin as he did the corned beef, I don’t care what you eat it with, it will be easy to chew, will taste wonderful and we will have enough for a couple meals.  It won’t have to be eaten like a French dip or even Italian beef.  It can be just a great beef sandwich on damn near any kind of bread.

The Beast brought in one of his Moonglow pears and we split it.  It has a different taste than a Bartlett pear.  It’s sweet but not quite as juicy as a ripe Bartlett pear is.  This time the Beast checked before touching any of the pears to make sure there was no wasp around.    His hand looks better but he says it still feels a bit *tight*.  I guess it didn’t feel bad because he did real well with the riding mower which requires both hands to guide it.

I had to check the Princess’s work schedule and discovered she had no work today or tomorrow.  I guess she’s on break from school for the next couple weeks then she starts the final chapter to getting her teaching certificate.  I know she’s so tired of doing both work and school but I keep saying that it’s almost over and not the time to give up.  So we didn’t get Chewlee today and more than likely we won’t get her tomorrow either.  It seems strange but I know we will be seeing our girl soon.  In the meantime, I really AM getting a few things organized in my computer room.  The Beast told me not to rush because he’s not ready to do the painting.  That’s okay with me since I need to find a desk and chair for my room, too.  My chair is falling apart all over the floor.  Every time I spend any time in it, I have to peel parts of it off my arms. 

Well, love you all.  More hot weather tomorrow (with high humidity at night as well as during the day) and then some relief on Wednesday with actual rain.  Hope you all survive whatever weather you are having.  Be good. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I didn’t mention that yesterday the Beast got stung by a wasp when he went to check on whether or not the Bartlett pears were ready to be picked.  It was quite aggressive and got the Beast’s hand.  Actually, it got him right between the knuckle of his pointer finger.

Di, our friend, told him to go in right away and put a paste of water and baking soda on it to stop the effects of the venom and it would also mitigate the pain from the sting.  Did he do that?  No.  He just went into the house and washed his hands.

SO…..last night his hand swelled up to about half again it’s size and the pain traveled all up his arm.  It woke him up and he was smart enough to check the internet about wasp stings.  It said for pain from them to take benadryl.  He was lucky enough that we had some here so he took two of them.  Then he went back to bed hoping to sleep.  That was at 8am.  He slept until 1pm, got up, had a half cup of coffee and went back to bed.  He slept another four hours and then felt well enough to get dressed.  His hand is still swollen and he took another benadryl so it must still hurt him. 

Me?  I took the opportunity to watch my Harry Potter DVD’s.  I did fall asleep at one point but not for long because I was up for the ending of the DVD I had started.  Watching those is pretty much a whole days entertainment.  I’m watching the second Deathly Hallows one as I write this.  Even though I know what is going to happen, I stopped it so I could write this blog.  I’ll go back and do my crying at a couple parts and then suffer the sadness of knowing there will be no more Harry Potter movies.

Chewlee likes to watch them and she also suggests them to me if she thinks I am mad at her or as a compromise for something SHE wants to watch but I don’t.  She will say that *I* can watch a HP movie and then we will watch the DVD of HER choice.    Or she will grab my Madagascar movies and want to watch them.  She especially likes the third one.

It was hot but not too humid.  We didn’t get any rain but I’m sure we will within the next few days.  It’s supposed to be in the 90′s tomorrow and the Beast will be miserable and cranky.  He wants to mow the lawn and won’t be able to be out in that heat long enough to do it.  He can’t wait until early evening, of course, because he wants to do it all in one day.  MEN!!!

Love you all.  Have a great week.  Drive carefully and stay cool. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

We ended up not getting Chewlee today which was a bit of a surprise.  I am guessing that Johnnycakes had the day off and kept her with him.  Not that I mind but we DID have some plans.  I knew the Princess has Sunday off and they are going canoeing again.  When I told Chewlee about it, she got this serious look on her face and started a little chant….*Hmm.  Let me see.  On one hand there is church with Papa and then going over to Birdie’s house.  I love Birdie but….on the other hand….there’s canoeing with mommy and daddy, being able to swim in the water, climb on the rocks and I really love my mommy.  Mommy wins!*  Yes, I laughed but so did she.  Even her gestures were funny to watch along with the way she rolled her eyes.

