Surprise! An Entry!

Another day, another dollar. For someone. Since I don't have a paying job. I was a stay at home Mom for most of the past 37 years. I worked a few temporary jobs. Tried my hand at owning a small business with a woman whose sanity I question than my own-and that's really saying something. LOL I think her demons are far more dangerous and damaging to other people.

I do wish I'd gotten a college education. Maybe that would have impressed upon my children how important it CAN be. Not necessarily everyone wants or needs it. I just loved learning & going to school. I wish I had. I know people older than me go back to school everyday. Not people like me.

So what's going on in your world. I haven't written in a while. Same shit, different day. Not really anything newsworthy to write about. It's just Tom & me during the day, most days-Rich is either at work or sleeping.Tom hasn't gotten called back to the Railroad yet. Not many have. Someone told them that Tom's class and the younger in seniority, probably won't be called back before 2013. He's still drawing his railroad unemployment. He is thinking about school. He HAS been painting. He has done some things I think he should put on Ebay. It's contemporary. Takes him no time to knock them out. I mean, you never know. It's exactly WHY the man should be taking more Art courses. And music. I saw one of his videos of him playing guitar & singing on YouTube & he plays at this bar on Sunday nights when they have Open Mic night. Last week he played guitar with the house band on Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing. Then the song he sang was by the Darkness. I don't know what the song was. Our daughter & her boyfriend went out there that night. She said he was like a star. Her eyes glistened as she told me how well he did & how proud of him she was. Rich & I will have to get a sitter & go out & watch him some night.

I'm SO aggravated. I had a lot more written & the "SAVE NOW" wouldn't work. I thought it had saved what I'd written & it was getting late so I went to bed. It only saved what I'd first typed. Typical blogger.

I'm not one to send out every cartoon, email, prayer, or joke that I receive in my mailbox, but on occasion I do send along a few occasionally. If I've ever send out too many then yes, I hope that you'll let me know. However, last week a got a letter from someone I thought was an Internet friend. She very coldly said she no longer wanted to receive any emails (forwards) from me. That was it. I went to check her blog & found that she shut it down and went private without so much as a fuck you very much. I always felt kind of dumb when I read a lot of her entries. She's obviously well educated & it showe. A tad cool, but I thought it was her manner. Her entries were great & I really enjoyed them. I am just really shocked. I had no idea I had inundated her with so much garbage. Oh well. People come & go. It's not like we were going to high tea every day.

The H1N1 flu is starting to make the rounds here also. My granddaughter sat next to someone in church who had it & was sick in a couple of days. Her (step)Mom, an RN, took her & had her tested to see if she had it & she didn't but DID miss 3 days of school, so she was REALLY sick. I sure wish they'd get more vaccine in. I haven't even gotten my regular flu shot but am afraid to go to the Drs office with all the sickies!

Halloween week is upon us. My son & the girls LOVE it and have already been decorating. Got new costumes. Shelby Kay's 8th birthday is the 30th and they're going to a church lock in that night. Our plans for her birthday was for her to take a friend or 2 & go to Mall, get Shelby's ears pierced, get new outfit & eat pizza at the Mall. However since the lock in is that night and I don't know how much her ears will other her, I may see if we can just do the Mall thing on another day. The next day being Halloween-still not sure about doing it on that day. It would probably be OK. She's going to be a devil-has a sparkly sequined dress...SO cute & Kenzie (6) is going as an angel. They look SO cute.
Not much else of note to write about. Big Texas Tech FB game vs. Texas A & M tomorrow. Wish us luck. Home game sold out & NOT on TV. I am NOT a happy camper. I told Rich it was the one game I wanted to go to & couldn't get him to commit. I guess it'll be on the radio. Just wish I was gonna be there. Oh well. Wreck em TECH!!

Y'all have a GREAT weekend-wherever, whoever you are. LOL

Mad at the Internet

I had been having terrible wireless connection issues. Our Internet connection would drop off just enough to break the connection then come back on. After a several attempts at fixing it, we thought perhaps we would by a new router. That was several days ago & had not lost our connection ONCE in the past few days. Today it has been a holy terror to do ANYTHING. I don't know if it' is a server issue (which I believe it to be) . I have tried to catch up on my face booking and kept getting error after error there. I decided to come over to Blogger to catch up and cannot post any comments. It just cannot be me. I am just venting.
I need to get off the computer and go to bed anyway. I have my days and nights mixed up again.

