I'm telling you, they are following me around!
This morning at work, Mike and I were in his office discussing the upcoming day when all of a sudden . . . BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Something was running across the tin roof of the building, right over our heads! To be honest, it sounded like the size of an elephant at least!
Mike and I went running outside to see what we could see. We went over to the corner of the building where the sound seemed to be going. I walked back towards the road, to get a far away look at that roof, afraid of getting to close to anything jumping off of the roof! Mike stayed closer to the building. I am not stupid! I'll see if he gets bitten first! Since he seemed safe, I finally walked closer to the building.
As we went around to the side of the building, suddenly again, BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM SCREECH BOOM BOOM SCREECH SCREECH BOOM BOOM BOOM. The critter was definitely inside the building, running across the eaves. You could see the eaves bouncing with every step that thing made. I'm not sure what the screeching was about but holy crap, someone was not having a good day.
A few months back we had a possum nesting up in the rafters or drop ceiling or whatever. I guess before the possum, there was a raccoon up there. My uneducated opinion is that it's a raccoon just because for as much as the eaves were bouncing from the weight of whatever running up there, it seemed to be a lot bigger than a squirrel.
I know one of the drop ceiling tiles in my office is missing. I already warned Mike that if some creature drops out of my ceiling and into my office, I'm outta there! I was not comforted when Mike said that it would be his dust I was eating on the way out of the office if that happened! I feel so safe now!
Stay tuned. I'm on my way to plethora for sure.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
A Plethora Of Dead Rodents
Ok, I don't know if two dead rodents really qualify for a "plethora" but when it's my blog, I reserve the right to some poetic license!
About a week ago, I left the house in the morning to head to work. The garage is detached from the house, and the area to the left of the garage, which is behind the house, is the parking pad for the guys.
As I was walking back to the garage to get into my car, I looked to my left and on the parking pad behind where the guys park, I saw something. I honestly said to myself, "self, that leaf over there looks like a mouse. You better go look!"
That's the last time I listen to my self.
Sure enough, I walked up to what I thought was the leaf and yes, it was a dead mouse. UGH! Without going into too much detail, this damn mouse did not die of natural causes. There was definitely evidence of cat intervention. Or maybe werewolf. Something like that.
I did what I do best: As soon as I got in the car, I called Ron who was in the house and told him about my latest nightmare. As always, he told me to not worry about it, he'd take care of it. And, that's exactly what he did. I don't need to know any more about this!
Thank you, honey!
Although, Ron did mention that since I used to feed the neighborhood cats in front of my garage, perhaps this was a "gift" from one of the local cats, hinting that they would like me to open up the feed bag again. I kinda slacked off once the cold weather went away. My bad, sorry.
Now we come to Monday morning, going to work. I am just down the road from work. I am driving, minding my own business, when what do I see out of my left eye? A kamikaze squirrel! Holy crap, he was headed straight for ME!
I did what I could, but I hit him any way. Ugh, I can't believe that a little one pound squirrel could be felt going under the wheel of a Honda Accord. Who knew? Not only did I feel the bump, but I could hear his little bones. Eww, I can still hear it in my head!
Before you think that maybe I just winged him, I did look behind me and trust me, that squirrel was done cracking nuts. Not a good way to start any day, let alone a Monday.
So I hope this is the end of my dead rodent streak. Alive or dead - I'd prefer they just stay far, far away from me.
About a week ago, I left the house in the morning to head to work. The garage is detached from the house, and the area to the left of the garage, which is behind the house, is the parking pad for the guys.
As I was walking back to the garage to get into my car, I looked to my left and on the parking pad behind where the guys park, I saw something. I honestly said to myself, "self, that leaf over there looks like a mouse. You better go look!"
That's the last time I listen to my self.
Sure enough, I walked up to what I thought was the leaf and yes, it was a dead mouse. UGH! Without going into too much detail, this damn mouse did not die of natural causes. There was definitely evidence of cat intervention. Or maybe werewolf. Something like that.
I did what I do best: As soon as I got in the car, I called Ron who was in the house and told him about my latest nightmare. As always, he told me to not worry about it, he'd take care of it. And, that's exactly what he did. I don't need to know any more about this!
Thank you, honey!
Although, Ron did mention that since I used to feed the neighborhood cats in front of my garage, perhaps this was a "gift" from one of the local cats, hinting that they would like me to open up the feed bag again. I kinda slacked off once the cold weather went away. My bad, sorry.
Now we come to Monday morning, going to work. I am just down the road from work. I am driving, minding my own business, when what do I see out of my left eye? A kamikaze squirrel! Holy crap, he was headed straight for ME!
I did what I could, but I hit him any way. Ugh, I can't believe that a little one pound squirrel could be felt going under the wheel of a Honda Accord. Who knew? Not only did I feel the bump, but I could hear his little bones. Eww, I can still hear it in my head!
Before you think that maybe I just winged him, I did look behind me and trust me, that squirrel was done cracking nuts. Not a good way to start any day, let alone a Monday.
So I hope this is the end of my dead rodent streak. Alive or dead - I'd prefer they just stay far, far away from me.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Holiday Weekend
Hi! Remember me? I know, I know. I've sucked at blogging lately. But the good news/bad news is that I've kept notes on what I wanted to blog about! I just couldn't get my butt in gear and sit here to do the writing!
So, let's just start and get one out of the way. This is the recap of our holiday weekend over Memorial Day.
Saturday, May 29th, was Phil's birthday. When it's your birthday, you should be able to get what you want for dinner. That's always been the policy in our family. Phil chose his favorite dinner, meatloaf! Ok, as a big fan of my meatloaf myself, I was happy to oblige.
We ate our fill of some awesome meatloaf and even brother Mike was able to make it for dinner. We had a nice dinner, nice family time. Happy Birthday, Phil!
Ron and I finally got back into bocce on Sunday! We hadn't played at all last year so it was a beautiful morning and the bocce balls were dying to get a little action.
We started a game in our back yard but the grass was too high to play. That dang little white ball gets lost so easily in tall grass! So we picked up our balls and headed down to Lakeview Park. They have an honest to goodness bocce court at the park! I've always said I wanted to go down there to play but we've never done it before.
It's so much different playing on the artificial turf at the park instead of our very VERY uneven back yard. For example, when I take my turn, it takes almost everything in me to get the ball to roll across my yard. Between the ups and downs and the high grass etc. it makes it interesting to aim the bocce balls. On the artificial turf, one good roll and the ball went off of the court! Who knew I had that kind of strength! A different way to play but I'm telling you, I was in my element. I actually beat Ron (kicked his butt!) for the second time only since we've been playing. It was a darn good day and as you can tell, I'm still bragging about it.
Our Monday was quiet. I filled my day doing seven loads of laundry and a bunch of crocheting. Neither activity came out exactly like I wanted. The crocheting was disappointing. I was having a major brain fart and ended up ripping out a row, then doing the row over plus three more rows. It was then that I noticed that I picked up the wrong color EXACTLY where I had started. Aargh! All of that work for nothing! That seems to be the way I crochet though. One step forward, two steps back. I am so the champ at ripping out.
I tore apart our bed and did all the bedding while I was doing laundry. Nothing better than a nice fresh bed! If I'd have only had the oomph to wash the windows in the bedroom I would have been complete! Maybe next weekend.
So, there is the update on our Memorial Day weekend. I know, that probably wasn't worth waiting for! But again, I have my notes so I should be able to get y'all caught up pretty quickly on our exciting life! Hey, it's my story, I can spin it any way I want to!
Before I go, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROTHER JIM!!! Sorry I couldn't celebrate with you today, but you were in the thoughts. I hope you had a great birthday!!
So, let's just start and get one out of the way. This is the recap of our holiday weekend over Memorial Day.
Saturday, May 29th, was Phil's birthday. When it's your birthday, you should be able to get what you want for dinner. That's always been the policy in our family. Phil chose his favorite dinner, meatloaf! Ok, as a big fan of my meatloaf myself, I was happy to oblige.
We ate our fill of some awesome meatloaf and even brother Mike was able to make it for dinner. We had a nice dinner, nice family time. Happy Birthday, Phil!
Ron and I finally got back into bocce on Sunday! We hadn't played at all last year so it was a beautiful morning and the bocce balls were dying to get a little action.
We started a game in our back yard but the grass was too high to play. That dang little white ball gets lost so easily in tall grass! So we picked up our balls and headed down to Lakeview Park. They have an honest to goodness bocce court at the park! I've always said I wanted to go down there to play but we've never done it before.
It's so much different playing on the artificial turf at the park instead of our very VERY uneven back yard. For example, when I take my turn, it takes almost everything in me to get the ball to roll across my yard. Between the ups and downs and the high grass etc. it makes it interesting to aim the bocce balls. On the artificial turf, one good roll and the ball went off of the court! Who knew I had that kind of strength! A different way to play but I'm telling you, I was in my element. I actually beat Ron (kicked his butt!) for the second time only since we've been playing. It was a darn good day and as you can tell, I'm still bragging about it.
Our Monday was quiet. I filled my day doing seven loads of laundry and a bunch of crocheting. Neither activity came out exactly like I wanted. The crocheting was disappointing. I was having a major brain fart and ended up ripping out a row, then doing the row over plus three more rows. It was then that I noticed that I picked up the wrong color EXACTLY where I had started. Aargh! All of that work for nothing! That seems to be the way I crochet though. One step forward, two steps back. I am so the champ at ripping out.
I tore apart our bed and did all the bedding while I was doing laundry. Nothing better than a nice fresh bed! If I'd have only had the oomph to wash the windows in the bedroom I would have been complete! Maybe next weekend.
So, there is the update on our Memorial Day weekend. I know, that probably wasn't worth waiting for! But again, I have my notes so I should be able to get y'all caught up pretty quickly on our exciting life! Hey, it's my story, I can spin it any way I want to!
Before I go, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROTHER JIM!!! Sorry I couldn't celebrate with you today, but you were in the thoughts. I hope you had a great birthday!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Not The Way To Start A Day
I've had a few rough days this past week.
I came down with a case of creeping cruds last week and come Monday, I thought I was just starting anew. Boy was I wrong!
I started my Monday with my yearly (a few years late this time) girlie doctor appointment.
Ok, let's talk here. I've recently changed doctors and while I really like him, this was his first time meeting my girlie parts. I don't care who you are, the first appointment is a tough one. Gentle or not gentle. Is he going to comment that I didn't shave my legs? (Don't judge me! I shaved my pits for crying out loud. That should be enough for anyone!)
As a side note here and as a public service announcement for anyone that might not agree with my opinion. And keep in mind, this is only my opinion.
