5/25 Storms and such

It's been storming since 7 AM. (I've been up since 6.) Luckily I have wireless so I can still be on the computer.

We're on a slight break between thunderstorms right now, so the dogs are going crazy at all the rabbits and squirrels in our yard. Making me crazy too. I guess I'll have to have another session getting them used to rabbits and squirrels just like we did with the cat at Alpha Dog.

Here's a picture my brother Joe had. He and I are with our godson, Jordon, the graduate. Of course the only weight I'm supporting is the empty diploma holder. I just love the picture. Thanks, Joe and Cindy.



I'm going to put some things away today, and then this evening will have dinner with my sisters and two friends. We're all leaving Friday for Chicago for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. Jane is iffy at this point because she wants to make sure Pete can do without her. We won't know that for a few days. I'm a bit iffy too, but am fairly sure I'm going to go.

2/12 Thunderstorms and scary stuff

The weather is wild at the moment. Still really warm, but lots of thunderstorms and tornado watches. It's been warm and sunny all through February so far, but this is a big change.

Keep your fingers crossed. I have a job interview by phone in a few minutes.

12/20 Rain rain go away

Wow, it's been pouring all day. There's hail right off the coast but that hasn't hit us. Thank God. I've done a lot of driving today (and eaten a lot of holiday fare). But luckily I managed to traverse the worst of the huge puddles without problem.

The roads are hazardous too. But the good news is that it's almost done. And when I take off tomorrow morning for North Carolina, the weather is supposed to be perfect. That certainly makes me smile.

The puppies are at Pampered Pets and I miss them already. Tonight I must do laundry and pack. And clean dog hair off the Christmas presents I'm taking with me on the plane.

Can't wait to see Rob, Beata, and the zoo. It'll be great!

11/22 Happy Thanksgiving!

So far it's a quiet day. Just talked to Jill for a few minutes. They're expecting lots of folks from her Dad's side of the family. There will be nine people and two dogs. Quite a crowd.

I'm going to Genia's today for dinner at 3. Should be fun. I'm taking Grandma's Holiday Salad and a sweet potato casserole.

Still lots of work to do here at home to prepare for Rob's arrival tomorrow. But unfortunately the barometer is dropping and I have a splitting headache. Hope it goes away soon.

In the meantime my dogs and I are napping. That's what holidays are for--that and overindulgence in the food department.

9/23 Rainy day fun

It rained all day today. The puppies were good while I was at church but when I got home they were ready to play. After a bath because both of them got in the mud in the backyard, they just both went crazy in the house. Didn't hurt anything, but they were wild.

After they'd gotten muddy I opened the door, yelled at them, and Quincy went into my bathroom and jumped in the bathtub. Can't get her to stop jumping on people, but she jumps into the bathtub without being told. Pretty funny.

Cookie doesn't like the bathtub as much as Quincy, but she tolerates it. Right now they're wrestling on my bed, but at least they are clean. For now.

I watched a Food Challenge on the Food Network this afternoon. It was a challenge on making Mac and Cheese. They all looked so good--I made some myself. Used some shredded cheese I had (Colby, Monterey Jack, and Cheddar), and I had bought some fresh Asiago, so I grated some of that in the roux. It was really good. Luckily I made a lot of it, so I'll have some to take to work for lunch.

Guess that's it. Not a lot happening on this rainy, gloomy, muddy day. Singing in the choir was fun though.

8/13 Hot tomatoes, thunderstorms, and the best dog in the world

Jan gave me wonderful fresh tomatoes and they keep popping open in the heat (yes, I do take them into the hotel room with me). So I've been eating the ones that won't last the trip. Not a bad deal. They are delicious, Jan.

The trip TO St. Louis was easy, the hotel was beautiful, the kids had fun, Quincy was well-behaved, Jill and Todd got there on time, both of them loved Quincy. All was perfect---UNTIL, the perfect storm appeared at 2 AM. Cut out power to more than 50,000 customers, including our hotel. The lightning and thunder woke me up, and Q just raised her head and went back to sleep. But I knew that if the power didn't come back on it would get awful hot in there. Plus we were on the 4th floor.

I didn't go back to sleep and it got hotter and hotter. Took a bath by the light of the computer. Packed by the light of my phone. Woke up Todd to help me carry my stuff down. When I looked in their room everyone was covered up, and I was sweating. Those damn Californians.

Anyway, I made it out of there and am now in Jackson, MS. Q is in a kennel because I have to work, but I'll pick her up after the meeting tomorrow and we'll finally make it home and to our "normal" routine. Can't wait. More later.

7/23 Another rainy day

First of all the good news--Q slept through the night three nights in a row. I'm hoping for a fourth.

Drove to Bay St. Louis today for a meeting. The weather was beautiful, until I got home. Then the deluge began. Lots of thunder, lightning, and wet stuff. Weatherman said Beach Blvd. (Hwy 90) was flooded in spots.

Q hasn't been too anxious to go outside. :) It looks like it's slowed down, so I'll encourage her to go outside before it starts up again in earnest.

My grass is sure growing!

7/15 Not laughing today

Quincy and Raven, the lab puppy next door, have decided to dig a tunnel to each other. Yes, it is funny to see this tiny black head trying to get under the fence. I thinkQ did most of the work, but Raven is benefiting the most because she'll fit through before Quincy will. Have heard of so many remedies for digging, but everyone says that none of them work, including putting chicken wire into the ground.

