Snakes, skunks, and other critters

We have lived at this place for ten years now. In that entire time we have seen very few unwelcome predators. Since Dave and Eileen moved here we have had invasion of ants, two snakes, a chicken eating hawk, and lately....I have been smelling skunks. Can I tell you how this makes me feel knowing that each night usually after dark, I have to make the walk out to the poolhouse in the semi-darkness!! I am putting aside my supply of milk and tomato juice JUST IN CASE! I believe if you are prepared, you shall not fear. I wonder how Shelly feels about cats with white stripes down their back. She is not to fond of the ordinary kind.

Who Lives Here Now?

When I was growing up, we had people living with us occasionally who were not family members. Some of them, like Joan Allen became family, others we would rather forget. Carol can elaborate on that, her memory is lots better than mine. Our home now has always been open to others. My kids can say whether their lives were affected or not, but I feel nuturing souls is one of my life's callings. This all came to mind when I realized only a year ago we were a household of teenagers with Andrea, Jed, Tabi and Matthew. Now we are a household of little children. (Don't take that too personally Dave) That got me to thinking about all the people who have come and gone through Donald and mine homes.

There was Tom Silvia in Virginia shortly after we got married. He adored Jennifer. He later married a first cousin. Last we heard he was living in Valdosta. Pat Davis, Donald's used to be BFF until he got his feelings hurt and cut off contact with us, was living with us when I got pregnant with Helen. Aunt Susan and family lived with us a couple of times. That was always an adventure, especially when she would sneak around the corner of the waterbed and rear up her head hoping to scare the daylights out of me. Then there was Mel, who loved David. She suffered a mental breakdown because of stuff guys in the squadron put her through and other issues in her life, but boy was she fun! Remember Cindy? She didn't get along with her Dad after her mom passed away. There were a couple of women fleeing abusive husbands who spent a couple of days with us. Uncle Jimmy lived with us for a few months before I had David. Since we have been in Tifton we have had Kevin who stayed with us when his parents moved to Texas his senior year. He fell asleep at the wheel of the suburban driving home from Valdosta one night.
He introduced Matthew to the joys of having tv video games in the home. Tom Stayed with us briefly before he and Aunt Susan got married. Ryan stayed here a lot while he and Helen were dating. Matthew had a couple of friends who thought they lived here. All this has been preparing me for my career if Dad goes to the big guest house in the sky before me. I figure I can run a boarding house. I hear they are making a come back in these desperate financial times. I think I am qualified as long as I get a good accountant. ( That would be you, Rich) I can cook, I just happen to be a big softie as evidenced by this blog.

Hidden Talents

I was in the kitchen today and a fly flew by. I reached out and smashed it violently between my two hands. Helen remarked what a wonderful talent that is. I've got to admit I do get a lot of flies with my bare hands. We started talking about hidden talents of the weird nature. I would like to hear from all you bloggers out there. Who has the most unusual hidden talent?

Happy Anniversary

Tomorrow will be mine and Donald's thirty-second wedding anniversary. I was twenty years old when we got married and Donald had just turned twenty-one in July. When you have been together more years than you have been apart is when you realize how two can be one eternally.

We passed that landmark a few years ago. But if you think we are bored with each other, think again. We may be boring and not much fun and old stick in the mud's, but be assured we love each other in a deep old fashioned way. We can ignore each others embarrassing little "things" that happen when least expected. We take pleasure in small things and are happy just being in the same room with each other.

