6.20.09 Saturday

Brother and Sister-in-law extraordinaire

this is Mr S's sister Lois and her hubby Mark. The host and hostess with the mostest! We had a early FD cook out at their house today. We were invited over along with Charlie and Lillian, Daniel and Katie. We had a plethora of food . i took fresh cucs and onions out of the garden, Apple pie, Heath Bar Cookies and a cheesecake--- all the men there got their favorite dessert. good times

This is the sunset (after we had been to the grocery store) over the lake---beauty

5.15.09 Friday

we leave for the beach in the morning between 7:30 and 8 am YEAH!!!! eight hours of driving and 7 days of fun. We really need a vacation and cant wait to get there. it has been rushed trying to get everything done and ready.

tonight we met Mark and Lois at the Good Ol' Days for dinner and then they came back here for a short visit. About the time we left the house and got in the car we had some of the worst rain ever--including hail. it was raining so hard the rain was jumping back up into the air. it was going pretty high too . the picture isn't very good but it is the water in the pond "jumping" out of the pond

Sunday 3.15.09

We went to meet Katie and Brad (mentioned you again Brad!) at the Red Lobster in Oak Ridge-- along with Lois, Mark and Charlie and Lillian... Let's just say that the food was good---Lillian was not.
The waitress made a mistake and put the appetizer Brad and Katie ordered on Charlie and Lillian's order and she made a big deal out of it. We tried to give Charlie the money for it but she just kept on and on. I just don't understand what the deal is with her. Even Charlie was embarrassed at the way she was behaving.
We did have a good time with Katie and Brad and Mark and Lois though
On the way home i took this picture of what is the disaster site in Roane County--- The TVA Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant

Happy Valentine's Day

today my sweetie, Mr S, bought me a big box of Russell Stover candy...because he knows I really like it. He really is such a good man...I got one of the last good ones. We have been married 28+ years and he is still my best friend. I got to talk to Katie on the phone and got a sweet Valentine from her and from my brother and sister in law. Wish we could have been with them.



Tonight to celebrate the holiday we had a little dinner party. Mr S' sister Lois and her hubby (also Mark) came over and I got to cook for them. One of my favorite things to do since there are only the two of us at home now. Anyway we had salad, lasagna, fresh baked bread, and home made cheesecake---well it was all made from scratch- yummm
I gotta admit I had a great time making everything. I got a lot of antique glass containers and plates and filled them with red, pink and white M&M's and tea lights for the centerpiece. That and the cheesecake surrounded by strawberries in the snow. again yummm

The best thing that happened was when we were sitting around talking and somehow the age of our kids came up.. I said something to the effect of Daniel being 28...Lois said "no he's only 27" anyway the conversation ensued that he was born in 1980 and that was the year we got married and he was 28 because he just had a birthday---well poor Lois couldn't get it right somehow and kept insisting he was 27, and Kara was 25 and Amy 23. Mark M kept saying no--he's 28, Kara is 26 and Amy is 23---- You really had to be here but it was hysterical. She finally called Daniel and by this time we were all laughing at her. She asked Dan how old he was (on speaker phone) he first asked her if she was serious and because I was laughing so much he asked if we were drinking -which was really funny because we don't drink alcohol--and told her he was 28...then he got a little mad because she didn't know how old he was ...

Anyway, we had a good time celebrating the holiday with family and laughing and eating. hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day as well

Mo doggy goes to the vet--and the fence comes down

So... late yesterday afternoon and last night I noticed Mo was not his usual happy-tail doggy self. OK-- the dog is a trash compactor in dog form and I thought he may have over eaten or something. But when it came time to go outside for the last time I noticed he was having trouble going down the steps. We gave him one of Sadiey's Remidyl capsules (he had taken the same dose as she had 9 years ago when he hurt his back) to help with the pain. Like I said -- he had a back injury 9 yrs ago when he was only a year old. We thought at that time that he might not pull through it because it was a severe injury with some nerve damage... but after MONTHS of doggy bed rest, meds and TLC he was OK. Eventually even his doggy rear-foot drop went away and he had no problems.
So this morning when his tail was still not waggy I called the vet and off we went. After exams, xrays and (I'm sure in Mo's mind torture) pinching and prodding the diagnosis is back. He has a back injury again--- not near as bad as last time--but he is nearly 10 years old this time. He is on high dose steroids, back on doggy bed rest and "tincture of time" (what one of the Dr's i used to work for called wait and see) He has to be carried up and down stairs and NO jumping etc.

I usually try to get the pic 'o the day early in case nothing much happens--which is what I did when Mo went to see Dr Bass. Little did I know what the rest of the day would bring.

After we got settled in back at home Mark tackled the back yard earth moving project. (There are still about 5 P/U loads of dirt that need to be moved to complete the water fall area and the building site) Anyway, since it was to be near 70 degrees today seemed like a good day to move some dirt. He is doing this all by hand mind you--- no earth moving equipment other than a pick, shovel and wheelbarrow. Mark got the truck loaded with about 2 tons of dirt and got ready to go down our steeeep driveway to unload. He enlisted my help to move the car which was at the bottom of the driveway "so I don't slide into the car in case I skid down the driveway". Well two tons of dirt dragging a truck down a steep driveway--- driver unable to control the slipping and the bottom of the yard fence is under the truck. He actually got a little stuck and had to really try to run down the fence because he couldn't move any other way. That fence post he put in didn't want to move but there was no other way around it and over the fence he had to go.

But, being the wonder-man he is, now the truck is unloaded, the fence is repaired(so the doggies don't get in the road and get smashed) and he is in the shower. OK so this is not a big disaster because we are planning on replacing this fence soon anyway with a picket fence --just not yet. Again I sing his praise--what a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man

my sweetie

i was thinking about things again today---sometimes a scary thing.my hubby is one of the most considerate men ever---funny things he does that are important to me that no one else would think of as important.

1. he always makes sure i get the "end piece" of the loaf of bread since it is my favorite

2. he takes care of the outside chores and doesn't even ask me if i want to help---because he usually knows i don't


3.he checks on me if i have been 'marinating" in the bath tub too long--he either wants to wake me up or know that i am OK




2. he knows what scares me--and doesn't make fun of my silly fears




3. he loves me just how i am--fat, sad, unhappy and depressed




4. he makes sure that things he knows will bother me--a dead bird in the yard, something being mistreated etc..i will never see

what a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man he is!