Happy New Year!

Car Conversations

I was driving Moose home from swimming yesterday. Out of the blue he asked,

"If you want to go to heaven when you die, why do they put you even further down?"

"Your soul is already gone when you're buried. The instant that you die, your soul is gone. It's not there at the funeral home or in the coffin or at the cemetery."

"So if you die in the emergency room and they use those paddle things to bring you back to life, does your soul come back or do you get a new one?"

(Pause) Cue the sound of my brain rattling.

"If God knows everything that's gonna happen, then He knows that you are not going to die and your soul is still there. You don't get a new one."

"Bummer."

Fun Monday - Christmas Most Recently Past

Sayre is hosting this week and she wanted to know two things -

What was the most touching, wonderful part of Christmas for you this year?

AND
What was the craziest, stupidest, funniest part this year?

The most touching and wonderful part was opening the gifts and seeing my grandson get EVERYTHING on his list (short list, folks, don't get real excited). He was really happy to get his football and also to see his mom after she got off work.

The craziest, stupidest, funniest part? I work in retail so there are more instances than I can list. One that stands out though is the little girl, probably about 5 years old, throwing a full-out, on the floor, screaming temper tantrum because her Dad wouldn't buy her a toy. I tried to smooth things over by pointing out that if her Dad bought her everything she wanted, it would make Santa's job awfully hard. She countered by telling me that if her Dad would buy her everything she wanted, it would make Santa's job easier because he wouldn't have to bring her anything. Yep, a future lawyer in the making, I think.

Merry Christmas (better late than never)

Merry Christmas to one and all, a little late, I know, but still very heartfelt.

We had a lovely Christmas here. Santa actually brought Moose everything he wanted for Christmas. Of course the child's list was only 3 items long and only one of those large, so Santa had it fairly easy this year.

The rest of us made out like bandits, as always. We then went out for dinner (thank you, sweetheart) and then to see Marley and Me. What a good movie! Of course, Juls and I had already read the book so were crying in advance. Moose is reading the book currently in his classroom and about 1/2 way through started telling me that they were leaving things out.

Other news - we have changed Charity's name. It just never quite fit and Shorty could never remember it. We mostly ended up calling her "little dog, little dog" but have finally settled on Bonnie - long for BonBon. She is much improved, as you can see from this photo.

and this one

Life in the Beef? Capital of the World

My daughter and I have recently had several interesting restaurant experiences. The town I live in is "the beef capital of the world".

I ordered the taco soup last week at a restaurant we frequent. The meat looked just a little odd. Juls asked if it was ground beef. The waitress said that it was. OK.

Then she came back and said that it was turkey ground beef. Turkey ground beef? Yep, turkey ground beef. Not a problem for me but Juls doesn't eat ground turkey, let alone turkey ground beef. We were hysterical and our waitress never did seem to realize that ground beef cannot be made of turkey. Ground turkey can, but ground beef? Methinks not.

Then tonight, while we were out looking at Christmas lights, we stopped at Mickey D's. I asked for a double cheeseburger and the voice in the box told me that they were out of red meat and that I couldn't have a double cheeseburger. I asked him what my options were and he started the list.

Grilled chicken sandwich
Filet of fish
Chicken Nuggets
Quarter Pounder
Homestyle


Excuse me? You are out of red meat but I can have a quarter pounder????

I have occasionally wondered about the source of some restaurant's ingredients but seriously, in the beef capital of the world, I cannot get beef ground beef or a burger made with red meat?

I am afraid. I am very afraid.

Latest on Charity

Just a quick update on the pup. Charity finally had an actual turd (yes, I know it's disgusting, but we actually cheered like it was the first time Moose used the potty on his own) on Thursday and went to the vet on Saturday to have her stitches removed.

She no longer has ribs showing and is beginning to act like a dog instead of a victim. She is venturing forth from her den and is interacting with the other dogs who are still not sure that she IS a dog. This is actually a good thing since they are not jealous of her and I have told them that she is NOT a squeaky toy.