My poor DH is working his arse off. He's spending all his time on the trains or at the other end of the line. That gets old REAL fast. He needs to keep working as I just realized it is 3 mos. until Christmas.

Today would have been my beautiful late mother in law's 96th birthday. She passed in January. There are not enough words to convey the love, the strength, the wisdom, the inspiration that this beautiful (and she truly was) imparted on her family. She is well loved and missed mightily. I hope she is heaven feeling no pain. Having cake and a party. I feel her love, guidance & protection smiling down on us all. Richard's equally beautiful 72 yr old sister has found love again. She has been a widow for years. Before her husband passed, he'd had a severe stroke & was totally dependent upon her. She cared for him in their home for years. Nearly breaking her back (and her spirit) as she loaded him in and out of the car, the tub , the chair, etc. He passed then she took care of their mother, driving her to DR appointments, making sure she was getting her groc. & meds and being taken care of. She got little help from any one else. All this time working a full time job. Anyway, Mary (my sis in law) has been dating a retired railroader and she is as giddy as a school girl. I've not seen her so happy, well, EVER. I am praying that this man will be good for her and that if this a match that they have many happy years together. They dine out, they go for drives, they go out DANCING! I LOVE it. I am So happy for her.

ht? Also a quick commentary on the Mackenzie Philips book that came out this past week. Love her or hate her, you have to give her her dues. I believe her story. I can't believe that the poor girl coughed up all this crap about an affair with her father. She & her ghost writers could have come up with it, but I tend to believe. I believe if she wanted to sensationalize her life she could have done it some other way.

Well, it's 5am. Guess I'll call it a day. Or should I call it a night.
Have a good week every one.

That Crazy Drive Home

Any of you who read my blog (which is obviously fewer and fewer as time goes by) know that I have wild & crazy dreams and oftentimes horrible violent nightmares. Well, last night was just a crazy dream. It had a little bit of EVERYTHING in it. It started out with Richard & I taking a walk (something we used to do, but rarely do anymore). After we walked about an hour, we decided to stop in the local watering hole for a drink. Now one thing about my dreams, I was raised in a little town in KS. I live in a fairly good size town in Texas now. So some things take place in KS but are here in Lubbock. The two intermingle often. The bar was in Anthony, but it was in Lubbock. I know-hard to make sense of. Back to the dream. Neither one of us was dressed for an evening out & a lot of our friends were there. They wanted us to eat dinner & party with them. Richard offered to walk home, get changed, get the car, come back & I could run home & change & come back. We weren't that far from home. He should have been gone maybe 45 min. He didn't come back. He was gone an hour. Didn't come back. I take off and walk our usual route and back to the bar. Never saw him. Walked back to our house. My brand new Lexus convertible (which is what I want now, but I know I'm not gettin-LOL) was gone, so I knew he'd been there. I changed clothes, walked back to the bar went in looked the whole place over & there he was back at a huge round table with a bunch of people. When I asked him where he hell he'd been, it was apparent he'd had a lot to drink. He laughed & said "I've been here the whole time! Saw you come in 3 times. I just wanted to see how long you'd look for me." Well, I was pissed, but what good does it do to argue with someone who's drunk. I sat down & had a couple drinks. My brother was there. We all had dinner & were having a pretty good time. I suggested we go back to our house. We had a new house too. (Don't know where that came from as I don't want nor need a huge new house. LOL ) So we are paying out & Richard, dear hubby, says, "Don't get mad, but you probably won't want to drive the car home." Of course I storm out to see what is wrong with it. I see a few little bumps and the rear passenger side & think to myself, that's not so bad. He pulled me back to rear and the whole driver's side & back end were crumpled. I was FURIOUS. Of course my drunk hubby is all apologetic. (He is not a drunk in real life. In fact for him ever to have a beer is a rare occasion because of the random drug testing at his job.) He's pretty funny, and for some reason, I can't stay mad at him. We went back in the bar & the waitress says she can't let any of us drive home anyway, we're all too intoxicated. She said for a quarter a piece she has a safe way to get us home. Of course no one but me has any money. For some reason I have a change purse full of dimes. So I pay 30 cents for every one. The waitress comes back with a steering wheel and screws it into the table. She hits a button and the wall where we're sitting opens like a garage door. The barstools attach to the table and she gives it a shove and we're rolling outside. Now, I've never driven a table home, & I'm asking her how I'm supposed to drive this?! She says "There is no reverse so you will have to turn it all the way around to change directions." When you need to stop, everyone has to drag their feet." I am cracking up. It has to be a joke. Next thing I know I'm driving a 6 foot diameter wooden table Flintstone mobile, with crowded barstools filled with friends and relatives down 82nd Street. A 7 lane major street with a speed limit of 45 mph. Probably going about 20 mph. All the while I'm thinking I must be dreaming. (I was. LOL) We get to this huge house. Gorgeous house. WAY out of our real world league. The evening went on and everyone was swimming, having a good time. My brother, who has a full grown son who is severely autistic, was asked how old Matthew is. Larry said he was 16. (Matt can swim but in the dream was swimming & diving like an Olympian.) I said "Larry, he's 33." Of course he argued with me. LOL I told him that his son & my son Chad were 3 yrs & 3 min apart and Chad JUST turned 36 (THAT is a reality fact.LOL)
Larry didn't have anything to say for a change (not a reality based fact.He ALWAYS has some kinda comeback! ) There were other silly things like the dogs we had (3 large black labs) swimming then jumping in the hot tub. A round bar table parked in a driveway from a town in Kansas at house in Texas.

