Not Much Going On

Not really sure what we'll be doing this weekend. We planned on heading up to Bay City to see the Tall Ships Festival, but that's a 2 hour drive & I'm not sure if I want to be in the car that long. I guess we'll just decide tomorrow after I wake up. We could just stay home and work on stuff around the house, but it's supposed to be a really nice weekend and I'd hate to waste cool mid-afternoon breezes on rearranging the garage! I'm just looking forward to not having to go to work for a couple of days, so I really don't care what we do as long as it doesn't involve 911 calls!


Friday's Feast
One Hundred and Three

Appetizer
Fill in the blanks: I ____________ when I _____________.
I have to throw the ball a dozen times when I want Shannon to go potty.
I yell at the TV when I watch Tigers games.
I daydream about what I could be doing at home when I am at work.

Soup
Name something you use to make your home smell good.
Vic really likes champa incense sticks and I like to burn the Body Shop's cranberry oil.

Salad
If you could receive a coupon in the mail for 50% off any product, what would you want it to be for?
A boat.

Main Course
Besides sleeping, what do you spend the majority of the hours of your typical day doing?
My time is pretty much divided between sitting outside reading & sitting inside watching baseball.

Dessert
What can you hear right now while answering these questions?
The Tigers pre-game show on the TV.

Caseys

Caseys
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Every week Vic & I try to buy a new flower or plant to pretty up the yard a bit. This week I got a pot of Black-Eyed Caseys. They're like Black-Eyed Susans except that their little black eyes poke out instead of staying in. And since we can never remember their correct name, we've named them after someone who likes them very, very much.

Also new this week are my contact lenses. I've always thought that we shouldn't have to pay for stuff that we absolutely have to have in order to exist ~ contacts being one of them. There should be some sort of legislation that says "if you need that certain thing or else you'll fall apart, then you should be given that certain thing for free." One 6-month supply of contacts is $130!! My insurance picks up most of the cost, but I still have to pay something. And since I can't see without them, I think the doctor should give them to me for free. I also think I should get free gas, free tampons and free kitty litter! I guess I could write up some sort of proposal and submit it to Congress, but then Bush might find that it "crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect" and veto it. (Who do you think wrote that for him? Just seems like too many big words for W.) Maybe I'll just stick to whining about it in my blog instead.

Upcoming Outings

I got pictures in the mail today from Jeannine ~ yea! I love getting stuff in the mail, even if Vic opens it first. They're of her trip here in June when we went to the Tigers game and to Frankenmuth. I can't believe it's the middle of July already! Where has the time gone? It seems like Jeannine was just here a few weeks ago and now stores are already putting school supplies on sale. Other than the mini heatwave we had last week, the Summer weather has been perfect. I hope we'll have great weather thru Autumn and a nice mild Winter again. I've got heaps of stuff planned for the next 6 months or so. Vic goes to see the doctor next week and maybe he can give us a better idea of when/if she'll have to have surgery. She's still in a lot of pain, so I'm guessing that if surgery is necessary it will probably be in the next month or two. I hope we'll still be able to go to the Renaissance Festival in September and to the cider mill in October. Right now I'm trying to get us tickets to a Tigers game. They're still in 1st place (in all of baseball!) which is great for the team, but it sucks if you want to buy last-minute tickets ~ there aren't any! Go Tigers!

Whole Lotta Nothin'

This past weekend Vic & I didn't really have anything specific planned ~ there were a few places we talked about going, but nothing definite. It was going to be a "see how the wind blows" kind of weekend. Well the wind wasn't blowing at all and the heat index reached 100, so we ended up doing a whole lot of nothing. Vic got a lot of laundry done, I finished my book and we sat inside in the air conditioning most of the weekend. We did venture out, later in the evenings, for ice cream both days. It was even too hot to wog today, so I cut the grass instead. I think I got plenty of exercise doing that ~ and I probably got a pretty good tan, too! This coming weekend is the Tall Ship Festival in Bay City, about an hour away from us. Hopefully the heat won't be as bad and we can venture out of the house for it. It's not supposed to be this hot in Michigan ~ it's supposed to be snowing. Maybe we need to move a little further north!

Doctor Updates

I heard from the doctor (finally) about my mammogram. She said that right now we have nothing to worry about, but since my last mamm. was 5 years ago, she wants me to take another one in 3 months to compare the films. I'm not really worried about it, but it was sure nice of her to call and talk to me personally about it. I also got my trial pair of new contacts yesterday. Supposedly I should be able to sleep in these, so I'm going to wear them for a week and then go back to the eye doctor and have him check my eyes out. I really hate not being able to see when I wake up, so I hope I'll be able to sleep in these and not have them suction themselves to my eyeball.

Feast One Hundred & Two
Appetizer
Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today.
I could make pitchers of iced tea for Vic, even though I don't drink the stuff. But wait, I just did that yesterday, so I guess I've got the day off from being nice.

Soup
When was the last time you were frightened by the weather?
The night of September 15, 2004 ~ the hours before Hurrican Ivan hit.

Salad
What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit?
I love Wikipedia. Lots of interesting stuff there. Pictures, too.

Main Course
Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child?
ABBA ~ I once got a 45 of "Waterloo" on the back of a cereal box. I cut it out and the little paper/plastic record played just fine on my pink record player.

Dessert
Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they?
When I go to work I have to clean my whole little area before I can log onto the computer for the night. I wipe off the phone & keyboards, arrange my quick reference sheets on my desk and make sure I have a fresh piece of paper on my notebook. I'm regularly laughed at.

Wogging

I've started running again. Well, let me ammend that a bit. Back in the days when I used to run 3 miles 7 days a week, I read in one of my running magazines that a person is a runner if they can run two 9-minute miles back to back and anything slower than that makes you a jogger. I think right now I'm a wogger; a combination of walking/jogging. I've been out to the track every once in a while since the snow melted, but nothing really consistent. But I got to thinking about how good I used to feel after my runs and how much healthier I seemed to be, so I've gotten more serious about the whole running thing. I've been wogging at the high school track every day for a week! The only day I wasn't there was when Vic & I spent the day walking around the zoo and I know I probably covered more distance that day then I do at the track. I'm starting out slow ~ I do 6 laps which is 1.5 miles. I've been timing the middle 4 laps to see how fast I can wog my mile ~ not too impressive so far, but right now my main goal is just to get out there and keep moving! With that said, I am skipping the track today to cut the grass instead. Cutting my front & back grass is definitely a pretty good workout and I'm usually pretty beat when I'm finished. Also, the All Star break is over and the Tigers are on TV tonight! So I'm looking forward to getting the grass done so I can just sit & relax for a bit before I head out to work. Go Tigers!

Squish Again

Vic & Zebra
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

I thought I would treat you to another picture of mine & Vic's trip to the zoo last Sunday. The zebras were very friendly & really curious about all the people who stopped to look at them. Apparently they also like to have their picture taken!

