Saturday

I worked like a dog today! A sled-pulling, drug-sniffing, seeing-eye, junk yard watch DAWG! I did 5 loads of laundry, changed beds, cleaned bathrooms and changed curtains in 3 rooms and took down the plastic on the patio doors and ironed sheets and pillowcases. But in case anyone is feeling sorry for me, never fear
I rewarded myself with a nice long hot shower and a LARGE PIZZA!!!! Don't anyone tell Bob!
Thought for the day: Dyslexia means never having to say you're ysror.

Friday afternoon

Hi, I've been reading some good books lately, here they are:

"Breaking Rank" A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing

"What Remains" by Carole Radziwill (Cousin-in-law of John Kennedy, Junior)

"Maybe (Maybe Not) by Robert Fulghum

"The Pact" (about 3 young black boys that made a promise to themselves and each other that they would all become doctors and they did!)

"Johnnie Cochran, A lawyer's life"
Maybe we could start a book club, leave a comment about a book that you have read and would like to recommend

Sorry Folks, I had to take a few days off being SICK! I made the mistake of eating at a fast food restaurant that shall remain nameless and it didn't sit well with me. I am all better now and back at my computer, working on pictures a lot and a lot! I took my friend, Pat to the hairdressers yesterday and I got gas at the Giant Eagle "Get Go" I saved 20 cents per gallon but still paid $23 dollars for 8 gallons of gas. Marilyn's house will be on a virtual tour, I will find out the details of when it can be viewed on TV and/or the internet and let everybody know. There will be an Open House May 7th. It's a beautiful day today, Bob exercised for an hour and then walked for an hour. (he is down to 179!) I am down to my last nerve. I am losing so slowly!! I have lost 13 lbs. Well, I don't have any big news so I am going to get back to work, check back tomorrow. BYEEE

Bob still losing!

Well! Bob tipped the scales at 180 this morning! He is getting a washboard stomach, I still look like a wash TUB! He is losing but he is a winner! He didn't walk very far this morning, it's a little damp out! He has the day off so we may do our usual Monday errands. I can't wait to go to the zoo this summer! i want to get a membership so I can take PEOPLE!

My heart is breaking for the Corry woman who has to give up the triplets that she has raised for 2 1/2 years, I feel so sorry for the little boys to leave the only mother they have ever known. So many of these Surrogate stories end up badly.

Friday

Hi Everyone, I took off this morning to go to Edinboro to pick up grandaughter. Sarah, who had a dentist appointment in Erie, then we went to lunch but she had a hard time eating because they put spacers between her teeth and they hurt. Poor widdle kid!
I took her home and then I came home, did a little album work and played on the computer and now I'm waiting for Bob to come home. It's a slow news day, check back tomorrow.
P.S. Sister's house is listed now, anybody need a nice big house??? $134,900 will get you in today!

Does this make sense?

In Ohio, if a girl under the age of 18 is pregnant and wants an abortion without her parent's permission or without them even knowing about it, she can get a"judicial by-pass"
That means she can go before a judge to get the permission BUT the judge must deem her
"mature" before she can get an abortion. So if she is "immature" she has to get an abortion illegally (dangerously) OR have the baby. Whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, does this make sense? First of all, how do you PROVE maturity, by whose standards? AND if a girl is "immature" is that the best candidate to become a young mother? And even if the girl can show abuse by parents, that can't be a factor in the judge's decision. Is this progress in the world-wide problem of teen-age pregnancies?

Thursday already!

I am taking my friend, Pat to get a temporary, she says a permanent, but we know they are not PERMANENT! I have taken her a couple of times before so I know they are only temporary!
Tomorrow I have to take granddaughter, Sarah to get braces, they are also temporary. Almost everything is temporary, the only thing permanent is death. Is the recent gas hike temporary?
It is going to go so high that when it comes down we will be relieved, when it is still higher than it should be. Here goes an old person reminiscing about the times I went to the gas station with a dollar bill and got three gallons of gas AND they pumped it for you AND washed your windows AND asked if you wanted your oil checked. But I wouldn't want to go back to the old days, I would have to give up my Computer and DVD player, cell phone and a gazillion other things too numerous to mention and for heaven's sake MY BLOG!
Bob went to the DR. yesterday, he's down to 185. He exercises and walks every morning and has now got to RUNNING! (especially when a little beagle follows him.)

