Starting Over

Hi, I felt as though I was being stalked by a reader, and it really gave me the jeebes to hear the person speak as though they were part of my everday life. I write this to share my life and events with friends and family, but someone I would prefer not read this has been living vicariously through it.

So, hello and welcome to the Ranch!

Chicken Pot

The chicken calamity of 2007 has been solved. Mike AND I built a "chicken pot". It really looks like a chicken tent, but what I visualized in my head was different than what we made for lack of proper supplies. Since I have a certain picture in my head though, I will continue to refer to it as the chicken pot. It took just a few hours and spare parts plucked from around the barn and wa-la, the chickens are happy "campers"!
So thats what we did yesterday. We also flew Wyatt's new kite for awhile. Come to find out, Mike and I are more interested in flying Wyatt's kite than Wyatt is. We were discussing wind speed and angles and the proper stance for an accurate throw of the kite when we noticed Wyatt playing on the dirt pile paying no attention to us. Oh well.
Dohn and Jonna came for dinner, and as always, Julie's recipe for pulled pig sandwiches with secret cole slaw was out of this world. They brought fresh pies, and a nice visit was shared over great food. Just a side note....if you havent already figured it out, I'm off my diet :(
Dinner was over early so we came home and Wyatt took a bath to rid himself from all the dirt he carried in on his person from the dirt pile. I guess you would call that a mudbath. I played on the new computer some more, and found out that the things this is capable of are far beyond my comprehension. I can learn though. Mike went back to the big house and had a second dinner and chewed the fat with Gk for awhile.
Then it was time for the Soprano's. Let me just say this. What the ef is going on this season. All three episodes have been so lame. Either that, or so brilliant I don't get it. I keep thinking throughout the hour that it's all going to come together in some big "whip" and I'm going to be left in disbelief and awe. Ummm. NO. It makes me so mad. That and the fact that GH has let me down so badly with Jax and Carly getting married. Maybe it's time to just turn off the t.v

I have been taking flaxseed oil twice a day and I think it's helping with my fat induced hip and leg discomfort.

I haven't talked to Wendy for a few days, so I don't know whats new with her. I guess I should try leaving her some messages letting her know her brother is coming next weekend. If anyone talks to or see's her, please tell her.

I think Val is coming for a visit....that would be fun. For me anyway, I don't know how much fun she would have : )
Shelley and Joe have a new to them trailer, I hope they come down this summer too.
Since we can't fish in the pond anymore, we'll have to find new ways to entertain ourselves, so company is a welcome thing.
It's a good diversion for GK too. He really likes company.

I guess thats all. I should go do something.

See Ya

Chicken Run

I feel like I lost a day. I think I was so overwhelmed by the new addition I kinda lost track of things. We have taken about 5000 photo booth photos and laughed so hard at most of them we couldn't see. oh well, I think I'm coming out of it a little today.

We did have a busy day yesterday though. We went to town and did some grocery shopping for GK. I came home with the back of the wagon loaded and he just shook his head and asked what the hell he was gonna do with all that "gawdammmed" food. As we brought it in he started going through and unloading all the bags onto the counter saying....oh, that looks pretty good, oh, I like that, Oh that will taste good, oh, I haven't had that in a while, yeah, you got some pretty good stuff here. : )
Needless to say, he is pleased with the new inventory.

Ok, this was the big faux pass.
The decision to let the chickens "free range" again. I must say it was my fault. I feel sorry for the chickens. I wanted them to be able to feel the wind on their face and the grass under their feet. Mike begrudgingly went along with it. I said, we will clip thier wings so they wont fly over the fence. He said "ok". I said, they won't get out THROUGH the fence. WHY would they want out of this beautiful field. He said, "whatever"...... I said tear down those walls Mike! He said, "alright".
It was a glorious sight. All those little happy chickens, free at last from the wire that had for so long been holding them back from the freedom they so desired. I sat and watched as the chickens frolicked in the fresh spring air, reasurring Mike what a wonderful thing it was he had done. We sat for a long time before we went back in the house. Just watching the chickens.
It was about 6:30 when it happened.
Wyatt came running in the house to say that the chickens were out of the field. It couldn't be. Why. Why would they have left. Why would they BETRAY me and the trust I had in them.
Those fuggin chickens.
The chase was on. We were armed with salmon nets and or own primal inginuity. We could catch all those stupid chickens, big deal. Let me just say this. It was after eight when we got back in the house. The chickens had won. Oh, they were all back in thier hen house, but the joke was on us. They had conspired and won. They truely had tasted freedom and proven that man is not necessarily smarter than beast, but sometimes, just sometimes, husband may be smarter than wife.

We had a late dinner and all ate in the living room to watch a movie. Borat. Hmmm. What to say about Borat. Some parts of it were so funny I thought I would pee. Other parts were so cuttingly true about what bafoons Americans can be was almost shameful. Wyatt loved the bathroom humor, but some of it was above what he maybe should have seen. It was entertaining, parts of it very funny. Would I watch it again? I'm not sure.
This afternoon, I think we are going to watch Flyboys with the neighbor.

Dohn and Jonna are coming over for an early dinner today. I am making Julie's famed pulled pork sandwiches with her top secret cole slaw. I put the pork roast in at about 7:30 this morning and have the oven set really low. The house already smells good.
Mike just took GK the paper and Wyatt is watching cartoons.
Another Sunday in the Park :

Not So Much

Not to much new today. Wyatt is in school, so I'm having to make my own noodle soup for lunch : (
I spent the morning at the big house doing cleaning that's needed to be done for a week, but because of the floor being put down it was kind of pointless. Anyway, everything is ship shape and back in place now. GK has decided to extend the new floor out to all three doors. That is what he originaly had in mind, and I think it will look really good.
He drove to town today to run some errands and I think it did him a world of good. Kind of a sense of self being behind the wheel of the Goat Wagon again. It's good to see him feeling well, and doing again : )
His hip has been pretty sore, but the doc's are checking to see if it could maybe be low calcium again. Nothing to bad though, not enough to keep him down. He was talking this morning about he and Mike mowing the pasture tomorrow before the grass gets to long. Mike could use the Tractor for the big part and GK could follow behind on the rider.
Should be entertaining to watch!

Mike and Wyatt are going North next weekend. Wyatt is about out of his shorts. He gets soo excited to see Wendy and Maddy.
Stub, I think maybe Mike should swing him in for a short visit before he comes for "nine" days like he plans. You may end up having other "plans" for all but seven or eight of those days : )
I am going to go with GK and John and Donna to the coast to see their friend Betty. They have all been friends for a very long time so it should be a fun time filled with stories and memories.

Well, GH just ended and I am sooooo mad.
Carly married Jax.
I cant believe it : (
It turns out though, it was Jaxs' brother who held everyone (including Carly) hostage at the Metro Court. He's had plastic surgery though so no one knows it's him.
Wait till everyone figures it out! It's a real nail biter I tell ya!!!

