This is a picture of Peaches (I took it from my desktop) having a grand old time at his camp….when I saw it I had two thoughts: First, that he really does have a GREAT time there and second, that he DOES NOT LISTEN to his mother, who implores him to wear a T-shirt when swimming! The reason for the T-shirt would be evident if this picture were taken from the back, as you would then have a great view of Peaches’ butt. We must always fight the butt crack……

The pictures are here!

Well, here they are! Our portraits are done...aren't they nice? We got the CD from Sears so if anybody wants one, just let me know and I will email it to you and you can print out a nice big poster of us! HAHAHA! They came out pretty good if I do say so myself.

We went to see the Dark Knight last night and wow, what a movie! REALLY enjoyed it, got scared a couple of times, but it really isn't the deep, dark, terror-filled movie it has been built up as...at least for me. Although, I did go home and dream about the joker kidnapping my family all night, but otherwise, not a problem! Heath Ledger is everything to this movie and without him I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much....In my book, he has already wrapped up the Oscar....wow - that's all I can say...you MUST see this movie, if only to see him.

As you may have noticed, I have added Twitter to the blog, which is this really cool thing where I can send updates instantly from text messaging from my phone...I'm having fun with it. You know me, I'm a big techie and love anything new....more later.

Life without Daisy.....

This is a great pic of Daisy that I didn't know existed. Apparently Lulabell had taken a picture of Daisy with her phone a couple of months ago. Isn't it exquisite! I Love it!

We are slowly returning to normal here, although I don't know what normal is because Daisy was such a huge part of our lives for nearly 13 years...I'm not sure how to act without a dog constantly at my feet. In fact, the other day I was fixing dinner and I happened to spill some food on the floor. Well, I just left it there, because I am so used to having an instant vacuum around. I sadly had to remind myself that my dear little vacuum is gone and had to bend over and pick it up myself. I also am having a hard time eating, because I am so used to giving some of my food to my dog that I never used to eat an entire meal. Now, if I don't eat my entire meal, I have to throw it away, and not give it to the dog. Sigh.....

We ended up getting Daisy cremated at this place in Ohio....they only wanted $90 (the other places here in town wanted $250!). So, Stu, Lulabell and I put her in the car (the poor thing had become rather ripe by then) and we drove as fast as we could the 25 miles to the crematorium (all windows down, thank you). The people there were SO nice...really. I had printed out a picture of our family and wrote a lovely little note that were cremated with her and then, later that day, went to pick her up. They handed me this lovely little tin box with her remains (which were were rather more coarse than I had expected, with bone chips and things). We plan to sprinkle her ashes here at home and, I hope, at the lake as well, two places that Daisy loved above all things. She is now sitting here next to my computer....staying close, just like she did in her life.

So, life goes on...Lulabell has been having friends over, but no one is swimming! GAA!! I keep my pool nice and clean but the urge to swim is not there I guess...what's wrong? Not enough time left after playing on the computer, talking to friends on the phone, etc. Speaking of the phone, Lulabell has had hers confiscated...she was a bad little girl after using HALF of our family's 1400 monthly minutes last month....HALF!!!!! Bad girl. Also, while on the computer recently, a pop-up offered her FREE ringtones if she would only type in her cell phone number....well, those FREE ringtones ended up costing $10 a pop! (x2). BAD GIRL!!!! So, she has been warned and has lost her phone for a week...which is really tearing her up. And so it goes.....

I feel kinda let down right now, after the fun and excitement of having my sister in town last week...now it's just boring nothingness and not even something good to look forward to, like Stu has going to SF....well, I take that back, I do have the American Idol concert to look forward to which is cool and they are getting great reviews too. But, something just seems to be missing -- the summer is going WAY too fast....school is starting in five weeks UGH! I do hope to see the Dark Knight soon, and perhaps Mamma Mia, which got rave reviews from my mother. Peaches is in Erie for two days with his summer camp at Splash Lagoon...so at least SOMEBODY is having fun. I don't think I am even going to get a vacation this year as I have been taking days off here and there and don't have enough saved for a real honest-to-goodness vacay now. Okay, now I'm starting to depress myself so I'll just stop....hope YOUR life is more exciting than mine...at least the weather has been pleasant (that's me looking at the glass half-full).

DAISY
1996 - 2008
Daisy had a good, long life and was loved and loved us back. She died relatively peacefully in a place she knew to be home. She was honestly one of the best dogs that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing…and loving. Stu, who was not exactly a dog lover, came to love her very much and was always good to her. Daisy always had the best temperament of any dog I knew, NEVER went out into the street, once stayed in the yard when we unknowingly left her out ALL DAY when we went to Cleveland and never so much as nipped a person in her entire life, although she sure gave the bees a run for their money! She obeyed everybody and her only desire in life was to be wherever I was, be it the bathroom, next to my desk, the bedroom, the kitchen, the basement, anywhere. If I were to run up and down the stairs like a madwoman 20 times, she would be right there at my heels every time, no questions asked. Stu used to comment how much this dog loved me, when she came over to put her head in my lap, waiting for permission to half climb up on me for a hug. She was my love and my faithful companion and my heart feels ripped in two at her loss. I find myself still looking for her before I go down stairs because she would inadvertently trip me sometimes in her haste to follow me. She NEVER had an accident in the house, unless she was sick, and one winter, during a rather severe illness, had to put up with indignity of wearing child’s pull-up pants when she was incontinent. We had a cancer scare with her two years ago after a large mass was removed from her leg, but she pulled through like the trooper she was and God granted us another two wonderful years with her (Thank You). She loved going to Grammy’s house and Grammy’s trailer and seemed to sense where she was going and would get excited about getting there. She never complained when we brought home cats and let the kittens crawl all over her. She even let our cat Tinker use her as some weird sexual toy now and then. Her only bad habit was an occasional cat poop snack, but we cured her of that pretty quickly. Everyone who knew Daisy knew what a good dog she was and will miss her dearly. She can never be replaced…she was a one-of-a-kind dog and her family will never forget her. In time our hearts will heal I suppose but oh, how much it hurts…..Goodbye Daisy – we love you very much. Estuardo, Lorie, Christian and Lauren

