In Our Own Back Yard

Friday we had a bright spot in between all of the rain we've been having. Ron and I decided to take advantage of it!

We headed out to Lakeview Park right here in Lorain! How often do you ever become a tourist in your own city? I'm telling you, if you don't, you should. The beauty in our own back yard so to speak was astounding.

We go to Lakeview Park often. There is public access to the beaches on Lake Erie as well as picnic grounds, bocce courts (see last post!), a restaurant and this gorgeous rose garden. As many times as we've been to this park, I don't think we've ever walked through the rose garden. Friday we made up for it!

Let me first say that I am no photographer. I have a couple of digital cameras but other than pointing and clicking, I really don't know what to do with them. I think I had some settings wrong since a lot of my pictures were just washed out you couldn't tell what was in the pictures! So, bear with me. They pictures aren't great, but you get the idea.

Above is the entrance to the rose garden. Immediately behind me is parking and on the other side of parking is the beach and then Lake Erie. So, not only are the roses gorgeous, the rest of the scenery is just as spectacular.

There is just about every color of rose in this garden.

The garden is made of up rows of concentric circles. Each section of a row will have another type and color of a rose. Here you can kind of see what I'm talking about with the rows.

It's just beautiful! From the entrance, I turned around and took a picture. You can see just how close we are to the water. Unfortunately, when I tried to take pictures of the water, they were all washed out. Inside of that arch, at the end of that black pier coming from the right is a lighthouse. Yeah, that didn't come out at all!

When we got home, Ron did futz with the settings on my camera, so hopefully next time there will be better pictures.

The roses themselves were indescribably. Here are a few examples:

One is even more beautiful than the next, for sure.

It was a great day in our neighborhood. We walked all through the garden. It was a magical place; a peaceful place. I know I will be back there soon if for nothing else, to stop and smell the roses.

Game Night

Anyone that knows me knows that I love games. I love card games, board games and heaven knows I love computer games, especially Pogo! But, I digress.

Tonight after dinner, Ron and I made a trip to Target. We were just putzing for the evening, no real shopping mission in mind. I do like to walk through the seasonal section, just because. I usually never buy anything, but I like to look!

What we saw first was some hula hoops. Hey, in Wii Fit, I am a champ at the hula hoop, even at expert level. I can do this! So in the middle of Target in front of anyone that wanted to watch, I hula hooped. Well, I tried anyway. I have come to find out that in real life I suck at hula hooping! But at least there are a handful of shoppers and who ever was manning the ceiling cameras that at least good a good story to tell people after watching me tonight.

Target was having a sale on bocce balls! The game of bocce is also called lawn bowling. Sort of a cross between shuffleboard and curling. We don't have the levelest of lawns, but with our new bocce set, Ron and I hit the yard and played a couple of games of bocce.

Ron kicked my ass for both games we played, only because after two games it got too dark to see any of the balls! But again, we were entertainment for the neighbors. I knew one house of neighbors was watching us, but then another neighbor yelled out his window asking us about the game. Yes, whether hula hooping or playing bocce, we are entertaining!

So, we have started to practice. We will take on all challengers. If nothing else, it is a great way to spend an evening.

Tomorrow we plan on going to Lakeview Park. They actually have a bocce court there and we want to take advantage of a really flat surface. We enjoy the wonders of all of Lakeview Park, some of which will be featured in the next blog.

Eww!

I have a lot to say today, so let's get this ball rolling!

Wednesday, Ron had a late afternoon service call. We decided that once he was done, he'd come home, pick me up and we'd go to the Olive Garden for dinner. Hey, I happen to love the Olive Garden, plus we have a gift certificate to go there. Bonus!

Ron called when he was on his way home. I finished getting ready, and right about the time I expected him home, I decided to go outside and wait on the front porch for him. We have a front door that has three locks. We have keys for none of them! So, if we're leaving the house and not just going to sit on the front porch, we come and go via the side door. By the way, here is a picture of the view from our front porch, while I was sitting on the glider! This has nothing to do with this story, I just love my front porch and my maple tree! (oops! I took this picture this morning and now I see that you can see our recycle bag still sitting there! Oh well. At least we recycle!)

Anyway, I left the house through the side door and walked to the front porch to wait for Ron. As I was walking, it had just started to sprinkle outside. Not too bad, I wasn't going back inside for my umbrella.

I went to the front porch and sat down on the glider, watching traffic. The rain picked up. And, then it really got freakin' serious. It started to rain harder than I've ever seen it rain before. Sitting on the glider, I was starting to get wet! I walked to the other side of the porch and I was still getting wet! It was crazy and I was stuck!

Ron finally pulls into the driveway, barely cracks his window down and says something silly like "ready?" HA! I told him that no way in heck was I walking the four feet required to get into the van! He turned the van around and had the passenger door right next to the foot of the steps. I still didn't move until it let up some.

Traffic was horrendous as all streets were flooded and lights at major intersections were out. I am not a good passenger and I was freaking out on my side of the car. Finally Ron suggested just going to a restaurant that was just coming up on the street we were on instead of driving all the way to the Olive Garden. Fine by me! Rosie's usually has good family type food. We haven't had a bad meal there. Until Wednesday night that is!

We shouldn't have changed our original plan. Rosie's was not on their game Wednesday night as both of our soups were cold as were both of our meals. Finally the waitress just stopped coming to our table because she knew she was going to be carrying something back! Not our best night.

Anyway, the following morning, we had these bugs all over our house. We had no idea what they were, but in telling the story to my brother Michael, he thought they might be Mayflies. Sure enough, a little Internet research showed that of course, Michael was right!

These two were from inside of the house looking through the screen at a couple of them.

From tip to tip these things are maybe two inches long! On the north side of the house, every screen has some of these things on them. When I went outside to try to get a better picture, there were hundreds all over the outside of my house, all on the north side! Here is one from the outside.

The strangest thing is today, Ron and I went to go out for breakfast. There are still a ton of these on the outside of our house, but now most of them are wingless and their bodies have changed to a light yellow or tan in color. I'm going to have to do more reading on the Mayfly. It is weird.

But, for now, we are covered in bugs. Eww.

Napa Valley Box Company

I have nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's been quiet here.

There has been nothing blog worthy going on around here. Other than watching my beloved Cubs tank it on the field, it's been quiet here in Lorain. Let's see what I can pass along from my life here.

Last weekend, Ron and I went for a nice long walk at one of the local metro parks. I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of the best parts about Ohio is their metro parks system. There are numerous parks around and they are all fantastic in some way. This time we chose Bur Oak as our starting point.

We walked over two miles and just totally enjoyed the day. Unfortunately, I think that was more than Ron's rib was ready for, and he had a bit of a set back in his healing journey. While the day was beautiful, the only Kodak moments were the four caterpillars that were on the walk way as we were walking out. They seemed to all be the same species; dark brown or black, spiny, with a row of red dots down its back. And me without my camera! I know, I know. The story is nothing without pictures. I tried to find a picture of it on the net to add to this story, but I didn't have any luck. I guess my description will have to do.

Long walk aside, it was a quiet week. I did cut the grass all by myself this week! I was pretty proud of myself on that one. Before you ask, this was not Ron talking me into helping him white wash the fence. I really wanted to learn how to use the riding lawnmower and I did it. I didn't do it Ron's way I'm sure, but I got the job done. I am busting over here I am so proud of myself!

This weekend, Ron got to run away and have a "guys' weekend"! I think all guys need that now and again. A place where they can burp, fart, scratch their balls and just be guys and not worry about things like chewing with your mouth shut or putting a napkin on your lap.

Ron, and our friend Larry, went with Steve to Michigan where Steve races boats. Sort of like stock car races, but with boats. Yeah, that is as much as I understand, so don't ask me for clarification. Ron and Larry were going to be part of Steve's pit crew. Like I said, a guys' weekend.

Friday morning, I ran him to Larry's house so that I could have Ron's van for the weekend if needed. (My car is out on loan!) I figured that as long as I was dressed and mobile, after dropping Ron off I was going to run a few errands. What a mess I got myself into.

My first stop was my local library. An easy in and out. My problem was trying to get out of the parking lot. There is one driveway for inbound traffic and one driveway for exiting. These lanes are clearly marked with signs and painted arrows. It should be a no brainer. I guess I need to start looking for people that can't read signs at the library since not one but TWO cars coming in the exit almost creamed me. Yeah, my fault. I wasn't watching for traffic coming the wrong way. Silly me.

