Complaints and compliments

Let's start with the good things, before we move to the complaints - that way, if you dont feel like listening to me complain, you can quit reading earlier! See the reddish globe in the midst of the leaves of the plant! That's right - tomatoes! We have already eaten 2 from the plant, and will soon be able to eat some more! Nothing better than home grown tomatoes!
And here is the free corn we got from the Fair. One has really taken off compared to the other. We are still blindly believeing the person that it (or they) will actually produce!

We use to grow lots of veggies when the kids were young and we lived in PA. Had one dog who just LOVED to eat the tomatoes right off the vine....

We are having fun with this that we are thinking about re-doing one corner of the back yard (but I refuse to get rid of my lilac bush) so that we can grow more veggies next year. That will be our winter project - to get that corner dug out and done.

Now the complaints....in a previous post I mentioned this yarn I loved. So I went back to Michael's to get more (after stopping by Walmart and of course they dont care it no matter what the website says). After spending 1/2 hour looking, I located 3 different colors. So, a total of 4 skeins, all 'girly' colors. That means that they all have pink in them. Now the Bernat website shows 2 that are definitely 'boy' colors and I really wanted those.

So when I was checking out, I was asking the clerk about finding out whether or not they would be carrying more colors. Well, this clerk was very helpful - so helpful she kept answering the questions before she listened to them. Basically it boiled down to a resounding, no. And of course, by now the line is much longer becuase, you know, Michaels can never staff enough people to help you much less check you out (they have a pretty rapid turn over in staff at this one, wonder why it is so bad to work for?). So I filled out the survey that was on the cash register reciept and asked to be contacted, and I still havent heard word one.

Now a few words to Arnold, our supposed governor. First of all, youtalk about saving money by sutting back on all the state parks and areas. Guess good ole Mother Nature didnt like hearing you plan to not share her wealth with the citizens of CA and visitors. Cause she is surely burning a lot of the coutnry side up. Dont know if it is a good ole temper tantrum, or just land management but boy it is sure causing havoc in our state - loss of homes, lots more crap inthe air to breath, putting so many lives on the line....I loved the one news reporter welistened to broadcasting out of Yosemite - they edited the comments from the foriegn visitors to make it sound like we did this on purpose to ruin their vacation - but even the reporter made it sound like that! Get real - no one wants people to lose their homes - or wildlife endangered - or even more importantly, the lives of the homeowners and firefighters endangered!

And the other thing Arnold....you want the legislators to hurry up and make a state budget. Hey, I can understand. But why kick the little guys to do it? Do you really think by lowering wages to federal minimum wage will make the legislators hurry up and do anything?

You really need to hurt the legislators where it hurts the most - their own pockets! Freeze THEIR paycheck and benefits and perks - and see how fast they will put together a budget! Wont have to wait to hear and feel the outrage of the working class - hit them in their wallets and I bet you they would work quickly to get things done!

This country, and state, tends to do things bass-ackwards. Hurt the little guys and give the breaks to the big guys. Oh, I know it is because the big guys are the influential and powerful ones. But it is the little guys who are struggling to pay for the products that make the big guys so rich and powerful! You want to stay that way, you need to make sure the little guys have the money to spend on your trinkets...

Enough on my soapbox for now. And yes, today I need to go out there and spend some money to make the rich richer...tomorrow is son's birthday!

R.I.P. Little Guy

I ran over a squirrel today. Didn't even have time to swerve like on that car insurance commercial. He just tore across the street and then my tires bumped over him. And squished him. I really felt bad - and am still upset. So upset that I could not scare off the squirrel that was nosing around our patio looking for birdseed cause the bird feeder was empty. He was even going into this empty pot that the birdseed drops into - but was not comfortable enough to stay in there so I couldnt sneak out to get my camera in time to get his jack in the box act in that! i think the one I ran over was even larger than this guy....who doesnt know how lucky he is that the one dog who chases him isnt here this weekend!

The other photo - Trixie is all dressed up for the baby shower last Sunday. Too bad she wasnt allowed in the house with the other ladies cause she was styling!

I am being harrassed to go to the gym....see you all later!

Damn

Well, now that we are playing with the idea of still going to Hawaii, I came up with a wonderful idea - that I was going to do as a surprise! I decided - what the heck, lets help the economy - and we will spend one night at the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu to (belatedly) celebrate our 35th anniversary.

So went over to check out the site and see what the cheapest room is.

The hotel closed for renovations June 1 , 2008 to re-open January 2009.

Damn.

There went that dream!

This whole vacation trip thing has been fraught with casualties!

Looked at my tomato plant today - it is huge and had lots of blossoms but only a few tomatoes. But one of those tomatoes is definetly light red, and another one is becoming red! Dont know that the harvest if going to be worth the investment of water and all it took (this was the free plant left on our doorstep) but I know they will taste wonderful.