Speaking of t.v stuff, did you hear Richard Gere has a warrant for his arrest out for kissing some woman in India????
WoW, he must be a reallly bad kisser : P

OHMYGAWD

This is me sooooooo happy I'm Bawling!
I'll tell you why later!!
Nooooo, not just because Wyatt brought me home that great firemans hat...
Just you wait!

Oh My Gawd

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Julie and Mike sent us a NEW COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A shiny new fresh out of the box wide screen Mac computer with a brand new printer scanner everything!!!!!!
I almost had heart failure when it arrived. I just started crying and choking, I think I scared the Fed EX guy half to death :)
I blubbered for about an hour before I could even believe it was real!
My eyes are sollen and tired now, so I'll tell you more about it tomorrow.
Thank you Mike and Julie. This is the best gift ever.
All my friends are in here, you have no idea what this means to me.
Maybe tonight I'll dream of GK and I working on the computer together ; )

My Day At Work. By Wyatt

[slideshow id=144115188082886026&w=400&h=300]My day with my Mom. I really did like it. My favorite part was going to see the chicken eggs. It was really dirty. We found the freakiest egg. It was pink and it had white dots it was the warmest thing I have ever touched. There were like seven eggs. We left the door open and one of the chickens got out. I found an apple seed and I planted it then my hands got a little dirty and then I got the hose to wash my hands, they were dirty, then I made my hand look like a cup and water filled my hands and I got all wet from the water. I also did the laundry. It was kinda fun. I actualy kinda forgot how I did the laundry. I sorted the clothes. I vacumed and cleaned the living room. I made lunch for me and Mom. I made noodle soup. It was great. I took the dogs out to go to the bathroom. We went to the big house and I broomed the new floor for my Great Grandfather. We just made cookies, me and my Mom. They are butterscotch oatmeal. They are good. I stired them, and mixed the chemicals together and then I got the mixing spoons. Oh, I did the dishes, it was fun.
I had a great time today. I think what my Mom does is fun and I want to do it when I grow up. I think I am going to make dinner tonight. I am going to make pasta and potatoes. Now we are going to watch my Moms show General Hospital. I think General Hospital is cool. It's where these guys go to the hospital and they hear urgent emegencies and two people are getting married but Sonny is trying to stop it all.
That is my day.

Thrsday

I think I may survive the sickness. Wyatt is home on take your kid to work day, so he's in the living room having a cup of coffee, smoking a cigerette and watching The View. Just kidding. The View doesn't come on till' 10:00. Haha.....as my neighbor would say, "just a little humor". Anyway, I'm headed over to the big house to see how things are this morning.
John should be over soon to finish the floor. Wyatt will be a blog guest host sometime today, talking about his "day at work"
See ya Later

Oogy Sick

I think I may survive the sickness. Wyatt is home on take your kid to work day, so he's in the living room having a cup of coffee, smoking a cigerette and watching The View. Just kidding. The View doesn't come on till' 10:00. Haha.....as my neighbor would say, "just a little humor". Anyway, I'm headed over to the big house to see how things are this morning.
John should be over soon to finish the floor. Wyatt will be a blog guest host sometime today, talking about his "day at work"
See ya Later

Yawn

I was coma tired yesterday. I think I'm better today.
I'll be back later.

Waking Up

I can not even begin to tell you how tired I was yesterday. Oh my gawd. Julie seems to think it may be Tylenol pm overload so I'll get off the junk for a while and see if it helps. I'll try taking just Tylenol and maybe some Sleepy Time tea or something. I have to take something at night because I have restless leg and fat girl sore hips and legs syndrome. I bought some flax oil pills yesterday, but that will take a month or so I figure to start working. I got some for GK to because his hips and legs and knees are always so sore. We will just have to wait and see if it works.

All we really did yesterday was go to the store. I got a whole chicken for .69 a pound and baked it last night and will make trailer park chicken and dumplings out of the rest tonight. We took Wyatts movie back and stopped in to K-Mart to get a sympathy card for One Arm Cherie. Julie called yesterday to tell me Cherie's husband Jack had died from a brain aneurysm. I just got sick to my stomach when she told me. I think the world of Cherie, and know what a special love they had for each other. Jack was quite a guy and will be missed by many.
I ate chocolate peanuts and napped most of the day. Gk wasn't up to much either so I just popped in and out throughout the day. As I was baking chicken, he threw a couple chicken pot pies in his oven. I just shook my head and figured oh well. He will love the TPC&D tonight though. I have attempted chicken and dumplings a number of times and finally hit on one he likes. It's basically Campbells soup and Bisquick with a little chicky and mixed veggies thrown in. Easy sneazy and pretty tasty. Then, throw in the usual conversation had over any chicken dinner...GK teasing Wyatt that it's made from Wy's chicken Freda and Wy crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out at GK. : )

John got here at 8:30 this morning. He started on the floor a little before 9:00 and was making pretty good progress when I left. I looked out a few minutes ago and see that Rick is here now, so that will more than likley slow things down for a while.
Rick. I still kind of choke on his name.

My brain is having a hard time staying on track today. Can to much vitamin B do that? I took two B complex today instead of one because I'm out of my regular vitamins. Maybe I shouldn't do that. That, and the fact that I dream about GK EVERY night ALL night. I wake up and still feel tired because I dream about him and I doing things all night. Last night I dreamed that he and I were filling holes in the driveway, but all he did was drive the truck. I had to shovel all the rock. I think I'm gonna go next door and kick his ass right now.
I went to sleep right after Sopranos last night with hopes of dreaming about mob crimes or SOMETHING different. No such luck. Just GK and I cleaning and fixing things.
Oh well.
I'm going to clean the maple syrup off my keyboard now. My fingers keep sticking to the M, N, K, , ? and space bar.
I should have GK do it since I shoveled the rock last night.

Progress

I think I may survive the sickness. Wyatt is home on take your kid to work day, so he's in the living room having a cup of coffee, smoking a cigerette and watching The View. Just kidding. The View doesn't come on till' 10:00. Haha.....as my neighbor would say, "just a little humor". Anyway, I'm headed over to the big house to see how things are this morning.
John should be over soon to finish the floor. Wyatt will be a blog guest host sometime today, talking about his "day at work"
See ya Later

Before and After

Here is a picture taken of me shortly before doing my hair.



Here is a picture of me this morning waiting for my first cup of coffee from Mykl'.

Swim In

Wyatt and I went to the pool today, that kid loves to swim. I read the new book Julie left me, Julie/Julia which I will be sending to Deborah as soon as I'm finished. She can then send it back home to Julie : ) Then we went to McDonalds and the video store to get the Clint Eastwood Flags Of Our Fathers movie and picked up a Pappa pizza for an afternoon at the big house. We were going to do that last night, but Lake Placid was on to late so we rebooked for today.