I then went to Home Depot and Lowe's. From a woman's point of view, stick with Lowe's. I spent way too much time at Home Depot walking up and down aisles looking for the part I wanted or an employee to point me in the right direction. Luckily, a guy shopping at Home Depot and I started talking. I was telling him what I was looking for and that I wasn't having any luck finding it. He was more than helpful, we talked about my options and then he gave me some good advice. He directed me to Lowe's.

The trip to Lowe's was a bit harrowing with one car almost hitting me when they couldn't read road signs and pulling into Lowe's I almost hit a woman that was exiting in the entrance lane. She was a bit shocked to see a big red van coming at her and she started screaming at me to watch where I was going. Ok, by now I was in a mood. I rolled my window down, stopped next to her and informed her that if she kept her ass on the other side of the boulevard where she belonged and not in the incoming lane, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to scare her.

At least the Lowe's employees were 100% better than the ones at Home Depot. I must have walked by five employees and not one of them passed me by without acknowledging me AND asking if I was finding everything I was looking for. Awesome customer service. I was directed to the correct aisle, but I didn't find exactly what I wanted. That wasn't their fault; it was mine for being indecisive.

That was way too much angst for me in a couple of hours of running errands. I hate being on the road, I hate driving and I am not all that fond of people at the moment. So, I came home, parked his van, and while Ron was away, I had a Ree weekend. It was marvelous!

I spent quality time with my heating pad, I played Pogo, I watched stupid TV, I read a lot, played Wii (and won EVERY game, thank you!) and just relaxed. I think it was a good weekend.

So, there you go. Not really anything blog worthy, but I made a blog out of it anyway. Now I'm sitting here just waiting for Ron to get home. Maybe this week I can find something fun to write about! Maybe this could be my week to hit the lottery. If that's the case, my next post will come from Cancun. Now that will be exciting!

Lake Erie Crushers!

There is a new team in town and they are the Lake Erie Crushers, located in Avon Ohio!

The Crushers are an expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional baseball league; they are not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They are playing in Avon Ohio in a brand new stadium named All Pro Freight Stadium.

Last night was opening day for the Crushers in their new stadium. Ron and I had tickets and we wanted to get there early to scope things out. This stadium is just awesome! It's a good sized stadium with straight away center at 400 feet and both poles at 325 feet. But all seats just seem so close to the action that it really has a small feel to it. The last seat in left field was about two feet away from the foul line. I'm telling you, you can't get any closer to the action without being a player.

By the time we got tickets for this inaugural game the only tickets left were general admission tickets. At $6 a ticket it was still a bargain. General admission tickets however were either standing or sitting on a hill in the grass. Since we weren't prepared for the wet grass, we chose to stand. That was ok with me, especially since we were allowed to stand right at the rail!

We chose our spot out in left field. We were standing right at the wall! Looking straight down, I was about seven feet up from the warning track. I'm telling you, it was a great place to watch the game and we met some great people standing at the wall with us. Best of all, I got to talk some smack to the left fielder of the Windy City ThunderBolts. Trust me, #5 was not the best left fielder I've ever seen and judging from the smack being thrown around by us left fielders, I wasn't the only one that thought that! Poor guy took a beating from us!

Let's go back. I said we got there early. We were able to walk all around the park as it goes in a circle. The general admission grass hill is at straight away center but you can stand against the wall all across the outfield. There are no seats down the right field line but there is a walkway to go straight over to the seats on the first base side. We visited the gift shop, found the food vendors and the bathrooms, and where all the exits are. We were all over every inch of the park! Best of all, we got a partial guided tour from one of the ushers, Matt. Being early does have its advantages.

There was a lot of hoopla before the game. Part of the hoopla was honoring the local Air Force Reservists. There were about 10 or so new recruits that had just taken their oath to join as well as a handful that are getting called to active duty. It was a nice little ceremony honoring both groups. Just before the national anthem, from over the hill in center field came two C130s (that's what Ron said they were!) with the USAF emblem on the wings! It was so awesome I can't even put it into words! They flew so low that I could almost see the looks on the pilot's faces! As they flew away from the stadium, the first plane dipped his wing to the right and the second plane dipped is wing to the left. What a sight!

As the National Anthem was sung, when they got to the "rocket's red glare" a few fire works were shot up. True rocket's red glare! It gave me goosebumps!

The game was extremely entertaining. The mascot, Stomper got the crowd going after the end of each half inning. My hands hurt from clapping all night long. Especially since the Crushers won, 5-2! Way to go, guys!

After the game were fireworks. Ron and I decided to stay to enjoy them. Since a lot of people had left before the fireworks, we were able to move over and sit down. We chose to sit up in the picnic area at a table. I don't think I'd want to watch a game from up there since you couldn't see all of the field, but it was great to watch the fireworks! I'm not usually a fan of fireworks but let me tell you, these were so worth waiting for! It was a breath taking display.

So, we had to stand during the game. Yes, my feet are sore, my legs are sore and my back hurts. But you know what? It was worth every ache and pain! We will definitely go back!

See you at the ball park!

I've Got His Back

Since Ron broke his rib, I have been trying to help him where ever I can. Let me first start by saying that Ron is getting better every day! That is the best news! He's not 100% yet, but he is definitely moving in the right direction.

One thing I did last week was to drive Ron to his service calls. That's not a bad gig, especially when the weather is nice. I drive, then sit in the parking lot and read my book until he's finished. See? Not a bad gig.

Saturday, I thought we couldn't put off mowing the lawn any longer. When Ron is healthy, I try to help with the lawn by doing the hand mower work. He has to start the mower for me since I have trouble pulling the string, but once it's going, I can go around the house, around the trees and signposts and then sit and watch him on the riding lawn mower do the rest.

I tried to learn how use the riding lawn mower during our first summer with the mower. It has been a horrible memory for me. I remember popping wheelies, screaming, wind rushing through my hair as Ron walked beside me trying to tell me I was fine. Yes, a scary experience. I don't know if it was my screams or just the humor of the whole situation, but we actually had neighbors pull up lawn chairs in the street to watch me make a spectacle of myself. Yeah, that's the last time I was on the mower.

Well, again, I'm trying to help Ron. And, inside I KNOW it's a good idea that I know how to use all of our toys, so I told Ron that if he helped me again get started, and then stay close by, I'd try again and ride the riding lawn mower.

I did all of the hand mowing and Ron started with the riding mower. I won't do the tree lines with the riding mower since I feel I am too close to the street plus I feel like I'm going to tip over for some reason by the curb. So, while I'm futzing, Ron got the tree lines done. Sweet deal! Once I was done, I was ready to take over.

I climbed on board, Ron again showed me the speed thingie, the different gears (higher gears go faster and faster. I stayed at number 2 out of 6!), the brakes and everything else I should know. Ok, I'm ready. I let go of the clutch, felt like I popped a wheelie, I screamed, and I was off. Off of my rocker, I know, but really, I was mowing!

Ron has a pattern on how he mows the grass. But, he was nice enough to just let me try to figure out my own. He pretty much said "there's the yard; mow it."

I didn't do it as neatly as he did, and I had to go over a few spots. It seems that I cut my corners a little short so I had to go over a bunch of them! And, yesterday when we went out, I saw I missed another section. Oh well. For my first attempt, I think I did pretty well! At least the grass is cut and all looks good in our world.

After all is said and done, the riding lawn mower might be a little easier than the push mower but not much! It's hard to freakin' turn, it still scares the heck out of me, it doesn't drive in a straight line and it takes a lot longer to do. I'd much rather be the one done first and sitting on the porch watching him finish.

So there you go, honey. I really hope you're back to 100% soon. I have proven to myself that I can do some of your chores, but to be honest, I'd rather not! I'm handing the keys to the mower back to you. I'll stick with my old chores!

Therapist Wanted

Now here is a kid who will need a lifetime of therapy.

Pump My Stomach

I have said previously that I am NOT Betty Crocker. I'm ok with it. However, usually when I cook it is at least edible.

One of my favorite foods is pork chops. I've never been great at cooking them, but recently I've had help from Julianna Walzcak on proper pork chop cooking! Since her help, my pork chops have been pretty great! But, every time I cook them, I cook them the same way.

Really, other than orange spaghetti or fried cabbage and noodles, who wants things always cooked the same way? I grabbed some old cookbooks and started looking through them for something easy to do with the pork chops. I found a recipe in an old Bisquick cookbook that looked easy. And, since I have a box of Bisquick in my cupboard that I have no idea what to do with, I thought this was a winning idea! Pork chops with cheesy biscuits or something like that.

Let be tell you, it was bad. Bad. BAD. B-A-D. Do you get the idea that we didn't like it?