I had to go back for a follow-up mammogram yesterday. The doctor found some calcium deposits on the first film and wanted a more magnified view, so I went back for a resquishing. Mercedes the squisher told me that calcium deposits aren't necessarily a bad thing, but if they are too big or too plentiful or in a bad spot the doctor may want a biopsy done. The results are supposed to be forwarded to my doctor today or tomorrow, so hopefully I hear something soon. And, hopefully, it will be good news. I don't think I want a "babopsy."

The Old People & Kids Weekend

Tigers
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

After sleeping in late & then doing some yard work, Vic & I headed out to the MetroPark for a free concert by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). The weather was gorgeous and the DSO was wonderful. Of course, since it was free every senior citizen you could shake a stick at was there. And they all sat next to Vic. She hates to be crowded, especially since we made the extra effort to get there a little early and staked out a nice place for our lawn chairs & cooler. It was close enough to hear the concert, but not so close that people would be sitting on our laps. Wrong! And for some reason people at outdoor concerts feel that it's okay to yell to each other. Not talk, yell. I guess it's the price you gotta pay for free, though.
Sunday we finally headed out to the zoo. We been talking about making a trip out there since the snow melted, but always seem to have something else going on. Sunday was another perfect day. A little on the warm side, so some of the animals were napping in shady spots. Much like the tigers in my picture. Actually, this phot could've be taken at my house because this is pretty much the activity level of our kitties. The Detroit Zoo is really big and Vic & I walked the whole thing. (I've got a huge blister on my little toe!) Lots of neat animals and beautiful flowers everywhere! Also everywhere were tons of kids. Now that school is out, I don't think any day would be a safe day to go to the zoo. I just think that any kid under 14 should be kept on a leash. One of those full body leashes, not just the collar one. I felt like a pinball machine with kids bouncing off of me every hour or so. But we did get a lot of great pictures and other than the rugrats, we had a great afternoon out.

Saturday, 7am

I usually always look forward to Friday, but since I have to go in 4 hours early tonight I'm really really looking forward to Saturday! Vic & I plan on going to the MetroPark to see the Detroit Symphony Orchestra play a free concert under the stars. I love stars and I especially love free, so I think we'll have a good time. If the weather cooperates on Sunday we're going to finally get out to the zoo. So I'm really looking forward to 7am Saturday morning when I skip out the front door of the PD and do my little weekend jig. It's a very pretty sight.

Feast One Hundred & One

Appetizer
When was the last time you visited a hospital?
A couple of weeks ago when I went with Vic to get her MRI done.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?
I think it depends on what I'm being ambitious about. If it's work related then I'm definitely a 1 ~ my philosophy has always been "why work harder if they're not going to pay me more?". Otherwise, I think I'm probably about a 6 or 7 on the daily life ambition scale.

Salad
Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)
Nesting Osprey Sit Ergonomically

Main Course
If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?
I would call it "Casey, Casey, Casey" and it would be about all things Casey, naturally.

Dessert
What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?
We have ugly brown and uglier tan carpeting, wood floors & greyish marbley tile.

Squish

I went for a mammogram Wednesday afternoon. The whole experience was pretty unremarkable and not much to blog about, but I did notice one thing while I was standing there in one of those attractive gowns that open in the front. Quite a few medical personnel, from doctors to lab techs, find it unnecessary to introduce themselves to the patient. Now it may be just me, but I think if you're going to have me standing half-naked in a chilly room and injecting x-ray juice into my boobies the least you could do is tell me who you are. Christine, although not overly friendly, was certainly efficient and seemed to know what she was doing. But when I asked her what her name was (while she was hoisting my boobage up onto the cold slab) she gave it rather reluctantly, like maybe she was in trouble or something. What's the problem with saying who you are?! I just don't get it. I have another doctor's appointment today ~ this time with the eye doctor. This will be my first time seeing him and I hope, for his sake, that he introduces himself to me. (I also hope there won't be any more boob squishing.)

A Weekend of Nothing...Sort Of

Vic Cuttting the Grass
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

This was supposed to be the weekend of nothing. We were going to go nowhere and do nothing except sit around. Maybe we would read, but even that was iffy. Well, we almost succeeded in our nothingness. Saturday was spent sleeping in and then we went to a local plant nursery we've been wanting to visit and bought a spider plant (Charlotte) and a pretty purple climbing flower (Jack). After planting Jack & sitting on our new chair cushions (we bought earlier at the KMart) admiring him, Vic & I grilled a juicy steak for dinner (I, of course, set the table). Sunday, after watching the Tigers game, we cut the grass, trimmed the bushes & weeded the garden. Not really much of doing nothing, I guess, but we did spend an awful lot of time sitting around, too! And we had planned to go to see fireworks, but so many people in the neighborhood were setting them off that we saw plenty of fireworks without having to leave our backyard. Oh, I also finally finished the Hurricane Ivan scrapbook. Yea for me! The London book is next, but I'm not really looking forward to tackling something that big right now, so I think I'm going to work on catching up with the regular month-to-month scrapbook instead. I'd also like to get the bathroom painted by the end of the month. I think July is going to be pretty busy.

Discriminating Tastes

Today I went to AAA to renew our AAA membership. I could've opted to just renew our membership online or over the phone, but then we would still be members of AAA South instead of AAA Michigan. Not a real big difference except that then we would get the monthly MI magazine instead of the FL one. Well... the MI AAA doesn't recognize Vickie as my family member which means that she would need her own membership which would cost us an additional $35! After I told the guy to go screw himself, I came home and renewed over the phone with AAA South which doesn't care how Vickie is related to me ~ they're just happy to have the money! I was really quite pissed (understatement) and I wonder if this could be considered discrimination? I would think that if something is okay with one AAA it should be okay with every AAA ~ dontcha think? I mean come on, it's 2006 for god's sake! This will be interesting to look into...

Feast One Hundred!
Woohoo! One Hundred Feasts!
Appetizer
On average, approximately how many times per day do you yawn?
I yawn a ton when I'm riding in the car. But if I'm not passenging, I usually yawn around 20 times a day.

Soup
What was your most memorable school field trip?
When I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade we took a field trip to Amish country and saw cheese being made and syrup being tapped from the Maple trees. I'd like to make a return trip there in the Autumn to show Vic.

Salad
Fill in the blank: I was extremely __________________ this week.
I was extremely time-challenged this week. It seems like I've had a list of things to do for every day this past week and was rushing to get everything done. I'm really looking forward to sitting in our backyard this weekend.

Main Course
Which color do you think of when you hear the word "soothing"?
Blue.

Dessert
What is something that, if you had to, you could save up the money to buy within one month?
Tigers tickets. Going to a Tigers game is a very expensive night out ~ not only do you have to buy the tickets (at about $35 a piece), you also have to pay to park ($20), and buy ball game food/beers (about $50). And now that the Tigers are winning all their games, good tickets are getting harder to find.

