Fun Times

This was a WONDERFUL evening!

My best friend from High School, Bobbie, was in town. She has lived in San Diego for the past 35 years, and came back to Central Illinois to spend the month of May at the old homestead, and visiting family and friends. We had been in touch through sporadic e-mails and a few phone calls, but had not spent any time together for - - hmmm - - probably 20 years or more. (Well, it's not like Decatur, Illinois is next door to San Diego, ya know? So just hush.)

Tonight was my Classmate's monthly dinner, so Bobbie and I decided she should come along with me and be a "surprise guest". The double-takes and surprised looks on everyone's faces was such fun to see!

Bobbie is getting ready to head back towards Cali this weekend. It was good to see her - - hope it's not another 20 years.

Save travels back home, Bobbie. Let's keep in touch a little better from now on, hey?

I Don't Like Country Music, But . . . **

. . . that fact has NOTHING to do with this post.

One of the blogs I read faithfully (Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper) has a post, titled "The Completely True Brad Paisley Story . . . " about her sister and family who, because of Brad Paisley and his wife (actress Kimberly Williams Paisley) are out of their home of the past 10 years. Also, their non-profit group, "U-Grow", which helps disadvantaged kids from dire circumstances, is now a non-profit in name only, thanks to the Paisleys. This means everything they built up for the last decade - - climbing walls, petting zoo, etc., for the non-profit, is gone. For NO GOOD REASON.

You can read the post HERE:

And, please feel free to share with your family and friends.


** However, if I DID like country music, I would boycott ANYTHING that Brad Paisley or his wife was involved in. What JERKS!

Remodel, Stage Three - Shower Stalls (and a Bonus - Pretzel Kitty!)

The shower is all installed, and almost ready for use! The shower door will not be in for another 3 weeks, but we have a rod and curtain to use until then.

All ready to paint! I will be spending this afternoon getting everything taped off so we can paint tomorrow.

Of course, we can't expect the FURBALLS to do anything to pull their weight around here - - especially our little Squeaky-girl. She's is totally oblivious to everything going on around her . . .

HOW does she twist herself around like that? She must have made an "A" in "Pretzel 101" . . .

Well! THAT Was Exciting!

Yes, VERY exciting, indeed!

We Interrupt This Blog . . .

I was composing a blog post about Stage Three of the bathroom remodeling, but . . .

We are under a tornado warning. Heading to the basement in a few minutes - - yes, with both cats in tow. Have the weather radio batteries charged, flashlights, and cat carriers ready.

Batten down the hatches!

Remodel, Stage Two

A new exhaust fan and light - - installed a couple of days earlier than expected!
The insulation is in, and we are ready for the shower unit to be installed - - hopefully TOMMOROW!
And this may not seem important to some people, but - - to a woman with a blow dryer, curling brush, and many other implements to make all this "natural beauty" happen, this makes me SO happy . . . FOUR EXTRA PLUG-INS! And they are on 2 different circuits, so it shouldn't trip a breaker. Sweet.
It's really coming along nicely, don't you think?

Remodel, Stage One

Bathtub - gone.


Wall - torn out.

Tomorrow, the insulation gets put in, the new wall gets built, and things get ready for the walk-in shower unit.

It's coming along!

More "Remodeling" . . .

Well, the time is FINALLY here! (We have only been waiting since NOVEMBER - - what's the rush? No reason to be IMPATIENT, right?)(Right . . . )

Tomorrow the contractors start on our Master Bath - - the pink one? Remember? With the Flooring saga?? (Don't worry, the new flooring will not be inb harm's way.)(At least I hope not!)(If it is, I will NOT be going back to FlooringAmerica, that's a promise!)

ANYWAY - -

The contractors are supposed to show up tomorrow morning, remove the bathtub, build up the short wall between the tub and toilet, and get everything ready to install a walk-in shower unit. The shower is supposed to be in to the plumber's on Tuesday; they will probably install on Wednesday. Then on Thursday the electricians come in to install a couple of additional wall plug-ins, and a vent fan and switch.

We are going to be in the middle of a MESS for the next week or so . . . and stuck in the cramped little bath at the other end of the house.
But, it will be SO worth it!