If you need a doctor to look at your girlie parts, pick a man doctor. Women doctors suck at examining women. Wait. I have a theory over here as to why they suck! They've had internal exams. They probably have had children. So, they know exactly what you're going through and they are NOT gentle about it. I believe that in their minds, they are hearing an internal dialog that sounds something like "suck it up, bitch. Worse than this has gone in and or out of here". Yeah. It's ugly.
I say you need a man down there. He has no clue what a speculum feels like being shoved up your wahoo. The only thing he can liken this appointment to is his yearly prostate exam. Yeah. He's MUCH more gentle with your nether regions. I've had three women doctors in my day and at least that many men. I'll take a man thinking about his prostate exam over a woman who's birthed a 13 pound watermelon any day. Now I'm off of my soap box.
That's how Monday started. On the good news side here, I got the results back from my Pap. Negative! That's the exact word you want to hear when it comes to a Pap. Negative. All is good in my world, or at least with my cervix.
As a reward for making it through Monday, Ron and I went for dinner with our friends, Larry and Linda. We went, had a nice dinner and then Larry dropped us off at our door. He even pulled up under the overhang so that I could get out and not get wet in the rain! How awesome is that?! Unfortunately, I was too excited about getting out of the car and not getting wet that I let a few things slide.
For instance, the first thing Tuesday morning, I'm in the kitchen putting coffee on when my phone rang. It's not usually a good way to start the morning with a ringing phone at 7:00 am. Something is wrong.
I grabbed my phone and saw it was my friend Linda. I couldn't imagine the bad thing she was going to tell me. What she told me was that as she was getting ready to leave for work, looked in the back of her car and what did she see? MY PURSE! Aargh, I'm still not used to having to carry a freakin' purse.
So, what to do. She doesn't have time to run it over so we agreed that she would leave it on her back porch and I would head right over to retrieve the purse. Let me tell you, I've never gotten ready so fast! I drove to her house as carefully, but quickly, as I could. Sure enough, there was my purse. Wow. I about had a heart attack thinking of what could have happened in the few minutes that my purse was unattended! I trust no one. So, my purse is back in my possession, where it belongs.
As I was working Tuesday, I started to think about what a tough couple of days. I know most people probably have had much bigger problems in their days, but for me, this was a tough couple of days! How to make up for this? BINGO!
I called Ron and asked if he'd be interested in a rousing game of Bingo at one of the local churches. Ron was all about it! We talked Phil into it and the three of us headed to Bingo as soon as I got home.
This was the BEST decision I've made in a long time! I was the BIG winner of the night, walking out with my $525 in winnings! What a freakin' windfall!!! My first thought was to put it to good use, like on bills. Then, I came back to my senses and decided that found money should be blown!
Wednesday, I headed to one of my favorite stores, Bed, Bath & Beyond and I went crazy! The next post will be the booty! I have pictures and everything!
I came down with a case of creeping cruds last week and come Monday, I thought I was just starting anew. Boy was I wrong!
I started my Monday with my yearly (a few years late this time) girlie doctor appointment.
Ok, let's talk here. I've recently changed doctors and while I really like him, this was his first time meeting my girlie parts. I don't care who you are, the first appointment is a tough one. Gentle or not gentle. Is he going to comment that I didn't shave my legs? (Don't judge me! I shaved my pits for crying out loud. That should be enough for anyone!)
As a side note here and as a public service announcement for anyone that might not agree with my opinion. And keep in mind, this is only my opinion.
If you need a doctor to look at your girlie parts, pick a man doctor. Women doctors suck at examining women. Wait. I have a theory over here as to why they suck! They've had internal exams. They probably have had children. So, they know exactly what you're going through and they are NOT gentle about it. I believe that in their minds, they are hearing an internal dialog that sounds something like "suck it up, bitch. Worse than this has gone in and or out of here". Yeah. It's ugly.
I say you need a man down there. He has no clue what a speculum feels like being shoved up your wahoo. The only thing he can liken this appointment to is his yearly prostate exam. Yeah. He's MUCH more gentle with your nether regions. I've had three women doctors in my day and at least that many men. I'll take a man thinking about his prostate exam over a woman who's birthed a 13 pound watermelon any day. Now I'm off of my soap box.
That's how Monday started. On the good news side here, I got the results back from my Pap. Negative! That's the exact word you want to hear when it comes to a Pap. Negative. All is good in my world, or at least with my cervix.
As a reward for making it through Monday, Ron and I went for dinner with our friends, Larry and Linda. We went, had a nice dinner and then Larry dropped us off at our door. He even pulled up under the overhang so that I could get out and not get wet in the rain! How awesome is that?! Unfortunately, I was too excited about getting out of the car and not getting wet that I let a few things slide.
For instance, the first thing Tuesday morning, I'm in the kitchen putting coffee on when my phone rang. It's not usually a good way to start the morning with a ringing phone at 7:00 am. Something is wrong.
I grabbed my phone and saw it was my friend Linda. I couldn't imagine the bad thing she was going to tell me. What she told me was that as she was getting ready to leave for work, looked in the back of her car and what did she see? MY PURSE! Aargh, I'm still not used to having to carry a freakin' purse.
So, what to do. She doesn't have time to run it over so we agreed that she would leave it on her back porch and I would head right over to retrieve the purse. Let me tell you, I've never gotten ready so fast! I drove to her house as carefully, but quickly, as I could. Sure enough, there was my purse. Wow. I about had a heart attack thinking of what could have happened in the few minutes that my purse was unattended! I trust no one. So, my purse is back in my possession, where it belongs.
As I was working Tuesday, I started to think about what a tough couple of days. I know most people probably have had much bigger problems in their days, but for me, this was a tough couple of days! How to make up for this? BINGO!
I called Ron and asked if he'd be interested in a rousing game of Bingo at one of the local churches. Ron was all about it! We talked Phil into it and the three of us headed to Bingo as soon as I got home.
This was the BEST decision I've made in a long time! I was the BIG winner of the night, walking out with my $525 in winnings! What a freakin' windfall!!! My first thought was to put it to good use, like on bills. Then, I came back to my senses and decided that found money should be blown!
Wednesday, I headed to one of my favorite stores, Bed, Bath & Beyond and I went crazy! The next post will be the booty! I have pictures and everything!
Friday, May 07, 2010
I Got A Hobby
Everyone needs a hobby. My friend Linda recently got me started on a new one.
Did you know that there is a whole sweep staking world out there? Once you start looking, they are everywhere! There are publications devoted to nothing but sweeping. There are meetings (I just went to my first one last Sunday!), there are even conventions. I kid you not, it's a whole new world out there!
How many receipts do you get in a week that asks you to go to a website, answer a few questions, and then you're eligible for a prize. I am ALL over it now!
Between the publication, (yes I caved and subscribed to one) the networking and just what I find on my own, this is turning into quite an adventure all on it's own!
As with everything though, there is good and bad. Let's start with the bad.
I first started this hobby back at the end of January. I got one issue of a publication from my friend Linda and I went to town. Some things you can enter on line. Others have to be by mail. Sweep staking fits so into my CDO (obsessive compulsive disorder, but in alphabetical order, the way it should be) because sweeping is full of rules.
For on line, some things you can enter as many times as you want. Others are specific about once per day, once per month, etc. The same goes for mail in entries. All want specific information, and everyone wants something different. This information can be on any paper, or it MUST be on a 3x5 piece of PAPER (no cards, please!) or a 3-1/2 x 5 piece of paper, or some specifically want unlined card stock! Others even specify what kind/size envelopes that they will accept. It's crazy the hoops they make you jump through to enter a sweepstakes! But baby, are they talking to the right person to jump through hoops! I live for hoops!
I draw the line at trying to find 3-1/2 x anything. I also will not enter any sweeps that specifically want entries on a postcard. As much as I love postcards, I'm not buying them for sweepstakes. A girls gotta have her limits. So, postage stamps, envelopes, 3x5 cards AND 3x5 paper in hand, I sit at my desk and start sweeping. It's mentally calming, almost Zen like.
The online entries can get to me after awhile. Especially after what happened during my first few weeks of sweeping.
I entered an online sweeps through Disney for a seven day cruise! Why not? Free is SO my price! Early the following week, I got a call on my cell phone. Since it's the only phone I have, that is the number I have to give out. The lady that called me said "I'm calling you because you've entered a sweepstakes for a Disney Cruise over the weekend. Do you remember entering?"
Do I remember! Holy crap, I about peed my pants! I stood right up at my desk, ready to show all the sweepers about my beginner's luck and winning my FIRST cruise! I told her of course I remember entering that sweepstakes! I was holding my breath waiting for her to tell me that I won that cruise!
That didn't happen. The bitch was just calling me to tell me about all the terrific prices they had on cruises. C'mon lady, if I could afford to buy my passage, I would. There is a reason I'm trying to WIN one instead of BUYING one. Grr. She had my blood pressure through the roof for nothing! I told her I was at work and I couldn't talk besides I had no interest in purchasing a cruise.
I gotta tell you, I was disappointed in Disney for that one. To date, that has been the only phone call I've received from giving my number out on all of these sweeps.
Now on to the great part of sweeping! WINNING!!!
Last Friday, I came home from work and the mail was on the dining room table. Right there on top was an envelope for ME and it came from ePrize! I know ePrize! I've sent many an envelope to them for various sweepstakes entries! Woo hoo! I knew I won something!
I ripped open the envelope and sure enough, enclosed was a check for $10.00!!! Yes, ten whole dollars! Plus a coupon for a free box of Total cereal (that was a $4.59 value! ) since the contest was sponsored by Total Healthy Wealthy and Wise Sweepstakes!
A winner! I am finally a winner!
Scoff if you must at my $10.00 check. But I'll take it! Now, don't bother me tonight. I have entries to fill out and get in envelopes for mailings next week. Who knows when the next check will appear on my dining room table!
And, if you're lucky, I'll send you a postcard from my free cruise that I'm going to win!
Did you know that there is a whole sweep staking world out there? Once you start looking, they are everywhere! There are publications devoted to nothing but sweeping. There are meetings (I just went to my first one last Sunday!), there are even conventions. I kid you not, it's a whole new world out there!
How many receipts do you get in a week that asks you to go to a website, answer a few questions, and then you're eligible for a prize. I am ALL over it now!
Between the publication, (yes I caved and subscribed to one) the networking and just what I find on my own, this is turning into quite an adventure all on it's own!
As with everything though, there is good and bad. Let's start with the bad.
