I'm just sayin'

Congress needs to tend to their business and leave BASEBALL alone! Congress sucks at doing their own job and now they want to screw up BASEBALL, too! Leave it alone already!!!!!!

Christmas all over again!

Yesterday the land man came and brought me a check for leasing my few little acres down at the home place. Today I used a $100 gift card from Belk that I have had since Christmas. It seems that I am such a creature of habit that I take the sheets off my bed, wash them and put them back on because I only like one set of sheets that I have. These are so soft and comfy. Unfortunately, they wore so thin that they ripped. Well, of course, that just will not do, so I spent all the gift card plus $25 on some new sheets and a new mattress pad. They had better be soft. They are 300 TC sateen. I bought some 400TC once and they got those little pills all over them, so I am very skeptical about sheets. Also, I am very picky about sheets! Let's face it, I am pretty damn picky about everything.....which probably explains why I don't have a sweetheart on Valentine's Day!!!

CRAP!

I was going through internet withdrawal yesterday because I had none. Usually, my provider is right on an outtage no matter when it occurs, so I called this morning. Turns out it was just ME! All I had to do was disconnect the wireless router and plug it back in! Next time I'll know!

911?

There was a time when my doorbell ringing at all hours was common, but not now! Friday night my doorbell rang twice after 1 in the morning. Of course, I did not even think about opening it. Finally, I did go and look out a window and saw a stalled vehicle out on the street. I did not know whether to call 911 or not. How was I to know it wasn't some drunk who would just kick in my door? Anyone who would ring the bell at a house with no lights on can't be dealing with a full deck anyway. And who on Earth does not own a cell phone! I had the phone in my hand, but it wasn't an emergency. My brother told me it could have easily turned into an emergency and, yes, I should have called 911! Next time I will know!

The WORK season has begun!

I was at Dad's by 8 this morning. My brother laughed at me for being there so early. It is sooooo not like me! I told him I wanted to get there while he was there so he could start the tiller for me. He did and I got a lot done. Tomorrow the rains come and winter returns to mess up what I did today. The rain will make the tilled area all hard again, but I will do it again and get it ready to plant potatoes.

Mission sort of accomplished...

I got started in my yard and got half the roses pruned, treated with fungicide and new mulch around them. It's like starting over because all the dead leaves had to be removed from the ground around the plants and new mulch put down. I'm not finished! If this doesn't stop the black spot, I will pull those roses up, throw them away and give up on roses.


Last night Dad wanted to take us all to dinner and talk to us about leasing our 60 acres around the home place. The independent lease hound will pay $100 an acre plus a percentage of any gas if they should happen to drill a producing gas well. Dad already gets money from 13 gas wells on his old home place, but any wells drilled near our current home place have been dry. We don't even know why they want to lease our land, but we all agreed that we would go ahead and take that $6,000 and run. Of course, all the money would go to Mom and Dad except for the 6 acres that my brother and I own there. Dad did say he would give us each some of the money because he doesn't need it.

Awesome day!

I was down at the homeplace by 10 this morning ready to go to work. Due to some ongoing backaches, I was afraid I would be rather worthless, but I did a lot. All the flower beds are cleaned out, all the dead pot plants gone, all the leaves ground up and the driveway all blown clean.

At 11:45, I was finished and in for the awesome lunch of fresh fried perch, collard greens, hot water cornbread and baked sweet potatoes. I thought I was finished after I got the kitchen cleaned and sent Mom on her way to the beauty shop. Then my brother cranked up his chainsaw and started cutting down dead trees and burning the trash pile. So his wife, my dad and I joined him and went to work in the back yard. We got a lot done. In fact, everything that needed to be done in the yard is done. The weather was perfect for shorts and a sweatshirt for me. Tomorrow I guess I will focus on my own yard. It's time to prune the roses and try to rid them of the black leaf spot.

I read a great quote today...

"If we must have a Democrat in the White House, it might as well be McCain!" He is soooooo not a conservative! In fact, he is a RINO! (Republican in Name Only) My first presidential election that I could vote in was when John Kennedy was elected. I didn't vote for him, but he was more conservative than John McCain. What a MESS! All those people who hate George Bush are going to appreciate him more! I'm not happy with him either, but GEEZE LOUISE....we are in big trouble!

Ho Hum....

We had the girls' lunch today for the last time at our friend's old house. She and her husband have built a new home right behind mine and will be moving in a couple of weeks. Another one in our group of ladies is a couple of months behind in construction, but she will be on the same street behind me. Our last meal was homemade French onion soup with French bread, salad, and fresh blueberry pie. It was awesome!