OUR TERRIBLE LOSS - DAISY IS GONE

A terrible day for us here.....we lost our dear friend, Daisy yesterday. She passed away peacefully at home. Our hearts are broken....please take a moment to say a prayer that God has taken her under His arm, for He will find no companion more faithful or more loving. I found this poem, that really says it all for us:

Dear Lord, please open your gates and call St. Francis to come escort this beloved companion across the Rainbow Bridge. Assign her to a place of honor, for she has been a faithful servant and has always done her best to please me. Bless the hands that send her to you, for they are doing so in love and compassion, freeing her from pain and suffering. Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss. Help me remember the details of her life with the love she has shown me. Grant me the courage to honor her by sharing those memories with others. Let her remember me as well and let her know that I will always love her. And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise, please allow her to accompany those who will bring me home. Thank you, Lord,for the gift of her companionship and for the time we've had together. And thank you, Lord, for granting me the strengthto give her to you now. Amen.- © Brandy Duckworth, 1998

The last day together....back to my boring life - ugh

The first pic is a beefcake of Peaches, cooling himself in the cave and the second pick is a really creepy tree on the side of the mountain...weird, huh?

Our last day together started hot and stayed hot – weather-wise I mean. I was up early typing and trying to stay cool in my air-conditioned bedroom. Stu was fretting because he was supposed to go to work at 2 PM and would miss our trek to Nelson’s Ledges. He was trying to get in touch with a co-worker to see if she might switch with him but so far had not heard from her. We were planning on heading to Sears for our portraits at 12 noon and it was a real challenge trying to maintain my hairdo in the wilting heat. We were dressing in blue and my sister and her family were supposed to be in reds with Grammy in a salmon color. We finally headed to Sears and actually beat Grammy there, which NEVER happens. Grammy is unfailingly prompt. Stu got the good news that his coworker would switch days with him and so he was in a FABULOUS mood. Last minute touch-ups to hair and makeup and finally, we were ushered into the sweltering little photo studio. We inquired about the lack of air-conditioning and were informed that today (of all days), one of the hottest of the year, Sears had no air conditioning…..UGH! So, 10 people crammed into the little studio (including the photographer) as we posed and smiled, smiled and posed. I was sure I was going to get the giggles, as I do every time we get this done. Last time we did this, Grammy set me off by announcing that the last picture made her look pregnant. For some reason, this hit a nerve with me and I lost it. I had to struggle through the rest of the picture-taking to keep a somewhat straight face. This year, as my sister and her family were getting their photos taken, the photographer had them casually posed on the floor, but my sister couldn’t get her legs situated. Finally, she sat spread-eagled in defeat as the "magic" just wasn’t there. Well, seeing her sitting there with her legs spread, fighting the sweat and struggling with her youngest who was determined to goof around, set my laughter off and I had to leave the room. I finally got a hold of myself and we were able to finish the photos, which did come out very nice, by the way. We hung around for another half hour or so picking our "package" and whatnot and then we decided to head back to Grammy’s to change for our next adventure, hiking at Nelson’s Ledges in Ohio, a really cool glacier place with lots of rocks and caves and such. My family went there when I was a young girl of about Lulabell’s age and I remember TONS of people wandering around, with concession stands and whatnot. We decided to take 2 cars to make things easier and stopped for lunch first at Arthur Treachers, a local fish place that L and J don’t get to have in Florida. Then, stuffed with chicken and fish we headed west.

