Those crazy British films....

Tonight we were watching Masterpiece Theater. As is the norm, there was a British piece on very much in the style and dress of all of those Jane Austen movies. We happened to be watching a somewhat tenderhearted scene. A older man was wooing an older woman. They had a history and had almost married at one time. Here, years later, they sat in a room and he asked if he might call upon her after he returned from a trip abroad. As is customary in films of these time periods, the language was not obvious. It was not dripping with affectionate statements. It was rather on the formal-side. I often wonder how much my younger children understand when we watch these pieces. But, I did not need to wonder for long...

As the scene ended and the suitor parted, Lyd said with much dismay...."He's going to die."

I was puzzled by the statement. Why would she say this? Did she think the somber tone meant that he was dying? So I asked....

"Well," she sighed, "It always happens in movies like this. Whenever someone likes someone, they die."

I laughed, knowing full well that she was right. I then said that maybe this time, things will be different.

As the program drew to a close, we learned that on the trip back home, our suitor caught a cold which turned to pneumonia and yes, he did indeed die. I must say I was disappointed at this turn of events. But our no-nonsense girl was once again correct and our heroine was left broken-hearted once again.

Next time, perhaps I will save myself some time and just ask Lyd how it will turn out in the end.

The return.....

I know that Ski has posted that our blog is now defunct. However, I recieved a request to keep going so here I am. I will be back in a day or so to post again once I get me thoughts together. :)

So stay tuned.....

Transitions....

I received an email from a dear friend and sister in the Lord that I used to work with back in my days with the "green/blue bank". She mentioned that she reads and enjoys our blog. It was great to hear from her again and to hear that someone else reads our little space in the blogsphere.

Over two years ago, my friends and even a few pastors in our church started talking about social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, GodSpace and other sites that I never really knew anything about. Some of the bands I listen to like the Lost Dogs, Family Force Five and others have links to their MySpace pages where you can listen to songs and stuff, but I never really "got" the purpose except for fans to post "thanks for the add man" on a big list of evergrowing comments.

Our caregroup leaders have their own blogs and I've seen them refer to their FaceBook status and mention that it's quick and easy to update where a blog takes a good bit of time to compose. Last year our kids did an Abbott and Costello routine for our Homeschool Arts festival and one of my friends said he had posted some good pics of them on FaceBook. I've heard the podcasters I listen to talk about Twitter and FaceBook but over the past year I heard more and more people talk about things they were sharing with friends there. I tend to be a very slow adapter but I knew several of my friends had FaceBook and blogs so I thought I'd check it out. I asked them a lot of security-type questions and it seemed that MySpace was still pretty open and exposed while FaceBook was not.

Well, that was almost two months ago and I've got to say that B and I are BIG fans of FaceBook now. It's probably the main reason we haven't posted anything to our blog in a LONG time. The status messages in FB have a character limit so it lends itself to shorter, often more current content updates--which is easier for me personally.

SO, given the title of this post, I'd like to encourage all who read our blog to continue to follow our family's daily goings on by creating a FaceBook account (a VERY easy process) and sending us a "friend request". You'll get a much more accurate picture of what's going on with us if you do. We post pictures and have been able to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives as well.

If you're ready to join us, you can view my page on FB using this link. I'm doubtful I will have time in the future to post anything further to this blog. Becky might and I think she has set it so this blog can post on her FB page too.

Thanks to all (or the few) that have read this blog in the past. PLEASE come join me on FaceBook. It's very secure and can be a lot of fun with fairly little effort on your part.

Don't Be Afraid to try Something New

My mother made fish when I was a kid and I HATED it. She bought fish fillets frozen in blocks. When I was first married, I thought we would try some fish. The kids were little and I made some. I took one bite and almost hurled. I made the kids eat it and they STILL remember.

Since then, I have tried tuna, salmon, tilapia, and mahi mahi. I have liked them all. I eat them plain. They are all pretty mild tasting except for salmon. However, I always liked canned salmon.

Since the allergist has said that ds can have fish, I have been trying to feed it to him regularly. It is a common thought that if in the past you have had an allergy and then begin eating it that you should do so on a regular basis in order to prevent recurrence. Isaac had very mild reactions to fish in the past so we avoided it mainly on principal. We figured late introduction would be better than early with a kid like him. At our last appointment, we asked for them to skin test for fish. All went well so we tried. Our first try produced an itchy rash on his face, but he also gets this with chicken. Wierd kid, huh?!?!

So, today I went out to pick up our fish. A local store had dressed trout on sale. I thought that sounded ok. But when I got there, I found out what that meant. The fish was whole with a head and everything!! I hesitated, but the guy told me to fry it. So I bought fish with heads and eyes!!

I came home and breaded it with cornmeal and fried it in an iron skillet. Oh my!!!! It was sooooo good!!! It almost tasted like chicken. I am tempted to buy more, but I am not sure that they would be as good frozen. Only Isaac and I ate it because Ski doesn't like fish and he made something for him and the rest of the kids.

One small step

I'm more principle-driven than goal-oriented. For me, that seems to give God more leeway to rule in my life than setting specific expectations. Nonetheless, one "goal" I had for myself this year (well last year actually) was to run an actual 5K race. I run about 9 miles a week and have done so for over a year now, so I've covered the distance many times over. I also do all of my running (so far) outside instead of using a treadmill.

But I knew there would be a different dynamic when 673 other people were running the same course. One thing I didn't know was where to walk into the starting corral. C and L (my cheering team for this race) thought I should start near the front, but I knew MANY people would be passing me and I didn't want to get run over (literally).

The race was the Yiasou Greek Festival 5k and all I really wanted was a t-shirt, my two free tickets to the festival (a yearly date nite tradition for B and I), and to finish under 16min/mile without stopping or dying.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with a brother from our church (he encouraged me the last 400 meters to finish strong) who was also running so that was nice.

I finished 561st out of 674 runners with a 5K time of 31min, 39seconds. My iPod told me I also ran a personal best for the mile, which was cool. I averaged a little over 10min, 12 sec/mile, so goal met. I knew I started faster than normal, but I wasn't sure if I could keep it up all the way. The top three uber-runners in my age group (40-44) ran a 17 minute race so my time is about twice theirs. I finished 79th out of 104 dudes in my age group.

Overall, I think I was able to find open spaces in the crowd to run comfortably in. I didn't dare look behind me 'cause I knew that would slow me down. I was also really tempted to join the growing crowd of walkers during the last half of the race, but I've promised myself never to stop until the end. (keep putting one foot in front of the other and listen to the tunes)

My camera battery was low but C did manage to get one pic of me right after the race. Boy, I look beat! (=

Now I'll start training for a 10k. All glory goes to God for endurance and strength to persevere. He is good!!

Half of a Century

My initial trip to PA was due to the fact that my parents celebrated their 50th Anniversary. My mother said that she never thought that she would make it to her 50th. There is good reason for that. Both of my parents graduated from college and taught for a number of years before they decided to attend Seminary. My mother did not marry until she was 32. They knew each other a short time and were engaged within a matter of months. When my father finally asked my mother out, he asked her for TWO dates. But you see, the odds were against my father and very much so in my mother's favor. There were only a handful of women at the seminary amongst a sea of men.

