End of the month update on the current baloney

Don't ask me how but I downloaded this from my phone. These are my anniversary/funeral flowers. They are one sided and the back must be hidden. That is the last time for Conner Park Florist, no more. Something changed and I am done with those asshats. Yep, we had our 40th anniversary this weekend and all is well. We went to the Cornwall bakery as we always get treats on special occasions and I got a butter tart and an apple pie. They were not to my taste. Really pissed me off. We each bought a pair of shoes and called it good, just not feeling it this year.

My current foster dog Auggie is settling in nicely. He was on TV this morning as the dog of the week. We will see. His hair is just starting to grow in from the shaving and he is a French poodle with Chinese eyes. I keep him in the crate when I am busy and overnight and he is doing fine with that, but he sits next to me in the big chair when we watch TV or read and is quite content.

I am finished with the event monitor and it could not be soon enough, I was so tired of the wires and the thing hanging off me and finding clothes big enough to accommodate all the extra crap. I had the EMG where they stick needles in your arm, my case was the arm, and it was a non event. Sting was smaller than taking blood and I only felt it once. Good news is I have no nerve damage.

Big Daddy is in Mexico for his new job, just for the week, but the bad news is some asshat sourced some tools in China quite near the border with Tibet I believe. And of course someone has to go. This will only be a one week trip with a 19 hour flight. And they are liking China for future projects. WTF.

Last movie was Bridget Jones Baby. Wait for it on television. Movie this week will be the Magnificent Seven, the trailer was great so we will see. Oh I finally saw Brooklyn on TV and loved it. Tried Revenant and I just could not get into it. Started Survivor on TV but sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't.

Tonight is the debate and I cannot wait. So many rumors, so much hype, this will be great.

Just when you think you have heard it all . . .

As you can see I am still photo challenged. This is after downloading Google something for pics that would help me out.

Well, my mom has decided she does not want to pursue buying a mobile home after she found out they are on wheels. Big Daddy and I elected not to explain tie downs as they still blow away in a fierce wind.

I am getting many rings and messages on my heart event device so I called and asked if they are getting this data or not. They said yes so I guess I just need to leave the house on a regular basis. I had the first monitored episode the other night, woke me up, and BD took my B/P, it was low which makes me wonder is sleeping B/P a lot lower that resting B/P? I am recording this per the doc.

Which brings us to Riley, the faux poodle we are fostering. The only thing Riley will do with any enthusiasm is go for a walk. He does not sniff around, he does not pee on every inviting pee post, he walks. If he cannot hold it he poops anywhere, cement, grass, the street. If he can hold it he poops in my family room. He hates the grass. The head of the rescue squad contacted his former owner who turned out to liars, cheats and asshats and they will not take him back and said yea, he bites. BD knows about that. The vet said they refused testing on him back in the spring. So here is what happened: As soon as the last kid pulled out of the driveway they called the rescue and lied. And then they bought new carpet and furniture. And that is why they will not take him back, the new carpet. They are just cheap ass Grosse Pointers who wanted someone else to pay to put him down. His last day is Wednesday and we are just keeping him comfortable. Oh, yea, when I take him out to pee he falls over sideways when he walks. The only time he is okay is walking on the leash.

Monday I go for my test, EMG on my right arm. I am not looking forward to it. But I am also tired of the needle like pains. Don't know which is worse until Monday.

I am going to a therapist, PHD, for all this medical bullshit and she told me my symptoms are similar to another patient, one with a rare disease that was hard to diagnose. She said it would be very odd to have 2 patients with this disease but after a few visits she gave me the name of the diagnosis and said to read up on it and think about the information. It is uncanny how it seems that I meet the criteria. It is a new disease, named in 2007. I will be keeping an eye on this one.

Oh, and I passed the oral challenge for salmon and I am not allergic. It is just coincidence that half my face swelled shut twice when eating salmon. WTF.

Okay, best of the week, saw Sully at the moving pictures. I liked it, I remember watching it happen on CNN when I was laid off back in the day. It is a little sappy and whatever, but I still liked it.

Also like Light Between the Ocean, beautiful scenery. Odd this was the last movies I have watched, this and Jason Bourne and The Danish Girl all had the same actress Alicia Vikander. I wonder if she is the only one working these days. She was not in Sully.

What I did on my summer vacation

Obviously I did not learn how to post pictures properly.

Don't have a clue on that pic. Some Santa thing from China.

I have been spending most of my time in health related activities:

Physical Therapy on my back and neck 3 days a week. One of which involves some kind of massage which is really painful torture. 

One or two days a week at a different kind of doctor. This coming week will be a cardiologist. I still have to fill out that paperwork.

Once a week or so with my mother, lately it is back to the movies. Star Trek, I highly recommend. The Chinese restaurant on Ford Road I would skip. Also a regular visit to Walgreen's which I am starting to look forward to that visit. Also saw Jason Bourne, not a bad movie if you do not mind a bit of blood and gore, it is my mom's favorite. Yes, she is 82. 

I have not found a dog and that is God's way of telling me this is No Time For Dogs.

Big Daddy recently returned from China and is preparing to start a new job with a new company, he needs new clothes. The old company was really slack on looking sharp. And he may not be returning to China in the near future. Hurrah. 

Read some books but the only one I would call a winner was "The Girl From The Savoy", really a nice read about the early 20th century in England. 

