Charley and Mom at Lowe's

 
 

I know I know...you should've felt the earth move the moment I entered Lowe's....I had to take a picture just to prove I was there. We were waiting for Charley to find what he needed in the plywood section....he didn't...we had to go to 84 lumber....another store you won't catch me in normally but I didn't have my camera! Look way in the back....he is the one with the white hat on.

Lipstick

I was out yesterday and ran into someone I see about once a month. We chatted and as I left, her comment was how nice it was to see me looking so nice. ??? was all I could think ( I was not dressed up....just some capris and a t-shirt--what I usually wear) and said as much to her...She said..oh no...she meant because I had on lipstick. Oh, I said....got in my car and immediately checked...yep still had lipstick on.....

cause, people, I NEVER go out without lipstick....NEVER. My one girlfriend (who I went to Paris with) laughs and says that if I were stranded on a desert island, I would never have sunburned lips because I have lipstick in every pocket I ever wear....can't be with out it...guess I will make sure when I see my other friend again that I have on the correct COLOR next time.........

Neva and the dogs...Tessie and Clancy

A good friend of mine does dog pictures on the side. Here is one she took of Tessie and Clancy....Clancy was not that interested and neither was Tessie...they were both trying to pull away---the opposite ways!

Clancy and his pillows

 

I know, I know...you are tired of hearing dog/puppy stories but what can I do? We took the gate down from the family room so Clancy could get used to being in that room.....He has decided that ALL the pillows on the couches are his....no matter how many times I take them away from him...he retrieves them....again....I looked up from doing something on the computer, and here he was with all his pillows surrounding him.....I thought it was pretty funny.

Who's taller?

 
It isn't often that you have to decide who is taller by putting a shoe on top of your head! We had a party for the nephew and his fiance(with the shoe!) yesterday.....I now know why the bride looks like she belongs to our family...her dad(the one with the beard) is as tall as my husband.(the oldest of 10- and the tallest at 6'7"..)It is a photo finish as to who really is taller but my husband swears he is!

Arby's Drive thru

While at Arby's drive-thru I heard a horn beeping. I looked back...no one I knew....but the horn kept beeping..so I put by head out to see who it was. This lady (who was violently waving her hand trying to get my attention) said:
..."Hi Neva!! do you remember me? I met you in a Walmart check out line when I was pregnant 5 years ago and we started talking...I saw your name and LOVED it. I had a little girl and I named her Neva...I am so happy to see you..I see you all over town(my license plate has my name on it). Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.. we love her name!!! Have a nice day".


Believe me when I tell you that even for me that was a strange encounter....and , NO, I don't remember her....I talk to a lot of people I don't know!

A new home

 







This birdhouse was a gift I won at a bridal shower...it has been sitting in a box for a few years...When my Hollyhocks bloomed, I remembered the bird house matches them so I put it out in the garden as decoration.....the wrens(I think) have decided to make a home out of it. I am amazed....(Look very closely as the opening of this birdhouse and you will see a bird going in).

A Lawn Ornament

 

Husband: "Honey?"
me: "yes, dear?"
Husband:"When can I expect the Jockey to arrive?"
me: "*sigh*"

Guess you can tell....he is not a big fan of the lawn ornament!

What's in a name...a DOG name?

I was chatting with my girlfriend about dog names(Hi Liz)and she commented that we hadn't named our dogs doggie names but people names....I thought about that and guess I never gave it any thought before. We have had 5 dogs. Molly, the basset hound, Chelsea, the chocolate lab, Mason , the yellow lab German Shepard mix, Tessie the current Chocolate Lab and Clancy, the black lab puppy...None of those are doggie names...like Rover or Spike or Killer or Fido. I have never met a dog with any of those names. Liz said one of their beagles was named Rover.....seems appropriate for a beagle...rovers that they are! Other dog names I know:
Tara(pronounced TAR.....a not TEAR....a) soft coated wheaton terrier
Lady-sister's beagle(RIP)
Lucy-sister's current beagle
Tasha-mother's dog lab, German Shepard mutt(RIP)
Ginger- current mother's dog WV coon hound... you don't want one of these...really
Viper-friend's French Briard(they name their dogs after sports cars)
Porshe-friend's other French Briard
Gryffindor-neighbor's Bernese Mountain Dog...awesome name for him BTW
Lucky-BIL's mutt in Texas...closest to a dog name on the list!
Baily-neighbor's golden retriever
Emma-neighbor's basset hound
Josie-MIL's lab mix that is no longer with us(RIP)
Casey-other sister's dog
Wrigley-neighbor's beagle(does this come close to a doggie name?)
Houston-neighbor's beagle (RIP)
Princess-neighbor's Cavaliar-a perfect name for this dog
Kava-friend's St. Bernard(RIP)
Charlie=friend's new puppy labrodoodle
Mia-friend's golden retriever
I am sure there are other dog names I am forgetting but you get my drift...
not a Killer or a Fido amongst them...so where did those names come from and why do we not name them those names?
Is it because we don't live in the south where dogs names are:
Blackie
Queenie
Die-doe(pronounced just like it is written BTW)
and Missy- the beagle I grew up with...not really a dog's name either come to think of it....so give me your best dog name if I haven't mentioned it!

Sunday morning coffee

 

My sister in law and I came home with this as a souvenir from the Grand Canyon. Sitting out in my gazebo...on my new lawn furniture....I just really liked the way the sun hit this with the reflection on the table. Reminds me of how much fun we had in Arizona....a place I will go again!

Winter vs Summer

 

 

I think these are both pretty pictures but it is easier to enjoy the flowers! Notice the 2 trees down near the street....They are Ash trees and we are fairly confident the Ash borer will make mincemeat of these within the next year. Sad, isn't it?

..how does your garden grow?

 

This is our perinnel garden. The husband plants it and I weed it....a good way to share the outside work....I like the way it looks...the reds are not as obvious as they are in real life but what are you going to do?





I particularly like the bird house with the Holly hocks....the birdhouse is just for show...I don't think a real bird would chose to live there even though the paint job is beautiful...but I liked the way it blends in with the flowers.

"Little Switzerland"

 

West Virginia is a beautiful state...it is called "little Switzerland" as it has the Appalachian Mountains running through the state. The roads and interstates curve...they are NOT straight...it is one of the few places you can get car sick on the interstate because of the curves!

