I Had a Happy Birthday!

 My big night out! We actually left the park and met our friends, Deb and Butch, at a restaurant for my birthday dinner. We had so much fun. Laughing and talking. It was so ......... normal.

 My favorite birthday card came from my Dad. A frog, of course. The message on the inside:

 I can just see my Dad laughing out loud in the store, while Mama is trying to make him put the card back and telling him he is not going to send that to me.

 I really made a haul with Deb! Journals to write thoughts down, a candle to help me relax as I write and a cookbook holder. Also a couple of pictures. She framed a picture of our new puppy and there were pictures of me and her granddaughter, Kiley, from last year. Deb and I are convinced that Kiley and Gavin will marry one day and we will share beautiful great grandchildren.

 The candle smells good enough to eat!

 Suppose it is just coincidence that the cookbook is open to cake recipes?

 He who knows me all too well presented me with a bucket of treasures.

 Six ounce bottles of Coke! In their very own bucket, ready to be iced down. It even came with a bottle opener. And a new cordless drill that is light weight. For my arthritis challenged hands. I think. Or maybe he thinks I will stop removing walls and such if my tools are smaller?

 And a Coca-Cola clock with a neon light! Chrome on the outside. Love it!

He seems to be quite pleased with his sweet self! Yes, my pupils are dilated. Yes, I had a drink. Hey, it's my birthday! The men were driving, so the ladies indulged.

Life Can Be Sticky

Okay, this image does not capture my subject matter and you will have to look closely. I took two pictures, same camera and downloaded to the exact same folder, but when I try to add it I get a server rejected.

Anyway, today is my birthday. I am having a good day. Started the day with a leisurely cup of coffee and a chat with my my dear friend, Deb. I will be meeting her later for dinner, then he who loves me will be taking me along to WalMart to get a new battery for the tractor! I just bet he will buy me a trinket if I fancy one. Kind of like dinner and a movie, if you like to people watch.

But this is not what I am writing about today. If you read me fairly regularly, you will recall my ongoing battle with the flies. Remember my ill-fated experience with the fly trap that fell and exploded its contents at my back door. Even though I pour a bleach solution almost daily on the stoop, that powerful fly bait continues to beckon to all the flies in a 100 mile radius to enter this door. This being the door that leads the dogs to their yard, it sees a lot of action.

In an effort to help me, he who shops more than any woman I know, bought a package of fly tape. You know, the kind that is in a little tube and you pull slowly to unwind the sticky tape that will holds bugs captive. So, I put one near the back door and it finally got some flies. I still have plenty to swat. The store door is opened and closed a lot, too. This brings flies in. So, I decided to employ a second line of this sticky tape. I wanted to put it somewhere that wasn't so noticeable, so I hung it with the stained glass stuff hanging near the window.

This was also near the table and when Johnny chose the seat on the backside of the table I was afraid it would stick to him. I handed it to he who solves all my problems and told him to hang it outside. He did. I did not ask exactly where he hung it and promptly forgot about it. Until today.

Look closely at the photo and you will see edges of the tape behind the frog. I had a clear shot of it, but ..... When I am outside I am usually mowing, mopping, mulching or weeding. Not walking along the sidewalk. When I water the hanging plants I am usually on the outside of the porch. But today, I was watering from the inside. I did mention that this tape that traps flies is very sticky, didn't I? So sticky that it will easily grab your hair and hold on.

So, after disentangling my hair, here I sit. I have shampooed twice and put gobs of conditioner on the hair involved and it is still sticky. I guess I could always use the old chewing gum in the hair remedies ...... as soon as I decide if I would rather smell like peanut butter or mayonnaise.

Surprise!!!

I looked out my window as I opened the door. I see Crazy Tom and Buddy headed towards the dumpster. What are those two up to, I wonder ....                                                    

 Look, here comes Patrick, Julie and their dogs ..........

 My Johnnie and Sue are out with their dogs, too!

