Month: June 2011

The Messy Desk

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mine isn't quite this bad

Now this is pretty messy.  I only have one coke bottle, one water bottle, and a couple of glasses in the drink category.  The food is over the top as well.  There is no food at my desk… just the empty plates.  I show you these because that is another goal for this year: get my office in a work-friendly status.  It doesn’t help that it’s also the playroom with Kate and Ava’s toys and dress-ups in here.  So not only is my desk covered… the floor is too.

My desk looks more like this:

how do these papers multiply so fast?

I suppose those ten years worth of magazines may be part of the problem although I do have them whittled down to just one box now.  Y’all are gonna be very surprised when I start putting all those delicious meals and recipes on here.  Do I hear a faint “Promises, promises”?  Then there are all these other papers upon which I simply can’t even begin to elaborate.  Bert says I need a dumpster… and she was very serious.

By the end of the year this will be my office and desk:

I can't wait!

Old books:  tossed.

Useless papers:  tossed

Toys:  sorted and tossed

Bills:  tossed… oops, filed in the order to be paid because they will shut my water off if I am late in paying it.  And add a $75 fee to turn it back on.

When the metamorphosis is complete, I shall have an office open house.  Do not bring useless gifts; cash will suffice.

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Bummin’ at the Beach

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Today is our last day.  We are all packed up and ready to load the vehicle in the morning.  It’s been a great last day of vacation at the beach.  The weather was perfect: overcast with a cool breeze.  The only mishap of the day was the jellyfish that wrapped around my ankle, but it must have been small because it didn’t sting too badly.

As I walked down the beach, it was such fun to see all the families at play, glad to be on vacation.  Some were laying out a football field while others were making a bocce spot.  Others had rented big tricycles that float in the ocean and can be paddled all over the place.  Moms were taking care of little ones, and Dads were riding bikes while pulling the children in a carrier.  There is no alcohol allowed on the beach, so it is very family friendly.  The beach patrol is always around, and today I saw the deputy sheriff vehicle driving slowly down the beach as well.  And it makes me feel safe for these families with these small children.

Older grandmas and grandpas sit under the umbrellas and watch their families all gathered together from different parts of the country.  They take walks along the beach together and help one another gather all the “beach stuff” to start the trek back to their temporary home.  The grandchildren run into the ocean, build sand castles, dig holes they can sit in, play beach tennis, surf, and have a blast.

There were cute little teenagers with their tight little bodies riding bikes along the waves, eyed by everyone: those jealous of their tightness and their youth, those appreciative of their beauty, those enjoying the fact that they were enjoying themselves.  There was a grandma with her three granddaughters on a beach walk, looking for shells and whatever else looked interesting.  There were boys and girls (and adults) making sand sculptures.

It was just neat, seeing all these people from different places around the world, enjoying God’s gift to us: the beach.  A perfect ending to a perfect week.

Georgia on Our Minds

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Thursday is Savannah day.  We go into Savannah at least once on our trip to Hilton Head, and this year it is Thursday.  So that means Thursday is the day we eat at Mrs. Wilkes\’ Dining Room.  We will wait in line for about an hour, telling all the newbies how it is done since we are pros at it now, how they can get a drink from the cooler Mrs. Wilkes sends out for the hot patrons waiting to sit at her table for collard greens and fried chicken and at least ten other dishes not counting the meat loaf and beef stew.  I am salivating even now.

Then we will meander on down to River Street for one of those big apples covered in caramel and chocolate and nuts or up to City Market to see what kind of goodies they have there.

River Street

We know it will be hot because, after all, it is Georgia in the summertime.  But it will be so worth it.

So it’s Operator Error

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The little box in the upper left-hand corner had the u-turn sign.  So naturally my sis and I thought that meant to immediately make a u-turn… which meant we all in the SUV following the directions of the GPS were making a u-turn every 1/4 mile.  We circled that little tract of highway about six times before I said, in a very nice voice, not the least bit agitated at the stupid GPS that has, I might add, caused multiple deaths by suggesting routes that led people into hazards such as snow, “I’m just going straight; what is wrong with that stupid thing?”

And, of course, there was nothing wrong with it.  Something was wrong with us, the operators.  Well, actually only one of us, Darla, because she was the main reader of the thing.  I was only glancing down occasionally.  After our 30-minute u-turn trek and my rebellion to a different highway, we went back through a toll and onto a different road that led us straight back to our u-turn road.  So Terah finally sits up and says, “I think that means in about 4 1/2 miles we’ll make a u-turn.”  Thank God for Terah or Darla and I would still be on that little stretch of road making one u-turn after another.

Sure enough!  Once the operator, a/k/a Darla, really looked at it, that’s exactly what it had been showing us.  We had “Sister” turned down, so we couldn’t hear her telling us to go straight, you dummies.  Well, actually, she’s much nicer than that.  She just tells us in her bored, not-these-dummies-again voice to go straight.  We finally reached our destination, the ten-minute trip that took about an hour, and jumped out to shop.  Yippee!  By then I was so tired all I wanted to do was sit on the orphan bench (that little spot where the shopping orphans wait on the spouse/friends to get done) and enjoy the nice breeze on a nice evening.