This picture was taken by my aunt. It is across from the graveyard where her parents are buried(my grandparents). She took this out the car window when she was there with my mom. Tallmansville is a very small town in northeast West Virginia.....it is the site of the terrible mine disaster cave-in that killed 12 last year....
When I was a little girl, mom would take us out to visit her grandmother(my great grandmother :o))in the "country". It truly was the country..no indoor plumbing...I have used the outhouse with the Sears and Roebuck catalog as the toilet paper...and with the words ringing in my ears "watch out for copperheads" gag.....snakes I don't do ...especially poisonous ones...so my sister and I would yell all the way to the outhouse hoping to scare any and all snakes, animals and other things away....trust me when I tell you that we REALLY had to go to the bathroom when we did this....at night..if you were unlucky enough to get to spend the night..you had chamber pots under the bed to use....sounds good...until you realize that you are responsible for emptying it in the outhouse the next morning....when it is cool and the snakes are more likely to be resting near the warmth.....for 2 girls who were born in the '50s this was like stepping back into the previous century....we never did figure out why the 2 of us were so lucky and our oldest sister never had the pleasure of an overnight visit ....we think is was she had a louder voice and a cousin closer to her age that she would go and stay with!!
My younger sister and I have a lot of memories of this little town... it was fun to go but more fun to come back to civilization....TV, running water, bikes, telephones not on a party line, cars, town...you get my drift! But when we tell these stories it is hard for people to believe that we experienced what we did.....as even in the '60s, it seemed unusual not to have some of the amenities one gets used to...Looking back now, it was comparable to abject poverty but no one felt that way...we were always welcomed with food and love and as much as we dreaded sleeping over.....we loved to go and visit.

Concert in the park

Saturday we went to a concert in the park.....It is an outdoor area with a covered pavilion and grass for lawn seating...we usually go once a summer and we decided to go with a group I work with..we picked a convenient day...not really paying any attention to who was playing...Everyone that comes is good. We love jazz...and that's what we thought we were going to listen to.....The Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays here in the summer so how bad can it be?
I will pay closer attention next year....I really didn't like
CONGO SQUARE ----it is exactly what you think it is..........
The beating of congo drums and chanting of african somethings....
Opera, ok
classical, ok
rock, ok
jazz, ok
odadahh...not so much....the congo drums gave me quite a headache....
Thank heavens the company was good.

BUNCO!

It has been a few years since I was in a Bunco group....I had never heard of this game until I was asked to join..it really is a fun, easy, relaxing game(especially if there is alcohol involved!). After the kids were out of junior high, the bunco group I was in dispersed. I didn't miss it that much as I also bowl and I was in 2 bridge groups.
Imagine my surprise when the bridge group I am currently in wanted to switch to BUNCO! for the summer instead of bridge...too much thinking in the heat???? not sure why..
Let me just tell you...there are no hard and fast rules in Bunco....not like bowling or bridge where it is pretty hard core and you need some talent or practice...not so in bunco...if you can roll the die you can play bunco and even if you can't...no big deal.
The problem, or at least the problem at tonight's bunco, was which rules do we follow? Because if there is one thing that I can tell you....there are numerous ways to play ...some examples...with 3 or 4 die....keeping track of any of the combinations of wins, loses, high points, low points, BUNCOS!, baby buncos or how many times you are at the Head Table.
I had fun regardless of how we decided to play...my only suggestion was which ever way we decide to play, let's WRITE them down so we remember what we did the NEXT time we play!!!

Black dogs and amusement parks

I am NOT an Amusement Park girl...I get sea sick just thinking of the teacups--forget watching them....but I also have fear of physcis failing as you flip upside down and then the ride breaks and you are UPSIDE down...does not the law of gravity take over?? I am not willing to find out...even if I didn't get seasick watching rides...but when you hear this on the radio
"and in Kentucky, a 13 y/o girl had both her feet sliced off while on the Superman ride.....and they have closed this ride down at 4 other amusement parks....."
Ok....close them ALL down.....and gives me another reason to remember this blog "I knew someone who died that way".
This is one thing my sister and I have in common...the worry factor and the reminders of being careful...I mean...really...we lived with a policeman (dad) while growing up and then all 3 of us went into medicine at some level and you see SO many things that could happen...and do....I remind people that I live off the misfortune of others....husband being a doctor and all ... and there are ALOT of misfortunate people....sheesh...so some safety tips just come naturally...but if this ever happens to me and our
black lab and you read about me on the news...the rest of that story is
"...and the last you saw Clancy was as his owner chased him down the street....."

Blogging world

I started blogging after my little sister convinced me it would be fun.....I wasn't so sure....seemed like a lot of effort for no good reason...
Imagine my surprise to find out that I really enjoyed it! It's nice to know that my family can catch up --or not---on what is happening here...very helpful to the son in Beijing who then remembers WHY he moved to the other side of the world!!!
But really, the same sister has not been blogging for half a year now....she read all my blogs she had missed and was amazed I hadn't mentioned some of the things to her when I had talked to her via the phone....well....that IS why I blog....don't want to repeat or anything!
She has been really busy with many things...not the least she has become a new grandmother, but she was amazed that so many people read my blog....ok, people, to be fair.....not that many!! some people have thousands!! I don't but she was surprised to see so many from around the world.....
I thought that was what blogging was about...go and read and see what's out there, make a comment or 2, they come and read yours and the circle goes on...
I have "met" some wonderful friends thru blogging...blog gal pals, photo bloggers...it has been very fun for me......and I will continue to do so.
I wish I was as witty as some I read and could take pictures like others....
Even though she has given up blogging...and she is very witty with her writing....I will continue to do what I enjoy and hopefully....
I will meet up with some of my gal pals in real life....

One last Chin story.....

When Chin's owner came to see Chin once he was back at camp the first words out of his mouth were:
"OMG Chin is so FAT!"

Hmmmmm and I thought that is what they were supposed to look like.....
Could it be that I wouldn't let him out to run?
Maybe
could it be that Chin became a man chin instead of a baby chin?
Maybe
Could it be that I really don't care?
Darn right.


He is lucky Chin is alive and well....

and I miss the chin just a little bit...how sad is that???

A happy camper

Chin is back at camp with his owner--even though the daughter will still be in charge of him during the summer---
his condo will be gracing his owner's dorm/apartment come the fall......
I am sure the chin is a happy little camper but even if he isn't, I am a happy little camper.
It was worth the 700 miles I drove to give Chin ROOMMATES..He is now sharing his space at camp with:
A gerbil, 2 rats, a hamster and 2 mice who just had 2 babies........
He is the biggest and the NICEST of these and they can all spin their wheels at night and have at it....