My SIL has me convinced to paint my house in Chalk Paint, we will see. 

My precious Curly is walking and dancing and is quite precocious, maybe she will take after me. 

I need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and just keep on keeping on, hopefully more to follow. 

More crap

This is what Big Daddy is going to look for in the "phony market", cannot remember the correct name right now. Getting alot of that cannot remember my words recently. Just remembered, it is called the copy market.

Big Daddy is once again back in China, at a new to him hotel and holy shit, there is a bible in the room. Quite unusual, and it is not a Gideon.

I have to call the heating and cooling people tomorrow as I am no longer cooling. Kinda sucks.

The "Wellness" appointments are just strange. The physical therapy seems to be working, I am feeling better. The call from the allergist telling me I am not allergic to fish according to my bloodwork just upsets me. Not that I want to be allergic to anything, but I am not happy about random excessive swelling of my face to the point I cannot breathe through my nose. I think that sucks. And now I have to go into her office and eat the salmon, that I provide, and it is a 2 hour appointment. And I cannot do that until Big Daddy comes home in case I die or whatever.

I am also now in therapy so I can bitch and moan to someone about all this bullshit. I told her about my heart episodes and she gave me some hope that maybe it is panic attacks and not heart attacks.

My mom and I just had a heart to heart about her preference of staying at low budget motels where you enter from the parking lot and pray you do not get shot by the riff raff that seems to prefer these establishments. I really do not like these type of lodgings. She has always had a weakness for the worst in life. I don't know why but I know we cannot travel anymore with this obstacle between us. This is gonna put a kabosh on the Noah's Ark experience.

Zoey cat is happy as I am feeding her. And giving her cookies.

My  sweetest angel of the world, Curly, is walking. And I am predicting that she will make her parents more crazy than even I can imagine. And I say, you go girl.

Random Crap

Gooey Duck from Big Daddy's last visit to China. He is going back in a few weeks if you want some.

Things my mother taught me: You buy the cheapest, ugliest, and tackiest plastic flowers from K Mart to put on graves so asshats will not steal them. It is the thought that counts. I can attest to the fact the flowers met all the above criteria.

I got a cold sore. I find this disturbing. It hurt like hell, at first I thought it was a paper cut, but why the hell would I have a paper cut in the corner of my mouth? I am wondering if this is all about that Shingles shit. And the expensive stuff, Abreva, works like a charm. Mine was caught early and quit hurting in one day and was gone on the third day.

I took my mom to Podunk and we stayed in a crappy hotel. It is called the Carlton in Adrian and it was not great. The advertised Adrian Bar and Grill was laughable. I could not find the bartender and when I went to the front desk they pointed to the bench out front where the bartender was taking a smoke break. My white wine in the plastic stemmed wine glass did not make me feel better.

Oh, and we went to dinner with relatives. At 4:30 to beat the rush. In a Coney Island attached to the gas station. Yep.

Xfinity is telling me they have a new way to watch , the thing is . . . there is nothing to watch.

Big Daddy finally found a fly swatter. They came in a three pack. So 2 friends are up for dibs on a swatter.

Next week I am finally getting to all my doctor type appointments. My eyes are Monday, I have 3 physical therapy sessions, on allergist appointment and a regular appointment with the Internist where I get to tell him about this new weird heart beat thing.  It is a busy week and I did want to go and see  the  4 Freshmen at the Dirty Dog Cafe. We will have to see how that works out.

Well Monday we get to start the Republican Convention and I do not care what you all say, this is gonna be fun. And Hillary will be as much fun in Philly. I just hope everyone keeps their sense of humor and fairness and remembers, we are all the same -----so be nice.

Life Goes On

The Chinese have this figured out.

All we did this weekend was eat. Lots and lots of food and drink. Now we are on the bread and water to try to lose some of this flab.

Punkin Head got the house so they are preparing to sign a lot of papers and move into their first home.

Mom and the Lily dog seem happy here, must be all the food.

Just when you thought it would be okay

So I get the mail and find I have a post card telling me DTE, the energy folks here in town, are going to shut off my gas because some asshat has not been able to get inside and check out the hardware. Ok, I don't work so I know this dirt bag has not tried real hard but I will call and set this up.  Uhuh.
You get a recording and have to leave a message. After numerous calls I did get put on hold but then cut off.

I decided to call DTE as, adding insult to injury. 3 of my fellow Pointers are also ging to get cut off because I got their post cards. Yep, I got 4 because I have to worst Postal employee in town on my route. You can just tell by the way she parks in front of every house instead of walking the route. Our old guy Oscar was fabulous.

So I will be spending the next week on the phone calling these idjits because DTE told me this work is all out sourced to this URG company, both the phone calling and looking at the equipment. So I figure the phone calls are going to India and the looking will be done by some convict picked up at the shelter. All they gotta do is make sure you have a meter and shit to steal while they are in your house.

I did get my hair done yesterday, new color and cut. I hope this works well, the other was not working. It is not shorter just cut to have more movement. Hairdresser just returned from school in Toronto full of new ideas.

Trying to get the house ready for mom and Lily the dog to visit this weekend.

Breather TIme

This is not bad for a photo.

Big Daddy is home and he is so happy. I was not crazy the Internet was fucked up. The cat was happy to see him and all is well. He made cheeseburgers and that is first red meat we have had in a week.

My little sweetie is on the verge of walking and talking but she is still slobbering like a bowery wino. Not a good thing. Punkin Head says this can go on til she is 3. Yucko.