Backyard View

Backyard View
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

This is the lovely view of my back yard I have while sitting on my equally lovely patio chair...when it's not pouring rain like it is right now. Vic & I have been discussing what to do landscape-wise with the long stretch of grass you see before you. On one hand, it gives Shannon a big playground in which to play ball and roll around on the grass, but we're thinking it could really use some color. There's also a big grassy area behind the garage that I think Vic has earmarked for a veggie garden for next Spring. If we had an unlimited amount of funds I was thinking that maybe a nice little stone path starting at the patio and winding thru the length of the yard to a quaint little sitting area at the rear of the yard would be nice. Along the way there would be treees and bushes and maybe a water feature of some sort. But we don't have an unlimited amount of funds, so I'm going to have to scale it down a bit. I think we definitely need some color along the garage and fence area on the right of the photo, but I need some ideas for the middle part of the yard. I don't want to junk it up, but it just looks so empty right now. Any suggestions?

Nopa!

BalloonFest
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Vic & I had a wonderful weekend! We couldn't manage to squeeze in the Opa! Festival, but I'm pretty confident there will be another Greek-themed festival in the Detroit area sometime before Summer is over. Saturday we spent the day with Vic's mom at the St. Clair Art Fair. The art part was pretty much like every other art fair I've ever been to ~ a lot of claybowls, yard ornaments made out of various types of wire & assorted bolts, paintings, and homemade jewelry. The best part of the fair was the location. It was held along the bank of Lake St. Clair, which separates Michigan from Canada. We saw all kinds of boats, a couple lighthouses and some Canadians! Actually the Canadians weren't that big a deal, but I really enjoyed the boats & lighthouses! And the weather was perfect. Not too hot and a wonderful breeze blowing in off the lake.

Sunday, after sleeping in, Vic & I headed out to the balloonfest ~ my first one! What a treat! The balloons were just gorgeous. They took off just before dusk, which explains why my picture isn't a little brighter. While waiting for them to take flight, Vic & I checked out the various craft booths they had set up, ate some balloon food (popcorn & candy apples!) and people-watched. It was very relaxing and since we probably would've just sat around outside at the house anyway, the balloons were a bonus! It's supposed to rain all the week, so I'm not sure what our plans are for the upcoming weekend. I'm hoping we can squeeze a fireworks show at the park on Sunday. Hopefully the rain will be gone by then!

Upcoming Weekend

I'm really looking forward to this weekend starting. Not just because of the obvious "no work" part, but also because there are a lot of events going on and the weather guy is predicting beautiful weather! In addition to the Balloonfest there's also an art fair and the Opa! Greek Fest we want to go to. I'm not a big fan of Greek food, but I'd like to check out the music and dancing. Pensacola had a yearly Greek festival, but something always prevented me from going. Hopefully Vic & I can work all three events into the next two days!

After reading Shawn's latest blog entry regarding books, I decided to order the first in James Patterson's "Women's Murder Club" series. It was only a penny online (and $3.49 shipping), so if I don't really care for it I won't have invested too much money. It sounds pretty good, though, so I'm looking forward to starting it. That also got me to thinking about all the books I've read that were eventually made into movies. Almost everybody says "the book was better than the movie", myself included, but there have been a few instances where I actually thought the movie outdid the book. A few of my picks, in no order, are Under the Tuscan Sun, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump and the whole Lord of the Rings series. Of those listed, I can honestly say that Under The Tuscan Sun and Forrest Gump were terrible reads. But still, the number of books that were better than their movies still outweighs the opposite.

Feast Ninety-Nine
Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you like your job?
I'm really over being a dispatcher, but as far as dispatching jobs go, Hazel Park is a great place to work. So I'd have to say career~2 and place of employment~8.

Soup
When was the last time you think you were lied to?
I'm lied to on a daily basis at work. It's amazing, really truly amazing, the number of people who call the police for help and then lie about why they need it.

Salad
Share some lyrics from own of your favorite songs.
"The incense of my soul is burned by the fire in my blood." Strangefire, Indigo Girls I just always liked that line for some unknown reason.

Main Course
What do you do/take when you are in pain?
Lortab or Motrin.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: My __________ is very __________.
My butt is very large. I think Shannon & I will go for a walk now.

Doctor Doctor

I had my first doctor's appointment today since moving to MI a year ago. My new doctor is very nice...and young. I'd be surprised if she's older than 30. She's very friendly and I think I'm going to like her. I'm usually pretty good about staying up to date with my doctor's visits, but since I needed to wait for my insurance to start, I've gotten behind in my trips to the dentist & eye doctor. I think the next few weeks will be spent catching up on health-related stuff.

Not Saturday, tho. Saturday, if it doesn't rain, Vic & I are going to the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest in Howell, about an hour away. I've never been to a hot air balloon event before and I'm really looking forward to it! I've got something planned for almost every weekend this Summer. We may not actually get to do everything I've got listed on my calendar, but we're sure going to try. Especially since Vic may have to have surgery towards the end of Summer. She can't get in to see the neurosurgeon until September, so we won't know for sure until then.

Fleurs & Ivan

Fleurs & Ivan
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Voila! I finally finished my cross-stitch project and have already started trying to get back in the scrapbook mode. Right now I'm working on a small album dedicated to Hurricane Ivan. That was in September 2004, so I'm quite a bit behind. I'm really looking forward to working on our trip to London, but I promised myself I would work in order, so it looks like London will have to wait for a bit. I've put all our pictures in chronological order and I'm not going to start a new cross-stitch project (maybe) until I get at least as far as London. I'd also like to clear the last few remaining pieces of crap out of the craft room and decorate it in a style conducive to scrapbook creativity. I think I've got a lot of work ahead of me!

MRI

I finally got all my uniforms in & tonight will be the first time wearing one to work. I have a feeling I'm going to look like a dork! I'll see what I look like tonight when I get all gussied up for work and if it's not too terribly bad I'll add a pic to an upcoming blog. Don't hold your breath, tho.

About 5 years ago Vic had surgery on her neck to correct a problem she was having; her left arm would go numb for no reason. The doctor replaced a couple of her vertabrae and she ended up being out of work for about 3 months! He also said that whatever this condition is may come back again. We think it may have come back. Now her right arm is giving her the same trouble and she's in constant pain. We went for an MRI yesterday, so hopefully the doctor will get the results today or tomorrow and can let us know if the same problem has popped up again or if it's something more managable this time. Either way, Vic is in a lot of pain and needs to get whatever is wrong fixed soon. I'd hate to think of her being miserable for the whole Summer.

Porch

Yea! Vic & I finally completed the back porch renovations. The before & after photos show the huge improvement. We're both really proud of our little home improvement project. We even threw a little sand on the steps so they won't be slippery in the Winter! Yea for us!

















I've also included Friday's Feast...

Feast Ninety-Eight

Appetizer
What is a word that you use that would not be considered common?
Geez, the list is endless...beedie-house for bedtime, feeties, sockies. I could go on for hours.

Soup
What theme of calendar do you have on your wall this year?
Ireland, both in the kitchen & by the computer desk.

Salad
Name 3 people you speak with by telephone a regular basis.
Vic, Frank the firefighter guy & Dave the radio news guy.

