Letters To Home

Remember I said  Adam had climbed Mt Fuji? Well, this morning he sent a whole bunch of pictures - he looks so good, doesn't he? I miss him dreadfully sometimes, but I'm glad he's safe and having the occasional good time. He's been down in the dumps lately, he re-upped but I think the reality of what he had done kicked in all at once and he was looking at five more years from the wrong end. But he seems to be on the upswing and hopefully will stay there. I really wish he had come home, it's so hard with him so far away, but it's what he wants to do with his life. Work continues to be busy, but settling down a bit with the occasional miscommunication here and there. Jackson is getting back into the school semester, his Aunt Janet ordered the longed for messenger bag and Jackson very nicely told me that "we" would only have to pay half. I have a sneaking suspicion that the "we" is the one with the checkbook. He put in again for McDonalds and hopefully they'll hire him, he's getting very discouraged but somehow I think it has less to do with him and more to do with lack of a car. He's enjoying the metal shop so far and we have to shop for school supplies this weekend. Ray has been making noise about coming out for the Buckwheat Festival at the end of the month so that will be a lot of fun! I was out swimming in the pool today, I haven't been in for a couple of days due to the weather and it won't be long now til it's time to close up shop.

Pew And Far Between

We finally got the pew this weekend, they are not easy items to find I might add. Unless of course you search high and low for one and find one, then everyone and his brother will have one in thier backyard. That you can have. For free to boot. sigh. But we didn't pay too much for this one (and yes, we did price them!). So we brought it home Saturday, on first glance it looked like it would be a lot of work, but David said no - he just sanded it a little and stained it and good as new! It's solid oak or maple or something of that nature so there was little that needed to be done beyond the cosmetic. Vincent is fascinated with it and has been prancing about on it all weekend. Jackson started school this morning, he didn't mind it as he is a JUNIOR this year, that's like being the Vice President except more people know who you are and hopefully you won't accidently shoot your friends duckhunting. We're still getting stuff together supply wise but we'll be doing that over the weekend. And of course there's the school ring to be bought, senior pictures, etc....

Things I Will Never Eat

I touched a pig a last week!! A REAL pig with a snout and everything. There were two of them and they did smell, but were both totally cute. They had thier own basketball to play with and were running around thier pen like nobody's business. Unlike cows, they do not bite and attack people so I felt quite safe. Anyhoo, I'm on call this weekend but we've hired two per diem nurses that get called before me so hopefully all will be quiet on the western front as we are busy this weekend. Jackson starts school on Monday and we're still looking for some silly messenger bag he insists on having, so far no luck but I may try the campus bookstore as that sounds like an item they might have. He can just use last years until we find one. We've finally found a church pew for a reasonable price and will be picking that up today - it needs to be refinished and David will be shortening it up which shouldn't be too hard. A friend of mine knows someone who has a pew and they just took the end off, removed the extra and then popped the end back on so it's not a difficult fix. David and Jackson have been working on the room in progress off the kitchen this week, David's got a couple of jobs lined up for next week so he's been working around here for the past few days. He bought supplies at Lowes and accidently left the last sheet of flooring in the parking lot. I told him it had to be gone, but he called Lowes and asked - they told him to bring the reciept and they would just give him another one! Just like that, can you believe it? In other news, Adam called the other day, David said he sounded a bit better (he's been down in the dumps lately). He went on a field trip with the Navy and they climbed Mt Fuji! He made it all the way to the top and I think David said when you do that, they brand your walking stick.

The End Of Summer

While paddling around in the pool last night I noticed a few red leaves dotting the trees here and there. I can't believe summer is already coming to an end - the nights here are getting chillier and while it's still hot, there's a shift in tempeture. I took Jackson out driving yesterday - my new multi-tasking - I have him drive to all of my errands while I catch up on paperwork - and he's doing quite well. All of the students are back to WVU so it's an endless traffic jam in town, perfect for practice driving. It's a challenge if you're a new driver because not only is it stop and go, there are jaywalkers all over, people pulling into traffic, one way streets, etc. I even had him go to Krogers supermarket where all the students shop - the parking lot is a logistical nightmare and share's with the student bookstore and Burger King. He did very well, despite a running commentary on the jaywalkers. We did a bit of school shopping, all he wanted was a pair of pants for now. We have to measure him again because I think he grew again, I keep saying he can't get any bigger and he goes right ahead and does it anyhow.