I am not happy about the "not available" options to go see her. There seems to be no hotels with availability in the summer. None. That seems to me to be just a bit silly. Even up north here, which is the cat's ass there are rooms at some point. Hmm.

The kids bought a house so we will see how this all goes.

Oh My God

 Still using random old pictures as I have not taken any time to figure out the photo mess.

Zoey is still jumping up on the cabinets as she figured out how to get down. In a kind of clumsy fashion. This is where I wonder is having no claws my hurt her cat abilities. Not sure although I am sure it does not help with the mousing. But we don't have any more mice at the moment.

Big Daddy still does not have his bag and he only has one more day in China. He got the top dog executive assistant from China to give it a go as he knew she was fluent and owed him. We will see.

Could not take mom out today as the IBS is not giving me a break. I don't know if the expensive probiotics recommended by the doctor don't work or take longer to work. Whatever.

I am rather disturbed by the pictures of the "lagoon" where the little boy was snatched by the gator. I have been to Disney World and the Grand Floridian is the expensive hotel. And those beaches look to me like an attractive nuisance. When I saw the pictures of the area I almost fell off my chair.  I mean really they are a lure to spend time in the sand by the water. Not a good thing. I wonder just how Disney is gonna fix this.

My son is all Disney is great but I remember the recent H1B fiasco, the monorails going out of control and killing an employee, and rumblings that things are not perfect in the Magic Kingdom. But this little boy dying, this one is way too ugly to sweep under the Magic Carpet.

The Flying Wallenda protege, Miss Zoey

Gosh darn we were young.

Well I am talking on the phone to my mom and I hear all this ruckus. Turning around I find Miss Zoey kitty cat on top of the cabinets over the wet bar and she cannot get down. WTF. My question is how the hell did she get up there. And did she learn her lesson. I was in a panic and thought of calling the fire department to get her down and then I remembered the chair. So I pulled over the chair and climbed up on it Chinese style and managed to nab her. And I do not think she was appropriately grateful.

Big Daddy still does not have his bag but his comrade has his, albeit after a bit of a brouhaha. The front desk brought Mr. T's bag to BD's room and BD told them to take it to room 1234, for Mr. T. So they sent it back to Hong Kong Airport. This was from mainline China, no easy feat. Mr. T's bag was rescued and united with Tom right before they were closed off in the airplane to sit and wait 2 hours for ATC. That means the military has shut down the airspace and shut up. You know this is happening when they shut the aircraft door and bring out the food carts. And everyone gets boxes of rolls and pickle relish. Good to know things are same over there.

Mr. T, being the trainee has offered to share his clothes with BD and has fresh unopened packs of underwear from Costco. BD is in heaven.

The tale of the traveling luggage.

Reed College

Well because of the volcano explosion in Russia Delta decided to send all the luggage to Heathrow and have Virgin Atlantic fly it to Hong Kong. A bunch of bags did end up in Hong Kong, just not Big Daddy's. So now every night he washes his clothes before bed.

He is more upset about the Aero something coffee press he uses there, the Chinese do not know how to make good coffee.

The Chinese are not very big and certainly not tall and BD cannot find clothes to fit him in China. Bummer.

I put in application to a pet adoption agency for a dog. I doubt this will work out as the questions were stupid and I do not have a lot of patience for bullshit right now.

And Delta does it again.

Well, after what seemed like a century of travel to China Big Daddy arrived to find that Delta had lost his bag. They sent him an email. Everyone can track the lost bag, Delta, BD, aliens and such-I guess everyone but the rampers who put about 100 people's bags on the wrong plane. Because that is the way Delta rolls, slightly off kilter.


My kitty cat was in my bed this morning so that means she is not happy either.

BD tells me Waze is working in China, Shenzen area. Don't know about Hong Kong.

I was so bored last night I bought the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, biggest waste of $15.99 in a long time.

About this evil jackass in Orlando, WTF is wrong with these people? I wonder if the tags of hate crimes, terrorism, and such is just bullshit. I think these may be just sick assholes that want fame and somewhere in their twisted minds they really believe that they are God. All the way back to Jim Jones and the Kool Aid. Maybe these fucks are just nut jobs. Except for those asshats and the virgins. Why do guys want virgins? So no one knows they are crappy at sex?

Peace be with you.

Regular crap

Until I figure out the picture thing you get what you get. And that expression kinda says it all.

Delta Airlines has once again figured out a way to piss off their customers. They cannot sell the middle seats for any amount of money. So they made them comfort seats and upgrade the low level assholes like Big Daddy and put them in those seats. Yes, they took BD from an exit row aisle to a middle "comfort' seat and called it an upgrade. Listening to the phone conversation between BD and the "Calcutta" Delta rep was a hoot. Because once you are upgraded you cannot change your seat yourself, you have to call "Calcutta" and ask them to help you.

I have been looking for a new lipstick and for some reason chose Revlon Color Stay Suede. It is kinda like having the driest ugliest lips ever. Buyer beware.

The crooked house now has a crooked driveway. Could not get pics but I will try this week.

Punkin Head is in the twin cities for a conference and tells me he is in the shabbiest Sheraton ever. I am looking forward to those pics.

Mom and I furniture shopped this week and I was pleasantly surprised by the Lazy Boy store. Next week we are going to Barnes and Noble and this I fear, my mom could spend days in a bookstore without food or water. This one does have a Star Bucks so I can get crappy food and coffee while I wait.