That is a far cry better than some of the dreams I have been having. Some very disturbing and scary dreams. What I remember most about this dream is that I felt happy and lighthearted...something I am not most of the time. Inside anyway. I can put on a good face.

This cat is driving us nuts. When I got up this morning, all the doors in the house were shut except mine. I heard Calli outside crying to get in. A cold front blew through last night. I think it was about 55 degrees. I guess she thought it was cold. LOL It was a little chilly, but felt SO good. I let her in & she runs straight down the hall to WHAT? Yes. This wasn't a gift. It was what was left of a meal. A massacre. A sparrow....or something that had feathers. UGH. I don't know if she ate all of it or drug in part of it. All that was left was a part & a lot of feathers. OMG. I'm so sick of this. I am afraid she is going to bring in a disease or catch something. It's just too disgusting. Tom is sick of it. I know the girls like the cat, but she won't let you like her. Maybe she should just be a farm cat. Get the girls a kitten they can raise that will love them like they would love her. I don't know.

No pics. Just wishing you a good night/good morning.

Sunday

Just a quiet, cloudy calm day. Tom's been doing some laundry & cleaned his room, the girls cleaaned theirs. I've got roast, carrot & potatoes in the oven. Can't wait till it's ready.

Seems Tom has a secret admirerer. Last night someone left a long stemmed yellow rose & a card on the windshield of his car. He thinks he knows who it is.

It's mostly cloudy. You can feel the seasons changing. Even in the daytime, but especially at night. The wind rusting through the elms and maple leaves that are dying. It'll take an especially cool night to get the rest of the trees turning. That won't be long though. I'm ready for autumn. It's my favorite time of year.