After lunch I was supposed to work in my parents' yard. I went, but the wind was so bad that it was too hard to get anything done. My brother stopped by on his way down to our pond to see if he could catch a fish. He caught 14 white perch, so tomorrow we are eating his fish and my collard greens. Yes, we are self sufficient!

OK...I concede!

I'm admitting to the world that I am becoming more of a doofus every day. Today I spent a good 30 minutes trying to stop advertisements from AT&T coming as text messages on my new Motorola RAZR. All I had to do was send STOP to the four numbers. I have already done that once and got the return answer that they would be stopped. However, they did NOT stop, so I did it again except that I couldn't remember how I finally got the message sent last time. I used to be fairly tech saavy, but those days have left me in the dust. I finally got the message sent. Now we'll see if the ads actually stop!!! I have a feeling this new Camcorder is going to be the death of me!!

It's all over!

We didn't take our float to the parade due to possibility of really bad weather. I don't know how bad it was in Bossier where the parade was held, but here we just got a little shower. Anyway, Mardi Gras is over until about August when we start preparing for the next season.

Life is back....finally!

I woke up this morning at 6:30 starving, so I knew I was over the crud that has messed up my Mardi Gras. After a sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffin, I actually had some energy to do some yard work. My tulips are now in the ground because they were already sprouting in the bag they came in. I went to check on Mom and Dad since I haven't seen them since Friday. They are both still struggling with head colds.

We are under a severe weather threat, so our last parade tonight is real iffy. It's 73 degrees with a cold front on the way, so a major weather event is predicted. I'm not real sure I am up for another parade, but I have plans to go if it happens. My strength is returning. I have managed to go up in the attic four times putting Christmas stuff up, so I am on the road to recovery. Yay!

On a lighter note....

I checked the website for the winners of all the drawings for St. Jude. Big surprise....my name was there for a Sony HandyCam. I spent $5 on the ticket and the camera is worth $750. Now I have to learn how to use it, I guess. I don't know why I signed up for that. I really don't need it, but I did need all the other stuff that I didn't win. We broke another record and raised $788,000 for St. Jude. Per capita we raise more money than any other place in the nation. St. Jude is very familiar with Minden, Louisiana.

Just DAMN!

This graphic explains how I feel.The parades would have been so much fun if I had not been sick. Due to my being so idle physically since I got sick before Christmas, my back was killing me during the 3 1/2 hours of the parade on Saturday. That's constant dancing and throwing beads for that long. I had a chair on the float that I had to sit in quite a bit, but that parade is hard work. They estimated half a million people along the route. We have a DJ on board and he is awesome. He keeps us dancing the whole time. After the parade ended on Saturday, we had breakfast served to us at the King's wife's little restaurant. Just perfect. I had done very little drinking....2 lemon drops and one 7 ounce beer, but I had to stop on the way home to throw up. Turns out I had some sort of virus. I was not sick again until just before the next parade started yesterday. I should have never got on the float, but I did. Thank goodness I was on the end and had a plastic container to throw up in. I hadn't eaten a bite since the night before, so there was nothing to actually throw up. Sometimes that just makes it worse. Finally, today I have managed to keep some crackers and some sprite down. I just ate the old stand by...chicken noodle soup. I hope it stays down. I am supposed to do one more parade Tuesday night, but it is a short parade. I hope I can make it. Every upper torso muscle is sore from all the dry heaving...well, now aren't I just a ray of sunshine!

Almost over!

Mardi Gras ends on Tuesday, but tomorrow and Sunday are really big parades. I just hope I have enough throws plus I've been invited to ride Tuesday night in the final parade of the season. It's a small one and we are only entering our children's float. The big float won't fit where this parade rolls.

My dad finally came down with what all the rest of us have had....Mom and I twice! He's pretty sick, but it isn't the flu...just a bad cold.


This weekend is a big weekend in Minden. It's totally devoted to raising money for St Jude. I will be gone all of Saturday and Sunday, so I got all my pledges in today. They actually have people pledging from all over via the internet. Go here and check out all the things that a $5 or $10 one time pledge could possibly win for you. ALL the items are donated, so ALL the money goes to St. Jude. It's a wonderful thing.I have already dropped $300, but St. Jude is my favorite charity and $100 of that is for the grand prize, which is a Denali or a Mercedes.They only sell 2000 of those tickets.

Be Afraid....be very afraid!