 Is this a parade? No, this is just what kampers do on a hot evening here in the kampground.

It has been a wonderful day. The same campers out for a ride with their dogs had surprised me earlier with cake and ice cream and birthday wishes along with Jim and Yvonne and a nice bottle of wine. I am all a tingle from the attention as I watch the sun set.

I had a 45 minute nap while he who loves me watched the store and then he went to China and bought take out. I am feeling the love tonight!

1975 Was A Very Good Year

And all the years since. Yes, they are twins. No, they are not identical ...... one is a boy and one is a girl. Do they look alike? You tell me.

Same eye color is about all they share. Jill looks like her Dad and Jeff grew to look like my Dad.

I think this their thirteenth birthday party. Little sister Adrienne thought it would be cool to throw a surprise party. Too bad that she could not keep a secret.

This is a picture I stole from Jeff's Facebook photos. High school. They appear to be very happy. Do I want to know why? No, not really. I did not take this picture and had not seen it until today.

Thirty-six years. I have known them for thirty-six years. And, yet, it seems like only yesterday that I was wiping sticky little hands and asking if homework was done. I am working on their story. It may take awhile, this stroll down memory lane. I suppose it will be done when it is done. I miss them today, but am happy to know they are spending time together and with their little sister.

Today is my friend, Patti's birthday, too. Has to be a bittersweet day for her as she is still caring for her mate as he succumbs to cancer. Wish I could go give her a respite, but will have to wait until mid week. She sent birthday wishes to the twins when I called to wish her a happy day.

Funny, I still call my kids "the twins" when I talk about them. Life is funny.

Meet Toni Louise

New pup here at the kampground. Saw her on-line at the shelter in Montgomery, so I called and the adoption fee is very low. I debated with myself. Puppies are a pain, but it doesn't last forever ......... I told he who loves dogs as much as me about her and showed him the picture. We just kind of let it go, then the lady called to tell me that the shelter had gotten a few more dogs and was over crowded. This is not a no-kill shelter. So, he who loves dogs went to just look at this puppy ............ and here she is!

Don't let that sweet face fool you! She has been up to no good! See the mud on her face? She dug a hole so deep she hit water! Then proceeded to get herself into a fine mess. Good thing my furniture is leather and I can wash it. She managed to get mud all over Wall-E, the wonder dog. He got scolded for something he didn't even do! She got poor Oscar in the eye with her muddy paw. She is named after Louise, my old Saint Bernard. Louise possessed an easy going disposition and was hard to stay mad at. Louise ate a coffee table when she was a puppy ....... Toni was chewing on my coffee table yesterday.

Hard to get mad at that dirty little face. I guess she will get yet another bath tonight!

Weed Puller Extraordinaire

I awoke to overcast skies this morning. Still very humid out there. I enjoyed a solo walk around the garden this morning. I finally harvested two tomatoes! The baby limas should be ready to pick next week, the pods still aren't fat enough. I am watching one yellow squash grow. All the other blooms seem to wither and fall off before fruit can form. The corn has tassels.

Last year I planted asparagus. You get nothing the first couple of years. It looks like dill right now, all ferny. Last week I spent a whole evening pulling all the weeds and grass out of that bed. I then drove four stakes into the ground, two at either end and using twine I made it all stand straight and tall while I mulched it in. I felt very accomplished when I finished. As I was admiring my handiwork this morning, coffee cup in hand, I spied a sprig of grass and spilled the contents of my cup as I lunged forward to snatch the intruder out of my garden.

I ambled on with my empty cup dangling in my hand. I stopped a couple of times to pull a weed here and there. My caffeine deprived mind wondered if weed pulling could be a marketable talent ............ Yes, I know, gardeners. Duh. I did lose my coffee in the asparagus bed, remember? I was picturing a bill board full of weeds, save one small spot with the ad in it. Kind of like the billboard boasting the poop scooping business I see on I-70 when I drive towards St. Louis. I think I would rather pull weeds, although weed pulling could lead to an encounter with poop from a critter.