BD is off to China tomorrow so the cat and I are on our own. And we are not happy.

Random stuff.

This Windows 10 and I are not getting along with the pictures. Halloween of the past.

Well, Sammy is gone. He just could not breathe anymore and the pills were not enough. I think Zoey misses him. I know I do. I was going to put up his photo but this shitty system won't help me out with task.

Punkin Head took Curly for her first Creamy. That is a strange term used only in Vermont as far as I know for what the rest of us call soft serve ice cream. She loved it and yes it was chocolate. She had 2 licks.

I have been taking my mom out once a week and we are going to the movies. This is rather shocking to me as I have not been to a movie theater in over 30 years. All the seats are huge Lazy Boy type with cup holders. And the individual screening rooms are not all that large. And the movies are crap.
Last one we saw was The Meddler and I can tell you Susan Sarandon needs a better bra.

I really think someone needs to tell Hillary her hair has never looked worse. She needs to fix it, you can't have a big butt and small hair. Especially in hot pink. She did quit shouting which made me happy. Don't know if it is me or what but I have not seen or heard from all 3 of them for a while, wonder what they are up to.

My basement leak seems to be fixed so I guess jacking the floor out was a good idea. I do think 3 months and 3 different people are a lot of effort for a damn leak.

Big Daddy got me the Beach Boys Pet Sounds CD so I am off to listen.

This is a shameful tale.

So I hear this noise and I walk toward the kitchen and see Zoey the cat jump off the kitchen counter. Now Zoey knows she is not supposed to be up there and I am not so silly as to believe she never gets up there. The next time I walk through she is up there again. Lo and behold there is a huge insect which is black and yellow crawling aroung my kitchen window. It was scary big.

I put the cat in the bedroom because I was afraid she would get hurt if she caught that thing, I Skyped Big Daddy because I was afraid I would get hurt by that thing and watched it crawl up the screen. I opened the window hoping it would stay in that area.

Big Daddy told me to get it with the Hotshot but to be sure the Hotshot worked. As I was looking and checking and wondering if this was a dandy idea the insect crawled down and fell off the window sill into a drinking glass. I grabbed the dirty coffee cup and put it on top. On thinking everything moves slower when cold, I stuck it all in the fridge. Should take a couple hours. Using my logic skills from the past.

Yes, I am ashamed my cat got on the counter but she pointed out the potential problem.

Good Kitty.

Random Thoughts

Mother's Day flowers from Punkin Head

I went to the doctor today and told him I am depressed. I cannot sleep due to the IBS, hives, dry mouth and other assorted bullshit. So I have new meds, I need to go to an allergist and therapy. Will let you know how this all goes. 

I took my mom to the movies yesterday, we saw Mother's Day-not the worst movie ever made, and we were both amazed that the matinee was only 5 dollars. She told me in Florida it is 9 dollars for seniors. Whoa. But the movie did have the ugliest baby I have ever seen in a movie/TV show. I am talking ugly baby. And the mother of the baby was the tiniest woman ever and she has this huge ugly baby. And this was not a device, just a fact. 

Last weekend we left food on the porch for the postal carrier, it is a huge food pantry effort. Not a problem to leave the food but my mail carrier can barely make it door to door, much less toting these canned goods. This woman drives the mail on a walking route. I feel like telling her if she walked more she could lose that extra 100 pounds she is also carrying around. 

Sammy Dog is getting worse, so bad that sometimes now he does not even fight his pill. He does not seem to be in pain but I am worried. I fear the end is near. 

Well we have a new handy man, Jerry, and he is trying to find and fix the 3 month old leak in the basement. We have repaired, replaced, removed and cemented all we could find. Now we have to jack up the basement floor and check out this other pipe. I am about to pull my hair out on this one. 

And my cat is peeing on the floor next to her litter box. WTF. 

Funny of the month:  I drive some friends to the airport so they can fly to Cancun. The guy starts panicking at the airport about his coffee cup. I thought he was looking for a trash receptacle and I told him I would take care of it. The cup looked like shit.  Over a week later he texts me about this coffee cup, do I have it? Seriously? I told Big Daddy to toss it because what kind of idiot would take a coffee cup to the airport in someone else's car and expect them to protect it and safeguard it for an unknown amount of time? Who is that stupid. And he never asked me to keep it, asshat. 

BSF stands for bu## S##t F####### Bible Thumpers

This Internet is making me crazy.

From the Old Village in China. The Internet stopped me from choosing my own picture.

So my very religious Sister-in-law, the woman who is above all of us because she is special and blessed and righteous and and all out bitch, made my mother cry. Guess why?

A dog shit on the rug in front of the door wall. Black dog shit on a black rug. That it seems might have been peed on once in the recent past. This is not a doggy door, it is a door that someone has to open and take the dog out, like a real dog owner with a leash. And a stupid self possessed dyed blond bitch stepped in the dog shit. And it seems this has never happened before, you know, someone stepping in dog shit.

So the first thing to do when this happens is to scream at your 82 year old mother-in-law that this is all her fault. And you make her cry.

It prolly was your old dog that did this, you should be on top of all this animal circus since you and your husband encouraged the dog buying, you ask mom for money all the time and you are all asshats.