Lady Liberty did not mean every freakin' Mexican that wants to cross over the border to come on in. Follow the RULES! Come on. We welcome you, but just do it right. John McCain and I are not on the same page with this issue. I just don't know if I can support him if he does get the nomination. I'm sure he would be better than the alternative, but still....NOT MY CHOICE! In fact, I can't find anyone I can really get behind. We should ALL be very AFRAID! I'm not usually cynical, but I am afraid of Obama. He was raised in a Medrasa. Who's to say he was not a part of the Muslim plan and being groomed to be President of the USA!! The Muslim plan is to take over the world.

DAYUM!

I am so freakin' tired of coughing. Sometimes I cough so hard that it makes me throw up! All my cough muscles are so sore now. I have taken both kinds of "way expired" prescription cough meds that I have. Finally, a while ago, I took both at the same time. Still doesn't help! I am no fun to be around.

My cousin and her husband from Virginia came by for lunch. I invited them yesterday because I knew I had some frozen taco soup. We had taco soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, both of which were good...well, at least the soup was. I didn't eat a sandwich, but I know they are good made on the George Foreman Grill. I gave them a Hershey's kiss for dessert. Cooking was just out of the question today, but they have done so much for me. Every time I have been to Virginia, they have treated me like royalty and shown me so many sights that I would have never seen any other way.

Sick AGAIN!

I used to NEVER be sick. Now....it seems every few weeks I am sick again. Friday night my mom told me she thought she was getting sick again. Saturday, I woke up being sick again as well. Even though I went to the hockey game, I was sick and had fever when I got home. I have coughed and coughed and coughed until my muscles are sore.I am tired of not feeling up to par. This has been the case since before Christmas when we all got sick, then I had my bout with gout...now the whole sore throat, coughing, fever thingy all over again. Next weekend is two parades that I cannot miss. Not only will I not miss them, but I want to feel good Saturday and Sunday. After that, I don't care!

I did manage to go celebrate yet another friend's birthday at Ruby Tuesday's Sunday night. That's two Sunday's in a row for us there. We like their food! Their crab cake is to die for. It's on the appetizer menu, so it isn't too big...but it is also not filled with bread crumbs and other fillers. It's just GOOD!

Hockey mania

Last night I went to a hockey game.....only the second one ever. I went to one when I lived in Texas, but here it is a different story. There were over 7,000 people there and they were having a ball. I enjoyed it as well, but there is a lot to learn about it in order to understand it. Fortunately, I had my cousin next to me who holds season tickets to the Washington Capitols.

On my way home, I got stopped by the POLICE. He said I was weaving and he thought he had him a DUI, but that was not the case. I didn't know I was weaving, but he said I was going over the SIDE white line. WTH! There aren't any cars over there! I told him I had been to the Mudbugs game, but had not had any alcohol. Thank goodness I had not! Even if I had it wouldn't have been more than one beer, but I probably would have smelled like beer and would have had to take one of those breathalizer tests!

Too freakin' close!!!

BRRRRR!

The temperature has not risen above 34 all day and it is raining. We are thankful for those 2 degrees above freezing because ice would not be welcomed. Actually, due to the rather elevated slope of my drive way, I would be stuck at home because I would not be able to get traction on an iced over driveway. I had some icicles earlier, but they have melted. This morning I went to get some meds for Mom at Wal Mart and took them to her. When it is this cold, they stay at home and have it way too hot for me. Mom can hardly stand it either, but Dad has to have it really, really, warm. It's stifling to me. He doesn't understand why everyone doesn't want to be that warm!! Yesterday, he had a little damage done to his truck because he met a log truck on a bridge and he got a little too close to the concrete sides of the bridge. He knows he should not be driving, but it's hard for him to give it up. His macular degeneration has really affected his vision. I feel sorry for him.

Soul food

Yesterday I went to Mom's and picked some collards for her to cook today. She did that along with some fried fish and hot water cornbread and baked sweet potatoes. Yes, it was delicious. She can still cook collard greens. I guess the most surprising thing is that I grew them!! Yes, I did. So there!

Voila!

Mission accomplished! I now have a DVR and it is working properly. The cable company told me they would be here between 8 and 10. He showed up at 9:50. Good thing.....because I was about to lose my cool. I don't know why because I had not another thing to do today. It's just the principle of the thing. Be here when you say you will be here. They escaped my wrath! I bet they were scared.

Good Times Rollin'

We rolled at 5 P.M. yesterday (that's Mardi gras talk) in my first ever parade. It was sooooo much fun and I can hardly wait the two weeks until the next parade that I will ride in. Throwing those beads was so much fun, but it was way too short. Afterwards, we all got together at a local restaurant for a few beers, good times, and good food.