What am I saying! I already do both! Somehow I don't mind picking up my dogs' poop. They are, after all, mine. I can even identify whose poop is whose ........ that may be a little too much information. I detest finding the poop of another dog in my yard, though. Kind of like changing diapers. My babies diapers were never as bad as the diapers of other babies.

On that note I think I should refill my coffee cup before I go on ..........

Heading For A Meltdown

Hot weather, lack of sleep, and constant irritation. Today is Friday. Only 9 more hours to go here in the office, then I will excuse myself from the world at large and hide in my humble abode. I am not fit to be around people today. I am not pleasant and not even trying to be. As luck would have it, most of my clientele won't notice.

The fly bait from yesterday continues to attract them to my door, despite the fact that I have doused the area repeatedly with bleach. I resorted to fly tape hanging just inside. Hung it last night, but it caught not a one. That's okay, I am deriving a certain amount of satisfaction with the fly swatter (or in my case today ..... fly smasher ).

I was cleaning the area around the dumpster and sorting out the cans. This is nasty work and it was hot and I was sweaty and irritated. I am no longer amazed at what I might find in the recycle cans, but it doesn't make the task any less disgusting. I was doing this to help out my husband who does so many things for me and other people. I bagged the cans and threw the nasty stuff in the dumpster and cleaned up the area, then started spraying Round-Up on the weeds and grass in that area. This was after I had mowed my lawn and put the soaker hose on in my vegetable garden. It was beginning to get dark .......... here comes Harvey, our helper, with one of the chairs from the pool. These were new last year. My pal, Deb, bought them and gifted them to me. She also wanted to purchase 6 loungers at $100 each and I told her I would not accept them. Yes, I want the area to look appealing and I want my campers to be comfy ........ but I know my clientele ..............


I think I might know how this happened.

And ........ I am pretty sure I know who did it. Through my great powers of deduction, I think it would have to be the slew of children that were here all week. Same thing happened Memorial Day weekend. I was upset, since these chairs were a gift and nearly new. Same group was here then and twice I had to pull chairs out of the pool. I think the children were placing the chair in the water, front side down and using the back as a diving board. From my vantage point, I would be unaware of this when I looked out to check on things. It would just look like they were jumping into the air and playing in the water. The people in question had already left when I discovered the first broken chair, but they were still in their campsite last night when Harvey brought the second broken chair to my attention. I proceeded to have a small fit right there in the parking lot ........... and I am quite certain they heard me.

These would be the same children wandering the park in a pack. It is several families and they are cousins. They overheard one of the adults say my name and now they think they are all on a first name basis with me. These would be the same children who trampled through my flower beds and gathered my blooms, leaving them on the checker table on the front porch of the store for me to find the next morning. These would be the same children who wanted to know if they could help me weed ...... absolutely NOT! These would be the same children, who I suppose may have been bored and played with the four way connection on my hydrant in my yard. My private personal living space, a space I should think I could escape to and call my own. Remember the soaker hose I turned on at 7, when I closed for the evening? I did not remember to turn it off ............. and I did not know that the other hose attached that was in my back yard was turned on. My back yard is flooded now. A soaker hose left on all night wouldn't be such a big deal.

Now, I could be wrong about the identity of the culprits. They did confess to picking my flowers and I asked them not to do that again. He who knows not to bother my garden equipment would not have touched my watering set-up. I have not noticed any other kampers lurking about in my private area (gee, that sounds a little dirty .....).

If your child breaks something, what do you do? You own up and offer to pay for the repairs or a replacement. What happened to taking responsibility for your actions?

It is Friday. In a campground. The busiest day of the week. Now I have 8 more hours left until I can lock the door and hide.

Round-Up the Fly Catchers

Everybody knows I don't like to use chemicals. I pull weeds by hand and mulch. I carefully thin my seedlings and redistribute them throughout my gardens. I keep a shallow dish with water and place them in the water until I am ready to move them. It works great.

