"SON OF A BITCH!"

I just washed my hair and am waiting for it to dry before I go to bed to read, so I’ll try not to be drab, but sometimes I just can’t help it.

Did I tell you that on the way to Arkansas, my sister, Mom and I stopped at Lambert’s Café “Home of Throwed Rolls” in Sikeston Missouri? Evidently this place was featured on some Food TV show and BP suggested we stop there.

We got there around 2 pm and inside it looked like a big Cracker Barrel with rows and rows of wooden tables and lots of blue-haired folks, and some lady playing the piano (or pi-anny as Granny Clampett would call it.)

Anyway, this place’s claim to fame is that they throw rolls to/at you. A cute young guy wanders around the place saying “Hot rolls! Hot rolls here!”and you hold up your hand if you want a throwed roll. Well, my sister held up her hand and caught a roll—it was hot. I held up my hand and caught a roll—it was hot. We asked, “Ma, do you want a roll? Hold up your hand.” So she held up her hand and caught a hot roll. Well, it must have been a little too hot for her because she said (quite loudly) “SON OF A BITCH!” Those Missourians acted like they’d never heard an 82 year-old Hoosier lady say “SON OF A BITCH” before and some looked aghast.

This place served too much FOOD! Jeez! I ordered meatloaf and got two huge slabs of the stuff. They ordered chicken salad and each got two huge scoops of it, plus potatoes and rolls and these servers come by your table with “freebies” of black-eyed peas and macaroni and tomatoes and fried okra (blech)

The food wasted in that place is a sin. Those blue-haired old people probably take home leftovers and eat on them for a week. Plus, the food really wasn’t that great. It’s the gimmick of the throwed rolls that brings people in. So if you ever go to a Lambert’s Café Home of Throwed Rolls, and you catch a hot roll, say “SON OF A BITCH!” and think of my Mother.

Here's the website: Lambert's

For Spidey

I know this will be your favorite!

Orange Poppies

Red Poppies

Don't they look like crepe paper?

White Nigella: Love-in-a-Mist

Red Hot Pokers

Books for summer reading

New books I bought for one dollar each:

Oxford Book of American Poetry
French Women for All Seasons: Mireille Guiliano
The View From Castle Rock: Alice Munro
HP & The Order of the Phoenix (for a gift)
HP & The Half-Blood Prince (for a gift)
Ansel Adams The National Park Service Photographs w/ CD by Tim Janis
The Low Maintenance Garden: Susan Berry & Steve Bradley
Heritage of Ireland: History of Ireland & Its People: Nathaniel Harris
Irish Traditions: Kathleen Jo Ryan
The Enchanted Garden: Claire O’Rush
Books I bought because I want to reread:
Walden & Resistance to Civil Government: Henry D. Thoreau
Steinbeck, centennial editions:
Travels with Charley
The Pearl
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men

I think that will be a good start to my summer reading

Memorial Day

I fried some bacon, toasted an English muffin and poured myself some orange juice for breakfast. Then I'm going to sit on the porch and finish my Spanish Dagger book, and might watch some TV and pet the cat--other than that I'm not doing a damned thing all day.

My Hands hurt

My hands hurt. I sifted compost and planted five new plants I bought at Menard’s I had told myself that under no circumstances would I buy another plant this season but I saw these giant blue scabiosas and white salvias and so I just did it.

I made an enchilada-type lasagna dish today and it was wonderful!

Sauce:

2 T olive oil 2 T flour and make a roux
add one small can of chicken stock
about 1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
½ cup water
and whisk it together and cook it for 10-15 minutes and set aside

Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T red pepper flakes
1 small can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 large package of corn tortillas

1 packaged shredded Mexican/Taco cheese


Spray glass baking dish with non stick spray. Layer of corn tortillas (put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds before layering)—I cut mine in half to make them fit the pan.

Layer of meat mixture

Layer of cheese

Layer of tortillas

Layer of meat

A final layer of tortillas and then top with the remaining cheese


Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for thirty minutes
I served it with a salad, but you can do whatever you want.

Hardware Cloth

Happy Friday.
I’m going to work today. I was “sick” on Wednesday and Thursday---an upset stomach passes for sick—right? Anyway, I took LP to the dentist yesterday and he had a cavity and she filled it that same day, which was good.
The guys went to see Spider-man 3 last evening. I didn’t want to go—I didn’t really enjoy S-M #2. They both enjoyed it and ate popcorn and those little non-pariel (sp?) chocolates.
We worked on the yard a lot, including clearing away some dead branches which I wouldn’t have minded keeping the area “wild” but I was over ruled. That’s okay though because there was some kick ass compost at the bottom of the pile of stuff.
Know what Hardware Cloth is? That’s okay, I didn’t either until two days ago. It’s a screen type thing that’s a cross between chicken wire and a screen for a door. Anyway BP built me this great compost sifter from hardware cloth and old 2 x 4’s. It was just like Design Remix!! Making good stuff from the crappy stuff you have lying around the house and yard. Now, I can put this sifter over the wheelbarrow and sift out the big chucks from my compost, use the small stuff and return the big chucks to my composter. Does that make sense?
I’m going back to work today and then it’s a 3-day weekend, which I love.
I’ll post a picture of my sifter soon.

For Elu

A fucked Frosty--got so hot, he melted!

Go ahead, make fun

What's Blooming

Pink Lupine, Orange Poppies, Columbine, and Dame's rocket, columbine and lambs ears

1. Letter from Mister Rogers

2. Letter from Paul Newman

3. Letter from Dalai Lama

4. Letter from JFK, Jr.

5. Oval Office

6. View from 2nd floor

Clinton Library

We loved the Library. It was uncrowded, the workers and volunteers were wonderful (even if this sweet, kinda withered old man chastised me for taking flash pictures--he suggested holding my finger over the flash and that worked just fine.)

My favorite part was the Oval Office replica (pictures to come soon.) The Museum Store--housed down the street--was a disappointment. A lot of cheesy cheap crap, but I did buy a William J Clinton Presidential Library checkbook cover and an "I MISS BILL" bumpersticker.

I also liked the letters on display and the gifts they received from the American people and world leaders.

The Cafe 42 is in the basement of the building and we had a good lunch there--crab salad and chocolate torte for me, and my mother and Sis had the chicken salad and the Hillary cookies.