Grammy seemed to know where she was going so I didn’t fret, but soon, with detours and road work, we kind of lost our way. We stopped to ask for directions and finally were on the right road. A sign announced we were at the right place, but it didn’t look one bit like the park I remembered from my youth. There was just a parking lot and a sign pointing to hiking trails. Our 2 families got out, but Grammy elected to sit in the car, which I thought was kind of odd. So, we walked across the street to the "ledges" and began climbing and hiking. I soon figured out why Grammy wanted to sit in the car. We took the "easy" trail and soon came upon some likely looking rock formations and caves. We kept walking and eventually came to a dead end at a stream with a little waterfall. We tried to take an unmarked trail, but the bugs, mud and heat forced us back to the main trail. I was sorely disappointed and decided I didn’t want to go any further. Peaches, sweating and slipping in the mud, agreed and he and I decided to hang back and wait for the others to investigate the "moderate" trail. As Peaches and I waited, we discovered a small cave. The entrance to this cave was about 20 degrees cooler than the outside air and he and I gratefully stood in the entrance and delighted in the cool breeze blowing over our sticky bodies. He and I headed back to the start of the trail to wait for the others. We were in view of the parking lot and I could see Grammy sitting in her van, waiting. Peaches announced he had to pee and he wandered off to find a tree. After a moment I heard Grammy beeping her horn and looked to see her waving her arms, but I couldn’t figure out what she wanted. Finally, our family returned with tales of much better rock formations and even a fairly big waterfall on the moderate trail. I was not inspired to check it out. We headed down the hill to Grammy and the cars. Grammy told me that she had been watching our progress and then had the uncomfortable pleasure of watching Peaches take a leak, which he apparently did in full view of the road and Grammy (hence the honking and waving). Also, he had started to walk straight down the hill from his "urination station" and she was trying to warn him not to do so as there was a large ravine right in front of him. Sigh…… We piled back into the cars and headed for home. Everyone was invited to my house for swimming and dinner. We were just planning on ordering pizza. We had a very lovely evening watching the kids play and eating. We had stopped to pick up our friends D&C on the way home because they had wanted to see L and J and the boys too. My sister had discovered my Ipod and all my songs and she confessed that she had NO MUSIC on her Ipod because she could never remember what songs she likes. So, she spent the time listening to my IPOD and writing down songs. Then, I went ahead and burned CDs with the music she wanted from my computer. This made her VERY happy and now she can actually use her Ipod. We then spent the evening talking and laughing and telling stories and pretty soon our time was up. I had to go to work that evening (damn) and needed to start getting ready. As we said goodbye, I surprised myself and didn’t cry, although Lulabell was almost inconsolable at the departure of our beloved ones. So, another great visit with my sister and her family. Like Lulabell says, "why can’t we live in Florida with them, instead of here in this stupid house?" Hmmmm, I don’t know, but I sure do hope it won’t be another 2 years before we see each other again……Now it’s back to our blah, ho-hum, everyday life….yech.

Hi-Ho - Canton fun!

Some pics for your enjoyment....the top one is my nephew, C - the second pic is my BIL and Peaches at the fair, then my BIL and C at the arcade, then Edie and the grandkids in her apartment, then Edie, my sis and Lulabell on the veranda. Nice, huh?

