All about Edie...or almost

Edie and I went through middle school and high school together. We've been friends through at least 4 presidents. We use to sit together and try to figure out how OLD we will be in the year 2000. Imagine my surprise when the year came and went and nothing catastrophic happened.

Edie and her mother provided my first exposure to cats. Edie's mom had Mozel. Mozel was a talker, and Edie's mom would always encourage conversation. I of course thought they were nuts. Cat's can't talk and surely they don't hold a two way conversation. Or do they?

Long after Edie had moved across the country, I adopted a cat, and she is the only animal or human that I've been allowed to name. My cat's name was Kitty. Thank goodness I wasn't allowed to name my kids, or they would be he and she. More digression.

Edie and I both started growing up in the same city - St. Louis and ironically we continued growing up in the same city - but this time we knew each other. Having both lived in StL and not knowing each other allowed for instant comradery and lots to talk about. Beer and baseball. Actually there was a bit more, Shopping at Plaza Frontenac.

The only thorn in my side as far as our friendship is concerned is birthdays!! Edie always remembers mine, and by golly I remember hers, which is only a handful of days after mine. But by golly I can't get a birthday card to her on time if my life depended on it. I have thought about saving the receipts so I can at least show her that I purchased the card on time.

Image what a relief I felt when I discovered Martha Cards. Martha is such a wonderful and thoughtful person. She provided greeting cards and a calendar. You tell her what and to who - like magic the Martha Elves get cards out on time. They don't sign them of course so it's blatantly staring you in the face ...She didn't send this herself - she ORDERED it!!

So I contracted with Martha to make sure that Edie got her Birthday card on time for years to come. We all know how that ended - Martha teaching knitting in her spare time and the card shop folded.

Now what was I to do? Well, I could email her a birthday wish - I could purchase a card early (done) and send it to her early (not done). I could graciously accept her birthday wishes and reciprocate them (nope, just thanked her profusely.)

So here I sit, with Edie's birthday card, yet unsigned. Her email riding the waves of my IN Box, as I don't have nerve to delete it prior to responding. So, standing on my soap box, usually reserved for my adopt a retired greyhound sermons....

to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDIE!!!

Yes, another late one, but at least Thanksgiving isn't here yet!!!

v3.0 - Victory!!!

I am beside myself with pride. I was able to successfully boil 6 eggs this morning!! I followed my previous directions, but this time allowed for more time to bring the water to a boil - a total of 22 minutes.

Sarah will be happy as there is a tinge of green gunk on the yolks, but they're solid!!

For my second try as cooking the mundane, Green Bean Casserole. I do believe that it's the state food of Ohio. The recipe looks fairly strait forward. The entire recipe is based around packaging, except for the green beans. Could someone please let me know how many cans are involved in 8 cups of cut green beans?

What's even more disturbing, green beans are packaged by weight and now they want me to measure volume. Any 6th grader worth their math can tell you that one cannot compare liquid measurements to those of solids.

GBC (green bean casserole) updates to come.

Boil Water v2.0

5 eggs in a small sauce pan, cover with cold water, turn heat on medium, bring water to boil and allow eggs to cook for 11 minutes then run under cold water to stop the cooking process.  So I set the timer for 16 minutes.  Five minutes for the water to come to a boil and 11 minutes of cooking time.

 

Daughter is sniffing around for breakfast and mom says, I have hard boiled eggs.  Daughter is thrilled, as she likes them and thought that one would make a nice breakfast.   The next thing I hear, "Mom, you should have cooked them longer."  Why, I asked.  "Because the insides were mushy and there was no green on the outside of the yolk."

 

No green!!!  I was successful!  Let me see the egg, I said to her.  To which Sean states, "She gave it to the dog."  All three dogs are still on their feet, so it must have been perfect, as I can't stand green scum on my egg yolks.  Basking in my triumph, I bring two eggs with me to work. 

 

I slowly, with great expectation, peeled the shell off and marveled at my accomplishment!  I put a little salt on the egg and took my fist bite.  Not bad, the egg has the proper consistency...I don't know what Sarah was talking about.  Second bite...No green scum on the egg yolk, but...