Things You Will Die For

Pearl's new hobby is when we go out, she destroys whatever she can get her teeth and paws on. The other night we came home and she'd located the yarn - and unwound about 12 skiens of it all over the living room and foyer, it was one of her more spectacular works that kept her hiding under the coffee table for part of the evening. I tried tying the basket shut but Jackson and I returned from the store to find the basket open and three balls of yarn neatly sitting in front of the entertainment center, like some kind of bizarre dog warning. So everything we like (or need) is now located as close to the ceiling as possible, the top of the entertainment center looks like a yard sale and all closets are kept firmly shut. I'm back to work today, I certainly don't feel like it but I'm sure once I get back it won't be so bad. I got my car inspected last week so that's done and managed to get things done this weekend. Last night was annoying, it seemed like everytime I sat down (finally!) something would need to be done. I went upstairs to get my robe around 8pm and noticed Mr. Lee was sitting on the very edge of the bed. That would be because she had vomited on the other side. Right down to the mattress. Sigh. In local news - The Jesus picture that they've been fighting over in Clarksburg - was stolen Thursday night from the high school!

http://www.topix.net/content/ap/0953913965109406089304708463140192668528

 And here's a list of  National Weeks for August 21st - National Spongecake Week, National Spumoni Day (8/22), National Be An Angel, and National Radio Week.

The People You Know

And here are all the pictures of who I saw - it's not everyone of course, sometimes I didn't have my camera, other days everyone skeddaddled when they saw me pull it out. The last picture is of Richard, one of my best friends in high school that over the years we've fallen out of touch due to, well, plenty of things. We never really had a big fight or anything, but there were quite a few years that we didn't see eye to eye and just drifted apart. I was coming back from town and driving  past the house I knew he'd bought when I turned around and went back - I was so glad I did.  Just as I pulled in the drive he came out of the house - it was like the past 20 or so years hadn't happened. We sat and talked on the porch for well over an hour - I got the grand tour of the victorian he's currently renovating. I'll post the pictures tomorrow - the only thing I forgot to take a picture of was the outside of the house. I'd forgotten how much I miss him sometimes. We also got up to see my cousin Amy and the new baby Alexander James - who I think should've been named Harlin Bobby Joe but there's no accounting for taste I suppose. He's very cute, has more hair than anyone I know and hopefully will forgive his parents for not naming him Harlin someday. Jackson enjoyed holding him except for the hollering part. I'm still cleaning the pool out - David considers pool maintenance running the pump for an hour and letting Pearl fetch the fox toy a million times. I've vacuumed, scrubbed, added chemicals, added MORE chemicals and will be repeating the process tomorrow. I was shocked at how easily alge grows and at how little someone notices it.

It's Good To Be Home

We had a very full week I have to say and actually managed to see just about everyone. I've got tons of pictures that I'll be posting over the next couple of days, there's just too many to post at once. The only low point was when we arrived my stepfather Fred wasn't feeling well - on Sunday my Mom admitted him to the hospital with a fever he couldn't get rid of and lethergy. When we left on Thursday, he was still there as they can't figure out what's causing it, but my Mom said he was feeling better. My poor mother spent the week trying to do stuff with everyone visiting and running back and forth to the hospital to take care of Fred, she's the Queen of Multi-tasking! On Sunday my cousin Tom and his wife Lynn and thier two kids came over for dinner, we had pizza. I have to admit, the one thing WV cannot do is make a decent pizza. And believe me, we have tried everywhere.The only place that even comes close is Marris's Pizza but we're not talking to him so we have to suffer with Cici's Crapola. My sister Janet was down too so I got to see her too. Janet and I saw my Dad and stepmother on Saturday - we got to see Maryann's granddaughter Rhiannon too. The one thing we didn't do is shop! Jackson and I saw Grandma Hendrickson and on the way home we stopped at Tanger Mall so I could go to Eddie Bauer Outlet and Jackson could get something to eat. I used to go there every week but after having lived here - it's ruined. Everything I saw I could get for a third of the price (if not less!) here. Jackson was a little upset too as he had two slices of pizza and a coke and it cost him over $8. Sigh, it's true. We are hicks now. I'll write more tomorrow.