I first started this hobby back at the end of January. I got one issue of a publication from my friend Linda and I went to town. Some things you can enter on line. Others have to be by mail. Sweep staking fits so into my CDO (obsessive compulsive disorder, but in alphabetical order, the way it should be) because sweeping is full of rules.
For on line, some things you can enter as many times as you want. Others are specific about once per day, once per month, etc. The same goes for mail in entries. All want specific information, and everyone wants something different. This information can be on any paper, or it MUST be on a 3x5 piece of PAPER (no cards, please!) or a 3-1/2 x 5 piece of paper, or some specifically want unlined card stock! Others even specify what kind/size envelopes that they will accept. It's crazy the hoops they make you jump through to enter a sweepstakes! But baby, are they talking to the right person to jump through hoops! I live for hoops!
I draw the line at trying to find 3-1/2 x anything. I also will not enter any sweeps that specifically want entries on a postcard. As much as I love postcards, I'm not buying them for sweepstakes. A girls gotta have her limits. So, postage stamps, envelopes, 3x5 cards AND 3x5 paper in hand, I sit at my desk and start sweeping. It's mentally calming, almost Zen like.
The online entries can get to me after awhile. Especially after what happened during my first few weeks of sweeping.
I entered an online sweeps through Disney for a seven day cruise! Why not? Free is SO my price! Early the following week, I got a call on my cell phone. Since it's the only phone I have, that is the number I have to give out. The lady that called me said "I'm calling you because you've entered a sweepstakes for a Disney Cruise over the weekend. Do you remember entering?"
Do I remember! Holy crap, I about peed my pants! I stood right up at my desk, ready to show all the sweepers about my beginner's luck and winning my FIRST cruise! I told her of course I remember entering that sweepstakes! I was holding my breath waiting for her to tell me that I won that cruise!
That didn't happen. The bitch was just calling me to tell me about all the terrific prices they had on cruises. C'mon lady, if I could afford to buy my passage, I would. There is a reason I'm trying to WIN one instead of BUYING one. Grr. She had my blood pressure through the roof for nothing! I told her I was at work and I couldn't talk besides I had no interest in purchasing a cruise.
I gotta tell you, I was disappointed in Disney for that one. To date, that has been the only phone call I've received from giving my number out on all of these sweeps.
Now on to the great part of sweeping! WINNING!!!
Last Friday, I came home from work and the mail was on the dining room table. Right there on top was an envelope for ME and it came from ePrize! I know ePrize! I've sent many an envelope to them for various sweepstakes entries! Woo hoo! I knew I won something!
I ripped open the envelope and sure enough, enclosed was a check for $10.00!!! Yes, ten whole dollars! Plus a coupon for a free box of Total cereal (that was a $4.59 value! ) since the contest was sponsored by Total Healthy Wealthy and Wise Sweepstakes!
A winner! I am finally a winner!
Scoff if you must at my $10.00 check. But I'll take it! Now, don't bother me tonight. I have entries to fill out and get in envelopes for mailings next week. Who knows when the next check will appear on my dining room table!
And, if you're lucky, I'll send you a postcard from my free cruise that I'm going to win!
Thursday, May 06, 2010
At The Police Station
Yeah, but for a good reason this time! No bail was needed!
Last Saturday, Ron and I had a mini adventure. I've been wanting to show him some place (and I wouldn't tell him where!) but I have been waiting for nicer weather. It seems we've had crap weather every weekend now for how long!
Saturday, we had a few dry hours in the morning. We needed adventure time, so we tried to get it in before the rains came again.
I actually took Ron to see the gorgeous waterfall behind the Elyria Police Station! Who knew?!!
Trying to look from right to left from one of the lookouts, we see Ron enjoying the view as I'm look up river at the Black River. Then part of the waterfall and then down river. It is really gorgeous there!
Even though the day wasn't be brightest, the scenery here was very peaceful.
There is an apartment complex right on the other side of the river from where we were standing. At first I thought that must be a perfect place to live to have this in your back yard! Then I realized just how loud the water was while going over the falls! Here is what I'm talking about.
I bet if I lived there, I'd have to pee 24/7 just listening to that!
Of course, we had goofing off time too. I didn't realize just how much taller Ron is than me. Until I held my camera out at arms length and tried to get a picture of both of us! I either got a good shot of Ron and the top of my head or a good shot of me and a shot up his nose! He finally hunkered down and in between giggles, I at least got this shot.
If you're ever in Elyria, stop in check out this wonderful park. It is worth the stop!
Last Saturday, Ron and I had a mini adventure. I've been wanting to show him some place (and I wouldn't tell him where!) but I have been waiting for nicer weather. It seems we've had crap weather every weekend now for how long!
Saturday, we had a few dry hours in the morning. We needed adventure time, so we tried to get it in before the rains came again.
I actually took Ron to see the gorgeous waterfall behind the Elyria Police Station! Who knew?!!
Trying to look from right to left from one of the lookouts, we see Ron enjoying the view as I'm look up river at the Black River. Then part of the waterfall and then down river. It is really gorgeous there!
Even though the day wasn't be brightest, the scenery here was very peaceful.
There is an apartment complex right on the other side of the river from where we were standing. At first I thought that must be a perfect place to live to have this in your back yard! Then I realized just how loud the water was while going over the falls! Here is what I'm talking about.
I bet if I lived there, I'd have to pee 24/7 just listening to that!
Of course, we had goofing off time too. I didn't realize just how much taller Ron is than me. Until I held my camera out at arms length and tried to get a picture of both of us! I either got a good shot of Ron and the top of my head or a good shot of me and a shot up his nose! He finally hunkered down and in between giggles, I at least got this shot.
If you're ever in Elyria, stop in check out this wonderful park. It is worth the stop!
Sunday, May 02, 2010
My Newest Project
Finally completed!
Ok, this was supposed to be my friend's Christmas present. Um, did I mention that was Christmas of 2009? Well, better late than never!
This was the first time I had done some graph crocheting and I gotta tell you, I loved it!
Because I'm working from a graph, I just change colors on the fly. There is no tying off every time I change a color. I just keep a ball of yarn on the back of the afghan and keep going. The hard part is remembering to always have the "tail" on the back side of the piece! Yeah, I had a few rip outs due to not remembering THAT rule! The highest number of balls of yarn that I had attached at one time was 26. At least that's the last one I counted!
Being the first, it was definitely challenging but I gotta tell you, I absolutely loved it! I loved it so much, I am starting my next afghan made from a graph! The only thing I'll tell you is that the next one is not the same as this one. And, I'm not telling you what it is, in case one of you reading this ends up getting this one as a gift!
I have all of my yarn right here and I'm going to start turning the skeins of yarn into balls of yarn.
Hey, Christmas is coming around again!
Ok, this was supposed to be my friend's Christmas present. Um, did I mention that was Christmas of 2009? Well, better late than never!
This was the first time I had done some graph crocheting and I gotta tell you, I loved it!
Because I'm working from a graph, I just change colors on the fly. There is no tying off every time I change a color. I just keep a ball of yarn on the back of the afghan and keep going. The hard part is remembering to always have the "tail" on the back side of the piece! Yeah, I had a few rip outs due to not remembering THAT rule! The highest number of balls of yarn that I had attached at one time was 26. At least that's the last one I counted!
Being the first, it was definitely challenging but I gotta tell you, I absolutely loved it! I loved it so much, I am starting my next afghan made from a graph! The only thing I'll tell you is that the next one is not the same as this one. And, I'm not telling you what it is, in case one of you reading this ends up getting this one as a gift!
I have all of my yarn right here and I'm going to start turning the skeins of yarn into balls of yarn.
Hey, Christmas is coming around again!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I Am Going On Strike
I so need better working conditions!
Today at work, something horrible happened. I have already put Michael on notice that I am THIS close to going on strike. He doesn't think I'm serious. I explained exactly what happened and once he stops laughing, he'll be sorry!
Here's my horror story today. I went to the refrigerator to get out my lunch. (A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an orange, in case anyone needed to know.) I headed back to my desk, threw my lunch on my desk, went to grab my chair to sit down . . . .
And THERE it was!
A huge freakin' spider, hung from a line from the ceiling, right OVER my chair! Holy crap! If I had been IN my chair, that spider would have either been on my head or down my back. Just thinking about it now gives me the heebie jeebies! Holy crap! I just can't say it enough.
My first response of course was to scream. I knew the guys however were on a conference call and didn't think they'd appreciate hearing me scream at the top of my lungs. I did have to act like a professional.
Professional what though. I was a professional exterminator people!
Hey, if I was outside, he would have lived. But this was personal. He came down to MY personal space. He didn't invade my immediate area, he was trying for ME. No, that is not acceptable. It was either me or him.
I wasn't armed, so I grabbed my notebook and caught the spider on the notebook. I gently placed him on my credenza and then WHAP! I brought my calendar down HARD!
I scraped the guts off of my calendar and credenza and then got out the paper towels and cleaner.
Unfortunately, I spent the rest of my afternoon looking up at the ceiling looking for his brother/sister/cousin/neighbor.
How can a girl be expected to work under these conditions? This is almost inhumane conditions.
Damn, I hate spiders.
Today at work, something horrible happened. I have already put Michael on notice that I am THIS close to going on strike. He doesn't think I'm serious. I explained exactly what happened and once he stops laughing, he'll be sorry!
Here's my horror story today. I went to the refrigerator to get out my lunch. (A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an orange, in case anyone needed to know.) I headed back to my desk, threw my lunch on my desk, went to grab my chair to sit down . . . .
And THERE it was!
A huge freakin' spider, hung from a line from the ceiling, right OVER my chair! Holy crap! If I had been IN my chair, that spider would have either been on my head or down my back. Just thinking about it now gives me the heebie jeebies! Holy crap! I just can't say it enough.
My first response of course was to scream. I knew the guys however were on a conference call and didn't think they'd appreciate hearing me scream at the top of my lungs. I did have to act like a professional.
Professional what though. I was a professional exterminator people!
Hey, if I was outside, he would have lived. But this was personal. He came down to MY personal space. He didn't invade my immediate area, he was trying for ME. No, that is not acceptable. It was either me or him.
I wasn't armed, so I grabbed my notebook and caught the spider on the notebook. I gently placed him on my credenza and then WHAP! I brought my calendar down HARD!
I scraped the guts off of my calendar and credenza and then got out the paper towels and cleaner.
Unfortunately, I spent the rest of my afternoon looking up at the ceiling looking for his brother/sister/cousin/neighbor.
How can a girl be expected to work under these conditions? This is almost inhumane conditions.
Damn, I hate spiders.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I Am Totally Crushed
Monday night, Ron and I had date night.