But what really ticks me off is you and your religious bullshit of going to bible study and preaching to prisoners and it is okay to make an old woman cry about less than an inch of dog shit on an old rug.

I do not like pretend christian people who act like asshats. So I guess that is how I feel about BSF, a Bible study group that made my SIL what she is today. .

More snow and cute stuff. Yea, yea, yea.

Yes, I am breaking my own rule.

The Monday after we left Vermont it snowed. I am so thankful I did not have to drive through the Adirondacks in that snow. It was bad enough just being cold with no shoes.

That is not the white snowsuit I got her, mine is still too big. It is so damn hard to buy for babies, especially ones not close.

Well, church Sunday took 1 hour and 40 minutes. I was a little pissed. It was confirmation Sunday and then they did the rail communion and it took forever. I felt bad, we are supposed to be supportive here, but geez, can't we hurry some of this shit up.

Then we went to the Cotswold Cafe at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford estate for lunch. First timers for that one. The fact they serve decent wine helps with the slow service and wacko servers. The food is good just slow. Except for the popovers, not hot and the butter, weird. Big Daddy seems to think I am spoiled by the Irish butter and perhaps I am.

I took my mom's car back after my pedicure. This is about a one hour drive to my brother's house. BD followed me to bring me home. My brother and I are barely speaking but being polite. At some point during the 10 minutes I was inside it was mentioned that my brother thought he was driving me home. I would walk and find an Uber first. My real question is, do these people really think a woman of my age and intelligence would drive across the city without knowing how she was going to get home. Spare me.

More dog stuff.

This is also part of the dog set up.

The Westin is wonderful. The staff who brought the bed not so much. Upside down is sloppy.

And the bed, it was wonderful but too big for little Lily. She liked sleeping next to mom better.

I just cannot get back into the swing of things. Don't know what is the problem except the rain and gloom and since my return.

Dog Poop containers.

This is a little plastic dog bone full of dog poop baggies. It can be attached to your belt or whatever.

I kept it as I walk the dogs and my mother does not.

The Westin, Cleveland Ohio, downtown.

Ok, I found the pics I think. This is the view out of the hotel room in Cleveland. This is lake Erie from the Westin. This is just down the corner from where the Republican National Convention will be. I am thinking Trump will prolly have a better room, but surely some famous news person will have my room.

Just to give you an idea of the size, the big white thing on the floor is the Westin Heavenly Bed for dogs. And there was no pet fee. There will be more pics of this luscious bed.

Most of the hotels charged a pet fee, one charged 45 dollars a day, every day. What a rip off. Wish I had a picture of the dog, she was not worth the fee. But she is cute. Nine pounds of fun.

Yes, that is a wine chiller with a bottle of white wine in the cooler.

Home again, home again jiggety jig

I have no clue what this is a picture of, when it was taken, and why I thought it was a good idea.

I downloaded my pitiful photos from the trip to bring mom home, and they are not to be found. Big Daddy had my worked on while I was gone and now the pics are in hiding. Oh well, I will eventually find them.

I left to get my mom on Monday and I believe on Wednesday I told her we had to start taking photos. She wanted to take a selfie of us when we were sitting on opposite sides of a table at Cracker Barrel. Cracker Barrel became our go to eating spot.

Highlights of our journey:

I took a favorite handbag that I had not used in 10 years. Large and with a matte metallic finish, pewter, I thought it would be perfect. It started molting on the plane and by the end of the trip was a horrid mess.

I took my favorite brown leather loafers for driving. The first day I put them on the insides came apart and I could hardly get my foot out to peel this lining type shit off my feet. They went into the trash.

Day one I needed a cuticle trimmer, Salonpas pain patches and a new handbag. I never managed to get any of these items. Oh, and a pair of shoes since all the other footwear was sandals. My feet were cold in the tops of the Adirondacks.

A Lincoln MKC is not a vehicle with room for toting my mother's items and it needed to be filled up constantly as the range was only 350 miles per fill-up. Also bad road noise.

I do have to say I almost peed my pants laughing every day. We did have some fun. I will post the few and crappy photos soon. And yes there is one of Curly, if I can find it.

I did not see the Internet or read a paper and I barely heard the news. Heard the Prince died news and that was about it, too tired and too hard to figure out all the hotel TV and remotes.

Colder here today, more to follow as I vow to keep writing this time.

Thank God for Big Daddy

You will all be glad to know I will be taking new pics tomorrow. That is because I asked Big Daddy to confirm my seats on the flight to Florida. I thought I was boarding around ten in the morning, I am really boarding around 7 in the morning and not all that happy right now.

I am almost packed, still need to do shoes, the handbag and personal stuff. If I had known I would have done my hair before church, no I am doing it at 3 am. Tomorrow.

Some guy named Dave is picking me up tomorrow from Orlando airport and when I arrive at mom's we are going to lunch and the Walgreens. Whoa.

Saw Curly today on Skype, she takes after her Grandmama, determined and not happy when she does not get her way. Punkin Head says she learned the "trantrum". Should be fun.

IBS Gobsmacked and other crap

Crocus before the rabbits got dinner.

I had plans today and then IBS Billy Goats came and changed my day.

Zoey cat has been stalking the kitchen. We thought it was a game because she hunts all the time and we tore the kitchen apart looking for evidence of "rodents". No evidence and she was starting to slack. Then yesterday I heard the tinkle of flatware and dishes. I thought to myself, nah. Then I looked and the critters were with me. What to my wondering eye should "disappear" but a grey mouse and tail across my kitchen counter.