The vet decided that she was healthy enough now to have her immunizations so all in all, it was a terrific vet visit.

I know all of this because Juls told me. I was in bed puking for the last 3 days...lol.

Charity evidently begins at the vet's

Charity.

Charity is still not well although she is better than she was. Her prolapsed rectum was put back where it belongs but her digestive stuff is still not right.

I took her to the vet this morning and horned in on Holly's eye appointment (scratched cornea, should be fine) because she smelled like death.

Charity has no temperature and is still trying with everything she has to become well. The person who owned her before I acquired her should someday suffer as this poor pup has. We located the breeder who owns her mother.

This puppy, who the vet judged to be 7-8 weeks old, based on her size and development, was born on July 23, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. She is almost 5 MONTHS old! The breeder, who kept the puppies with their mom till they were 3 months old due to their itty-bitty-ness, was in tears. The puppy weighed more when she was given to her previous owner than she does now.

I have shed tears over this baby and am trying desperately to not get TOO attached, as her prognosis is still guarded. She sure is a little fighter, though.

Fun Monday - No act of kindness is senseless

Writing this on the run, so I apologize in advance for it's faults.

Today's assignment from Mommy Wizdom is random acts of senseless kindness done in the past week. This week was full of little kindnesses for me. My daughter and I took hot cocoa to the Salvation Army bell ringers while we were out shopping.

We took cookies to our vet's office.

We took cookies to my new denture makers. (new dentures and a new denture maker)

We adopted Charity, our new little chihuahua (who will be going back to the vet today).

We smiled, sang carols (in line at stores) and have generally been spreading the spirit of God's love everywhere we go.

Correction: My daughter reminded me that it was not carols that we were singing in the store. It was "Salve Regina" which some of you may remember from Sister Act. The school kids sang it at Mass on Friday and their rendition was a little dirge-y for our taste but we managed to wait till we were not in Church to let it wail.

God Help Us All

We have a new dog.

This dog is another rescue. We (Julie and I) acquired her rather circuitously but ended up paying the vet bill for her prolapsed rectum and bringing her home. She is Shorty's new dog (a Christmas gift from Juls) since he is the little dog person in our home.

Her name is Charity. She is 7-8 weeks old and weighs 1.5 lbs.

PPL

Merry Christmas to Robin and all of her Pensieve friends!

Here are my contributions for the month:

#1
Pregnant grey clouds hang
Temperatures sharply drop
Snowflakes gently drift

#2
The heavens explode
Angels and seraphim sing
Salvation is ours

#3
A young boy’s belief
In the existence of Claus
Cherish and press “pause”

and the answer is....

First of all, thanks for your responses.

Moose was the thrower and NOT the intended catchee. The little girl whose teeth were chipped (and they were permanent teeth) has had them repaired (bonded and sealed).

Moose's mom and the little girl's parents are splitting the bill. I understand that it was an accident but the fact remains that if Moose had been in control of his own little self, it would never have happened.

We are hoping that he learns a valuable lesson about personal responsibility and awareness of surroundings and of the consequences his actions have.

Our new official Christmas song is "All I Want for Christmas is Madison's front teeth".

A Very Unscientific Survey

Scenario:

A grade school gymnasium during recess. The weather outside is frigid and the kids have been stuck inside all day. Half of the kids are playing dodgeball and the other half are in free-form chaos. A third grader throws a frisbee at another third grader who, contrary to Mom's note, was not sitting out during playtime. Evidently, while dogs have no problem catching frisbees with their mouths, 3rd graders do. Two teeth, one top and one bottom, were chipped.

Question:

Who is responsible for the dental bills?

I will let y'all know the actual decisions tomorrow. Thanks in advance for letting me know what you think.

Fun Monday - Heaux, heaux, heaux

This week's Fun Monday topic is from Mamalang. She requested It's the Christmas season, and I want you to tell us what are your three favorite Christmas Carols and a picture of your favorite Christmas "thing". It could be a Christmas tree, or your mantle, or a church, you in a Santa hat.

My three favorite Christmas carols? Easy - peasy.