Speaking of my Mother. Sigh. Y'all haven't lived until you've taken a 9 hour road trip with an 80+ year old woman.

But it was a good time, and now I want to visit the Harry S Truman Presidential Library in Missouri.

--more photos to come--

An Orchid in the lobby of the Little Rock Peabody Hotel. The Duckmaster and the Peabody Ducks descending to the lobby via the elevator. The view of the Old Statehouse and the Arkansas River from our room.

Goodbye My Pretties!

Tomorrow I am going here:

Pilgrimage

with my mom and one of my sisters. With all the shit happening around here at work, I need a few days to enjoy myself. BP & LP will miss me, but I have typed up a long honey do list for both of them to keep them out of trouble :)

Sing It

Three, six, nine
The goose drank wine
The monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line
The line broke, the monkey got choked
And they all went to heaven in a little row boat
Clap your hands
(pause) (pause) (pause)
Clap your hands


My mother told me if I was goody
That she would buy me a rubber dolly
My auntie told her, I kissed a soldier
Now she won't buy me, a rubber dolly

Three, six, nine The goose drank wine
The monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line
The line broke, the monkey got choked
And they all went to heaven in a little row boat

Clap your hands
(pause) (pause) (pause)
Clap your hands

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop

I finished The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee. Tree, you should read this. Respighi, read this. Urban, since you were in the San Francisco area, you should read this. Spidey, read this. All you others who have book-lust should read it.
Buzbee takes us back to his childhood when he discovered “important” books and authors. His first was Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. He worked as a bookseller, and publisher sales representative for over 30 years. He talks about getting that Scholastic catalog and ordering books in grade school, and the excitement when they arrived and were handed out from the teacher’s desk
Buzbee discusses important booksellers like Sylvia Beach who opened Shakespeare & Co in Paris and how that store became a magnet for authors like Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, and James Joyce, and how she saved her inventory from being destroyed by the Nazis.
Buzbee talks about present day banned books and the Patriot Act which proclaims that booksellers and libraries must give the government access to your personal reading habits without notifying you when they do so. He promotes buying books with cold hard cash so your purchases cannot be traced.
He describes bookstore ambience, the actual process of writing, publishing, marketing, shelving and selling books and why this is important to civilization—all without being stuffy.
At $17, it’s an important and charming book

Happy Mother's Day to Me

To me, being a mother is:

Aggravating

Brave

Coddling

Delightful

Exasperating

Fantastic

Ghoulish

Heavenly/Hellish

Idolizing

Joyous

Klutzy

Lovely

Maniacal

Necessary

Ominous

Purposeful

Question mark

Reaction

Spiritual

Touching

Unknown

Vexing

Weird

X-hilarating

Yearning

Zealous

Say It Isn't So!

I’m a few days behind watching the tv shows I taped.

That said . . . there is absolutely no way that John Lock can be dead! He’s the magic of the island. The island loves him. It cured him. So the bullet that Other Ben shot him with cannot have pierced anything vital and the wound will heal.

Why is the guy who found young runaway Ben the same guy who is with the Others now—and he has not aged day one.

I hate Juliet—I don’t care if she’s a reformed Other or not. Jack, why must you be so stupid.

Dear Lost producers and writers:

1. Stop introducing so many new characters. Who’s this Naomi person anyway? Why do we care about her at all?

2. People you’d better not fuck with and/or kill off (after you did so to Mr. Eco): Sun, Sayid, Desmond, Kate, Jack, Lock, Hurley and the chair who talks to Ben (haha).
(The Lost Credits: “Chair-who-talks-to-Ben played by Laa Z Boyy”)

3. Will Walt and Michael ever come back? Where are Rose and Bernard?

4. People who you can kill off and I’d say Good Riddance: Charlie (I detest that hobbit), Claire, Rosseau, Ben.

Garden/Stuff

I was ordered to update (cough, cough, Respighi cough) so here goes:

1. My spring garden looks good; columbine, iris, chives, and lupines are blooming. My poppies are at the stage I love . . .lots and lots of pre-bloom fuzzy testicle-like orbs.
The three shrub (disease resistant—uh huh) roses finally arrived from Heirloom Roses. Bonica and two Fairys. I’ll plant them when I can.

2. LP’s signed up for driver’s education beginning in June. If you see Kath—tell her to light a candle for me.

3. Things at work: bad and low morale all around.

4. The paintings I’ve done are cool if I do say so myself. I’d post them but my fragile artist's ego couldn’t take the abuse.

Primary

Today is primary day here in Indiana.
Mayor and council people.
We need more women running for office.
I voted.

My Butt Hurts

My butt hurts. No, it’s not from anal sex—do you think you accidentally stumbled upon Traceebrat’s blog??! My butt hurts because I gardened all day yesterday.

I planted my containers with herbs, dwarf cannas, elephant ears, replanted some of the catmint I had dug up earlier, new lavender, and annuals.

Lots and lots of annuals: verbena, Wave petunias, ornamental sweet potato plants, heliotrope, and my new favorite, stock (some people call it gillyflower--although I've also heard dianthus referred to as gillyflower). Buy some stock. It’s got a wonderfully delicious scent that is really noticeable in the evening. Comes in a variety of colors—I bought white, lavender and a pinky mauve.

I dug, watered, fertilized and mulch and that is why my butt and thighs hurt.

Queen at Kentucky Derby

Here's a picture of a smiling Queen Elizabeth taken at yesterday's Kentucky Derby, SPIDEY--for you. Another lovely hat, I must say. Is the Queen the only woman in 2007 who regularly wears hats? I've blogged about this before. I'm old enough to remember when women (my mother) never went to any event--or church--without a chappeau. My mother had lots of hats in hatboxes, now her favorite hat is a baseball cap with "NAVY" and the Navy's insignia on it.

Happy 88th, Pete!

Pete Seeger's 88th birthday was a few days ago. He wrote this song in the late '60s--it was about the Vietnam war and man, oh man, it still rings true today. I love Pete Seeger.