Go Chin.

Nosy neighbors.

I really don't have bad neighbors...we live on an acre and we can be as friendly as we want to be or they want to be...
However......I am not a mean person...pretty friendly..outside a lot(we have a puppy remember) it is not like I am unavailable.....no school... I am at home mostly.
So.
When I got a call from the Home Owners Association president (who lives next door and is a GOOD friend and we are NOT members of the HOA(not required...it is a long story...suffice it to say that we will NEVER be a member)....she was calling in her official capacity and said that a neighbor wanted to know what we were doing in our back yard I was a little taken aback.....ok for those of you that know me...you know I was ALOT taken aback.....
Apparently our Bocce Ball court can be seen from a neighbors house and they wanted to know what we planned to do with it...Did we get a building permit, was it going to stay up what exactly were our plans????
Here was my response.....
Listen up a neighbor and listen closely--

This is NOT your problem...
it is NOT a permanent structure
It does NOT require a building permit
It is NOT your business to police me and the day you (THE HOA) feel the need to do that.....make sure you have a legal document or you will be thrown off my property so fast your head will swim.

In case you wondered.....the Bocce ball court (which is made out of plumbing PVC)..will be a Permanent structure in my back yard until the snow flies and maybe even longer and I will make darn sure you can see it from your house....even if I have to move it everyday......

What kind of soul are you?

OK everytime I do this I get a different profile....who's the real me?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofsoulareyouquiz/

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can. War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace. You are a good mediator and a true negotiator. Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy. While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental. You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take. On the flip side, you've got a graet sense of humor and wit. You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

You Are a Warrior Soul

You're a strong person and sometimes seen as intimidating. You don't give up. You're committed and brave. Truly adventuresome, you are not afraid of going to battle. Extremely protective of loved ones, you root for the underdog. You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods. You also value honesty and fairness a great deal. You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding. You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

The dog park

Last weekend I took Clancy to the dog water park. He is a water dog after all and I thought he might enjoy the water.....
Well, his ancestors were probably rolling over in their graves as he WOULD NOT go deeper than his knees....I was a bit embarrassed, to tell the truth...
So, we decided to go back this weekend on the off chance he might just like it this time...
My friend and I finally pushed him in over his head and VOILA! he is a Labrador after all!!!!! I was so proud of him.....I really need to get a life!!He fetched, the ball, sticks, other dogs....he was nondiscriminatory about what he was fetching....he had a BLAST!

After they swim, we take a walk around the dog park so they can dry off a little. All the dogs there sorta run in a pack and hang out....well....Clancy kinda likes to be top dog....we had a few times we had to remind him of his manners...but we left the dog park in disgrace anyway.....

He managed to run full tilt into a lady that appeared to be recovering from a stroke or something. Her big 90 lb German Shepard mix was chasing Clancy and Clancy ran right through her legs and down she went....not once but twice before I could catch him...thankfully I still had his leash on him but I couldn't believe he wouldn't stop---well, I can believe it I just don't want too!

Talk about embarrassing!!! Well, it will be a few more obedience lessons off leash before I will want to try that again.......and, yet....he had sooooo much fun.

The story of trying to be a responsible dog owner. I shudder to think what he would be like with someone less forceful than I!!

Bad owner?

I became just like some of the parents I know and love.....
Clancy graduated from Beginner Obedience 1....got a diploma and everything... and then they suggested that he might need to take Beginner 1 again....
I thought about that for all of 2 seconds....heck no I said.. you passed him and I don't recall reading anything about "no dog left behind" so you MUST think he can do beginner obedience 2.....so that's what we'll do thankyouverymuch.

We will see if I come out of this smelling like a rose or like the overachieving dog owner I want to be!!!

Chinchilla escape

You will remember I am watching Chin the chinchilla for the daughter while she is at camp. Yesterday I cleaned out his condo cage. This involves me getting him into a different facility..like a big ball or his travel cage....all this is done without me actually touching him....he is after all a RODENT.......To be fair...I do let him walk up my arm..I can handle that but actually picking him up...not so much....he likes to be touched but not held....go figure....well....
I cleaned everything up, rearranged his levels so he gets more exercise and retrieved him from his ball and put him back in his condo and left to take Clancy to his graduation class.
Imagine my HORROR, while driving, when I remembered that I had opened the top of his condo and had not closed it..If I could have turned around I would've but I was almost to class.....4 frantic phone calls to neighbors later, I get the neighbor who is TERRIFIED of the Akita that I am babysitting....I BEGGED her to please go and at least close the bedroom door so Chin wasn't roaming throughout the upstairs......
A bottle of wine seems cheap at that price!! so, over she went and I get a phone call from her saying she got to the daughter's bedroom and as she started to walk into the room, here is this little furry thing looking at her...she screams and Chin takes off for under the bed...she slams the bedroom door shut and calls and leaves.....

I am sure all of you will sleep better tonight knowing that I was able to corner him into his cage when I got home.......I know I will be able to sleep better....

Puppy Graduation

Today is Clancy's graduation class for Beginner Obedience....

While we were driving I kept telling him that not all dogs get a diploma and not to be upset if/when they denied him a diploma....he seemed ok with that.....
and YET....
he came in 6 out of 6 dogs and they gave him a "CLANCY THE LABRADOR" has graduated to Beginner Obedience 2...

Well, just let me tell you how proud I am of THAT!!!!

School's out!!!

Just keep humming the 60's song....school's out for the summer....and you will know what I am doing!!!!!

AKKKKKKK!!!

This is what we all felt like when we heard that Dan had a run in with an aluminum folding chair at school....We are thrilled he is ok but sorry about the loss of his little finger tip....never good to lose a body part.....

Good luck and whew.....what a week....new baby and a lost body part....wow....not everyone can say that!

A new baby!!!