We went to Red Lobster to enjoy a nice quiet night. The last few times I've been to Red Lobster, they had an item on the menu where you could pick two things to make up your favorite meal. Then it would come with a salad, a potato and some veggies. I always chose two orders of scallops! I love their scallops!
The menu has changed and I can no longer order this treat. The only choice they had on their menu that included scallops was the scallop and shrimp combo in a peach bourbon sauce. Hey, I could be jiggy with it!
So, I chowed down my scallops, and even my shrimp (burp). I'd much rather have crawfish, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. I also enjoyed my baked potato and some scrumptious broccoli. Did I mention I ate shrimp? (burp)
We sat and chatted while we waited for the bill. By the time we got to the car, there was a little knot in my stomach that I originally thought meant I was way over full. (burp) Getting in the car and heading home, I all too soon realized that I wasn't feeling full . . . I was feeling sick. (ugh)
We made it home ok but the longer I sat here (belch) the worse it was getting. By 8:00 I had enough. I got in my jammies and headed for bed to watch the ball game. (The Cubs lost to the Mets. That did NOT help me feel better!) I kept getting worse and worse and worse. I had taken Alka Seltzer but with no relief. I laid there with the chills, just wishing I could throw up.
I'll spare you the details, but I spent most of the night running to the bathroom with false alarms. I can't remember when I felt that miserable. I couldn't get comfortable and I was doubling over with stomach cramps.
I got to work Tuesday morning and Mike had to talk sense into me. Believe it or not, to get relief, seeing a doctor never entered my mind! Duh. I called my doctor and he said he would squeeze me in at about 1:00. I was counting the minutes.
I gave him the run down and also it hit me that the last time I ate crawfish I was sicker than a dog before lunch was over. The last time I ate shrimp? The same thing. Is there suddenly a pattern here? C'mon now, I've eaten a river of crawfish in my day and never a stomach bubble. Now, I wanted to pump my own stomach.
The doctor listened to what I had to say, but to be on the safe side, he ran an EKG on me. Come to find out, a woman's heart problems can give symptoms of gastric distress. Who knew.
After a few scary moments, I was told my EKG was normal, no problems. That five minute wait may have made my stomach problems worse but at least my heart was good!
After all was said and done, he felt that I was having a reaction to the shell fish and suggested I stay away from them in the future. What???? He gave me anti-nausea medication as well as something to cut down on the stomach acid as well as a suggestion to get some Claritin for the allergic reaction I was experiencing.
I asked him to reconsider. After all, we are planning a weekend in Cincinnati for the sole purpose of that being the closest location of a Pappadeaux restaurant! Only the BEST restaurant in the whole wide world with the BEST blackened shrimp and crawfish fondeaux and crawfish etouffee! WTF!
How can a person survive knowing they can never eat crawfish again? Well, I guess I could if I was willing to go through what I went through for two freakin' days. (burp) I was one sick puppy.
But, now I'm crushed. No crawfish. Ever. This was horrible, no good, very bad news. (burp) However, I think I'll follow his suggestion to stay away from shell fish. Ugh.
We went to Red Lobster to enjoy a nice quiet night. The last few times I've been to Red Lobster, they had an item on the menu where you could pick two things to make up your favorite meal. Then it would come with a salad, a potato and some veggies. I always chose two orders of scallops! I love their scallops!
The menu has changed and I can no longer order this treat. The only choice they had on their menu that included scallops was the scallop and shrimp combo in a peach bourbon sauce. Hey, I could be jiggy with it!
So, I chowed down my scallops, and even my shrimp (burp). I'd much rather have crawfish, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. I also enjoyed my baked potato and some scrumptious broccoli. Did I mention I ate shrimp? (burp)
We sat and chatted while we waited for the bill. By the time we got to the car, there was a little knot in my stomach that I originally thought meant I was way over full. (burp) Getting in the car and heading home, I all too soon realized that I wasn't feeling full . . . I was feeling sick. (ugh)
We made it home ok but the longer I sat here (belch) the worse it was getting. By 8:00 I had enough. I got in my jammies and headed for bed to watch the ball game. (The Cubs lost to the Mets. That did NOT help me feel better!) I kept getting worse and worse and worse. I had taken Alka Seltzer but with no relief. I laid there with the chills, just wishing I could throw up.
I'll spare you the details, but I spent most of the night running to the bathroom with false alarms. I can't remember when I felt that miserable. I couldn't get comfortable and I was doubling over with stomach cramps.
I got to work Tuesday morning and Mike had to talk sense into me. Believe it or not, to get relief, seeing a doctor never entered my mind! Duh. I called my doctor and he said he would squeeze me in at about 1:00. I was counting the minutes.
I gave him the run down and also it hit me that the last time I ate crawfish I was sicker than a dog before lunch was over. The last time I ate shrimp? The same thing. Is there suddenly a pattern here? C'mon now, I've eaten a river of crawfish in my day and never a stomach bubble. Now, I wanted to pump my own stomach.
The doctor listened to what I had to say, but to be on the safe side, he ran an EKG on me. Come to find out, a woman's heart problems can give symptoms of gastric distress. Who knew.
After a few scary moments, I was told my EKG was normal, no problems. That five minute wait may have made my stomach problems worse but at least my heart was good!
After all was said and done, he felt that I was having a reaction to the shell fish and suggested I stay away from them in the future. What???? He gave me anti-nausea medication as well as something to cut down on the stomach acid as well as a suggestion to get some Claritin for the allergic reaction I was experiencing.
I asked him to reconsider. After all, we are planning a weekend in Cincinnati for the sole purpose of that being the closest location of a Pappadeaux restaurant! Only the BEST restaurant in the whole wide world with the BEST blackened shrimp and crawfish fondeaux and crawfish etouffee! WTF!
How can a person survive knowing they can never eat crawfish again? Well, I guess I could if I was willing to go through what I went through for two freakin' days. (burp) I was one sick puppy.
But, now I'm crushed. No crawfish. Ever. This was horrible, no good, very bad news. (burp) However, I think I'll follow his suggestion to stay away from shell fish. Ugh.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Weekend In Erie - Part II
I know, it took me long enough to post this second half!
To recap, we were in Erie for the weekend of Ron's birthday. As much fun as we had in Erie on Saturday, we had at least that much fun on the way back to Ohio on Sunday.
As I stated, we had stayed at the Hampton Inn on Old Oliver Road in Erie. I highly recommend this hotel!
We started our Sunday down in the lobby at the hotel for the free breakfast. What is there about the word "free" that just makes you hungry? I'm not a big fan of breakfast but tell me it's free and I put on the feed bag. For real. And trust me, I wasn't the only one!
After a huge breakfast, we went to our respective rooms, packed up and hit the road. It was another beautiful day for travel. The sun was out, the weather was warm and of course, the company was stupendous.
We had decided the day before to continue our sight seeing ways in Ohio. The place we chose was Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. I know, I know, who goes to a cemetery to sight see. Let me tell you, if you're ever in the Cleveland area, stop in and take a look around. You'll be freakin' amazed!
They have many famous residents at the cemetery. One famous resident is President James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States. Unbelievable! A monument was built to President Garfield at Lake View Cemetery in the late 1800s. Let me tell you, this was built when people were smaller and definitely had smaller feet. More on that in a bit.
President Garfield was the only president to rise from the House of Representatives to the Presidency. Way cool. Unfortunately he was only President for six months. Regardless, that man ran this country, a position only 44 men in this country's history have held. That is an awesome feat.
As you can see, there are quite a few steps to climb to get into the monument. Once you're in, you soon realize that the climb was so worth it. Immediately inside is a statue of President Garfield.
The main floor is beautiful. There is stained glass almost all the way around the room and if you look up, the inside of the dome is beyond belief. These pictures just don't do this place justice. You really need to be there to appreciate it.
You can climb up from here and you can climb down from here. Holy crap, this ain't for the faint of heart! Here are the steps heading downstairs to the crypt. Trust me, these are the easy stairs.
I got a little dizzy looking down, and these were the easy steps! We headed down to the crypt where President and Mrs. Garfield are entombed. It was a surreal experience. To be that close to such a powerful man. It was so awe inspiring, I can't even put it into words.
As you can see, we walked around the room that held the caskets and there are barred openings to look through. At the head of the caskets are two urns. These hold the ashes of one of their daughters, (I don't remember what her name was) and the daughter's husband.
Too bad I wasn't smart enough to take pictures of the stairs that went up to the balcony around the outside of the monument a few stories up. If you look up at the picture of the monument, at the top of the square part, you can see the black railing before the tower starts. That balcony goes all around the building. Here is a view of downtown Cleveland from on top of the Garfield Monument.
From Garfield, I precariously walked down the spiral staircase that was barely wide enough for me with steps so narrow my whole foot didn't fit on it! That part wasn't pretty. However, on to bigger and better. Our next step was to head over to see John D. Rockerfeller's grave. You can definitely tell who had the money in the cemetery. I'm not sure but I believe this to be the tallest monument, aside from Garfield's. I was actually laying on the ground trying to get the whole monument in the picture!
This cemetery is also known as an arboretum and an outdoor museum. People are walking all over the place checking out the horticulture as well as the architecture. Here are some examples of the monuments in this cemetery. Words fail me, they are just that amazing.
For real, if you need someone to look over you while you're laid out in a cemetery, this is the guy I want looking out over me. Dang.
The grounds of Lake View Cemetery are very scenic and very family friendly. There are actually picnic tables all over the place! Here are just a couple of pictures of two of the ponds on the grounds.
We also went to see the grave of Eliot Ness, the infamous US Treasure agent assigned to bring down none other than Al Capone!
We took a walk around the pond next to Eliot Ness' grave and came across a tomb. Here is Larry trying to read the writing on the tomb but it was near impossible. This place has something for everyone. Underground, over ground, in a hillside, unbelievable.
Finishing our walk around this pond, I saw a Canadian Goose enjoying a quiet dip in the pond. You know how I love birds! I just had to hunker down and get a picture. I guess these birds are so used to people and so used to being fed, he had to assume that I had food for him! He kept coming closer and closer and before I knew it, he jumped up a foot high ledge to get out of the pond and on to the grass with me! It actually scared the crap out of me and sent me running! I know, I'm a wuss.
We left the cemetery after a good day of climbing and walking and just enjoying the adventure. I can't stress it enough, if you're in the area, stop in. You won't regret it.
Our last stop was for a late lunch at one of our favorite places, BD's Mongolian BBQ! One of the few places I know where you will never get the same meal twice! I love this place!
We finally made it home about five in the afternoon after dropping off Larry and Linda. I'm not saying we're old, but as soon as we got home and got the car unpacked, Ron headed up stairs to take a little nap. I on the other hand didn't have that much energy. I napped on the couch!