Waist Deep In The Big Muddy
by Pete Seeger 1963, planned for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967 but CBS objected to the blacklisted Seeger making obvious references to the"big fool" in the White House, finally sung by Seeger on the Comedy Hour in 1968 as the finale in a medley of anti-war songs

It was back in nineteen forty-two,I was a member of a good platoon.We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna,One night by the light of the moon.The captain told us to ford a river,That's how it all begun.We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,But the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,This is the best way back to the base?""Sergeant, go on! I forded this river'Bout a mile above this place.It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.We'll soon be on dry ground."We were -- waist deep in the Big MuddyAnd the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipmentNo man will be able to swim.""Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"The Captain said to him."All we need is a little determination;Men, follow me, I'll lead on."We were -- neck deep in the Big MuddyAnd the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over,We heard a gurgling cry.A few seconds later, the captain's helmetWas all that floated by.The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!I'm in charge from now on."And we just made it out of the Big MuddyWith the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his bodyStuck in the old quicksand.I guess he didn't know that the water was deeperThan the place he'd once before been.Another stream had joined the Big Muddy'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.We were lucky to escape from the Big MuddyWhen the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;I'll leave that for yourselfMaybe you're still walking, you're still talkingYou'd like to keep your health.But every time I read the papersThat old feeling comes on;We're -- waist deep in the Big MuddyAnd the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big MuddyAnd the big fool says to push on.Waist deep in the Big MuddyAnd the big fool says to push on.Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a Tall man'll be over his head, we'reWaist deep in the Big Muddy!And the big fool says to push on!

Words and music by Pete Seeger (1967)TRO (c) 1967 Melody Trails, Inc. New York, NY

Queen's Hat

I love this woman's hat! I labeled this picture "Queenshat" but it kinda looks like Queen shat.

Sorry, Liz

The Colbert Report

Last night I was watching a repeat of Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report. He was talking about Rep. presidential hopeful and Mormon Mitt Romney. He didn't draw into question his religious beliefs but his choice in reading material.
He showed a clip of Romney being interviewed by some chick on Fox morning news. She asked Romney what his all-time favorite book was. He replied, in all sincerity, "Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard." OMG, I'll bet his political handlers were just cringing.
Why would any presidential candidate want to be associated with Scientology founder Hubbard?

(sorry, Clanky, this post has an American bent to it.)

Momisms

What's the most "Mom" phrase you use (or have heard from your Mom) on your kids?
You can answer if you are a Dad too.

Recently, I have been saying "you're cutting off your nose to spite your face" a lot.
I've also been known to say, "Be nice to people while they're still here to be nice to," "Don't piss away your education . . . 99% of the kids in the world would love to have what you have."

I think it goes in one ear and out the other.

My Mom used to warn us of crowded places and shoplifters, "They'll knock you in the head for 50 cents!"

Happy May Day

The USSR used to celebrate May Day. I don't know about Russia.

It just got finished hailing here. Pea-sized.

I got six pieces of mail: No bills, two mayoral solicitations, Martha Stewart Omnimedia stockholder report (I owe one share), two credit card offers for Mastercard, one solicitation from Ball State Foundation. Here's a piece of advice: Never, under any circumstances, give to your alma maters's foundation. Make a notation to direct your donation to your favorite academic department, to a scholarship fund, to student activities, anything but an unrestricted account like a Foundation. Foundation money can be used for anything: flowers for some dead person, dinners and alcohol to wine and dine big givers . . . anything. Be specific, people. I give mine to the political science department so they can bring in speakers and do other things to corrupt young minds into my way of thinking.

Friday is my youngest sister's birthday. The check is in the mail.

Saturday is Cinco De Mayo. Can you say "margarita"?

Garden Work/Crappy Movie

It was a beautiful weekend so we worked outside a lot.
BP went to his Mom’s on Saturday and did some work for her and brought back his backhoe bucket so he could “repair” it. He and LP had a heckava time getting it off the trailer. Don’t ask me how he’s repairing it. I somehow think that his lathe will play a part in it.
Yesterday we went to Menard’s with the trailer and bought loads of mulch, landscape fabric, potting soil and bags of river rock.
I Rounded-Up an area, put down landscape fabric and moved the bird bath onto bricks I had “pinwheeled.” (BP advised me to do it this way) then I surrounded the area with the river rock, and man does it look good! Those lucky, lucky birds. Later I saw a blackbird, a robin, and two goldfinches enjoying a dip and drink.
I also ripped up a bunch of ivy (I thought of Urban) and cleaned up the bed in front of the porch. Since Ded hasn’t answered my buddleia bush question, I attempted to dig up the old bush. I trimmed it back almost to the ground and dug and dug and then it was “fuck this noise.” I’ll try later; if I don’t get it all up I’ll just place a few big stones on top of the stump and call it a day.
I ordered three dwarf varieties of buddleia from a website yesterday and I’ll plant those in the clean up bed. I think they’ll do nicely.

Last night after The Amazing Race, BP and I watched Stranger Than Fiction. He had seen it before and he insisted I see it. He loved it; I thought it sucked major ass. You ask how can a movie with Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah and Will Ferrell suck major ass? Well, it can. The only non-boring part was Maggie Gyllenhall. It had a good premise, but was excuted very poorly. I’d give it a D-.

Pretty Kitty Redux

Thing up in the sky/paint colors

Something’s strange. I go outside to retrieve the morning paper and I see a ball yellow ball in the sky. What is this thing? Our skies have been dark, gloomy and grey for so long, I’m not sure what this yellow thing is, but it sure is pleasant.


I think I’ll make a deal with LP when he wakes up. I’ll happily mow the lawn later if he’ll clean up that disgusting room of his and launder his clothes. He’ll either take the deal or else he’ll have to clean up that disgusting room of his, launder his clothes, and mow the lawn.


I think I’ve told you that I’m trying to decide which colors to paint the living room. Tracee or Schell sure would come in handy around here. I’m stuck on choosing colors. But I’ll tell you, it’s been fun. I’ve discovered that Menard’s has the coolest display ever: Pittsburgh paints and little sample pots I can buy for $2.98 each. I think I’ve brought home seven of those pots so far. I primed an area on the wall and have so many paint swatches up there. Haha. BP just rolls his eyes.

Here’s the progression:
1. I thought three walls would go a deep sand/taupe color and an accent wall wold be spice/curry/pumpkiny

2. Three walls would be a lemony/goldy with the accent wall a teal/baby blueish color.

3. Three walls would be a taupe/corn silk with the accent wall a sagey green color.

It’s amazing to me that there are so many variations of the three primary colors. It boggles the mind.