Due to this global warming that has been accompanied by humidity, I have been in a war with the weeds. I refuse to give up just yet. The flies are flocking at my door. It is even too hot out for them! And, the poison vines have gone berserk. I am spraying them, but they refuse to die!!! Last year someone told us to mix Dawn dishwashing liquid (original formula) with vinegar and spray weeds and grass with that. It does work, but you have to be diligent and spray quite often. Now that I think of it, Dawn dishwashing liquid is in a lot of home remedies. A few drops in apple cider vinegar will rid your house of fruit flies ..........

But, I digress. The poison ivy on the fence has got to go. Can't burn it, don't want to breathe it and the fence is made of wood ...... that wouldn't be good. He who wanted to save money bought this stuff called Eliminator. It eliminated nothing. I did save the bottle since it had a dispenser on it and bought some concentrated Round-Up poison ivy killer. It is supposed to kill other hard to kill shrubs and bushes. I will let you know about that. I mixed it double strength and sprayed everything along the fence and the out buildings. It seems to kill ants on contact, so I have high hopes.

Ants have been another problem, so I have ant bait and ant traps everywhere. For back up I have little mounds of cornmeal all about, since I read that they will take it back to the nest and they are unable to digest it. While on my mission to purchase the ivy killer (and pick up the correct prescriptions for he who has not a clue about his medication) I spied this fly trap. Not fly tape, but this contraption that you simply add water to and hang. The flies are attracted to it and go in, but can't get out. And then you simply toss the entire unit. At less than $5, I thought it would be worth a try. He who loves gadgets was so excited. He filled it and hung it right outside the back door. Every time I let the dogs out I would look closely to see if there were any flies. There were flies printed on the bag itself, so it was hard to tell. It had some granular looking stuff that mixed with the water and I wondered what it was. I detected a faint odor. Smelled a little like the Round-up I had been spraying hither and thither ...........

Being fairly busy with swimmers and the phone I had not bothered to do much in my house, just let the dogs out and back in at appropriate intervals. When all the swimmers left I went out to tackle the aluminum can situation. I won't even go into what was in the recycle receptacles, but when the phone beckoned me back inside I was not very happy. The dogs wanted out as I was washing my hands and sniffing the air. I looked around to see if one of them had left a present on the floor. Floor was clean and dry. As I opened the door the smell was overwhelming. Vomit, smelled like vomit. The handy dandy fly catcher had fallen and burst right outside the back door. This thing lasted two days. It does attract flies, but so does a corpse.

So there you have my product reviews for the day. Eliminating the need to even try Eliminator and the fly catcher? Don't waste your money. I have thoroughly scrubbed the back stoop with bleach. It smells like a pool in here now, but, that is so much better than vomit!

Manners?

See the bee busy at work? They will usually tolerate my presence and go on about their business. Wasps aren't as cooperative ............ bad manners!

The mums are beginning to bloom.

Looks like I missed some of those wildflowers when I pulled them out of the front garden. A happy accident?

I was so very tired last night. I was at that level of fatigue where you think you can no longer exert the energy to breathe. It was 9:15 and I was preparing our supper after weeding my strawberry patch. I worked in the great outdoors until I could no longer see. I had a book on audio and was unwinding while washing dishes and trying to come up with something quick and delectable to eat. I had just decided on a fritata using the fresh eggs that were given to us by kamper #35. I had some ham and cheese and a handful of leftover green beans, along with a vidalia onion. So, as my mouth was watering, the phone rang. A lady wanting to camp. Would I keep the office open for her? I explain that there is a night registration procedure and instructions on the front of the building. She has no cash and is only 8 miles away. He who mows was putting chemicals in the pool and finishing with the closing down for the night chores, so I agreed to wait. At 9:40 she still had not arrived and I was tired and hungry, so I locked up and cooked our feast. We both felt better after eating. We listened to the news and went to bed.