Mike is working today, but should be home soon. He's working in the shop on his truck. I tell you, he's a pretty
multi-purposed husband. He can do my hair, fold laundy, wash dogs and fix stuff. What more could a girl ask for.

I talked to kelly this morning and she said Lloyd is flying the porcelain bowl. Poor guy. Maybe it was to much of the all you can eat Baskin Robbins ice cream bar. Either that or Talliban Revenge. That would so suck to be sick like that away from home in a big barracks with a bunch of other guys and no privacy. I guess maybe not much different than me telling everyone he's sick and providing a visual of his misery. Sorry Lloyd : ( Hope you feel better soon.
She said the boys are good and busy with sports and she's keeping pretty busy doing the single mom thing.

I decided what to get Mike and Julie for their anniversary this morning. They may not like it at first, but they will learn to. It's something I like a lot, so I guess if they don't ever learn to like it they could always re-gift it to me for my birthday or Christmas. I think it's a great gift though and I can't wait to tell you what it is. Maybe if Julie goes out of town or gets really sick with the flu (sorry Lloyd) and can't get out of bed I could tell you.

Thats it.

Anni Wilkes

I just got home from the big house. GK and I were watching Misery. I realized that not only is it a scary movie, but what makes it REALLY scary is I look JUST like Kathy Bates. I swear to Gawd. I will Google a picture so you can see for yourself. I had to come home to watch GH, but GK is glued to the set. Tonight we're going to get a pizza and watch Lake Placid over there. BEST MOVIE EVER. Thanks Shelley. I can't see it enough and love Bettty White in it. Hard to believe GK has been missing out on these fine filmatic treasures all these years.
He and John went to town this morning and bought all the flooring for the kitchen. It's walnut Pergo and I think it will look so good. John is going to start on Monday and figures it will take two or three days. I am really excited to see how it turns out.
Mike is stopping by Johns on his way home from work to pick up the saw he needs to use and will set up shop in the garage.

I got an e.mail from Drew last night! That was so cool. He said he and Quinn would like to read the blog at home.
Hi Drew and Quinn!!
It's interesting reading the letters from Lloyd forwarded by Kelly. It would be dumb to say it sounds like he's in a foreign country because duh, he is. It really sounds like a whole different world though. Hard for me to even imagine the things he tells about. I can imagine the Baskin and Robbins ice cream bar in the mess hall, but thats about it. Drew and Quinn could have the best stories for show and tell ever, thats for sure.

I was outside with the dogs this morning and found eleven eggs in one duck nest and twelve in the other! I hope the eggs hatch. I read that they lay between twelve and fifteen eggs before they start to sit on them, so maybe soon. Mike found an Easter egg last night : ) I told him to leave it there until next year. Then it will really be a surprise.

Ummmm.....Wyatt is on a field trip today. His class went to Portland to see a play of the Boxcar Children. He has been looking forward to this all week. He should be on his way back to school by now. Last night we went to town to get him a lunchable for today and there was a little girl in front of us in line from his class, and I swear, she was such a brat. Her dad wasn't much better. He wouldn't even smile at us when we said hello. Don't you hate jackass parents. It really is no wonder why some kids are the way they are. It's not like he even knew we were white trash or anything either because we were at Haggen. I asked Wyatt if she was rude to him at school, and he said she wasn't, but you would never know it by how she acted in the store.
Anyway, I'm over it now. I need to remember too, that Wyatt is kind of an Eddie Haskel, so maybe I expect to much from other kids.
Jack called today to tell me he was sick. Unfortunetly, not to sick to keep him from dialing the phone. Maybe that's why he's on the MaryJane. Medicinal purposes. I was rather short with him and he lost interest in our conversation. He told me if I wanted to talk more later I would have to call him on his cell phone because the land line had already been dissconected.
Idiot.

Ok, so thats about it I guess. I think when we go to town to get the pizza I will swing into K-Mart and pick up a hair frosting kit and see if I can shake this Kathy Bates look I got goin' on. That should make for some good blog material tomorrow.
Till then....
Adios

Success!

Ok, After an almost professional trailerpark bleach job from Mykl' I must say I am very pleased!
And, after taking a shower with my Sue Andersen soap, Julie Carlson shampoo and Valerie James deodorant I feel like a new woman. My only fear is that my stunning new blonde highlights may be mistakenly percieved as grey : (
Oh well, Kathy Bates has left the building! Look out Oregon City The Parkprincess is BACK...well, add a few years and a few pounds and maybe the new title of Park Manager, but you get the drift : )
Tune in tomorrow for the play by play events of this evenings adventure.

LOL!!!

Uh, I mean to the RIGHT!!!
Hahah...Did anyone else catch that?
Funny!

A Beautiful Mind

I checked my e.mail this morning and there was a comment posted from Val.
This is how my mind works.
I was thinking about Val as I got in the shower, still laughing to myself about the right and left thing.
I got in the shower and picked up my Jergans soap and thought of Val's Mom Sue because that's the soap I remember her buying. Thinking of Sue always makes me happy. Since I'm thinking happy thoughts I think about the Sweet Tooth saloon.
I wonder what ever happened to the Sweet Tooth and why they closed. Since I am thinking about food I remember the Mariner where we could buy cigerettes in the machine if nobody was looking. Then thinking about restaurants, I remember the Wounded Pig. Not much to remember about the Pig. Now that I'm thinking about places that have closed, I think about Sprouse Rietz, or Reitz. Whatever. Was it Reetz or Ritz? I just remember calling it "Sprouse". I remember going there at lunch time, sneaking "off campus" without a note and buying candy. Thinking about school, I remember Susi Pullen piercing ears in the girls bathroom next to the cafateria at lunch. Ow. Remember how the lockers used to be in the hall? I was almost done in the shower, I just needed to wash my hair. So I picked up my new bottle of shampoo and thought of Julie because when she was here a couple times ago she bought the new L'oreal shampoo. It came in a cool bottle and I guess a part of you never grows up and still wants what your older sister has, so I bought the same kind of shampoo she did. Mine is in a pink bottle and her's was in an orange bottle because we have different hair types. I still think of her whenever I wash my hair though because it's the same kind of shampoo. Now I wrap up my thinking coming back to Val and the trip we took to Las Vegas. I was wearing my new Avon perfume the whole time we were there so now every time I see or wear that pefume I think of my trip to Vegas with Val, Glenn and Kelly. I keep my deodorant right next to that perfume, so when I use the deodorant I think of Val.
That's just the shower. Can you imagine the rest of my day?