Phil started dishing out the chops while I was putting the rest of dinner on the table. I happened to look at his plate and saw the pork chops were still more raw than cooked! What the heck! The three of us tried to brainstorm. I scraped the biscuits off of the top and back in the oven went the chops. I did make a new batch of biscuits and after awhile I added them to the brew. Let me tell you, only an A-bomb could have helped that dish.

When the chops came out of the oven, at least the pork chops were cooked.

Let's start with the top. Has anyone actually had Bisquick biscuits? Eww! C'mon now, those things are just gross. Nasty. Gag me. Eww.

The sauce: basically this was cream of mushroom soup with some milk and some Durkee french fried onions. One would think that this would be a decent combination; cream of mushroom soup can usually pass for edible. Well, you would be wrong here too. This was the grossest sauce I've ever tasted.

Pork chops: Well, it went from undercooked to overcooked.

Put all these three layers together and I'm telling you, most of this dinner ended up in the garbage can. It absolutely tears my heart out to throw food away, but I'm telling you if I had a dog, even it wouldn't have eaten this crap. Eww.

Tonight I'm going back to what I know. Orange spaghetti. It's not Ron's favorite, but I need one in the win column after last night's dinner. Eww.

I Have The Answer!

If anyone out there is following my beloved Cubs, you know that it has NOT been a good couple of weeks. The Cubs were in a tailspin, losing eight straight.

Then, last night it happened! They won!! Now, let's try to figure out what they did differently to give them the winning edge.

Well, first and foremost, the game was called after five innings due to rain. Hey! That MUST be the answer! Instead of allowing the opponent an entire 27 outs in a game, we should only let them have 15 outs and call it a game! I see our chances getting better and better!

C'mon, Bud Selig (commissioner of baseball), let's give the Cubs a fighting chance and have five inning baseball for awhile! It could only help us!

Update: I told you so! Today's Cub's game had the Cubs winning 2-1 at the end of the 5th inning. The Pirates came back to tie it up in the 7th on a questionable call from the umpire. My heart sank. But, the Cubs came back with a big 8th inning and ended up taking the win, 5-2! Go Cubs! Playing those extra innings didn't hurt this time, although I DO have a few more gray hairs now!

Wake Up Call

We have an elderly couple that lives next door that we just love to bits!

He's 90, she's 85. Neither are in good health, but that doesn't stop them. He still drives, and ok, that kinda scares the hell out of me. But, I digress.

They are wonderful people and we took to them from the very beginning. We have sort of adopted each other as family. We like watching out over them.

Tonight, the three of us were getting ready to go out to dinner. I happened to look out the front door and saw an ambulance in front of this couple's house. Of course, I panicked. Out the front door I ran and to the neighbor's.

As I get there, three paramedics are leaving with their gear but without either of the neighbors. They all had smiles on their faces, so I figured it couldn't be too terrible. I asked the paramedics if I'd be in the way if I went in, and they said they were done. Hmm.

I go running in and both of the neighbors are standing there looking a bit sheepish. Here's what happened.

He was feeling a little punk so he went upstairs to take a nap. Since her hip replacement a few years ago, she does not climb the stairs. When supper was ready, she stood at the bottom of the steps calling and calling and calling him. He wasn't coming downstairs. She got worried.

So, she called 9-1-1 for an ambulance. The paramedics arrived, grabbed their gear, ran upstairs . . . and woke him up! Poor guy was sleeping so soundly all he needed was a good wake up call.

So there you go. A little excitement in our neighborhood, but this time with a good outcome. And, at the very least, the paramedics have a good story to tell back at the office.

After Four And A Half Hours At The ER . . .

Yes, it has not been a good day, especially for Ron.

Thursday night after dinner, Ron started to complain that his back hurt. Ron is not much of a complainer and all night Thursday he was moaning and groaning in pain. He hardly slept Thursday night. This really is not like him.

Let's go back a bit. Last week, Ron fell and he fell hard. He had a huge bruise on the right side of his back, up high almost under his arm. He also had a bruise on his left bicep but other than that, he thought he was ok. He spent a couple of sore days but then felt he was none the worse for wear.

Thursday was a tough day on him. He was crammed up under his van changing the oil. He also was bent over changing the oil on his motorcycle. The neighbor had fallen and couldn't get off the floor. Ron went over and just lifted her back to her feet. Then, as is law when you work on a motorcycle, the bike had to be ridden. After a day like that, we were attributing his pain to some back strain.

Friday he was marginally better; he seemed to be moving a little better and not moaning as much. Perhaps it was just a strain. Then, Saturday he was markedly worse. He could barely walk and was not able to cough without extreme pain. We were pumping Aleve into him with little success.

Then Ron admitted that it wasn't his back that was hurting, but a specific spot that happened to be right over his left kidney. He was suspecting a kidney stone. While he's never had a kidney stone, the pain was right over the kidney and he's heard that stones are extremely painful; he was in extreme pain.

He fought with himself for a few hours after the suggestion of a visit to the ER when the pain finally got the better of him. We got him dressed and we were out of here.

In triage, Ron told all; he told of the fall last week, the lifting of the neighbor, the car repairs, riding the bike, everything. He also added his thoughts on a kidney stone. I guess his assumption made sense since we ended up getting a lovely plastic cup for Ron to fill. They figured they could get started on a urinalysis even before we were seen by a doctor.

The wait was horribly long. I could go on and on with the horrors just in the waiting room, but I'll gloss over that part. Most of you have probably had a similar wait in an ER at one time or another.

After all that, I think he ended up with a really good doctor. She was young and had a name I can neither pronounce or spell. But, she was very personable, very caring and very sharp. I'd say she was worth the wait.

First of all the urinalysis came up clean. There was no infection and no blood in the urine so that left out a kidney stone or a kidney infection. She had Ron lay on his back while she manipulated his legs. Nothing she was doing made his pain flair up or get any worse. Only when she prodded his back would he yell in pain. She had ruled out the kidneys and any musculature problems. What could it be?

The doctor actually said that for a 50 year old man, other than this pain, he was in good shape! Ron wasn't in too much pain to not take offense to that comment! He said "HEY! I'm only 49!" She felt a little bad about her faux paus until we started laughing about it. Poor Ron has 11 more months of being 49 and he's going to make sure he gets all of them in before he relents to 50!

Anyway, she thought for awhile and then thought of the ribs. He did fall a week ago and even though the symptoms came days later, she felt she had a winner.

She did make sure Ron got an injection of some kind of happy juice to help him with his pain and then sent him over to x-ray.

The x-rays came back and she actually brought us into the nurse's station to look at the x-rays. Gone are the days of snapping the films into the light boxes. Welcome to the computer age where your images come up on huge monitors! We looked at a few images before she brought one up where you could pretty plainly see that was rib was indeed broken, and it was broken straight through.

While we were looking at all of Ron's hidden secrets, I saw what I thought was a blob all through his left side, sort of above, under and below his broken rib. To me it looked like a horrendous growth and I was surprised that she didn't seem too concerned about it. I finally asked what it was and she said "oh, that's just gas". Hello? You mean to tell me he's full of gas? Trust me, we didn't need an x-ray to tell us that! He offered to prove it when he asked me to pull his finger, but the nurses did take a vote on that one and his finger remained unpulled. They had no sense of humor!

So, Ron's had a happy shot and we left with a prescription for Percocet. Hopefully now that he's had one of those and he's spent some time on an ice pack, just maybe he can get some sleep. And that's just what he needs.

For now, he is to get lots of rest, pain management as needed, and ice packs. There is nothing else we can do and this can take up to three weeks to heal. So, Ron is out of commission for awhile.

What did he learn from all of this? Four and a half hours and a $100 copay and all you get is a prescription for Percocet and told that you are full of gas. Hell, I could have told him that in four and a half seconds and wouldn't charge him a thing! Hopefully, that Percocet will make it all worth it for him. He doesn't deserve all he's going through. Get well soon, honey.

Finally!

When I was growing up, there was a huge lilac bush outside of my bedroom window. My bedroom was on the second floor and the lilac bush was so huge I could reach out my window and pick flowers! My room always smelled like lilacs in the spring!

Ever since we moved into this house, I've wanted a lilac bush. We have a lovely front porch, complete with a wooden glider. As soon as it gets warm enough, Ron and I can be found on that porch.

The porch faces east. Since the wind usually blows south to north, I wanted the lilacs on the south side of the porch so that the porch would smell like lilacs! That was my goal.

A couple of years ago, Mike and Mary Jane went out and got us a little lilac bush and even snuck over and planted it when we weren't home! Ever since, I have been so excited for my very own lilacs. (For some reason, Ron didn't look kindly on me walking up the the city park and cutting a few of their blooms for my dining room. Go figure.)