That’s all for now.

Separated at Birth

Murder defendant Phil Spector and American Idol runner up Clay Aiken

Riots/Garbage

A few days ago there was a riot at a New Castle, Indiana prison. The prisoners who started the riot were transfers from Arizona. I know we get paid for them, but I don’t like the idea of Indiana having to take in prisoners from other States. I don’t want New Jersey’s garbage transported to Indiana, and I don’t want other States’ desperadoes. We have enough garbage and prisoners of our own.
Check into it—I’m sure your State imports problems from other States. Maybe we should just designate one State (maybe Cheney’s Wyoming since he has a boner to exploit Alaska) as the dumping ground—and send it all of the other 49s garbage, rapists, murderers, tax evaders, and people who spoil Harry Potter endings.

Toilet Poll

I'm taking a poll.
When you use a public bathroom, after you do your business, do you pull up and zip pants/jeans and then flush the toilet?
Or do you immediately flush the toilet and then rearrange your clothing?
I do the former and was told that it was 'the wrong way.'

Too much to see here

Today is Tuesday and even with a chance of rain in the forecast, I’m taking today off to try and do some errands and Menard’s shopping with BP.

Nothing much else to report.

Apolo Anton Ohno was good on DWTS last night.

A Surprise Gnome

Spidey*** sent me a wee Surprise Gnome!

He loves it in here in Indiana, and I love Spidey!

Thank you Miss Spidey!!

Clothes/books/$2.50 painting

We visited my sister but didn’t stay the night. After “babysitting” with my mother for a few days, my sis wanted and deserved her solitude.
Respighi’s right. LP came away with some clothes from Finish Line and Man Alive, and a Wii thingy. In fact both places (FL & MA) recognized us from out previous excursions and the two employees tripped over others to get to us first. They must get credit or commissions on sales.

We went to B&N and I got some magazines and two books:
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, A History by Lewis Buzbee
The Secret of Lost Things, by Sheridan Hay

Both are set in bookshops. One, a novel, the other non-fiction.

(At present I’m reading a fascinating non fiction book, The Wild Trees by Richard Preston—he wrote the thriller The Hot Zone. The Wild Trees is about the magnificent California redwoods. I’ll blog about it when I’m finished with it.)

I also got two large area rugs and two paintings. One painting would not ring up at the register and, after calling a supervisor and fiddling around with the sku, the supervisor told us that this painting had been on clearance awhile back and “wasn’t even supposed to be on the sales floor.” Huh? I told her that it was the only one like it that we saw. Anyway, she said she’d give it to me, “really cheap” because someone had screwed up putting it back out. TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS!! The rest of the art work was around eighty bucks.
Today is gorgeous outside, so after my coffee and toast I’m going outside to putter aound and try and talk BP into going to Menard’s with me for my annual haul of mulch and potting soil and other accoutrements.

Saturday

LP and I are going to my sister's for the day. We'll probably stay overnight. And, yes, we're goiing shopping. So don't hate.

Party Wrap

The birthday party was held at 3pm because we had to get some pesky work done. Refreshments: Chocolate cake and iced tea
Presents brought in to us: yesterday’s newspaper wrapped in newspaper, a box of Swingline staples, a thumbtack (yes, one thumbtack) and an old telephone cord someone had in the back of her desk drawer. No staplers in Jello.
Fun was had by all.

Clanky sent me this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJVclCaVxmM


Here’s the American version I her back to her:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMHv_D-3yso

On the Good Ship Lollipop

My staff has been all gloom and doom and depressed since (basically) last November when the Powers That Be decided to look at outsourcing our department. We’ve plotted and justified and spreadsheeted (I know that’s not a word) until we’re all bored to death about it. People just want to stop guessing and have it laid out. I find people can pretty much deal with a situation if you tell them the facts. When it’s left up to them, they start from the Worst Case Scenario. We’re supposed to get the word sometime in May.
Anyway yesterday I told my staff “Fuck it” (well, I didn’t use that exact phrase) “If we’re going down the pea patch (a Hoosier expression) we’re not going as Gloomy Guses, by golly.” (Do I sound like Shirley Temple in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm or what??) I told them yesterday that today we’re having a BIRTHDAY PARTY! “Whose birthday?” They asked.
DOES IT MATTER?? Hell, no! At least they laughed. So I’m bringing in cake and stuff and we’ll send out an email to join us for cake. Bring gifts. You can wrap up an office supply in letterhead if you like (or put it in Jello like Jim did Dwight’s stapler)—just bring something to cheer us up.

The artist in me

Soon, I am going to start to paint on canvas.
I am exploring my inner artist.
I will update you on the results.

Ha ha . . .good for Hillary

During a radio call-in on WOKQ-FM, Sen. Hillary Clinton was asked what the United States can do about Sanjaya Malakar, the television show's underdog candidate who critics say lacks any shred of talent. "That's the best question I've been asked in a long time," Clinton said. "Well, you know, people can vote for whomever they want. That's true in my election, and it's true on 'American Idol."'

Art

Meme's "Mackenzie Thorpe" picture vs a Pokemon Pikachu.

any difference? You decide

Manure Tea

1. The weather. The weather Gods are against me. I want to do stuff outside in my yarden (yard-garden, if you didn’t get that) but have been unable to. It’s been raining like Noah’s ark should be parked in the driveway.

2. I think I mentioned that I bought a Tumbleweed Compost Maker. I love it. I’ve been feeding it every day. The instructions say that it works faster with only grass clippings, but bullshit!—That’s wimpy. I’ve been doing shredded newspapers, old leaves, spent daffodil flowers, vegetable kitchen scraps. I had BP put it near the shed so when I go outside to the garage, I can tumble it. Every time I tumble it I chant:

Rumble, tumble, foil and fumble. I love you the most.
Rumble, tumble, foil and fumble, make some ass-kickin’ compost!

(I’m thinking about copyrighting that, so don’t rip it off!)

3. A woman who works with me has a horse. She loves her horse. I gave her a extra heavy duty contractor garbage bag and asked her to bring me some manure. She asked why. Haha. I told her that I wanted to make some mature tea for my plants. She retorted, “Sure, I’ve always wanted to give my boss some shit.” Ha ha again.