Imagine my surprise, when I walked in Bob's room and found him on the floor! I asked him if he was dead, he was just doing exercises! He has gone out for a walk, when he gets back we have to go grocery shopping.

My kids tease me about being senile, not seeing well, not hearing, etc. so when I was out with Tina, Sunday, she put a CD in the CD player. I couldn't understand a word the guy was singing, but I thought, "I'll be darned if I am going to say that!" Come to find out later, the guy was singing in ITALIAN!

Slow news day, did laundry.

Little sister gave us her double bed, pillow-top mattress!! Very comfortable! Bob loves it! She got an Antique 3/4 bed, more to her liking. Stop back tomorrow!Should go grocery shopping tomorrow. I am reading a book by a retired cop, ("Breaking Rank") very interesting.

Sunday Morning

These are daughter, Nora's cats (she is a photographer and took this picture)

It is Easter Sunday morning and Bob and Tom have left for work, I have all day ALONE! BY MYSELF!! I am going to run with scissors and make crank phone calls and jump on the furniture!Actually I think I will do laundry and work on Sarah's pictures. Happy Easter to everyone and let's not forget what today means, it's not all about chocolate bunnies, you know!

Saturday

The Easter Bunny showed up a day early and made an appearance at THE STATION DINNER THEATER, Chef Bob had to cook for him and his guests. Afterward, we went and picked up Chef Bob's youngest son, Tom, and then stopped at his Mom and Dad's for a visit and then came home, Tom ate spicy rice and chicken, I had a salad and Bob had a bowl of soup, then we went for a walk. Now Bob is upstairs exercising and Tom and I are watching TV. They are going to work tomorrow, big buffet! I'll be relaxing at home!

My RANT Of The DAY

I have a problem with the Salvation Army Store, just the STORE, not the organization.
First of all, I'd like to meet whoever does the pricing. They have an inflated idea of the
value of USED, DONATED STUFF! I was in the store and came across a little sauce pan
that had a sticker of 99 cents. I proceeded to the checkout with my little find and the man
at the counter said it is 99 cents for the LID! and $4.99 for the PAN! The $4.99 was on a sticker on the BOTTOM! Now if you see an item with a price sticker on it, what would possess you
to pick it up and look for ANOTHER price on the bottom?? Well, your usually quiet little
friend blurted out, "Why on earth, would anyone price a pan and a lid SEPARATELY?"
I was told that sometimes people ONLY want the lid or ONLY the pan, (Yeah, right, someone just happens to have a pan at home with no lid so they run out to shop at the Salvation Army to find that exact right lid for their lidless pan OR someone has a lid and no pan so they also
run to the nearest Salvation Army Thrift Store, if there is any justice in this world, these two people, (the only 2 people on the planet) will run into each other in the parking lot and solve both their problems. So let's pretend someone comes in and DOES buy JUST the lid, doesn't that devalue the pan that is now lidless so how are they going to get $4.99 for a used lidless pan? I was also told, "You can't expect to get a pan for 99 cents" I wanted to say, "Yes, I do expect that, I'm at the SALVATION ARMY THRIFT STORE, for goodness sake!
They price other things that obviously go together, separately, a pair of candle sticks, TWO PRICES! A set of pictures that match, TWO PRICES!
Not too long ago there was an article in the newspaper stating that the Salvation Army paid a lot to have stuff hauled away that couldn't sell, claiming that people DONATED junk and garbage, I am sure this is true but they also contribute to their own problem by putting such high prices on things that a lot won't sell for that reason. If you are patient and don't mind looking through a lot of STUFF, you can occasionally find something good, I go there looking for picture frames, and once in a while I find a good one but when I see a frame with no glass for $3.99 I get a little steamed. They also sell things that still have a "Dollar Store" sticker on it for $1.49. If you can get something NEW for a dollar, why would you pay a dollar and a half for used??? I think people who work at the Salvation Army should take a course in Marketing!