Today was supposed to be OUR picnic day out on the back patio (unless the flies were really bad!).  It would actually have been a nice day for our picnic.  But, she also needs to spend some time with Johnnycakes and vice versa.  I hope that he learns to appreciate how unique she is for a kid her age.  Somehow, I doubt it but he’s still young.  I just hope he gets a real chance to enjoy her and not just react to some of the things she might say or do that he doesn’t really listen to or understand.  She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body and is kind of lonely.  THAT, however, is getting better due to the kids that are now of an age to play with her and the new neighbors.

The Beast and I were laughing at the fact that Jackie went and bought the open lots that adjoin his property and those of Dennis and Di.  So now, basically, almost all the lots in the center section of our little corner of the world, are owned by two families.  I seriously doubt anyone will buy the two lots remaining on this side of the tree line.  Once D & D’s house is built, we will have the best view in our area.  Well, at least it will not be tall grass and weeds any more. 

I spent my day attempting to get things organized in my computer room.  I put away all the DVD’s that Chewlee had taken with her when she went to NC with the Beast.  I also put away all my pj’s that I had washed and folded the other day.  Then I put away odds and ends that had accumulated here either on my desk or ended up in the bookcase for one reason or another.  Tomorrow I will work on the broken drawers that I once used for many of the same odds and ends that now have other homes.  Then that will have to be carted over to Tara’s house to be picked up by the garbage men.

Tara came over with two very tasty looking steaks for the Beast and I.  We had planned on making them tonight but our new neighbors dropped by and stayed later than usual just talking about some of the difficulties of building a new house.  They seem to forget that WE had one built from scratch and even made changes to the blueprints.  But, of course, he’s an engineer and they like full control so it IS different.

The steaks were in the way of a bribe.  I guess Tara is flying up to Ohio for a week so she wants the Beast to cart them up to the airport and then pick the returnees up the following Friday.  In reality, it didn’t require a bribe.  We love her and, of course, we are happy to drive her up there and pick her up when she returns.  Oh, but the steaks are t-bones.  She really DOES know how to pick a bribe, doesn’t she?

Love you all.  Be careful if you are planning outdoor events like a picnic or canoeing…whatever.  Use a good sun screen and don’t get overheated.  Drink plenty of water, too.    Have fun!

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I guess that there are just some times that you can’t do what you had hoped and planned to do.  Like write up your blog early.  I can’t do it with Chewlee here now that she can read.  I found out that she doesn’t think she can read yet because she sounds out the big words and either she says them wrong or she forgets what she sounded out (her words).  She said that her mommy and I promised we would help her learn to read and she doesn’t feel like we have.  I reminded her that we are the ones who help her pronounce the big words correctly and we have bought her all kinds of things to help her learn to read.  I also told her that she reads better than she thinks she does because she reads a lot of things that I type to Auntie Bratfink and they are not kindergarten words all the time.  She just grinned because of the way I said that to her and she felt like she had done something that bothered me that was funny.

Anyway, the Princess has some weird work hours to try to give her full time status so she gets all the benefits, which is nice of her employer on one hand but it does mean some late hours most of the time.  Tonight we had to wait for Johnnycakes to get off work to pick up Chewlee because the Princess got a demanding customer at the last minute and she was still working when she should have already been on her way home.  He got here shortly before 11pm (Central time) to pick her up so there went my schedule for writing my blog early.    I got some more coffee, used the bathroom, turned off the lights in the kitchen and dining room (since I knew the Beast was going to head for bed shortly afterward) and then sat down to write the day’s blog.

The bad news….two of the Beast’s tomato plants went to hell in a handbasket.  All the tomatoes on them were just ruined.  Of course, these were the two plants that had fallen over and he procrastinated getting them upright.  I couldn’t believe the waste of tomatoes.  It made me nauseous.  We have three more left, including the salad tomatoes so I am crossing my fingers that they will produce enough for me to make more salsa.  If not, I’m going to hit the Farmers Market next weekend and buy a flat or two of tomatoes to get some made.  I just feel like making some this year.  I did get several really nice green peppers and a lot of jalapenos plus two cucumbers.  Chewlee picked a bunch of the salad tomatoes and picked one out for me to eat right away after she washed it.

The Beast fixed our leaking faucet in the kitchen that was getting our countertops soaking every time we used it.  The new faucet looks almost too big for our sinks (too tall) and the sprayer is the front part of the faucet itself.  It’s actually kind of neat and will make washing hair under it much easier.