Tonight I was the designated driver for a birthday celebration for one of the ladies. We went to Bossier to Ruby Tuesday's and had a great time. I have made some really good friends since I moved here. They really make me feel a part of the group and they have been together for years.

This is interesting!

It's SNOWING!...

.....but it isn't sticking. It is going to be so cold on that Mardi Gras float tomorrrow at 5. Thank goodness, the Minden parade doesn't last very long. We cannot wear overcoats. We have to wear our tricked out tux jackets, white shirts, white gloves and our top hats. I had to go buy some ear warmers today and some gloves that I can wear under the mandatory thin white throwing gloves. It will be fun. The next parades that I'm in aren't until Feb. 2nd and 3rd. Who knows what the weather will be like then. It could easily be HOT or COLD!

All is well!

• My foot is much better today. I am hardly even limping today.
• My car is back in my garage to the tune of $476, which is way better than the $1200 the dealership would have charged me.
• I have clean sheets to sleep on tonight. (Don't laugh. I like clean sheets)
• The fun starts tomorrow with the float loading party.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Ouch!

The doctor's receptionist told me to come in right now when I called this morning. I always wait until I am in really bad shape before I go to the doctor. He is pretty sure it is gout and is treating it as such unless the blood tests show a different diagnosis. My uric acid is always high and I don't do any of the things that are supposed to cause gout. I remember that my grandfather had it, but I don't think it's hereditary. He gave me a shot of celestone, which is magical short term, but it also sends my blood sugar soaring. All cortisone does that to blood sugar. It's only around 200, but for me that is soaring. I also got some more pain pills, some gout meds and an antibiotic. Hopefully, it will be all better tomorrow!

On another note, once again the money is flowing from my account. My car is back in the shop getting the torque changed in the transmission. The whole transmission has to be removed to do this, so it will be expensive. They had my car all day today and haven't even pulled the transmission yet. I have my mom's car now. I wish I wasn't crippled so I could clean hers up for her while I have it. It's a mess!

I can't walk and Britney Spears is a MORON!

Something happened to my foot yesterday. Last night a knot came on top and started hurting really bad. I scrambled to locate any left over pain pills in this house and found a few. They didn't help much. I even tried a lidicaine pain patch, which also didn't help. Now in addition to the knot, my big toe has gout and the whole foot is very, very painful. It is red, swollen and hot! I have to try to see my doctor tomorrow. It's Mardi Gras time! WTH! I can't not be able to walk!!!

Britney Spears is yet another Louisiana native giving Louisiana a bad name. She's an IDIOT! I'm just sayin'!!!!!

Mardi Gras Prep

We were busy as little bees today getting all the beads sorted and ready to be loaded....1,000's of beads....many, many boxes stacked according to each person's order. Tomorrow night we do the finishing touches. Thursday night we all go out to the den to party and load the floats with beads. The floats have hooks to hang beads on and they all have to be filled before the parade, which is Saturday. The extra beads have to be stored in special zip up bags marked with our logo...no cardboard boxes allowed on the float. This is a first class organization. No riff raff here!!!

Just a sample...

of the kind of costumes worn by Royalty at the Grand Bal's. This is our queen and the king wore matching attire. Unbelievable how much money is spent by Royalty. They have to buy all their costumes (have them made), all the decorations for their respective tables at the ball, very special beads that they throw and all kinds of other stuff. It's amazing! I had a good time, but it's not an event I really enjoy. I will enjoy the tailgating, float loading parties much more when I can have on jeans and my feet don't hurt. Most of our members stay at the hotel the night of the bal'. I do not. I had one margarita and one beer in the several hours I was there. I'm glad it's over...now the fun really begins with the parades and informal parties. I'll be less uptight then.

Let the good times roll!

Last night we came close to finishing both our floats. The music was blaring from the children's float and everyone was dancing around. It's getting exciting. Of course, when that Mardi Gras song, New Second Line, is playing, it's impossible to be still. We have stacks of boxes containing beads that we ordered in the Krewe den. Tomorrow we will decorate for the Bal', which is Friday night. Sunday we finish up our floats and next Saturday is our local parade. It's the first one we put our floats in. The following weekend on Friday night, we have tailgating float loading parties in Shreveport in preparation for two parades...one Saturday, which is four hours long, and a shorter one Sunday. There are lots more parades, but those are the only 3 I will be riding in. Fun times I am really looking forward to.

"Nuf said"!

Louisiana has gone NUTS! Even the Academy store in Shreveport opened after the game tonight to sell LSU merchandise.

Whoosh!