My very favorite Christmas carol is "Happy Birthday". We have always had birthday cake for Baby Jesus as our Christmas dinner dessert since my girls were small. We always sing this song and my oldest daughter always named this as her favorite Christmas carol.

My second choice is a song not from my childhood. I am not sure why this particular song was not sung at Mass when I was a child or in my parents' house, but there you have it. I discovered this song as an adult and it speaks to my soul.

My third choice IS from my childhood. I mentioned it out loud and my husband sort of groaned but my grandson immediately went "We have that song in my class at school!" I do love traditions, no matter how cheesy.

Now for the picture of my favorite Christmas "thing". I LOVE Nativity scenes. This is a picture of the one in my childhood hometown, from that era.

In the 1970s, I was driving past this very Nativity during a rainstorm. My daughter started crying because the baby was getting wet and cold. We stopped and put our new baby's receiving blanket on the baby. It was returned, washed and dried, to my mother by the very nice firemen who watched us. I love small towns. Always have (except when I was high school and couldn't get away with ANYTHING) and always will.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

We DO Remember

It is all too easy in this time of holiday preparation and holiday feasting to forget another important anniversary -

I was not born in 1941 when this horrendous "day of infamy" occurred but I will not, nor will my family, forget. I had several uncles who served in the military during WWII and all made it home safely. My dad worked in the shipyard at Mare Island in California during that time. It still just breaks my heart to think about that day.

Please pray for the respose of the souls of all of those who died then in the service of their country and for our freedom.

Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941 - a day that will live in infamy.

Update - A New Doctor

A couple of months ago, I wrote a very depressing blog about suicide, both deliberate and through negligence.

I have found a new doctor. I went to see him and told him why I was there, holding nothing back, including my own stupidity. After I told him that my previous doctor had said that it would take about 6 months for all of the medication to leave my system, he cocked his head, looked at me, and asked,

"Did he mention that this might be fatal?"

Uh, no. No, he didn't. I would have remembered that. It turns out that I have basically been walking around because I am just to dang stubborn to lie down and go into that coma!

I am back on my medication. I am grateful to my parents for whatever genes they passed on to me that enable me to survive my own stupidity. I am grateful to my new doctor for not yelling at me. I am grateful to God for the skill he gives my physicians and for the grace he continues to shower upon me. I am grateful to my family for putting up with me through all of this crap and I am grateful to y'all for hanging around.

Thanks.

The Best Time of the Year

There have been a lot of things going on in my neck of the woods - some good, some not-so-good. I have decided to focus on the good.

I had a spectacular weekend with my two favorite guys - Moose and Shorty. On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast at one of our favorite coffee shops. From there, we drove to Amarillo so that we could make our annual visit to the Salvation Army Angel Tree at the mall. Moose and I had a terrific time shopping while Grampits stress-tested the benches outside the stores. One pair of pants, one shirt, one jacket, one hat, two mittens, two shoes that light up when you walk and one scale model aircraft carrier (with aircraft) and we were done. We delivered said items back to the real angels who volunteer their time and energy to make this tradition of ours work and went on our way.

We went to visit Santa and Moose got to tell Santa what he would like for Christmas. His list was VERY short (only two items) and Santa seemed optimistic that he would be able to fulfill the little man's wishes.

We then went to the Hickory Farms store where I discovered that Moose has never - NEVER- had their smoked cheddar. We immediately rectified that and bought some to bring home.

Then, we went to the movie theater to see "Bolt". If you get the chance to see this movie, shell out the extra dinero to watch it in 3D. It was awesome!!! I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to see a movie with the kids that they don't have to explain.

Dinner at Furr's where everyone gets exactly what they want and no one has to be yelled at to finish their dinner and we came home just in time for bed and a good night's sleep.

Fun Monday - the neighborhood version

The white picket fence seemed apropos for this week's assignment - your worst neighbor per Beyond My Slab.