Recipe for manure tea:

Horse and/or cow shit
Water
Pantyhose


Put some horse manure into pantyhose (be prepared to not wear the pantyhose again) and tie it off.

Drop the package into a barrel of water and cover.

Steep the manure for a few days . . a week. . . .whatever.

Draw some of the tea and mix with an equal part of straight water. Water garden plants or container plants.

Good stuff

Meme's legs

We're supposed to get snow tomorrow. Where's Spring? I need to mow my lawn. The grass is longer than the hair on Meme's legs.

The Secret backfires

Spidey,
I know you don’t watch Boston Legal, but I just have to share.

Denny Crane is played by William Shatner
Allan Shore is played by Emma's-Lust-Man James Spader

Denny’s at his desk with his eyes closed. Allan walks into Denny's office:

Allan: Denny? Is something wrong?

No reply.

Allan: Denny!?

Denny: The Secret.

Allan: A Secret? You can tell me, we’re flamingos (long story)

Denny: No, not a secret. THE Secret. It’s all about the laws of attraction. I’m thinking of Raquel Welch. I think of Raquel Welch long enough, she will appear here and want me.

Long story short (hee hee) the last part of the episode, some guy says to Denny “there is a woman here to see you.”

Denny: Here to see me? Is she a celebrity? Sex symbol? Show her in!


In walks Phyllis Diller! hahahaha

Proclamation for Tuesday

1. Had my teeth cleaned today. My Dentist said everything looked good and she'll see me in six months.

2. It was Taco Day in the cafeteria--cause for celebration.


3. BP put together my Tumbleweeds Composter bin and it looks faaaahbulous. i can't wait for the wastes to get cookin'!

Catching hell

Yesterday at my sister's was fun, good food, an egg hunt for the little niece and nephew, but I caught Hell from LP for not making him an Easter Basket. Who knew the teenaged Gangsta man wanted a basket with eggs and a Chocolate Bunny?

Eggs/Spidey

I made the hard boiled eggs yesterday and didn't cook them long enough because when I went to drain them and roll them around in the pan to crack them up, it was a holy mess!!! Yuck. So I had to drive over to Kroger's and buy another dozen. The second time I cooked them longer, added vinegar to the water, etc. and they were perfect.
I looked up on Food TV website and here's what I put in the mixture: Mayo, spicy mustard, hot sauce, Woschestershire (sp) sauce, finely diced red onion, parsley, salt and pepper. It was very good.
I also went all Sandra Lee and put the mixture in a baggie, snipped off a corner and piped it into the whites. Eggscellent!
I also made the roasted shrimp and orzo salad and that's fire (fire is a good thing according to LP)

Thanks to Spidey for the Easter E card (she loves me---and it's ditto)
PS: Spidey, I found sixty dollars in a jacket pocket I was going to wear today!!

Happy Easter to you all.

Office Hilarity

There were some really hilarious bits in The Office last night:


1. Angela getting hot and wanting Dwight-saves-Jim recaps from everyone.

2. Michael accidentally cross-dressing—wearing a woman’s suit!!!!! SNORT!

3. Kelly wanting to name her child “Usher Jennifer Hudson Kapoor” SNORT!!!

4. Poor Toby’s face when Jan and Michael were negotiating.

5. Michael getting negotiating tips from Wikapedia! Haha. His “low talking”


Pretty good half hour—I’m sick of Pam’s wishy-washyness!!!

Oh, and I just found out that Rashida Jones’ (who plays Karen) parents in real life are Peggy Lipton and Quincy Jones. Duh. How did I miss that one?

Rudy/Sex/Politics

Ah, Rudy G (I can him Rudy G because I’m still not sure on how to spell G-u-i-l-a-n-i) says that the voters should focus on his record and not on his personal life--his marriages, affairs and estrangement from his son. Hmmm. That sounds familiar. Newt Gingrich says that he had “sinned” in his personal life—even when he was calling for Bill Clinton’s penis on a platter. Hmmm. The Evangelical preachers who hunt for the verboten HOMO SEX when preaching that homosexuality is a SIN. What about Mitt Romney? Will it come out that he has six wives all under the age of 15? Did John McCain father little Vietnamese chillin when he was in Hotel Hanoi? Is Hillary a lipstick Lez? Does Barack like a little S&M? Does John Edwards have a woman in every port? We all know that Fred “Law & Order” Thompson is a ladies man.
Are there voters out there who believe that a President should appear to have a good marriage and respectful, clean-cut All American kids? Have we ever had such a President? The only one in recent memory I can think of is Jimmy Carter and he, although a wonderful human being, by many accounts, was a shitty president.

Bob/Eggs

I'm reading Bob Newhart's I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This. Good so far.

We had many thunderstorms today but a beautiful sunset so I guess it evened out.

BP will be out of town, so LP and I are going over to my youngest sister's for Easter this Sunday. I'm bringing a roasted shrimp and orzo salad that The Barefoot Contessa made. And Connie wants me to bring the deviled eggs. Bah. I haven't made those in ages. Anyone have anything special she adds to the yolk mixture besides mayo and mustard and paprika?

And is it true that if you put the eggs into cold water, bring them to a boil, cover the pan and let them sit for 15 minutes, you'll get perfect hard boiled eggs? How about shelling them? Run them under cold water? I hate when the shells don't come off in a nice neat pretty way.

I suppose I'll have to go grocery shopping either Friday or Saturday.