Sleepy Wednesday

I think I slept about three hours last night. I stayed up late to watch Deadliest Catch, that was on at 10:00 so over at 11:00.
Then I went to bed and ended up watching some of the news. Did you know they closed the WSU Vancuver campus because of copycat shooting threats? Ok, so I finally get to sleep and BAM, 2:30 I am wide awake. Mike had already left for work, but I didn't hear him. I mean wide wide awake. My dad always said if that happens to get put of bed and do something. Don't just lay there thinking about not being able to sleep. So I got up and watched t.v, read my e-mail and had a cookie. Then it was about 3:30. I decided to go back to bed to watch t.v, but when I walked by Wyatt's room he was tossing and kinda wimpering. I thought about waking him up, but didn't. So I got into bed and not five minutes later Wyatt comes into my room. Scared the sh*t out of me. He told me he had a nightmare and it bothered him so much he didn't think he could sleep in his room alone. So in the bed comes Wyatt. Good thing we have a king size fully adjustable bed. We both layed there awake until almost 5:30.
Bummer.
Wy did get back to sleep, but by 7:00 I was up again.
For the last many months I dream about GK every night. Weird. I mean every night every night. I wonder why. Not bad dreams. Doing things dreams, usually doing happy things dreams. We clean alot. The barn, the pump house, under the house, whatever, we clean it.
Speaking of cleaning......Ashley had her teeth cleaned yesterday! She was pretty dopey all afternoon and evening. They had to give her and extra dose of knock out juice because she had two teeth pulled. She has minty fresh breath today though : )
Stinky Sassy goes in tomorrow and thats a good thing.

Not much else happened yesterday. GK still working on taxes. He has an extension, but it's important to him to get them done asap. He's had alot going on the past few months. His hip seems to be bothering him quite a bit but is better with Tylenol and his new FAVORITE, Tylenol PM. He is able to sleep through the night with a couple of those. He is doing great with his contacts since the doctor showed him an easier way to put them in, and all in all doing well. Of course he still gets teary eyed and sad, but that's to be expected.

Pulled pork. That sounds good huh? I think I'll go check the freezer and see if I have a pork roast. If I do, I wonder if i could put it in the oven frozen and cook it slow all day. It would be nice if when I asked a question you would answer in the comment section below. Mike got me a cookbook for Easter. I'm going to have a looksee for an oatmeal cookie recipe. The last ones I made were kind of fluffy. I like thick chewy ones. I'm obviously off my diet in case you haven't noticed, AND I'm smoking again. LOSER.
Ok, what was I saying about pulled pork and oatmeal cookies? : )
I'm going to have lunch now.
C Ya!!

Can We Talk

Check this out!
Look to your left and you will see a chat log in. Sign in and create a screen name and password and then we can meet in "The Park" chat room. Kind of like sitting at the kitchen table in a single wide drinking coffee except different.
K, C Ya

Stolen Words

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

A day without sunshine is like, well, night.

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse?

I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.

Seen it all; can't remember most of it.

I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

He's not dead; he's electroencephalographically challenged.

She's always late. Her ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.

I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.

Honk if you love peace and quiet.

Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how living remains so popular?

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

It is hard to understand how a cemetery raised its burial costs and blamed it on the high cost of living.

Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end to end, someone will be stupid enough to try and pass them all.

You can't have everything; where would you put it all?

Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world's population.

If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will sit in the boat all day drinking beer.

Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in the public schools.

A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

Everybody lies. But it doesn't matter since nobody listens.

I wish the buck stopped here, as I could use a few.

I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.

When you go into court you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Pictures

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Monday

I just got back from the big house and can not seem to get over feeling the need to stay when GK is gone. He has a doctors apt this morning, so when he left I went over to clean. I finished up with everything and then sat down and started watching Martha. I looked down to check the couch, and there was nobody there. Then I remembered. I could go home.
So, here I am. Watching t.v at home.
I told you GK had the gold glass replaced with clear. It looks so good. Yesterday I spent cleaning every piece of everything in that cupboard and putting it away in a way that looks pleasing. It was a big job, but worth it. It looks great. See photo.

John also made shelves for the tall broom closet that I don't think has ever held a broom. They work a lot better. Now you can have stuff on shelves instead of stacked stuff on top of stuff. Gk found some SUPER placemats that I have chosen to believe are mine as a gift of gratitude for cleaning the closet and shelves. Hold on, I'll see if I can get a good shot of them

Ok, so there ya go. Nice huh?
I made a really good corned beef for dinner last night. I cooked it on low all afternoon and it was perfect. I wonder why they call it corned. Mike just got home. he said he broke down. I'll show him a breakdown.
We finished off with leftover coolwhip surprise delight and the surprise last night was it was a little refrigerator runny. You know how it gets all watery and the marshmallows aren't quite like they should be. It was ok though.
After dinner Wyatt got a much needed haircut. I took him out in the driveway and gave him one of those haircuts where it's tight on the sides and back but longer on the top. I figure that takes away from some of the stop sign look he otherwise has. So it all went well, untill he got out of the shower and decided he really wanted all his hair the same. I told him he needed to think about it. Once we took it all off, we couldn't put it back on.
He said ok, he would, but he was pretty sure he wanted it all the same.
This morning he got up and got dressed and asked if I would please finish the haircut. I told him yes, but that I really thought it looked good as it was. I should have known it would all fall on deaf ears to the fashion victim standing before me.
There he stood. "Husky" tough skins with two even rolls as a hem, because they fit in the waist, but not length, a cotton plaid "blouse" with mother of pearl snaps, snapped all the way up and a kahki hunting vest with velcro fasteners.
My son. Wyatt James Dorkball Swafford Parks.
Ok, so back to the haircut.
I told him he would have to strip down to his underpants and stand out behind the wagon because I didn't want to clean hair off him or the floor. So standing out there at 8:00 in the morning, behind the car, in his underpants and a towel, I shaved his head. I may have cried a little becauase standing there before me, yet again, as happens every summer, was the infamous grapefruit on a toothpick. Only this time he was wearing a K-Mart clearance blouse with pearlized snaps.
Unconditional love is important when your eight.

I cleaned his room this weekend. Did we already go over that? Anyway. Gross, but finished.

I talked to Kelly saturday. Everything is going well in Billings
I got an e.mail from Lloyd this morning. Everything good in Bagram
I talked to Julie this morning. They had a good time at the game, Mariners won. Something about broken bats, home runs and sunburns. Anyway, everything good there.
I have not talked to Wendy since she went home last saturday, but I presume everything is ok with her.
So there you have it, the Monday report.

When Wyatt gets home I will take a picture of him with his new haircut.
Tomorrow one of the poodles goes in for a teeth cleaning. Can't wait!
I think thats all for now.

As Promised

Some Pictures With Friends

Thank you John and Donna for a nice afternoon.

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Saturday

All is good on the farm today.
The goose laid an egg and the ducks have three in the nest. We won't have baby geese because we don't have a boy goose, but when the ducks get between 8 and 12 eggs they will start sitting and with any luck we will have baby ducks pretty soon!