I am a great Aunt again!!!!......yeah for Teddy born May 30, 2007....
Congratulations to the new mommy and daddy....hope you get some good sleep!!
Here is where you go to see the newest addition to our family.
http://thisismyquestion.blogspot.com/
http://gr8umps3.blogspot.com/

Memorial Day Bocce Ball

We learned how to play bocce ball at Camp Michigania. Or at least the version they taught us! My sisterinlaw got a very nice bocce ball set and brought it over and my hubby "made" a court....this involved buying PVC pipes and mowing the lawn an inch and 1-2 shorter than the rest of the yard. The court is 60 feet by 12 feet. Here is a picture.......


and then we proceeded to spend the afternoon playing.
When we played in the morning to try out the court....it was hard to play with Clancy(black lab 7 month old puppy) retrieving all the balls.
He did not understand that these balls were not for him. When the real Bocce ball set arrived, the balls were so heavy he could not get them in his mouth....that was a good thing.
Hope your Memorial Day was as fun as ours!


Hubby,Kathleen behind hubby, son#2, Tessie(chocolate lab) Clancy (black lab) Bailey (golden retriever) enjoying the beautiful afternoon.

Perennial Garden

You would think that after the corneal abrasion I would stop weeding ....
but I decided to weed where I could see the results....
I am only sorry that I did not take a before picture.
Here is a picture of our perennial garden that I spent 8 hours weeding!

Outside work

Over the years we have defined different jobs as inside or outside.
You'd think this would be an obvious decision...Inside stuff..mine outside stuff...his
....but there are many jobs inside that fall to husband as well(things like painting the walls, fixing the toilet, sinks, faucet drips, you know...husband jobs)
and there are many jobs outside that I like to do even though they are husband jobs (mowing the lawn, planting flowers, weeding, blowing the leaves).

Well, after my experience yesterday with weeding, he can have that job back.

It had rained and the ground was perfect for weeding...a job that is very gratifying...if there wasn't so much to do!!!!While pulling weeds under the Austrian pines.....a branch went into my eye..I now have a corneal abrasion....not a big deal..I hope...but it does not feel so grand.
Yes, I had glasses on.
Yes, I was being careful or so I thought.
Yes, I went to the doctor ASAP.
and yes I will weed again...
but I am checking that marriage contract and making sure that is says it is an outside HUSBAND job and get the compensation I deserve!!!

Puppies

Don't get me wrong....I love my dogs...but my girlfriend-that I work with- and I, have decided that this is the last puppy either one of us will have.

We have lots in common, my friend and I.....we have a secrets we will take to the grave with us...we are joined at the hip....
we cover each others backs....
we proof read each others in house emails (in case one of us is being just a little bit b**** uh,,,I mean unprofessional(there is a typical example!!) She is a wonderful person, articulate, intelligent and so many adjectives I can't write them all down.
Considering how different we are on one hand....we are very alike on another.

We have a few things we wish we didn't have in common. One of them is the untimely passing of our 7 year old dogs. My 7 year old lab died in Oct and her 7 year old St. Bernard needed to go 6 months later. She has an 11 year old golden retriever and I have an 11 year old chocolate lab. We are also the proud of owners of puppies.

To be fair.....I did warn her that they are a lot more work than I remembered since I got Clancy first....
but......she is now the proud owner of Charlie ,
(no ..it has NOTHING to do with my husband!!) the labradoodle
isn't he cute??


She also is taking him to puppy kindergarten class...ok...her HUSBAND is taking him...

and we are both just waiting until they aren't puppies any more.

It can't happen fast enough.....
so be warned....
puppies are a LOT more work than us over 50 crowd remember.......11 years ago it didn't seem like soooo much work.

Babies and puppies....truly for the younger crowd.

Dwarf Korean Lilacs

.....if these are DWARF what do the regular ones look like cause these are AWESOME!!!
The smell is incredible....

and they are in my front yard!

Clancy's friend Bailey

It turns out that the dog that lives next door LOVES Clancy. The feeling is mutual. They play and play and play and they wear each other out....or that is the hope.


Tessie, on the other hand....is quite happy to lay on the couch and be a couch potato.

Happy 26th Birthday, Gregory!

For you , I found the superman picture!!

Hope your birthday was wonderful.

Love, Mom

Motocross ----who knew????

I am embarrassed to tell you that I went and looked this up as I could not believe my husband was correct on this. So here you are.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motocross

who knew this was for real????? I had no idea....ok, honey, you are/were right.

Does that make you happy!!??

So for all of you contemplating taking this up as an amateur sport in W. Va. ....be assured that ALL the medical staff will be available to you...no exceptions made!!

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mothers in my family and circle of friends both near and far......Hope you have a great day!

and for those of you who thought the West Virginia story was a typical redneck tale, here is this tid bit of information!

The driving force behind Mother's Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. While the annual celebration spread around the country, Jarvis began lobbying politicians to set aside a day to honor mothers. She finally succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.


So put that in your pipe and smoke it!

A West Virginia story

My husband was at a medical meeting today. When he came home he told me 2 things I had never heard before about West Virginia that the presenter had told them since he had worked in W.Va. for a few years.

Apparently, there are 2 days in the year that ALL hospital staff report to duty...no exceptions period.

Husband: Any idea what they would be.
ME: New Year's Eve(we do like our liquor--some of it even homemade!).
Husband: Nope, that would not be one of them, he said. Care to take another guess?
Me: Uh not really.
Husband: Ok, here they are........West Virginia Rattlesnake CatchingDay.
Me: you're joking
Husband: no I am not and the next one? Amateur Moto Cross Day.
Me: What is that?
Husband: You know. where amateurs ride moto crosses.

I would like to think that he is pulling my leg...but I have a feeling that if I make a big deal about this-( I mean--really--I lived in the state for 22 years and never heard of either one of these)he will prove it to me via the Internet or something.

He said that the hospitals have to send for anti-venom from the east coast so they have enough....Ok this I believe but moto crosses..aww come on....pull the other leg.

Chin the chinchilla

One of the results of the daughter's bike accident is I am now in charge of her chinchilla......



To be fair, she is watching it for a friend who is out of the country for a semester abroad. She knows Chin from camp. He has been in her care for the past 2 summers.
I, on the other hand, am like a "girl" when it comes to rodents...which is what this is part of. It is pretty to look at but it does not like to be held and looks for ways to escape.

I spent some time reading about chinchillas. Here is what I learned.....

They are from the Andes Mountains....
They live in large colonies but can live alone......
Their life span is about 15 years.....
They need a lot of space to roam (hence the chinchilla castle/ 3 story condo that is set up in the bedroom)....
They pee in the same place but poo everywhere...they look like black pieces of rice...hard as a rock....
They can spray you(with urine) if they don't like your smell..
They test you with their teeth to see if they like your smell(translate that to bite---fortunately they don't bite hard)....
They need to have lava stones to bite on as their teeth continue to grow...
They don't take water baths, they take dust bath--special sand that is found in the mountains in lieu of water.....
They can be trained but don't like to be held....(this makes no sense to me)...
They need to have their cages cleaned once a week....
AND they don't do heat very well at all....hence the fan on 24 hrs a day.