One of the things we have done through the years was brought to mind by Carol's video mentioned in her last blog. I have always longed to be a dancer gliding across the floor in my partner's arms. It always looks so romantic; being held close and gazing into one another's eye's. One of our first dates was to a dance at ABAC. I was thrilled to find out Donald could dance. My former boyfriend always looked like a chicken with his head cut off, when he danced. Slow dancing consisted of rocking side to side with our arms wrapped around one another. Now Donald thinks he can't dance but considering I try to lead half the time, I think we do quite well. It has been one of the ways we have shown our children how their parents still find each other attractive after all these years. We hold each other close and sway and spin around, throwing in an occasional kiss for effect. The reaction we rarely fail to get is as they say "priceless." Lots of "ugh's and get a room comments" I have lost a lot of memories in the last few years due to a couple of near emotional breakdowns. Donald has been very supportive of me doing what I have to do to take care of myself. He will be glad to know that the memories of the early years of our courtship and marriage are still clear and wonderful to me. The secret to our years together is that he has always made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the entire world. He says I married him just to get out of Brookfield but in truth I married him because who could resist a guy who changed himself so much and looked so great when he walked up the steps of the house in Brookfield in his Navy whites. (think Richard Gere in Officer and Gentleman) I knew he knew the meaning of the word commitment when he gave up having his family at our wedding just so we could be married in the temple in Washington D.C. for time and all eternity.

Just Because

Just because I am sitting here in the family history center waiting on Dad i will go ahead and comment on Carol's blog. I eat ice cream just because I like it and don't care what happens to my body as a result. The biggest thing I do is take a nap in the afternoon just because it makes me a better person for the rest of the day. My most daring thing today was to eat the free chicken sandwich Eileen brought back from MacDonald's instead of saving it for Donald just because I was hungry.

my Boring Life

I personally find it very exciting teaching seminary. I love getting up in the wee hours of the morning. So much gets done before noon even arrives. The down side is I don't watch tv or socialize in the evenings anymore. Evening begins about 6:00. If I blog about my students, they might get upset. It is like a doctor, patient relationship you know. I have been having big times with the chickens. Maybe I will take some pictures tomorrow. I don't think I have anywhere to go or any obligations after I get home from seminary. Anyway, Dave and Eileen brought their chickens down from Atlanta and Monica Brown brought some more over bringing the total to about twenty. For a girl who didn't grow up around animals, I feel very close to my roots in the pen. I go out and gather the eggs in my little basket and bring them in annoucing to everyone the count for the day. The "girls" (not to be confused with Carol's girls) have been very upset by the weather. We were getting nine or so eggs a day and are down to three. I have been forced to climb over the fence onto the neighbors property to see if any have been laid in the tall grass there. I am sure I presented quite the sight hitting the ground in front of me with a long stick and singing to scare away any snakes or other critters that might be hiding!

RE: Celebrity Sightings and other odds and ends

Thanks to all who have responded. I have enjoyed all the stories of which I am sure there are many more. Those of us who live in Tifton area are going to get together with Carol for a blogging class. She keeps finding little things to make the blogs more fun. Rich has offered a photo class also. I realized as I was taking a break from ironing the other day to pull the fresh baked bread from the oven, that it might be time to take a step or two forward in time. I am typing a blog though so don't make to much fun of me.

Aliens in the House

No, I am not talking about any family members! I was sitting in the living room at 6:00 this morning waiting for Jed to wake up and get ready for seminary. Suddenly I heard an awful sound, truly undescribable except like something from a sci-fi movie. I really wanted to turn it off before it woke all the sleeping bodies but I didn't know where the sound was coming from. Gretchen started crying and Jed's alarm started beeping. Turns out it was Stella's alarm clock, a present from one of her uncles. It turns on at the appointed time and if not turned off within a specific amount of time it rolls off the table and all over the room forcing one to chase it down to stop the noise! Who invented this thing? It says "wide eye" on it and I guarantee that is what you will be when it goes off!!