Of blue-veined tits and amusement parks

Do people really have fun at amusement parks?
When I was down in Florida the person I went to the conference with and I took one day off and went to Universal Studios.
We went on The Cat in the Hat ride (wait was five minutes), another Suess ride (wait was 10 minutes) then we had lunch at Emeril’s restaurant where the woman at the next table whipped out her big blue-veined tit and nursed her baby. Am I offended by breastfeeding? No. Not discreet public breastfeeding. This woman made a display of whipping out her milky tit. Instead of sitting towards the wall where no other diner could have known what she was doing, she sat facing the entire restaurant and whipped it out. The manager was too much of a pussy to say anything to her. To his defense, she was probably one of those idiots who would have accused him of being “anti-motherhood.” I am not anti-motherhood. I’m anti- having to see a big blue-veined tit and a kid sucking on it when I’m trying to enjoy an overpriced lunch at Emeril’s.
Anyway, I digress. After lunch we waited sixty minutes to ride the Back to the Future ride which sucked and wasn’t worth 60 minutes of my life. My friend then wanted to wait another hour to ride this Earthquake ride, so I said I’d wait by this fake-warehouse building on a comfortable wooden bench while she rode on it. I enjoyed watching people’s faces and hearing snippets on their conversations. Their faces told me that they weren’t having fun. Even the kids were whining and snarling and so I figured out that Disney and Universal and Six Flags and King’s Island and all those other amusement parks are perpetuating a BIG LIE on the American Public. Their commercials promise smiling faces and grandparents having fun with bright-eyed children. But, in fact, it’s a BIG LIE.
I must be cursed because years and years ago when my sisters and I were at DisneyWorld waiting in the long ass line for It’s a Small World ride, another big, big woman a few people in front of us whipped out her tit and breastfed. Any man who is a “breast man” shouldn’t watch when a Big, big woman, or a woman with big blue-veined tits breastfeed their offspring.

The First of April

I won last night's Powerball jacket and will send each of you ten thousand dollars to do with what you wish. Email me at EmmaWrites@aol.com if you want money. You must post here in my comment section what you would do with the money I send.

I'm off to a secuded South Pacific isle to bask in the sun's warmth while a dark and swarthy canaba boy leisurely applies oil over my body.

My only worry now is whether to order the pina colada or the margarita.

Have fun and I'll see you on my return.

Larry Bud/Mowing/Prechopped garlic

If you’re a fan of the old David Letterman show on NBC, you’ll be sad to hear that Larry “Bud” Melman aka Calvert DeForest died a few days ago. He was very funny and I read that he really enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame on the Letterman show.

I cleaned and rearranged the living room and my computer desk yesterday. Today it’s on to my bill paying desk. It’s a mess.

It’s getting ready to pour here today. Today and tomorrow in fact. My neighbors on either side, and the ones across the street have already mowed their lawns! I refuse to mow in MARCH. In fact, I was out on the porch yesterday when I saw the nice neighbor, Bill, mowing. I waved my arms and he stopped. “IT’S TOO EARLY TO MOW!!! IT’S MARCH!!”
He laughed, “But it’s supposed to rain all weekend! I want to get it done.”
Me: “Phewtttttt!”

I didn’t make any coffee this morning, and I could really use some caffeine.

My daffodils and hyacinths look spectacular, I must say.

When I was cleaning my computer area I found a five bucks Starbucks card. I put it in my wallet but I don’t really care for their coffee, it’s too strong and bitter.

Schell, have you ever seen Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller? She looks like you. I don’t like her show, because she uses PRECHOPPED, JARRED GARLIC! No matter how pressed for time someone is, there is always time to chop a freaking clove of garlic! That prechopped stuff is crap and tastes like chemicals.

Same thing with that know-nothing, big-breasted Barbie doll Sandra Lee. I hate her. She uses lemon juice from a bottle! Good God . . is nothing scared? If you have a cooking show . . . . squeeze a real fucking lemon!
Anyway, while I deplore her methods, Robin Miller reminds me of Schell.

Dirty House/Insurance/Lost

When I got back from Orlando, BP, LP and my brother had replaced the ugly green carpet in the living room and front room with Cherry Sienna laminate wood flooring and I love it! They had a helluva time getting the carpet’s backing up—it had pretty much turned to cement. That carpet must have been there since the 70’s. Yuck.

Anyway, they did a wonderful job on the flooring but the rest of the house was a mess! The bathroom. The kitchen. So I took today off and I’m going to rearrange furniture and throw shitloads of trash away, clean my computer area, clean my bill-paying desk and do laundry and clean the bathroom. How’s that for a fun Friday.

We also got some refinancing on our house and the house I owned prior marriage to BP, so I have to visit my friendly insurance agent (he’s really a nice guy—for an insurance agent) and get insurance since the home insurance isn’t going to escrow/mortgage company route anymore.

What else? Oh, if I have time I’m going to watch my Grissom sometime since I taped CSI last night.

A shout out to Spidey since she emailed me info on Elliot Yamin’s new CD. I loved him last year on American Idol and he’s the only Idol whose CD I’d ever consider buying. I’ll get it soon.

LP has Spring Break next week and I guess he’s going to be hanging around the house.

WTF was that with Nikki and Paulo on Lost on Wednesday? (I love the way Sawyer always asked “Who are you??”---my sentiments exactly) How are they advancing the storyline? Are they going to crawl out of their graves? Note to people who find my “dead” body: Wait at least 8 hours before embalming and/or burying me.

Back from Flo

Here are some Headlines:

--Weather was beautiful.

--Rosen Shingle Creek is a beautiful facility. They have a cool 1.25 mile Nature Trail and we saw heron and egrets and snakes, oh my. I felt just like Toohot hiking the Applachian (sp) Trail!

--My room had a whirlpool spa tub. It would have helped Schell's back.

--I heard/met/saw Frank McCourt!! He's bright, witty and funny. He spoke about his 26 years teaching in the NYC school system. We all received copies of his Teacher Man book. He has a children's book coming out in October. "My publisher suggested that I write a children's book. I said why not. It can't be that hard. (he rolls his eyes) Even Madonna's written a children's book, by God."

--During my five day stay I consumed 2 glasses of red wine, one glass of white wine, one cosmopolitan and one bloody Mary, which is more alcohol than I've had in all of 2006 combined. While I got the wine for free, the cost of the last two drinks cost more than the GNP of several small countries.

--I do NOT want to go to work today and do travel reimbursement papers. It's a bunch of tedious shit.

--I was not on or near a computer for five days, and I enjoyed it.

--Clanky is a two faced British Ho. On my blog she said she'd miss me more that Meme, and on Meme's blog she said the opposite. Mean, mean, mean!!

Gone for five days

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Orlando so this will be my last blog entry for about a week. I checked on weather.com to see the 10-day conditions in Orlando and it's supposed to be in the 80's and partly sunny (or partly cloudy if you're Eeyore.)