Here goes: Tell us about your all-time worst Neighbors from Hell. You know, the family of Irish clog dancers who once lived in the flat/apartment above you? Mrs. Nextdoor and her banshee-like multiple orgasms? Mr. and Mrs. Hard-of-Hearing with their television on full blast? The guys across the street who set off 4th of July fireworks starting in March and didn't stop until the first real snowfall?

If I did not live in a small town, I could tell you about our neighbor of 10 years who siphoned our gas, burglarized our house, stole our guns (and my First Communion prayer book and high school ring) and shot our dog. But I do live in a small town so I will share another neighbor from hell story.

When I was 18, I got married. When I was 19, I had my first daughter and my husband and I had the usual discussions re; naming said child. He wanted to name her Stephanie (guess whose name was Steven?) and I refused to because that was his girlfriend-before-me's name. When I was 20, my husband was killed in a car accident and the baby (whose name was NOT Stephanie) and I had to move. I got my very first on my own apartment. Any guess who lived in the apartment next door?

Yep, Stephanie.

Happy Hallowe'en

I am being lazy once again. Consistency is a virtue, right? Anyway, I saw this at Unscripted Mom's and just had to steal it. So I did.

Que sera, sera

Once again, thank you, Sayre. I have millions of thoughts whizzing around my brain and am unable to put together a coherent sentence. I was reading blogs and came across this.

Perfect for a night like this.

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Doris!

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.


• * Share fun times with me.


• * Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.


• * Let me know that I am important and special to you.


• * Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

• * Reassure me that I am interesting to you.


• * Reassure me often that you love me.


• * Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris

• * being able to relate easily to people and to make friends


• * knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better


• * being generous, caring, and warm


• * being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings


• * being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris

• * not being able to say no


• * having low self-esteem


• * feeling drained from overdoing for others


• * not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish


• * criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should


• * being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them


• * working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Dorises as Children Often

• * are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism


• * try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding


• * are outwardly compliant


• * are popular or try to be popular with other children


• * act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention


• * are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents

• * are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)


• * are often playful with their children


• * wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"


• * can become fiercely protective

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Fun Monday - closet chaos

Today's hostess is Cassie who wanted to see the inside of our closet. "I want to see the inside of your closet!! I want to see if your closet is as messy as mine!!! You can't organize it before you take the picture!!"

In an effort to follow the rules, I had my grandson take the pictures so that I wouldn't clean anything up. Here you go, Cassie!

Perspective

Carrie Underwood has a new video which my daughter and I refer to as the "shiny shoes song". In it, her boyfriend/fiance/husband is kia and her wedding dream turns into the funeral nightmare. She is given the flag off the coffin. We nitpick the heck out of this video because if she is the girlfriend/fiancee, the men in the shiny shoes would not notify her. They would notify his next-of-kin, because militarily speaking, if you ain't next-of-kin, you ain't nothing.

I was talking to my husband today about my lack of empathy toward the character in this song. She sings that she "was counting on forever. Now I'll never know. I can't even breathe." I told him that the writers had at least nailed that part. I remember that from when my first husband died, not being able to breathe.

So my hubby got that twinkle, smooched me and asked me what happened when you got the counting-on-forever-part. You know what? He's right. I couldn't even breathe.

PPL - Autumn

With many, many thanks to Robin for motivating us once again - and for introducing me, all of those months ago, to a form of poetry that actually turned up in a class I am teaching this fall.

I realize that poetry should need no explanation but this is NOT how I normally feel about Hallowe'en. I LOVE Hallowe'en - or I did before the store where I work put the costume section thisclose to my department. A word to all you moms out there - forget washing the kid's hands with GermX - tell them to quit putting on the mask that they just picked up off of the floor after 97 zillion (literally) other kids have already put it on their snotty little faces.

Hallowe’en
Scary, Magical
Tricking, treating, dressing up
Creeping fog, creepy people
Commercial

This is not necessarily autumnal except that my CFC class wrote this cinquain together last Wednesday evening. Courtesy of my 5th graders:

Jesus
Son, Savior
Loving, Healing, Sharing
Safe Harbor, Joyful Hope
Lord

and THIS is the actual assignment.