I awoke at my usual 7 am and made coffee and was happily sipping away and catching up on blogs and e-mail ......... in my favorite threadbare nightshirt, when there came a knock at the door. I had told the lady from the previous evening that I would be around in the morning and she said she would find me to run her credit card if she missed me upon arrival and that she would be leaving LATE. I took care of her in my nightshirt and this was how my day started. Perhaps it was bad manners for me to subject the woman to the sight of me in my nightshirt and ungroomed?

I went out after that to rake up all the weeds I unceremoniously slung into the yard. I dug up some grass around a new garden and mulched the beds I weeded the evening before. Washed two loads of laundry and hung them out before I jumped into the shower. I opened the door to the store two minutes early! My hair was still wet, but I was dressed and smelling much better. A woman came in with three young girls and a little boy of about 4 or 5. The girls paid and signed in, then headed to the pool. The little boy was busy banging a plastic truck on my glass display case. After I determined that the mother was oblivious to the danger of broken glass (not to mention the wrath of a crazed storekeeper), I told the little darling to stop hitting the glass before he broke it. That is when he looked me in the eye and demanded a toy. I assume he was referring to the sock monkeys on display. I told him that he could purchase a toy, but that I would not be giving him one. The mother was on her phone and not paying any attention to this exchange. She finally paid and signed in and as they were walking towards the door, the child looked back at me and said, "Thanks for nothing, butt head." Nice. The mother looked at him and said, "That wasn't nice, now let's go swim." Manners? You have to teach them manners.

Poison Ivy and Eyeballs

Hot, really, really hot and humid here. The heat index was 105 yesterday and supposed to be even hotter today. It is hard to keep up with the mowing and I tend to take care of my back yard after the rest is done. We mow twice a week here. No, are not fanatics, but there is a lot of clover in the open fields and we don't want our campers to get stung by a hungry bee ............. and snakes are easier to see when the grass is clean cut. Okay, maybe I am a little bit of a fanatic, because I like for the grounds to look well cared for. My back yard was neglected last week and it had been 8 days since I cut it. It was getting a little shaggy and I wanted to cut it early this morning before the heat set in with a vengeance.

He who fuels things for his wife was sleeping. Not only was the mower in need of gas, so was the gas can. Getting the mower to the back yard is an adventure. He who sleeps had nailed the gates closed after the wind had flung them open and actually pulled one side off the hinges. This solution has been in place for quite awhile and won't be addressed until the season is ending. In the meantime, the mower has to be dragged (literally) through a storage shed and into the yard. Said storage shed has been cleaned out and organized only twice in 7 years ......... by me, of course. I went in today and created a better path for the mower and busied myself in the vegetable garden until he who finally awoke went on a mission for fuel.

I was up at 7 and ready to attack my chores, but didn't get to mow until 9. The heat is so oppressive that sweat is rolling into my eyes and stinging them, blurring my vision. But after my last encounter with the poison vine I am ever vigilant and noticed that it is growing ON MY FENCE! He who gassed up the mower is now on a mission to purchase concentrated Round Up that will be sprayed without diluting on this vine that dares to encroach upon my space!

While the internet was down for three weeks; three very annoying weeks of talking to one, then another representative before they finally sent a crew to the tower that was struck by lightning and replaced the co-axial cable and then credited our account with a whopping $10 .......... I was unable to download pictures and comment and it was a lengthy task just to respond to e-mail. I am now down to less than 50 unread e-mails! That is in my account, I took care of the business account first. Anyhow ......... he who loves to collect the mail brought to me a mystery envelope during this time. He was curious about the contents and waited while I opened it.


It was addressed to the campground and was from Wonder, Oregon. I mused that I didn't think I knew anyone in Oregon. He who is geographically challenged thought that maybe our son had sent it when he went to Montana. I know, I know, but I love him anyway. We have a daughter who was struck with this same gene and is directionally challenged herself. I looked at him and gently explained that even though both states were far away from where we were, they were still not close to each other .......... and our son had not gone to Montana yet.