Until we (Terah was with me at this time) got the “We have found the miracle worker sales clerk” text.  Terah was on that like flies attracted to cat poo and got her second wind to hop up and say “I’d better go down there and see what’s happening.”  I waited another ten minutes or so before I finally couldn’t stand it anymore either, and even though I had these nasty blisters on the balls of my feet from walking on the sand, I hobbled on down to Ann Taylor to meet the “miracle worker.”  I was starved!  I thought all I cared about was eating… but, lo and behold, I could have stayed in Ann Taylor’s another hour or two if Dar hadn’t already been checking out.

We hook up Sister for more u-turn and toll-paying tomorrow.

Let’s Get This Party Started!!

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Happy Birthday to ME!!!!  Today is the BIG day(actually Friday; I’m late).  It’s been good.  Lots of happy wishes for good things, presents, and a give-away.

The give-away is a summer fun package with lots of summer “stuff” in it.  Here are some quick pics I hurriedly took of everything.

get tan the easy way

can be used to keep the tablecloth from flying away, close the chip bag, seal your husband's lips...

As I was leaving Walmart, the major source of the purchased items for the summer fun package, I ran into some friends from Ridgway who gave me a great idea.  The awesome little item was already in my cart, and when they saw it, they began telling me about a birthday tradition that went on for several years among their friends in Ridgway.  But wait.  That’s further down the blog.

these things are sooo much fun! keep it handy for those quick, necessary moments when you really need to let someone have it!

First, I must tell you how very appreciative I am of my faithful blog buddies.  I now have 41 subscribers!!!!  Yee-haw!!  That is great for my little mixed-up blog, my little blog with it’s personality as dorky as me, flitting from one subject to another from day to day.

You have all made me want to continue to keep it going.  Thanks so much for your support and feedback.

And the winner is… oh, wait a second.  I forgot to tell you how much fun I have shopping for you guys, how I know you would probably never buy some of these things and how I hope you enjoy them as much as you have helped me to enjoy this blog.

you know you're going to need these.

a handy tool, even in winter for those "older" women

This little guy below was the subject of the discussion in Walmart.  They would pass him around on somebody’s birthday.  If you were having a birthday that day, you knew that somewhere in your yard would be the gnome, the yard gnome.  The person receiving the gnome would put their name and birth date on him somewhere, and wait to sneak him into some other anxious birthday recipient’s yard.  So in starting my new blog tradition, I have put my name and birth date on Mr. Gnome.  Every year I will give one away .  Please don’t let me forget.

Everyone needs one of these in their yard. Thank me later.

And last but not least, no summer would be complete without this:

now you don't have to worry about missing the local carnival

I give everyone a number in the order they posted and then keep adding numbers for everyone.  How many numbers you get depends on the “things to do” that you did.  I think everyone did all of the requested “things to do,” so everyone got three numbers assigned.   I can’t wait till the next one!!!!

Drum roll, please.  The winner is:

Congratulations, Sheryl Woods!!

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

 9  Sheryl 
 4  Cheryl 
17  Sheryl 
19  Gail
 8  Sarah
21  Robin
18  Gail
16  Sarah
 3  Addie
15  Cecilia
 1  Sheryl
14  Darla
20  Cheryl
 5  Robin
24  Sarah
11  Addie
12  Cheryl
22  Darla
 2  Gail
23  Cecilia
13  Robin
 6  Darla
 7  Cecilia

Sunflower House 2011

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Our first sunflower blooming

Kate wanted to take pictures of the sunflower house yesterday when she was here.  She is a novice photographer that can get some pretty good shots sometimes.  She will aim and look in the viewfinder.  If it doesn’t look good to her, she moves her position or moves her subject.  I’m actually amazed at her.  Here is her shot of our first sunflower bloom:

Kate's view of our first bloom

She took several pictures of the sunflower house.  Some of them are excellent, especially for a five-year-old.  Actually, they are excellent for an any-year-old!

I made her a front door and a back door this year.  We had to get all the bird houses out and hang them around.  Then the door bell was next.  Add a chair and a little table to the mix, and the little house is starting to look like home.

still has some growing to do

view from the front: front door is by the blue birdhouse and path goes around to come out by the gate

Here is a look at some of Kate’s photographs.  I love them!  And she took all of the following pictures:

She really worked on this one to get it just right and close.

finally got just the shot she wanted

She tried to get a shot of this flower outside the “house,” but couldn’t get her angle right, so she said, “I think I can get this better on the inside.”  So in she goes and then tells me to hold the sunflowers away from it so she can get a good shot.  After she took the picture, she looked at the view and said, “That’s a good one.”  I love when she does that!

Some of the flowers inside the house

One of the many birdhouses

The sunflowers still have a little bit of growing to do.  Some will get taller than others giving the house a full look as well as a tall look.  There are plenty of sunflowers left if anybody would like to bring a bucket of water and gather some for your own sunflower house.  It doesn’t take a lot of room for one.  Of course, there’s not a lot of room in them either.