Chewlee had a good day and even ate good.  However, she was hungry when Johnnycakes picked her up mainly because she should have been in bed a couple hours before she went home.  She did take her bath, though, and she even washed her hair.  This was because she got all sweaty outside.  I found myself with humidity all over me after only five minutes and the humidity wasn’t even that high although it will be tonight.  I guess we will have rain again.  It was still 86 degrees at 7pm but is down to 72 now.  Our high is only supposed to be 82 tomorrow…still hot in my opinion.

Love you all.  Have a great weekend. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I went to bed kind of late last night due to an attempt to recoup some points that disappeared on me on this one site I like to play the games.  However, the points *lost* were a LOT and put me into a kind of novice option.  It took me a long time to work my way up to where I was.  Chewlee did, at one time, hurt me on points by playing preset amounts (by the game) that put the hurt on me.  I caught her and after that time, I shut the game down completely if I had to step away from my computer.  She lost me over a million points in just a couple clicks.    The preset points thing is something new that they are trying out and it’s easy to just click without thinking.  I have to cut down the number of points per line to something more reasonable than THEY have it set on or I would be off the game in a few clicks.

Anyway, I woke up fairly early but, since I didn’t feel like talking to the Beast, I went back into my computer room, started watching Meerkat Manor and fell asleep.  When I woke up later, the Beast told me that Dennis had come by for coffee and they had sat on the deck for a while.  Dennis is starting to envision Baron pooping on his *lawn* and the Beast told him to stop worrying about it.  Baron has seldom crossed the road to poop so don’t worry about it until/unless it happens.

We think Dennis might become a pain in the butt about this poop business.    Sad when someone has only poop to obsess over.  Once the builder starts on the actual house, he’ll find other things to worry about…at least for a while.  How good a neighbor he ends up being….well, we shall just have to wait and see.

Today was the day that the Beast said his meat slicer was going to be delivered so he was constantly looking for the UPS truck.  When I was sitting outside while Chewlee rode her bike, he kept poking his head out the door and asking if I had seen it yet.  Later, he ran up to Cheapmart so, of course, that is when his slicer is delivered.

He then had to set it up to slice up a roast we had made on Monday and the corned beef from yesterday.  As much as I hate to admit it, it did a great job.  But what a pain to clean up after you’re done.  The Beast claims it will be much easier to do next time since now he knows what needs to be done. 

Oh, I have to tell you something that was just hilarious to me.  I have no idea who or where the instructions for preparing the slicer for use and all the other instructions were translated into English but, let me tell you, they have never spoken it to an American or even an Englishman.  It was the most incredible garbled English translation I have ever read in my life.  I shall find the booklet again tomorrow and enlighten you with some of the funnier parts.

Love you all.  It only hit 86 here today but the humidity was low.  It’s supposed to cool down to the lower 60′s so I need to open my window again and let the fresh air in.  I hope your week has gone well.  It’s Friday and the end of the week for many.  Enjoy your weekend. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The Beast was cranky as hell today and wanted sympathy from me because his muscles were really bothering him (or so he wanted me to believe).  His problem is that he doth protest too much (and makes too many grunting and groaning sounds that increase in volume until it gets the response he wants).

He picked a bad time, actually, because my left foot is really hurting and I think I need to get into the doctor because I believe the big toe might actually need some antibiotics.  It’s not swollen (thankfully) but that damn blood blister I had from Baron stepping on it the way he did just hasn’t seemed to heal right and is very sensitive to touch.

I discover how damn sensitive it is when I wake up to go to the bathroom.  Shortly after that, the Beast comes in here and he can’t lift either leg enough to put on his pants.  I asked the hard question…..What happened to sitting down to put your pants on?  His reply?  Ignore the question.

Then I have to put his socks and shoes on him.  At least the shoes have velcro closures.  But all of this is to garner empathy for him from me.  Sorry.  Not today when the foot is really tender and makes walking difficult.

Since I didn’t do whatever it was HE wanted, later on he comes screaming into my computer room about *cleaning up the kitchen*.  Since I knew it wasn’t dirty or even messy, I yelled right back at him not to try to take it out on me just because HE felt crappy.  Since he had slammed my door on me, I (of course) just kept coming at him.  I told him where the big bear shits in the woods and why I would NEVER go to church with him.  It was, of course, because I have seen NO change in his attitude towards me although he continued his mask when it came to others who didn’t know the REAL him.  I told him if he got really bad or ever hit me, I would be sure to involve his pastor.  However, after thinking about that one, I thought it probably wouldn’t do me any good since they all believe a wife should be in subjection to her husbahnd and ANY man.  Another reason I want no part of that church.