Gk slept really well last night and feels good today. We are going to Dohn and Jonna's for dinner tonight and he is really looking forward to that. Mike just went to town to get the guts for my signature dessert dish....Cool whip surprise Delight.
I don't know if it's anyones favorite, but it's what I know. I need to think about what the surprise will be today.

I wish I could wave a magic wand and be skinny. I am so tired of being fat. My bones hurt, my clothes don't fit and I am soo uncomfortable. All the time. I have to do something. It may be time to resort to something radical. Exersise. I'm not saying I will, I'm just considering it. I wish I could just become one of those crazy extremist's who only eat healthy food because they can't handle the thought of preservatives and sugar. You know, like a peetist or a vulcan. Heres what worry's me about losing weight. What if I lost so much that I turned into a saggy sack. have you seen Courtney Love? GROSS. What about Oprah? she's really fleshy too. I'm not saying it's better to be fat, but at least you fill out your skin.

News flash.
Wyatt say's he's done playing with dolls and no longer wants to be a designer.
He was in town last night and only looked at boy toys. I figure it's because he has all the girl toys and needs some varitey.
A part of me would be very sad to see him grow out of this stage, but if he wants to play with Lego's and Ninja Turttles, so be it. He got a new bucket of clay and is making claymation things. He digs that, and it's still creative. He didn't even want to watch Project Runway with me today though. Oh well, they all grow up sooner or later.

K, ready for this............
JA called from Texas early this morning and woke us up. He called to say he is sending Wyatt something his Dad carved out of wood. He must of felt compelled to honesty because he told Mike he would be going back to work in 30 days. He has already been off 30. Know why??????
Suspension for failing a DRUG test.
HA!
I swear, just when I think that creep gets away with everything he fry's his own bacon.
Failing a drug test. can you believe it! Jack Swafford, Mr. Anti-Drug. Got baked at a bbq and tagged the NEXT day!
Good things do come to those who wait, and trust me, I've been waiting. So, Monday morning I will call Clemmie in Texas and fill her in on what happened and with any luck the judge will take stonger action against him. This also takes care of any more conversation with Jack about Wyatt coming for any Texas vacation time.
Hmmm.... I wonder how Charlene feels about sending Dalton to live with his Dad now. Two weeks after he gets there Jack loses his job for two months for smokin' dope. I bet she has to send more money so they can still afford smokes and vodka.
I shouldn't gloat. That isn't nice. HaHa!!!!! HA!

Later!

Game Day Sunday

Mike, Julie, Becky, Pat and KIDS!
Have a good time and a hot dog for me!!

City Dump

Did everyone get the David Copperfield e-mail kelly sent to me that I sent to everyone?
Freaky creepy! How does stuff like that work? Remember the one about the toes? I don't remember what it was but it was creepy to.

I'm cleaning today. Feh. Yech. Ick.
Why is it I don't mind cleaning at the big house, but something about my own filth bothers me. I have the bathroom soaking as we speak and next I need to clean Wyetti's room. That place is a real hogpile. I can't imagine how he pigs that room up so fast. Sometimes in the morning when I go to wake him up I cant even see him. I need to clean, throw out half of everything and organize the rest. The worst part is when he gets home, he will love the clean room, but not miss a thing that's gone because he has so much crap. They say every time you bring something new in, take something old out. I remember when I was a kid my Mom telling me to clean my room. She would set a timer. Once when I didn't finish she came in and dumped EVERYTHING out in the middle of the room. EVERYTHING. Another time I didn't do a good job and came home from school and EVERYTHING had been thrown out my second story bedroom window. EVERYTHING. Even my bed. I wish they had prozac back then, I think one of us needed it. Anyway, I won't lose my mind over Wyatt's room and he will be so surprised when he gets home. It will be a good thing. I need to get his closet ready for kitten delivery pretty soon too. For some reason Oreo always goes in his closet to have her babies. Maybe she feels safe in the mess. Like she blends in and won't be noticed.

John got the cabinet doors back in today. I am ashamed to say, they look great. I am ashamed to say it because I was so against it. He did a very good job and they look sooo nice. This afternoon or tomorrow I will wash everything on the shelves and arrange it so the teacups are on the bottom shelf where you can see them. I think Grammy would have really liked it.
I will take a picture when I have everything cleaned up.
I watered all the flowers this morning and the fushia's are growing so fast. They are the upright kind and I think they will do well. Julie bought some geraniums at Costco and they are the really big hearty kind. So pretty, and they are doing really well to. The roses are starting to get their leaves and have all been pruned back. They didn't do so good last year, really leggy and sparse. Lets hope for better this year.

Gk was up at 2:30 this morning. He said he just couldn't sleep. He got up and sat in his chair with the dogs and watched CNN.
I feel so bad and wish there was something more I could do. He talked to his oldest sister in Minnesota last night. He was happy to talk with her but it also makes him sad. I think he misses his family a lot right now. I know how much he misses Grammy and how empty the house feels. It's a void that can't be filled for him now. He can try and keep his mind busy, but you know it keeps drifting back to Grammy. It's like he goes along and is o.k for a time and then something strikes him and you can see the look in his eyes, he just gets filled with sadness. The death certificate came in the mail yesterday and that was just one more thing to make it real. So sad.
Listen to this.
I wrote an obit for the paper.
Modest, non-wordy, pleasant, nice.
350.00$$
Can you believe that!
So what I think I am going to do is have it printed on some pretty paper and mail it to everyone. What do you think of that idea? I won't even charge anyone. I'll let you know if I get ot done, and then you can let me know if you want a copy or how many copies you want.

Wyatt's Nintendo charger just arrived via UPS. He will be very excited. He never played until the cousins were her, and now he loves it. I think we may have to buy him another game.
Oh yeah......get this.
Jack Ass called last night, all drunked up.
When Wyatt told him his Grammy had died JA asked to talk to me and started CRYING, saying how sorry he was for our loss and that he feels our pain. What an idiot. He also told me that I would be getting child support again soon. He had been laid off for doing something he was "very ashamed of" but got to go back to work soon. Don't ask, I didn't touch it. I didn't want to know. I doubt I will see any money any time soon.

Mike just called and said he is having a good day. He is on his second load. The first went to Seaside, and this one is from Longview to Molalla. Val, do you remember when we drove from Bellingham to Longview in search of Cowboy Clint. I was going to confess my love and move to Texas with him. Then we figured out he had gone to Longview Texas and not Longview Washington. Long trip, but a good time.
Anywho, back to Mike. He almost had a stroke last night over his KFC. They messed his order up TWO times in a row. He was all fired up. The Jerkoff 17 year old manager throwing his weight around didn't help matters. Thinking back it's kind of funny, but last night it was serious business.
O.k, I think that's all for now. I need to go find an old toothbrush and clean the tub.