My RANT Of The DAY

I have a problem with the Salvation Army Store, just the STORE, not the organization.
First of all, I'd like to meet whoever does the pricing. They have an inflated idea of the
value of USED, DONATED STUFF! I was in the store and came across a little sauce pan
that had a sticker of 99 cents. I proceeded to the checkout with my little find and the man
at the counter said it is 99 cents for the LID! and $4.99 for the PAN! The $4.99 was on a sticker on the BOTTOM! Now if you see an item with a price sticker on it, what would possess you
to pick it up and look for ANOTHER price on the bottom?? Well, your usually quiet little
friend blurted out, "Why on earth, would anyone price a pan and a lid SEPARATELY?"
I was told that sometimes people ONLY want the lid or ONLY the pan, (Yeah, right, someone just happens to have a pan at home with no lid so they run out to shop at the Salvation Army to find that exact right lid for their lidless pan OR someone has a lid and no pan so they also
run to the nearest Salvation Army Thrift Store, if there is any justice in this world, these two people, (the only 2 people on the planet) will run into each other in the parking lot and solve both their problems. So let's pretend someone comes in and DOES buy JUST the lid, doesn't that devalue the pan that is now lidless so how are they going to get $4.99 for a used lidless pan? I was also told, "You can't expect to get a pan for 99 cents" I wanted to say, "Yes, I do expect that, I'm at the SALVATION ARMY THRIFT STORE, for goodness sake!
They price other things that obviously go together, separately, a pair of candle sticks, TWO PRICES! A set of pictures that match, TWO PRICES!
Not too long ago there was an article in the newspaper stating that the Salvation Army paid a lot to have stuff hauled away that couldn't sell, claiming that people DONATED junk and garbage, I am sure this is true but they also contribute to their own problem by putting such high prices on things that a lot won't sell for that reason. If you are patient and don't mind looking through a lot of STUFF, you can occasionally find something good, I go there looking for picture frames, and once in a while I find a good one but when I see a frame with no glass for $3.99 I get a little steamed. They also sell things that still have a "Dollar Store" sticker on it for $1.49. If you can get something NEW for a dollar, why would you pay a dollar and a half for used??? I think people who work at the Salvation Army should take a course in Marketing!

Thursday

I am going out today to take my friend, Pat to the Beauty Shoppe. After we usually have lunch and then shop. I need to look for drapes for our sliding glass door. In the paper this morning, I read that Wal-Mart wants to build a super-center at Upper Peach and I-90, They are every where!!

Erie already has 3, Edinboro has one and Corry has one, Meadville has one. They need one that could service the Waterford, Wattsburg, Union City Area, those areas could probably use some jobs too. With gas prices, people may not want to travel 20-30 miles to get to a Wal-Mart.

I painted my buffet in the kitchen , it is off white with some gold stenciling, I am going to buy sand paper so I can distress it a little.

Now besides Gasoline AND Natural Gas going up, now the Electric Company announces raises, I don't know how people will get by. They are talking about raising the minimum raise, which people do need but won't that just make everything else go up too? OR job lost because employers won't be able to hire as many people? I don't know the answer. All I know is that we live as cheaply as possible because I am SKEERED of how things are going!!

Once again, I am OUTRAGED!!! Did you hear about the 5-year old that was punished for HUGGING a classmate? And then she had to write a letter of APOLOGY to the other student!!
What are we teaching our children? NOT to be affectionate, loving, friendly???? The school had a "No Touching" policy. Even small children can understand the difference between aggressive touching, slapping, hitting, shoving and good touching, hugging, pats on the back, holding hands. Obviously, they don't know the importance of human touch in a child's development !
Another case of going WAY overboard!!

What do you think about the bank robber that gave a note saying, "give me a thousand dollars or I will kill you, don't do anything stupid" first of all, if you are going to risk capture and imprisonment, wouldn't you ask for more than a thousand dollars? This guy was obviously an underachiever! AND as far as the
"don't do anything stupid" part, what could be more stupid than robbing a bank? The teller should have handed the note back to him and said, "Back Attcha"!
He got caught right away, I'm sure this will be a lesson to future potential bank robbers, NOT!