So Quincy got another bath today. And there's no sign that the mud will abate because it's storming again. The Mississippi Gulf Coast really needs the water, but if it could avoid the mud piles in my yard, I'd be most appreciative.

I'm supposed to meet the reporter at 1 outside. And I don't have his phone number because someone else took the call. She's in Minnesota currently, but I hope I can reach her. Sure don't want to wait in the rain.

Will let you know how it goes.

And does anyone have ideas for stopping dog-diggers? I will not beat her or kill her. Other than that, I'm open.

7/14 Q's antics

Q is throwing toys at me and they squeak when they hit me. Then she grabs them and does it again. Sure makes me laugh.

She slept most of the day. Me too. I am not feeling up to par, not really sick, but my stomach is yucky. Ditto my head.

Weather is really bad still. Earlier friends came by to cut my grass, but the storms came back, so they couldn't finish.

I keep beginning projects but can't finish anything. Just no energy at all. Wonder if it's got something to do with the barometer. Falling barometric pressure gives me horrible headaches, but meds are taking care of that.

Just a goofy day I guess. But I have so much work to do that I can't even rest easily, knowing that I'll pay for this tomorrow.

Also tomorrow I'm going to be on WLOX-TV, our local ABC affiliate. They're interviewing me at 1 PM. Just a tiny little blurb. But it means I have to study up on what they'll ask, plus clean up when I'll just want to be at home.

Ah well....

7/4 Happy Fourth

It stormed all day yesterday and last night but now it's okay. Just a lot of mud. So I'll make my salad and prepare to go to the picnic. If it gets canceled then I'll just bring the salad to work tomorrow.

This morning was fun. I sat on the back porch and played online poker with my brothers Joe and Jay, while Quincy played in the mud. I lost money but enjoyed myself.

Hope everyone has a great day. I wish I was with my family at Jan's house, but you can't have everything. Love to all.

7/3 What magnificent storms

The thunderstorms are magnificent and majestic. Lightning flashes and huge black clouds roll across the sky. I love thunderstorms.

ONLY...they're supposed to continue tomorrow. The one day I was supposed to do something with new friends, we have 60% chance of continued thunderstorms all day. So I'm praying the weatherman is wrong.

The plan is to meet people at one of the Gulfport beaches around 4 for a picnic and then stay for the fireworks at 9. Hope it all works out, but it doesn't look too good right now.

5/13 Mother's Day

So the day started out perfectly. I spoke to both my kids and grandkids. They said such loving and wonderful things. I miss them all so much, but am gratified that both Rob and Jill are in loving marriages and are so happy.

Later, the most exciting thing that happened was that Quincy and I took a nap.

In the middle of the nap, the phone rang. It was our alarm system company and the alarm had gone off at work. They called the police and I said I'd be there in less than a half hour. When I got there, no cops, no anything. So Quincy and I went inside and I put in my alarm code. Everything worked normally, until I tried to put in my code to leave. Everything went haywire again.

So I quickly called the alarm company and they told me how to fix the problem. At first I thought it might have been the thunderstorm that set off the alarm. But I looked around and noticed there were some balloons floating around. That's what the problem was. Someone had left balloons in the lobby where the motion detectors are. So I put them in the kitchen for now, and will send an email to all staff reminding them about the motion detectors.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

4/1 No April Fool's joke!

I need to build an ark. Fast. I'm afraid this RV is going to float away soon. Let me start at the beginning.

Woke up at seven. After my shower I drove to Coffee Fusion (near my new home) to check out the coffee and breakfast fare. It was good. Ate a nice breakfast then went to the grocery store to stock up. As I arrived at my car it started raining and my phone rang at the same time.

The rain wasn't bad, so I said hello to my sister, Jan, as I loaded up my car. Sat in the parking lot to chat and the rain started pouring. Finally I started driving when the rain seemed to let up a bit. Got to the drawbridge over the back bay and the rain became a deluge. I was still talking to Jan and finally realized she wasn't there.

I'd been chatting about the downpour and the drawbridge and the back bay and how pretty it all was even though I could barely see, and the whole time we'd been cut off. Called her back and she was laughing. Seems we'd been talking 29 minutes already when cut off. I described the drive and how the roads were getting flooded--different from home where we have storm sewers in the streets. By the time I got to Beach Boulevard the water covered my tires halfway. I started laughing, albeit a bit hysterically.

Finally pulled off Beach and drove a little north on the peninsula to Pass Road. Thought it would be better, but it was worse if anything. Jan was laughing at me because I was still doing this excited, nervous laughter. And was afraid to stop because didn't know if I could start up again. When I got to the RV park it was deep water, but I managed to pull into the park. There was a guy--looked like he was playing in the gutter, something we loved to do as kids. Turns out he was working on clearing a small drain in the road.

My driveway is a tiny bit higher than the road, so it's not badly flooded, and the door to the RV is only about two feet from my car door. Still I got soaked unloading the car, even with an umbrella. I'm so happy to be back in my little nest. I unplugged my computer, but the connection is wireless so am still able to get online. Right now we seem to be in a little lull, but we've had several different thunderstorms pass through so I don't know if it's finished yet. Wow--what an adventure!

Got some bad news from Jan too. One of my nephews is in the hospital. Hopefully he'll go home today. I'd written up all the details and then realized they were private and I wouldn't want to do anything to embarrass him. I'm praying everything turns out okay.