We Are Here!

Sorry about the no pictures - I 'll be posting tons when I get back. Jackson and I left for LI on Friday around 1 pm with the idea that we'd drive until 6 pm or so and then look for a room. The problem with this was around 6 pm we found ourselves in an industrial type area around Lehigh Pa with nothing in sight. A few more miles down the road found us at a Marriott - they're usually midpriced but this was a conference center filled the brim with yuppies who can apparently afford the $179 STARTING RATE which I didn't want to pay to stay for a few hours. We traveled further and at this point I was past being done, on the side of the road was an older but clean looking motel with a family restaurant next to it. So we paid and took our bags up to the room. As we headed outside (please remember I am very tired and very stressed) I noticed some people that looked, well a bit sleazy I suppose would be the word I'm searching for. Hmm. So we go into the restaurant and I ask the teenage waitress about the motel and she said she doesn't know for sure BUT she heard that's where they put the just released prisoners and well, she thinks maybe people, you know, LIVE THERE. I have to say this didn't decrease my stress level at all. I'd been up since 4:30 am packing, I worked half a day and drove a hundred miles before we left for the trip, then we drove about 350, it was 7pm and I hadn't eaten all day. I was so upset I could barely eat the grilled cheese sandwich I'd ordered. After I didn't know what to do - so I was my usual self and went right to the manager to nicely ask about the clientele. I very nicely told him I heard that ex-cons and welfare people stayed here and I didn't think I would be safe. He was rather offended I think but was nice and said there were people that worked construction during the week that stayed there but didn't live there, there were no ex-cons and if anyone bothered me I could call the office as they had security all night. On our way back to the room I noticed there were work trucks and 18 wheelers parked in the lot and we had a good nights sleep. We were only 150 miles from here so we it only took us 3 hours and we arrived here in good time. I 'll write more tomorrow.

It's Friday!

I ran through my visits yesterday - it was tough going since I started out in PA and ended up in WV -I put 156 miles on my car doing 5 patients. I've got one today (it's my half day) and then plan on spending time in the office tying things up. When I got home yesterday I had Jackson help me carry my medical supplies in the house since I won't be taking them to LI. I packed, located the Father's day gifts (I find it's more of a surprise if I hand them out in August...),did a last load of wash, etc. We went out to dinner last night to Cheddars - we got there around 5pm and got in right away. That's one of the most popular restaurants and it doesn't matter what day it is -there's always a line.I was glad we ate early because when we left there were about 50 people outside waiting to come in - and it was only 6 o'clock! Jackson still isn't packed - he probably plans on it when I'm at work but that means I'll come home to enough luggage for him to move out. It's often hard to impress upon him that chances are good he won't need the 3 game systems, his entire collection of CD's, etc...I've learned from past experience that you usually get too busy to do any of that stuff. We'll most likely stay in PA tonight and drive the rest in the morning, we'll see how the traffic is and all. David should be busy all this week - he's starting to get to the point of fending off some jobs. This morning he was talking about the "wierdos" that he'd priced a job for and I told him just don't do it. It's a small job and the thing with wierdos is they tend to not want to pay for it but expect you will live up to whatever they've "envisioned". Following that, they'll proceed to call you for the next year and a half demanding you come back to rearrange the 6 inches of trim they paid you $30 for. Thanks, but no thanks.