We only had a small family celebration at my parents' home -- mostly because my brothers and I aren't great at planning.




The following Sunday, my brother took my parents to The Hershey Hotel for brunch and I got to join them. What a yummy treat for all of us!!

A look inside

**Behind the scenes at BnSki**

Turns out B and I were posting (450 mi away from each other) at exactly the same time last night. That's typical for us. I hit Publish and I looked and there were two posts, with exactly the same post time (8:36pm). After reading hers, I HAD to change the date on mine to de-emphasize it. As usual, B's post (even though self deprecated in her comment) was poetic, profound and very well written. It's like she's able to concisely describe the types of things that are always in my head, but I seldom talk about. I've been fortunate to visit three of her parent's homes and she captures the essence of them beautifully in a way that brings so many similar experiences of my own life to mind.

While she's been up north dealing with emotional, sentimental, often difficult but extremely important, once-in-a-lifetime things, my days have consisted of the "every day" of life that she handles so much of in our home. Dishes, meals, the dog, laundry, sweeping, getting 6 ski-bums where they need to be on time, groceries, pharmacies, and trying to remember to meet with God, laugh with my kids and do or speak something affectionate to my beautiful spouse that I miss so much. Oh, and that doesn't even count things like school, attitudes, yard maintenance, alleriges or extra-curricular activities.

As I read her beautiful prose and consider the typical nature of my "gee whiz, looky here" posts, I am SO THANKFUL for all the beautiful things God gives me through my sweet B--and all the hard work and sacrifice she does for our family. It's my privilege to honor her here, publicly, and to release her to do whatever God calls her to do outside of our home.

I miss you honey. I'm glad you're coming home soon. I'm SO grateful for you.

So until I kiss your smiling face again...1,2,3.

The Pieces of our Lives

I have been spending time with my dear parents these last few weeks. They are hoping to move at some point in the not so distant future. For many reasons, they needed help getting started sorting through things in their house. I have only been able to make a small dent, but anything is progress.

Today, I loaded up the van with about 17 boxes of books. Hmmmmmm....I must have inherited my love of books from them. There are more books that need to leave, but they have another destination. The books today each had to travel in my arms up a flight of stairs and across the yard before they reached the van. I then drove them about 30 minutes to a place which might only be a lay over.

It has been an interesting experience going through things. I find myself chuckling to myself as I am reminded of people and events in my life. As mom and I sorted through the many books, she told me stories here and there. As I tried to make dad's workbench less chaotic and I found little items that just reminded me so much of my dad.

Boxes of bows, decorations, puzzles, photos, and little doodads belonged to my mother. She has always had a well decorated home. I don't know how I could be her daughter. I only decorate at Christmas. My mother has decorations for each season of the year. She has always been kind and generous and a package is not wrapped if it does not have a bow. In my house, there are rarely bows -- especially on the gifts that I give. But I am very sentimental. Just like my mom.

Music, books, tools, loose change, projects, flashlights, and tiny religious books found in nooks and crannies of drawers reflect my father. He was the boy scout that I don't think ever grew up. He always loved woodworking and craft projects and there were treasures that any boy would love to be found almost anywhere you looked. In my head, I hear the Baritone of my father's voice and the mellow sound of his trombone. To this day, when my Ski plays his Jackie Gleason, the sobbing trombone makes me think of my dear father.

I always thought that my dad was the coolest guy. It's funny. He reminds me a great deal of my dh. And even more, I see so much of my dad in myself. He is so mischievous and when I find myself pestering my kids, it is sometimes like an echo of my father's voice.

I have seen this week the games I played as a child, the plates I ate from on family camping trips, really neat scrapbooks that I had never seen before. I've used the pots and pans that my mother bought from her uncle many years ago. And those pots are still wonderful. I wish I could find some just like them.

While many of this will not be claimed by family members, these items are not merely things, but moments of our lives. They are gifts given and received, souvenirs from trips and reflections of long hard times of work. It is so funny to me that when I look at a item from our vacation to Florida, I can smell how our closed up house smelled upon our return. As I look at recipes, I can taste my grandmother's cookies and I can smell her pantry. And every time I walk down my parents' walk, I wonder if I will remember it years from now. For even now, I remember how I used to ride my cousin's bike when we stayed at my Grandmother's house. I would follow the paths through her front yard and as it wound its way around to the back and then into the side alley. I wish that I could give all of these memories to my children. I wish that I could look at everything here and sit and tell my children all of the stories in my head.

Every time I come back here, I feel this countryside pull my heart. I don't think I will ever live here again, but as I drove through the rolling hills and curvy roads this afternoon, I once again felt a longing not to leave. There is something for me about seeing a buggy pass buy, the smell of a cow pasture, rows of corn, and those old farmhouses that makes me a little homesick.

But my experiences here have made me feel like one of mom's puzzles. Every piece seems to have different things going on. Together it makes a sometime messy, sometimes crazy, sometimes beautiful, and sometimes serene scenery. But the pieces, no matter how fragmented make up a complete picture. And so, while these things do not make us and while there are many moments in our lives that seem like clutter, the experiences we have make us as individual as we can be and without them, we would not be the same.

iPod wOrthy: FF5

No, not FFH. FF5--Family Force Five. These guys are totally nuts. They're my #2 band (Lost Dogs, FF5, U2) and I REEEALY hope I can get a chance to see them when they come to town in October. We'll see. Their music swings back and forth between keyboard infused "dance" songs and harder rock. They throw guitars across the stage to each other--DURING a song and they all have surnames like SoulGlowActivatr, Phatty, and Chapstique.

There are some bands/musicians I listen to because their talent is just WAAAYYY beyond anything I've seen (and I've seen/heard a LOT of music in my 43 years). There are other bands, though, that give me a similar feeling to looking at modern art. Half of it's "Heck, I could've done THAT!" the other half is "Brilliant!! Why didn't I do that!" or even better yet, "Boy, I'd love to do SOMETHING like THAT some day" Family Force Five is a "some day" band for me.

If a bunch of crazy dudes from Atlanta can create "comic book hero-type" faith- based rock and dance music and not let any lack of talent (which they have) or dancing ability (which, well...never mind) get in the way of having a good time (while not taking themselves too seriously), hmmmmm. I believe I'll have a piece of that!

Family Day....

Saturday, was my son's birthday. It was supposed to be "Family Day," but my three oldest and Ski went to a church thing all day. That's ok. It has been a few years since we had "Family Day."

Life turned out differently than I had planned.