And yes, there will be pictures to follow . . .

AAAGH! My Eyes!

What is that bright light coming down from the sky???


Oh - - it's the SUN!! It's been so long, I had forgotten what it looked like . . .

(Rain coming soon, I'm sure . . . )

Check, Please!

Hello, my name is Mother Nature, and I'll be your server today.

Today's special is Rack of Rain, with a light Rain sauce, served on a bed of shredded Rain. The sides are Sauteed Rain and Mixed Rain. The meal comes with Garden Rain Salad or Cup of Rain Soup. For Dessert we have Layer Rain Cake, Rain Pudding, or a variety of Rain Pies.

I'll be back in a few minutes for your order. Would you like something to drink while you decide? Maybe a nice glass of Rain - - we have many vintages. You can also order it by the bottle.

*SIGH*

I am SO TIRED of rain . . .

Light Show!

Mr. Dizzy and I had quite an interesting evening yesterday!

We were both back in our home office, working on our computers. Around 9:00 or so, Mr. D happened to glance out the window and saw a bright light down at the corner, but up quite high off the ground. He went and got his binoculars and saw what looked like a giant 4th of July sparkler on top of the power pole at the corner. A bit scary, but kind of pretty also (Hey. I've always been a sucker for fireworks. What can I say.)

Anyway - - Mr. Dizzy called the County as I went through the house shutting off TV's, computers, digging out flashlights, etc. The County Dispatch called out the Fire Dept. to come check it out. About 10 minutes later, there was a huge flash of light and a big "Boom!", and everything went dark. Mr. D called AmerenIP (the power company - - my BEST FRIENDS from the Ice Storm saga, if you recall)(bastards)(but I digress . . . )**

Anyway - - The Fire Dept. showed up and check for any down wires; there were none, thank goodness, so they finally left. Then here comes the Ameren truck. Mr. D rode with them down the road to show them which pole was affected. The guy went to work, in the rain, in the wind, in the ladder truck. (I wouldn't have his job for ANY amount of money!) - - about 15 minutes later, we had our power back! By that time it was close to 11 PM.

All told, it was quite an interesting evening!

It looks SO INNOCENT now . . .

**Just to clarify - - I do NOT hold anything against the hard-working linemen who work for AmerenIP. Not at all. They do an excellent job, despite the weather conditions. I save every damn bit of my contempt and sheer hatred for the Corporation. Just sayin' is all.

Hello, Spring!

Apple Tree in bloom . . .



This tough little guy - - the Cherry Tree that was almost totally destroyed by the Ice Storm a couple of years ago, back stronger than ever . . .



Little violets blooming in the front yard . . .



The first Lilac bloom of the season . . .


IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

Happy Easter

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."

Luke 24:6-7

Dear Mother Nature . . .

It's APRIL.


It's SPRING.

SO - - Why is it, this morning . . .


I wake up to THIS???


And THIS???


Mother Nature - - you can BITE ME.

Oh, and? Bring back the warm sunny weather, while you're at it? Kthxbai.

Coming Up For Air (Finally)

Life - - especially the work part of my life - - has been freakin' chaotic at best. The College is changing over to a completely new and different software program to run our online courses. Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, must be redone. From the ground up. Yes, "chaotic" is a pretty good description of how things have been the past few months, with things really gearing up this past month.

I am an Online Support Specialist. I work with faculty to help them with the technical aspects of creating their courses, and I oversee the Student Help Desk, which supports our online students with their technical needs. It's busy on a "normal" day. But throw all this other stuff into the mix? Like I said - - "chaotic" describes it pretty well.

So, getting home from work and wanting to climb back on the computer and blog? Hasn't been happening (duh - obviously). Hopefully things will start slowing down a bit in the near future, and I can get back on here on a more regular basis.

Lots been happening, and lots I would LOVE to be able to blog about . . . if I just had the energy. Hopefully that will change. Soon.

I'll be back on here, really. Just give me a little bit more time to get through all this stuff going on at work. It's busy, it's hectic, it's chaotic, I'm exhausted . . . but it's also exciting as hell, and I'm loving it. Just wish I wasn't so damn tired . . . :-)

Back soon. Promise!