Tuesday morning’s sun blinded me as I lay in my bed. I knew by the brightness of the blue sky that it was going to be a hot one, which is par for the course on a trip to Canton in mid-July. Unfortunately, my alarm didn’t go off and I didn’t get to do the typing I was hoping to get done before our full day today. Lulabell was most helpful though as she came in to wake us up. I quickly checked the dog and prodded her with my foot to make sure she was still alive, which she was. We dressed and prepared for our trip to Canton and loaded into the car to pick up the rest of the family. We hit the bank and the coffee shop and headed for Grammy’s. When I spoke with my nephew J that morning, he told me that he was worried because he couldn’t find Grammy anywhere in the house and that her bed was made and he was a little freaked out. I quickly assured him that all was well as Grammy was working at her job. Well, this was quite a concept for him as he had no idea that Grammy had a job. I explained she volunteered at the local athletic club and this seemed to mollify him. I told him to make sure his parents were up and he said he would. Our seating arrangements in the van were worked out and Lulabell made herself comfortable in the cargo area with pillows and our Ipod (the big one with movies on it). Off we went, hopefully to have a good visit with our grandmother, who was already pissed because we didn’t show up last week……(please see yesterday’s post for more info).
We made good time to Canton, although we were about an hour late of our promised arrival time (about 1:30). We had to stop twice to let J out of the car because of his car-sickness situation. We were planning on taking Edie out to lunch as she wanted to hit Heggy’s, her favorite restaurant of all time. I personally felt that we were wasting our time, that she would renege on her desire to go out to eat with us, but my sister was still hopeful (so naïve). We walked into the well-appointed lobby of the retirement home and there were oohs and aahs from my sister and her family, as they had never been there and it really is very plush and luxurious. We parked the kids and hubbies in the lobby and L and I headed to Edie’s apartment. We knocked for several minutes but there was no answer. Perplexed, we headed back to the lobby and inquired at the front desk whether they knew where Edie might be (they did not). We checked all the little activity rooms and the dining room but no Edie. Getting a little worried now, we took the receptionist’s advice to check outside near her apartment as she may have been taking the dog for a walk. We all trooped back to her apartment and out the back door, but still, no Edie. I headed back in and decided to try her neighbor’s apartment as they were quite close friends and she may know what happened to Edie. As I got close to the neighbor’s door I heard Edie’s dog barking from inside. I excitedly signaled to my BIL to tell my sister that I HAD FOUND OUR GRANDMOTHER! She was hiding out in her friend’s apartment! L and I knocked on the door and sure enough, out popped Edie, looking a little haphazard and stressed (we found you!). L and I leaned in for a hello hug but none was forthcoming. Instead, Edie warned everybody quite gruffly "don’t touch the dog’s head". Hmmmmm, okay. Apparently the dog had been to the groomers and had her topknot tied just so (she is a Yorkshire terrier). Well, nobody was even REACHING for the dog, but okay. Edie pushed her way through the crowd, pausing only momentarily to great us perfunctorily and headed to her own apartment across the hall. We were all exclaiming how good it was to see her and by the time she opened her door, she had warmed up and we began hugging hello. She graciously offered us seats and we sat. Conversation was a little stilted as hearing is a real problem for Edie. My poor BIL tried to talk to her several times but she completely ignored his relatively loud, baritone voice. Stu offered the opinion that perhaps she could only hear the higher frequencies of my sister and I. This seemed quite plausible as she did not have too much trouble hearing L or I. The kids made themselves comfortable and L asked about lunch. "Oh no….I never eat lunch….no, never, ever". This was a bit of a surprise as she had wanted to go out to lunch with us when we spoke by phone. Okayyyyyy….no lunch. It was approximatedly 2:30 by the time we headed outside for a sloooooooowwwwww walk around the grounds with Edie exclaiming every once in awhile about how well-kept the building and grass were. We came to a dead end and turned back. The slow, hot walk continued with the kids fanned out ahead and behind us. I was in charge of the dog, who really only wanted to walk near Edie and was determined to basically weave in and out of Edie’s legs as she walked, which to me was an obvious hazard. I kept yanking the darn thing back, but it was no use. We finally headed inside for a tour of the lobby and amenities. We headed to a sit down area where there was coffee and OMG – DONUTS! By this time it was about 3:00, most of us had not had breakfast, let alone lunch yet and the kids fell on the donuts like ravenous dogs. When the dust cleared there was only white powdered sugar on the plate with a few crumbs. Even the adults, for whom powdered sugar donuts are usually taboo, made quick work of them. Smacking our lips, we talked to Edie about this and that and made googly eyes at each other to signal that we needed to move things along. The kids were being great actually and were momentarily sated by the donuts. We decided to head out to the front veranda to sit and talk some more. It was really a lovely day and rather pleasant sitting out there. We took some photos and Edie inexplicably asked me to take a photo of the couple sitting in front of us. I asked if she knew them and she said "no", but she definitely wanted me to take their picture so I could send it to them. ?????? Alrighty then….. I introduced myself to the couple (Ray and Isabella from Massillon) and asked if I could take their picture so that I could send it to them later…..they were confused about this concept but readily agreed to the photo op. I took their picture and Ray was VERY talkative and told me his whole life story in about 5 minutes. He was really very nice and I enjoyed talking to him. Edie was VERY pleased that we got the picture. A pink, kinda familiar-looking truck pulled up to the front of the place and we saw, to our delight, that it was an ice cream truck. ICE CREAM!!!! What a fabulous idea. The kids instantly started begging for money for ice cream and we, of course, complied because they were being such angels, really, sitting there, doing nothing at all. So, we got Edie some ice cream and she felt that her good friend Evelyn ought to have an ice cream too. So, L bought her an ice cream and then went to get Evelyn to join us for ice cream on the veranda. She did and was delighted with the ice cream and the company. By this time it was 4:30 or so and now we were REALLY trying to signal to each other that it was time to go. So, bidding Edie and Evelyn warm goodbyes, we made our way to the van. All in all, it was a rather pleasant visit and Edie told me we should come again soon and not to wait for Christmas. Ummm, okay! We had hoped to visit our aunt in town, whom we have not seen in several years and we called to ask her what her food situation was. We arrived to find chips and pretzels and pop waiting for us and it was like manna from heaven. We completed decimated this women’s snack supply and then the kids went to watch TV while we chatted in the kitchen. Again, a VERY nice visit with our aunt and it seemed that the day was turning out rather successfully. It was about 6:30 by then and even though we were starving having provided our children with only donuts, ice cream and chips, we felt we should just wait until we got home so we could eat dinner with Grammy, who was waiting on us. We finally hit our home town about 7:30 and headed to a neighborhood Italian restaurant where he had quite a delicious dinner. I was so ravenous myself that I ate my entire dinner (usually I can only eat half because the portion is so big). Everyone ate with gusto as we were finally sated. Grammy made the announcement that she had made an appointment for us to get our family portraits done at Sears the next day….which sounded fine to us. So, with full tummies and the warm glow of a successful family visit, we said our goodbyes in the parking lot and headed to our respective homes, only to reconvene on Wednesday for a day that promised to be another exciting one. More tomorrow!

Day Two - fishing, sick dogs, sick kids and kickball!

Our second day together dawned bright and beautiful and we were eager to get moving. We all enjoyed a rather restful night it seemed and we decimated Grammy’s supply of Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches which were surprisingly tasty! Promises of fishing prompted me to get out the fishing poles and check our gear. Only my sis and I and Lulabell and C really wanted to go so we grabbed the poles and fake worms and headed over to the best fishing hole. It was already starting to get hot as we tossed out the lines. I really wasn’t too hopeful but we persevered and it was relaxing and enjoyable just throwing out the lines and reeling them back in. My BIL and nephew J wandered over to check our progress and we explained that the fish weren’t really biting today. My sis and I were just about ready to pack it in so without too much protest from the kids we decided to head back to the trailer and get ready for our next adventure.