The Alter Ego Strikes Again!

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Alter Ego Worthless Son

That stinking alter ego worthless son kidnapped my hard-working son!

hard-working son

I cannot believe it!  He, the hard-working son, left with my car bright and early Saturday morning to get the pool paint because he was going to paint that afternoon, and I didn’t see him again until 4:30 that afternoon.  No paint.  What the heck?  He tried to explain how and why it was that he had been gone all day long without getting the paint for the pool, but, of course, he could not because that stinking alter ego worthless son kidnapped him.  Alas.  I shall catch that no goodnik one of these days, and get rid of him forever!

On the bright side, my little grandgirls were in the Kiddie Parade Saturday evening since it was rained out Saturday morning.  It was a rather small parade:  Kate and Ava and a little girl in the crowd we begged to get in it.  They made a circle in the road and that was it.  Rain has a way of changing plans and keeping them from getting back on course.  That is why I am still working on getting the pool painted:  the rain that caused the flooding.  But the girls had a great time even if the parade lasted all of three seconds.

The first place winners

Ariel

Little Ava went to sleep at 4:30, and the parade was supposed to be at 5:30, so right at the stroke of midnight, so to speak, she woke up and got to ride in the parade after all.  That three seconds was awesome for my sweetie pies.  There were some people gathered for the real parade that clapped, making Kate a star.

Ah, life in a little town.

Oh Yes! Oh Yes! Let the Good Times Roll!

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hard working son

Do you know what this picture means?  This picture of my son doing the etching of the pool?  Oh Yes!  The good times, er, paint will roll!  I found somebody who actually carries rubber-based pool paint in the big city and will be sending the hard-working son over in the morning to get it since the paint I ordered over a week ago still has not come in.  I hope he comes back with my vehicle before the sun goes down.  The painting party is scheduled at 1:00 p.m. for all those invited (which means any willing worker)(unless, of course, the alter ego worthless son gets control of the vehicle and I don’t see him until the sun goes down).  Actually, the painting, I and the hard-working son can handle, but I’m quite sure there is something I can find for the other party participants.

Kate is going to be disappointed that she cannot practice for her future in the circus.  She has been honing her acrobatic skills the last couple of days.  And loving it.

sliding down

The child never wears anything but panties, so it’s hard to get clothed photos of her.  I always try to take pictures in as discreet a pose as I can possibly get while still actually getting her in the picture as well.  The pics are so cute, but the perverts are all over the internet, and since I’m not sure where these photos will end up, I selected to only use this one.  She holds the rope and climbs up out of the pool just like the high wire circus acrobats!

Tomorrow morning is the Kiddie Parade for our little town festival.  The theme is Once Upon A Time, so Kate and Ava are going as mermaids; Kate, of course, being Ariel; Ava will just be happy to get to ride in the pink Barbie car aka Ariel Mobile Sea Reef.  It was rather dirty, so for the big event Kate and I gave it a good cleaning

hard-working grandgirl

She started out wanting to be Sleeping Beauty with a pumpkin-shaped carriage.  Being the dedicated Momma and Gigi, my daughter and I got together, looked at her two sheets of poster board and bag of gold foil wrapping paper, and promptly convinced our little darling she would be just waaaay too hot in that long-sleeved Sleeping Beauty dress and that Ariel would be awesome.  Thank goodness she bought it.

today an ordinary Barbie car; tomorrow a stupendous sea reef

So… after the big (I jest) Kiddie Parade, I will come back here for the big (I really jest this time) pool painting party.  Please have my beverage ice, ice cold.

 

Did I Say I Would Be Done When?

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So tomorrow night (to post pics and get ‘er done) has come and gone.  But… I have found a brand new blog!!  Well, new to me.  At least I don’t remember going there before.  Oh, dear.  Now I’m wondering if I had already subscribed and then subscribed again.

Anyway, it’s note*to*self.  Isn’t that the neatest name?  And I know the author of it.  If and when n*t*s really begins writing, I will put it on my blog roll so you all can check it out.  n*t*s has a great writer!

My grandgirls went to the carnival without me tonight.  boohoohoo  I am taking them tomorrow night.  Unless the pool paint comes in.  In the case of the finally-arrived-pool-paint, I shall have an evening BYOB-and-tell-me-where-I-missed-a-spot party.  Bring your own chair.  I will be the one in the boots in the bottom of the pool with Bikini Blue all over me.

Gettin’ ‘Er done

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This weekend has been the clean the pool house and get the pool repaired and opened weekend.  My good friend, Cheryl, came by Saturday in the midst of her very, very busy day to give me a boost by helping with the pool house.  Okay.  So she practically cleaned it all herself.  Emily, her daughter, and I just sort of looked busy.

I was supposed to have it finished Saturday night, but a good friend’s anniversary/retirement celebration took precedence.  Today I didn’t get it completed either.

So… tomorrow you get the pics of the completed job.