Last year I scoped that bush, just hoping for blooms. You could see where the bush was trying to blossom, but I don't think it was mature enough. I watered, I talked to it, I kept all kinds of happy thoughts. Finally, this year it happened!

I finally have blossoms and I finally have that lilac smell. Here is the big picture. The bush has probably doubled in size over the last couple of years and one day it should cover that south side of the porch very, very nicely!

If you're looking for me any time soon, check my front porch.

That's Just Wrong, Page 17

Yes, another page for my book, That's Just Wrong.

Believe it or not, it's about one of my favorite websites, Pogo. That's http://www.pogo.com/ for anyone that doesn't know! I guess first of all, I need to explain a little about Pogo.

Pogo is a game site. There are a ton of different kinds of games from solitaire games to games like pinochle, different kinds of bingo and even piecing together puzzles. One of the things I love about Pogo is the variety of games. While we all have our favorites that we like to play, I also love they they are coming out with new games frequently. Some are duds, but I seem to like a bunch of them. Now, what do you get for playing Pogo?

One thing you get is tokens. Tokens are like their points. Some people have hundreds of thousands of tokens, some people have millions of tokens. What good are tokens? Absolutely no good. You can't trade them in for money, you can't trade them in for membership dues. They are pretty much worthless; just for show. By the way, membership dues are $40 a year and that gives you access to all games in Pogo and you get to play them with no commercials.

What else does Pogo offer? Badges! What are badges? They are rewards for completing a challenge or for playing enough of a certain game to go up in rank. The badges are nothing tangible. They are little check marks under your name and basically it shows that you either play Pogo too damn much or not enough! They mean absolutely nothing and are worth nothing.

But, one thing that Pogo offers is their weekly challenges. They will pick two different games, and set some kind of challenge in each game. It could be that you have to win so many tokens, or games or hands or reach a level or something. If you complete the challenge, Pogo will award you tokens and will give you a badge, both which mean absolutely nothing. Sounds like fun, huh? It does get people to try a lot of different games.

Well, I love playing games and the whole badge thing just plays into my CDO (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but in alphabetical order the way it should be.). I just enjoy playing the games.

Now the bad part of Pogo; the chat. Each game room that you are in has chat available, either public or a private chat. I'm not an online chatter. Once in a great while I'll hook up with one of my real life friends like Maura in Florida or Ruth in New York and we'll try to catch up a little while playing. Or, when I was traveling, Ron and I would play games and chat. Other than that, I'm not much of a talker. I'm just there to play games.

However, some times conversations get just ridiculous, or people turn nasty or just the regular rantings and ravings of angry unhappy people. Pogo offers the option to mute anyone in the room so you don't have to see what they are babbling, or you can shut chat off altogether.

The new challenges for Pogo are released on Wednesdays, and you have until the following Tuesday to complete the two challenges and earn your tokens and badges. Which remember, mean nothing! So many people love the idea of badges, myself included, that Wednesdays tend to be pretty busy in Pogo. I was playing one of the games on Wednesday and I couldn't help but notice one player kept saying things like "I am staying logged on, but I am at work so I have to get some work done". Then when she'd come back, she'd announce that she was back.

Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to play at work, and yes, on a slow day in the office, I've been known to play a game or two. The bad part came when she started to complain that the challenge was going to take her forever to finish as she had to play the game in between patients! Hello? Did I read that right?

Finally, I couldn't take it and I had to chime in "in between patients"???

She came back and said yes, since she was a nurse. HELLO? She missed my sarcasm when I stated that I was glad I was healthy since this bitch obviously has no clue how to properly prioritize her life. Worry about worthless tokens and badges instead of caring for patients.

So, here is my advice to anyone who can read this.

Take your vitamins, eat healthy, get lots of sleep, drink lots of water, and keep up with your exercising. With health care workers like this, none of us can afford to get sick.

That's just wrong.

Hall Of Shame

I am quick to give a thumbs up or a shout out to restaurants that we have really enjoyed. But what about the flip side? Restaurants that either don't know what the health codes are or who just don't live up to expectations in one way or another. This might be a new book, like with my "That's Just Wrong"! This idea came to me after what happened to us on Wednesday.

In Lorain on 20th and Broadway is a restaurant called The Roman Room. This restaurant has been opened and closed at least three times since we've lived here; mostly closed. It's been an Italian restaurant, a steak restaurant and back to an Italian restaurant. We have eaten there under previous management but my thoughts have been that the food was ok, but the service was horrendous. It closed the last time probably for a few years. Just recently we have seen signs that they are back open.

On Wednesday, I drove by and saw people in there for lunch. Wednesday evening, we were meeting up with our friends Larry and Linda to go for dinner. The plan was to try out the new Roman Room; under new management.

We arrived at 5:45 pm, what I would consider prime dinner time. The signs in the window now say closed! What the hell? I can't imagine that they will only be open for lunch, but why else would it be closed at 5:45 pm? The four of us are trying to decide on a plan B as to where to go for dinner. While we're deciding, another car pulls up, sees us outside and asks if the restaurant is open. We tell them it appears that it's closed and this new car wasn't too happy about it either.

While we're going back and forth, I decide to call the phone number on the window to see if the place is perhaps closed for good of maybe closed on Wednesdays. I am expecting an answering machine of some sorts to pick up and was quite surprised when a human being answered! This conversation was kinda classic!

Him: Hello, Roman Room.
Me: Uh, what are your hours?
Him: We open at 11:00 am and we are open until between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm, depending on business.
Me: (looking at watch to confirm yes, it's only 5:45 pm!) Well, when do you open?
Him: (sarcastically) I SAID at 11:00 am!
Me: Does that mean you're NOT open on Wednesdays??
Him: (figuring that's me outside his door) Um, it was kinda slow today, so we closed early.
Me: Good luck running a business that way!

C'mon now! You're starting a restaurant, and CLOSE it before six in the evening? What the hell!

After standing outside in the rain for awhile, we had finally formed a new plan on where to go for dinner. Back in our vehicles, Larry pulls away from the curb and as we are ready to pull out behind him, the chef comes out of the door, trying to wave me into the restaurant. Hello? I don't think so. I laughed and waved good bye to him. Think about it, only the chef is left. All of the ovens or grills or whatever would be turned off by now. With no one there, I figured I'd have to double as patron and sous chef, Linda would take our orders, Ron would tend bar and Larry would be on washing dishes! Yeah, I don't think so.

I take things to heart. Piss me off once, and it's unlikely I want to go back. I can't imagine wanting to go back to The Roman Room for dinner again.

Here are other entries into my Hall of Shame, in no particular order.

Cracker Barrel - on Detroit Road and Abbe Road in Sheffield. Ron and I were moving into this house on Thanksgiving weekend. Here it was, Thanksgiving day, we're in jeans and sweatshirts, working on packing up the rest of the apartment as well as cleaning it. We're hungry and tired, and all pots, pans, plates, silverware etc are all packed up. We need to go out so we chose Cracker Barrel which was right by the apartment.

Our waiter Mike, (I still remember his name!) actually said to us during dinner "I don't know why you people come out to eat on Thanksgiving day. You should be home with your family". Not normally one to be at a loss for words, I was this day. I do remember saying something about not everyone HAVING family around and perhaps working with the public should not be his first choice for a career. I should have called the manager instead of sitting there crying but i didn't. Yeah, not a place I have any desire to go back to anytime soon.

50's Diner - Ok, this place is no longer in business (go figure!) but it was on Detroit Road right at the exit from I-90 next to Quaker Steak and Lube.

We stopped in late one night just for a little treat. We sat at the counter and after watching our waiter use his dirty fingers to get the ice cream out of the scoop and into our bowls we lost our appetites. Even if it was still open, not a place I would chose to go.

Denny's - The Denny's over on Route 611 in Lorain - Ron and I were sitting at a table right next to the counter. From where I was sitting, I could see along the length of the employee side of the counter. Again, me and counters don't get along! I watched two waitresses drop a bunch of napkins onto the dirty filthy floor behind the counter. They sat there for a few minutes then the two came back, picked them up and straightened them out. They were put back under the counter to be used on the tables. That one I did have to tell the waitress that the next time she dropped napkins on the floor they should be thrown OUT and not used by her customers. Yeah, I'm done there.

Rino's - An Italian restaurant on Oberlin Avenue in Lorain. Ron and I would go there and the biggest complaint we had was about their sodas. No matter when we'd order soda, they were always as flat as can be. Something wrong with their tap system was my opinion. But, we'd order anything but soda and all was fine. Until we went in to pick up a to go order.