Most people in my life now have no idea about the fact that if I chose my plan for my life instead of God, I would have four teens right now. It is very strange to think that so many people don't know about such a big turning point in my life. I don't mind talking about it at all. It just doesn't come up. It's funny. My mom was always freaked out by death because of some experiences she had as a young child. I never was. I went to many funerals growing up and I just looked at it as a part of life. I worked in a nursing home after college and I often did after death care and I stayed with people as they died. Many times, I did this alone, because the other girls were freaked out. So, I think I have kind of passed that all on to my kids. I have always been very open with them about death and find it so surprising when people want to hide this from their children. In fact, my openness about death really helped my then 4yo dd prepare for the death of her brother.

It had been a few years since I had been to the cemetery. Life goes on and you move on and things get busy. I don't think about it every day and there are times when it seems a long time passes without me thinking about it. We used to go on Memorial Day and July 4th and decorate the graves, but hadn't done that in a little bit. I would be over that way in town, but I always had a time schedule to keep up with. Not long ago, I did stop with 'Stelle on the way home from the French festival. After church this Sunday, we all stopped by. It is not so much sad being there to see our son's grave, but it is really sad to see all of the graves nearby. Almost all of them are children. Some have one date on their graves and others were only a few days old. And some were a year or less or a little more. And still...after all these years, we get a little misty eyed. I don't know why. I guess it is a heart thing.

It was funny...
As we were driving away from the cemetery, the kids said..."Hey, we could have called him A.J." I kind of laughed and said "Yeah. We had planned on that."

I hope that you all don't think this post is morbid. It just seems like a big milestone...would have been 13...that I just can't let it go by and not say anything. I am grateful for all that came from my dear son coming into my life. It's something that I don't expect anyone to understand. People look at me funny when I say that. Oh well....

Ski says...I agree. At 13 I start taking my teens out for coffee and "daddy dates". I enjoy trying to get in their heads and figure out what their dreams, wishes, goals etc. are. N, H and C really seem to enjoy it. I do too. (sigh) Some day I want to see if he's a grown-up in eternity or still little. Somehow I picture him grown and working on my mansion, or wherever God will have B and I (it wouldn't be heaven without hangin' with my sweet B) spend eternity. My heart longs to give him a big father/son hug. Some day....

Biltmore and more, and more

Some shots of the Biltmore House in May...









Wouldn't be a trip without Starbucks right outside the gates--how convenient!!
















Whoa...cute chick alert!!


























Shots of the gardens next time!

In Search of....the perfect dog toy

If you don't own a dog, I bet you have wondered WHY are there so many dog toys out there. Maybe you have also wondered why someone would spend so much money on dog toys. Well, I am here to let you know.

Go ahead and laugh.
I know it is so obvious, but we are first time dog owners.
When we picked up our sweetie, we headed off to the pet store. Naively, we picked out a few toys.

Many times, our doggie appears to be very stupid. However, when it comes to her toys, she has a knack for finding the weak spot and gnawing away. She is also a ripper. Here is the short list of toys that she has gone through...



This toy is still alive. It no longer has legs or a tail. However, it has lasted longer than any of the other toys. In fact, when this toy bites the dust, we just might get another one like it. The kids call it an Ikea dog. I am not sure WHY. It squeaked when it was new and somehow, it still squeaks. That is a major achievement with her. The Kong donut tennis ring is still around, but it lost its squeak within 5 minutes of play. Not quite worth the money that we forked out for that one. Of course, the Kong still is in one piece. I can't figure out what to put in it besides their treats. Everyone says to put peanut butter in there, but of course, that is out. Sunbutter is a bit too runny. She does like it, but it led to her trying to steal Iz's sandwich off of his plate.




This one I found at Harris Teeter for an awesome price. She liked it, but only after most of her other toys were destroyed. When she finally took an interest in it, she began chomping off big hunks from the ends. I was afraid that she would swallow them, so I had to toss this one in the garbage. We have since tried a stronger and sturdier nylabone and it seems to be holding up ok. It has teeth marks on it, but that's ok. If this one doesn't last, we will have to start buying the heavy duty super expensive bones that they make.


Tennis balls designed for dogs. These are great while they last. Her favorite thing to do to these is rip the covering off of them. We found a bunch of these at Harris Teeter on clearance and we thought it was a bargain. Not much of a bargain when she just rips and strips.

Then we saw a seemingly awesome toy. Boy did that thing look sturdy. It had nylon rope and tennis balls on it. We got home and gave it to her. She love it soooooo much that she shredded the thing in minutes. I don't know HOW she did it. That thing looked super strong!!

We bought a cute kangaroo, but she ripped its head off. There have been a few more toys that have crossed our threshold, but those are some of the more memorable ones.

I just spent big bucks on a dog toy and in less than 10 minutes, she has ripped part of it off. The main ball is still in tact, but since she ripped part of it off already, I am not convinced that this toy will be sticking around long. I bought this toy because it was supposed to be very sturdy. People highly recommended it to me. In fact, when I entered the store and made a beeline to that particular display, the proprietor said, "Oh, I see you have a power chewer." Apparently, the toy was made for a dog a bit more ladylike than my girl.

Well, at least ice cubes are cheap and Bully Sticks seem to last. Don't even ask about the bully sticks....

And I bet you're wondering why I would keep buying all of these doggy toys, right?!?! Well, you see, she has not begun to chew on my household goods yet, so I am just trying to keep her interested in ANYTHING but my furniture.

So, if anyone out there is a dog owner and has a very sturdy toy, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me some ideas for my Belle.

Not a Thing....

I have pulled up my page to blog a number of times, but I just haven't been able to.
I have been thinking and thinking of fun things to say, but there is not a thing to be funny about.

On Monday, Ski, Iz, and I made the trek to Durham.
We got there later than we hoped, but that was ok. We had nothing planned. For a little bit we vegged in front of the tv and watched "Cash Cab" which Iz thought was cool. He even got some questions right. Then we hunted for dinner. We made a quick stop at Whole Foods and then we found a cool little Middle Eastern place. Well, it wasn't that cool. But I love middle Eastern food, so I thought it was pretty neat. Ski and I split our plates of gyro and kafta. They had the most amazing tahini and hummus. We ended up eating outside because if you wanted to, you could smoke a hookah. No one was doing that, but we thought we had better eat at the outside tables just in case. But seriously, I have decided that dh and I should move to Durham to get our Masters at Duke so we can eat all of our meals at this place. The hysterical thing is that they have a "no Ketchup" rule and even t-shirts that say this, but the guy plunked down a bottle of ketchup at our table with our order.

After dinner, we tried to find coffee, but couldn't find a Starbucks until 10:30 and they had already closed. ;( So, we went off to the hotel for bed. I then woke up at 4:30, 5:00, and 5:30 when I finally got up and took a shower. I am NOT a morning person. I do not sleep well anywhere that is not my own bed.

Iz had breakfast and we all went off to get coffee (or juice) and we ended up at Iz's appointment 45 minutes early. The long and short of our appointment....Iz badly failed the skin test for egg. He developed a huge welt and the allergist said that even if his blood work looked good, we would NOT be doing an egg challenge. When he had his blood drawn, he barely flinched and he DID think it was cool to watch the blood run through the tube. He got a cool floppy dog from the treasure chest and a build-a-bear dog from the lobby table for Chidren's Hospital patients. He also got two cool Hurricanes posters from a guy in the lobby.