 

The egg white is the important part to eat anyway, isn't it.  No need for the yolk, <throwing it in the trash>.  At least the yolk had enough consistency to allow me to throw it out!!  Stay tuned...Boil Water v3.0 can't be far away...

Parenting in the '60s

I must say, I think my parents must be spectacular.  Why?  Because I'm still alive today.

 

• My bottles were glass - what if I dropped on?  It would have probably shattered, and their home would have been quarantined until every shard was found
• I use to sleep in my Halloween costume.  It was a clown, made with flannel and most likely not fire retardant
• A car seat...Never heard of one.  The earliest cars I remember would send chills up the spine of the politically correct parents of today.  A four door Ford - if I wasn't laying on the floor I was freely bouncing around in the car.  And don't forget the Corvette, I was person #3 in a two person vehicle
• My parents use to tell me to go out and play.  They didn't follow me and I can distinctly remember not having them with me when my friend and I walked to Target. 
• When my father taught me how to ride a bike, it was in the middle of the street and without having every inch of being padded.  If I'm not mistaken, I was wearing my flammable PJs.  One good fall and I could gone up in flames.
• I grew up prior to garage door openers, and my mother insisted that I open and close the garage door.  Have you ever felt the weight of one of those?  Think of what could have happened.  Not to mention, when I closed the garage door I pulled on a rope, I could have hung myself, Oh my!!

Today, there was a warning on the news about roll up blinds and how they should be removed from the home, as a child could become rolled up in the blinds.  OMG!  What in the world happened to telling a child no, that's not a toy?  When my son was insisting on biting his friends at daycare if they angered him, the director called asking for help concerning this behavior.

 

The politically correct way to discipline a biter LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD is to explain to them that they need to use their words and make better choices.  They're two!!  I told the director to spank the child and tell him NO!  Well, that's not allowed.  Well then I thought, it's up to the adults there to make better choices. 

 

If you cant/won't discipline a child, if you don't teach and demonstrate when necessary, what is right and wrong, you'll be in a world of hurt later.  Put some trust in the child, believe that you've done all you can and then let the child lead a normal life.  I didn't cover each electrical outlet, I didn't pad all the corners in my home.  I teach my children the proper way to respect a stove.  I didn't lock down my cabinets, I told my children no.  When they would mouth off, I would clean their dirty mouths with dish soap. 

 

It's incredible how peaceful life can be with a child who knows how to behave, and not struggle with words and choices.

Good Bye sweet Max

The Rainbow Bridge

by Paul C. Dahm
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: They miss someone very special to them; who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

Canine Cam Catastrophe

Thursday was to be the day that Canine Cam produced the evidence.  I was going to outsmart the dogs.  Since it seemed as though Argie would sleep all day, I would put the camera on Sadie.  I excitedly put the collar and camera on Sadie, put the gate up and told the pups to have a good day.

This is the best picture that I got from Argus.  Evidently he's once again lounging on the floor.  I figured that from Sadie I would get something other than the floor.

 

Like I said, she got the collar and the camera, and I went to work.  The mistake I made Thursday was not going home at lunch.  I gave them the whole day to be alone.  This was the first time in over a year that they were free on the inside. 

 

I've always told people that Sadie is my smart dog, Argus is the good looking dog and well, Jake is the Perfect Dog.  So, here's what happened as best I can figure out.  Sadie, once she realized we weren't coming back, began conspiring.  She showed Argus that she now had the camera...he responded by rolling over. 

 

Prancing around with the camera, Sadie saw a myriad of things to do.  Click went the camera.  Sadie checked out all the magnets on the refrigerator, click.  Every fifteen minutes of Sadie's exploration was caught in pixels.The Army has a motto of "No Man Left Behind," dogs have a motto of No Evidence Left Behind.  Evidence such as the photos neatly stored on her neck.