Bye Bye

Happy Birthday

Uncle John!
70 Today : )

Gk and Uncle John went to town this morning to get dog treats and insure the truck. GK says he wants a new seat cover for it to, so they may swing into schucks.
John brought the neighbor a sausage mcmuffin for breakfast today and that was a huge hit! So he had cereal and sausage.
Good way to start the day.
Gk has most of his tax stuff in order, he has been going through it for a few days now and I think is just about done.
The kitchen table is covered and gawd only knows his system but I think he's got a handle on it.

Minnesota called last night and was happy to hear the good report from GK's doctor. They said they have snow and it's pretty cold there. I told Hutsie I hadn't cleaned the windows yet, so maybe that will inspire her to come visit again soon. She said she only uses Prell shampoo and water and it cleans better than anything else.
The problem is that the windows on the end of the house are about 15 feet up and on a hill. I think we will need to get scafolding to do it and take off the 30 year old storm windows. Maybe I'll invite Julie down for some "special sister time".
She likes to clean stuff. I could hold the hose.

Kelly called to say she made it home ok. They were having snow too and the house was pretty chilly. The people who are renting their cabin had been doing laundry there while she was gone. Their washer went t.u so they just used Kelly's. I told her I thought that was kinda creepy and to get back at them offer to do another load for them and throw the kids dirty socks and underpants in the same load. Stuff like that really grosses out non-parents. She wasn't sure if she was going to work today, but the kids would be in school for sure.

I am just kind of out of it today. With Gk gone to town and everybody gone things are very quiet. I feel like I should be next door, but theres nobody there. I have the laundry done, dishes done, dogs tended to and....that's it. Nothing else to do at the big house. I guess that means I could do our laundry, dishes, dusting and vacuming but I don't really want to. Our STINK dogs need a bath but yuck, I don't want to do that. Maybe I should start with a shower and see how things shake out from there. I got on the scale this morning and in the three weeks I have been off weight watchers I only gained four pounds.
I started smoking again though so that could be part of the reason I didn't gain twenty. Hutsie told me last night her clothes shrank a little while they were here, I told her it was just the humidity.

I guess I'll go call Julie and see what she is doing. That should kill half an hour or so. I wonder if I should shower first.
Maybe not, she can only hear me on the phone, not see or smell me.

Ciao 4 now

Shhhhhhh

You can almost hear a pin drop.
Nobody is here.
The t.v is turned off.
Wyatt is at school.
Mike is at work.
The dogs are sleeping.
All the family has gone home.
The neighbor is at his house listening to his quiet.

I cried when I dropped kelly and the boys off at the airport.
I cried till I called Julie and told her I was crying and that I felt like a retard for crying.
She made me feel better.
I cried when she and her family left.
I cried when GK's family from Minnesota left.
I hope I'm done crying for a while.

If you would have told me a month ago how things were going to go starting that Tuesday that Gk went to the Hospital, I dont know if I would have believed you.
I just checked, that was March 20th.
As I sit here and think about everything, it hardly seems real.
I'm going to quit thinking about it, because I don't want to start crying again.

This is what I want to say.
Thank you to every one of you who sent cards and letters.
Thank you to everyone who called with kind words of support.
Thank you to everyone who came to be part of the greiving and part of the healing.
Thank you to everyone who was here to support and love Grampy.
Thank you to everyone who did dishes, folded laundry, walked dogs, cooked dinners, laughed, cried, shopped, talked, smiled, swam and sang.

Life goes on.
I know this is true because I missed GH today while I was at the grocery store.
I think I need to get tiVo.

Gk went to the doctor today.
All his levels are great.
He doesn't have to go back for two weeks.
That makes him really happy.
Red blood and calcium are both where they should be.

We went to the pool again last night and had a great time.
The Gerbers are really good swimmers and go off the diving board and down the slide.
Again, Wyatt was banished to the short end, so I am signing him up for swim lessons.
I think they start the 23rd.
That will give him something to look forward to and maybe make some new friends.

Our cat Oreo Cookie is knocked up again.
Anyone want an Oregon Kitten?
Not such a big deal here in Oregon, but anywhere else might be a big deal.
Your friends would say..."My, what a cute kitten"
You could then say....."Yes, he/she's an OREGON kitten. Quite rare to this area"
Think about it and let me know.

Wyatt's home.
The dogs need to go out.
GK is calling.
Mike will be home in a few minutes.
Life goes on.
This I know.

Sunday

I forgot to tell you yesterday that I forgot to get dressed on Sunday.
How retarded is that?
I didn't figure it out till I was getting ready for bed and found out I was already ready.

There was something else.
I forgot.

Oh well.

Fahren is pretty.

OH!
I remember.
I changed Sunday's picture.
For Grammy : )
She always took a picture of us standing in front of the car before we left.

Happy Birthday PoP

Today is my Dad's 80th Birthday!!

Another Tuesday Blog

Heres the third go round around.

John has been over doing things for GK today.
He is changing out the glass in the kitchen cabinets.
That makes me sad because I LOVE the gold glass that was in there, but it is important to GK to "update".
He said I could have the gold glass and that's enough to keep me happy.

Mid morning John drove GK to the eye doctor.
He got more new contacts, the kind you wear for three months and then throw away.
The Doc showed him a new way to try and put his lenses in himself, so he can try that tonight or tomorrow morning.
If not, I don't mind helping him.

The lady from the funeral home brought Grammy home today.
It's good to have her back, and she's in a pretty box in her bedroom.
GK's eyes leaked a little, but all in all he's doing well.
I think it's going to be hard for Kelly to leave tomorrow, but we all need to get on with living.
I think the best way to honor someone you love is to go on being the best you can be.
Sounds like an advertisment for the Army doesn't it.

Mike is driving for Safeway today.
He had to leave at 12:30 this morning.
Can you even imagine?
His company contracts with Safeway and hauls more groceries in the summer than logs, so they want him to start learning the ropes.
He starts in Olympia and goes a little North and then works his way back down South.

I think Kelly and I are taking the boys to open swim tonight.
The cousins would get a real gas out of getting to go again before they go home and Wyatt would think it's the coolest thing ever to go on a school night.
I'm going to sign Wyatt up for swim lessons this summer so we don't have anymore run ins with th OC lifeguards.

Ummmmmm that my be all for now.
I think Kelly and the boys are going to town to get something for dinner.

OH!

Wyatt went out to the bus this morning and waited for like twenty minutes.
No bus.
He waited.
Finally, the bus RACED up the hill passed him leaving him in the dust.
I called the bus garage.
Sub today.
She radioed and the bus had to turn around and come back for Wyatt.
You could hear the bus miss the road, back up, come back down the hill and pick him up.
Then he had to go all the way up the hill the wrong way and turn around and come back down and up the hill to get to the road to school.
Kids love that stuff.
I'm sure they were at least 20 minutes late.
Never a dull moment on the Ranch.

I think thats all.