Back to School

The dreaded day is almost here! I start Seminary in the morning. For someone who has been sleeping in until 7:30, 5:30 is going to come real early. I am putting out the word now. I will promise dreadful punishment to anyone who calls before 10:00 on Saturday morning since that is the only day Donald and I both can lay in bed late. I sometimes try to wait up till he gets home at 2:30 am on SAturday mornings. I love teaching Seminary. It is the greatest calling because you have to study the scriptures every day and because you can't teach without the Spirit, your life has got to be in constant " trying to be like Jesus" mode.
I didn't accomplish a lot this summer aside from completely rearranging the house and poolhouse, making salsa, preparing to teach seminary (which included many hours of on-line training), and doing a little family history with the help of Jen, James, and Jed.
The highlight of my summer was the relaxing time I spent with Donald. In spite of everything we were able to spend a good bit of quality time relaxing, swimming, in the moonlight, ............

Celebrity sightings

We all know I have sung on national tv with Richard Simmons. Well, while watching the fabulous online Pioneer Day Tribute featuring the Osmonds, the subject came up of meeting famous people. I couldn't quite remember all the details about your date with one of them, Carol, so how about a blog from everyone on famous people we have crossed paths with. Donald has a picture of Cher he snapped in the days before paparazzi. She was at the same hotel he was at for a convention while in high school. Of course anyone who has seen Sarah's blog lately knows who she has been seen with!

They're Here!!

Dave and Eileen are almost all moved in. Eileen and the girls will be staying more than less, especially with school rapidly approaching. For those who have not stopped by, once again we are a marvel to behold. We have four adults, one teenager, three children, two dogs, one cat, one rat, eleven chickens, one duck. Almost sounds like the entire food chain doesn't it? We have two refrigerators, four sofas, three tv's, one pool table, one computer (Dave does have a laptop). So far no fights, I think they call this the honeymoon period. The biggest laugh has been when Eileen walked in on Donald a few minutes after he entered the bathroom. We have been closing the door since the babies can crawl and walk all over now. I have been locking the door since Nathan learned to turn the knob. I could say we have four children since Donald rode the motorcycle down from Atlanta. Speaking of, Happy Birthday (tomorrow) you wild thing!!

Herbal Essence

Helen and Ryan took the pictures. The wreaths were made from clippings from my herb garden. More pics will come at a later time. Oh, the herb used was basil. No one should be bothered by mosquitos for a week (if they didn't wash their head)

Got to get some Pictures

Vickie and Rich gave me a camera for my birthday. So far Jed has had a great time using it for which I am very grateful. His Canada pictures look like postcards. Course he did have great scenery to work with. I have got to learn to use this camera though. It was in my schedule for this summer until I got asked to teach seminary and have all this studying I am supposed to do. I did buy a book called Photography Tips for Dummies. I have gotten impatient in my old age and don't want to take the time to read instructions anymore. I want someone to show me how to do things. I think part of the reason is anytime I start to read something that takes more than a couple of minutes, I get interrupted. Jed will be home next week. Maybe I can get him to teach me. Maybe he won't make fun of me if I make him a bowl of Muddy Buddies.

Empty Nest

I experienced that feeling for about eight hours this week. With Tabi off to Virginia and Jed at scout camp a whole week of loneliness loomed ahead. It was not to be however as Dave and Eileen rolled in Monday night bringing of all people, Stella. Stella never wants to stay with me! Eileen said they would stay away but really we all want this move over and do I really want to spend my evenings alone? If you've ever spent any time with the child you know that loneliness will not be a problem. I do have to get some studying done this week so after tonight, Auntie Helen or Auntie Jennifer, help!!!!!!

Upside Down House Again

To those who don't know, we are in the midst of change at the compound yet again. Let's see, Matthew has moved over to Albany in his quest of trying to find himself. Donald and I are moving into the poolhouse after we exorcise the maleness of Matt's friends who have been hanging around the last few months. Dave and Eileen are moving into the main house because they just keep feeling like they need to be in Tifton at this time in their lives. Believe me they have fought the feeling for several months. Tabi is off to Virginia at least until the end of August. I hope she loves it as much as we did. The grandparents are not moving anywhere though they may wish they were elsewhere in a month or so. Tift Towers might look real inviting. Did I mention Dave and Co. includes a dog, cat, chickens, and a rat? Betsy said we could have Bob the retired thoroughbred horse to round everything out. For everyone who hasn't seen the house yet, we have all gone stark crazy and have finally redone the living room. The hole James fell through is fixed, we have wood flooring laid down with beautiful clean new baseboards, and the walls have been painted two shades of blue though one shade may change. It is all kind of nautical looking at the moment and that may not go with the game room theme we hope to achieve once the pool table is moved inside the main house.