We were heading home that day with a detour to a tourist attraction in nearby Linesville, where the “fish are so plentiful, the ducks walk on top of them”. We had been there many times, but still, it is such a striking site, that we were always willing to go back. We needed to buy bread first to feed the fish so we stopped at a local discount store and loaded up on $1 loaves of bread. The vans were packed, my sis and I and the kids and Daisy in our van, Grammy leading the way in her van with the daddies. It took about 40 minutes or so winding our way through country towns to get there. At one point, Daisy, who had been lying between two kids on the back seat, made her way to stand between my sis and I in the front. She sometimes does this, trying to get into the front seat, but as L was already sitting there, I tried to get her to go back and lay down. However, she kept pushing her way forward and then started to pant very loudly. I was mildly alarmed at this and then all of a sudden Daisy kind of stiffened up, with her front legs out in front of her, then she kind of fell backwards and my first thought was, “she just died!” My sis was alarmed as well and turned in her seat to find out what was going on. She too thought something horrible had just happened and I determined I needed to stop the car to help my dog. I beeped the horn frantically to alert Grammy that we were stopping and pulled over. The van’s doors flew open as we all jumped out to see to Daisy. Unknown to me, my BIL, thinking that his car-sick-prone son had just puked up his breakfast, hurried over to us to assist. I slid open the back door where my dog was lying prone on top of my daughter’s legs. She was upset and couldn’t get out of the van fast enough. My dog was just lying there and I grabbed her and carried her out of the van to the grass. I laid her on the grass and she was starting to come around, looking a little dazed, but definitely alive. I was nearly in tears as I stood over her and petted her, willing her back to health. We all stood around the dog, trying to figure out what just happened. I offered her water but she didn’t want to drink. I made her stand and although wobbly, she was able to walk a bit. We determined she would live and felt it was safe to continue on. On to Linesville we went. When we arrived, it was so hot that I left Daisy in the van with the car and air conditioning on and we proceeded with our visit. The fish (carp) were just as disgusting as we remembered and we had a grand time throwing bread to the fish where they used their huge mouths to suck the bread down with icky, disgusting sucking sounds. The fish are so plentiful that they just lay on top of the water waiting for bread to eat. It really is a site to see if you are ever in Western PA. We took pictures and then headed back to the vans. I really wasn’t sure if I would find a dead dog in my car, but thankfully, she was alive and kicking and I offered her more water. We packed it in and headed back to town, thinking we would stop at our local sub shop for sandwiches we could take home to eat. As soon as we pulled in, my nephew J (the one prone to car-sickness) announced he was not feeling well and jumped out just in time to vomit all over the entrance to the sub shop. My BIL and sister had tried to obtain a plastic bag for him to vomit into but alas, were not quick enough. I ran across the street to get chips for us and then ran back to make our sandwich order. The others had gone back to Grammy’s house already and we brought the sandwiches home. My sis had decided that soup was in order for J and she made a beeline for Denny’s where they apparently have some delicious soup (I had no idea). J, feeling much better by then, gobbled up his soup and was ready for some kickball. Stu and I headed home to change clothes and tend to our cats. We watched some TV and relaxed and then got the grass cut and trimmed. We bathed and then headed back over to Grammy’s house for a corn roast and barbecue chicken dinner. Dinner was delish and the kids were bugging us to play kickball, so off we went to the local baseball field for a quick game. It was adults vs. the kids (4 on 4) and we began. It was beautiful and hot and sweaty and hot and fun and hot. The kids gave us a real run for our money and the score quickly built up. We played and laughed and fell and rolled and yelled and tried to kill each other with the ball. The adults, looking decidedly worse for wear than the kids, with sweat pouring off of us, yelled for the last inning and the kids rallied and beat us! We began the walk home and promises of ice cream were made. Grammy was cool and comfortable waiting for us at home and we headed out to walk the block or so to Dairy Queen. The night was gorgeous and the ice cream just what we needed to cool our steamy heads. We walked home talking and laughing in the twilight and feeling happy and content just to be together. My sis decided to call my grandmother to remind her once again that we were planning to visit the next day. Unfortunately, my confused grandmother accused her of not showing up LAST Monday and stated she had waited all day for us and why didn’t we show up? My sis sputtered and heatedly told her they weren’t even IN TOWN last week and that our visit was scheduled for tomorrow. My grandmother went on and on and I could see L getting more upset. Finally, L convinced Edie that we would be showing up TOMORROW and hung up. L was very upset and I was nodding knowingly at her, because now she KNEW exactly how I felt when dealing with our grandmother. I was even silently wishing that the visit would be cancelled, but I knew in my heart that my sister was determined to see our grandmother and the visit would go on, as scheduled. The dilemma was how we would all fit in one van. Grammy was definitely NOT going but still, we had eight people to fit. The idea of two cars was thrown out as ridiculous with the cost of gas these days. So, we decided we could definitely fit in one van with some concessions by Lulabell, who would sit on pillows in the cargo area at the far back of the van. I know it isn’t strictly legal but she insisted she would be comfortable and we really had no choice. So, more tomorrow on our visit to Canton, which you know is ALWAYS good for a few laughs….

And let the fun begin.....!