It will be a month or so until we find out the results of blood work. Unless there is something earth shattering in that blood work, it looks like we will be status quo (no diet changes) until next August. I am learning not to get my hopes up too much. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

For Bo

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ LOVE YOU ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

More Than Just for Paper

Ohh.....the wonders of childhood!!!
Swinging on a tire swing from and old tree....
Hunting for frogs along a creek bed.....
Playing hide and seek with your friends....
Tossing a stick to your dog....
Jumping on the bed....
Spinning in your dad's new office chair.....

Hmmmm....which one of these might cause you to visit the Urgent Care?

Bleary eyed, I was awakened by my dear Iz with his sad voice saying...."I hit my head on the desk." He didn't cry much and moments later he was gone. But within ten minutes, he was back saying "There's blood!!!"

Now, you must know that the sight of a tiny speck of blood in my family causes a reaction beyond belief. Iz is especially prone to this overreaction. It is usually due to the fact that he has picked at a scab or eczema and NOW THERE'S BLOOD!!! I am almost always in the "buck it up" club and tell him that if he hadn't been picking, there wouldn't be blood so next time, don't pick. I learned long ago that the best response to a not so iunjured but fussing child is the kind that checks him over quickly and says, "You'll be fine, dear." So...when my child presented in the doorway with the cry of "Blood!!!" I knew better than to overreact.

Ski got to him first and took a look. When he said "Oh my..." I knew I was in trouble.

Everyone fetched the necessary equipment for an injury and brought them forth -- a nice big towel, the trusty brown bottle of peroxide, and my bowl of cottonballs. While there was not nearly as much blood as I know a head injury can produce, there was a bit. And as I looked, I doubted that this problem could be solved with the materials I had on hand. I cleaned as best as I could and the flow of blood seemed to be slowing. So....after dressing myself, I proceeded to call my ped. Unfortunately, they only remove stitches and don't put them in. At least that saved me an hour trip to the other side of town. So, off we went to UC -- or as Iz calls them, his "arm doctor."

Wouldn't you know, we had the same dr as we had the last time. It makes you feel like a very bad mother when you see the same dr for an injury to the same child in only a matter of months.

In the end, he got 6 staples in his head because his older brother and sister thought it would be great fun to spin him in Daddy's office chair. And hopefully, the spinning in chairs will not be happening again. He has a deep scalp laceration. Oh, and my kid is a super trooper. He said "Ow" once while the staples were going in and smiled the rest of the time. He got treated to fries, cranberry juice, and some soy icecream. And mom and dad get to wake him at 12 and 4am for two days. And Iz gets the honor of being the first in all 8 of us to have had staples.

Adventures in Dating

I love date night. There is always something interesting going on. Even if we go somewhere boring, something unusual is bound to happen. Tonight was no different.

I inherited a strong desire for pie from my mother. Of course, I grew up in an era of automats, Woolworths lunch counters, and pie carousels. Mom's favorite thing to do was to shop with her mom and stop for coffee and pie. At a very young age, she introduced me to the delights of pie noshing. To this day, I crave pie. Unfortunately, it is increasingly difficult to find a place that makes good pie. Ski knows that I long for a good piece of pie so he is always trying to hunt a place where we can have some. I think it is a lost art. Pie evidently only comes in a box from the deep freeze at Wally World or something.

Tonight, we walked into a place that had a case with cakes and pies. I thought yipee... My heart raced at the thought of bakery delicacies melting in my mouth. As I perused the menu, I saw what looked promising. There, among other more mundane pies and cakes was listed coconut crème pie. I began thinking of mounds of whipped cream like substance billowing over a yellowy pudding-like coconut concoction and nestled into a delightfully flaky pastry crust. Ohhhh....it is one of my very favorites!! While I had my eye on that and was dreaming and drooling, Ski spied blackberry cobbler. Ski is nutty about blackberry cobbler. He thinks that the messier a food is, the better it tastes. It doesn't get any messier than blackberry cobbler with ice cream melting over a flaky crust hiding extra gooey blackberry goop seeping out. The melting ice cream makes lovely swirls of pinkish purple and the warm/cold combo is just heavenly.

The waitress came and we placed our orders. We chatted while we waited.

In a little while, the waitress deposits two plates in front of us and is gone in a flash.

What is this?!?!?!
My pie resembles nothing I have ever seen before!! It is almost frightening to look at. BTW, the above pic is NOT my pie. It is merely a vision of what I had hoped and dreamed for.

My heart begins to beat rapidly as I realize that the pie I ordered has been made by someone who has no clue what coconut cream pie is. How can that be?!?!? Did they let the guy who washes the dishes try his hand at making pies tonight? As I am so sadly disappointed, I look up to take a peek at Ski's dessert. Now HIS looks like dessert. But, he gives me a look and a disappointed sigh and says quietly...

"This is not what I expected."

Yes, they made blackberry bread pudding and sold it as cobbler.
How could they?!?!?!

I ask if he wants a bite and he asks me the same.

Selfishly, I am hoping that he loves my pie and will beg me to have it. Such is not the case.

As we are deciding whether he is just being nice to offer to eat my pie or whether he actually prefers mine to his, the host comes over.

"How is everything?"

We look at each other -- thankfully with food in our mouths.

We both nod.

"Are you sure?"

I say, "Yes, it's good!!" as Ski mumbles something similar.

"Oh good....for a moment, I thought that there might be something wrong." Relived, he wanders away.

Ski looks at me sadly and says...."I just lied!!!"

We switch desserts and when the waitress comes and asks cheerily if we are enjoying everything, Ski just nods and I say "yes."

Ski says with great shame..."I just lied -- AGAIN!!"

Me?!?!?
I don't care.
I have no guilt!!!!!
Well, what am I going to say?

--Do you call that coconut cream pie?!?!?! It is like and easter egg without the benefit of chocolate. It is like pecan pie with coconut instead of pecans. This is NOT coconut cream!! Where are the fluffy topping and the pudding-y yellow insides? Are you INSANE?!?!?! This is NOT coconut cream!! Give me a cookbook and I will show you what coconut cream is!!

--And since when is bread pudding a cobbler? Where is the sickeningly sweet goop? Aren't Southerners supposed to know how to make cobbler?!?!?!? Even Wikipedia knows how to make a cobbler!!!

So, yes....its food and its edible, but NOT what I wanted.

Ski wanted to buy some cupcakes. They looked innocent enough. I begged him not to.

And for those of you who don't know what a pie carousel is, here's a treat for you...

Pie Carousel from glass on Vimeo.

BTW, did you notice which one pie is missing the most?!?!?! I'll tell you....it isn't lemon meringue!!

Oh, and for my family who thinks I love Key Lime pie....
I like a REAL one once every say....10 years or so.

Of Cats and Dogs and Other Things

Or.....
How I can relate to my son.