And my husband has been very pessimistic about the 2 free corn plants we got from the fair. But one has started growing like crazy! So maybe we will have one ear of corn to share! LOL
Never have grown corn before so it is a fun adventure.

Long and tiring days at work this week. Been pretty busy - I didnt get out of work until almost 9 PM Tuesday night. And - before all that craziness started - agreed to take call this Sat night from 7P - 11P (I work 7A - 7P on Sat and Sun).....dont know how that is going to work out. But yesterday on my way home from workk - it dawned on me. So often dayshift will pick up hours to help out nights - either by staying over or taking call or filling holes) but I dont see a lot of nightshift doing the same for dayshift. In fact, I dont see a lot of night shift doing it for nightshift! (Of course saying that, there are a few very kind souls who do it a lot, bless their hearts!).

On a knitting note - if anyone is looking for baby yarn, please check out Bernat Baby Jacquard yarn - you can see it at http://www.bernat.com/product.php?LGC=babyjacquards. I picked it up on a whim and decided to make the hat pattern on the label and I LOVE this yarn! So soft and easy to knit with and the way it patterns is so sweet! I got the berries and cream colorway and want to get some more! Also started on Luke's blanket. So Connor's is on hold right now (but that doesnt need to be done until November anyway but Luke's needs to be done by September!).

Baby Shower

Good friends of ours are expecting a new grandbaby in Sept. After raising 3 boys, they are finally gettting a little girl - a Grace!

So she gave a shower for her DIL. And it was beautiful. A brunch - made us all feel so ladylike!
Her house is always beautiful but even more so yesterday. Vintage linens from her family - vintage table ware - mimosas - quiches to die for (my husband, who had some of the quiche later when the guys came back from golf, even enjoyed it, and he usually loathes quiches) - beautiful roses , ones that really smelled like roses! It was so nice. Very refined and yet fun!

Vacation Doldrums

We are going nuts trying to decide on our 'big' vacation for this year.
Had to bump it to October becuase of Luke...
Cant get rooms at WDW for the time we want unless we are willing to stay two nights at one hotel and then schlep our stuff to another...did that one time...not worth the time and effort.
And of course air fre has skyrocketed!

We (I) wanted a nice laid back (AKA beach!) vacation to pay back for our year....not sure that is going to happen...

So far we are still looking at Hawaii...trying to decide if the excessive air fare + gas for rental car is worth it...have looked t an all inclusive resort in Cancun on the reccomendtion of someone...price wise (and looks of the place) are okay but what a struggle to get there!
So...any suggestions?

A ghostly visit? Or rodent?

Dang - I dont know how to rotate photos! Ok...this sideways photo is of my kitchen cupboards, above the microwave, which is above the stove and oven. See the 2 little vintage egg cups? There were 3 until last night. I grew up with these - one with a pink inside, one with yellow, and one with green. We had jsut laid our weary heads on our pillows last night when there was this loud crash of something breaking. We dashed to the living room...nothing....nothing in the dining room either....and then I saw the shards on the kitchen floor and immediately knew what it was. But the big question is - how? It literally had to come up over over the lip of the border (I forget what it is called) and fly down to land totally on the floor. Didnt bounce off the stove or anything on the way. So did a mouse or rat push it off? We didnt hear anything, so where did it hide after wards? And there are no droppings up there.
Remember I bought a new purse? Which means I have to give one away. I found one that I thought I would give away quite easily, but it isnt gone yet and every time I pass by it, I am not sure about parting with it. Anyway, inside of it I found a couple of things. One of which was a partially completed canvas work kit. So I decided to complete it...tweaked it a little (see how I purposely made the green/aqua mountains not match? Wish I had done that with the yellow/orange blocks but those were already completed - I did put the orange Xs on top of the yellow) and added the sunflower button. So I have a new change purse for work.
My multi colored sunfloweres are so beautiful. Wish there werent cars in the way. These dont appear to set seeds tho like other ones.
I have just posted a bunch of items on Ebay. And have a bunch more to post over the next few days. Yes, I am working at clearing out the junk room. Spent an hour up there yesterday - got rid of a huge bag of recylcables, a smaller bag of trash, and a bag of Ebay items. And you cant even tell I did anything at all! I really need to find a big bookcase for up there - that would realy help in cleaning up and re-arranging everything. If you want to view the items on Ebay, my seller name is greendogwoman.

Now I think I will head over to the gym....

Global warming

I just found a site that has a lot of interesting reading on it. If you are interested, check out www.wecansolveit.org .

Also there is a clothing site that uses recycled Coke bottles! Now the article I read had the wrong website address, and then when I found the right one, it is under reconstruction. But it sounds like it will be interesting to look at once it is up and running: www.resolvebrand.net

Chock Full O'Rants

Maybe it is the weather...or my age...I don't know...