As promised, my sister and her family arrived safe and sound to Ashtabula on Sunday afternoon. My family and I spent a rushed morning cleaning and me typing. The day dawned dark and gray and wet, which dashed any hopes I had of Stu getting the grass cut before we left. We were finally ready to head off to the marina and looked forward to seeing our cousins. The sky lightened considerably the farther north we traveled and our excitement grew. The kids had butterflys in their stomachs and Stu and I were equally excited about seeing them. We finally pulled into the marina and lo and behold, there they were! Hugs and kisses all around, along with exclamations of mutual admiration on our continued good looks. Grammy was beaming and happy to have all of her family there. Several friends stopped by to say hello and we discussed our evening plans. We headed over to Geneva-on-the-Lake where we planned to eat at the famous Eddie's Diner. Unbelievably, Grammy decided to try to park right in Eddie's parking lot which is sheer madness, let me tell you. I was grumbling a bit because I knew that she had a better than even chance of getting a space with her handicapped placard but wouldn't you know it, as soon as we entered the lot, TWO spots opened right up! Amazing! We fought our way through the bikers and the rest of the crowd and began to spy out empty booths where we could sit. THERE'S ONE RIGHT THERE! Yelled Stu, and I pushed him towards the empty booth. THERE'S ANOTHER ONE! Yelled Peaches and I shoved him into that one. GRAMMY! She found a third booth....wow, we were really on a roll. My sis and I decided we had better get in the line to order food, but with everyone spaced out like crazy it was a little hard to organize food orders. We made a snap ordering decision on the spot, cheeseburgers, fries and a drink for everyone - THAT'S IT!!! Oh, and a wee little cup of coleslaw for Grammy. I realized that I had no money on me and pantomimed frantically at my husband that I needed his wallet.....Peaches races over with Stu's credit card, but alas, they only take cash. I had to scramble for the cash while being buffeted by all the crazy people trying to place their orders. I finally ordered and it seemed that everything I asked for, the order lady said no to. For example, I ordered 3 plain burgers, 1 with everything. NOPE - they are all plain, you put your stuff on after. Okay....four small fries....NOPE, there is only one size.....and so on. I got my number and quickly spied a larger booth opening up and made a beeline for it, plopping myself down in it before anyone else could take it. We waited for our numbers to be called and finally got to eat. It was a rather crazy, stressful atmosphere as people were hovering all around us trying to gauge whether we were almost done eating so they could take our spot. We finished and scooted out and decided to take a walk up the street to see the sights. Grammy opted to wait for us on a bench to people watch. We quickly found an arcade and spent $20 in about a fraction of a second, although I did beat my sister's ass in air hockey. On up the street we went looking for more fun things to do. A terrible sound assaulted our ears as we round a corner. There was an outdoor karioke thing going on and we stopped to figure out what exactly was the problem as the music was definitely stomach-turning. Ohhhh, it was kid's karioke night and they were singing that song from Annie "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow"....OMG....these kids were the most awful, tone-deaf, screechiest singers and Lulabell was outraged as she KNEW she could do a better job. We almost convinced her to give it a try but she chickened out. We finally made our way back to Grammy, who had made friends with some bikers, and then we headed to a church fair we heard about back in Ashtabula. The word was, there were going to be FIREWORKS! Yippee! We got to the general area of the church but hit a massive traffic jam...we desperately looked for parking (we had two cars) and I was seriously ready to give up but again, miraculously Grammy found a spot, then we found one just up the street. We met up at the entrance and walked inside. The music assaulted us but my BIL (brother-in-law) was happy because it was Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra or somebody like that and there was also a live band playing 50's music. He was psyched! We walked around and it was a pretty big fair...lots of food and games and big rides. We allowed the kids on a couple of rides and Grammy got herself some fried dough which we all helped her to devour. My nephews were having a blast on the big slide while my sister tried to take their picture at the exact moment they came down....which din't work out as well as she hoped as all she kept getting was the tops of their heads. We walked around trying to figure out how we could spend some more money on crap. AHA! A dart game....let's play. Clutching our dollars we made our way up to the front of the line, only to find out it was $5 for three darts!!!!! OUTRAGE!!!! That's just crazy....we quickly herded the disappointed kids away from the dart game and decided to make our way back towards the exit. We had heard a rumor that the fireworks weren't going to start until 11 PM!!!! NO WAY! We were beat. We therefore decided to head home when somebody suggested ice cream! YAY! Grammy led us in our convoy to the local ice cream place but....it was closed.....Man! Frantic phone calls between the two cars ensued and Grammy promised she would make S'mores if we would go home - OKAY! So, we headed back to the trailer and devoured our S'mores. It was close to 11 PM by then and we decided to bed down for the evening. This involved some maneuvering as we had to figure out how to sleep 9 people in the trailer. Several of Grammy's friends came by with very kind offers to let some of us sleep in their trailers, but we decided we wanted to stay together... So, it was: Grammy and Lulabell in her bed, my BIL and J in the sofa convertible bed, my sis and C in the dining room convertible bed, Stu and I in the full bed in the back and Peaches on the bottom bunk bed....there! We did it! Actually, it was the best I have slept in the trailer in a long time and I woke up refreshed the next morning. Well....our first day together was full of laughter and fun, just like I knew it would be. Stay tuned for news of our second day....and it was just a fun....

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

This video just makes me happy....I don't really know why, but you gotta watch it. I think it has something to do with the fact that no matter where you go on this earth, there are happy, goofy people, just like you and me....

Happy 4th! Fishing gone wrong....

This is Lulabell zooming by on one of her ATV rides...the other two pics are the fireworks these people had....insane! This was only part of them too!

Hope everyone had a superb 4th of July holiday! My dog generally HATES this holiday but this year, thankfully, due to her advancing age and deafness, did not seem bothered at all. Usually she spends about a week doing nothing but laying at my feet and shaking. This year, nothing….thank God for small favors I guess, huh?