My daughter's piece of advice before she left was that Chin likes to escape his cage, so be careful when you feed him.

Well,
how fast can someone come and take this little rodent back to Michigan so I don't have to try and make friends with it so it doesn't spray me and doesn't get lost in her bedroom after he escapes his cage?

NOT FAST ENOUGH!

Bike Accident

We have had a very stressful few days. The daughter wrecked her bike at college and ended up in the ER with a possible broken jaw*. I went down to school to get her to bring her home to consult with our doctors and felt I was handling the situation with perfect equanimity, under control, what will be will be and all that attitude, thankful it wasn't anything worse.
Before we left campus I needed gas so pulled into a gas station, pulled out the credit card and proceeded to try and fill up. After numerous attempts to slide the card in the proper slot and hearing "See attendant" I finally went inside--with the credit card-- and moseyed up to the counter with a few other items we thought we might need for the trip home.
Waited in line, finally handed her my card and other purchases.

The attendant was by this point pretty exasperated with me as she had been telling me to come see her so she grabbed my card, slid it through the machine and then looked at me, at the card and said:
"We don't take Mobile credit cards at this Marathon gas station."

Did I feel like a fool or what?

*final note, the jaw is not broken and the cracked tooth did not need a root canal and she has 10 stitches in her chin...for something that started out pretty scary, she was very lucky. She always wears her helmet, but her dad has now revoked her bike license.


And many thanks to Dennis for going to the ER to see how she really was until I could get there...You're the best nephew ever!!

Happy Birthday, Dennis!

If I had a picture of you and Greg and Eric and Dan in your camouflage outfits I would post it! Or, more embarrassing, your superman outfit!
I hope you have a wonderful birthday....
Love Aunt Neva

The Dog Whisperer

After spending an entire morning watching a DVD of The Dog Whisperer,
here is what I have learned:

1) Exercise, discipline, then attention...(this is what the dog whisperer lives by)

2)There are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners

3) My dog/puppy needs him. Do you think my husband will let me fly him in from CA?

"Great" Aunt

I have decided this:

if Clara and Teddy want to call me "Great Aunt"

it Has to be preceded by

"MY FAVORITE",

and then I'm cool with that particular moniker!

Alarm-ING

Be glad that you do NOT live next door to me.
After 20 years in our house, at 3:00 am this morning,
our alarm system decided to go haywire.

No, we did not turn the alarm on*....

No, we had no idea how to get the alarm to stop.....
keep in mind that the outside horn alarm is going off as well and it is as loud as the air raid drill siren. After 30 minutes of trying the code, pushing every button we could think of,we finally went into the basement and --wonder of wonders--there was an off switch.

Why we didn't think of THAT 20 minutes into the earsplitting alarm is a mystery to both of us. Probably because we are both OLD and we were woken out of a sound sleep.

When we were finally back in bed, husband says:
"Do you think it odd that we didn't even CONSIDER it might be a real alarm?"
ME: That would be hard to do considering we haven't alarmed the alarm for over 15 years."
Husband: "OH"



*we have not used our alarm because we have forgotten the code. When it was first put in, it was right at eye level for our 5 year old and everytime he walked by, he would push the fire alarm button. We never had it attached to the fire house just for that reason. Eventually, when we could use it, we figured we didn't really need to. So we decided to just ignore it. If we ever sell the house, I guess we will update it but for now, it is off and will remain off. My heart can not take that much excitement at 3:00 am!!!!

Dinner

Would you expect that when you go to a fund raiser
-where the tickets were $250 per person-

that you would:

1) be served that meal at 10:00pm and
2) it would be cold?

I think not, too.......

One TV show I really like

Although my husband will tell you differently, I do not watch much TV...True, I have it on alot but that is because I like the noise in the background. But one show I really like and would recommend is this:
Sunday Morning

Thanks to my baby sister, I have become hooked on this show. It is so informative and has so many things on it, I love to watch and see what they will cover each week.
I have learned alot from this show.

As much as I enjoy these 2 shows
House
and
Monk
I don't turn them on every week because I forget when they are on....if I see them, then I am glued to the TV.
I also love to watch HGTV and Animal planet but I don't go out of my way to see anything particular on these stations.

So, if you are free on Sunday morning before your day gets started, give it a try. It is on CBS and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

Another dog story

I know I know.....unless you have or had a puppy recently this is probably becoming tiresome reading about the puppy but this was funny even to me....

I went to Obedience class --with the puppy!- and as we were working, I couldn't get him to sit without backing up...tried and tried and finally the trainer came over "to show me how".

You would think I had never taken a dog to obedience before....she marched Clancy around the ring and he sat EVERY SINGLE time for her in the correct position. As she gave him back to me she commented that maybe I should be a "little more forceful and show him who is boss."

Well, I told this to the next door neighbor who is 26 and has lived next to me for 20 years and his comment was:

K: Gee, Mrs. O. I bet you wish you had a nickel for everytime someone has said that to you.
Me: Well K......it was pretty interesting
K: you'd probably have...what? a nickel?
Me: ummmm.....probably!

This is only funny if you can picture ANYONE telling ME I need to be more forceful about anything!

Let's take a moment.....

My heart is sad for all the parents that woke up this morning and their lives are irrevocably changed forever by a young man with a gun.



My thoughts and prayers are with all of those whose lives were changed today.

Happy 87th Birthday, Motherinlaw!

>


Hope you have many more to come!!!

Can your dog do this?

I heard a funny noise and couldn't figure out what it was.....so I looked in the laundry room and saw this:



The funnier part was trying to get him out.....

Something I found funny

I wish I was more computer savy....there is probably an easier way to do this but I did find these very funny. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.jibjab.com/what_we_call_the_news

http://www.jibjab.com/nuckin_futs

A funny thing happened on the way to Honduras...

The beautiful thing about family is you get to know them REALLY well over the years.
They get to learn about you and you get to learn about them....good and bad...
whether they are eccentric or funny or nuts or whatever.