 

Sadie looked at Argus who was now - well, he hasn't moved for an hour or so - Psst, she said, help me get this thing off of my neck.  Argus didn't have to work real hard, as the human (read as me) didn't bother to resize the collar, so it slipped off of her head with relative ease.  Sadie methodically went about chewing up the camera, and the collar that it came on.  She then set about exploring and chewing, chewing and exploring. 

 

Suffice to say, there is no more canine cam, and of course no evidence of what the dogs were into.  Next though is the web cam.  Stay tuned for the next installment of Canine Cam, the motion pictures.

Priceless

For a good time... Click  Here

What was I expecting?

As many have seen and heard, I have three dogs.  Perfect Dog and two shepherds.  I've been working very hard to acclimate Sadie and Argus to life inside without supervision.  It's been a long road full of tuff love.  I love the dogs and my husband says tuff, they're going outside.

 

We did the conditioning, leaving them for minutes, then working it up to hours - always returning so that they get a sense of security.  Argus is all for security, as he's been off of Puppy Prozac for some time now.  So, when I saw the Canine Cam...digital camera to clip on dog collar, I was thrilled.  I can set the camera to take pictures every one, five or fifteen minutes.  The camera holds up to 35 pictures and connects to the computer by USB. 

 

Today was the big day...first day alone ALL day.  I don't know who was more excited, me to be utilizing such state of the art technology, or the dogs, not having to entertain themselves outside for 8 hours.

 

Eleven a.m. roughly marked the day's half way point.  I was so excited to go home for lunch, with gas at $1.86 per gallon, it was a trip I could make.  Onward home I went.  I told a couple co-workers who knew about Canine Cam that I was going home.  I went in the house and was met by two snarling dogs.  I checked for damage...none.  I took the camera off Argus and put the two outside.

 

I plugged the camera in, placed the photos into Picasa, selected the edit view and then nothing.  I tried all of the digital enhancement gadgets available.  Only one photo is halfway worthy of publishing and that's my kitchen light.  I didn't fool myself into expecting anything worthy of Better Homes & Gardens, but shoot something more exciting than proof of a 4 hour nap would have been good.

 

I put the camera back onto Argie's collar.  Hopefully he'll catch Sadie with her paws on the counter and her nose in the icing.  Then at least I'll have something to laugh about.

800-Give Life

I try to expose my children as much as possible to processes that children and some adults may find unpleasant. From the time each was born, they went to the dentist with me for the semi-annual cleanings. I have no trouble getting them in a dentist chair, and sometimes have a hard time getting them out of the office.

Last night they were both with me when I donated a pint of blood. I really don't understand what the difficulty is for people. Case in point, after September 11, 2001 the Red Cross had more blood on hand than they could use. Now we once again hear about blood shortages. As one who consistently has to have my blood spun to see if I am eligible, image my embarrassment when I sat down yesterday and told the nurse that she should bypass the drop test and just spin me. The nurse smiled and said, we don't do that anymore.

I then asked, since when? Which right away clued her in to the fact that I don't "come there often". Since July she told me. The bigger embarrassment followed - I haven't donated blood since March 2008. I'm not quite sure why giving a pint is so difficult for people. It's very tedious, answering questions and all - but for the most part, the process has been automated.

For those needle phobic, I've only had to stop the digging once. If you drink plenty of fluid (water) before donation, your veins pop right up. Except for one or two, I've never had any issue with the needle pushers. For most adults, the actual donation procedure only takes about 5 minutes.

If you really want to have fun with the process, take a friend and have a pint race. This will require the cooperation from the nurses, but all they have to do is make sure you both are ready to go at the same time, and then pull the clamps in unison. The first one to fill their pint wins.

If you drink enough water before you go, 4.5 minutes is not unreasonable. When you're done, you get a cookie or two, a cute little bottle of water, and the satisfaction of knowing that you very well may save a life. My children will continue to accompany me, and when they're eligible, I'll accompany them.

Mud Pups!

When it rains, it pours.  (Sorry Morton's)  I have two shepherds who haven't yet earned the ability to stay inside all day, so they have a kennel area, complete with dog house for their daily enjoyment.  These two though, haven't quite learned to come in out of the rain.