To recap, we were in Erie for the weekend of Ron's birthday. As much fun as we had in Erie on Saturday, we had at least that much fun on the way back to Ohio on Sunday.
As I stated, we had stayed at the Hampton Inn on Old Oliver Road in Erie. I highly recommend this hotel!
We started our Sunday down in the lobby at the hotel for the free breakfast. What is there about the word "free" that just makes you hungry? I'm not a big fan of breakfast but tell me it's free and I put on the feed bag. For real. And trust me, I wasn't the only one!
After a huge breakfast, we went to our respective rooms, packed up and hit the road. It was another beautiful day for travel. The sun was out, the weather was warm and of course, the company was stupendous.
We had decided the day before to continue our sight seeing ways in Ohio. The place we chose was Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. I know, I know, who goes to a cemetery to sight see. Let me tell you, if you're ever in the Cleveland area, stop in and take a look around. You'll be freakin' amazed!
They have many famous residents at the cemetery. One famous resident is President James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States. Unbelievable! A monument was built to President Garfield at Lake View Cemetery in the late 1800s. Let me tell you, this was built when people were smaller and definitely had smaller feet. More on that in a bit.
President Garfield was the only president to rise from the House of Representatives to the Presidency. Way cool. Unfortunately he was only President for six months. Regardless, that man ran this country, a position only 44 men in this country's history have held. That is an awesome feat.
As you can see, there are quite a few steps to climb to get into the monument. Once you're in, you soon realize that the climb was so worth it. Immediately inside is a statue of President Garfield.
The main floor is beautiful. There is stained glass almost all the way around the room and if you look up, the inside of the dome is beyond belief. These pictures just don't do this place justice. You really need to be there to appreciate it.
You can climb up from here and you can climb down from here. Holy crap, this ain't for the faint of heart! Here are the steps heading downstairs to the crypt. Trust me, these are the easy stairs.
I got a little dizzy looking down, and these were the easy steps! We headed down to the crypt where President and Mrs. Garfield are entombed. It was a surreal experience. To be that close to such a powerful man. It was so awe inspiring, I can't even put it into words.
As you can see, we walked around the room that held the caskets and there are barred openings to look through. At the head of the caskets are two urns. These hold the ashes of one of their daughters, (I don't remember what her name was) and the daughter's husband.
Too bad I wasn't smart enough to take pictures of the stairs that went up to the balcony around the outside of the monument a few stories up. If you look up at the picture of the monument, at the top of the square part, you can see the black railing before the tower starts. That balcony goes all around the building. Here is a view of downtown Cleveland from on top of the Garfield Monument.
From Garfield, I precariously walked down the spiral staircase that was barely wide enough for me with steps so narrow my whole foot didn't fit on it! That part wasn't pretty. However, on to bigger and better. Our next step was to head over to see John D. Rockerfeller's grave. You can definitely tell who had the money in the cemetery. I'm not sure but I believe this to be the tallest monument, aside from Garfield's. I was actually laying on the ground trying to get the whole monument in the picture!
This cemetery is also known as an arboretum and an outdoor museum. People are walking all over the place checking out the horticulture as well as the architecture. Here are some examples of the monuments in this cemetery. Words fail me, they are just that amazing.
For real, if you need someone to look over you while you're laid out in a cemetery, this is the guy I want looking out over me. Dang.
The grounds of Lake View Cemetery are very scenic and very family friendly. There are actually picnic tables all over the place! Here are just a couple of pictures of two of the ponds on the grounds.
We also went to see the grave of Eliot Ness, the infamous US Treasure agent assigned to bring down none other than Al Capone!
We took a walk around the pond next to Eliot Ness' grave and came across a tomb. Here is Larry trying to read the writing on the tomb but it was near impossible. This place has something for everyone. Underground, over ground, in a hillside, unbelievable.
Finishing our walk around this pond, I saw a Canadian Goose enjoying a quiet dip in the pond. You know how I love birds! I just had to hunker down and get a picture. I guess these birds are so used to people and so used to being fed, he had to assume that I had food for him! He kept coming closer and closer and before I knew it, he jumped up a foot high ledge to get out of the pond and on to the grass with me! It actually scared the crap out of me and sent me running! I know, I'm a wuss.
We left the cemetery after a good day of climbing and walking and just enjoying the adventure. I can't stress it enough, if you're in the area, stop in. You won't regret it.
Our last stop was for a late lunch at one of our favorite places, BD's Mongolian BBQ! One of the few places I know where you will never get the same meal twice! I love this place!
We finally made it home about five in the afternoon after dropping off Larry and Linda. I'm not saying we're old, but as soon as we got home and got the car unpacked, Ron headed up stairs to take a little nap. I on the other hand didn't have that much energy. I napped on the couch!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Weekend In Erie - Part I
Yes, we celebrated Ron's birthday in style - we grabbed our friends, Larry and Linda, and headed to Erie for a weekend of fun!
We left in the middle of the morning on Saturday so that no one (that would be me) would be rushed on a Saturday morning. We had absolutely perfect traveling weather. The sun was shining, the temperatures were in the 60s - great weather for sight seeing and for travel. Go us!
Our trip started out at Oakwood Cafe over by 38th and Greengarden. Brother Jim was nice enough to meet us over there especially since the restaurant was his suggestion. I was at a stand still - I wanted a restaurant from my past that meant something to take everyone to for lunch but couldn't come up with anything. I really wanted Dominick's (on 12th by French) since I've eaten more meals there than I can count! But, it's not what it used to be so that was off the table. Oakwood it was. And believe me, the Reuben sandwiches were as good as I remembered! Just a hint if anyone is going there any time soon - split one sandwich between two people! They were HUGE! Good, but huge!
Here is an indication of how our weekend started. After the plates were cleared, Larry and I did a little "food art" on my place mat. He is the one with the artistic eye as it was his idea to make the straws stand up in the Russian dressing and ketchup! Awesome!
From Oakwood Cafe, we headed on a little sight seeing excursion on the way to Aunt Mary's. Tech Memorial, now Central Tech, was my alma mater. I had to drive by there and show the tree that 20 of us used to hide behind to smoke at lunch time. Yeah, that big tree right in front of the Vice Principal's office. Remember, I'm old. I went to school in the days of the VP barging into the girls' rest room and dragging you out to his office for a beating with the paddle. Yeah, I'm from the days of corporal punishment and I lived through it! But, I digress.
Anyway, I pointed out a few sights on the way to Aunt Mary's. I gotta tell you, Aunt Mary had to be one of the high lights of my weekend. Aunt Mary has always been like another mother to me. She is my Mom's sister, and I grew up living right above Aunt Mary in a flat. I haven't seen her since before my car accident, so this visit was awesome! Here is a picture of some Aunt Mary love!
And, in spite of the fact that I haven't been in to see her recently, she still loves me! She even saved me a taste of the Easter Cetetz. I have no idea how to spell that, but that spelling is at least phonetic. Cetetz is an Easter tradition made of eggs, milk and sugar. You cook it in a pan until it curdles, then you squeeze out all of the liquid in a cheese cloth. The following day, you take the solid ball that is left and bake it to brown it a little bit. This stuff is just awesome and it's only made once a year for Easter. I can't remember the last time I had this Slovak delicacy so I was thrilled that she saved some for me.
As a side note - you see my shirt? That was Ron's present to me for HIS birthday! He is freakin' awesome and he has started a precedent! I can't WAIT to see what he buys me next year for his birthday!!
Along with Aunt Mary, Sr. Margaret was in the house. That was a nice added surprise! Sr. Margaret is another of my Mom's sisters and it's probably been even longer since I've seen her. A nice group shot, if I do say so myself.
After the family love time, Larry, Linda, birthday boy Ron and I left to tour the city. We started on the lower east side as we went to Trawka's Market (the best extra garlic Polish sausage so I've been told! I had to bring some back to Ohio for my brother Mike. Luckily, our cooler was bigger than our luggage!) then down to the Erie Lighthouse.
I remember the grade school trips to this lighthouse as well as Dad bringing us down here to play. I gotta tell you, it all seemed so much bigger when I was so much smaller! From the lighthouse, we headed to the channel. I don't remember my north pier from my south pier any more but we were at the channel on the pier at the bottom of East Avenue sort of. With the Bayfront Highway in, it's hard to tell where I was! I can't believe how much of the city has changed!
Poor Linda didn't want her picture taken (I don't know why, she's cute as a button!) so I had to grab my shots when I could. Here is Linda enjoying a little walk on the pier.
After the channel we hit the dock (sorry I will NEVER call it Dobbins Landing) then headed for the peninsula.
I showed them all of the nooks and crannies I could remember from the peninsula. I gotta tell you, the peninsula was as beautiful, as peaceful, as surreal as I remembered it. I can't tell you how many miles I've logged on that piece of land. I can never get enough of it. Once again, it did NOT disappoint me.
I gotta tell you a funny Linda story here. We stopped at the Perry Monument. There happened to be a rest room at the monument but for some reason, the men's and women's part of it was locked but the family restroom was open. From some of the people standing in line, this was about the only restroom open on the peninsula. So, there was a line. We decided to stand by Linda in line since she looked like she was in a tough looking line for the bathroom. There were three bikers that had pulled in to the monument right in front of us and all three of them were in line. Picture this - three men all clad in leather, including chaps, all probably weighing three times what Linda does. And Linda. I was worrying about our girl there!
I shouldn't have. As the line got down to Linda and the bikers, Linda got a little feisty, turned to look at the bikers, put out her arms and told them "NO CUTS"! Holy crap, I can't remember when I laughed that hard! The guys took it in the spirit of which it was given and they backed off from her! Not that they had any intention of cutting, but they gave the girl some room after her threat. We were all laughing!
Here is Linda, finally relieved, along with Larry, checking out the monument.
After the Perry Monument, our last stop on the peninsula was over by the house boats. As if that wasn't great enough, for the first time, I saw wild turkeys! It looked like one tom and two hens. The tom was in full bloom trying to impress the ladies. Unfortunately, he lowered his feathers when we tried to get closer so this was the best shot I got. It was still a fantastic sight to see. I had no idea wild turkeys lived on the peninsula.
I used the last of my hotel points from all the travel on my previous job and scored us a couple of free rooms at the Hampton Inn on Old Oliver Road. I gotta give a shout out to not only the Hampton Inn but to Kevin at the front desk. This guy was just the bomb in the entire process. He got us checked in, gave us directions and recommendations and just was so pleasant. I would totally recommend this hotel if you ever need one in Erie.