I have vacationed a lot with my inlaws....most notably at Camp

I have my own eccentricities....my inlaws will tell you I am a neat freak at camp among other less favorable characteristics!!!but I am accepted....at least by some of the family members that we vacation with...others....not so much ---
~~
While in Arizona, my 86 y/o motherinlaw was with us.. she is an awesome lady. She drives herself all over the country...and does it very well...just recently she flew from Mexico to Santa Barbara, rented a car and drove to San Diego and then drove from San Diego to Tuscon, Arizona. Once she got to her destination in Arizona, one of her sons wanted her to come on vacation with them down in Honduras.

Now, for most of us, we would have been EXHAUSTED, but not her.
She jumped(ok-- fast walked) in her rent a car and drove to the airport to make the proper arrangements.....but she had forgotten that she had picked up a mattress (the size of a chaise lounge but lots thicker) in Santa Barbara that had belonged to her younger brother(who has been dead almost 10 years and had been stored in her daughter's garage all this time.) This mattress was in the back of her rental car when she got to the airport.
She was bringing it to Arizona to decide what to do with it.

(I know, I know....most of us would have pitched it.....10 years ago!)

So, here she is at the rental car place when she realizes she still has this mattress with her.
MIL: "Can you store this for me until I get back at the end of the week?"
RENTAL CAR PERSON: "Ma'am, we don't do that sort of thing."
MIL" " well, you used to."
RCP: "yes, ma'am, we used to but not now."
MIL: "Can I leave it here anyway?"
RCP: " No Ma'am, that won't be possible."
MIL: "I don't have time to take it back home. "
RCP: "Well, ma'am you can take it as luggage to your destination."
MIL: "Really?"
RCP: " Yes, it doesn't cost anything."

...so they tied it up, put a name tag on it and she took it to Honduras with her--as LUGGAGE-- with the thought that someone in Honduras would want it.

If I tell you she came home to AZ with it would you be surprised?

Apparently, the people of Honduras know a bad deal when they see one!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all!


I am having Easter-cooking for 12.

My sisterinlaw and I switch Easter and Thanksgiving and it is my turn this year.

When our kids were little, we decided that they needed to have their own holidays at their own house. Since we always spend Christmas at grandma's(because she has all the tableware and space for 22-or 32- or 42!), we do the other 2 biggies. Usually we do every other which means in one year we each do the holiday. It has worked out really well for us. We switch when we need to and now that our kids are grown we rotate with another sisterinlaw.

This all leads up to this.....

You have to remember to tell all parties involved when plans change.

On Thanksgiving (06), I was having it. It was going to be a smallish group-6 to 8-so no sweat. The other sisterinlaw we rotate with decided it would be a good idea to combine her group and have a larger celebration.
No problem...I would just transport the stuff (not the turkey) and it would all be good.
While doing the Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving with a bunch of relatives coming for dinner, one nephew happened to overhear this:
"I'll see you later back here."
D: "What?"
T: "I'll see you later here(his house)."
D: "What? Isn't Aunt N*** having it? That's where I was invited."
T: " Well, we switched and we're having it."
D: " Must've missed that memo."

so, had he shown up at the house, he would have thought something bad had happened. I had cooked a small turkey (for leftovers for us)and it was on top of the stove, made a vegetable dish for the vegetarians in the family (the daughter and the niece in law to be:))and left some home, 2 pies were on the counter (I made 6 so I left some for us) and the table was partially set.
I am sure he would've freaked if he had actually shown up and seen the mess I left.

Sorry about leaving you out of the loop, D. Won't happen again! and yes,

Easter IS at the house---really.

See you later.

The West Girls

I should probably let my younger sister write this as she is quite the writer and has a better way with words.
but......

There are 3 of us girls....

I am the middle and V is 17 months older than me and T is 17 months younger than me.

We were all towheaded little blonde girls...stair steps if you will...
(don't you love the hair?? Mom, whatever were you thinking?)





and we are probably best described as indescribable.

In many ways we are very much alike.
We are bossy
We are bitchy
We are always right
We are outspoken
We always like to have the last word
We love to tell people what to do
We like things done OUR way
We are blunt
We are friendly and outgoing
We are from West Virginia (although, none of us live there currently)
We are all, interestingly, in the medical field (nurse anesthetist, xray tech, nurse)

Many have said we are a force to be reckoned with.

Certainly our husbands have a club of their own and I don't think I want to be around when they are talking about living with a West girl!--and they can write their own damn blog about us!!!

Our dad was a state policeman and that sets the tone for how we were raised.
A very blunt, smart, likable fellow unless you were a boy wanting to date one of his daughters

There is nothing like the memory of Dad meeting our dates at the door in his underwear (tidy whities) and requesting the time they would be bringing his daughter home. Let me tell you, it is a wonder we ever went out at all....and forget that sneaking around stuff.....that would be like not happening--at least I wasn't willing to attempt it....the sisters will have to fess up themselves if that is in their background.

I guess you could say that we have alot of similar characteristics....
We are (according to some) bright, blonde, fit(ok I am stretching that a bit for me.....) we have integrity, we are organized..sometimes to the point of obsession, we are good mothers, wives, daughters, friends, sisters, aunts, inlaws, and we are usually law abiding(comes from living with a policeman).

Interestingly, we are very intimidating to those who don't know us...

When my nephew(Mr. Opera) broke up with one of his girlfriends,
the comment was made that
she didn't think she could have an aunt like me....

hmmmmm .... was that because I gave her the standard 20 questions that I give all of my kids friends, nieces and nephews friends/ significant others, etc.??????


Her loss.


My niece in law(B) had the same feeling but I think I've grown on her after all these years!

I am not sure why they feel this way.

My dad always said you could put us in a room with a bunch of sledgehammers and we would come out with a life history on each one.(Ok this is a WVA reference!)


To be fair....we all probably care about this a bit but not so much that it will curtail our comments to you. I am not hard to read....an open book I am. NO hidden agendas, not manipulative, not mean....just blunt and friendly(my word..nosey..everyone else's).

We are good guests (thanks to mom-- we clean up after ourselves)
We always come with something when invited over
We are thoughtful
We help out even if your blood family won't
We are nondiscriminatory friends
We would give you the shirt off our backs if you need it
We would help you down the slide if the plane goes down
We ask(and mean it) about your kids/family
We are not shy
We talk to strangers....lots of them

So, if you find us all a bit difficult to deal with or be around, I would suggest you think about what your life would be like if you didn't know one of us or someone like us.


I always tell my husband his life would be very boring......