C ya

eeeewwwwwww

GK and I took the poodles to the vet this morning for the pre-teeth cleaning check.
Yech.
It was soooo gross.
Who knew such little dogs could have such gross teeth.
As soon as I got home I looked at our fat dog's teeth.
They were all ok.
Thank Gawd.
Gross.
The girls go in next Tuesday and Thursday for the cleaning.
They have to be on anti-biotics till then so when they do the cleaning the grossness that comes off won't make them sick.
I think I need to go to the dentist to.
I hope my teeth don't look that bad : (

Wyatt is back in school today.
He was sad to go because Drew and Quinn are still here.
I think Kelly is going to try and book a flight for tomorrow.
I talked to Julie this morning and they had a good trip home and Olin is out of school this week on spring break.
Ingrid is not on break so Julie had to take her in to school this morning.
Isn't that retarded?
I think all the kids in the same district should be out at the same time.
If I was in charge thats how I would do it.

John was over today to burn garbage, but the weather has been so iffy, I don't think he got much done.
It is raining one minute and sunny the next.
Cold and windy too.

Um yeah.
Lets talk about this.
Jack quit paying his child support again.
Paid it just long enough to get out from under the courts nose and then quit.
He is such an ass.
I have called Texas and talked to the same lady a few different times.
I told her she was my only friend in Texas and thanked her for helping me.
She said "no problem Marilyn, I'll talk to you next week".
Clemmie from Texas.
Thanks Clemmie.

Ok, my show is going to be on in a little bit.
I have to go make my lunch.

Chow'

Oops

Sorry about the no blog yesterday.
We took the kids swimming and had a very busy day.
I set up a snapfish acct, so go and look at all the albums.
Trailerparkfarms.snapfish.com.
really good.

More later!

HAPPY EASTER : )

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Wow.
The carlsons just left.
It seems like they just got here.
I like the part when they drive in better than when they drive out.

Kelly and the boys are still here.
I'm glad everyone didn't leave at the same time.
Things are going to be a lot different around here in a few days.
I'm glad kelly is still here.

Gk has been so happy with all the family around.
His family from Minnesota, ours from everywhere else.
He stayed up past 10:00 last night because he wanted to be part of the Easter basket brigade.
He mostly just sampled the candy.
Quality control is strict here on the fahrenholz Ranch.

Julie said he slept all night.
Didn't get up once.
Then he was outside with the kids to find eggs.
I think he wanted them to hurry and find them so Julie could devil them : )

Margie and her Mom came for breakfast and brought the best fruity cake thing ever.
I think she called it a tripple threat.
Margie just got a new Australian Shepard yesterday.
He's a rescue she got in Boise, but you would think they have been together forever.
There are some good pictures on Snapfish.
Remember, you can click the picture link in my favorite places to see the pictures.
There's TONS of good ones and you can view them as a slide show.

The egg hunt was a big success.
We hid (Mike Sr and Jr) 185 eggs.
Thats a lot a damn eggs.
We hard boiled and spray painted a goose egg.
The winner of the golden goose egg and six dollars was Fahren!
The boys were all good sports and nobody fought or cried.
I take that back.
One of the boys told Wyatt there was no Easter Bunny.
Wyatt believed him because he saw you could buy PeePs and Easter grass at Fred Meyer.
With some quick thinking and fancy talk I had him believing again in no time and the Easter Bunny lives on for another year.

Drew found a freshly laid duck egg in the bushes.
He thought maybe we had forgotten to color one, and then realized it was freshly made this morning.
I still cant believe we had all the kids together for Easter.
Except Wendy.
Wendy was here for the coloring of the eggs. (see pictures)
She misspelled her name on one of the eggs.
Silly Wendy.

Yeterday was a GREAT day at the pool!
The boys and Ingrid had so much fun.
I think Julie and I may have lost three pounds each in the sauna like bleachers.
Olin, Drew and Quinn were going off the diving board and down the slide till they were all but slick.
Wyatt couldn't pass the endurance test across the pool and a lifeguard sounded the alarm and jumped in after him.
I don't think Wyatt knew what was happening until the lifeguard turned him on his back and swam him to saftey.
He said "hey! What the heck"!
It was kind of cute and very high drama as the lifeguard dove in.
Kind of an Oregon City Baywatch type thing.
Sorry, I didn't get a picture of that.
So Wyatt was kept to the shallow end of the pool.
He was ok with that though because some little girl was having a Birthday party and Wyatt joined in with their merry making.
Becky, remember Wyatt at Delannie's YMCA pool party?
heh heh...that was funny.
How about the next year when I had to leave the pony party because I was having such terrible hot flashes.

Ok, so I'm going to go take a nap.
Drew and Quinn are doing their homework.
kelly is looking at cups and dishes.
GK is sitting on the porch with the poodles.
Mike is watching t.v with kind of a headache.
Wyatt is watching Drew and Quinn and more than likely giving them a headache!

See Ya.

The Easter Chicken

The easter chicken was very good to us this year.
72 eggs.
The kids colored them on the deck and put out some of the best lookin eggs you have ever seen.
I set up a Snapfish account so click on "Pictures" in my favorite places to the right and take a look.
All kinds of pictures we have taken through the week.

Mike Sr and Jr tried to get the cat running yesterday but determined it may be time to make yard art out of it.
I may go plant some daisies on it for GK.
I think he is still holding out hope for it though.
I think it's like a 1947, so I think it may have seen it's better days.
He's moved a lot of rocks and dirt with that old cat.

Julie bought out Costco yesterday.
With what I saw in the back of her suburban, I'm sure she must have left behind some empty shelves.
We had BBQ'd ribs with homemade ceaser salad, potatoe salad and and a table full of other goods.
It was great.
This morning she made another round of buttermilk waffles for all 14 of us and a HUGE bowl of fresh fruit.
GK LOVES it.

A Good Friday

Isn't there a story that starts out....
They were the best of times...they were the worst of times.
I guess that's kind of how things feel.

This has been one of the best weeks with GK's family.
We all cried last night when they left.
I wish we would have met them many years ago.

I can't remember the last time we had ALL our family together.
It always seems we are minus one or two here or there.
Tonight we will be all ......oh wait.
Lloyd.
He's not here.
Mannnn, we were so close.

Gk is really enjoying all the family.
I told him this morning there has never been a time when I have seen the house so filled with family, friends and laughter.
He said he couldn't remember either.
I don't think there is any better way to honor Grammy.
A house filled with love for her.

Julie, Mike Sr and Mike Jr went to Costco for supplies.
Julie called to say she found some geraniums.
Sr and Jr are looking for tools to fix GK's cat.
Kelly, Wendy and Ingrid went to town for summer clothes and to mail goods to Lloyd in AG.
All the cousins are in the living room watching Spiderman.
Gk is home quietly putzing.
I just had some left over cool whip surprise delight.