But you know what? Age does not negate manners. Just because you are old (elderly, older, geriatric) does not give you permission to be rude. You supposedly spent your time teaching your kids, and maybe your grandkids manners, does that mean you have used up all of yours?
In the USA we line up, in order, to take our turns, starting way back in kindergarten or pre-school. Just becuase you are old and white haired, doesnt mean you have permission to cut in line and look/act all innocent about it! Yes, you have paid your dues - and if there is a legit reason, maybe someone will have the courtesey to give you cuts - but age alone does not mean you can jsut take them!

And hey - I feel the price of gas just like everyone else. And I empathize with people who are doing what they can to eke out a few more miles to the gallon. BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF EVERYONE ELSE'S SAFETY!!!!!! So if you are going to drive 15 - 20 miles BELOW the speed limit on the freeway - get into the slow lane! And remember, that lane has the exits and entrances on it - so pay attention!!!

And yes, those of you who do not have the hands free phone devices yet - we can all see you trying to use your cell phones while hiding them from the cops - which makes you two times as dangerous as before!!!!

Went to the Mall today. Hate going to the Mall. Try to go as little as possible. Of course, the great draw today was the air conditioning. Wanted to use up some gift certificates. Got a pedicure with hands down THE BEST leg and foot massage ever! So thank you to the students who gave me that gift certificate! It was wonderful! And she did magic on my broken nail to make it look whole - and once she took off all the polish, I found out that one toe did not have discolored polish on it - it has a big ole bruise!

Gave myself a treat and got two of the Creme Brulee chocolates from Godiva! YUM YUM. But sorry Godiva - other than that See's still beats you hands down!

Had a $100 gift card to Macy's. Now, I am not supposed to shop at Macy's becuase my husband is still bitter over how he was treated as an employee there years ago. So I rarely go there. Plus, I am jsut not a Macy's girl. Their stuff is just too outrageously over priced and really, not all that like they thinkg (altho I do have some jewelry from there from decades ago that I still prize). Orginially I was gonna get me a purse, but I already did that at the Fair. So I really needed a new wallet and finally got one altho not the color I really wanted....but then, I dont think I could have been satisfied unless they had a design-your-own place. But now, after looking at jewlery (I was lookig for gold hoops and silver hoops) and even baby clothes (dang, their baby clothes department has really gone downhill over the years) I still have more than 1/2 of that gift card left...what to do?!

So then I went to Nordies. Had already scoped them out and saw that their wallet dept. was even worse than Macy's. And their jewelry was bad too. C'mon - I can get the same costume jewlery at Kohl's or Mervyns for less. And we all know how high the mark up is on jewelry. I did finally get some gold hoops - same as the ones at Macy's but $10 less and NOT on sale - and still have 1/2 that gift card left!!!!

Oh well, I am jsut not a mall shopper...

And yes, it is still hot as Hades out. Went to a movie last night - gourmet dinner of a hotdog and popcorn! But air conditioning for a couple of hours. We saw Wanted. Cant say it was a good movie...cant say it was a bad movie. All I can sy - it was an air conditioned movie! Came home and got in the pool for about 1/2 hour last night!

Wonder what we will do tonight to escape the heat? Doesnt feel quite as bad as yesterday. Am I getting use to it? I work tomorrow and then the weekend. Hopefully the heat will start to subside. I feel so so so sorry for the fire fighters out there in the wildlands fires. I cannot imagine having to put up with the terrain - (especially poison oak!) - add into that the heat of the fire - the smoke - the packs they have to carry and the safety clothes - and add into all that this brutal heat! May God bless them and keep them all safe.

Heat is a'coming!

Going to be a really hot week. And most of the hottest days on days I do not work. Drats.

Anyway, came across a really good and timely article for everyone to read. You can view it at
http://www.peakoilblues.com/blog/?p=181

Happy Independence Day!

Most people say Happy 4th of July - but I dont think the younger generations truly understand what today celebrates - besides a day off from work for some people - so that is why you are hearing me say Happy Independence Day today!

Went back to the Fair today to see the things we didnt see with the grandkids. It was fun both days - with and without them!

Anyway - today I spent the money. Bought the skirt I really liked. Got a Christmas present. And yes, bought myself a purse (hey, I have one or two in the giveaway bag!). You can check the purse out at https://www.michebag.com/. I bought the black/white one and the green bamboo one. So if anyone needs any ideas what to get me for Christmas this year....and I heard they will be appearing in kiosks in malls before Christmas this year.

Also got free corn plants. Hey, what the heck. We have never planted corn before. It could be fun!

Went and saw Wall-E. It was a very cute movie. But how many message movies are going to be put out this year? Especially since information doesnt seem to impact people no matter how much they believe it - it only impacts when the wallet is hit!