We checked in to our hotel and relaxed a bit then headed out to the new Presque Isle Downs and Casino over on Route 97. Let me tell you, first of all, spring for the $3 to valet park your car! If you know me, you know I can rarely find my car in a parking lot. With lots this huge, it was worth paying someone $3 to park it for me. One word of warning though, next time you get your car from a valet, make sure he's not a lot shorter than you are and he didn't need to pull the seat up all the way to work your clutch. Owie.
Into the casino - it was big, it was bright, it was loud. I really don't know how to critique a casino since I can count on one hand how many times I've been to a casino. But I can critique their restaurant!
If you find yourself at the Presque Isle Downs and Casino, stick to the fancy schmancy steak restaurant or the buffet on the first floor. Do NOT go to the second floor restaurant! Or, stop at McDonald's on your way to the casino! I'm telling you, it was that bad. First of all, our table was about 10 feet from a stage. Who would seat diners 10 feet from a stage when the band was getting ready to play?
The band was called the M80s. I'm guessing they are called M80s because they are as loud as about 100 of them. Damn, it was painful. Ok, to be honest, their play list was all from the 80s. That should have been a good thing since I was a young adult buying all the music in the 80s. Perhaps it's just that I'm older now and I was trying to eat dinner with this auditory assault happening just 10 feet away from me.
Forget the band, let's talk about the food. It was terrible. Ron ordered a fish and chips dinner that he couldn't even eat. He complained about the fact that the breading on the fish was so salty, he couldn't even eat it. The server came back to tell him that there was nothing they could do about it since the fish came pre-breaded so it wasn't anything THEY did to it. That hit a nerve with Ron and he said he'd rather eat nothing, even if this was his birthday eve dinner. That just blew.
So, I had a huge steak, I offered to share my dinner with Ron. That would have been a better offer if my dinner was much better. I've even made better steaks and steaks are not my specialty. The kicker was my baked potato. When someone hands you a little cup of white stuff for your baked potato, don't assume it's sour cream. My little cup was filled with mayonnaise. Have you ever slathered mayonnaise on your baked potato? Let me tell you, it was gross.
Our server tried to commiserate with us on how terrible their serving staff was. Then the bill came. Four adults, two bills. I think she just threw a dart and said that item will be on bill # 1 and that item will be on bill # 2, regardless of who ordered what. With the noise of the band, it was next to impossible to explain the problem with the bill, so I had to write it all out for her. Eventually, she got it right.
Leaving the terrible dinner behind us, we hit the casino. I gotta tell you, I had a ball. I had some money that I had every intention of leaving at the casino. If you go with the attitude that you WILL lose money, it's less painful when you do.
The four of us kind of split up and I went off to find a machine with pretty lights. I won some, I lost some. Ron finally caught back up with me and told me he's been hitting good on some dollar slots. DOLLAR slots??? Was he freakin' crazy?? I thought I was going wild with quarter slots!
But what the heck. I took the rest of my money and hit the dollar slots with Ron. I gotta tell you, he knew what he was talking about. He found a bank of four tables, all the same game, and he said he was hitting on them. No one was at these tables, so Ron and I took over.
When all was said and done, I turned $5 from Jim into $19.25. (I spent his quarter but I did give him his $19.00.) Of my own money, I put $80 in the slots and walked away with $114! That means I came out to the good! I was so happy with that! Larry and Linda were not so lucky but they weren't in the poor house, either. Each of them left a few dollars at the casino, but we all bought a whole lot of fun.
Birthday boy Ron was our big winner, putting $80 in the slots and coming home with $174! Now that was a great birthday present!
We left the casino in search of a pizza shop. I've been telling Ron about Erie pepperoni balls for years. I'm telling you, you can't find these things anywhere else! This was our time to finally try them.
I pulled out of the casino and headed north on Route 97 and sure enough, there was Barbato's Pizza! I have to give a huge shout out to the staff at this Barbato's! I explained that we came all the way from the Cleveland area and I've been telling my friends all about pepperoni balls! We just HAD to have some!
I ordered a dozen to go and they even threw in a handful over a dozen for us. Bonus love! We took our booty back to the hotel, grabbed our sodas and sat in the lounge of the hotel and macked on some fantastic, fresh out of the oven, pepperoni balls. We even shared with our new friend, Kevin, from the front desk. It was a great end to a fantastic day.
That was our Saturday of our big weekend in Erie. Hang on for part II of our story, our trip home!
Erie, I've missed you. Thank you for a great day and more great memories.
We left in the middle of the morning on Saturday so that no one (that would be me) would be rushed on a Saturday morning. We had absolutely perfect traveling weather. The sun was shining, the temperatures were in the 60s - great weather for sight seeing and for travel. Go us!
Our trip started out at Oakwood Cafe over by 38th and Greengarden. Brother Jim was nice enough to meet us over there especially since the restaurant was his suggestion. I was at a stand still - I wanted a restaurant from my past that meant something to take everyone to for lunch but couldn't come up with anything. I really wanted Dominick's (on 12th by French) since I've eaten more meals there than I can count! But, it's not what it used to be so that was off the table. Oakwood it was. And believe me, the Reuben sandwiches were as good as I remembered! Just a hint if anyone is going there any time soon - split one sandwich between two people! They were HUGE! Good, but huge!
Here is an indication of how our weekend started. After the plates were cleared, Larry and I did a little "food art" on my place mat. He is the one with the artistic eye as it was his idea to make the straws stand up in the Russian dressing and ketchup! Awesome!
From Oakwood Cafe, we headed on a little sight seeing excursion on the way to Aunt Mary's. Tech Memorial, now Central Tech, was my alma mater. I had to drive by there and show the tree that 20 of us used to hide behind to smoke at lunch time. Yeah, that big tree right in front of the Vice Principal's office. Remember, I'm old. I went to school in the days of the VP barging into the girls' rest room and dragging you out to his office for a beating with the paddle. Yeah, I'm from the days of corporal punishment and I lived through it! But, I digress.
Anyway, I pointed out a few sights on the way to Aunt Mary's. I gotta tell you, Aunt Mary had to be one of the high lights of my weekend. Aunt Mary has always been like another mother to me. She is my Mom's sister, and I grew up living right above Aunt Mary in a flat. I haven't seen her since before my car accident, so this visit was awesome! Here is a picture of some Aunt Mary love!
And, in spite of the fact that I haven't been in to see her recently, she still loves me! She even saved me a taste of the Easter Cetetz. I have no idea how to spell that, but that spelling is at least phonetic. Cetetz is an Easter tradition made of eggs, milk and sugar. You cook it in a pan until it curdles, then you squeeze out all of the liquid in a cheese cloth. The following day, you take the solid ball that is left and bake it to brown it a little bit. This stuff is just awesome and it's only made once a year for Easter. I can't remember the last time I had this Slovak delicacy so I was thrilled that she saved some for me.
As a side note - you see my shirt? That was Ron's present to me for HIS birthday! He is freakin' awesome and he has started a precedent! I can't WAIT to see what he buys me next year for his birthday!!
Along with Aunt Mary, Sr. Margaret was in the house. That was a nice added surprise! Sr. Margaret is another of my Mom's sisters and it's probably been even longer since I've seen her. A nice group shot, if I do say so myself.
After the family love time, Larry, Linda, birthday boy Ron and I left to tour the city. We started on the lower east side as we went to Trawka's Market (the best extra garlic Polish sausage so I've been told! I had to bring some back to Ohio for my brother Mike. Luckily, our cooler was bigger than our luggage!) then down to the Erie Lighthouse.
I remember the grade school trips to this lighthouse as well as Dad bringing us down here to play. I gotta tell you, it all seemed so much bigger when I was so much smaller! From the lighthouse, we headed to the channel. I don't remember my north pier from my south pier any more but we were at the channel on the pier at the bottom of East Avenue sort of. With the Bayfront Highway in, it's hard to tell where I was! I can't believe how much of the city has changed!
Poor Linda didn't want her picture taken (I don't know why, she's cute as a button!) so I had to grab my shots when I could. Here is Linda enjoying a little walk on the pier.
After the channel we hit the dock (sorry I will NEVER call it Dobbins Landing) then headed for the peninsula.
I showed them all of the nooks and crannies I could remember from the peninsula. I gotta tell you, the peninsula was as beautiful, as peaceful, as surreal as I remembered it. I can't tell you how many miles I've logged on that piece of land. I can never get enough of it. Once again, it did NOT disappoint me.
I gotta tell you a funny Linda story here. We stopped at the Perry Monument. There happened to be a rest room at the monument but for some reason, the men's and women's part of it was locked but the family restroom was open. From some of the people standing in line, this was about the only restroom open on the peninsula. So, there was a line. We decided to stand by Linda in line since she looked like she was in a tough looking line for the bathroom. There were three bikers that had pulled in to the monument right in front of us and all three of them were in line. Picture this - three men all clad in leather, including chaps, all probably weighing three times what Linda does. And Linda. I was worrying about our girl there!
I shouldn't have. As the line got down to Linda and the bikers, Linda got a little feisty, turned to look at the bikers, put out her arms and told them "NO CUTS"! Holy crap, I can't remember when I laughed that hard! The guys took it in the spirit of which it was given and they backed off from her! Not that they had any intention of cutting, but they gave the girl some room after her threat. We were all laughing!
Here is Linda, finally relieved, along with Larry, checking out the monument.
After the Perry Monument, our last stop on the peninsula was over by the house boats. As if that wasn't great enough, for the first time, I saw wild turkeys! It looked like one tom and two hens. The tom was in full bloom trying to impress the ladies. Unfortunately, he lowered his feathers when we tried to get closer so this was the best shot I got. It was still a fantastic sight to see. I had no idea wild turkeys lived on the peninsula.
I used the last of my hotel points from all the travel on my previous job and scored us a couple of free rooms at the Hampton Inn on Old Oliver Road. I gotta give a shout out to not only the Hampton Inn but to Kevin at the front desk. This guy was just the bomb in the entire process. He got us checked in, gave us directions and recommendations and just was so pleasant. I would totally recommend this hotel if you ever need one in Erie.
We checked in to our hotel and relaxed a bit then headed out to the new Presque Isle Downs and Casino over on Route 97. Let me tell you, first of all, spring for the $3 to valet park your car! If you know me, you know I can rarely find my car in a parking lot. With lots this huge, it was worth paying someone $3 to park it for me. One word of warning though, next time you get your car from a valet, make sure he's not a lot shorter than you are and he didn't need to pull the seat up all the way to work your clutch. Owie.