Usually that is a sound associated with downhill skiing, but right now it is the sound of money leaving my bank account. I finally gave up my last hold on Texas after two years of living in Louisiana. Now I have a cell phone with a Louisiana number. It's charging now and I haven't set up my voice mail, but I will soon. Then I will send out the number to my buds!

O My Gosh! Ohio State already scored. I gotta go! This is serious.

At last!

This is the final rendition of our program for the Bal', which is Friday night. I think it turned out great and I am very pleased with it. I just hope all the others are as well. No one has seen the finished copy. I just picked them up today so it will be a surprise to everyone. It is 24 pages of ads and recognitions and made a profit of about $4000 for the krewe. Not bad! We do a lot of things for the homeless shelter here in our little town.

WooHoo!

I now have two new TV's...both hooked up and running properly. My brother got one for our mom and dad yesterday as well. Next, he is going to get one for him. I still don't have a DVR yet, but I will as soon as they get some in. Still don't have a new cell phone and provider yet, but I hope to get that done next week....then I will be done.

Last night we worked on the children's float....holy crap, it was cold out there. It's in a warehouse and we have one of those big heaters like they have on the sidelines of a football field..only not as big.

Today I gathered up my mom and the things we bought her for Christmas that didn't fit and we went to Belk's. It's real convenient for her because we can park in the handicapped space in her car and they have little carts for her to use like a walker or cane. She found lots of things and bought lots of things. She really enjoyed getting to shop for herself. I usually buy things for her because it's just hard for her to go to the mall...too much walking. It made me happy that she got to do that and enjoyed doing it. I think she got 5 new outfits and a robe for about $275. Everything was 50 % off, so she made out like a bandit.

BRRR!

Right here in the big fat middle of "global warming", our low temp tonight is supposed to be 20. Today, the high was 40. I heard Rush Limbaugh say this morning that every state in the US proper will have a temp of below freezing tomorrow. That's an interesting statistic if it is real. I do not believe that global warming is a problem. I subscribe to the scientific records that show a natural warming and cooling of the planet. Al Gore and Michael Moore are MORONS! I'm just sayin'....

Cheers!

On New Year's eve, I was already in my flannels and had my taco soup made. I was ready to call it a night when someone knocked on my door. I opened it to find a friend standing there in my garage. She told me to get dressed and come on and meet some others out at a restaurant. I did that and was still home by 8 P.M. Wow! How things have changed with age. I used to go out every New Year's and now I don't even care.

Yesterday I went to another friend's for cabbage and black eyed peas. It was good and I really enjoyed watching some of the Planet Earth series on their big ass HDTV with surround sound. It was awesome. I also took a quick trip to Best Buy and bought a new TV for my bedroom. I am going to get DVR for that TV,but right now my provider is out of DVR's. I have to be able to record some shows like Regis and Kelly and All My Children which I cannot do with the new TV because it doesn't have the built in recorder like my old one. I haven't hooked it up yet because I don't know how. I'll get it hooked up by the company when they come to set up the DVR which may be next week.

Today I bought a new TV for the den. It hasn't been delivered yet, but it will be today or tomorrow. I bought it locally so they can set it up for me. I liked it when all I had to do was plug in the sucker and hook it to the cable. Those days are gone. My brother just called and he is shopping for a new one for Mom and Dad. Lightning struck hers a couple of weeks ago and blew it out completely. He can hook theirs up because they don't have digital cable and a cable box to route everything through.

Now I have one more money spending project before I can stop with the outflow of funds. I still have to get a new cell phone and provider. I would love to have an Iphone, but that ain't gonna happen! Costs too much! I have to remember that I am RETIRED!

Since my partying days are over, New Year's is just another day. I do get a little nostalgic each year on New Year's Eve because it reminds me of all the ski trips to Colorado. We always had a great time on New Year's Eve. I'm still trying to get well, but I did go get the car washed. It's essential that my car be clean on the first day of the new year. I got all the yard ornaments at least in the garage...though not in the attic where they will eventually live. I have a few daffodils starting to peak out of the ground, so I planted a few more bulbs that I already had plus about 30 Dutch irises as well. Bulbs are so much fun because to me they are always a surprise. Tomorrow I will have black eyed peas and cabbage at a friend's house and hope the old adage about good health and wealth are true this year.

I am in sticker shock. Today I looked around at TV's. Dayum....I had no idea they were so expensive. Guess I haven't bought one in a while. I really need two now. The store where I looked hardest and where I bought a lot of stuff from when I moved here gave me a calendar. I started putting some stuff on it and discovered it is a 2007 calendar. WTH! I don't need that! Hope that's not how the new year will be!