Main Course
If you could buy a new outfit for someone you know - who would it be and what would you purchase for them?
I would buy Vic some nice theatre clothes and then have her take me to some shows in town.

Dessert
What is the last beverage you drank?
Diet Pepsi with plenty of ice.

Insurance Venting

This coming weekend Vic & I plan on putting the finishing touches on our newly renovated back porch, after which we were going to call the insurance company so they could send out their guy to take a picture and approve of it. Well...today we got a letter from the insurance company fools saying they were still going to drop us because they don't approve of the type of heating we have inside our house. What?!?! We already found another company which has no problems (that we know of) with how we plan on staying warm 6 months from now and we can only hope that they'll be okay with the way we set our dinner table and the way we brush our teeth (up & down and in little circles is said to be best). All this insurance crap just got me to thinking ~ when did insurance providers come into being? Who was the first crook who said, "If you pay me every month, I'll make sure I'll help you out when something bad happens. But only after you pay the first $500 and only if the inside wiring is compatible with the SJ/54 blah blah standard coupling comficturation... and then we're going to drop you if you drive too close to someone who might've gotten a parking ticket within the last 25 years." And then wouldn't you like to know what body of legislation agreed to all this and made it a law? Was there donkey insurance back in the Jesus days? Apparently Joseph wasn't a member of the Nazareth Donkey Association (NDA) or else he and Mary might've had better luck getting a tow to an inn with a vacancy. Or maybe he just didn't have the right kind of donkey ~ older donkeys are usually harder to insure. Stupid-head insurance people!!

Wednesday Afternoon In The Park With Baboo

The sweet Baboo & I took a wonderful walk in the park today. She has been kind've in the dumps lately and I wanted to do something different from her everyday routine, so we drove out to Dodge Park, about 10 miles from the house. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a walk in the park! We saw duckies and other dogs with their people and we peed on different types of nature all along the trail...she had a blast! Afterward, we rested under a shady tree and had a bowl of water and some dog cookies while we worked on the crossword puzzle. It was a nice afternoon out & hopefully she'll perk up a little now.

House Year In Review

Exactly one year ago today Vic & I moved into our new house. Actually, we were still on the road ~ we pulled into our driveway right about at sunset. The thing I remember most about that trip north was that it was LONG! What should have been about an 18 hour trip turned out to be 24 hours spread evenly over 2 days. Still, even that wouldn't have been so bad, but we were both packed liked sardines into our Jeeps. I guess I actually had the better part of the deal because although my Jeep was crammed full of stuff, we still had to leave a little room for Shannon to move around. Vic was traveling with 13 cats, 1 gecko and pulling a small UHaul trailer. Ewww! We had purposely left out our mattress so we would have something to sleep on the night before the trip and the plan was to cram it into the trailer before we left. We didn't count on Tropical Storm Cindy dropping buckets of rain on us, nor did we think we'd have any trouble actually jamming the thing into the little UHaul. Surprise! After finally getting the damn mattress in the trailer and changing out of our dripping wet clothes, I got Vickie some much needed coffee and we hit the road. The trip was mad tolerable with our newly purchased walkie-talkies ~ handy for letting the other driver know what radio station to turn to and to coordinate potty breaks. Somehow we managed to stay just ahead of the rain until we got to Nashville, our layover spot. We spent the night with Vic's brother and then awoke to terrible rains for the completion of our journey.

Just to make things interesting, the brake light on the UHaul stopped working so I had to stay behind Vic the entire rest of the trip so nobody would run into her. This was my lovely view for 12 solid mind numbing hours.


Needless to say, I never want to move ourselves that far again. Now that we've been here a year, we're finally making all the changes to the house we wanted to make and it's starting to feel more and more like our home. We've planted flowers and small trees, repaired the back porch (finally!) and created a very relaxing space on our patio.

Unless it's raining, both Vic & I spend alot of time out here. Since this picture was taken, we've planted more fowers and added a few other nice touches. It's really great sitting out here on cool Summer evenings!


The biggest change for me has definitely been the weather. Obviously the snow was a big change, but the most pleasant change is with the beautiful weather we have in Spring, Summer and Fall. The days have been warm and the evenings cool. We had a few really hot days a couple of weeks ago, but this past week was definitely sweatpants weather.

To wrap up, I think we're both really pleased with the events of the last year. There have been a few rough moments, but eventually everything has smoothed itself out and the past year can be considered a success. We're now planning new projects for the house and upcoming vacations we'd like to start planning for and are really looking forward to the next year's adventures!

Porch

Most of our weekend was spent working on the back porch...and it looks great! Vic patched the missing chunk of concrete on the front end of the porch Saturday afternoon. We gave it overnight to dry and when she took off the board that was holding it on it looked great! She really did a nice job for never having done any concrete work before. In addition to handing her any needed tools and running to the store for stair stringers, I also moved the big heavy paving stones and aligned them to make a nice walkway from the porch to the patio. We're going to give the new concrete a week to dry before we paint it and after we do I'll include a few pictures of our new addition. The porch and walkway really took up most of our weekend. We had a little time left, however, for some backyard grilling and planting of some new front yard plants. The yard is really coming along nicely and with the cool weather we've been having lately, sitting outside has been a joy. I'm almost finished with The DaVinci Code and just have a very small section left on the cross stitch, so hopefully I can start dedicating some much needed time to scrapbooking soon. Not really sure what our next project will be, but I suspect it will probably be something indoors. Maybe we can finally get around to painting the bathroom. It's the most hideous shade of yellow I've ever seen. I can't believe we've lived with it for a year, but I guess you can get used to just about anything after a while.

Weekend Plans

Wow, I haven't blogged since Monday. I must lead an incredibly full & fun-filled life... or absolutely nothing's been going on all week. You choose. This upcoming weekend Vic & I will be busy trying to fix our back porch steps & going to a party. The steps have to be repaired (at least temporarily) or else the stupid insurance company will cancel our policy. And the party is for a friend of Vic's she knew way back when she used to live here a lifetime ago. I'm a little nervous about it. I always worry (just a little) about what Vic's friends think of her girlfriend. Then after about the first hour I figure "Aww, screw 'em" and don't worry about it the rest of the night. I'm really trying hard to finish The Da Vinci Code, too, so I hope I can squeeze in a little reading time. Maybe I should just take Monday off!

Feast Ninety-Seven

Appetizer
About how much money did you spend on gas this week?
Exactly $35. I just got gas two days ago.

Soup
What is your favortite brand of toilet paper?
Cottonelle double roll. The lines on it are soft.

Salad
When was the last time you discovered something that you thought was pure genius?
Totino's Pizza Rolls really impressed the heck outta me. Good & good for you!

Main Course
What is the least amount of sleep you can get by on per night?
At least 6 hours or I get pretty cranky.

Dessert
June is a popular month for weddings. Do you know anyone who is getting married this month?
Nope, but I know somebody that got married last month.