Squash
Omnipresent, Ubiquitous
Growing, Growing, Ripening
Where ARE those recipes?

Pickles

Owner of the Vineyard

Matthew
Chapter 20
1
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.
3
Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4
and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'
5
So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise.
6
Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
7
They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'
8
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
9
When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage.
10
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.
11
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner,
12
saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
13
He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
14
Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
15
(Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?'
16
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

This was our Gospel this last Sunday. This particular parable has always bothered me because, quite honestly, I'm with the first workers. What the heck? This isn't fair. It just plain isn't fair. You know what? It isn't. Neither is life. My priest, a wonderful homilist, pointed out that most of us, himself included, reach the same conclusion. It just isn't fair.

Father John then went on to point out that part of the problem that most of us have with this parable is OUR point of view. We can all identify with the worker and most of us fail to recognize the point of the parable which is not the injustice of the world but the generosity of the vineyard owner. If we make ourselves the focus of the story, all we see is the inequity and injustice and unfairness of it all.

If we make God the focus of the story, we can see the generosity and benevolence of the vineyard owner. So, from the Queen of the Vineyard, let's hear it for the Owner.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

It has been a difficult past few weeks for me. This is due in part to circumstance and a great deal to my own stupidity. My doctor left town last year. I take one prescription, once a day, and my scrip was good till February of this year.

Well, February came and went and my drugs ran out. I did not want to find a new doctor. I hate changing doctors. I already know that I'm fat and that I need to lose weight and that being fat is hard on my heart, etc. The funny part is that I am basically healthy. I do not have high blood pressure or diabetes or anything else wrong with me that's weight related.

My old doctor told me once that the drug I take is cumulative and it would take about 6 months to actually zero out the levels in my bloodstream. I decided that's what I would do and that during that 6 months, I would lose enough weight to not have to hear about it from a new doctor. Yeah.

6 months is gone. I have lost no weight. I am starting to feel just generally gravity ridden and crappy. I have to find a new doctor. Fine.

Within the last 3 weeks, 4 people that I know or know of, have died. They have been 3 women aged 54, 49, and 45ish respectively. They have died of complications of diabetes, cancer, and a long illness respectively. They have left behind grown children and a granddaughter(legal guardian) in 3rd grade, a 3 year old with Downs Syndrome, and a 14 year old daughter respectively.

The 4th person? The husband of wife #3, the father of the 14 year, the coward who could not bear life without the love of his life and ran his motorcycle into a concrete abutment, orphaning his child.

Please pray for the respose of the souls of the dead. Please pray for the families of the dead and for their children.

Please pray for me as I realize that I have been as much of a suicidal coward in my own small way as that idiot husband/father. To my husband, children, and grandchildren, I apologize. To my God, I humbly request forgiveness, understanding, and the grace and courage to do better. To all who came here for a chuckle, maybe tomorrow.

A llama, a llama, my kingdom for a llama

I have come to the conclusion that my grandson may be a llama.


There is a field behind our house. It is inhabited by some of our neighbors’ livestock. On any given day, you can see horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and now, a llama. The llama is one of a pair. His mate has given birth and he has been turned out to pasture to help protect the baby.


He mingles with the herd, all of whom have been together for at least 5 years. They travel together, moseying and munching through the day. I have never seem them fight. But occasionally, the equine livestock will be somewhere in the pasture and the llama will be alone, on top of the Bandini mountain, surveying his kingdom(s), both real and imagined.


Lil Man went to football camp this summer. This was when he was still Lil Man and not Moose, yet. It is open to 3rd through 6th graders so this was his first year. Lil Man is healthy and wiry and fairly well coordinated. What he is not is stocky. Slight comes to mind. Slim comes to mind. Skinny, undernourished (though he’s not) and orphanish come to mind.


We watched him for about an hour one day. The camp is conducted by the high school football coaches. Lil Man was engaged, he was attentive, he was well-behaved and he actually kicked the football! He just looked sort of like he didn’t belong - like a llama in a herd of little bulls.