A few years ago, I started running with Ski. My running didn't last long. First of all, my knees couldn't handle it. I have torsion in my legs and have always had issues with my knees. That constant pounding on the pavement was just a little too much for them. However, before my legs gave out, I discovered that I had exercise induced asthma. When I went to see my dr, he asked me a bunch of questions and told me I was pretty much textbook. That was a few years ago. Since then, I have had a few times when things popped up here and there. Driving in the car, I would have a major coughing fit. Sitting outside, I would do the same. Having a ds with asthma, I knew that this was not a great thing. Also, I would frequently have coughing fits as I laid down at night in my bed. Of course, like most people, I put off seeing my dr about this. Just a coughing fit now and then... Well, in the middle of June, I had an asthma attack daily for two weeks. I would try to go without using my inhaler and finally, I'd give in. I finally called for an appointment with an allergist who could not see me until the end of July. I went to my gp and he patiently listened to me and although my lungs sounded clear, he took me seriously and gave me some medications to get me through until I saw the allergist. His parting words were, "Be sure to tell the allergist that you recently got a dog."

So, this past Monday, I saw the allergist. My lungs sounded great to him. My nose, however, must be astonishingly blocked because my gp wondered if I could even SMELL out of my nose and the allergist also commented on how swollen and pale it was. Not encouraging words to hear. I basically failed two asthma tests. One told the dr that I had tons of inflammation in my lungs. After the second test that I failed, the nurse came in and told me that she was going to give me 6 puffs of Albuterol. I was incredulous. I said "SIX???!!!!" I normally take only two at a time and that makes my heart race like mad. Thankfully, she must have heard the panic in my voice and only made me take 4 puffs. I was able to barely pass the test, but I became incredibly silly. Just ask Ski. I laughed uncontrollably and I had a difficult time calming myself down.

In addition to the breathing tests, I got 66 skin pricks on my back which were both ticklish and painful all at once. I also had about ten intradermal shots on my arm which just plain hurt. Of all of these tests, I discovered that I am really allergic to cats, dust mites, and also walnuts (no surprise here) and pistachios, but I am hoping that pistachio is a false pos.

I have new asthma medications and get to have a joyful week on steroids -- or as we call it, "joy juice." Lets just say that at the moment, while typing this, I'd like to sit here and have a good cry. If you'd like to know more about steroids, just ask Simon. He loves them....

All of my life with the exceptions of a few years early on in our marriage, I have had a cat in my house. My mother loves kitties and we have had at least one forever. We have one now, the size of the Hindenburg, that lives in my house. Interestingly, since the dog came to live with us, the kitty has been mainly upstairs and had taken to sleeping under my bed. She is now banned from my bedroom. I need to clean out my bedroom thoroughly and cover my mattress, boxspring, pillow, and probably get a new comforter since my old one is dry clean only. Oh, and then there's the blinds and curtains. Everything needs to be either covered or easily removable and washable. Sounds like fun, huh?!?!? So, since we have this kitty that my dd would die if anything EVER happened to her, and dust mites are basically everywhere, we are seriously considering that I do immunotherapy (40 shots -- once a week).

And lets talk about walnuts. Do you know how much I hate those things?!?!?! My mother is nut obsessed. Her favorite candy is chocolate covered nuts. In fact, my mil I think is her long lost sister in terms of the nut/cat thing. Dh and I spent our childhoods picking nuts out of everything. And guess which nut was the ONLY nut my ds tested negative to on his allergy tests!! You've got it....WALNUTS. Well, I don't care. They now have good reason to stay out of my house. Oh, and I noticed that when it said walnut it said "Walnut (English/Blk)". Black walnuts taste like dirt!!! Blech!!!!

Hungry for drive-thru?? Got $42.69???

These guys have more nerve than I'll ever have. I'm told this idea has been around for a while using rap, but this is great stuff. Oh, and my sweet B used to run drive thru for Roy Roger's in PA (even got a mega-high score from a secret shopper--though not perfect--'cause the company doesn't EVER award a perfect score). Anyway, this is in her honor......(I love watching the order screen (= )

Cat Stories

Iz, who is 6, has a very creative mind.
One Sunday morning, while on our way to church, he began telling us a story. It involved one of our kitties and these have evolved into what I affectionately term as Cat Stories. I think it all began in response to an incident where mom and dad asked once again which child was responsible for a mysterious event in the house. Of course, no one claimed to be the guilty party and I probably said something like...."Well, I guess it all happened by itself." Iz took that and ran with it. He began relating how Missy had done this or that which eventually led to the incident in question.

Now, when I am bored or the two of us are alone somewhere or we are driving as a family in the car, I ask him to tell me a Cat Story. They end up being hysterical. They are all about the misadventures of our kitties. They play games, cook on the grill, make spaghetti. You name it, our kitties have done it!! It is especially funny to picture one of our kitties doing these things since it is very obvious that she does NOTHING but eat and sleep. Sometimes, the other kids will try to join in, but their stories are not nearly as creative or funny as Iz.

Heck with June, what about July?!?

Those of you who blog know how much of an effort it sometimes is to think of something amazing/interesting to post about consistently. Esp. when life outside the computer desk gets busier (in waves).

No, we're not giving up the blog. I'm still aprehensive about Facebook--though I don't really have a reason why. So we'll continue to do our thang in this space.

I have a post I began in May about B and my trip to Biltmore. I have a lot of pics and have been attempting to add them to the post but have failed to finish at the moment. I think I tend to write longer posts when I could probably break them up and get more out. So, Biltmore and Biltmore Garden pics are coming.

I'm also transitioning to working from home full-time (still with BofA). Much of our recent evenings have been spent painting the former girls/toy room and assembling curtains, desk, file cabinets. etc. I have a few "before" pics and plan on taking some "after" ones and posting them too. I'll be hanging shelves and getting a new chair and monitor (from the bank) next week.

So thanks for sticking with us and reading my boring post. As a reward, here's a video from Weird Al that made me smile about WDW's Jungle Cruise. (not my favorite attraction by any means--I'm a Pirates, Haunted Mansion, "old School" Tiki Room and Mr. Toad fan)

Skipper Dan

WHERE On Earth Did June Go?!?!

Hey, I bet you thought that we were swallowed by our dog!!
Nah....
We're still here. Out doggie does try to eat everything she sees, but so far, we are still here.

Not much is going on. No, I mean REALLY!!!

My garden is not doing too well. While I have about a gallon of roma tomatoes on my counter praying I will turn them into some sauce, my plants are in sad shape. I can't figure out whether it is fungus, bugs, or what. I bought some neems last week and I hope to salvage as many as I can. Two of my tomato plants are beyond hope. Out of 6 zucchini plants, I have a grand total of ONE zucchini. I do have lots of cucumbers, but I think that they are all pickling so I guess I'll have to pickle them. I have some beans, but they aren't producing well. I will never try beans again. LOL. I have two peppers working on growing. I do have watermelons the size of marbles.