........ he says he would like to try boring just once!

icky puppy story

Is there anything ickier than your puppy who has pooed and now has a sock hangin' out of his rear-end and there is NO WAY to get it out unless someone (guess who that would be???) pulls it?

I need to go wash my hands.......again.

The Grand Canyon

What do you expect to see when you go on vacation to the Grand Canyon?


Let me be the first to tell you the LAST thing we expected was SNOW!!!!!!!!

Here is a picture of us on our first day at the Grand Canyon.


Notice you can't see much of the Grand Canyon due to the snow.


Now, we knew it was going to be cooler when we got to the Canyon....
we even planned for it--I took a very warm, fuzzy warm up suit plus a windbreaker-- as that seemed to be the correct attire.
My sisterinlaw took a wool sweater, cotton sweater, jeans, wind breaker;
my motherinlaw took 2 sweaters-although, she ended up with her daughter's windbreaker as we couldn't find one of the sweaters;
the husband had NO IDEA it would be cold in the Canyon and only had his little yellow sweat shirt
and we all had on socks and shoes---believe me---some people did not..

The first day we were there--

--it was 27 degrees, snowy, WINDY--

something you don't want on the top of the canyon!!!--

When we got up for sunrise--see the picture- -which was @ 6:23



it was 14 degrees......


Were we cold? You betcha.
Did we mind? You betcha.....we HAVE the correct attire--back in our closets at home.
Would we do it again? IN a heartbeat...



cold or not it was an awesome trip.

Happy 60th Birthday, Kathleen!!!

I'm glad we were there to celebrate with you!

Happy Birthday,Eric!

Have a great day!
Love Mom

Doggy friends

I watch my friends dogs when they need someplace to put their dogs for a week or a weekend.....like a kennel. I do this because I love dogs...
There have been times I have had as many as 5 dogs here at the same time. I have had my regulars over the years. Tara(may she rest in peace) was a favorite....she loved to come and play with Chelsea(eventually Tessie but she had to warm up to her)....Tara was a soft coated wheaten and was very smart...she always remembered the boundaries for our electric fence. We didn't even have to put a battery in the electric collar(she had her own when she came for a sleepover)and she stayed in our yard.

My friend Peter, has Dasha who is a yellow lab. Dasha is beautiful and now lives in the Czech Republic... But the first time he came over and commented that Dasha had taken to digging holes in his yard...he was a little(ok a lot!!) taken aback when the husband said that he didn't need to worry that we know how to correct hole digging.....just fill the hole that the dog dug up with water and then stick the dog's nose into it until they almost drown....he was very calm and matterof fact when he said this.....Peter's eye brows flew up to his hairline and I really thought that if there was any other place to put Dasha, he would!! It all worked out very well...Dasha must have heard what happens to dogs that dig in our yard and never once(we had her for a few weeks one summer while Peter was in the Czech Republic visiting)dug a hole.

Other dogs we watch are Nikki-the akita/lab who is VERY scary looking but the biggest cupcake on the face of the earth! The next door neighbors brain-damaged(my word) golden retriever.....I blame this solely on one of their sons' who loves to roughhouse with her and totally screws her up......Skitsy(may she rest in peace)....the border collie who loved to try and "herd" us......by barking and nipping at our heels.......her owners LOVED getting her back after a week since she didn't bark nearly as much or nip hardly at all.....so I ask you.....why was that? Because we (I) have standards for the dogs I watch......Can't be annoyed with me if I train them to what I like.

All of this leads up to .......Clancy.......

Nikki was here for the long weekend and let me tell you......she does NOT think that Clancy is as cute as a button.
More of an annoyance that needs to be dealt with. For being an 11 y/o dog, Nikki did ok with him but it took the first 3 days for her to figure out he wasn't leaving.....

Here is a picture of life with Nikki, Clancy( the puppy) and Tessie.

AS usual,Tessie is ignoring all that is going on around her....and Nikki is trying to tell Clancy that she can bark louder than he can.....ultimately they settled down but Nikki was not relinquishing her spot in the chain of "alpha" dog.

So my standards have had to be revisited. I know, I know....who would've thought???? but you have not met Clancy.....he is actually getting better at his behavior....the choke collar helps....but it takes awhile for his doggy brain to figure out what he is doing or what we want him to do. I still watch my friends dogs....

but now they have to WANT to put up with my puppy!

Spring Cleaning

I went outside to take the puppy for his constitutional. As I was standing waiting for him to go do his thing, I started picking up the debris left over from winter. Then I went and got the pruners, then the rake, then the yard debris bags......needless to say, I was out for quite a while....as fast as I could put the stuff in the bag, Clancy was just as quick trying to get it out!!

I did get my perinnial garden looking much better. I don't clean it out before winter as I think it will be easier to clean in the spring.


I might have to rethink that view.

Scholastic Bowl

I am a coach for Scholastic Bowl. I am now a moderator through the state I live in. This means that I can be asked to moderate an event for schools that want to host a Scholastic Bowl event and need a moderator(reader). You might remember that I am a phenomenal rule follower(see here http://letmebeblunt.blogspot.com/2006/03/coaching.html)
and today I was a moderator for a junior high near me...this is my second time doing this for this tournament. I am really good at moderating.....I know this because many people have told me so .....other coaches, other moderators, my students I coach....trust me...they have had to live through bad readers this season (this is due to the fact that coaches take turns reading the questions during a match in your league play) and we have been in 2 tournaments this year where they hire moderators to read ---my team came in 2nd -lost by 4 points once and 5 points to the same team at TWO different tournaments----ACKKKK!!
A side note here.....my High school team (I coach the Frosh/Soph level)has come in first in our league for the second year in a row :) YEAH!!
Also, and here is the BIGGY, I am a RULE FOLLOWER and I do NOT take kindly to junior high coaches telling me I am wrong(....ok ok...there ARE a FEW differences in junior high....but I KNOW what they are...thanks anyway....)

So, today......I moderated 5 different games.....9 different schools.....and 7 coaches told me what a wonderful job I did.....and one coach had a MAJOR melt down over one of my calls.

Listen up people......don't EVER argue with the moderator because...and here is a news flash...WE have final say....right OR wrong and if you have pissed me off........well, don't count on me reversing my decision.