One More Day

I  got through most of my work yesterday (close) to ontime and arrived home around 1 pm. I had to stop and get my oil changed and found the Jiffy lube guy must've either been talked to or had some complaints as I didn't have to spend the entire time fending off various fluid changes and other suggestions which tend to cost money. When I got home I got Jackson moving - I made him drive to all of our errands so I could do paperwork that needs to be handed in. I got everything done but the bathing suit - if you need a new bathing suit West Virginia IS NOT the place to look - the picking are very slim and the range goes from Mere Decoration to Wierdly Expensive. So I might be stuck with my old one. David priced out another job yesterday - this time of year there's a side effect to him pricing out jobs which is everyone has a garden. Therefore, everyone has way too many vegetables and are trolling around with grocery bags of zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc to palm off. I do like zucchini and have in fact, eaten two giant ones in the past week. When I got home there were THREE giant zucchini plus a large grocery bag of assorted excess from yet another garden. I'm not complaining - free is free and they tend to be very good but I'll have to start looking for recipes I suppose. Here's a very easy one by the way:

Saute chopped and peeled zucchini, onion and green peppers in a couple of tablespoons of veg oil.. Add salsa and continue to simmer until cooked.  I usually mix this with rice

Friday Can't Get Here Soon Enough

Of course since I'm this far from vacation, work is piling up stready - my half day again looks like a 3/4 day and I still have to get my oil changed, etc, etc. David has been very busy lately, he's become a popular boy in the carpentry world - maybe a little too popular. The one thing I find amazing around here is how people complain there's no work and yet, when you try to find someone to do something - they either can't find time for you or better yet, just never bother to show up. So between David and I, finding time to do anyting around here is getting scarce. Poor Jackson hasn't been driving in days and I it's all I can do to keep up on the laundry, shopping and keeping the pool. We still can't get the AOL to work and it probably just needs to be reinstalled, but that takes time that I don't have so for now, we can access it through the internet explorer.

Arrgh! It's Monday Again!

When I got up this morning I couldn't access our AOL, no matter how I tried. I'm currently running another virus scan - since yesterday it was the Kodak file that was misbehaving and now it's the AOL today. It could just be a coincidence or it could be Ground Hog Day for me, like the movie and I'll be forced to repeat Monday over and over until I get it right. This could take awhile. Pearl has been a special pest since yesterday, her new thing is to follow me around whining and no, there's nothing wrong with her as the whining mysteriously stops if you take her outside to play or give her half of whatever you're eating. It's frustrating because if you wave a newspaper at her and yell, she just hides under the coffee table and commences her Whining Activities from there. I'm still working on the baby blanket and have the first part done, but given the size of the needles (#3's) this could take awhile.

Just Another Day

The big problem with working the weekend is one day just rolls into another. I just had one visit per day all weekend -but it was far from here and by the time I got home half the day was gone. David woke up this morning and said "doesn't it feel like Sunday?" but to me it's just Monday all over again. We went to Sam's club yesterday, I stopped into AC Moore's hoping to find some more of that blue yarn I bought a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday while David was outside and I was off working, Pearl got into my knitting bag (of all things!) and managed to tie a full skein into a knot and I ended up having to throw the whole thing out. But, while I was talking to Kim on the phone yesterday I wound the other bag of blue yarn I had into balls and it looks like I'll have enough. If I don't I found the yarn that matches so I've got it covered in any case.  I woke up this morning feeling overwhelmed, since I didn't think I woujld get my vacation I haven't done a bit of planning for it so it means now I have to get my oil changed, find my suitcase, etc and of course plan things out. I'm not sure if I'm going to try and drive straight through or stay overnight in PA and continue on in the morning. My problem is I think I might arrive in NYC around rush hour and on a Friday heading out to LI that would be a problem. If things haven't changed the traffic might be a "bit" heavy. And after having spent the past three years in areas where four cars and a cow are considered a traffic jam, I am not looking foward to it