Well, we all know there is not enough Clorox Clean Up for that little snafu. And it seems there is a run on rodent trapping paraphernalia as Big Daddy had to fight for a spot at the Ace Hardware display. A huge bag of stuff and overnight we have captured one little mouse.

I gotta give Zoey her due, with no front claws it is prolly not easy to snag those little suckers.

I finished the OJ show on FX and must say it was great. I remember so much of it from the real time watching and this show just nailed it. And I really hope at some moment OJ did feel bad, or as bad as that asshole could feel,  and I feel bad for Bob Kardashian having to live with the truth.

I have the trip planned for mom and that was a pain in the ass. More on that later. Right now I am dreaming of vanilla muffins with Cacao nibs from Trader Joe's.

Pewabic Pottery and etc.

I spent Saturday standing in line in high winds and 30 degrees with snow on my person so I could get Christmas presents for my brood and support the Gleaners Food Bank. When I got into the car I could barely get my seat belt latched my fingers were so cold. This year they had the bowls outside, I am sure they were baking on better weather.

This bowl was supposed to go to my mother-in-law but Big Daddy wants to keep it. So okey dokey. You get your mom a gift.

I am starting to get a little PO'd about the election. I am left with a guy who is so oily he is sliding off edge, a guy who is all over the place, a guy who loves the thought of being back in the USSR and a woman who in 50 years has not been able to find a hairdo or a hairdresser. And don't give me any flak on the hairdresser, if you can't look presentable then you can't do shit. Angela Merkel, Margaret Thatcher and The Queen as seem to be able to look put together. I would not vote for a guy with a bad haircut in a shitty outfit either.

I need to get my act together on the mom trip, I leave in 2 weeks. Yikes.

Working for squat pay.

Rodin Museum in Philly. I can't find the new pics, this new Windows 10 can be a pain.

I had a request last week for my resume. I was bored so I sent it off. I have been in quality my entire career, with one stint as a sales coordinator. The recruiter told me my experience is all over the place. WTF. First time I have ever heard that one. And she wants me to interview for a job paying squat. For squat I will stay bored.

I need to start making the reservations for my trip to bring mama home. Or to my brother's house, whichever she wants to call it. And we will have picture taking lessons every day on her iPhone as she cannot remember how to take a picture.

Damn I need an interview outfit if I am going to interview. My last one got worn to shreds.

A cat question

Am I supposed to be giving this cat a bath?

My 2 Cents

So we are sitting in a black box theater setting waiting to see "A Steady Rain" put on by the local community theater group when the lovey dovey assholes come in and sit in front of us and then decide to snuggle. WTF. I know they were dating I am just wondering if they were on the down low married to other people.

So on to this Iphone bullshit between the US government and Apple, this is so bullshit I am about to scream. Apple made a phone that can't be hacked easily. They charge a bloody fortune for the phone. People kill themselves in China to keep those jobs. Literally throwing themselves from roofs. And now the U.S. government wants to change this shit because they thing the terrorists maybe made a phone call or text that the massive government network cannot find? WTF.

And business owners who supply Iphones to employees better be taking notice, if you do not dictate passwords and do not charge for personal use, or at least make it taxable, you too will be up the creek soon when something happens with one your phones. That always did piss me off, management got phones and did not have to expense them and they were not taxed, whereas my personal phone was my taxed pain in the ass.

Well, my car is going back next week, shit not right and the door hinge bolt is loose. They will fix it, it just takes a minute. or 2 or 3 months.

If I am really not going back to that job even part time I am thinking about a Volkswagon.

All the news that's fit to print

Some random wedding at St. Louis Cathedral, I gotta get out and get some new pictures.

And maybe that will be next week, Phil called and they are only waiting for one more part and are confident I should get my car back early next week. This has taken 2 months. Unbelievable. I hate the loaner car and try to avoid going out. It rides like a dump truck.

Just once I want to hear someone on television say, please use crap vanilla, feel free, no one will know or care. Just once.

The cat has taken to sitting and staring at one spot in the kitchen like she is waiting to trap something. We have taken it apart and no found any evidence of visitors so this now has me worried. She does love to hunt though. When there is nothing to find she just makes up her own jungle games in her mind.

My mom is getting some shit from Mr. RV's son and DIL, he left her some sort of life time right to the house and something else. Well, the inlaws are fussing and so she took the will to a lawyer. Now, Mr. RV died 3 years ago and she has supposed to be getting some sort of accounting and a percentage of something. And she has to pay the taxes and insurance so I am assuming this percentage is to maintain the property. But she has never gotten anything and no one is sure what it is she is supposed to get. I told her to ask the lawyer if she could change the locks and yes indeedy she can, so that is next on the list. I am so glad my brother, Mr. I am in Charge is on top of all this shit. This could get ugly. Glad I am not in charge.

Did I tell you my other brother I have not heard from in 5 or so years has a love child that is 5 years old? Just found out this winter.

And I still have not found a wire cage for that Shitty Dog. Gotta get back on that task.

I still do not have my f##@@g vehicle home from the repair shop.

And one week from tomorrow it will be 2 flippin months since I have seen my car. And I believe my Rose Sugar lip treatment. The lip stuff is missing and after a massive search that is the only place I cannot look, the console of  Escape. Drats. That stuff is 25 bucks a tube, not something I take lightly.