Friday we headed to the lake, our first visit this year. It was absolutely gorgeous up there weather-wise. The kids immediately headed off to the pool (by themselves!) while grammy, Stu and I hung out and chatted with friends. It is very crowded at the marina where every space now is filled with trailers and even some tents. Also, there was tons of traffic on our little road, filled with cars and golf carts. It seems EVERYONE has a golf cart now (‘cept grammy) and they are constantly zooming everywhere. After dinner we went visiting and had a lot of laughs. Grammy now has satellite TV at her trailer (it’s about time!) and we enjoyed watching her Cinemax up there and eating popcorn. A friend stopped over and he invited us to go fishing with him the next morning. Stu, Lulabell and I were excited at the prospect of going fishing on a boat, instead of just fishing from the docks. Peaches didn’t want to go, so we just hung out with Mike and talked about fishing the next day. It dawned on me finally, by the way Mike was slurring his words, that he had been drinking a little, but that’s not unusual so I never gave it another thought. We agreed to meet at his trailer at 8 the next morning. When we got up the next morning, I prepared our breakfast and we got dressed to go. By this time, Peaches had caught on to the idea that we were going on a BOAT and wanted to come along. I offered to give up my spot for him, which actually was fine as we then didn’t have to buy two fishing licenses, only 1 for Stu. At 8 AM Stu and the kids headed to Mike’s trailer but alas, there was no answer. They came back and then decided to walk over to his boat across the marina. They arrived home to report that Mike’s boat was there, but there was no sign of Mike. We headed back to his trailer where again, there was no answer. We were quite perplexed…..We tried calling him on his cell phone but no answer. Finally, by 10, we figured fishing was definitely off…and we were pretty bummed. Stu, Lulabell and I headed out to our favorite beach to walk around and Peaches decided to stay and swim. We returned for lunch and still, no sign of Mike and no sign of life at Mike’s trailer. We had to leave after lunch to go home, as we had a party to attend that evening.

We got to our friend’s house about 6 PM for the party. They live on a farm out in the middle of nowhere, about 20 minutes from our place. They have cows and chickens and dogs and live on a beautiful piece of land with woods all around. We got some food to eat and settled in. They had some ATVs which the kids got to ride (Stu and I opted out as we didn’t want to have to ride with someone and we didn’t want to admit we had no idea how to operate one). We decided to walk up to the cornfield where they were getting their fireworks display ready. Our eyes popped out of heads at the site of all the fireworks. I mean, these people take their fireworks seriously! There was about $5000 worth of fireworks out in that field…..it was insane! Finally, at about 9:30 the show started, and didn’t stop until 11:00! MY GOD! It was like being a big fireworks show. All of the party guests lugged their chairs out to the middle of the cornfield with our food and drinks and settled in to watch the show. It was spectacular, but about an hour too long. By 10:30 or so the kids were a little bored and decided to finish watching the show in the car. I too, was a little bored but I didn’t want to appear ungrateful as the owner of the house was sitting right next to us. So, fighting the evening chill, we watched the whole thing. At one point I had to make my way to the bathroom, in the pitch black cornfield and on the way back to my seat, I managed to step into some sort of rut and pitched head first into the dirt. I went down pretty hard, hard enough to lose my breath. Lulabell was just ahead of me and I called to her to come help me. I struggled to get up, mentally checking myself for injures. I scraped my knees and hands pretty good but nothing serious. I felt like ass though….of course Lulabell went right to Stu to report my fall, and he was worried and thought I had really hurt myself. Nope…I was fine, but hoping the show would end soon. Finally after 11 or so, it ended and we headed home. A very nice day overall.

I have a couple of skin things on my arm and legs that I wanted to get checked out so I headed to the local surgeon’s office today and he was so funny. He looked at my arm and leg and then said “I have a confession to make…..I have no idea what those are”……silence…… He called in his nurse and she looked and said she too had no idea what they are. They both called in a third nurse who used to work for the local dermatologist and she was quite perplexed as well. Hmmmmm…..Okay then……So, the gist is, he wants me to see the dermatologist, who will probably do a biopsy on the lesions….he doesn’t think I should worry though. I’m trying not to, but I just wanted him to take them off, you know? Now I have to wait a month to see the dermatologist. Oh brother….being fair-skinned I try to keep an eye on things and these two lesions are bothering me. I’ll keep you posted….

Fish Fry....Happy B-Day to my dad....poor doggy

Picture of Lulabell and her fishing party...way to go! I also added this picture of my cat, Belle, because I think it is a great picture. Can you believe I took it with my cell phone? Obviously, I took it over this winter, but I don't think I posted it yet...cool huh?

On the eve of our country’s birth, 65 years ago today my father was born. Happy Birthday to Bill in Florida – you made it! Wish I could be there with you dad….have a good one!