I also told him that God knew his HEART and there would be no fooling HIM no matter how many others he might fool.  That’s when he started calling me a drunk and saying I could go ahead and rot in my computer room with my drinks.  I turned to him and said, *Beast, drop that crap.  It might have worked years ago but it sure as hell won’t work now.*  He did shut up after that but I know he didn’t like it.  He knows he can’t hurl that shit at me any more.  He can’t even prove I drink any more unless the Princess has been telling him when SHE gets some for me.  Even then, it certainly isn’t enough for me to ever be drunk.  If she’s told him, I will be very heartbroken and will consider that she is a traitor since she knows how he is, especially since he can no longer drink and KNEW that HE was a functional alcoholic before his strokes.

However, he was an alcoholic that was having blackouts.  I always had four drinks (at times, five) and then came home.  I knew my weight and the time and came home to make food for us all.  He, however, would stay until damn near closing time when he could barely stand up.  How he made it home without killing someone or himself, I have no idea.  The bartenders often tried to give him a ride home but he would refuse.  He wouldn’t even take a cab.  I thought all that was water-over-the-dam but he threw it out and at me when I was never as bad as he was.   Honestly.  At his best, he would come home and head straight to bed.  At his worse, he would come home, tell me he knew what I was thinking and that’s when he would beat me up.  For a while at least, until I stopped being so terrified of him.  Trust me, before his stroke, he was strong!

Well, love you all.  Sorry to lay this on you.  I really didn’t want to get into so much detail.  Have a wonderful day and drive carefully.  Oh, and please….stay cool!

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

What do I mean by the title?  I mean I need to change WHEN I create my blog every day.  Why?  Because I seem to be unable to sleep well during the night so I end up *taking a nap* once Chewlee leaves and THAT is when I get the best sleep.  It means, however, that I sleep from around 6:30pm until 1:30am or so. 

Since I usually write my blog around 9:30-10:00pm, I end up having people disappointed that my blog is not up.  It’s not like I have a HUGE amount of readers but I do have more than I ever thought I would.   

Chewlee woke me up early this morning.  THIS, after making ME promise not to wake HER up early.  I was ready to strangle her.  I tried to go back to bed but the Beast was looking for sympathy and *mothering* but I told him I wasn’t his mother and taking care of Chewlee was the extent of the mothering *I* was going to do today.  I told him that I had kept Chewlee from waking HIM at 6am and he should be grateful for that much, at least.  He didn’t LOOK the least bit grateful. 

I started thinking about getting my blog written earlier in the day  <<think, think, think>>  I guess I will give it a try and see how that works since I seem to be unable to stay up once Chewlee goes home.  As long as I am not hungry, I will curl up in my recliner and fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  Today that was around 6:30pm.  When I woke up at 1:30am, it was a shock to me.  I never realized I was THAT tired.  Especially since it pretty much rained, thundered and our power was off and on for several hours during the day and I relaxed with Chewlee on my recliner during that time.  It’s not like I was hauling bricks or anything. 

So watch for me earlier here.  Love you all.  Wish me luck. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Chewlee thought her mother was going to pick her up after class tonight but I surprised her with the information that her mother and I had discussed it and decided she could have a sleepover tonight since she had to be up early tomorrow to drive to work.  It’s an hour and a half drive for her so, if she has to open the store at 8:30am, she has to leave home by 7am.  It means that she gets home from school around 10:30pm, fix herself something to eat and then go to bed.  Her alarm goes off around 6am so we are not talking about her getting 8 hours sleep.  I remember doing things like that when I was young, too.  **Sigh** Wish I had half the energy I had back then now!

At first, Chewlee thought she was going to have to get up really early.  She had to get up at 5:30am so she could catch her bus at 6am while she was going to Summer Camp.  I reminded her that Summer Camp was over so she didn’t have to get up early tomorrow.  Later, as I was putting her to bed, she turned to me and said, *Grandma, when I am at home and don’t have school, nobody wakes me up.  They just let me sleep until I wake up.*  I told her that I promised no one would wake her up early tomorrow.  She could sleep as late as she wanted.  She wanted a *pinky promise* on that so we locked pinkies and she was happy.  But then a thought came to her and she said, *But, if I get up early by myself, can I turn on cartoons?*  I just laughed and told her that was fine.  That got me a big hug and a big smile on her face.  It made ME laugh.