When I was 4 and my mom went to work in the local Rexall Drugstore, I needed a sitter of course. There was a mexican family, friends of my parents. I was raised in a very small town. I believe there were 3 hispanic families, and 2 black families. It was a time when prejudices ran very high in this country. But not in our little town. There was no segregation (that I can recall) and we all played together. The Durans, Jo(sephine) specifically & Ab(elino) the parents the family that took me in after school. A lot of weekends. They have 5 kids Lola, Linda & Lydia (twins) Cecilia (my age) & Tony-the only boy 2 yrs younger. They became my 2nd family. My home away from home. My 5 siblings I had other than my only brother. Jo was my sitter from age 4 till 3rd grade. They were Catholic & back then they didn't eat meat on Friday. We were stictly beef & chicken & a little pork people. LOL So Mama Jo would fix ME a piece of fried chicken on Friday, or a sandwich. Cecilia would be SO mad because she had to eat fish and she did NOT like fish either. Poor Sis. Our big "sisters" taught us dance. To jitterbug. To do the dances of the day. They had wooden floors. I LOVED sliding around the floors in our stocking feet. Mama Jo would push the dining room table to the windows so we'd have the whole dining room to dance. Some train tracks ran behind their house. Cece & I would walk for hours down the tracks. Walking sticks in hand. Hunting turtles and horned toads. Jo always told us to get very far away from any passing trains as the train would suck us under them. LOL I had some of the very best times of my lives with my mexican family. Daddy Ab would always talk to Jo & the older girls in spanish. He wanted us younger kids to learn. Cece & Tony could understand a lot, but didn't speak much at all. We probably all know about the same about of Spanish that we had to take in school. Well, Jo passed away some years ago. When I went back to KS after I married in 1972, I often went to their house, as Cecilia & her young son (she married while we were in HS) were usually there. When she moved away and her Mom got so sick-I kind of stopped going to their house. It killed me to see that vital, strong energetic woman so sick. I always saw Ab "uptown". Either at the drugstore having coffee. Or if I had to go to the post office, I'd stop in the Gas Office if his truck was there and say hello. After Jo died, he rarely stayed home. Too lonely I guess. I'd see him somewhere. He never stopped sending us a Christmas card. I never lost the love or closeness I felt for them. Ab's health has been failing for years. But he fought it. The last time I saw him was in Vegas in 2oo6 when a bunch of people from Anthony went out on a charter & Rich & I went out because my brother & sisterinlaw were going and I knew Cece & her hubby from WA and Tony would be there. I never dreamed that Ab would be there and he saw me in the hall of our hotel first!! BARBARELLA!! He had called me Barbarella long before the movie came out. I was thrilled beyond thrilled that he was able to make that trip. I was so happy to spend time with my second family. Well I dont know how I never got informed that Ab had taken a turn for the worse in July. He passed at the end of last month. I didn't find out until the day before the funeral. I was totally devastated. It was like losing my father again. Cecilia and her husband have been inundated all summer as they made the move from Washington state to Texas and had a house built and had to move again. I just wish I had known. Living 500 miles from your hometown and having only my brother & brother inlaw that I stay in touch with basically, kinda sucks. I found Tony on facebook, so maybe I can catch up with the goings on up there a little more.

I'm sure you all are wondering what our huntress Calli has been up to? I can't remember if she had brought in the dead mouse that was in full rigor in my last entry. Since then she hadn't brought anything in. Tom caught her with a dove, but stopped her before she got it in the house. Well, she never came in this evening. She comes home usually about 8:30-9:00pm. I called her several times, Rich called her several times. We looked in the house in the places she usually sleeps. I never found her. She has bells on her collar (unless she's lost yet another one.) I never heard her come in. About 10 or so, I thought I heard her collar bells so I went back into the girls room. She sometimes hides under the bed. Sure enough, there was Calli. Curled up at the head of the bed on Shelby's pillow. I had a flashlight. THANK GOD, because right in the middle of the floor was a small decapitated rat. And some other"stuff" I won't describep- too graphic. I took photo to show Tom, but I'll be damned I cannot find my camera now. I guess someone didn't want me posting that picture on my blog!!! Poor Rich he had to clean it up and he is not good with bloody animals, vomit, and poopy diapers....things of that nature. LOL You never saw a man who could change a poopy diaper SO fast because he was holding his breath the whole time. LOL

Why can't I have an entry full of flowers and happy thin Gs-instead of blood and gore. And Halloween is coming. Tom's favorite time of the year to decorate. Maybe I should start hanging Calli's kills from the front porch. EWWWW!

Getting late, as usual. Started this entry on Sunday evening & finish it on Monday mnorning. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying the movement into Autumn.
Love you all.

Just an entry because I haven't done one in a while.

Typical night(Fri night/Sat a.m) in our household. Me, sitting alone in my little corner. Trying to find a crime show on TV since none of my regular shows are on or they are in rereuns. I'm not TOTALLY alone. DH is in HIS little corner of the house on HIS computer watching yet another movie that he's already seen a dozen times. The dogs are asleep in their cave (under my bed), where they spend most of their lives. Jake is doing better since his surgery but still walking slowly & with a limp. Doesn't act like he is in pain. Glad for that.