The servers were responsible for making up the salads. A cooler was in the front and I was unlucky enough to stand there and watch one server make a salad with her bare hands. I don't want her nasty dirty hands all over my food, especially just after she's done handling money. Eww! They did have a nice plastic glove in the bin for them to use to make the salads. However, she'd grab the glove, put it on one hand but still use both hands to make the salad. When she was done, she took her dirty hand, grabbed the glove off of her other hand by the fingers and then threw the glove in the bin with the lettuce. Yeah, she was unclear on the concept of clean hands. We have not gone back there since.

Hanko's - North Ridge Road in Elyria. We used to go to Hanko's when we first moved into the house. The food was good, with a lot of down home Slovak flair. While the food was good again the service was horrible. We stopped going. Recently, we decided we should try this place again as it's close by and the food was good. About a month ago the three of us went for dinner.

All was well until the dishwasher came out with a tray of clean plastic drinking glasses. While putting the tray on the shelf, a glass fell off and onto the floor. He picked up the glass from the floor and put it with the clean glasses on the shelf. Me and my big mouth yells "are you really going to use that glass??" He looks back at me and says "why not? It's clean."

I know how clean my floor is and I won't use something I've dropped on the floor without rewashing it. If this was his idea of clean, I was afraid to imagine just how "clean" anything there was! Yeah, Hanko's is now off my list, this time for good!

So, there you go, my Hall of Shame. I am naming names here people! Shame on all of them. Watch out! Bad service and health code violations will be posted here!

Heeeere's Jiggy!

A new member of the Feeney family! Welcome Jiggy Feeney!

My sister Cathie (also pictured with Jiggy!) had recently said good bye to her beloved Franky. Cathie and Dan have a pet friendly home and Franky's passing definitely left a hole in it.

They started Friday night at their local pound. There was a possibility of an adoption, but after spending more time at the pound today, that dog was not a good fit for their home. Then along came Jiggy!

He's a mix who is just over two years old and very well mannered. Cathie and Dan got to spend some good play time with him in the yard at the pound and it's definitely love! Here Jiggy is on his way to his new home!

Congratulations, Dan and Cathie! And welcome to Jiggy!

500!!!

Welcome to my 500th blog post! For real, could anyone have guessed that I could blog about 500 things? I admit, some days are harder than others but for crying out loud, that's a lot of posting! Who knows? Maybe I still have at least 500 more in me!

I couldn't think of one good reason to blog about for my 500th post, so I thought I'd just write about things that have either pissed me off or entertained me lately. Here we go:

Car 155 Where Are You? - or perhaps it should be titled Car 155 what in the hell are you doing? Ron and I were sitting out on the porch one night last week when I saw a Lorain police car driving south on our road.

I had previously blogged that I have little to no respect for our local law enforcement. Aside from seeing them in action as in speeding through school zones or not willing to get out of their car and write up a report when an idiot hits a telephone pole across the street from me and pulls wires out of my house, you know, ordinary stuff. Then there are the numerous police officers who are either indicted or under investigation for numerous things like rape, assault, stalking, fraud, throwing guns downs sewers, etc; it's hard to feel safe here. But, I digress. The latest doozie was car 155 driving down the street. As it came closer I saw that two officers were in the car. The officer in the passenger's side was just gazing out of the side window enjoying the ride. One might assume the officer in the driver's seat would be driving, right? Well I guess anywhere but in Lorain! The driver of this car had BOTH hands on the computer keyboard and his eyes on the moniter, NOT on the road! I don't know how long he had his eyes off of the road, but at least as long as I was watching him! There's my police force, hard at work.

How Green My Grass - It seems that last week the trees were barren as the weather started to warm up. This is an old neighborhood with old trees. There are trees around that have to be at least 50 feet high. All of them were barren except for one 30 footer to the south of us which barely had green on the tips of the branches. The trees greened up so quickly, it was absolutely amazing! We'd sit on the front porch in the morning, and when we'd go back in the afternoon, you'd see another tree was suddenly showing green that was bare just a few hours earlier. After dinner for another visit to the front porch and you could see even more green on the trees. Now, there isn't a barren tree around. It was amazing this year or at least I was more cognizant of the spring. All I can say is that it's been a very humbling spring for me this year.

Patooie - This one falls under entertainment. Well, it entertained me for awhile! I was chewing a piece of gum; not something I do often. When I was done with said gum, I grabbed the waste basket, held it under me and spit my gum out. Guess what. Yes, I missed the waste basket! It was hours before Ron quit laughing! I told you this one was entertaining.

One Person's Trash Is Another's Treasure - Thursday night, Ron and I were driving home from a dinner out. Thursday night is also our trash night. Actually, trash is picked up early Friday morning but everyone seems to put their trash out on Thursday nights.

One side street a couple of blocks away, the kids in the neighborhood have a portable basketball hoop. This is something similar to what I'm talking about. Anyway, they are in the street many a nights playing hoops. It may be a side street, but it does get a good amount of traffic. Traffic must stop and wait for the kids to clear the street so that traffic may drive through. And, by kids, I'm talking at least high school age. They leave this basketball contraption either in the street or on the tree line; it's hardly every put away.

As in most neighborhoods, you have the trash surfers driving around. You know, the people that go and look what you've thrown out and take what they think they can make money on. I guess we all have to make a living somehow. Anyway, we drove up just as one of these surfers was putting the basketball hoop into the back of his truck! Ron and I were howling! I can't imagine the owners of the hoop had any intention of throwing it out.

Well, if they decide to get another one, I bet they will learn to put it away, instead of leaving it by the garbage on the tree line.

So, there we go. A lot ado about nothing. Well, it is blog # 500 so I guess that's something! I still can't believe I could ramble on so much!

Thank you to my three readers! I do hope to keep you amused or entertained or something for another 500 blogs.

You Might Be Old When . . .

You might be old when kids ask you to stick around and close down the bar with them and your immediate answer is "ARE YOU CRAZY?? It's only 6:00 pm!!" Yeah, this happened to us yesterday!

Since Ron and I were good yesterday and got our work done (ok, we mowed the lawn. Damn, that was work!) we decided we should treat ourselves and go out for a bit.

We were both hungry, so our first order of business was picking someplace to go for a late lunch/early dinner. A good burger was what we wanted, and now we had to decide where to go for what we wanted. Now, we did say good burger, so that left out all of the fast food burger joints. I wanted REAL burgers.

There is a bar over in Avon Lake, a couple of towns to the east of us, that Ron had been to previously with our friend Larry. According to Ron they did have great burgers. It sounded good to me! Let me tell you, this place is really just a little neighborhood bar. I was a little worried about what I agreed to, since my bar stool sitting days are LONG behind me. This place did bring back a lot of memories, but I digress.

In this dark little bar with a jukebox blaring were a hand full of people sitting at the bar and four young men, I'd say in their mid twenties shooting darts. Ok, not only were they shooting darts, they were kinda hooting and hollering about their game, singing along with the jukebox and just having a great time. And, they were all definitely happy guys, and I'm betting feeling no pain.

We ordered a couple of burgers and a couple of beers. The cook actually brought our food out so we ended up chatting with him a bit. These burgers really were the bomb! They were huge and came with an order of home made fries. Your choice in the fries was either regular cut or waffle cut. My advice, should any of you find yourselves at Tailgaters, order the waffle cut fries.

In the middle of our burgers, one of the dart players came over to join us. This was definitely a friendly place! Introductions were made and he asked what we ordered. I ordered the Randy Moss burger. That's a Black Angus burger with swiss cheese and mushrooms and onions. It was awesome! After getting our new buddy Brian's opinion on our burgers, he offered us other menu suggestions for the next time we stopped by.

I guess he realized what fun people we were, or else he was impressed that I offered him a bite of my burger. Regardless the reason, our buddy Brian had the bright idea that we should party with them and close the place down! Close the place down? He said they were there since 1:00 in the afternoon and said that they'd remain there until closing at 2:30 am. We needed to stay there with them. Hello???

I did mention that we were old and couldn't hang like that anymore, but thanks for the offer. Brian insisted that we weren't old yet and we should definitely stay. That was a good suck up if I do say so myself! We did decline the offer to party all night but we were feeling pretty good about not being thought of as old. All in all, we actually did have a pretty good time and more importantly, a great burger!

In case you're wondering what the picture at the top of this blog has to do with this subject, well, here's the answer. After we left Tailgaters, we went to the pier in Avon Lake. There is a park by the pier and Ron and I just enjoyed the evening walking down the pier and through the park. It was a gorgeous day and the lake was very calm. As we were walking, I saw these flowers up against an old fence and just fell in love with them. I don't usually take good pictures, but I thought this one came out pretty good! I wanted to use it, so I threw it in here. Cool, huh?