Day Off

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day and except for Jeannine leaving, it would've been a perfect day! I really enjoyed her visit and loved spending time with her again, even if it was just for a little while. I wish we lived near each other again, but I don't think we'll be moving any further south than we already are and I'm pretty sure she's never moving north again. Well, there's always vacations I guess. Speaking of vacations, I'm still on mine. I took tonight off from work so I could catch up on the daily house things I knew would get cast aside during Jeannine's visit. And I'm glad I did! I had to get up early to take her back to the airport and then spent most of the rest of the day doing outside stuff (cuz it was so nice). I took a short nap and then spent the early evening sitting outside reading and watching the sun go down. Now I'm going to take a nice relaxing bath and work on the old cross-stitch a bit before Vic comes home from work. Not a very energetic kind of day, but I actually managed to get a lot done today. Cutting the back yard was the biggie and I'm counting that as my exercise for the day. (I'm not sure lounging about & reading burns off too many calories.) And, bonus!, I got some sun! Not a bad day off from work at all.

Frankenmuth

Today the girls & I took a ride to Frankenmuth, about an hour north of here. We got off to kind've a late start (I always sleep too late!), but still managed to have a great time. It's a little town with everything German and lots of stores filled with stuff I don't need but must have! We had a beautiful sunny day to walk around town in and the rain held off until we were in the car on the way home. We got home in time to watch both the Tigers and the Pistons lose. Not a good night for Detroit sports. At least now Vic doesn't have to watch any more basketball. But of course this frees up more nights for baseball!

Feast Ninety-Six

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how funny do you think you are?
I think I'm probably a 9ish.

Soup
Name a local restaurant would you recommend to a visitor to your town or city.
Don Pablo's ~ they have great Mexican food!

Salad
What's a lesson you were lucky enough to learn the easy way?
How to be a dog mom. When Shannon found us she was already potty trained and had a wonderful personality. I was lucky enough to avoid the pitfalls of puppyhood and to have a dog that was patient with me while I was learning how to be a good mom.

Main Course
Where would you like to be 5 years from now?
Debt free & living in a house with a wrap-around front porch.

Dessert
If you could see the front page of a newspaper from June 2, 2106, what would you imagine the headline might be?
"The USA's Tenth Lesbian President Gets Married!"

Happenings

Vic & I put the air conditioner in the the living room window today. We hooked up the bedroom one last weekend, but I was really hoping to get thru at least the middle of June before putting in the living room one. I know that now that it's hooked up Vickie will run that thing 24/7 whether there is a nice cool refreshing breeze blowing outside or not! I miss having central air, but I definitely don't miss the Vic setting the temp to freezing all Summer long. I'm hoping there will be plenty of breezy evenings and cool nights to look forward to in the coming months.

Jeannine is in town thru the weekend, so I took a few days off to hang out with her. (I think she brought the hot weather with her from FL.) We've got tickets to the Tigers game tomorrow night and hopefully the rain will pass us by for the next few days. Whether it rains or not, I'm just looking forward to not having to go to work until next week!

The Pistons won tonight! This means that they now go to Miami on Friday for game 6 of the series. If they win, the two teams come back to Detroit on Sunday for the final game. If they lose Friday, the season will be over. Go Pistons!

My six-month probation period at work expired yesterday, so now I'm officially part of the police dept. What this means is that now I've got to go buy uniforms to wear to work. It's not the wearing of the uniform that I mind, it's the paying of the uniform that sucks. I'm sure that just one shirt, pants & accessories will cost over $100! I get a clothing allowance, but it still sucks.

I'm really enjoying reading The Da Vinci Code. The book is filled with interesting facts ~ most of which I had heard something about previously, but never really paid any attention to. The Rose Line in Paris for example. I think if I was a Parisian I would be pissed about the whole Greenwich Mean Time thing, too! So far, this has been one of the better newer books I've read in quite a while. Two thumbs up!

Splat!

I was really looking forward to this weekend for a couple of different reasons. First, I was excited about going to see Gaelic Storm on Saturday night. Unfortunately Saturday afternoon I tripped over a lawn chair & fell face first onto our concrete patio. Splat! I didn't pass out or anything, but I hit so hard that I layed there for about a minute or so just positive that when I got up I'd find a pool of blood. No blood, but I have one heck of a nasty shiner on my right eye and by eyelid puffed up blurring my vision just slightly. It's like Bell's Palsy all over again! My tumble happened about an hour before we were supposed to leave for the concert, but since I was still a little dazed, we decided to spend the night at home. It was nice enough at night to sit out on the patio (and the cursed chairs) under the stars for a while.

Sunday afternoon we did some yard work and then we went to see The Da Vinci Code." I just started the book, which is pretty good so far, and I wanted to see the movie before I finished so I could put faces on some of the characters. We both enjoyed the movie, but now I know why Vic & I go to so few movies ~ loud popcorn eaters, loud talkers & ringing cell phones! It'll be interesting to see if the book is better than the movie (since I've seen the movie first). I can already tell that the book explained things a little better than they did in the movie, but I guess I'll find out in another 200 pages or so.

We spent Monday finishing up yard work & cleaning up the house a bit for Jeannine's visit on Tuesday. Vic was off for the holiday and it was nice having her around during the day. It was really hot ~ over 90 degrees! We washed the Jeeps and gave all the flowers a drink of water and tried to keep Shannon cool. Hopefully we won't have as hot a Summer as we did last year. My face, by the way, looks worse than it did after the initial "splatting", but it doesn't really hurt. It's just difficult putting in/taking out my contact in that eye!

Splat!
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Fit To Be Tied

Fit To Be Tied
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

The Pistons played a great game last night & beat the Heat to tie up the series! Other than that, nothing much is happening around here. We've got plans to go to a small club called The Magic Bag on Saturday night. We're going to see Gaelic Storm, an Irish band. The tickets are cheap and I've yet to hear any bad Irish music, so I'm really looking forward to Saturday night. Jeannine will be in town early next week, so I'm sure Vic & I will probably spend most of Sunday trying to straighten out the house a bit. I also started "The Da Vinci Code" yesterday . So far it's been pretty interesting. I'm hoping that Vic & I can squeeze in the movie version Sunday afternoon ~ I guess it depends on how clean we actually want the house to be for Jeannine!

Feast Ninety-Five

Appetizer

How old were you when you got your first credit card?

About 21. It was Gayfer's in Biloxi, MS in 1987.

Soup

When was the last time you felt out of place?

When I first started at my present job & didn't know anybody.

Salad

Did you have a curfew when you were a teenager? If so, what time did you have to be home?

I never had a curfew.

Main Course

Name a person from history with whom you feel you have something in common.

Kirstie Alley, only I don't have the money to call Jenny...or a personal trainer.

Dessert

When you read a newspaper, which section do you go for first?

The Classifieds because that's where the Sudoku puzzle is. Next is the Sports section. On Friday, I read the Weekend section & on Sunday I read the Travel section. I usually don't read anything actually news-related in either of the two newspapers we get

Who's Your Tiger?