Speaking of wallets being hit - another sign of people being very careful with their money - comparatively few of the art had sold stickers on it at the fair!

Well, it will soon be bbq time....and then watching the fireworks from our upstairs so we dont have to deal with crowds - but can take care of the dog who becomes psychotic when he hears fireworks....everyone stay safe!

Sunday

So Sunday we were supposed to go to Dennis the Menace Park, but ended up at the beach. Which, to me, is even better. But we didnt head towards Carmel cause of all the ash we went to the beach by the Wharf. I think it was the first beach time for these two little guys - not sure - definitely tho for Miss Kaia. And she loved it! Even loved dangling her tootsies in the cold water!


Yeah - even timeout at the Beach is fun...
Not the right ages to cooperate on a sand castle...and it is funny when the one in time out gets crabby when he is bothered by other people coming in to his time out circle to play! At home, he would have loved it...
Kaia even let PaPa hold her. She is in such a Mommy stage. Our friend Marilyn got to hold her for quite some time at dinner on Saturday which was different!
This is actually a Monday morning photo. I jsut wanted to show you that even with bed head, she is adorable. And then they took off back to Nevada....wont be until September that I see them again - they will be here for Kaia's first birthday and the arrival of Luke (AKA Luke Duke Skywalker!!!)
Two more days off before I work and no time to rest up - laundry and errand time! I need a vacation to rest up from this vacation! Maybe Sunday while hubby is at the baseball game!

And now it is time to water my tomato plant, and go to Costco for dog food and get the propane tank filled to barbecue on Friday!

Saturday

So saturday we all headed to Monterey. First of all, we went to Carmel for daughter and family to see her godfather. Boy, the fires down there are really bad. Smokey as it has been all throughout northern California, but this is the first that we actually had ash falling and blowing - looked like snow flurries.

Not many pictures at the Aquarium itself. First we had sandwiches from this place that makes awesome sandwiches - we were worried when it sold, but they kept the name and they kept up with the awesome bread from Palermo Bakery and great sandwiches. So if youwant good sandwiches in Monterey remember Troia's Market.

Then we went to the Aquarium. I can never decide which is my favorite - the jellyfish or the otters! So I had a blast looking at both! And even more so the next day when hubby and I had another sandwich sitting alongside the beach and got to watch an otter out in the ocean!

Just a shot of the smokey haze. You should be able to see hills in the background...Looking across the water you could not see Santa Cruz at all.
Saturday night we had a big dinner. Ate at Bubba Gumps cause of the kids, and some friends met up with us. We had a blast. I could not believe how good the kids were the whole time - a 5 year old, a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a 9 month old - no melt downs - no screaming - no running around. We did not allow that with our kids (who wear all trained to eat out starting at a very young age - people were amazed, #1 that we would take them to facy restuarants and #2 how well they behaved) and it is nice to see that the girls have followed through the same way with their children.
She was happy with crackers - even tho most of them ended up on the floor! I think they needed a back hoe to clean under her high chair when we left!

Friday

So, after breakfast and some errands, other daughter brought her sons over and we were off to the county fair!

I always enter items - it is fun -plus you get a free entry ticket! So I entered 3 items, none of them worthy but what the heck. And so we wandered around the big building trying to find them. First we found Kaia's dress, which won a 3d place ribbon! Guess there were no other entries in that category....I barely know how to crochet and so the crochet trim is really bad. And see the buttons offset - had to do that to hide a hole in the neckline!

And then the sweater won a 2d place. Why, I dont know cause I saw some relly awesome baby sweaters there. This was the sweater from hell. Even wrote and complained to the designer about the pattern, and found out that the one I bought must have been old cause it has been updated since then. Never did find the ribbon I wanted. And since grandchild #5 is going to be a boy, I dont even know who this is for!
Wish we could have gotten all 3 boys up there in time for this photo. But there is PaPa with his 2 oldest boys....too bad the trash carts decided to go by right at that moment. Otherwise, I love this photo.
And now it is corndog time! Well, only the 3 boys had corndogs. And it so reminded me of my son at this age....he did not like bread (still not one of his favorite foods). But he always had to have a corn dog....even tho he peeled away the corn and only ate the dog!!!!
Of all the rides they went on, this ws the most hilarious. It is the baby sized ferris wheel. And they were the only ones on it. The guy told them to lean back and dont move (meaning dont stand up or move around or anything like that) and all 3 took him literally! The rode the entire time like this - and I think the guy gave htem extra time since there was not a line. We were hysterical the entire time watching them!
It was a tiring day for all - and realized there were still things we did not do or see! Oldest grandson had a huge melt down at McDonalds on the way home....he sooooooo reminds me of his mother!!!!

The Fair is always fun - but especially when you have kids to share it with!