Into the casino - it was big, it was bright, it was loud. I really don't know how to critique a casino since I can count on one hand how many times I've been to a casino. But I can critique their restaurant!
If you find yourself at the Presque Isle Downs and Casino, stick to the fancy schmancy steak restaurant or the buffet on the first floor. Do NOT go to the second floor restaurant! Or, stop at McDonald's on your way to the casino! I'm telling you, it was that bad. First of all, our table was about 10 feet from a stage. Who would seat diners 10 feet from a stage when the band was getting ready to play?
The band was called the M80s. I'm guessing they are called M80s because they are as loud as about 100 of them. Damn, it was painful. Ok, to be honest, their play list was all from the 80s. That should have been a good thing since I was a young adult buying all the music in the 80s. Perhaps it's just that I'm older now and I was trying to eat dinner with this auditory assault happening just 10 feet away from me.
Forget the band, let's talk about the food. It was terrible. Ron ordered a fish and chips dinner that he couldn't even eat. He complained about the fact that the breading on the fish was so salty, he couldn't even eat it. The server came back to tell him that there was nothing they could do about it since the fish came pre-breaded so it wasn't anything THEY did to it. That hit a nerve with Ron and he said he'd rather eat nothing, even if this was his birthday eve dinner. That just blew.
So, I had a huge steak, I offered to share my dinner with Ron. That would have been a better offer if my dinner was much better. I've even made better steaks and steaks are not my specialty. The kicker was my baked potato. When someone hands you a little cup of white stuff for your baked potato, don't assume it's sour cream. My little cup was filled with mayonnaise. Have you ever slathered mayonnaise on your baked potato? Let me tell you, it was gross.
Our server tried to commiserate with us on how terrible their serving staff was. Then the bill came. Four adults, two bills. I think she just threw a dart and said that item will be on bill # 1 and that item will be on bill # 2, regardless of who ordered what. With the noise of the band, it was next to impossible to explain the problem with the bill, so I had to write it all out for her. Eventually, she got it right.
Leaving the terrible dinner behind us, we hit the casino. I gotta tell you, I had a ball. I had some money that I had every intention of leaving at the casino. If you go with the attitude that you WILL lose money, it's less painful when you do.
The four of us kind of split up and I went off to find a machine with pretty lights. I won some, I lost some. Ron finally caught back up with me and told me he's been hitting good on some dollar slots. DOLLAR slots??? Was he freakin' crazy?? I thought I was going wild with quarter slots!
But what the heck. I took the rest of my money and hit the dollar slots with Ron. I gotta tell you, he knew what he was talking about. He found a bank of four tables, all the same game, and he said he was hitting on them. No one was at these tables, so Ron and I took over.
When all was said and done, I turned $5 from Jim into $19.25. (I spent his quarter but I did give him his $19.00.) Of my own money, I put $80 in the slots and walked away with $114! That means I came out to the good! I was so happy with that! Larry and Linda were not so lucky but they weren't in the poor house, either. Each of them left a few dollars at the casino, but we all bought a whole lot of fun.
Birthday boy Ron was our big winner, putting $80 in the slots and coming home with $174! Now that was a great birthday present!
We left the casino in search of a pizza shop. I've been telling Ron about Erie pepperoni balls for years. I'm telling you, you can't find these things anywhere else! This was our time to finally try them.
I pulled out of the casino and headed north on Route 97 and sure enough, there was Barbato's Pizza! I have to give a huge shout out to the staff at this Barbato's! I explained that we came all the way from the Cleveland area and I've been telling my friends all about pepperoni balls! We just HAD to have some!
I ordered a dozen to go and they even threw in a handful over a dozen for us. Bonus love! We took our booty back to the hotel, grabbed our sodas and sat in the lounge of the hotel and macked on some fantastic, fresh out of the oven, pepperoni balls. We even shared with our new friend, Kevin, from the front desk. It was a great end to a fantastic day.
That was our Saturday of our big weekend in Erie. Hang on for part II of our story, our trip home!
Erie, I've missed you. Thank you for a great day and more great memories.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Ron Is 50!!!!!!!!!
Happy birthday Ron!!!!
50 years young today!!!!
Show him some love. Email, call, text him, facebook him.
Happy birthday honey! There should be lots of blog worthy stories after this momentous birthday weekend!!
50 years young today!!!!
Show him some love. Email, call, text him, facebook him.
Happy birthday honey! There should be lots of blog worthy stories after this momentous birthday weekend!!
Friday, April 09, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
In The News
There are a few things happening in our area lately that I just have to talk about.
First, an April Fool's Day gone bad. This happened right here in Lorain Ohio.
A juvenile and his aunt were going to play an April Fool's Day prank on the juvenile's Grandma. On that fateful day, these two geniuses called Grandma and cried that the juvenile's mother had been SHOT. Did I mention that this happened here in Lorain?
Here is poor Grandma, thinking someone just shot HER child and of course she panicked. She hung up on the phone call and immediately called 911. Officers responded and since no one knew if the shooter was still in the building, they showed up ready for the worst.
What did they find? Two jackasses saying "oops, my bad". I guess it's the 12 year old who is at fault since he forgot to say "April Fool's" before he hung up on Grandma. The aunt and the child were charged with making false alarms, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Too bad this juvenile seems to not be growing up with a responsible adult role model. The kid doesn't sound like he has much of a chance in this world. And that's just a shame.
If that story didn't bother me enough, here is another one that really has me scratching my head.
In Elyria, the next town over, teenagers were walking on abandoned railroad tracks. They found a severed foot! The authorities have stated the foot and ankle are intact, but there was a traumatic amputation a few inches above the ankle. Eww.
The foot still was wearing a black sock and according to the coroner appeared to be a recent amputation. The foot was not laying there for long! Um, where is the rest of this woman??
They have searched the area by foot (pardon the pun), they have searched by air and they have even brought in cadaver dogs. Nothing. Um, Ron and I checked our feet and we both still have two. Has someone not noticed they are missing a limb? There are no reports of missing persons that match. There seems to be a lot of blood loss, but there is no evidence of the rest of the body.
The train tracks have not been used in years, so someone isn't dumping body parts from the train. This story is really bothering me! What happened to this poor woman?
It's a crazy town we live in.
First, an April Fool's Day gone bad. This happened right here in Lorain Ohio.
A juvenile and his aunt were going to play an April Fool's Day prank on the juvenile's Grandma. On that fateful day, these two geniuses called Grandma and cried that the juvenile's mother had been SHOT. Did I mention that this happened here in Lorain?
Here is poor Grandma, thinking someone just shot HER child and of course she panicked. She hung up on the phone call and immediately called 911. Officers responded and since no one knew if the shooter was still in the building, they showed up ready for the worst.
What did they find? Two jackasses saying "oops, my bad". I guess it's the 12 year old who is at fault since he forgot to say "April Fool's" before he hung up on Grandma. The aunt and the child were charged with making false alarms, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Too bad this juvenile seems to not be growing up with a responsible adult role model. The kid doesn't sound like he has much of a chance in this world. And that's just a shame.
If that story didn't bother me enough, here is another one that really has me scratching my head.
In Elyria, the next town over, teenagers were walking on abandoned railroad tracks. They found a severed foot! The authorities have stated the foot and ankle are intact, but there was a traumatic amputation a few inches above the ankle. Eww.
The foot still was wearing a black sock and according to the coroner appeared to be a recent amputation. The foot was not laying there for long! Um, where is the rest of this woman??
They have searched the area by foot (pardon the pun), they have searched by air and they have even brought in cadaver dogs. Nothing. Um, Ron and I checked our feet and we both still have two. Has someone not noticed they are missing a limb? There are no reports of missing persons that match. There seems to be a lot of blood loss, but there is no evidence of the rest of the body.
The train tracks have not been used in years, so someone isn't dumping body parts from the train. This story is really bothering me! What happened to this poor woman?
It's a crazy town we live in.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Thumbs Up To COIT
COIT Cleaning. I really need to give them a shout out.
My house is all hard wood floors. Well, except for the stairs going to the second floor, those are carpeted. I have two area rugs, one in the dining room and one in the living room. Plus, a carpet runner in the upstairs hallway.
The area rugs I bought when we moved into this house, over six years ago. The poor things have seen six hard years of use. I love these rugs and didn't want to think about having to throw them out and go find new ones. I really needed them cleaned though.
I had heard about COIT Cleaning on a radio ad. I checked out their website and found that they will come to your house for a free estimate, and then they will take your area rugs with them to clean them. Sounded good to me.
I got the free estimate and told the guys here at home to go ahead and release the area rugs to the COIT employee. I also scheduled a cleaning for the stairway to be done. I didn't expect anything other than these three things.
The following day, a truck came to clean the stairway. While they were at it, they also did the carpet runner upstairs as well as a small rug I have just inside of the front door. Bonus!
When I came home, we had warnings all over! At the bottom of the steps, in the office, in the bathroom, in the bedrooms.
To ensure our safety, a set of fashion footwear was left for each of us. Here is our model, Ron, showing off his lovely shoe covers.
Stylin', I'm telling you! But all joking aside, I was totally thrilled with the job done by COIT. They brought the area rugs back a week later, and there was a damaged spot on the dining room rug. Some of the binding on the side had been pulled out or something. They immediately packed the rug up and took it back with them. They did not expect payment until the rug was worked on and brought back. That part impressed me!
Another week went by and my rug was again brought back. Since Phil was out of town and Ron was on a service call, I had to leave work early to let the guy in with the rug. I am glad I was here!
I inspected this rug like no one's business. I never expected that anyone could make me happy, but I was absolutely thrilled with the repair job! Thrilled! Repair job aside, the cleaning job they did was fantastic! I can't tell you how amazed I was with the rugs when they came back. Like I said, six years of hard use. I expected some of the stains to be better, but I never expected the rugs to come back looking almost brand new.
Here is the runner upstairs and the stairway. There isn't good light in the hallway or stairway, so the pictures don't do justice to their work. Forget the shadows that I couldn't light properly. These rugs are beautiful.
Wow! Pay no attention to my toes in that last photo! Oops!! I told you I'm no photographer.
This is the freebie little rug I have inside of the front door. Beautiful!
The living room came out great. There were a few spots I never thought would come out, but I can't even tell where they were! The streak going across the rug is actually the sun coming in through the leaded glass windows in the living room. I was hoping that the rainbows would come through in the picture but unfortunately, it just looks like a streak.
And the best of the bunch, the dining room. For a long time, I could tell exactly where Dad sat when he would come over. You gotta love the guy, but neatness was not one of his best traits. Every time I looked at those stains, I thought of Dad. It was all good thoughts, for sure! Well, COIT was even able to get out Dad's stains. Unbelievable!