The doggie is getting fatter. The vet keeps telling us to feed her more. She loves us tremendously. I had to place a frantic call to the vet when she ate a prune that dropped to the floor due to an expression of sweet brotherly love. Prunes are fine even though if you look online you will find them placed with raisins and grapes which are toxic to dogs. She also seems to have a great fondness for gluten free bread. This she snatched from her first try at counter surfing. She doesn't like angry dogs barking on tv.

The older skibums are reading Greek and Roman classics through the summer. Nat, of course, is thoroughly disgusted. Iz is working on reading, although the last two weeks were somehow lost on me.

Soooooo Proud!!!

This morning I took my oldest for some coffee. We had celebrating to do!!








She is now the proud owner of her very first driver's permit!!!!

Three cheers for my Bo!!!!
Way to go, sweetie!!!

B and Ski's Excellent Adventure: Part Two

First a puppy update: Belle's doing much better. We're walking her every hour since she's, well, let's just say she probably had a lot of IV fluids to work through her system!

!!!!!!MASSIVE SUBJECT CHANGE!!!!!!!!!

(whew) Ok, here are some pics from our mountain getaway. We stayed at the Madison Inn. Let me just say if you're looking for a great little room for under $100 near Asheville (in our case WAY under), you'd be stupid not to at least TRY this place. I was a little concerned that it was a cinderblock building when we arrived but our room, the delightful "Charleston", was decorated with lots of romantic touches that made us feel like royalty, rockstars, or a couple out of the Great Gatsby. Everyone on staff was SO nice. We were the only guests and enjoyed talking a little to one of the owners during breakfast. "I hope you're hungry!" he said and repeated to us. We were, and breakfast (included with our stay) was DELICIOUS!! (birds in a nest, delicious fried potatoes, strawberry pancakes, bacon, oj, coffee--I'm getting hungry just writing about it). Excellent food, intimate atmosphere (Sinatra on the Sirrus radio in the background) and the most beautiful girl in the world at my table. I HAD to take a few pics!

We had a chance to walk around before checkout and take some pics of the outdoor eating areas too. Fountains, waterfalls (right above our room--we thought it
was raining all night), flowers, lanterns--really cool and relaxing. I wish we had time to just hang out and read in the rocking chairs! Maybe next time!

I also wish I had the presence of mind to take more pics of Black Mountain. (again, maybe next time) I really fell in love with the place--totally unexpected. LOTS of funky shops, a bookstore, antique shop, music store, restaurants (we need to try My Father's Pizza for lunch next trip as the German restaurant was quiet, but not very good), even a few night spots. Very non-commerical. It was great!! B already mentioned Ole's Guacamole where we ate dinner our first night. I'm not much into Mexican food, but it was THE BEST Mexican restaurant I've ever eaten at--AND it was dirt cheap. I think we got out of there for a little over twenty bucks including drinks. Wow, what tasty food! I took some pics outside which are more festive than the scary looking pic on the link above. TRY IT!!

So, add Black Mountain to Blowing Rock and Topsail Island on my list of favorite places in The North State, oh, and some day I'd love to buy a home in McAdenville.

Coming soon--pics from Biltmore. Stay tuned!

Poor Old Belle....

Our sweet puppy was spayed today and was gone all day.
She is so tired and sad. She gave us some wags and we have given her some quiet gentle voices and pets. She took her pill and medicine without a complaint and although we knew she didn't want to, she obediently went outside for us before going to sleep. We all feel so bad for her. The poor thing would whine until she got some love and then she would fall asleep again. At one point, I was laying on the couch and reaching down to pet her and talking sweetly to her. She sat up, rested her head on my hand for a few moments and then laid back down on the floor to sleep.

Great product

This is a boring post and I am going to warn you ahead of time. However, recently, on the boards I visit, there have been lots of people who have been asking about clogged drains. So here is my story....

Our house has always had slow drains. I am sure that it doesn't help that my three dds and I have longer hair. A few years ago, the drains were so bad that we were buying drain cleaner once a week for our drains. Since I am so frugal and have the opinion that there MUST be a better way to do things and I was worried about the effect of that much caustic substance in my pipes, I did some research. I couldn't find anything, but about the same time I tired of buying drain cleaner, I chanced to hear someone mention the zip-it. So the next time I went to Lowes, I spent less than $3 and bought this little gizmo.

A zip-it is a long, flexible stick. It has jagged little teeth on both sides. What you do is shove this stick down your drain and then pull it back out. What you pull out is absolutely disgusting. It stinks, and it looks dreadful. But if you do this once or twice, your drains will will be clear. Since I bought this product, I have not bought a single bottle of drain cleaner. When the drains start to slow, I just get out my zip-it and we are back in business. You can even do your tubs and showers!! The only drain I don't do is my kitchen sink.

If you want to check out the website, go here. I will warn you that they have pics of the gross stuff that comes out. It is the best $2 and change I think I have ever spent!!

Alone....at Last!!!

My Ski is the most amazing guy!!

Last November, he had planned for us to go away. Unfortunately, I broke my leg and badly sprained my ankle and we had to cancel our plans. It was such a sad time for me. I had been looking forward to it a great deal and between my disappointment, medication, and the frustration of a broken leg, I really cried over this. However, Ski rescheduled and while the location was different, we had a great time. Through research, I found a great little inn with even better prices. They even gave Ski a discount on the rate that he saw. It wasn't overly fancy, but it was just what I needed.

You see, we have only been away overnight by ourselves twice since having children. Once was when our son died. My parents very graciously watched our three oldest children while we went off to Blowing Rock. All I remember of that trip was basically that I cried the entire time. It was a very sad time, but my friend HIGHLY recommended that we do this and I am so glad that we did. It was the only extended time that we had to grieve together without the children being around us. The second time that we tried was when our youngest was about 1yo and he came with us, so I guess technically, this doesn't count. It was around this time that we had begun realizing that he had food allergies. He wasn't the best companion and to add to that, our hotel room had a power failure and we were moved TWICE during our short stay. This did not make for either a restful time or a happy husband. Oh, and it rained and it was cold...October at the beach.

But this time we had a splendid time. Just the two of us for two entire days. Yes, it rained and sometimes it even poured. But we still had the best time.

We ended up spending one day poking around little shops in Black Mountain. We stopped in a German restaurant where I think I had the driest sandwich on earth. Ski had a Reuben which I think I would have liked, but it was not to Ski's liking. But still we laughed while I took great gulps of drink to keep from choking. There is a cool old fashioned hardware store that was neat to look at. We went to the thrift store and the used book store, of course. The guy in the bookstore told us all about Black Mountain College and showed us books and told us what he knew about it. In that store, I also found a copy of a book of Kate Greenaway plates. It was nothing to look at on the outside, but inside, it was just beautiful. Oh, my!!! I could barely hold it and I could NOT afford to buy it. When I gushed about the book to the store owner, I think it pleased him. When a lady in a Earthy/stone/crystal/gem kind of store found out it was my birthday, she let me pick a stone out. I didn't think about it at the time, but we went back the next day to ask her to make a necklace out of it, but they were closed. I think Christelle will try to make one for me, though. I thought that we could use some silk cord to do it so I could actually wear it. LOL.