Beautiful day today! We got up and went and did laundry and went to Wegman's. We came home and Marilyn came for lunch, after she left we went to the library. Bob has lost 16 lbs. and I have lost 9. Here is something I found.........

Always Do More

Do more than exist...Live!

Do more than touch...Feel!

Do more than look...Observe!

Do more than hear...Listen!

Do more than think...Ponder!

Do more than talk...Say Something!

Friday

I'm going to see "Godspell" this evening and planning on going to Nora's tomorrow for Christopher's birthday.
This is the birthday boy with little sister, Scarlett.

For all you "Oldsters" out there, if you talk to yourself be careful that you don't do it out loud AND in PUBLIC! Monday I was in Aldi's parking lot and forgot to take a quarter for the shopping cart, I proceeded to discuss my dilemma with my self, when I noticed a woman loading her trunk, looking at me with alarm. I immediately looked behind me as though I heard something also but there was no one else in the parking lot!

THURSDAY

Nothing much new here, Bob went into work and came home and went for a walk and hasn't come back!! He had therapy yesterday and then went to the Dr. in the afternoon and got a shot in his shoulder. I am planning on going to the Station Dinner Theater tomorrow night to see "Godspell" and Saturday to Nora's for Chris' birthday. Sunday we will take the Ford to be inspected Monday. Bob returned, he walked for 60 minutes. This a slow day news wise. Stop back tomorrow.

Monday Morning

I was reading an article in the paper today about the things little children should know or be able to do before going to kindergarten. number one was social skills and the ability to play well with others, ( I can think of some people who are not eligible yet to be admitted into kindergarten) #2. Color identification (this would disqualify a LOT of men) #3 Ability to dress themselves ( this is a gray area, does it mean merely to get clothed over most of the body OR does it mean to dress well, as no striped shirts with plaid pants or wearing pants that come closer to your knees than to your waist? If so many teen-agers would not eligible for kindergarten registration. #4. Motor skills, such as skipping, jumping and bouncing, HA, show me the kid that would fail this one, according to this my kids were ready for higher education at 18 months. #5. The ability to count to 10, I don't know about the kids, but I bet a lot of MOTHERS learned to count to ten a lot! Not to worry, If your little one falls short (no pun intended) in these categories, They now have PRE-kindergarten.
Not to sound like an OLD PERSON, but when I was six years and 2 months I was thrown into first grade, NO kindergarten and NO pre-kindergarten! No preparation whatsoever!
I just got up one morning, had a stiffly starched dress put on me and my hair pulled into 2 little pigtails so tight they pulled my eyes over to the side of my head and off I went!
The article goes on to say that children enrolled too early could be set up for failure and a child enrolled later could be held back unnecessarily. So it is up to parents to determine if they have a budding Einstein or a little Forrest Gump on their hands. I am SOOO glad I'm an OLD PERSON.

Sunday

Bob worked today, I cleaned out a closet, My friend, Pat and her daughter came over.
Erin called and he was in Erie, so Bob and I met him and we ate at "Old Country Buffet"
I ate Turkey and Salmon.
As you can see, this was a slooow day, check back tomorrow, I just might have something to talk about.

Saturday

Little sister (Marilyn) picked me up after work Friday and I went to her house and stayed over night. We ate at a Chinese restaurant and then went to a coffee shop in Girard.
Saturday morning her realtor came and looked at the house. We have to get ready for an open house in a couple of weeks. We went to a little store that sells bulk foods and a lot of "health" foods, I bought a bag of dried peas coated with horseradish, WHOOO! some soybeans and sesame sticks. We came into Erie and stopped at Giant Eagle and bought my special water and 9 cans of salmon. So now I'm in my nightie, ready to watch TV and/or read a book. See you tomorrow!!
Here is a poem written by Louisa May Alcott when she was only 8 years old, She went on to write "Little Women" and several other books.
To The First Robin
Welcome, Welcome, Little Stranger,
Fear no harm and fear no danger.
We are glad to see you here,
For you sing, "Sweet Spring is Near"
Now the white snow melts away;
Now the flowers blossom gay;
Come dear bird and build your nest,
For we love our robin best.