I Hate Glitches

I tried to download the pictures I'd taken today - it made the bingle noise but no transfer. After the 4rth time I realized I'd hit a Glitch and there was no fixing it. So I uninstalled, restarted, reinstalled,restarted - and it failed. So I did it again. I then sat back and contemplated the fact that if I whapped the computer as hard as I wanted,not only would it most likely not work, but I might be out a bit of money. So I used the other disc I had and it worked. That would be when I realized I had probably wiped out about 3 years worth of pictures that need to be transferred to a CD but I am way too lazy for that. Eek. But for some reason it didn't wipe out my archives and nothing was lost. I suppose NOW I should transfer them and get them off the computer but that would require An Effort which I simply not willing to put forth at this time. Don't you just love big words and phrases? In our paper today there was someone who was arrested for abusing a horse and the prosecution stated that "although he is somewhat mentally challenged he's able to compensate for the lack of ability." That is a totally fancy way of saying someone is, well stupid. But it sounds much nicer, doesn't it? So, I'm not being lazy, I'm just action challenged and unable to compensate for the lack at this time. Gosh, I feel better already! Do you like the pictures of Pearl the Pest (who is by the way Personal Space Challenged) - she now freely invites herself in whenever she feels the need to swim and paddles around likes it's nobody's business. And this Upcoming Week is: National Day Of Indigenous People (Aug 7th) which incidently is shared with National Leif Garrett Day, National Sexual Health Week, National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, and National Science Week. Since I'm not  heading for LI  until next Friday that will give me plenty of time to plot out my celebration of National Leif Garrett Day. Oh, wait. That's National Leif ERIKSON Day - I suppose it makes a tad more sense to have a day devoted to a famous viking that discovered North America first as opposed to a National Day devoted to teen singing idol that only I and three other people remember - but it doesn't sound like it'll be as much fun.

It's Still Hot

According to the Crack Weather Team, the temps will be breaking today, which would maybe be a welcome relief. The water in the pool has become wierdly warm - 86 degrees yesterday which elevates it to Giant Bathtub Status. The wimpier members of the family seem to be getting a great deal of pleasure in it, paddling around in thier little Hot House Retreat, but I prefer it about 10 degrees colder. Jackson has not heard back from McDonalds and I think is getting a bit discouraged, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with him not driving yet and school starting in about 3 weeks, I don't think any of the businesses are eager to hire someone who will probably quit. At the moment he's been working with David and David pays him by the hour - David can use the help and Jackson is enjoying it more than he thought he would. I've told him to wait until after school starts to look again but no, it doesn't hurt to put in your application. I got approved for my vacation - I wasn't going to take it because Adam didn't get approved for his, but then realized I can't keep doing this forever. So when he comes home I'll have to figure it out from there. I'll be taking new pictures over the weekend, The Gun Trader has made a special guest star appearance and that often involves sneaking off with my camera so we can takes hundreds of pictures to post on the internet so other Interested Parties can want our gun and trade us one of thiers.

The Tempature's Rising

Isn't that the creepiest spider - and it is very big. I wish I could get a clear picture of it as the markings are strange, but that would involve opening the window and possible Physical Contact. Following that, would be Blood Curdling Screams  and Running Around Shrieking so the window stays firmly shut. I guess I'll just make due. Anyhoo, the temps are supposed to be going to the high nineties to possibly one hundred so I'm sure the pool will get a lot of use this week. Becky was over visiting yesterday and she and Jackson spent most of the afternoon in it splashing and floating around. I am so glad we have central air, it would be unbearable without it. The humidity around here is what's the real killer, a foggy haze hangs over at all times - the mornings are postively grey. Jackson interviewed for McDonald's yesterday and then helped David finish up the sunporch job. David's hanging doors next and then when it cools off he'll start the roofing job and the ongoing job at the professor's is still in the wings.This small job thing seems to be working out, he's starting to make the same money but doesn't have to worry about hiring anyone and his schedule is pretty flexible. I heard from Adam, he got turned down for his August vacation and is now shooting for mid-Sept or October - this of course puts me right back to square one since I'm faced with do I go home or do I continue saving my vacation? I guess I'll figure it out.