Tigers
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

The only thing better than living in a baseball city is living in a baseball city where the baseball team is winning! The Tigers have the best record in all of Major League Baseball. ALL OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL!! Right now the papers and all the sports related stories are centered around the Pistons and their chase for the NBA pennant. But I look forward to the almost daily baseball games more than I do the basketball games! And by the way, the "Who's Your Tiger?" line is a promotion to get people interested in the Tigers. It's also a game I play with Shannon that sends her into spastic fits. See ~ even dogs love baseball!

Bring On The Heat

Bring On The Heat
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Victory! The Pistons stomped the Cavs Sunday afternoon and will now beat the Miami Heat in the next round to advance to the NBA Finals. What a great game! Most of Sunday was spent doing nothing at all, but we did manage to take time out of our busy schedule to watch the Pistons and drink some pina coladas. Actually I drank the pina coladas (a pitcher) and Vic drank beer. We popped popcorn, I yelled at the TV and we had a great time doing nothing. And did I mention that the Tigers are in 1st place? I'm really looking forward to going to see them beat the Yankees while Jeannine is here. That'll be my first night game at Comerica Park.

Saturday I ventured out into our backyard with sickle in hand to chop down the grass back there. With the monsoon we've been having, our lawn has grown a foot and the rain every day has prevented me from doing anything about it. Saturday, however, we had a brief sunny spot in the late afternoon, so I took advantage of it and now when Shannon goes out to play I won't be afraid of losing her to some swamp creature.

Whew!

whew
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

No shit! See you Sunday @ 3pm for the final game! GO PISTONS!

Chilly May

In addition to the copious amounts of rain we've been getting, it's also been pretty cold here. Right now it's around 50 and breezy. I wore socks to bed this morning and slept with 2 blankets! I'm sure it won't last forever, but I'm glad now that I didn't put all my winter clothes in storage! Ah, Michigan!

Vic's mom left for an Alaskan cruise today. And didn't take me. I don't think my going was actually ever under consideration, but still it would've been nice to be asked. Every year Vic & I try to take one really big vacation (last year it was a week in London), but I think this year we're going to take a lot of smaller trips instead. We'd really like to explore Michigan a bit, so we're going to head out for a lot of daytrips and a few weekenders all around the state. This way we'll also be able to do some work on the house and hopefully save some $$ for our bigger trip in 2007 (location still to be determined).

The Pistons play the Cavs tonight in Cleveland. It's win or go home for the Pistons, but if they have to lose I can't think of a better team to lose to. Still, I'm really rooting for the Pistons to win and continue on to the finals. Good thing Vic will be at work tonight because I predict a lot of screaming at the TV. Go Pistons!


Feast Ninety-Four
Appetizer
What is the last thing you had to have repaired?
I recently broke my mechanical pencil and will have to fix it tonight because it's the pencil I use to work on puzzles while at work. I need that pencil!!

Soup
If someone gave you $2,000 with the stipulation that you had to spend half of it on yourself and give the rest to charity, where would you spend the $1,000 and which charity would receive your remaining $1,000?
I would spend the money on a trip to Mackinac Island and give the remainder to an animal organization like the humane society or an animal rescue group.

Salad
What is one of your favorite songs from the 1980s?
About 4 songs immediately came to mind:
Spin Me Right Round ~ Dead or Alive
Der Kommissar ~ After the Fire
Save A Prayer ~ Duran Duran
Rock Me Amadeus ~ Falco

Main Course
You enter a pet store. Which section do you go to first?
Dog squeaky toys.

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how athletic are you?
I'm sorry to say that I'm an abysmal 1 or 2. I used to be a great runner, but haven't ran in years. Vic & I have committed ourselves to riding our bikes at different metroparks every weekend this Summer if it ever gets warm again! I'm looking forward to that.

Helicopters

Helicopters & Fish
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

It is bright & sunny outside, although we are currently under a severe thunderstorm watch and the weather guy is predicting buckets of cats and dogs to start dropping from the sky at any minute. So because of the nice weather there will be no Things In My Bathroom today. Instead, I took advantage of our brief sunnyness and cut the front grass. The wet front grass ~ my legs are covered in wet grass blades! Afterward, Shannon & I relaxed on the patio and read for a bit. There was a slight breeze which gave flight to hundreds of helicopters! Here is a picture of our patio fish and some of his helicopter buddies. The fish, as you can see, is in need of a trip to the eye doctor and as soon as I can find a permanent black marker he'll have better vision! I don't remember if we had helicopters in Pensacola. It seems like everything I see in Michigan is new somehow and can only be found in the north. I know that sounds silly, but things just seem brighter in Michigan. I don't regret moving up north for a minute!

Another Boring Rainy Day In Casey's World

I really like it when other bloggers include pictures in their blogs ~ it's very pleasing to the eye. So, I'm going to try to include more pics in my upcoming blogs. I can't guarantee every blog is going to have an accompanying photo, but I'll try my best to be as colorful and unique as possible. So, without further ado, I present for your viewing pleasure Things In My Bedroom:

In this first montage you see one of the best inventions of mankind, the touch lamp. I absolutely love my touch lamp ~ all you have to do is touch it & it comes right on! Also in this photo is a bottle of Kiwi Strawberry Snapple (made from the best stuff on Earth) sitting on a mug rug I got from the US Air Force Communication Command when I attended NCO Leadership School in 1988, a little seashell & sand paperweight given to me as a going away present when I left P'Cola, a dog frame with a picture of the Sweet Baboo and my miniature bulletin board in the background.


Here is a lovely photo containing my Casey piggy bank (I put only state quarters in her) sitting atop my jewelry box. Also in this pic are my kangaroo hair spray, eye juice for my contacts, my Jimmy Buffett glasses case and a brush. All of these items are perched on top of my lovely pressed wood cheap as heck dresser.


No bedroom is complete without at least one stuffed animal and here is mine ~ Bear. When this picture was taken he was sitting in my director's chair (which is also my computer chair because I still haven't gotten around to buying a real desk chair with rolly wheels on it yet) adorned with several baseball caps including those of the Tigers (currently just 1 game out of 1st place in the American League Central Division) and the greatest team ever to swing a bat Indians. In the background you can see my shoes strewn about the floor and a vacuum cleaner from the last time Vic vaccuumed upstairs (too lazy to take it down, I guess).


Here is an especially eclectic shot. You have a flying pig sitting atop a Fiskar's paper cutter all in my dirty clothes basket. It's interesting, thought provoking and colorful all at once. Talk amongst yourselves.


Awww. Here's the last picture in the photo shoot. It's me saying goodbye into the mirror. I'm wearing a Wolverines t-shirt only because it was the t-shirt on top when I opened the t-shirt drawer this afternoon.


If by chance it should rain all freakin' day tomorrow as well and prevent me from going outside to play, you might just be treated to Things In My Bathroom. Let's hope it clears up soon!