I cannot believe I have this piece of shit Escape from the dealer and no one seems to care about getting my car fixed. It is free with unlimited mileage, but geez it is not a great vehicle, and it is bottom of the food chain. You have to move the seat by grabbing this bar at the bottom and throwing your weight forward. Oh yea, I love it.

Roto Rooter had so send an expert back, might be fixed this time.

Last week I had an IBS attack from hell, so no getting anything accomplished. This week if things go well I still need the Xrays, the physical therapy and to get to the stupid knitting class.

I hear Curly is now doing the Commando Creep, the kids need a container for her. I have not Skyped for a while and am getting antsy.

I need to find a crate for my mother's dog, the Shitty Dog for the trip home and make reservations. I am sweating this one.

Just saying hey

Napoleon Bar in New Orleans.

Guess I am missing New Orleans but Mardi Gras is early this year and would be too cold. I can freeze my ass off at home.  The year this photo was taken there was a heat wave in the late fall and I had to buy an outfit or sweat to death. The sales lady was in red corduroy and when I saw her at Napoleon house for lunch she was in cutoffs.

Still no car.

The dishwasher would not run after the Roto Rooter visit so I hand washed the entire load and somehow Big Daddy got it up and running last night. Too weird.

There is too much going on here right now, strange things with Uber-not that I am driving at this time and the Flint water crisis. More on that later.

New Orleans in the past

Yea, well sometimes we all drink too much. That is a former Queen of one of the Carnivals with us.

So now I have a loaner from the dealer, a soft turquoise Escape with unlimited miles until they get my ride fixed. Seems this is a brouhaha with the dealer now. Hmm.

I got my teeth cleaned, there was nitrous and everything is fine.

We had our annual Roto Rooter call today, he fixed the kitchen sink sprayer again and said all the problems were because my water is too hot. My question is why is the water in the kitchen too hot and the water in the bathroom not hot enough. Now we are on a faucet seeking mission. Do not ask.

The best of the week is to come tomorrow, on Sunday when possible Punkin Head Skype's with Curly Girl. And it is such a treat. She loves her grandmama.

Just watching a commercial for Bosch dishwashers about how quiet they are, bullshit, mine was the worst of the worst. And expensive for the often needed repairs. I would rate them a 2. It did run okay for a year or two. 2 for 2. Bosch stands for bullshit.

Just more crap

One of my favorite pics, me and Punkin Head in Philly. That bar behind was taken from the ship associated with Detroit. It was beautiful.

Well, my car is still not finished. When they put it together they found some missing pieces, they called it upgrades. Whatever, they are thinking early next week.

My dentist appointment was cancelled yesterday as they ran out of nitrous and I cannot get my teeth cleaned without it. Yes, I need drugs for teeth cleaning. Never take pain meds but need drugs for cleanings.

So, I am driving my mother home from Florida via Vermont to see the baby. Next Tuesday I have to buy my plane ticket as they say that is the cheapest day and then plan the stops. Mom does not want to drive it in a marathon and she has the dog from hell we are bringing with us. Lily. I have never met her and am not looking forward to it. I am thinking 8 days total for the trip, we will see.

This latest painter I had do some work, at the highest recommendations yet, did shit work. Just like the others. I am now the new painter and Big Daddy is my slave. Because if the paint is gonna suck I am not going to pay thousands of dollars for sucky paint jobs. Saturday after my pedicure we are going to Lowes and Home Depot in the safe part of town and reviewing paint.

Will let you know how the paint works out.

Annual horseradish harvest

Annual horseradish harvest, a little late this year.

Yesterday I went to get my hair done. First time out of the house since January 2. I don't count letting the dog out. It was pretty exciting. And since I was so bored when the hairdresser suggested a little more blond here and there, well why not. Then she asked me if I can go 4 days after a blow dry with my hair looking okay. I almost fell out of the chair. I did not know people can go 4 days and still look okay. Sometimes the second day my hair is standing up straight even with the silk pillow cases. If I can go day 3 with dry shampoo I consider it a miracle and know it will not happen again for 6 to 12 months.

 Just came right home afterwards, the teeth are still a little uncomfortable.

I did find something new on the radio something fun to do, the Royal Oak Farmer's Market that run continuously since 1927. Who knew. One weekend soon we will be there. And I think they have a flea market on Sundays. And in the growing season May through Christmas it is also open on Fridays. Woo hoo.

Well, I still have no car. There is a back ordered wire harness, which means someone either is not shipping their service requirements or is mucking it up. I vote for mucking it up as everyplace I have ever worked take service requirements very casually and they prolly have someone walking around with a box, grabbing parts out of production containers-thereby shorting regular shipments-and shipping them off mis-counted and mis-labeled. Then you have to go to a meeting with the Service Parts Buyer who hates you because you are making his life miserable. And after he yells at you you gotta take him to lunch. And not Coney Dogs.

I went for a walk yesterday too and it is too damn cold for regular winter wear. I need to get out the heavy duty stuff next time and Sammy needs his coat. Pictures to follow.

Everything is still sucky

When in doubt, go with the bar.

I am starting to revive from the disease. My teeth still hurt, my jaw still hurts and I am having trouble turning my head. I am doing slow stretches. And I have to clean this place, that is a daunting task right now.

Big Daddy left us and went to BFE where it is 6.6 degrees and the only vehicle they had was a Hyundai. Please keep him in your thoughts. He only has to drive 2 hours to the shop from hell to see why they cannot make parts.