 

Here's Argus in all his muddy glory.  I've not looked to see how bad the area is, but they sure must have had fun.  Fortunately there's a shop nearby that has self serve bathing areas just for muddy puppies.  I can't decide if they like the bath so much that they purposefully roll in the mud to go there.  Sadie is the sable shepherd and she was just as dirty this time.  But I'm happy to say that they're both soft and clean staying warm inside. 

 

 

Princess Paint picked pastel

After five long and arduous years, it was finally time to paint Sarah's room. The elephant in the room, so to speak, was the wallpaper. Dad's theory, use the paper tiger to properly remove the wallpaper prior to painting. Mom's theory, enough Kilz and the paper disappears.

As you can see, one coat of Kilz is not going to make the paper disappear. So we cracked open gallon number two, put on a fresh pot of coffee and started the process again.

This time though, I called on Sean to provide us with some comic relief. We told him he was comic relief, really he was brought in as a running back. That's football speak for a gopher. However Sean jumped at the chance to be a running back, so euphemism it was.

Sarah, project manager in training, never stopped asking about out timeline. Saturday was the first deadline, her girlfriends were coming over to spend the night and she wanted her room completed by then. Start on Tuesday - I could be done by Saturday. That gave me a nice casual time line. A little paint on this wall, a little paint on that wall.

Alas, there was to be no leisure painting. Sarah was determined that Tuesday was paint day and that was it. I then instructed our runner to get Princess Paint her own roller. Princess Paint then went to work. We were on coat number two of the primer. But already she was getting excited. Five years is a long time to wait for paint.

I would like to say that I looked and looked for a house that was decorated specifically for the furniture that I was bringing with me. That's not quite the story, but it is how everything turned out, everything that is except Sarah's room.

Her room was decorated in primary colors, and Princess Paint was more of a pastel princess than a primary princess. She was very patient though and only began politicking for paint this past year. Hush, I would tell her - we'll get it done. Trying to bypass mom she would ask her dad. His answer was when the wallpaper comes down, the paint will go up.

As you can see, Mom didn't wait for the paper to come down, instead she waited until dad left town. Comfortably watching the snow fall in North Dakota while attending Army school, her father has no idea what we've been up to. After all, I am well positioned to claim innocence. I didn't buy the paint or the tools. I just applied the paint to flat surfaces so it could dry. Paint that is still in it's can, never dries.

After happily announcing that all the blue tape has been removed, and commissioning her brother to help put everything back where it belongs, Sarah is eager to go to Target and pick out some accessories. Her Aunt Debi has provided her with the means to decorate, in the form of a gift card. I told Sarah that I would double her money if she got an A on her test. Fifteen dollars for a B and I'll provide transportation to Target for a C. If she get's a D or an F she'll have to try to talk Grandma into bringing her home from Target. A grade lower than a C does not qualify for round trip transportation.

Ohio

Many years ago (read as decades) my uncle ran into some very judgmental people in the Cleveland area, which has tainted his opinion of the entire state of Ohio. I've tried and tried to change his mine, to illustrate that in the 21st century, we're not all that bad. Then election year 2008 rolls around and I'm at a loss for words.

A judge not more than three weeks ago ruled that the homeless can register to vote utilizing a park bench or other such landmark as their 'home address'. Now, explain to me Batman, how they are to prove their residency like the rest of us must?

I've let that roll around in my brain until it became a waste of good time to try to find logic in the ruling. Then the "big" news story became the length of lines people are standing in to vote early. Help me dear logic, to explain what these people are thinking. They are waiting in lines upward of five or six hours to avoid waiting in line on election day.

I have now conceded my defense of Ohio. I have a hard enough time not using "I was born blonde" as an excuse when I don't understand. So, if anyone can assist me and explain these two nuggets of information, I welcome the response.

RE: Comment

I have no issue with allowing the homeless to vote in federal elections - this would eliminate the "proof of residency". However, there has to be a better way to regulate the vote once aspect. Perhaps the ink on the finger as they did in Iraq. Something needs to be done at the onset to eliminate the possibility of abuse.