Tagged

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names....

Joys- Making Jed and Donald laugh.
Watching an old movie on quiet Friday nights.
Giving away roses to brighten someones day.

Fears- Not being a good example
Going blind
Losing a member of my family to bad influences
Goals- Become more independent
Get my mind back
Have everyone settled by school start
Obsessions- M&M's though I have cut back
Roses
Reading recipes off the web
Facts- I love Danielle Steele movies
I have never driven more than four hours
The three guys who have loved me the most are all named Donald

I think everyone has been tagged. if not go ahead and do this, I like reading them.

300 hundred pairs of underwear

Why do they call it a pair of underwear? Donald says it is because it has two places for legs. Anyway, we were cleaning out the barn yet again and I was reminded of one of the really stressful times in my life.
It was hurricane season about three years ago. We had collected clothing and sent it over to the coast. We had sent men and food over to the coast. It all had been really, really stressful. To top it all off, we had asked for donations of pairs of large size underwear. It seems that was a much needed item. One of our sisters in the ward went to the local underwear manufacturer and found out we could get underwear classified as no good for free. There was nothing that would make it unwearable, it just wasn't perfect for some reason. So we went to pick it up. It filled three vans. We first stored it in the hallway of Bishop Burns house. It fit fine, I don't know why he was so anxious to have it moved somewhere else. We were never able to get it to the coast because the week after we picked it up no one was going that way anymore.
We began our quest to dispose of the underwear. I'll bet if you looked you would see the beautiful leopard print and cobalt blue on half the women in Tift County. We thought of sewing quilts with some of it. We were going to get the boys scouts to help move it from the Bishop's house to the barn. We changed plans when we pictured what those boys might do when they discovered what was in the boxes they were carrying. We gave it to relatives, church groups, anyone and everyone and still had underwear in the barn. Boxes and boxes of it. We couldn't burn it because of all the time we had invested and besides it was free! Finally after facing all those boxes every time I opened the barn, I saw an ad in the shopper. Someone wanted clothing. I called and told them what a goldmine I had. I don't know what they did with it, I hope they personally used some judging from the way they looked when they came to pick it up. I was just glad to see that old car drive off with boxes sticking out from the tied down trunk lid. And yes, I did keep one pair of it. I keep it to remind me that sometimes it is good to say no when someone makes what sounds like a great offer.