I did not ponder long and opened up the package. The smell was enticing ........ a bar of soap!

Oh, not just any soap, but AAH. Relief Poison Oak Soap! From Follower Lu at the Wonder General Store. I feel so special. Smells much better than the laundry soap I have been using and drying my skin out with. I wonder ...... what sort of place is Wonder Oregon? Not to mention the Wonder General Store. If you, too, are wondering go to www.wondergeneralstore.com and take a peek. Thanks, Lu, I feel much better knowing I have the soap for my next fight with the ornery vine!

Eyeballs. Kamper Barb has a business in Troy, Mo. She sells glasses, contacts and repairs glasses. Her shop is Here's 2 Eyes. Like me, Barb sees the world differently. She participates in the Lincoln County Fair parade and wanted to make a definite statement. She asked me if I could make two eyeball costumes using hoola hoops. Of course! I was happy to make them for her and I modeled the costume for a picture to post. She had a couple of suckers to wear these and walk in the parade Sunday. Two medium and on large hoola hoop and a drawstring at the top and bottom and 6 yards of white fabric with a blue iris and black pupil, drawstring is shoelaces and more shoelaces attached to the inside to hold the hoops in place .......... and there you have it ................ here's 2 eyeballs. Traveling through Troy and break your glasses .......... Barb is a genius with frames! Traveling through Kan-Do Kampground and break your glasses on a weekend ........... chances are she can fix them right here! We are a full service kampground, people! Need new glasses? Go to www.heres2eyes.com and check it out!

This concludes my advertising for the day. I sold snow cone #200 this weekend!!!

Tis A Strange World ......

The heat and humidity have sapped my strength. It has also brought some strange folks about, too. I don't officially open the store until 11AM. Until then you can find me at work in one of my gardens. Weeding and edging, transferring seedlings to better spots and mowing. Sweeping the pool surround, emptying trash cans, scrubbing toilets and showers, mopping floors or doing my laundry. I like to stay busy. I really earn those hours from 11 until 7 when I am in the store with air conditioning. Lest you think I am leisurely sitting around, playing solitaire or reading ...... this is when I sneak in some housework and sewing. I sneak out to the clothesline and hang my laundry and sneak out later to remove it and fold it. Usually takes 4 or 5 trips in and out to hang one load. I can't hear the buzzer outside, so I grab a handful and run out and hang it, check the store and repeat until I am done. I figure it can be counted as exercise. Keeps the old heart rate up.

The rest of the time is spent either waiting for or waiting on customers. Yesterday I woke to a wonderful overcast sky. A promise of rain was in the air and I had planned on painting a sign. Rain and paint aren't such a good combination, so I decided to build a little garden plot, instead. I had asked Harvey, handy man extraordinaire, to add a piece of fencing to block the view of the collection of junk visible from the pool that he who will accept whatever another man is tossing away had accumulated. Harvey is a new tenant. Being a carpenter, he has skills with which to barter for rent. He helps mow, too. But ........... if he keeps mowing close to my trees and breaking branches and skinning trunks, he might not be long for this world! There are some places that are not to be trespassed upon in this land of kampground gardens. One should not presume to weed-eat my tall grasses ...........

But, anyhow, I dug a trench and created a border, using the stump ends from the trees at the stave mill. This is where they make the staves that are used to make whiskey and wine barrels. When they get the trees in they cut the ends off to have a straight edge. You can purchase these for a nominal fee. We buy them by the trailer load and use them for landscaping. They are of varying widths and I have found that you can break a round in half with a few good whacks from a good sized hammer. I put the flat side in the trench and end up with a sort of scalloped edge. Very rustic and biodegradable. Last season we had used a roll of heavy duty weed fabric to create a shade topper on the pavilion. It withstood storms and wind quite well, but the weight of the winter snow did it in. It was hanging down in a ghostly fashion and would have created the perfect atmosphere for a Halloween party, but we had to remove it. Harvey was about to toss it in the dumpster when he was told that I wanted to save it. He was doubtful that I would find a use for it, but I did indeed use it yesterday. I stole a clump of day lilies and thinned a bed of marigolds and manged to fill in a narrow little bed about 20 feet long. Got the mulch on just as it started to rain. The mulch is free. The local utility company had men out clipping tree branches in our area. We let them park the big equipment here and they gave me all the cedar mulch they made from the limbs. Barter, again.