The elections/politics are cracking me up. You cannot deny that Hillary's statements on sexual predators kinda smells, you cannot deny that Joe is sniffing, you cannot deny Trump is sliming along and nobody is stomping on that guy today.

Out state we have Obama stopping in to make remarks in Louisiana with their new Dem Gov, now lets see if they will tax themselves to pay for what they want. And here at home Gov. Snyder is taking a stomping as somehow people are paying for water that is poison in Flint. How the hell does that happen when you have a dude you put in there to fix this shit?

Oh, and none of our Detroit school teachers want to teach, they are all sick. Enough to shut down many schools this week. And we are still seeing DPS associates/officials going to jail. For stealing the money that the teachers want. And, DPS still has the same number of administrators for far less children that they now do not teach. How does that work?

Sammy went out to pee and poop and neither took more than a few seconds. It is cold here. And I hope the crew comes and cleans this up for me.

Still sickly

Hilarious Christmas present from Punkin Head. We laughed our heads off. Will let you know if I ever make anything fabulous.

Did I ever tell y'all we are related to the Judd family on Big Daddy's side? They tried to steal Punkin Head with his red hair when he was a young pup.

Two days in a row now I have received calls from my old peeps looking for help. Either they miss me or the replacements are shitty.

I am still so sick. Cannot sleep properly, sweating and chills, glands hurt and just not happy.

My car should be fixed at the end of next week. Maybe. We shall see.

I am super dooper sick, thinking the flu

Banner at the Gryphon for the Fondue.

I am sicker than a dog. Big Daddy got sick first with a cold and so when I was felled I thought, wow I have a cold too. Nuh uh, it is the flu I am sure. Fever, chills, aches, sore throat, ennui and a runny nose, but I have that every day. I rescheduled my dentist appointment and she said 2 weeks, not one, she does not want to catch this shit. BD said everyone at work is sick. We are all drinking Throat Coat tea, from the drugstore. It is fabulous.

Comcast, the rat fuckers from hell are now charging for Major Crimes on TNT. That is one of the few shows we watch religiously and the asshats want 2.99 an episode. What kinda crap is that. I will pay anyone else any amount of money rather than give the idjits another dime.

Zoey cat is pissed off, BD let her run out of canned food for dinner and when he gave her dry kibble she was not amused. Even Sammy Dog went over and checked and gave him the loser look. It is bad when your critters are dissing you.

Breaking my own rule

I know I said no more babies, but I never said anything about baby toes. And those are the cutest toes ever.

Picked up my piece of crap shitbag car rental from Enterprise. 25,000 plus miles and scraped all over it. "Oh, no maam, it only counts if it is a tear or a hole". Yeah, don't try to charge me for the ugly on this crap bag when I return it. And they were incredibly offended when I declined the extra insurance. I asked them, does not AAA cover this shit bomb as I am renting it at the incredibly low price of 24.99 due to their skill at getting a low price? Well, if I get in an accident they will want the deductible. I am fairly certain if I get into an accident there will be no evidence as this thing will be pulverized.

We are still unpacking and getting around. Warm enough for a walk today if I can pull Big Daddy outside. And the healthy eating begins. Yesterday was ham and biscuits and gravy after NYE meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes. Those were the 4th garlic mashed potatoes of the season.

Big Daddy is thinking fried anchovies. Fish, ya know.

Christmas vacation weirdness

Mussels appetizer from the Gryphon Restaurant in Burlington.

When we were leaving the hotel after the snowfall I saw the weirdest sight, 2 children throwing snowballs. The snowballs were made from a blue plastic snowball maker. Kinda like salad tongs with 2 round half balls, one at each end, and when held together made a snowball. WTF, kids today cannot even make a snowball without help. No wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket.

I saw Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island on Chopped. It was too weird for me. Can't even remember whether she was chopped.

So ever since Big Daddy set up my Delta account my first name has been miss-spelled. We are talking 10 plus years. Delta leaves one letter out of the middle of my first name. I have a passport and have been approved for TSA Pre Check for years. Now Punkin Head had told me that the Burlington Airport was teeny tiny and very Barney Fife in the TSA department. Yes, I was pulled aside, lectured, checked for the No Fly List, had to pass a written test. Then they gave me a special placard so I could walk through the Pre Check with my boots on.

We were delayed about 2 hours and there is hardly a place to sit, I snagged one under the coffee pots and was watching all these young people who would not give up their seats but they were no longer buying food or drink. Then it came across the intercom that the Jet Blue flight from Orlando had finally landed at JKF. It was due in a 9 am and it was now 5 PM. About 20 minutes later they came on said that the Jet Blue plane at JFK just went mechanical and they would have more info in the hour. Those people had a sucky ass day and I cannot blame them for hijacking the restaurant.

Then I go to the ladies and there is a ticket on the floor, I hesitated and picked it up and took it to the counter. It was for Gretchen Valade of the Carhartt family. She owns much here in town including the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe and she just gave millions to Wayne State. Later this woman that I swear is Gretchen or her sister approaches us sitting in the rockers and asks if she can take our picture. Because we are sitting in the rockers. She took ours and I took hers with her camera and she was happy. Definitely an eccentric no matter who she was.

Gotta pick up my rental tomorrow. I have not driven since the accident. Better get back in the saddle.