Eminem Is His Daddy

I blogged awhile ago about this guy that used to dance on a corner not far from here. He was standing in front of the Little Caesar's Pizza for awhile, but now he's on his original street corner but with a new sign.

His new sign still states that Eminem is his Daddy, but now he's added that you should check him out on YouTube! So I did! Someone actually did a little video of him getting down with his bad self and here it is! This guy is just full of the joy of life. I dare you to drive by, see him dancing and NOT smile!

If you see him, honk!

Mmmm

When I was growing up, there was a neighborhood bakery in our neighborhood, Colonial Bakery. We bought all of our bread from there. It was nothing fancy, just their regular sandwich loaf (we asked for the loaves with the darker crust). They'd pick out a loaf for us, and put it on the slicer. That's how fresh this bread was! It did not stay on their shelves long and it was never cut until it was purchased. This stuff was just the bomb.

We've all been spoiled. Unfortunately, eventually Colonial Bakery closed. It was a sad day for all of Erie as far as I was concerned. And, since then, I can not find a decent bread. That was the only white bread I liked. Since there was no other white bread that I thought was palatable, I gave up on it and switched to wheat. Ron and I used to buy this 12 grain wheat bread that was bearable for awhile, but they seem to have switched their recipe recently, so it's not what it used to be.

Just the other day I went for groceries and spent almost 20 minutes walking up and down the bread aisle looking for a loaf of bread! Nothing looked good as none of it is Colonial Bakery bread and there are NO substitutes for it other than home made bread.

In a past life, I got a bread maker. I don't think I've used it since I've moved to Ohio, but I have it. It wasn't too hard to find, there in the baaaaaaack of the cupboard behind just about everything kitchen related I own.

I used to make bread quite often. There was a bread mix that I used to get at Target. It came in like a coffee can and was the easiest thing to use. You put water in the bread maker, then measured out how much mix for one loaf and turned the machine on. Ok, I also added raisins just because they make any bread oh so much better. I don't remember just how many loaves the can of mix made, but it was quite a few. And, it was vegan friendly for my frequent visitor who also loved fresh bread with raisins! (Hi, Jo!) It wasn't Colonial Bakery bread but it was really good.

Then, the bread mix changed. It was no longer vegan friendly and it was no longer sold in the coffee can. That was the end of me making bread.

The bug has hit me again after spending all that time in the grocery store the other day and just "settling" on a loaf.

Anyway, I got up this morning at Oh-My-God-O'clock (don't ask) and wanted to do something productive but quiet. So I dug out the bread maker and got to work. And, yes, I also added raisins!

Too bad this blog doesn't come with smell-o-vision because right now my house smells fantastic!

As a side note, I have been having a hankering for Chipotle's, one of my absolute favorite restaurants! Who can resist their chicken burrito with onions and peppers? Squeeze a little lime in there and I'm telling you it's close to heaven. Especially since they've finally put a Chipotle's near us over by the Midway Mall. There is no longer any excuse NOT to go to Chipotle's! Unfortunately, it's not one of Ron's favorite places, but he did give in to me and we had plans today, after his service call, to go there for lunch. I think my homemade bread just trumped Chipotle's and that's hard to do!

So, I'm going to go downstairs and slice up my bread, and grab the good Krakus Polish ham that's in my fridge (another taste of growing up) and enjoy a feast in my own dining room. If anybody wants some, you better hurry!

Making Mom Proud

One thing the girls in my family are known for: not being safe around sharp knives.

Tonight I was making orange spaghetti for supper. I was in the middle of chopping up one large onion. Before I knew it, there were two bandaids and one latex glove covering the bloody mess. At least I was able to not only finish chopping the onion, but I was able to finish making dinner as well!

Mom would be proud.

Medicine

Things are not great at our house.

Ron started last week with the creeping cruds. I caught up with him this week.

We are now on a liquid diet. Here is a picture of the liquids that we are taking. Hey, you choose your medicine, we'll choose ours!

The Hennessy is courtesy of Phil. Thanks, man. I knew you loved us!

Don't Look At Me!

Don't look at me! Yeah, this is what most people do when a camera comes out! Ron's son, Vince, was no exception!

Today was his last day with us, and I pulled out the camera. Here's what I got.

Today was a hard day. You don't want to start too much or go anywhere. You're just waiting for the time to go to the airport.

While waiting, the guys decided to watch a movie this morning. Since I now knew I had to be more clandestine in my picture taking, I had the camera hidden in my hand and took it as I walked by! Clever, huh? Sometimes being a little sly helps!

Finally, we headed out. We left a little early to hit the same restaurant we hit when Vince came to town. Cap'n Taco! I didn't want to send him home on an empty stomach and what better to eat before you fly? Tacos! Ok, maybe I didn't think that one through as well as I thought I did.

Before we went for tacos, I did get the the two of them to stand up together and pose for a picture. A little whining on my part went a long way.

After tacos we were heading to the airport. For a little fun for all of us we decided to park at the Park 'n Ride and take the train to the airport! (Ok some ideas I still take from brother Michael!) This was my favorite part of the day. Plus, you're spared the hurried hugs and goodbyes at the terminal and have time right at the airport to say the farewells. Since the guys didn't know I had the camera on me, I actually got a picture with both of them smiling!

It was a fast right from the Park 'n Ride to the airport, but we made the best of it. This way we were able to wait with Vince while he checked in and then watched him go through security.

I gotta tell you, it was a fast week. Unfortunately, Ron ended up sick through most of his vacation so the guys didn't get done as much as they'd hoped. Now Ron is feeling better and what sickness had left him has taken root in me.

But we did get to visit some family, and do a some site seeing, played a LOT of Wii and definitely ate our fill.

We just got the call a few minutes ago, and Vince has made it home safe and sound. It was a great visit, and now since Vince has his own key to the house, hopefully he'll feel free to use it again soon!

Terrific Tuesday

I gotta tell you, this is exactly why I love birthdays. All kinds of good things SHOULD and DO happen around your birthday!

As I've already posted, last Saturday was Ron's birthday. The three of us met up with our friends, Larry and Linda, and went to Jackalope's, our favorite restaurant, for dinner. We have never been disappointed with any food that has come out of their kitchen or service we've received. Plus the view can't be beat.

While we were there, we saw signs that Jackalope's was having an Easter brunch. While reservations were supposed to be needed, Sunday morning we showed up, hoping they could fit us in. Sure enough, they found a table for us. It was a great brunch, complete with a couple of mimosas! C'mon now, how can any day that starts with champagne and orange juice be a bad day?

Ron's best birthday present came on Monday. Ron's youngest son, Vince, flew in to town for his Dad's birthday! While it wasn't a surprise trip, it was sure the highlight of Ron's week. So, with Vince here for a week, there has been a whirlwind of activity around here. The boys are definitely ramping up the competition on the Wii system. I keep hearing "oh crap" or some variation of those words from each of them. It seems that they are pretty evenly matched and while one will win one game, the other seems to come back on the next. They have been a hoot.

The highlight for me was on Tuesday. My brother Jim was nice enough to drive all the way to Ohio again and join us for dinner. I made a mad dash to Sam's Club for some dinner supplies plus a trip to Fligner's for some great steaks. In my opinion, they are the best place to buy meat. We definitely weren't disappointed in the steaks they chose for me.

Ron and Vince were out in the rain on the grill with the steaks and portabella mushroom caps. Inside, I was on the steamed asparagus and fresh garlic bread. (I don't think I put too much garlic on there, but not everyone might agree with this. I thought it came out fantastic, but I might be biased here!)

For desert, we had some fresh strawberries and some leftover strawberry cake. It truly was a great dinner. After the dining room was cleared up and dishes were done, we got down to serious business.

Ron and Vince proceeded to the living room to pick up the Wii marathon. In true fashion for our family, Jim, Phil and I staked out the dining room table and broke out the pinochle cards! Ok, both of the boys had to be reminded of a few rules on how to play the game, but after that, the game proceeded.

It was strange. The three of us all recalled playing pinochle with Grandma, and when we'd argue about a hand or rehash it, we heard Dad's voice telling us he couldn't understand how we got enjoyment out of arguing over cards! Hey, it's how we grew up! The three of us enjoyed the warm fuzzies of the happy memories.

Best of all, is I won the pinochle game. Ok, maybe it was because they made keep score, but I think it was my superior pinochle playing. And maybe a little luck!

Yes, it was a terrific Tuesday.