I surely don't recommend businesses very often. You know I much prefer to bitch. (Not to worry, I have a bitch session coming up soon.) I don't think it takes a lot to satisfy me as a customer but not every business can do it and I was totally impressed with COIT. They do much more than carpet cleaning, but I have not tried any of those services. However, if you need your rugs cleaned, call them.
Their slogan is "It's not clean until it's COIT clean." Baby, I believe them. Call them. Tell them I sent you!
My house is all hard wood floors. Well, except for the stairs going to the second floor, those are carpeted. I have two area rugs, one in the dining room and one in the living room. Plus, a carpet runner in the upstairs hallway.
The area rugs I bought when we moved into this house, over six years ago. The poor things have seen six hard years of use. I love these rugs and didn't want to think about having to throw them out and go find new ones. I really needed them cleaned though.
I had heard about COIT Cleaning on a radio ad. I checked out their website and found that they will come to your house for a free estimate, and then they will take your area rugs with them to clean them. Sounded good to me.
I got the free estimate and told the guys here at home to go ahead and release the area rugs to the COIT employee. I also scheduled a cleaning for the stairway to be done. I didn't expect anything other than these three things.
The following day, a truck came to clean the stairway. While they were at it, they also did the carpet runner upstairs as well as a small rug I have just inside of the front door. Bonus!
When I came home, we had warnings all over! At the bottom of the steps, in the office, in the bathroom, in the bedrooms.
To ensure our safety, a set of fashion footwear was left for each of us. Here is our model, Ron, showing off his lovely shoe covers.
Stylin', I'm telling you! But all joking aside, I was totally thrilled with the job done by COIT. They brought the area rugs back a week later, and there was a damaged spot on the dining room rug. Some of the binding on the side had been pulled out or something. They immediately packed the rug up and took it back with them. They did not expect payment until the rug was worked on and brought back. That part impressed me!
Another week went by and my rug was again brought back. Since Phil was out of town and Ron was on a service call, I had to leave work early to let the guy in with the rug. I am glad I was here!
I inspected this rug like no one's business. I never expected that anyone could make me happy, but I was absolutely thrilled with the repair job! Thrilled! Repair job aside, the cleaning job they did was fantastic! I can't tell you how amazed I was with the rugs when they came back. Like I said, six years of hard use. I expected some of the stains to be better, but I never expected the rugs to come back looking almost brand new.
Here is the runner upstairs and the stairway. There isn't good light in the hallway or stairway, so the pictures don't do justice to their work. Forget the shadows that I couldn't light properly. These rugs are beautiful.
Wow! Pay no attention to my toes in that last photo! Oops!! I told you I'm no photographer.
This is the freebie little rug I have inside of the front door. Beautiful!
The living room came out great. There were a few spots I never thought would come out, but I can't even tell where they were! The streak going across the rug is actually the sun coming in through the leaded glass windows in the living room. I was hoping that the rainbows would come through in the picture but unfortunately, it just looks like a streak.
And the best of the bunch, the dining room. For a long time, I could tell exactly where Dad sat when he would come over. You gotta love the guy, but neatness was not one of his best traits. Every time I looked at those stains, I thought of Dad. It was all good thoughts, for sure! Well, COIT was even able to get out Dad's stains. Unbelievable!
I surely don't recommend businesses very often. You know I much prefer to bitch. (Not to worry, I have a bitch session coming up soon.) I don't think it takes a lot to satisfy me as a customer but not every business can do it and I was totally impressed with COIT. They do much more than carpet cleaning, but I have not tried any of those services. However, if you need your rugs cleaned, call them.
Their slogan is "It's not clean until it's COIT clean." Baby, I believe them. Call them. Tell them I sent you!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
I Needed Girly-fied.
I have never claimed to be a fashionista. My only knowledge of fashion is what I see on Project Runway. (I am sooo glad Anthony is back! Do you love him or what!)
I've worked in business for most of my working career. While I've never had to wear suits to work on a daily basis, I'm used to the whole pantyhose, skirt, sweater, nice shoes thing. My job now is much more casual. I'm in jeans, sweatshirts and o . . . . m . . . . g . . . . safety shoes.
For real, not a look for any woman, even one who is not a fashionista. Of course, these white socks don't help me much either. I think I need something with these shoes though. Maybe pink shoelaces? Or maybe some stickers to pretty them up. What do you think?
I had quit carrying a purse about seven years ago. I lugged around a laptop bag for work, so I thought a purse was just redundant. I put my wallet and any necessaries in the laptop bag and I was good to go. Now, I don't need to lug that bag around any longer and it's gotten to be a pain in the ass to just carry my wallet and my keys in my hands. I finally broke down and decided I needed to go back to carrying a purse.
This was not a decision I took lightly! I hadn't bought a purse in probably TEN years! Like I said, it's been over seven years since I've carried a purse. Well, the whole safety shoes thing has made me think I need to be a little more girly-fied. Ron and I went to Kohl's recently and he bought me a purse!
I'm still not going to wear make up, but at least now I have a purse. I think it's a step in the right direction.
I've worked in business for most of my working career. While I've never had to wear suits to work on a daily basis, I'm used to the whole pantyhose, skirt, sweater, nice shoes thing. My job now is much more casual. I'm in jeans, sweatshirts and o . . . . m . . . . g . . . . safety shoes.
For real, not a look for any woman, even one who is not a fashionista. Of course, these white socks don't help me much either. I think I need something with these shoes though. Maybe pink shoelaces? Or maybe some stickers to pretty them up. What do you think?
I had quit carrying a purse about seven years ago. I lugged around a laptop bag for work, so I thought a purse was just redundant. I put my wallet and any necessaries in the laptop bag and I was good to go. Now, I don't need to lug that bag around any longer and it's gotten to be a pain in the ass to just carry my wallet and my keys in my hands. I finally broke down and decided I needed to go back to carrying a purse.
This was not a decision I took lightly! I hadn't bought a purse in probably TEN years! Like I said, it's been over seven years since I've carried a purse. Well, the whole safety shoes thing has made me think I need to be a little more girly-fied. Ron and I went to Kohl's recently and he bought me a purse!
I'm still not going to wear make up, but at least now I have a purse. I think it's a step in the right direction.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Yep, I'm Allergic
For real, these pictures are not pretty. Look away!
Friday night we went to a friend's house for dinner and entertainment. We usually get together every Friday night but this week we decided to stay in. We ordered pizza and hunkered down to watch a movie.
As some of you may already know, I have a deep, burning desire to get a cat or two. Maybe it's a biological clock thing, but I think about cats, dream about cats, yearn for cats of my own. Our friends have four of them! Bonus cat love time for me!!
Um, Ron and I are both allergic to cats. As if THAT should stand in the way of my happiness. After dinner, Ron and I curled up on the love seat. Suddenly, I had company as Missy Kitty came and curled up in my lap. I was totally in heaven! I petted and pampered and was falling in love with Missy Kitty. It's that deep purr they do that sounds like an engine and their whole little bodies just vibrate with it. Way too cool.
Missy Kitty stayed with me for half of the movie. Then she got up and left me! Before she left though, Sweet Pea came and sat on Ron's lap and I had one hand over there petting her while the other hand was loving on Missy Kitty. By the way, the other two cats were happy to just ignore me. I guess I can't win them all over.
Anyway, I finally figured the heck with you, if you want to sit on Ron's lap, I'm not petting you! HA! Sweet Pea knew where her bread was buttered. She moved over on to my lap and the loving commenced. Truly, I was in heaven with all of this cat love.
Then, our hosts (notice I'm not mentioning your names! Just to protect the innocent!) noticed that my eye was almost swelled shut. Yeah, I knew it was happening and I knew it was going to happen before I started petting the cats! I just didn't care!
When they saw my eye so swollen, they shooshed the cats away. Luckily the movie was almost over. My lap felt empty! They felt terrible that this happened, in spite of the fact that I said it was my own fault and I expected it to happen since I insisted on playing with the cats.
We came home, I took two Benedryl. We took a couple of pictures so you could see I really do mean I am allergic to cats! Aside from the swelling, I get like a blister on my cornea. You can see a huge bubble under the surface that took up the entire bottom half of my eye. I tried to capture it in the second picture, but it didn't really come out. You needed to be here to appreciate that one!
It doesn't matter. We had a great time last night and I don't regret a thing. The swelling is almost gone and other than being loopy from the Benedryl, I'm just fine. It was so totally worth it.
Friday night we went to a friend's house for dinner and entertainment. We usually get together every Friday night but this week we decided to stay in. We ordered pizza and hunkered down to watch a movie.
As some of you may already know, I have a deep, burning desire to get a cat or two. Maybe it's a biological clock thing, but I think about cats, dream about cats, yearn for cats of my own. Our friends have four of them! Bonus cat love time for me!!
Um, Ron and I are both allergic to cats. As if THAT should stand in the way of my happiness. After dinner, Ron and I curled up on the love seat. Suddenly, I had company as Missy Kitty came and curled up in my lap. I was totally in heaven! I petted and pampered and was falling in love with Missy Kitty. It's that deep purr they do that sounds like an engine and their whole little bodies just vibrate with it. Way too cool.
Missy Kitty stayed with me for half of the movie. Then she got up and left me! Before she left though, Sweet Pea came and sat on Ron's lap and I had one hand over there petting her while the other hand was loving on Missy Kitty. By the way, the other two cats were happy to just ignore me. I guess I can't win them all over.
Anyway, I finally figured the heck with you, if you want to sit on Ron's lap, I'm not petting you! HA! Sweet Pea knew where her bread was buttered. She moved over on to my lap and the loving commenced. Truly, I was in heaven with all of this cat love.
Then, our hosts (notice I'm not mentioning your names! Just to protect the innocent!) noticed that my eye was almost swelled shut. Yeah, I knew it was happening and I knew it was going to happen before I started petting the cats! I just didn't care!
When they saw my eye so swollen, they shooshed the cats away. Luckily the movie was almost over. My lap felt empty! They felt terrible that this happened, in spite of the fact that I said it was my own fault and I expected it to happen since I insisted on playing with the cats.
We came home, I took two Benedryl. We took a couple of pictures so you could see I really do mean I am allergic to cats! Aside from the swelling, I get like a blister on my cornea. You can see a huge bubble under the surface that took up the entire bottom half of my eye. I tried to capture it in the second picture, but it didn't really come out. You needed to be here to appreciate that one!
It doesn't matter. We had a great time last night and I don't regret a thing. The swelling is almost gone and other than being loopy from the Benedryl, I'm just fine. It was so totally worth it.
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