Canada Cows

This may be one of the first weekends in the history of weekends that Vic & I actually got everything we set out to do accomplished! Of course, we didn't really have all that much on our to-do list, but that's not the point. Saturday we both managed to sleep in late due to the lovely rain and dark clouds covering our yard. When we did finally roll out of bed we enjoyed a nice lunch and then set about the house putting away Winter coats and scarves and just doing some general house cleaning type stuff. Sunday we drove over to Windsor to spend Mother's Day with Vic's aunt's cows and chickens. Here are a few photos:

















We had a great time mucking through the mud and petting cows. There were a lot of new babies! Cows noses are very soft and their tongues are very wet! We also met come very talkative chickens, a very playful cow herding dog and some aloof barn kitties. We drove over to Canada via the underwater tunnel and drove back by crossing the very high Ambassador Bridge. We saw downtown Detroit all lit up at night on our trip back. Well, just I saw downtown Detroit all lit up ~ Vic is v e r y afraid of heights and kept her eyes closed the entire time! We made it back around 9ish which still gave us plenty of time to lay around the house in "fat clothes" before finally heading to bed around 4am. We had another great weekend!

Rainy Days & Q Nights

After several days of really nice weather, we are now in the process of loading up the ark and pairing off the animals. It's been raining for the last two days with no end in sight. Oh it lets up for a few hours during the day to lull you into a false sense of dryness, but then it just starts right back up again when you attempt to take the garbage out. I don't actually mind the rain because 1.) it really perks up the flowers and 2.) it affords me the opportunity to do stuff I need to do inside the house without feeling guilty about not being outside enjoying the sunny weather. Like today I'm going to try to get my laundry done so that I won't spend all weekend doing it like I usually do. The plan for the weekend is to spend Saturday "Springing" up the house ~ putting away heavy coats and scarves and getting out Spring/Summer clothes. And on Sunday we're driving over to Windsor to visit Vic's aunt's cows.

Rainy days, or more specifically rainy nights, create a whole new set of police calls, too. Instead of getting into fights at bars, bullies just stay home and beat up their wives instead and of course we get more traffic-related accidents. Hopefully tonight will be a "nice" night at work. You never say the "Q" word about work. It's funny, we had the same saying about the "Q" word at the Sheriff's Office in P'Cola, too. The "Q" word must be a nationally recognized law enforcement fear. Some dumb rookie cop will come into the station and say, "Wow, it's really been q---- out there tonight" and we'll all just cringe and throw a stapler at him.

Feast Ninety-Three

Appetizer

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

I really like Cherries Garcia. A lot.

Soup
What are 3 things you would like to put in a time capsule?
Probably 3 of my scrapbooks. I figure someone else will take care of the important news making events stuff, but maybe aliens would like to see pictures of me in Ireland, too.

Salad
Name something you are 100% sure of.
Northern squirrels are more bolder than Southern squirrels. Our backyard squirrels actually knock on the back door looking for "Vickie the peanut girl."

Main Course
What is something you do to calm yourself when you're stressed or upset?
Breathe deeply and talk to Shannon.

Dessert
If you could receive an invitation to any important event, what would you like it to be?
Something that involves me spending the night at the queen's house. I wonder if she plays board games with her overnight guests? Or maybe she has a karaoke machine!

Trip To the Vet

Peanut Dude
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Shannon got the thumbs up at the vet today. Everything inside & outside looks great, except that she needs to lose a little weight. She's gained about 20 lbs over the last year! I try to take walks with her, but I think alot of her weight gain can be attributed to her age ~ she turned 8 in February! Vic & I have also noticed that she's starting to show signs of arthritis, so the doctor suggested we start giving her some buffered aspirin to help relieve a little of the discomfort. I also gave her this peanut dude to help relieve the discomfort a little more!

My Own Pemberley

After a leisurely stroll thru the countryside, viewing the neighboring estates and partaking of the verdure of their various landscapes, the Miss O'Connells retired back to Pemberley wherest they delighted in the beauty of their own estate's fauna and flora whilst reclining with a most interesting novel in their arboretum.

What really happened was that the Sweet Baboo & I took a walk thru the hood, where Shannon stopped to pee at every fourth house and then we came home & watered the flowers. After all this, I plopped my fat butt on the patio and read a few chapters of Jane Austen. It was very relaxing sitting on my freshly painted Adirondack chair in the privacy of our new patio, enjoying a good book, beautiful flowers and a wonderful breeze on a sunny afternoon. This is really our first Spring in quite a few years and we're loving it! If the Pistons weren't on TV tonight, this would be perfect weather to listen to the Tigers on the radio.

I also had to make a vet appointment for Baboo today. It's not easy finding a good Babooist. We've already been to one doctor, but I just didn't like the feel of the place, so I made an appt. at a new clinic for tomorrow. She'll have a female doctor this time, which I feel good about because she seems to have a better disposition with lady Babooists. We'll find out tomorrow!

Backyard Weekend

Vic & I had a great, but dirty, weekend working in the yard! We finally got the lattice and flowers put in around the patio and we're very pleased with the results. We'd still like to find something climby to put under the lattice, but we're in no real rush for that. We planted some lovely lavender there for right now and I think it'll look great once it starts lavendering. We also planted some sunflower seeds, so I'll have to keep an eye on those over the next couple of weeks! Here are some pics of our work...




We think this will give us just the right amount of privacy we want from the perv neighbor two houses down. He already seems a little peaved...Success!!

Today is our 8 year anniversary and we really wanted to do something special this past weekend since we both have to work today, but we also wanted to get the backyard finished and we had a great time working on it together, so I think we had a pretty good anniversary. And Vic made some wonderful shish kaVics on the grill (I set the table & washed the dishes!). It was a great weekend!

The Quatroth

Feliz Quatro de Mayo! I have a feeling I'm not going to have a whole lot of time to blog tomorrow, so I thought I would complete the Friday Feast today, on the quatroth. I went to bed early last night (actually it was more like this morning at 3 am-ish) so I woke up early (noonish) and spent most of the day outside doing outsidey stuff. The weather was wonderful!! Warm with a slight breeze, the Tigers on the radio and the smell of freshly cut grass. After freshly cutting the grass I did a little touch-up job on my Adirondack chairs paint project and inspected the bikes. Vic & I made steak on the grill (I made the canned corn and frozen garlic bread) and Shannon rolled around in the back yard. Perfect day!

Feast Ninety-Two

Appetizer
From which country(s) are some (or all) of your ancestors?
IRELAND

Soup
How would you describe your sneeze?
Loud and scary.

Salad
What is the last thing you cleaned?
My face.

Main Course
Who made the strongest first impression on you?
Vickie.

Dessert
Name one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime.
I'm really looking forward to exploring Scotland and the rest of England with Vic.