We applied for our passports yesterday. Awful, awful pictures. "We" meaning BP and me. LP refused to go because "I don't want to go to England! What's there for me to do in London?!" (I even told him that, based on Meme and Clanky, English girls are loose and whorish and he maybe get lucky over there.) Sigh. After about 30 minutes of this I refused to argue anymore and we left. So, Spidey, when I decide to go to England with my husband, I'm dropping LP off at your door for the duration! Or maybe I'll give him to Schell. Or to the Nagual.

I watched the first episode of the new Dancing With the Stars. That was two hours I'll never get back, and Heather McCartney's leg didn't even fly off! What a disappointment!

I finished The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and really enjoyed it. I want Schell and Spidey to read it. There have been many books like this before: A You Can Have It All type book, but it's done with fresh eyes. The premise is basically this: The Universe is boundless and anything you can imagine can be yours. It's the Power of Positive Thinking meets the book Now. It's not for those analytical thinkers, it's more of a feeling book, and naysayers are not welcomed. After applying the principals in the book, you can attract wealth, health, a mate, love . . whatever. Couldn't hurt. I want LP to read it. Whether or not he does, remains to be seen.

Have a good week. See you soon.

Why did I take off a few days from work? I come back and the work's still piled on my desk.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!/Dream

Top ‘o the morning to you and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Yesterday I dug out two overgrown lavender plants and today I have to cut back my ornamental grasses and that should be the end of my clean up.
------------------------------

I had a strange dream last night. It was not exactly cohesive, more like little vignettes strung together:

--There was a huge barn, almost empty. Apparently people had to move. Huge wooden beams exposed in the ceiling and there was a shiny brass lock on the door. I was fiddling with the lock and it came apart in my hands and I remember thinking, “Oh crap, I broke it.” But on the air appeared a map to follow to fix it. I usually hate reading directions, but I did, and repaired the lock.

--I was outside and glanced up in the air and saw this beautiful big Black woman standing up in an open chariot. I remember she was wearing a flowing red and yellow, sort of Asian-looking, gown. She was the most stunning thing I had ever seen. Two other people were with her: One was driving the chariot and the other was holding onto her legs. When they landed she was screaming excitedly that she had won the Miss America pageant. She hugged me so hard and asked if I wanted to work for her.

--I was inside of my house, in the backroom and two gigantic men came through the back door and the cat jumped up on one and they were both so interested in her, they had never seen a cat before and I said, “You need to give her back to me. She not used to you. And you need to leave my house. You don’t have permission to be here.” They smiled and handed back Miss Kiks and left.


--BP and I were riding bicycles down this very winding lane and came upon this really beautiful house. Except for grass, it was totally devoid of plantings and I said to him, “That house would be perfect with some trees, shrubs and other landscaping.” And he said, “And it needs a water feature and some bicycles or a few children’s toys out in front to show some signs of life. And all those things suddenly appeared before our eyes, and this place looked magnificent.

"Where are you Kiki Marie?!!"

Yesterday we had a violent lightning/thunderstorm which lasted from about 6pm into the night. I swear we got 2 to 3 inches of rain. Anyway around 8 LP asked me where the cat was. I didn't know so, we started looking for her. We looked EVERYWHERE. She wouldn't come when we called. She wouldn't come when I shook her food dish. She wouldn't come when BP open and shut the baseement door (she loves to go exploring down there when he goes down there to smoke.) She wouldn'e come when I sprayed room deodorizer (she always comes out from wherever she is when an aerosol can is sprayed.)
I got the sinking feeling she may have run past LP when he opened the front door when he came home at 7. She's done that before but she always just jumps up on the bench to get a good view of my birdfeeders. I looked outside on the porch. No cat. I called. No cat. I looked around the house (as far as I could without getting wet.) No cat.
Then BP called out that he found her. We had looked under every piece of furniture in the house except the green chair in the living room. BP lifted the chair and there she was looking scared as hell. She slunk slow and low away until I scooped her up. That thunder must have scared the bejezus out out of her. Poor lil Kiki Marie.

-----

After being in the 70s yesterday, this morning it's COLD outside! But the rain's supposed to stop sometime this afternoon. Good!

I'm taking today and tomorrow off of work. Next week I'm leaving for a business trip to Orlando and I'll be gone for five days.

Weather/Clean Up Work

It was absolutely beautiful weather here today! I left work at noon and worked in my yard most of the afternoon.
I dug up a five year old hyssop bush.
I dug up a five foot wide patch of catmint. I saved a bit to maybe transplant elsewhere later.
I dug up some Sedum Autumn Joy to transplant elsewhere.
I cut back coneflowers and my seven foot tall Buddelia.
I raked some fall leaves from the beds.
I raked smooth all bare areas. Planting time, I'll put in some red daylilies (I don't care for them, but BP likes them so I'll make a space.) A few weeks ago I also bought some elephant ears and some cannas (for the hummers) that I have no idea where I'll put but I 'll work them in somewhere.
I'll probably feel all that digging in my legs, butt and back tomorrow.

List of things to buy before May:
I need at least one new lavender plant.
Several bags of potting/top soil.
Several bags of pine bark mulch.
Herbs: lots of flat leaf parsley, rosemary, thyme, and two or three different basils (not the ball less English Basil we all know and love!) pineapple sage and some mint.
Lots of container/bedding plants.

BP has also (reluctantly) agreed to put in a paver path for me from the backdoor out to the shed. LP doesn't know it yet but he'll be happy to assist with the digging and hauling.

An Homage to Dead Comics (Part 1)

Mitch Hedberg:

--When you go to a restaurant on the weekends and it's busy so they start a waiting list, they say, "Dufrenes, party of two, table ready for Dufrenes, party of two." And if no one answers they'll say the name again: "Dufrenes, party of two." But then if no one answers, they'll move on to the next name. "Bush, party of three." Yeah, but what happened to the Dufrenes? No one seems to care. Who can eat at a time like this? People are missing. You people are selfish. The Dufrenes are in someone's trunk right now, with duct tape over their mouths. And they're hungry. That's a double whammy. We need help. "Bush, search party of three. You can eat once you find the Dufrenes."

--I hate turkeys. If you stand in the meat section at the grocery store long enough, you start to get mad at turkeys. There's turkey ham, turkey bologna, turkey pastromi. Some one needs to tell the turkey, "Man, just be yourself." I used to draw you.