The girls (Shelby & Mackenzie are here also, but sound asleep.) Tom & one of his good frineds have gone out to one of the local clubs to watch one of their favorite local bands play. Tom is such a music fan. He plays the guitar well. He likes a lot of different kinds of music too. I think that makes a musician better at what he does. He had a birthday Wednesday, the 2ND. My "baby" is 28. We took him out to eat the night before his birthday, because we figured he would have plans with his friends the next night.


Oh and we have a new "pet". Tommy bought Shelby & Kenzie a Betta fish. His name is Charlie. Tom is such a good Dad. Tom takes them to park often. Swims with them. Both the girls are already doing front and back flips into the pool. He always makes sure he has plenty of time for them.



We also have a new member on my side of the family. My nephew, Mark (my brother's son) and Juliana have a new baby boy born Aug 31. His name Ian and he came into the world weighing 9lb 7 oz. 20 1/2" long. He is a beautiful baby (they live about, oh 700 mi. north of us. So of course I have only seen photos. Ian has a big brother Isaac. I think he's going to be 2 on Oct 31st. They are really going to have their hands full.



For those who don't follow along on Facebook I'll fill you in on what our "kitty" Callie has been up to. Last week one night she brought in a big freakin RAT. Yes, I said it- R A T! Thank GOD it was dead. I was the only one at home/awake at the tine. I put it in a shoe box and put rubberbands around it and put it in the outside garbage. She also brought in a young (very ) blue jay. I aso got to pick it up & get rid of it. A couple of nights after the rat, it was a small, not yet quite dead mouse. She took it straight into the girls' room & it got loose under their bed. The girls were asleep but I wasn't about to lose that mouse. Calli captured it again & it got loose & managed to escap under a beach towel. Luckily I have an expandable lightstick (like an antenna) with a maagnet on top of it. I'm whispering (loud & panicky for Tom to grab the beach towel. Which he did & caught le` mouse. LOL It was nearly dead by then, so he had to put it out of it's misery. This morning after the girls were gone to school-everyone went back to sleep for a nap. Rich was zonked out in the bed. Tom was crashed in his. I had JUST drifted off on the couch I'm so tired lately but afraid to sleep too much during the day. Anyway I hear Calli coming in; a whole lot of commotion and BANG something hitting the back door. Well, dear huntress had brought in an un-dead dove. It flew down the hall, hit the wall and turned and flew back into the "BAM" back storm door. There was dove blood on the wall in the hall and about a bushel of feathers strewn from one end of the house to other. Rich got up & disposed of half dead bird. I don't know what he did with, but told me it wouldn't be escaping again. Is there ANY way sure way of stopping a cat from hunting--other than keeping her held hostage, please let me know. I am personally tired of being the one that has to uhm, dispense her "gifts." LOL

We have no "Labor Day" weekend plans. Rich cooked some awesome babyback ribs the other night. So we won't be having ribs. Texas Tech is playing some non conference nobody (to me)school and it looks like rain, so we probably won't be going to that & it's not on TV. We're invited to a big party at a friend's house--the problem in that is he lives in California and we live in Texas...but ONE of these days we'll make it. His parties are "epic" I hear.

We had glorious rains Thursday night and Friday morning one HECK of a thunderstorm. It was raining, thundering and lightning like the end of the world. The girls were waiting on the front porch for Tom to pull the van into the drive and one of those instant over head thunders BOOMED so loud it shook the windows. Kenz was so startled she started to cry. It WAS a pretty awesome sound. We needed the rain so desperately though. One of the thunders at the beginning of the storm sent Calli across the backyard like a blur. LOL No problem getting her to come in the house the first time Shelby called her then!!

If you're having a big barbecue/party this weekend...please be safe.
Love you all. Enjoy this last weekend of summer.

Vacation-Otherwise known as a week away from home.