Chewlee decided on an early shower so she could play her games on the Beast’s computer.  She kept bugging me about taking MY shower early so I could go to bed at the same time she did.  That was NOT going to happen because I had a couple things to do once I got her out from under my feet.  I couldn’t get it all done so that means I need to get her out on her bike early so I can finish up.  It also means staying out of my computer room for a couple hours to let the rug dry.  We’re not ready to paint this room yet so we will make do for a while with what we have.  I will be getting my new desk soon as well as the new mattress for OUR bed.  That’s when the guest room will have a queen size bed in it as well as ours so there won’t be a problem with new sheets.  I have a ton of sheets for queen size beds.  I WILL, however, decide on the colors for each so I will know which bedroom gets which sheets when we do the wash.

Chewlee likes the idea of having a *BIG* bed to sleep on when she stays overnight.  Like a full size one isn’t plenty big for her little body.  She sleeps on a single size bed at home.  Big difference between the two.  *I*, however, will appreciate it when I have to sleep with her.  Some nights she is a whirling dervish and I often end up with her feet on my chest.  She’s actually kicked me during one of her worst nights.  And she wonders why I sometimes start the night with her and end up sleeping on my recliner.  I sleep there when she stays over and has a wild night so that, if she wakes up, she can come into the computer room and crawl in with me.  She says she *got lonely*. 

It was hot again today but we had a nice breeze.  It helped since, when the wind stopped, a thin film of sweat would appear on your skin due to the high humidity.  Chewlee went to give me a hug and I heard a *Ick!  You’re all sweaty, Grandma!*  I told her she was sweaty, too, but I wasn’t complaining about HER*.

Love you all.  Stay cool.  Drive carefully.  I wish you a good week ahead. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I had a MUCH better day today.  I started it off by taking my pills as I was supposed to since I actually was awake early and I took a pain pill, which I really HATE to take them but….when you need them, take them.  It meant I could not only walk but I even drove up to Cheapmart (Bratfink’s favorite designation for the obvious store).  I only went up for my prescription refills plus two other things but ended up buying a lot more than that.  We needed a few things, including some pickles for Chewlee.  I got the spears this time because if she has four of them during the day, it equals only one pickle or less (depending on their size).  But Chewlee is happy with that.  Even the Beast finally sees the sense in that.

We ended up having dinner with our friends, Dennis and Di.  She made homemade chicken egg rolls as well as some interesting sweet/sour chicken strips, some fried rice that was very good with a bit of soy sauce.  Di and I had a glass of wine with our dessert (key lime pie), also home made.  It was a bit more tart than I would have made it but edible with some whipped cream.  Even Chewlee at least TRIED it out.  She said (as kids always will being honest) that she loved her mommy’s homemade egg rolls best.  I was so glad she said BEST and not BETTER.  Little things mean a lot.  I didn’t want to see Di hurt after all her effort.  Chewlee even tried some of her fried rice before asking to be excused to watch her cartoons.  Oh, and she did eat a small piece of the sweet/sour chicken.

Shortly afterward, her mother called to have me tell Chewlee that she had some chicken and french fries for her.  That is probably Chewlee’s favorite meal.  The Princess wanted me to have Chewlee come out to the car when she honked (it was raining out but not too hard).  When that car honked, you should have seen Chewlee hit that door!  We had to make her come back to put her flip flops on which she did in a heartbeat.  We all laughed at her antics.  She loves to be able to spend time with her mother before bedtime.

The Beast is having a hard time with back pain the past few days.  He’s taking the heating pad to bed with him.  That’s a pain for him because he wakes up to turn it off (and it’s on low!) and then wakes up to turn it back on.  It’s gotten only slightly better, even with his baths.  I’m becoming a bit concerned about it since he does not remember wrenching it at all.

We got some rain today so it’s cooled down a bit.  Enough that I opened the window in my computer room for some fresh air.  I really don’t like having the house closed up and having cold air pumped in via the window units but it IS better than sweating in this 90+ degree heat.

Love you all.  Have a great week.  Stay cool.