--Every book is a children's book if the kid can read!


--I hate turtlenecks. Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy. All day. Like, if you wear a turtleneck and a backpack, it's like a weak midget trying to bring you down.

--If carrots got you drunk rabbits would be fucked up.

--I bought a doughnut, and they gave me a receipt. There is no need for that, man. I'll just give you the money, you give me the doughnut. End of transaction. We do not need to bring ink and paper into this. I cannot imagine a situation in which I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. Some skeptical friend: "Hey man! Don't even act like I didn't buy that doughnut! I got the documentation right here...damn...I forgot it at home... it's in the filing cabinet...under D...for doughnut."



Richard Jeni:

“I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough, let's go west.'”



Sam Kinison:

--There's no happy ending to cocaine. You either die, you go to jail, or else you run out.

--Jesus had a tough life. I read about that guy. Jesus is the only guy that ever came back from the dead that didn't scare the Fuck out of everybody!



Lenny Bruce:

--A lot of people say to me, "Why did you kill Christ?" "I dunno... it was one of those parties, got out of hand, you know." "We killed him because he didn't want to become a doctor, that's why we killed him."

--I hate small towns because once you've seen the cannon in the park there's nothing else to do.

--If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses.

Spring Forward/Blogger/Early Digging

Daylight Savings Time. Blech. I've changed four clocks, have several more to do plus my VCR. Please. Someone remind me to do this before I want to tape something.

After many many months on Blogger, I finally figured out how to put my own links on the page. Applaude me. My tip would be: If you 're going to do a lot of links, periodically save the template, because sooner or later you'll forget and nagivate away from that page and OOPS your changes and hard work will disappear.

It looks absolutely gorgeous ouside today. Here's my problem: I want to dig up a butt load of catmint and a ratty overgrown hyssop plant/bush and replace them with some other stuff. I want to do the digging now because the grounds been so wet that I figure they'll come out easier. But I don't know if I want to go through the hassle just yet. Really, I have to go to Menard's first and get some big bags of soil. So there's my problem.

Oh! Yesterday I bought a 2007 Farmer's Almanac Seasonal Gardening Guide and it has some good articles: Luther Burbank and His Passion for Plants, Global Warming and Your Garden, The Enchanted--and Enchanting-World of GARDEN GNOMES, The Queen of Herbs (I'll let you guess what it is. Hint: It's one of my favorites.) It was $4.99 well spent.

333 is Attractive

I’ve had my snack of stick pretzels and water. My hair is dirty (I’ll wash it tomorrow.) I’m wearing an orange t-shirt and black shorts to bed (very Halloween colors.)

I placed a BN order, among other things, I ordered the hot new Rhonda Byrne book The Secret. I ordered it and didn’t even see her on Oprah. So there. Supposedly The Secret is based of the principle of attraction. People who put out good thoughts, receive back from the Universe. Something like that. I’ll let you know more after it arrives and I’ve read it.
I looked it up on the Internet and apparently some people are calling this thing “cultish.” It doesn’t sound like the definition of a cult. What’s wrong with putting out positive energy? Seeing the glass half full. Looking on the bright side of life. Being happy with the green grass on your own side of the fence. Letting a smile be your umbrella.
I guess I’d rather pay for a book like that, than pay money to a TV preacher who threatens that God will call him home if he doesn’t raise X number of dollars by such-and-such a date. Don’t the evangelicals preach that if you give them, say, one thousand dollars that the Lord will repay you sevenfold? Or is it seven times seventy? I get my sevens mixed up.

Isn’t seven a magical number? Asians think the number eight is lucky.

We discussed this awhile back:

Daniel Paul Tammet is a British autistic savant gifted with a facility for mathematics problems, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy.
Experiencing numbers as colors or sensations is a well-documented form of synesthesia, but Tammet is unique in how specific and detailed his mental imagery of numbers is. He claims that in his mind each number, up to 10,000, has its own unique shape and feel, and he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite and "see" results of calculations as landscapes in his mind. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful.
Tammet holds the European record for memorizing and recounting pi to 22,514 digits in just over five hours. This sponsored charity challenge was held in aid of the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) on “Pi Day,” 14 March 2004 at the Museum of the History of Science,Oxford, UK. The NSE was chosen to benefit from this event because of Daniel's experience with epilepsy as a young child. Professor Allan Snyder at the Australian National University said of Tammet: “Savants can't usually tell us how they do what they do. It just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That's why he's exciting. He could be the ‘Rosetta Stone.’”

False Prophet and John Paul

Pope Benny calls Dylan a false prophet. I hate Pope Benny. He's an ultra conservative in-a world-of-Conservatives Catholic. At least Pope John Paul met with all kinds of people . . Jews, Muslims, Hindus. He didn't proselytze (sp?) He was kind of a Live and Let Live Pope (especially fetuses--rofl)--not like this boy Benny. Blech. Aint no one gonna diss Bob to me! He doesn't make himself out as anything other than a singer-poet-songwriter . . what others think of him doesn't concern him. A good example to follow.

I tried to embed "The Cost of War" statistics in my blog again. I wanted it to show up under my profile to the right of the screen, but I could only get it to show up at the very bottom of my blog. Oh, well.

Doc/Vet

Yesterday was a busy one.

I worked until noon, then took LP to the doctor's office. He's been having sinus headaches and I wanted to make sure he didn't have an infection. He doesn't. The doctor said I could give him a Sinutab or a over-the-counter Claritin every day. I don't/won't do this. He doesn't have trouble every day, so why medicate him every day? I should have saved the 50 bucks.

Then I took Nesta (who I call Miss Kiki Marie more than I call her Nesta) to the vet's to get her annual rabies shot. She HATES that carrier and wails all the way to the doc's office. I talked and cooed to her. This cat never meows/wails unless she's in that carrier. Poor kitty. Doc says she's healthy and fully grown at seven pounds. He said "Some cats are fat; some are skinny." Hm. Words of wisdom. It was the fastest vet visit ever. We were in and out of there in under ten minutes--and that includes the time it took me to write a check! Miss Kiki Marie was glad when we returned home, and promptly ran into LP's room and up on his bed.