Well, I pissed & moaned till I got a vacation-well, a week away from home. Yes, it was my idea to take Tom & the girls. I wanted to go to San Diego to Sea World. We DO have one in San Antonio but the humidity down there is killer. SO it was decided we'd go west. Problem was, Jake's (our dog)surgery. He didn't do as well as we had thought he would do. The 2 main things were, he wasn't coming out of his hiding place and he was not eating (or pooping). It had been 3 days. Finally Rich made steak on the grill that 3rd night & he sure came out & sat at the table with us then. We waited a few more days until was sure he would be able to get in & out of the doggie door & he would eat something other than steak or can dog food. I guess we left last Tuesday.

We drove to Flagstaff, AZ and spent the night there. From there we drove to the Grand Canyon. It was my 2nd time there. OMG, if that isn't proof there is a God, then nothing is. We saw so much more there than the landscape too. On the way in we saw mule deer on the side of the road. Birds, insects, chipmunks and this cool squirrel. Like no other I'ver ever seen. I haven't uploaded his pic. I hope it comes out. I wasn't sure how the girls would react to the whole "grand scheme" of things. Shelby was especially taken by it. Poor Kenzie had a pretty bad foot blister & we all know how distracting foot pain can be. Shelby loved pointing out things & showing us ALL things we might not have seen. We got to see some Native American dancing. I did well walking in sneakers, but I have TERRIBLE balance & nearly fell on my ass a few times. LOL I even scared EVERYONE around me and that is when I decided to stay far back from the edge. I had more hands grabbing for me than at a Brittney concert. LOLOL Back on the road again to drive back down towards the Phoenix area. I wasn't feeling good that night. It wasn't that warm at the Canyon. I don't think it was the heat.

To tell ya the truth I don't even know where we were at. Some suburb of Phoenix. Tom called his ex-wife, Morgan to tell here we were AZ and when did she want to get together & see Shelby & Kenzie. And let Tom spend some Time with Addison (Addi). We told her we would be in Phoenix the next day & they recommended a hotel near her husband's parents'. As soon as we pulled in and checked in, Morgan, her hubby Aaron, Addi & their baby Sydnee (Shelby & Kenzie's half sister whom they hadn't met yet) were there in about 5 minutes!! It was a nice reunion for them right there. Morgan was emotional. Happy to see her girls all together-bittersweet for her, as she had suffered a miscarriage. I was happy that we were able to get them together as I know how hard it was for her. They all went on to Morgan & Aaron's and Rich & I stayed in & cooled off, as it was 116 that day!

Shelby & Kenzie got to spend the night with them then Mogan brought them back to the hotel the next day around 11am. They went swimming a while then all of us went to a Mall. It was a a very nice mall & we had fun shopping, eating lunch & the girls had an absolute blast playing in the Children's playground area. I teared up once while we were eating. It was Morgan, Tommy, their 3 daughters and Rich & I and I thought...this is how it should have been. I know, I know. That is selfish of me. But I still wish things could have worked out. Yes she broke Tommy's heart but she gave us 3 beautiful girls that are extensions of our family. How can we not still have feelings for her. I still feel the same for Chad's wife. Ashley's mother. Yes, I love Chad's wife now and I adore their daughter Hailey but his first wife gave us our first grandchild. She will always have a little corner in my heart too. Anyway, it is what it is. They were over 21. I still think it's too damned easy in this country to get a divorce.

That 2nd night, Richard & Tom went to the Cheesecake Factory & got me a slice of "Stefani's special Red Velvet Cheesecake" since I didn't have a birthday cake (the 29th). If you haven't had it (and it was first experience) it was 2 layers of cheesecake layered with 2 of regular red velvet cake. The top & sides were iced with buttercream icing & the sides were coated with small white chocolate curls. O M G. It was HUGE. WHY there isn't a Cheesecake Factory in this town is beyond me. There was NO way I could eat it all so I had the rest for breakfast. Not very good for a diabetic, but I was being good most of the time. LOL