As for the visit from Vince, all is going extremely well. He is a very laid back kid. I can call him a kid since we've decided he is exactly half my age. Yeah, somehow this should end up in the "that's just wrong" category but I digress. He's very agreeable to any idea as to what do to or where or what to eat. He's on vacation, and that's pretty much all he cares about.

And all I care about is his visit absolutely made Ron's birthday. And that's what it's all about.

The Perfect One!

Yes, we were bowling! And, the birthday boy has bowled a perfect game!!!

You can't tell here, but actually, the game before, he ended up with nine strikes in a row. On top of that, this game was 12 more, making a whopping total of 21 strikes in a ROW!

Of course, we were smart about it and stopped playing immediately!

Way to go, honey! What a great game!

Happy Birthday, Ron!!

Well, it's 22 minutes into his birthday and we've sung (loudly and badly!), opened presents, hugged, kissed, and already have a strawberry cake baked! That's a darn nice start to a birthday, if you ask me!

Saturday, we are going to Jackalope's for a birthday dinner; sitting outside, watching out over the marina. If anyone is around, stop by and join us in wishing the birthday boy another year of health, happiness and success.

Happy Birthday, honey! May the best be yet to come!!

And Yet Another Update!

Perhaps I should wait to blog until I have all of the facts!

Our furnace guy got here this afternoon. He said he usually just takes the recommendations of the gas company employee and changes whatever parts they have listed on the red flag. However, after looking at our furnace, he said it was just a pipe that was so loose, it was almost disconnected totally. After tightening the pipe, the bill came to $104. A LOT better than the $400 more he would have charged had he changed the part we called him to change.

Here's to someone actually looking and fixing what's wrong and not what will get him more money.

That made today a little more bearable! Go me!

Can You Smell It?

Well, I could smell it.

Ron and I had just carried the laundry down to the basement so I could start the washing. I smelled gas. Not very strong, but I could definitely smell it. So could Ron. He immediately started looking for leaks at all of the connection sites. Nothing.

I called Columbia Gas. The woman on the phone had me scared to death by the time I hung up with all of the warnings and "advice" she gave to me. The hell with all of the rest of her warnings; Ron and I just evacuated knowing that Columbia Gas was on the way. We waited on the front porch for the cavalry to arrive. (Before anyone thinks we left Phil to go down with the house, he wasn't home!)

Our technician showed up quickly and the lines downstairs were tested with a sniffer, and he couldn't detect any gas leak. Then the fun began. A test of the pressure did find that there was a leak somewhere in the house as the pressure dropped after a three minute test. Not good. After much up and down the basement stairs for Ron and our technician, we ended up with three red flags. THREE.

The first was because we have a flex hose going from the gas line in the basement up through the floor to the gas stove in the kitchen. I guess it has to be a hard line, not a flex hose. Ok, that wasn't our original problem, but since he was here, he had to write it up.

Second was a problem with the furnace. If there is a problem, there is a gadget on all appliances that should automatically shut them down so the flow of gas stops and doesn't fill up the house. That gadget is broken on the furnace, so it is allowing gas to leak out. Not good. This needs to be fixed immediately. We have a call in to a furnace guy. The technician wouldn't even hook the furnace back up until this is repaired, so let's hope that it doesn't get too cold until I can get this fixed. The good news/bad news is that it's a part that can be replaced for a couple of hundred bucks. Big yuck on that part. But at least it doesn't warrant a whole new furnace.

Last red tag issue was our water heater. I blogged recently that while doing laundry one other day, we heard a scratching from something that had gotten into the exhaust vent. Well, whatever was in there ended up blocking the vent, thus allowing carbon monoxide into the basement. I guess when it rains it pours. The gas company wouldn't hook up the water heater either. At least Ron was able to fix this problem and remove the poor dead bird. Luckily, I didn't have to look at this part. Poor Ron did go above and beyond the call of duty on this one. Ugh. At least now we have hot water.

I should have just held my breath and ignored the smell. Or else not thought about being productive and doing laundry. Oh the joys of being a home owner.

Update!

CUBS WIN!!!! 4-2!!!!!

Ok, there is the update!

Today was opening day. It might have snowed all day here in Ohio, but in Houston it was bright and sunny. The bright spot here in Ohio was that the Cubs won over the Astros. But, as always, it's also a melancholy day.

Who can watch opening day without thinking of Mom? How many times did I pick up the phone to call Mom and say "did you see that?" The realization that she's not there to answer is sometimes a hard reality that still comes up and smacks me in the face.

Thanks to my sister, Cathie, for filling in via instant messenger tonight. She took over Mom's roll with her appropriately placed "Holy Cow"s and "Way to GO"s. Thanks for watching the game with me, Sissy. It was a huge help!

Now in the words of Harry Caray, "Holy Cow! Now let's get some runs!!"

It's Finally HERE!

Yes, opening day of baseball is HERE! Today! In seven minutes actually!

In case you're new here, I am a huge Chicago Cubs fan. The Cubs are starting their season this year down in Houston, Texas, my old home.

I have a friend in Houston, Robert. We talk smack about baseball as often as we can. He's started already. He woke me up this morning, talking crap about my beloved boys in blue.

Sorry, Robert. The 'Stros are going down! Oswalt can't help you today!

GO CUBS!

I Was WAAAY Too Cute!

C'mon now, was I a cutie patootie, or what??

This is me (on the RIGHT) and one of the two dogs we had briefly while I was growing up. This one is Rags. Rags was half sheep dog and half poodle. Hey, somehow it worked. What I remember most about Rags is that when it was time to walk him, he took the rest of the kids for a walk! Seriously, he would drag them from here to there and back again. It was not easy to walk this dog. Well, for me it was! For some reason, he knew there was no way I could keep up with him, so he'd walk like a little old man with me. I could hold the leash with one finger and he'd never get away from me. Dang. How could I go from dog tamer to being so terrified of them now? Go figure!

Anyway, I was going through some old junk the other night and I came across this picture. I remember my t-shirt! This was a hand me down from my sister, Cathie. The front said over and over "sock it to me" from the old Laugh In show. I loved that shirt!

Now here's a segue from this picture to what happened to me today!

I'm not a big breakfast eater, but I do enjoy an Eat 'n Park breakfast buffet now and again. I've been having a hankering for their buffet. I don't know if it's at all Eat 'n Parks, but the one by us only has the buffet on Tuesday and Saturday and then a brunch on Sunday.

So I talked to Ron and Phil and even got them to agree to go to Eat 'n Park for the breakfast buffet this morning. Not much, other than food, would get the three of us out of the house at 7:30 in the morning!

So far, so good. We were all up, dressed and out the door. We even had a great breakfast. And then, the horrible event occurred. The server brought us the bill. She charged us for THREE senior breakfasts! HELLO????

Ok, Phil I can see. (Sorry, brother.) But Ron doesn't exactly look like he's a senior citizen and I sure as heck don't!! In spite of the picture above being taken in 1968 when I was five years old!

Looking back, I guess I wasn't too offended. I did take the discount!

Neighborhood Watch

One thing about not working, you need to find other things to do to occupy your day.

My crocheting is coming along nicely, thank you very much! I'm over half way done with the whole thing and I'm impressed with myself.

So now I've also taken on the job of watching the neighbors. Hey, I can't help it. My crocheting chair looks out of the window so it's not my fault that I happen to take notice of the goings on.

Like the other day for instance. I was sitting in my chair, and what do I see? Across the street, a man is sort of walking down the road. When I say sort of, it was more like stumbling rather than actual walking.

This is an old neighborhood. There are alleyways through almost all of these blocks. The alleyway that goes across the block across the street is used a lot. I see cars coming and going through there all the time. This poor guy fell right at the end of the alleyway.

At first I almost thought he tripped. I waited for him to get himself up, but no, he seemed to be down there for the count. By the time I rallied the guys to go and check on him, he was working himself to a sitting position. Finally he did get himself up and continued stumbling his way back down the street. Yeah, you could miss good fun like that if you weren't watching!

The next bit of fun happened to be caught by Phil. It was after dark, and he went downstairs for something. Once downstairs, he saw the police activity right on our corner. Of course, we all went running!

On the ground on the corner was a guy and a bicycle. In the street were two police cars and one ambulance. Our first thought was that he was hit by a car. But, there were no other vehicles in the immediate vicinity. For all I could tell, it was the same drunk I saw earlier laid across the alleyway. It was dark, so it was hard to tell. The end of that story was the ambulance left without him and the two police cars also pulled away without him. I know, I know. If I'm telling a story, I should have more details than this.

Lastly, we have one of the trouble houses in the neighborhood. This house was filled with teenagers who did love to point their stereo speakers outside and dance on the porch to the volume at full blast. Yeah, we all love that, don't we? I guess if that was the worst that they ever did, I should consider myself lucky.