Dispatch Ducky

Dispatch Ducky
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Today was a very sleep-deprived sort of day. I woke up yesterday around 4:30 and have been up ever since. I had another dispatcher training class I had to go to straight from work. I usually don't have too much trouble staying awake during the classes, but once I get home I crash pretty hard. The bummer of it was that today the temp actually got up to 76! and I had to spend the day first inside a classroom and then taking a nap. I did get the chance to play ball with Shannon and I checked on Shawn since his surgery was today (he says he's doing fine)and then I watched the Pistons advance to the next round of the NBA playoffs, so I guess the day wasn't a total loss. AND I got this wonderful ducky at class today! Tomorrow I hope to get our bikes down and clean them up and put some air in the tires so we can start riding on the weekends.

It's Over

Over
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Bummer!

F&P & P&P

F&P & P&P
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Vic & I had a pretty busy weekend. We got a lot of small stuff done around the yard; I finally finished painting the Adirondack chairs and we started on the lattice/trellis thing for the patio. We probably would've completed it, but on Sunday afternoon we went downtown to the Irish Festival. Lots of beer and Irish music ~ we had a blast and it was a nice way to relax from our busy Saturday. We also fired up the grill for the first time this year and Vic made some wonderful steaks! I made some wonderful macaroni & cheese and set a lovely table!

I'm at the 3/4 completed mark on my cross-stitch and I finished my book Sunday night, so I'm going to start "Pride & Prejudice" now. I was fairly certain I had read it quite a few years ago, but then I got to thinking and it might have been "Sense & Sensability" I read instead. Either way, I'm in a classical kind've mood, so P&P should do just nicely.

Sleep

I usually sleep until about 2pm, but today my perv neighbor was doing something very loud with his metal boat and woke me up a bit earlier than I would've liked. I think he was dropping it and repeatedly hitting it with the loudest hammer he could find. I really like working mids because the workload is lighter and you get to experience a totally different class of weirdo, but the rest of the world will just never understand that I have to sleep during the day! I think it's finally started sinking in with Vic, however, because she rarely wakes me up without warning me at least a day in advance that she'll be doing it. I'm looking forward to retirement when I can sleep whenever I want and not be worried about being woken up because I can always take a nap later on in my work-free day! Come on lottery!

Feast Ninety-One
Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?
I think I'm probably somewhere between 5-6 ~ but mostly a 5

Soup
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
My Lt. is on vacation this week, so I've been working with the Sgt. and he makes me laugh at least a dozen times every night.

Salad
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Daffy Duck.

Main Course
Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.
I don't remember having any funny teachers. I hated school, remember?

Dessert
Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.
Vic & I will eventually visit all the places that we talk about seeing.

Outside Work Stuff

Just the other night we were forced to bring the plants in because of a frost warning and today it was 61! Not a tropical heatwave I know, but pretty darn close for our area! Shannon-Banana and I cut the front lawn and sanded down the Adirondack chairs in preparation for their new coat of paint (hopefully) this weekend. We've got plans to put up a sort of lattice privacy-type thing around the patio to block our view of Perv two houses down and the hooligan children behind us. The plan is for it to have pretty climbing things on it and afford us a bit of privacy when patio-ing this Summer. It really shouldn't be a hard project, just time consuming, so I might not get to the Adirondack chairs until next weekend. We both really want to finish the patio project in one day, because there is a big Irish festival downtown on Sunday. It lasts all afternoon and well into the night with continuous music, food and craic ("crack" ~ merriment). So far the weather guys have called for no rain, so hopefully we'll have a nice sunny, breezy day on Sunday.

The Red Wings play tonight ~ they are down 2-1 in the best of 7 series, so tonight is a must-win game. Of course, the announcers say that same thing for every game, but the Wings really can't afford to go down 3-1 ~ it's pretty hard to come back from a deficit like that. The Pistons, however, are just whooping on those Milwaukee Bucks. The good guys have won both of the two games they've played so far and head to Milwaukee tomorrow night for game 3. I predict the Pistons in 4!

No Blog Today

When I blog I try to write about interesting things going on in my life, but today nothing happened. I cut the very tall grass and now I'm tired, so I'm going to take a quick shower, make dinner, watch the Pistons and then go to work. So no blog today. Come back tomorrow.

Sheep & Octopi

Saturday afternoon Vic & I took a ride downtown to see if the Spirit of Detroit guy was wearing a Red Wings or Pistons jersey. We were very disappointed to find out he had on neither. I guess they must dress him when Detroit is in the actually championship series, not just the playoffs. Or else we just came on a day when he was naked. Either way, we had lunch at the Hockeytown Cafe and stopped by the Joe to get some pics of the huge octopus they put on top of the arena. The octopus goes back a long way in hockey lore ~ something about his eight arms representing the eight games needed to win the Stanley Cup. At one time, fans used to throw octopi, live and stuffed, onto the ice during the games. There's now a sign up stating "No Octopi Allowed in Arena." Apparently on top of the arena is okay, though.


Here he is looking very menacing.

After our trip downtown, we came back to the house and Vic & I changed my oil and replaced my spark plugs. My actual duties included unscrewing the oil bottles, changing the radio station and adding some window washer fluid. A good assistant mechanic is hard to find.

Sunday morning we set out for the Spring Festival at one of the metroparks in the area. The Spring Festival included, among other things, a sheep shearing demonstration. We saw Ginger the sheep sheared and then some ladies spun it on spinning wheels! Pretty cool. We also saw a lot of other barnyard-type animals and had a great time despite the constant sprinkle of rain.

A flock trying to hide from the sheep dogs.

Ginger getting a haircut.

Ginger's new baby finally recognizing her.

Cute little pigs.

Boing!

Springy
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Well, it looks like the Spring flowers have finally sprung! Overnight they just boinged right out of the ground and popped open! "Hey, look what's above ground! Let's get everybody else to spring up and check all this out!" So far, they're very small. I wonder if they'll all be dwarf flowers or if they're just taking their time growing. Either way, I'll be very happy when these two little guys are joined by their brothers and sisters.

I've got some overtime at work tonight, so I have to go in 4 hours early. Kind've a bummer because I really enjoy my relaxing time at home before heading out to work, but the extra money will be nice. This is quite a change from my old job where we always had to work for comp time instead of money. The time was nice because I had plenty of it and could always take a day off with pay when I needed to, but sometimes the money would've been nice. And luckily we have a TV at work so I can catch the first game of the Red Wings playoffs!

Feast Ninety

Appetizer

List 3 things you keep putting off.

1. Getting a new will made.

2. Getting life insurance.

3. Going to the dentist.

Soup

What do you feel is your greatest responsibility?

To be a good "wife and mother"

Salad

If you could have starred in any movie, which one would you have wanted to be in and why?

Actually, even though it's not one of my all time favorite movies, I always thought it would be cool to be in the "Lord of the Rings" movies. They looked like they all had a great time working together.

Main Course

What is an expectation you had as a child about being an adult and, now that you are grown up, you realize you were wrong?

I never thought I'd have to worry about having money to buy all the stuff and do all the things I wanted to do. Geez, was I ever wrong!

Dessert

When was the last time you had your car serviced?

Just a couple of days ago when Vic replaced my battery. She's planning on changing my alternator, replacing my spark plugs and changing my oil this weekend!