The next day it was on to Las Vegas. At that point....I was feeling like doggie doo. We got to Vegas on a Friday of course. Hotels being higher then than any other time, but it was just how the timing of the trip turned out. I also hate Vegas on the weekend because there always seems to be twice as many people there. Rich, Tom & the girls went running around a little then brought them back. I stayed in the room with a VERY VERY upset stomach and they went to gamble. Rich came back and Tom came in late. The next day we all took turns going out and about. We all went over to the Mandalay Bay to their Aqaurium. We had lunch at a very nice Mexican Restaurant. The girls loved the Aquarium and especially touching the sting rays and horseshoe crabs. It was truly fun. It was too hot though. I did some gambling while the guys and girls went downtown. We were staying at the Excalibur on the south end of the Strip. I went back up to the room and waited on them to come down. Tom & I gambled some a little later. None of us did very good. Rich came out ahead I think. I had been stashing some cash for gambling and came home with some of it. While Tom, Rich & the girls were out and about Richard bought me a white leather purse and I love it. He hadn't gotten me anything really for my birthday, but I told him I didn't expect him too since we were on the trip. He knows I have been shopping for a white leather purse and for him to take the time to go into a hotel and go shopping for me...well that was pretty darn special. AND I LIKE IT! LOL He wanted to stay another day or two, but I was just worn out & ready to go home. Usually he has to drag me outta Vegas. I have to admit I was a little worried about Jake (Frodo too) but my daughter & her boyfriend were coming to the house at least twice a day. We got home and the doggies were SO happy to see us. The cat, Calli, not so much. It was SO funny. She was in the front yard & she would not let ANYONE touch her--except Tommy. Not knowing a lot about cats, I think that is pretty understandable. She IS HIS cat.

Oh my gosh, my hibiscus' bloomed while we were gone. I guess we had some wild weather & quite a bit of rain while we were gone. I have had many hibiscus and they have always been beautiful. I ordered these from QVC....5 of them. Only 3 of them survived-they were approximately 4" high when we got them about 3 months ago. Now they are between 3 and 4 FEET high. In the past my biggest blooms were over 6". The SMALLEST of these blooms are about 8 1/2" and the largest was 10". I was FLOORED. I have never seen ANY flower that large.

Richard had extended our privacy fence from the back of the house to the front on the west side. For more strorage & probably putting one of his classic cars there to store and/or work on. He had been putting an aluminum roof on it and 2 of the pieces blew off during one of the storms while we were gone. Heard we had 80 mph winds that night. I'm surprised it didn't rip the tomatoes clear out of the ground. But they are doing great. In fact we had some in our salads last night.
Well it's good to be home. I'm feeling better. I got on some prilosec. I used to take it and when I ran out of it a while back, I just never took anymore. I have been getting increasing heartburn so I am back on it and it has helped so much. I've gotten some good sleep and am glad to be sleeping in my own bed. However the first place we stayed in only had a 2 bedroom suite with a living room, kitchen/dining room and that place had the most awesome mattresses and nicest sheets I've slept on in years. I believe I could have a spent a week in that bed. LOL

Getting late & I want to try to get some photos on here & on facebook.
Glad to be home. I'll try to get round to your blogs as I go alone.
Love you all. (Can't find the squirrel pic. Will try to find it. LOL) Hugs & Goodnight!!

Update on Jake, our Maltipoo

I'm so sad tonight for our little guy. He had his knee surgery this morning (Wed). He is hurting SO much. The inscision is about 8 inches long. So much longer than I thought it would be. The Vet said he should be up walking around tomorrow (Thurs). He did limp around a couple times. Richard carried outside & it was raining very lightly. After a while, Jake just laid down in the grass. I don't know if the damp,cool grass felt good or if he was just too worn out to get up and go back to the house. Rich had to carry him in. I had to bring his water dish to him. Bless his heart he was SO thirsty. I'm praying so hard for a speedy recovery for him. He also has been put on diet. I KNOW that feeling. And he is NOT going to like it. He lost 3 lbs since he hurt his knee, so I have a feeling he will lose some more in the next week, easily. He hasn't touched his food bowl. He wouldn't even take his pills with bits of hot dog.
Speaking of cool and rainy days. The past 3 days have been hot, then at night thunderstorms with nice rain. Last night it started raining in the middle of the night and it has been raining off and on all day. Wonderful slow 70 day with gentle, steady rains that this part of the country needs oh so desperately. Thank you God. Please get well, little buddy.