I am getting older and yesterday was a challenge to get it all done, so when the rain came down I had intended to lock up and take a nap. I took a quick shower and answered all the phone messages that I missed. The phone rang as I was finishing up. Is your pool open? Well, no, it is raining and the forecast is for a thunderstorm ......... Really? Before I could lock the door and retreat to my lair, I see a car coming in. Swimmers. Ummmm, are you open? We got some other people coming, cause today is my daughter's birthday and we want to have it here. It? I have had these people here before and let's just say they aren't overly educated. I try to discourage them, but they are persistent, so I let them pay and explain that if lightning should occur, they will have to get out of the pool. Only one other child showed up for this event. They had been out there for about an hour when the mother came in and told me that she had purchased an ice cream cake and that it was melting! Gee, think it could be because it is hot outside? I suggested that she bring it in and let me put it in the freezer for her. Never got my nap.

I am sitting here at my desk, resting and reading, having accomplished all my domestic tasks; and I hear the buzzer. The door is closed, but not locked. The air conditioner is on and I want to keep the cool air in the building. The man is standing out side the door with the storm door open with a look of confusion on his face as I open the door for him. He is looking for a site for the evening. I encourage him to enter the building and shut the doors. I present him with the registration form and he says he will need to go get his glasses ........... I tell him not to bother, that I can fill it out for him ( so much quicker if I just do it). Name, address, etc. Then, how many people. Two. Well two, if you count my little dog. Just me and my little Yorkie, but she is like family. Okay. I love my dogs, too, and find this to be an admirable quality. As I am finishing his credit card transaction and chatting with the man, he tells me that "she" had wanted to drive on to Kansas, but that he was tired. I am confused now. Does the dog talk? My dogs can let me know what they want, but I don't think they know which state we are in. Well, Wall-E, the wonder dog, does. But he is exceptionally smart. The only thing I am thinking is that the man thought I would charge extra for his wife. Tis a strange world we live in.

Internet Service

Just one of the many faces I love. Jada is 6 ........ going on 36. She is special to me. We just seem to connect on a different level than her sisters and I do. Don't know why, really. She is the one I didn't really get to meet as an infant, so it can't have anything to do with a bonding at a very young age. I don't love her any more than I love her sisters and I can't find words to describe what it is that makes her touch my heart the way she does.

Those eyes are tired. I can tell just at a glance what her little mood is ...... and she has lots of them. She is a talker and loves to share everything going on in her world. Smart as a whip and talented, too. I have told her just how pretty she is, so she must know. She tells me how much she loves me, too. One of my favorite memories is of her combing my hair and in a sing-song voice saying, "So soft, so pretty." I feel so fortunate to have this little girl in my life.

The internet is back up and running here in the kampground!! Finally, after almost three weeks of intermittent service. I will be able to comment!! I could read some of my favorite blogs, but couldn't comment. Sometimes I could comment and then I would get over-confidant and type in sage wisdom and wit, only to lose it before I could actually post it. I, no doubt, could have rid you all of your most pressing issues had those comments not been lost in the big void of unpublished comments!

Thanks to all of you for thinking of me as I went to see my friend, Paul. Kamp buddy Yvonne stepped in with her usual gusto and took care of the kampground today so that both of us could leave and go see him. Cancer is a horrible thing. We did get to talk to him and he recognized us. Patti is in pretty good spirits, all things considered. I think it will hit her hardest when he is actually gone. It was incredibly sad seeing our friend wasting away. I am glad that we were able to see him, though.


Now I am going to read ..............