Big Dog Has Cancer

I am crying as I write this. No matter if she bit you or growled at you she has been a good dog. She has protected those she loves. I am talking about Duchess. She has bone cancer. Amputation isn't really an option because of her size and age. Chemo costs thousands of dollars. She is on medicine that seems to be keeping her comfortable and she still wags her tail so we will leave it at that till something changes. Then she will join the other animals wagging tails as they wait for us. I believe there are animals in heaven.
I had to remember other animals who have meant so much to me. My first memory is of Sammy, the Siamese cat we had in Japan. I have spent all my life trying to find cats to measure up to her even though I have such vague memories. The dog I remember most from my youth was Velvet, Mom's best friend for a number of years. We got her to replace a dog Mom had when Dad was in Vietnam. Isn't it funny how we get animals trying to replace holes left in our hearts.
That is why we got Duchess. For years Dave has tried to replace the first Duchess, a black mutt I don't even remember where we got. She would run away exploring and the only way to get her home was to drive around in the car calling for her. She would come running and jump in the car for the ride home. All the others since have loved riding in cars. First we got Mia, a Keeshund. The milk delivery guy at the minimart where I worked gave her to us. She bonded with me. One of the saddest days of my life was when I took her to the animal shelter and told them I couldn't keep her anymore. She kept me company during the day. She ate at one knee and Matt ate at the other when he learned to stand. She developed hip trouble and started nipping at Matt. We had to get rid of one or the other. I cried and told her how I loved her. I hope maybe she got a good home. (I don't have any proof they put her down, Jennifer)
Then we got Princess, a lab, when we got back from Penn. We got her from Donald's cousin. She drove me crazy rubbing along the wall a leaving a dirt border. She lived a great life in Fla and enjoyed Ga till her time came. Donald and Ryan took her on her last ride. I will always be grateful to Ryan for helping Donald with that.
Then there are the cats. Tia, who came to us through two little girls ringing the doorbell and asking "Can you take my cat? We can't keep her anymore." She was a siamese. I'll never forget the time we were sitting in the living room and she came flying off the roof outside. She was lost for two weeks in Ga at one time. She finally used her last life when she was hit by a car. Jen had to handle that by herself because I was out of town.
Finally, there was Kitty. We got her with the house. She was my companion when I was pregnant with Timothy. Don't you think animals know sometimes when you just need them near? She stayed indoors until we got the dogs and then she decided to live outside. She would visit Granddaddy alot. One day Donald found her laying by the fence in the yard. He said she had no damage so we aren't sure what happened.
There have been others; Bob the cat, the kitten lost on the way to New Jersey, Cotton the dog; I am sure each of you have a list. Each time we say we are not getting another animal. I bet we will, but not to replace the ones we lost. We just need another one to love us without asking for anything in return except a little food and a little pat on the head.

Reunion

The party at our house started Saturday with the arrival of the out of town children. The wii guitar hero was immediately set up and the loud noises started. David and Matthew entertained themselves by planting "Grandaddy" stickers all over town. Sarah and Travis, don't worry, I have you covered and will explain when we see you. We know you had another family to celebrate this weekend. The Saturday night swimming, horseshoe,billiards, cookout party had about sixty-five in attendance. After going to Dairy Queen, my bunch came back to the house. Jen and James went home to sleep but the rest turned on the games again until almost one o'clock. Sunday lunch was fabulous as always. I went off and left the fruit salad I had made just for Paula in the refrigerator. It seems no matter how many dishes I wash before I leave, I always have a sinkfull when I come home. I am blessed with Carol's leftovers; everyone loved the dreamscicle cake, but that means I get to wash out her pans also. The party continued once again with the wii bowling, etc. until Eileen told Dave it was time to go. Eileen and I have yet to figure out how to truly enjoy reunion weekend without having to be the "adult". We did get some great family pics. Jen has posted some. Rumor has it Helen and Ryan are in charge of next years festivities so any suggestions can be sent to them. Lunch at 12:00; all in favor say aye. Sound system for the emcee would be great. Could the weather have been any more perfect!!

When I grow up

I guess everyone has read Aunt Carol's post. Here is my response. I, like Vickie, wanted to be a mommy. I have accomplished that. I wanted to be an entertainer in the USO groups but since I have no talent in that area, I don't think that will happen. I can be very be entertaining while listening to my playlist and dancing around the room when no one is looking. Wait, I guess from the comments and expressions on your faces, I am pretty entertaining when I indulge myself even if someone is watching. My samba roll is getting quite good from watching "Dancing with the Stars". I thought I wanted to give a home to all the unwanted animals. I may still be able to do that one if I get the human animals taken care of. I've realized I can't do both. I always wanted to take horseback riding lessons. For ten years I have lived across the street from a stable. The paper was advertising lessons over there so who knows, this may be the summer I do that. I too wanted to be a teacher until I started substitute teaching and saw all the rules teachers and students have to obey. I guess my years at the Agrirama fulfilled that dream. It sure was fun while it lasted!