We thought about eating at our inn, but it looked kind of fancy and we had brought only jeans along, so we ate at a Mexican place that someone recommended to us. All I can say is WOW!!! It was awesome food!! The owner is Mexican, I guess, and it was authentic food and CHEAP and FAST!! There were lots of locals eating there, so you know it was good. I had chicken mole with poblano peppers and it was soooooo good. I do NOT like hot things and this was really spicy to me, but it was so good that I ate all of it. I just ate lots and lots of chips and went through 3-4 drinks.

In the morning, we were served an awesome breakfast. We were the only guests there that morning so we had the restaurant all to ourselves. Imagine eating breakfast to Frank Sinatra under blue Christmas lights. It was so cool!!!

After checkout, we bought an umbrella at the hardware store and made our way to Asheville. There we toured Biltmore. Since this was only the second time we were there, we were surprised to see that there were Spring flowers in all of the vases. Someone was playing the organ in the Banquet Hall, and we saw four new rooms that were just opened. I had asked Ski if we could see the Gardens since last time, we were there in Feb and there were no flowers. I have been wishing for a visit to Longwood Gardens, or as my father calls it, Dupont Gardens. Growing up, my family would often visit Longwood almost any time of year. My mother loves orchids so she loved to visit in winter when the orchids bloomed in the greenhouses. I really miss having that wonderful place nearby. So I really wanted to see the gardens at Biltmore. Before we even arrived at the gates to the gardens, we could smell the scent of roses wafting up to us. We chatted with one of the gardeners and complimented her on her work. Only two people tend to the two HUGE rose gardens. They only use extra help when they have to dead head. I was impressed!! I noticed lots of lavender on the walls near the rose garden and I can only imagine how wonderful the aroma of both roses and lavender commingling would be. I wish that I could bottle that scent and take it home with me. When will someone invent smell photos?!?!!! Once again, we didn't make it to the farm, but we did stop by the winery.

I will stop here and I am sure that Ski will share more and the pics that we have from the trip.

Howz your week?

Things are CA-RAY-ZEE for us at the moment. Lots of activity going on this weekend through next week. The family's going on our annual trek to see the spider lilies, B and I are getting away for a few days, plus we have an annual pest inspection, vet appt., friends graduating, etc. etc. etc. WHEW!! I'm tired just thinking about it!

So to help you smile your way into the weekend, here's another "so stupid it's funny" video from Ski. Enjoy!

It's those eyes

Ok, we have a newsflash for y'all. We have a dog. Actually a puppy.

A BIG puppy.

Her name is Belle.

Someone on our neighborhood Yahoo group was giving her away for "free" after their son brought him home without checking with his parents (who already have a dog). She's supposedly nine weeks old and is pretty much crate trained and housebroken. The headline of "free Basset" caught B's eye and when she looked at the pictures, that was all it took.

So after three days of new dog ownership, we're all learning about authority, mercy, patience, and unconditional love. We had an old, grumpy basset years ago that liked to play mind games with us (hunger strikes, biting B, etc). We eventually brought him back and he lived his remaining year or two with a single guy, and was grumpy 'til the day he died. We've been burned by canine ownership before.

But so far Belle has been a very sweet, quiet, and quick-learning addition to our family. She seems to be a mix of basset and some breed with brindle (maybe she's a pitbull (= ). She definitely has some hound in her 'cause she sniffs and tracks almost constantly on her walks. Mistletoe, our indoor cat, is still very fearful of her and is temporarily eating upstairs. But Belle and Mocha, our outdoor cat, are slowly coming to an understanding of each other.

Of course H and C are thrilled. They've been asking for a dog for years. And I KNOW it's not free. The receipt for the crate, food, toys, leash, collar etc. etc. etc. show that. And her first doctor visit is on the 29th (yay).

But we're still happy to have her as our newest addition and for the lessons that she, and we, are learning. Enjoy the pics.

Strawberry Picking and Lessons in Ethics

The other day, three of my children and I went strawberry picking. The other three chose not to go. Iz stayed home even though he went last year. I guess he doesn't have fond memories of the experience. At the place we pick, they tell you which fields that you are allowed to pick in. I explained to the kids how to pick and how to look at the berry before you pull it off. After we had been picking a few minutes, Si said to me, "You're not allowed to eat while you pick." Realizing that I had forgotten to mention this detail, I asked him why he said that. He told me that he had seen a sign of a berry with a bite in it in a circle with a line through it. I told him that was correct. I explained that since we pay by the container that if you eat berries before you pay, it is like stealing.

Not long after that, I noticed Simon walking towards field #3. I called to him and said that we were only supposed to pick in fields #1 & #2. A woman who was already picking in field #3 was very close to him and I am sure she heard me, but kept right on picking. So when we left, we saw the woman with her HUGE basket of contraband strawberries.

After I paid, Lydia asked if she could have some strawberries. I told her that when we got to the car, she could. The lady in the stand said, "Do you mean to tell me that you didn't eat ANY while you were picking?!?!?" The kids said "no" and I told her how I had explained that it was stealing to eat while picking. The lady said, "Of course, you can eat while picking!!! You just can't eat ALL of the berries." If I had my wits about me, I would have asked her about the sign and if I should have had my kids disobey the signs posted in the field. I am glad that my kids still felt it was wrong to eat them if the SIGNS said not to.

My kids are CRAZY!!!

I went to a home school used book sale this afternoon that was a few towns away. It was pretty much a bust, but that's ok. Five of my dc went with me and we had lunch in the town park.

On the way home, I ran some errands. I stopped by a plant store that was really cool. They were sooooo nice there. Then I picked up a few groceries here and there. Between the long trip, a busy weekend and the fact I took zyrtec, I was extremely tired by the time I got to Walmart. All I wanted was something fast for dinner and something to wake me up. But, as we always say, Super Walmart sucks you in and never spits you out. It was not a good shopping trip. My kids were worn out and were wearing me out along with them. After awhile, they started to play a game. They followed single file. If I asked a question, apparently, they were to give an incorrect answer. If I said anything, they were to repeat it. If I asked someone to get something, they then went to the back of the line. At one point, I asked how someone got sent to the end of the line and they told me the rules. Si and Lyd would keep stepping on my sandals so I asked them to get things. Ha, ha, ha!! Another thing that they would do was to sway back and forth while they walked behind me and they sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." I don't know why. It was peculiar. And wow did we get some bizarre looks from people!! But at least they weren't bickering and complaining. :D

Cinnamon buns are yummy

Took C to her first visit to our area IKEA store on our daddy date tonight. I bought some candles of various shapes that were marked down to $1.99. We had a good time pulling open all the drawers in the model kitchens to see where the room designers hid all the pots, utensils, food storage containers and other items. It was pretty fun.