Ahhh - been a little busy these last two weeks. Let me try to get you up to date. A week or so ago Peaches had his 11th grade physical and I pointed out to the doc that we feel his leg lengths are irregular. He has always had a peculiar gait but over the last six months it has gotten worse. I think, now that I give it some thought, that it is because he has been in a growth spurt recently and the discrepancy has been accentuated. When the doc measured his legs there was no discernable difference, but when he measured his height, when he stood on his right leg he was 5’4” and when he stood on his left leg, he measured 5’3”. Quite a difference…..so, off we go to ANOTHER specialist, this time a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, as the doc feels there may be a hip problem or something else going on….Never a dull moment around here, you know? Another obscure medical problem. I’m going to list our health issues, just to get them out there for you:

FEVR (familial exudative vitreoretinopathy) – Stu, Peaches and Lulabell
Wedge vertebra - Lulabell – ( a type of congenital scoliosis)
Strabismus – Lulabell (lazy eye)
Punctured ear drum with repair – Lulabell
Vesicouretero reflux – (ureters cause urine to back up into kidneys) with repair – Lulabell
Diabetes type 1 (me)
Weird skin things (me) – seeing surgeon next week
Developmental disorder (form of autism) – Peaches

I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but I think we have had our fill of health issues now…please make them stop. So, we will just see the specialist and find out what, if anything, can be done to help Peaches with his legs…he is not in any pain though, so that’s good. Otherwise, he is healthy enough to attend 11th grade in the fall. His summer camp is starting next week and will go through the end of the month culminating in a two day trip to the waterpark in Erie – great fun! Lulabell doesn’t have anything scheduled as far as camp goes. Grammy took her for a 4 day visit to Lake Erie last week and she got to go on a fishing trip and caught 3 walleye, 2 perch and 1 white-tipped bass. She had a lot of fun and made a new friend, Michael, who unfortunately lives in Arizona. They exchanged Emails though.
We are definitely looking forward to a visit from my sister and her family in about a week. Haven’t seen them for a couple of years and we ALWAYS enjoy seeing them – lots of laughs, you know? Can’t wait….

Stu was a good boy for me yesterday…he took care of a lot of things around the house that I have been bugging him about – like fixing my gutter, YAY! He also put the blinds on our back patio so the western sun doesn’t blind us when we are eating out there. I stupidly had left them up over the winter and they were SO trashed…learned that lesson the hard way I guess.

We are heading up to the lake for the holiday and then back to town for a friend’s big 4th of July spectacular party with fireworks and everything on Saturday night. Right now, as I sit here, I can hear the city’s fireworks going off…big booms. My poor dog is quivering beside me just now…she HATES the 4th of July….poor baby. She has been acting strangely recently. She is almost 13 now, so I know we can expect some things but yesterday was really weird. She came down stairs and lay at my feet but then when she got up, she started staggering around. It is a strange thing to see a previously healthy dog to suddenly be staggering around, as if she were drunk. She kind of collapsed and when I called her to come, she just didn’t. She just kind of hung her head and looked around with a dazed look. I went over to her and picked her up, something I NEVER do (she goes about 55 pounds), and she was just kind of limp. I set her on her feet and she held her weight, but refused to move. Really scared now, I encouraged her to move and after she got her bearings, she did walk and seemed almost back to normal. I was freaking out a little. I kept her close to me and all seemed well until a little later when it happened again. She got up, tried to walk but couldn’t. It was like her back legs weren’t working properly. She finally just toppled over and panted. Then, after awhile, she got up like nothing had happened. It hasn’t occurred again, but she seems a little lethargic and slow now. She has been stumbling up the stairs for a month or so. I am worried that perhaps the cancer she had two summers ago has somehow returned or metastasized to her brain or something. It could be seizures too or perhaps a stroke or something. I hesitate to take her to the vet because I don’t feels he is in pain and I KNOW we couldn’t afford all those tests that they would do there. Besides, it’s not like they will do an MRI or anything…their guess may be just as good as mine. So, we will keep a close eye on her and I will start giving her a baby aspirin daily. I was absolutely in tears yesterday, thinking that it was time to put her to sleep….I couldn’t bear it.

The big news here also is that Stu is going to San Francisco in August for a cousin’s wedding. No, I’M NOT GOING (I’m upset) but we couldn’t afford it. He will be able to stay with relatives/friends and will get around on BART and such. Today we ordered the wedding gift from Macy’s….it was a little disheartening because all their registry stuff was top of the line stuff – like a $12 whisk and a $22 cookie sheet! We finally settled on some glassware ($35) and then, it was the easiest thing, they will wrap the gift and send it to his cousin! Now, we don’t have to worry about him carrying a gift or finding something out there when he gets there. I wish I could go….I have been dreaming of seeing SF again…it’s just in my blood I guess….I am waiting for the day when I return. I have been using Google Earth recently to spy on my old haunts and I am so ADDICTED to this thing! Try it something, it is awesome!

We are being royally screwed by a finance company. We arranged to make a payment over the phone on the 20th of the month a few weeks ago. However, when we had some money on the 18th, Stu called in the payment. Much to our chagrin, the company took the money out AGAIN on the 20th….completely without our permission. This caused our account to be overdrawn 7 times (at $35.00 a pop), in addition to the amount they took out! We, of course, freaked out and have been trying since that time to get our money back. We are getting the run-around from the company and meanwhile, Stu’s paycheck was deposited into that account, but it is now gone to cover the overdrafts and the fees. This was our mortgage money and so we are now LATE on our mortgage. Now, I am not the best person dealing with finances and admit that I am late now and then on some bills, but we have NEVER been late in the 5 years we have owned this house…I mean it. It is very disheartening and frustrating and I am about at my wit’s end with these people. Now, they say they will reimburse our payment and our fees, but of course, with the holiday, it won’t be until next week. GAH! I can’t wait to pay off this account…these people are crooks!

Oh, when I look out my window, I can see the big fireworks….ooooh….ahhhh….! Happy 4th to everyone...please have a safe and fun holiday!