Well, last weekend, it seems that they have moved out. On Sunday I believe it was, there was about five or so bags of garbage outside. Then, every day, the pile has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. Keep in mind, garbage around here doesn't get picked up until early Friday mornings. Well, we've been looking at this all week. And, of course, the never ending line of lookie-loos that come routing through the garbage looking to take away anything they can. Bags are torn, crap is blowing loose all over. What an eyesore.

Now you can see our yard. Crap from across the street has blown all across our yard shown here. This is putting it lightly. I took this picture a few days ago. Today I went out to pick up all of the crap and you'd be surprised at what I found!

Now, we police our yard often. The street we live on is relatively busy, and people seem to love to drive up and down throwing crap out of their windows. Common items in our yard are cigarette packs, beer bottles, liquor bottles, candy wrappers. I've also found condom wrappers, condoms (I don't want to know), homework, utility bills that aren't mine, among other things. Keep in mind, I do put protective gloves on when I clean up the yard. Part of my germ phobia!

Today's bounty had new items. I can't be sure they were all blown over from the garbage heap next door or if they were items thrown from passing cars. Today, I found a dip stick. You know, that thing in your car that you pull out to see how much oil is in your car! I also found two sets of wiper blades, in their package. Too bad they were too small to fit any of our vehicles. I also found a wheel that looks like it came from a coffee table or something of the sort. That I'm guessing was chucked from across the street. All in all, I had one garbage bag full of crap.

Tomorrow morning the garbage men come. It will be interesting to see how much is left on the ground and how much is actually picked up.

Yeah, watching in this neighborhood is definitely an interesting experience!

WTF??

C'mon now, if this had been the rule 20 some odd years ago, none of us would have graduated! This is ridiculous!

Not Fair

Sunday night, I was tired. I was yawning by 7:00 and it didn't get any better as the night wore on.

Finally at about 10:00, I headed to bed. I read for awhile, (Robin Cook's Vector in case you're curious) and was asleep probably between 10:30 and 10:45.

Then came 12:30 am and I was awake. Not just a little awake like I need to pee and then I'm going back to bed. No, the kind of awake that you know it's going to be awhile until your head hits the damn pillow again.

Basically, I had a two hour nap. It's now 2:24 am and I'm bored. There are two other people fast asleep in this house so I'm trying to stay relatively quiet. There is only crap on tv and none of my favorite informercials are playing.

As a side note, c'mon now, there are a couple of informercials that are really good! Not good as in I'd like to buy that, but good as in they are definitely entertaining. One that comes to mind is that Magic Bullet. This informercial takes place in someone's kitchen supposedly, with bunch of their friends sitting around at the counter.

There is a British guy and a blonde girl. This Magic Bullet is supposed to replace your food processor and a bunch of other kitchen appliances. They make an omelette, frozen drinks, grind coffee beans, make pesto sauce among other things. I think the best part of this infomercial is one of the "guests" of this couple demonstrating this appliance. She is just like my Aunt Aggie! Right down to the house dress and cigarette hanging out of her mouth! Yeah, that's why I like that one.

Another goodie that I love to watch but do not want to buy is the GT Express 101. I think what I like about this is the hostess, Cathy Mitchell. I'm not sure what makes her the "kitchen expert" that she is reported to be, but I'm telling you, I could watch her demonstrate this dang contraption until the cows come home. My favorite is the chocolate cake she makes and puts a small candy bar inside for a "surprise". The only thing that's a surprise is that the candy bar somehow doesn't melt and just ends up a lump inside of the cake. Classic!

My last favorite informercial is the spray on make-up. No longer just for Tammy Faye Baker, now we can ALL apply it with a spray hose! I can't find a link to it now, but I'm sure most of you have seen it. Again, I could watch this stupid thing over and over.

So, if I gotta be up all night long, the least they could do is play my favorite informercials. I know, I have digressed off topic. What do you expect from me? It's almost three in the freakin' morning!

Beat That

This is a new record!

With gas prices what they are, I at least stretched my dollar as far as it would go.

I had filled up my gas tank on the morning of my car accident, 9/19/08, at over $4 a gallon I might add. That tank of gas lasted me until 3/10/09! Can you believe it? As an added bonus, I only spent $1.79 a gallon on the fill up!

Now that's making my money last.

Of course, getting lugged around by Ron and Phil has also helped in my cause. I am not going to ask them how much more gas they've used carting me around!

If You Hear Me Scream, Come Running

Yesterday was laundry day.

While Ron was humping the laundry downstairs for me, my job was to open doors and turn the lights on. As soon as we got downstairs, I thought I heard a noise. I am especially attuned to strange noises in and around this house. As you know, it's not unusual for a noise to be "strange" around here!

But I heard a noise, something like a scratching. Since it is my belief that unless it's paying rent, it doesn't live here, whatever was scratching I knew didn't belong. I put a death grip on Ron's arm and said "listen!" Sure enough, a scratching was coming from somewhere.

Ron hunted down the noise while I got in my ready-to-make-a-run-for-it stance. He finally followed the sound to the source. As best as he could figure, a bird was caught in vent from the hot water tank! Geez, that ain't good.

My first question of course was "could it get into the basement?" Ron thought the opening on our side was too small for a bird to get in. I remember when we had the bat in the basement. Reading up on bats I remembered that a bat needed a hole smaller than a dime to wiggle into. I was kinda worried this might be a bat!

Ron assured me that it was probably a bird and he was just trying to find his way back out, not into the basement. Sometimes, Ron can be very convincing. He offered to take the whole thing apart and get the bird out, but then I feared that it might not be a bird and whatever it was, could end up in the basement. What a dilemma!

So, Ron stayed with me in the basement while I sorted clothes and got the first load going. Shortly after that, he headed out for awhile. Holy crap, I was on my own to deal with the noises in the basement!

When it was time to go back downstairs, I told Phil the onus was on him to keep me safe. I told him, "If you hear me scream, you better get your butt down to the basement!" He did come and check on me during my first trip downstairs, but I'm happy to report that I hear no noises. After doing six loads of laundry, there were no scratching or banging noises in the basement. I am hoping that the bird or whatever did find its way out and it's not stuck in the vent. Yeah, that's it. It found its way outside again.

Just in case; if anyone hears me screaming down there, please come running!

Itches And Stitches

You know, getting fired from your job, really plays havoc with a blog. Being cooped up all the time, it's hard to come up with a blog story!

Here's what I do have. A story about itching and a story about stitching. First the itching.

About a month ago, I got a new pair of blue jeans. Way cool, huh? Well, I wore these jeans for two days, before I washed them. I developed a terrible itch that I was blaming on the new jeans. It's right where the waist band hits, about an inch wide strip, but here's where it gets weird. I itch half way around my body along that line. From where my belly button is all the way around my left side back to where my spine is. I itch. I itch bad.

I really did blame it on the unwashed jeans. I thought maybe some fabric dye, or just the roughness of the new jeans was irritating me. Unfortunately, it's now a month later and I still freakin' itch! At times it's almost unbearable.

I've had Ron check me over pretty closely. He can see no rash, no bug bites, no irritation other than my scratch marks. I've work old and worn jeans, but I still itch. I've worn elastic waisted shorts and I still itch. I wear no pants, but where my shirt touches that half band area, causes me to itch. I've tried hand cream, Gold Bond powder and even Benedryl ointment. Nothing is making it better. It's bizarre.

Any itch remedies would be appreciated.

On to the stitches side of this story.

As most of you know by the towels you've received from me recently, I've taken up crocheting again while I've been laid up. The towels just weren't challenging enough any more plus I have more finished towels here than I have people I know. (If anyone needs more, let me know!)

I've eluded to a new project in my previous blog post. Here's the story.

I bought a few books of patterns for afghans. I picked probably the hardest one in there, but it is so the most beautiful of them! Here is a picture of a work in progress, to give you an idea.

Here is my workspace! The afghan is a bunch of squares with raised pansies. Then you sew the squares together and voila, an afghan is made!

I need 54 squares. In the middle I have a bag with all 54 centers. On the right is one completed square! Underneath all of that is my instructions.

Each square is done if four parts, as there are four colors in each square. The center, the pansie petals, the leaves and then the outer square.

This picture was taken a few days ago, so now I'm up to two completed squares, probably 20 or so completed with the pansie petals and a few more with the green leaves. It's like I'm on a mission with this thing.

If you gotta be laid up, it's good to have a hobby. I've read more books than I can count since I've been off, so this is a nice addition to occupy my time.

Anyone need an afghan? This is definitely one I will do again!