'nuff said.

family stuff

I married a man who is the oldest of 10 children....6 boys and 4 girls. There is a 24 year age span between my husband and his youngest sister. The order for them is boy, girl, boy, boy, boy, boy, girl, boy, girl, girl (not only do I know their names....I also know when their birthday and YEAR is--not that I remember them to send cards or anything...I just know them!). Between all of them there are 22 grandchildren..11 boys...11 girls and 1 greatgrandchild (girl)..and she is ADORABLE.. & will be 2 soon.)
This means I (we)have a lot of nieces and nephews and last night I got to see the newest edition and youngest of the clan who is in visiting from the John Deere capital of the world (Iowa). Her mommy is the youngest of the siblings and has 2 older girls so theirs is a house of pink. This is also the sister who was 6 when I met her and does not remember a time that I was not in the family(having married her oldest brother 31 years ago....makes me feel old!!)Also, this is the sister I introduced to "creme rinse"---we call that conditioner now!!--and she has always felt that was a life altering experience that hair washing didn't have to mean TANGLES!!
I can relate to this more than one would realize because I am from a family of 3 girls...the middle child...I still marvel that my dad survived our teenage years as we only had ONE bathroom...and all 5 of us had to use it. I timed my alarm clock so I was the first one up in order to shower, brush teeth, etc...cause once your time came and went you either never got back in to the bathroom or..and here is the part that prompted my early rising....you had to go in when dad was in getting ready for work---never a pretty picture.
I looked at the three little girls last night, the mommy (who is looking pretty darn good for having a 2 month old) and the dad(looks like he is on VACATION) and the adorable sisters --who are 10 and 7 and realize how much fun they are going to have in the future....Been there, done that, don't want to do it again!!! but , boy, watching all the activity...

I need to go reassess how busy I thought I was with the 5 month old puppy.......

A visit to the vet

Clancy had his very important visit to the vet today to have his "private parts" altered....or to what I fondly refer to "having his nuts removed". When I went to pick him up, the 3 girls behind the desk breathed a happy sigh that I was there.
ME: "Is he ready to go?"
THEM:'WE'RE ready for him to go"
This could be because he was barking his fool head off....mind you, he does not bark here very much.....he will but not for very long....
I guess he had been barking since he woke up!
Obviously no problem from the anesthesia!
We came home with a long list of instuctions....no running, no playing, no eating a full meal til the next day, no stitches to remove(he has glue on a very tiny incision) but check his incision, and other things.
Now I ask , does this look like a puppy that listened to the directions?

For all of about one nano second.

pre beginner doggie school

Clancy has been promoted to pre beginner doggie school. What is this you might ask?

Just what it says.... a pre beginner class where we go to a class with 6 other dogs and try to teach these little hyper doggie/puppie brains to pay attention long enough to learn something.
When Clancy isn't jumping around like a kangaroo....he actually does ok. Definitely needs to be doing something.

His new thing is getting the newspaper from the front yard.......He is a retriever after all.....one of the things we have to work on for doggie obedience is a "gift" or "special" thing that your little puppy/doggie does. It can be shaking paw, rolling over, sitting up, anything you think others in your class would think was "cute". Personally, do I really care???? nope, but if I want to be part of the class our "cute" little thing that we will work on to show off in 8 weeks is this retrieving of the paper. How hard can this be for a retriever???

Well, only as hard as you think it is for him to actually RETRIEVE it back to us.

Friends

Friends....

You can have them come in and out of your life-

some of them start as family and become the very bestest of your friends-
others start as the very bestest of friends and then fall by the wayside.

I read a great email this week about friends and it just got me thinking about friends.
I have good friends and I think I am a good friend....or at least I try to be.
2 things happened this last week with my friends.
I saw 2 friends of mine that I hadn't seen in over 7 years.
The beauty of this is it was like we just saw each other yesterday and we were up to speed pretty darn quick.
Geographically, we are far apart and we now work, our kids are older and life just happened and years went by. I would say these are not only seasonal friends but lifetimers as well. I was glad we were able to reconnect and had so much to say. I know it meant as much to them as to me. That's why I love these friends.

You know that I lost my cell phone...

This was a disaster for me.

Losing the numbers in my cell phone .....it felt like I lost all my friends.

This really bummed me out.

Then my wonderful sisterinlaw did the sweetest thing....

She sent me phone numbers she thought I might want/need.

Now THAT is a friend......a bestest of friends!!!

I know I can never replace all my numbers and I should write them on paper as a backup but that she did this for me.....well,

it made my day.

Thanks, Kath.

Snow Day!!!!

Ok so on top of losing the cell phone (sad sigh here)
we have a SNOW DAY today....yeah!!!

Of course I am not sure WHY we have a snow day...they should call it a WIND day...
Granted, there is snow in the air(a very little) and snow on the ground(from yesterday) but really ..... not enough for a TRUE snow day.
But I'll bet the students aren't so worried about that.

Cell Phone Bummer

A disaster...


See the picture?

that is where my cell phone has gone...

la la land.....cell phone heaven....

it just
vaporized, it's gone, never to be seen again....

it just disappeared from my car

(more likely, it fell out into the snow)

I needed a new phone anyway but I am so PISSED that I have lost ALL my phone numbers....

my life is flashing before me.....

OMG.....cell phone withdrawal....

(I know there are worse things in the world to be upset over but right now I am focusing on this.....)

AAAGGHHH!!

I have to go lay down....

Ticket Taker

One of things I do is sell tickets for the football and basketball games of the school I work for. Although I do get paid to do it, one has to volunteer to do it ..and then you get paid...a nominal fee I might add.

I have done this off and on over the years...mostly because my good friend used to be in charge and I wanted to be helpful when they couldn't find anyone who wanted to sell tickets because they wanted to either watch the game or stay warm (if it was for football).

One of the nice things about doing this is I get to meet other people I work with but not have had an opportunity to get to know very well....you get to know people pretty well when you sit together for 4 hours every Friday night.

We have decided that we are AMAZED at what people will say to get out of paying to enter the game. Here are some examples( and believe me when I tell you this is just the TIP of the comments):

"You mean it's not free?"

"I paid last week"

"The coach said I could"

"I am on the list"(hard to do as we HAVE no list)

" I paid last week"

"I am working the concession stand"(this is usually said right before halftime and they are all there BEFORE the game)

"I am with the band(which has already played)"

but my favorite is

"I am here to scout"(and the reason you can't tell me which school you are with is?????")

so-if you feel the need to stiff us on the $4,$3,or $2 ticket, go for it....I am not your moral conscious but those little dumplings standing next to you are watching how you do things and THAT is what you are teaching them.


Enjoy the game.