We DO remember

Father Mychal's Prayer

Lord, take me where you want me to go;

Let me meet who you want me to meet;

Tell me what you want me to say, and

Keep me out of your way.

—Fr. Mychal Judge, O.F.M.Chaplain,

New York Fire Department

Copyright ©2001 Holy Name Province

While researching Father Mychal, I came upon this picture of a stained glass window in his memory at St. Francis of Assisi Church in NYC.

Please keep all of our heroes, both home and abroad, alive and deceased, recognized and urecognized, past and present and future, in your prayers.

Dogs - Mine, Hers, and Ours

Duck is fine. She turns 10 the 30th of this month and, aside from a little arthritis, is doing really well. Yes, she is still sleeping in the new chair.

Holly had surgery earlier this month to remove a tumor on her leg. It healed fine, all 12 stitches worth, and the tumor was benign. Hallelujah.

Julie's Bo still hates me and tries to eat my face. I still think he should be destroyed.

Lexi is just a sweetheart puppy. She is smart and charming and engaging and just on the edge of her destructive phase. It should be fun to watch!

Roxi is sick. Julie went to work the other night and thought Roxi looked "just not right". By morning, she was down. Her gums were colorless, as was her tongue and she was truly lethargic. A little bloodwork later and the diagnosis was - autoimmune hemolytic anemia. It's chronic, probably hereditary, and thankfully treatable. She got some Vitamin K, some antibiotics, and some steroids. This is her new regimen. She perked up some in the last few days, but not as quickly as Juls and I would like.

This leaves us with Bug. Bug received a visit from the dogcatcher yesterday. She cannot be in the front yard unconfined. She cannot be in the back yard because Roxi has decided that Bug looks like a Little Debbie Snack Cake. She cannot be at my house because my dogs don't like her, she doesn't like them and the neighbors have livestock. She is not, as a small animal killer, adoptable and would be destroyed if taken to our shelter.

Thus, she is tied up. We got her a new collar as she returned home collarless. We replaced her rabies tag so that the dogcatcher cannot use that as a reason to take her. We got her a stake-out chain and put it where she has access to all of her favorite spots in the yard. Keep her in your prayers, please. I cannot imagine a Bugless existence.

Much too young?

With credit to this entry by my favorite Anglophile and with credit to this entry by {i}post for sharing stories of their little men. Both posts are about changes and about little boys growing up. As most of you know, Lil Man is now Moose.

Moose changed schools this year and is settling in unbelievably well. He is still having his black coffee in the morning and the school is working with us on the whole non-medication thing and is allowing him to have CokeZero halfway through his day in order to boost his caffeine intake. He still misses his old classmates but, thankfully, we live in a small town and eventually, everyone runs into everyone.

Such was the case a couple of days ago. Grampits and Julie and Moose and I went out to lunch at the local Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant. Two of the little girls from his class last year were sitting at the booth 3 booths down from us. Let's call them Meg and Amy. Meg's mom, who is way cooler than me or my daughter, was sitting at another table so the girls could be "cool".

Meg and Amy came to our table and invited Moose to sit with them for lunch. He asked for permission, which was granted and, without a backward look, off he went. His mom was sitting next to me and we both had our backs toward him. This was maddening, since we had to depend on the Grampits for updates.

He started off sitting with Meg and then halfway through the meal, switched sides so that he could sit with Amy. Everyone behaved well and ate well.

It just made me feel so friggin' old. I'm much too young to feel this dang old.

Aw, heck, I just re-read this and Julie's right. I do whine.

Non-Sequitur

Julie and I have both been suffering from allergies -hers are worse than mine. Yesterday I made the mistake of saying that she was whiny.

She called me the Queen of the Vineyard.

The sad part is that I like that title. I may even change my blog title. What do you think?

Cal Farley's 64th Annual Rodeo/Mutton Busting, Calf Riding and Stick Horse Racing

Who Do You Think Will Prevail? Updated Photos

New Chair

No dogs on the new chair
Who, me?
I can't see you!

Nasty old MomIf she can, I can

and if they can, you KNOW that I can!