After checking out, I decided to see if their cinnamon buns tasted as good as they smell. While they have less goo than the delectable Cinnabon ones in the mall, (and really, who over 40 goes to the mall any more?) they were pretty tasty--and only a buck. I'll be buying a pack to bring home to B next time if I'm there with our teens.

Our semi-wounded warrior

Thursday night IZ took a tumble off of a slide in the backyard and seemed to be crying more than normal about his arm hurting. Fearing it may be broken, we brought him to an Urgent Care center for an x-ray.

The x-ray came back negative which is a good thing on several fronts. Since B will be going to her last orthopedist appt in early June, it would nice if no one had any ongoing bone injuries to follow up with.

The other positive thing is we now know IZ's bones are good and strong and not brittle even though he can't have any dairy in his diet. God has been so good in keeping him safe and helping him grow strong.

We're keeping his arm wrapped for now and giving him some Motrin to help with the pain. I guess he just has a bad sprain.

WooHoo!!!!

The 'Canes are in the finals!!!
Gotta Love It!!!

Maybe I'll actually get to see a game now.....!!!

Gardening again

Saturday afternoon I saw a neighbor out. I have always admired her yard so I went down to tell her how much I liked it. She ended up taking me into her back yard and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Jealous!!!!! Her dh used to be a contractor and he apparently loves gardening and projects. They have a nice hill in their backyard. It is kind of steep in one area so they dug a deep pond and made a waterfall. It is absolutely gorgeous. She said it took them a long time to do. It is made with flat stone and the walking surface is slate. They have a bunch of Koi and one is even 10 years old. Her dh also made a pergola and they are training Wisteria to grow up it.

She was really sweet and gave me some plants this evening that she dug up. I have no clue what they are. She doesn't know either. She told me that if she sees a plant that she likes, she asks for a cutting or to divide it and then plants it in her yard. These are green leaves that remind me of hostas, but they grow a large yellow flower.

In my yard, I am now desperately trying to think of how I will make my little perennial area beside my house. I have a Southern exposure and along part of it, I planned to plant some Purple cone flowers. I have them started and they are doing well. I think I will also add these new plants, but that means I need to get busy digging!!!!

I have also been thinking about a rose bush on this side. I have a terrible looking area in my yard that we call the "weed garden." It has some rose bushes in there that smell lovely, but are not very pretty. Plus, they are overrun by bugs. Blech. Also, there is wild mint and wild berries that never get juicy enough to eat unless you are a bug or bird. I was thinking of transplanting the roses, but I am not sure. I have been hearing lots of good things about the knockout rose and I saw one today at the neighbor's house. It is lovely and smells wonderful. I am considering planting one of these and ditching the entire contents of the "weed garden" with the exception of the daffodil bulbs that are buried somewhere in there.

The girls planted their tomato plants in pots today. And yes, I relinquished the cucumber to dd. I also looked closer at my cucumbers because I stuck a trellis in the tub. It turns out that one of them is a pickling cucumber!! I had not planned on that. My mom made pickles once and I didn't care for them. I am not sure if I am up to pickling cucumbers!!!


BTW....I wrote this post earlier, but didn't post it. My friend tells me that the plants my neighbor gave me are cannas. After reading about them, I debated whether to plant them by the window. Apparently some varieties can grow up to 15 feet!!! I am hoping that this is not the case with mine. If they grow too tall, I will dig them up and plant them somewhere else next year. But for now, they are staying.

And speaking of tanks....

No, thank goodness, not another post about, ahem, well, you know.

This one's for my "big bro'" JayPa. He has a really cool blog about roller coasters that is currently kinda quiet since he's currently between jobs. In the meantime, he's serving B's family so well by laying down his life and caring for B's mom and dad as they deal with some medical issues. So it's my privilege to pump up his site to our readers. (BTW, If you're looking for a writer, editor, photographer PLEASE contact him)

Anyway, The Koaster Life did a story in February about the new Manta ride at Sea World. Orlando Attractions magazine recently posted a video of the new attraction's opening. So as a follow up to JayPa's post, here's a (somewhat grainy) video:



JayPa, someday you, me, and any brave ski-bum have to ride this thing together!! (=

Just a Few Things to Add..

I really must reiterate how proud I am of Ski.
His persistence was really amazing. I thought I was going to cry when he said "One more time," but he triumphed over the porcelain!! It was a project that was beyond frustrating -- esp since our bathroom is the size of a pigeon hole. And though it was a tight squeeze and plumbing is not Ski's favorite way to pass the time, he got the job done. BTW, we both think that toilet removal is by far the easiest part of this job!!

Through it all, I learned all about flanges and that they are so named closet flanges after the water closet. I also learned that there is such a thing as a toilet shim. And while someone told me that wax rings smell, I learned that this is only the case if it is old. New ones have an unusual odor, but it is neither strong nor offensive. Oh, and I learned that it is really important to read a box before you buy and that bigger is not always better. The extra wax reinforced rings are for commercial toilets and not your run of the mill household toilets.

I think that there is an old lady who works in a Lowes near us who is concerned for out sanity. After so many visits and issues with our installation, we were getting a bit goofy because this is what you need to do or you will become angry or cry. So, we were telling her how we were never going to return to Lowe's again. I think she is convinced that we had been sniffing too much sewer gas.

But God is really good to us. One small example was when, at the last minute, I noticed that the rag was STILL in the sewer drain. Ack!! That would have been bad news. But before we set the thing down, I saw it and pulled it out. Oh, and when the toilet was a bit uneven, I remembered the silly Home Depot book had mentioned toilet shims. Who would have thought it!! Oh, and another thing that I think was completely miraculous is that with the number of times we did and redid this project, we did not break a thing!!!

Oh...and just so you know...the pic above is NOT our bathroom. I want you to know that just in case you are thinking like I am that their bolt looks a bit crooked. LOL

Man Beats Toilet in Ten Rounds

**Fade in background music, "We Are The Champions" by Queen....."

It took 4 days, 10 trips to Lowes, (plus one to Walmart and Home Depot)....

...two assistants (B & NateGeo to help "line things up" and keep me from my "paralysis of analysis" tendencies by answering nagging questions in the back of my mind during the process)...

a new mini hacksaw and caulk gun plus misc. plumbing supplies.

But aggravation, from starting the process over three times, and gas, plus Starbucks $$ aside, I think I saved the $97 I would've been charged from a plumber install it.

Yes folks, I've successfully installed a toilet!!! This project kicked my butt two times, but the sweetest thing B said to me afterwards was she admired my perseverance in that I WANTED to try just ONE MORE TIME (though I was ready to call in my friends to rescue the project if I messed it up this last time--three strikes and I was ready to be out!!)

SO please pardon my posting a picture of my new commode on our blog (hope none of you are eating). All tests seem to indicate this was a sucessful install. We're still letting all the sealant dry for at least 24 hours before anyone will be given permission to use it.

(But seriously folks ---God is gracious to me, a man of unclean lips. To Him I give credit, thanks, and glory for His everyday grace shown to me, as I bring absolutely NOTHING to the table on projects like this!!!)