The poodles next door went to the cut and curl yesterday and are looking and smelling pretty good.
GK went the day before and he's looking pretty sharp himself.
I took a lot of pictures, but I think I'm going to do the snapfish thing.
That way, if you want to see them you can, but if you don't want to you don't have to.
I'll let you know when I get it done.

The weather here is unbelievable.
I think it's going to be close to 80 today.
I hope this doesn't end up being another fat summer.
It sucks to be fat in the summer.
I'm working on it though.
I had low cal Mrs Buttersworths on my waffle.
She doesn't seem any slimmer so I won't expect great things from her syrup.
I guess the cool whip surprise offset the low cal syrup.
Oh well.
Fat people are comforting and jolly.

Yesterday Julie, kelly, Wendy, Ingrid and I went to town in the family wagon.
OMG, we had so much fun.
Laughed, and laughed and laughed.
Julie made Kelly sit in the back seat under threat of being puked on.
kelly was disgrunteled but relented.
She talked about puking and told puking stories all the way to town.
Only some of the windows unroll so it was a pretty warm trip.
The possibility for puking was high.
Julie held fast and kelly held back and a good time was had by all.
Fun.

More later as the day shakes out

Ciao'

Sunshine

Thanks to Mike Carlson for being my guest host on Tuesday and sorry for such a short blurb yesterday.


We are all running in qucksand.
GK's family extended their stay until tomorrow.
Thats a very good thing.
They are the nicest people.
My sister Kelly and her boys, Drew and Quinn arrived Tuesday.
Kelly's husband Lloyd is in Afghanistan.
Wendy arrived late last night.
My sister Julie, her husband Mike, and two of their kids, Ollin and Ingrid will be here today.
Mike and Julie's oldest, Mitchell and Fahren, both go to Gonzaga and will be here sometime tomorrow.
Last night we had eleven people at the dinner table.
(Thank you Judy for all the wonderfull food)
Tonight will be sixteen.


Gk is holding his own.
Still hard to believe it's even real.
He keeps expecting her to come around the corner and ask if he has anything good to eat.
I think after all the family leaves is when it will sink in.
Right now, being with family is such a happy time.
A happy time for the sadest reason.
I'm glad everyone is here.
I am grateful to each and every person.

Wyatt LOVES having his cousins here.
Wyatt LOVES LOVES having his Aunts here.
Wyatt LOVES LOVES LOVES having Wendy here.

When we told Wyatt about Grammy, he asked Mike if she was in Heaven.
Mike told him, yes, she is in Heaven now Wyatt.
Wyatt said...
"Well I'm glad for her, because now she can remember everything and her head won't hurt her anymore"
We cried.
Because it's true.

I remember when my Dad died.
Julie had come from the Island to get my kids.
When they left and I was alone, I turned on the t.v and realized that the world had only stopped for me.
They were still selling toilet bowl cleaner.
There were still problems in the White House.
And I was the only person crying for my Dad.
(You know what I mean)
Anyway the world went right on without him,
Didn't skip a beat.
That was so hard for me.
The most important person in my life was gone, and the world moved on.
The next day I was glad for that.
I wouldn't want to feel the way I did for very long.
Now I am reminded of him in happy ways almost every day and his memory brings me sooo much joy.
I am lucky.

Today the sun is shinning
The kids will all be out playing soon.
The yellow and white pansies are growing.
The birds are singing.
I have happy memories of my Grammy.
I am lucky.

Kelly Oakley

I wish you could of seen kelly in her pajamas standing on the deck shooting a 22 at two pitbulls in the pasture.
Sometimes it's the little things that make you laugh.
That did it for me.

On The Lighter Side

1. A bicycle can't stand alone because it is two-tired.

2. What's the definition of a will? It's a dead giveaway.

3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In democracy it's your vote that counts; In feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

6. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

7. If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.

8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.

10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

11. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

12. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

13. You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

14. Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

15. He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

16. Every calendar's days are numbered.

17 A lot of money is tainted. 'Taint yours and 'taint mine.

18. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

21 The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

23. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

Thanks Mike Carslon.
I needed that.

GH2

Oh My.
Phone rang yesterday morning at 7:00, Gk said "I need you".
I ran.
It wasn't Gk.
It was Grammy.
She was in a featal postion on her left side, unresponsive.
Called 911.
It took about 2 1/2 minutes for them to get here.
I think they know they way now.
She had vomited at some point during the night and may have aspirated.
Call Mom, get dressed, Gk ready, head to the ER.

Grammy is still unresponsive.
They give her iv meds to try and comfort her, but as they day unfolds they find it VERY dificult to comfort her in anyway.
Off to x-ray.
Pneumonia, with an upper GI bleed.
As it turns out, anyone with any type of dementia will suffer more from any type of wrongness.
So take fever, times three.
I was just thinking when I woke up this morning....
I think the GI problem may be with the ani-inflamatories they prescribe for her shingles pain.
Hmmm.

O.k, so by noon they have put an "ng" tube in place.
Thats a down the nose to your belly hose.
Now to get her in a room on the second floor two down from Gk's suite.
At least we have friends there.
Honestly, I still have GK's discharge papers in my purse and now I'm walking the hall behind Grammy's Gurney with a bag full of her belongings.

As the day goes on she becomes more fitfull.
She ends up pulling the tubing out of her nose OUCH and the i.v from her arm OOOOUCH.
Still completely unresponsive.
They put big cotton mits (like boxing gloves) on her to prevent her pulling anything else.
I just talked to the nurse and she said sometimes people tend to have an opposite reaction to medication and this morning she seems to be more restful without.
Still not peaceful, but better.

It breaks my heart to see GK go through this.
It breaks his heart to see her this way.

I am so glad his family is still here.
They make him so happy it helps to ease his pain.

More later.

Florene Coroline Fahrenholz

Florene Caroline Fahrenholz
August 16 1917 - April 2 2007

Miss You

Juicy fruit and 7-up
Macaroni and cheese and custard.
Sliding across the back seat of an LTD
and my belly jumping as she sped over the hill.
Do you chew your nails Marilyn?
The smell of her perfume when she hugged you.
The best hugs with a little bit of a roll.
Lifesavers.
Summer dresses she made.
Humming birds
Scratchy gabordine gouchos with a matching vest.
My land have you ever grown.
A little kick with her toe when she sat down next to you.
Ha!
Baths in the utility sink.
Tom Jones on 8-Track.
Her BIG bed.
Letters in the mail.
Balancing my belly on her feet in the air as she stretched and held my hands.
Ice cream.
Do you know the capital of Nebraska Marilyn?
OMAHA as she clutched her chest.
Gold belts and white pants.
Sneezes.
The rocks on Singer Hill.
Flowers flowers flowers.
Did you wash your hands?
Pictures standing next to the car.
Great Grand Babies.
Going to town.
Rose dishes.
She loved me.
I loved her.