Home Again

I just got home from spending a week in SC visiting my parents.
Now comes the part I hate about traveling "unpacking".
When I got home yesterday Bryan has actually straightened up things. Well as much as most husbands do. The bed was partially made. The dishes were in the dishwasher, but it hadn't been turned on. Most of the dirty clothes were in the hamper. Most important, he fed all the pets.

Now time for me to get back into my regular routine; shopping, cooking, cleaning.
I live such an exciting life. Actually I like my life. I am just what I always wanted to be when I grew up. (not that I am grown up) I'm a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grand mother, a mother-in-law, a friend and I'm "ME". Sometimes I'm not sure who the real "ME" is, but I'm still exploring that.

Since my lil sis (actually my sister-in-law Wendyfru) has learned a new craft and already started working on Christmas presents I guess I better get started too. I can't let her out do me. So if anyone has a request you better let me know in a hurry or you just might get something a bit wacky like a collection a my extremely rare dust bunnies. Apparently they have been multiplying while I was gone so I have a few extra.

OK, enough "rambling". Time to get back to unpacking etc.

RUB-A-DUB-DUB

Rub-A-Dub-Dub
Three Socks in the tub
A blue, a black and a brown
There's never a match
At the end of a load
It makes me want to frown

Everyone knows that there is never an even number of socks in a load of laundry. So what do you do with the orphan socks? Do you make sock puppets? You can only use so many sock creatures. Do you stuff them with cat nip for kitty toys? Do you use them to dust furniture? Not in my house! Dust bunnies are almost sacred here. We wouldn't think of wiping them out with an old sock. Are there foster homes for unmatched socks?

And why is it never possible to have ALL the clothes, towels, and sheets clean at one time? I mean if you do five loads of laundry on Saturday, why is it that by Saturday night the laundry hamper is overflowing again? Just once, for a little while, it would be oh so nice to see all the laundry done and the hamper empty. Is there some law of physics that I never learned that declares the laundry hamper must never stay empty more than five minutes? It seems like the only way for this to happen would be to have every member of the family strip naked, stand in the tub, and stay there while everything is washed. Not a pretty sight I'm sure. Then I could bask in the glory of a pile of neatly folded, clean laundry and an empty clothes hamper. One can only dream of course.

Also why in the world when I put the last load in the dryer on Saturday night does my husband come up with a white shirt with "ring-a-round-the-collar" that he has to have for church on Sunday morning?

I know, I know, at least I don't have to scrub the clothes on a rock in a river to get them clean.

Remembering Chloe

When Dana was in high school she insisted that she needed a dog of her own. We had a dog and a cat, but she wanted a pet that was "hers". There was an ad in the paper for a beagle, which of course Dana decided would be perfect. We went to "just look" at the beagle. Never go to "just look" at an animal. You will immediately fall in love. Now most beagles are brown, black and white, but remember that the most famous beagle "Snoopy" is black and white. Our Chloe is the only other beagle I have ever seen that is black and white. When Dana went away to college, Chloe became mine.

Chloe never was the smartest dog we have owned, but she was always one of the sweetest.
She barked at every piece of papper that blew across the yard.
She sometimes would bark at the setting sun until it was out of sight.
Chloe never met a child that she didn't love and every child who met Chloe loved her. Our grandchildren and the neighbor children like Chloe better than our other dogs. Chloe was always very patient with their hugs and pats.

Chloe was with us for 15 years. He hearing and sight were failing. She had arthritis and spent her days lying in the sun.
Chloe died on Monday, August 25, 2008
Her doggie companion of more than 6 years, Toby mourns for her.
We all miss Chloe very much.

Rats, Cats and BATS, Oh My!!!

Ok, so I don't actually have bats, but they sure look like them. What I have are birds in my chimney.
Not to be confused with "bats in the belfry"

Last summer I heard a strange sound in the fireplace which was also driving my cat completely "batty" (pun completely intended) It sounded like .... well it didn't really sound like anything I had ever heard before. Kind of a scratchy, squeeky, flapping noise. So being the brave, independent, modern woman that I am. Yeah right. I opened the fireplace door just a tiny crack, but I couldn't see anything. I opened it a little more and I saw IT. There clinging to the side wall of the wood stove was "A BAT".

Well I thought it was. I let out my best late night horror movie scream and slammed the door shut. My heroic cat jumped to my aid. Actually all I saw of her was a yellow streak as she dashed under the couch.

A few hours later my knight in shinning armor, dh, came home and assured me that there was no way that a flock of bats were partying in our chimney. As I stood on the couch armed with a broom, he carefully opened the fireplace door. Of course there was nothing there. He gave me "the look". Then I saw It clinging to the door. I screamed, he jumped, It made it's hideous noise. Hubby bravely got a plastic bag, picked the creature off the door and carried it outside. My country boy hubby patiently informed me, city girl that I am, that it was only a bird called a chimney swift. They nest in unused chimneys and eat insects. Sure sounds like a BAT to me. Well apparently they liked our chimney because all summer we had a family of them in our chimney. It was hard to explain to guests what the weird sound was coming from our fireplace. Hubby never did get the chimney capped so once again this summer we have "batbirds" in our chimney. I don't have the heart to call an exterminator even for "batbirds" so after the babies have flown the nest I will call someone to cap the chimney and just hand hubby the bill.
BATBIRDS ARE CREEPY !!!

Can't sleep

I am NOT a night person! I like to go to bed early and get up fairly early. So why am I starting a blog after midnight? Because for some reason known only to the sandman, I can't go to sleep. So, here I sit at my computer rambling through the thoughts of my mind. MY MIND. That is sometimes a very confusing place to be. My mind is like my life, cluttered. Cluttered with all the past memories, thoughts and dreams. Cluttered with the should haves, could haves and why didn't I of my life. My mind is filled with useless trivia, but is also filled with dreams and hopes for me and my family.

I live a VERY ordinary life. I have been married for 38 years to my wonderful husband. We have three married children and four grandchildren. We currently share our home with 3 dogs and 1 cat.

I love crafting, sewing, scrapbooking, machine embroidery, and crochet.
I like Disney movies and romantic conedies.
I like to read almost any type of book.
I do NOT like housework of any kind.
I sometimes like cooking.

Ok, so those are the ramblings of my mind at 12:30 am. Not a very interesting place to be right now. I promise that there will be more amusing thoughts when I am fully awake.

Good Night all