Random Thoughts

1. One lady at work quotes her ninth grade boy who says, "What the h_ll!" Apparently it's okay for him to say the word. She says cuss words some herself but not a lot. I say, "Why allow and encourage a child to use that language?" They will say enough of that kind of stuff without encouragement. 2. I talked to Jen last night. She is very involved in practicing a play to present in May. The play is similar to the the play "Into the Woods" which I really enjoyed seeing on TV several years ago. I think she is playing the wicked stepmother. 3. We got our dog Gizmo groomed yesterday. The groomer cut his little foot, although it wasn't too bad. This is the third time his foot has been cut. Last time it was bad enough for him to wear a bandage plus a cone around his neck. He seems to be okay today. Poor little guy. Going to the groomer just wears him out. 4. We grilled steak for lunch today--just round steak. It was pretty good. 5. I've been playing a lot of "Words with Friends" online--it's like Scrabble. It's a lot of fun. 6. I'm staying home from work tomorrow because the sprinkler guy is coming to turn on the sprinklers. We've watered our front yard grass (Gary has) by hand several times, so it will be good to have the automatic system on. 7.Gary had a stress fracture in his foot for a couple of weeks. He got a boot to stabilize it. It's mostly well, and he just has a twinge now and then. 8. I'm watching the Cooking Channel on TV. They are showing pickle spears that are wrapped in bacon and then deep fried. I think I would like that. 9. I voluntarily stepped down one notch at work. Instead of being a Senior Records Tech, I am now a Records Tech II. Not as much responsibility. More things were being added on to the job, and I just decided I didn't want to do them. I don't know yet how it will affect my pay. I checked with someone in the know, and she didn't think it would affect my pay at all, or at least not very much. 10. Jen ordered a bunch of things online (shoes, clothes, odds and ends) and had them sent here for us to mail. We sent them out a week ago Wednesday and she got them on Friday. She was happy. She's been trying to call and talk for a few minutes on Saturday nights--her Sunday mornings before church. It's been great to hear so often. I know many more things, you know, but this is all I feel like writing. Catch you later!

Bad News--Good News

The bad news: our kitchen sink was backed up over the weekend. The good news: the plumber came by Monday afternoon and worked a miracle!

The bad news: Gary and Aaron both had a kidney stone at the same time. The good news: both are doing fine now (those stones may come back to visit if they haven't finished their work).

The bad news: Jen got bitten by something (maybe spiders) and has had an allergic reaction. Her eye was very swollen and so was her forearm. The good news: I haven't heard any more news yet, so I guess no news is good news???

The bad news: little Gizmo didn't want to go outside to go potty because the wind has caused the screen door to move and it scared him quite a bit. So he went a couple of places in the house. The good news: I think he's doing better on that.

This is good news as far as I'm concerned: Jen's extra special birthday is coming up on October 5. If you want to send her a card, let me know and I will give you her address or email so you can tell her Happy Birthday!! I know she would love hearing from you. If you know others who would like to wish her happy birthday, let me know. Gary, Aaron and I are preparing a box to send her. The largest regular Post Office box can be sent for $50--it's a little steep. It takes about 10 days to get to Jen.

Thoughts

I just talked to Jen. We started talking about 5:45 her time. She was getting ready to have a busy day. If you haven't been reading her blog, you ought to. It's very entertaining. It's: oldmaidinchina.blogspot.com

Saturday was the ninth anniversary of my sister Gail's death--September 5. I still miss her so much. She was my best friend and a part of me and a part of my life. I would like to know what she has been doing all this time.

We are going to barbecue for supper. It will be good.

While I do enjoy my work most of the time, I'm always sorry when a holiday comes to an end. At least we only have a four-day work week.

God didn't make all of Creation for us. He made it for Himself.

Some Thoughts

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. I would say he is getting old(er), but since I am older than he is, it might imply something about me!

Well, anyway for the first installment of his birthday, he chose the meal he wanted to have cooked. Actually he grilled the steak, and I cooked the corn on the cob, the baked potato, and the mushrooms and then made the salad. He was happy. Aaron had already given his gift along with his Father's Day gift. I gave him a book and gift card. Jen is giving him cash.

On Friday night or Saturday, he will have the second installment of his birthday. We will eat out and he will buy the gift of his choice with Jen's money. Good times.

At work we have changed some of our work processes which has made it more difficult/involved to prepare/release information--many little steps. The advantages of doing things the new way are 1) we eventually will use less paper, and 2) we can email reports. BUT it doesn't make things easier. I'm just saying.

There's a touch of fall in the air some days. I look forward to fall, but I'm sorry summer is coming to an end. The temperatures at night are getting down into the 50's.

Our two little dogs make us laugh a lot. Riley barks when he hears something outside (however, he gets in trouble for that so he is getting better), and Gizmo barks because Riley does. If Riley runs down the hall, Gizmo is running and practically putting his feet on top of Riley's as they run together. Riley is Gizmo's life; Gizmo is Riley's cross to bear..sometimes. Most of the time it's all good.

That's all for now.

Say What??

I thought I might have something to say after I opened up my new blog page. But I was wrong. I got nothing.

Have a great day!

Random Thoughts

Yesterday was the last day for Neighborhood Bible Clubs put on by my church. We had a high day of 17 kids, and there were 7 children who asked Christ into their hearts. While the numbers we not nearly as high as last year's, the week was still a great success, and God blessed.

So today, I am tired. I suppose when you get tired because you are working for the Lord, it's a really good tiredness.

We talked to Jen this morning by Skype. It's so nice to see and hear her. She of course is really busy. We were able to sell her car yesterday, and she is really ecstatic about is. She had just made the current payment this past week.

I only worked 3 1/2 hours each day this week (except for Friday--I was off all day) because of the Bible clubs. I find that that is a schedule I could be very happy with!

The temperature is suppose to get down into the upper 50's at night this week. Wonderful. During the day it will probably be in the mid to upper 80's. Everything is still green because of the rain we've been having--very unusual.

Some Random Things

Jen drove home last weekend from Florida so she could leave her car and dog with us. It was a long, long way to drive. Now she is in NY near Buffalo doing some intensive training with the organization she will be working with in China. She will be home for a few days after that and then again for almost two weeks later in July. She has had an awful lot of stuff to do and still has plenty more to do. Please pray for her.

Jen's dog Gizmo and our dog Riley are having a wild time together. They run and play most of the time even when they are both worn out. They are getting along pretty well. Life has changed a lot for both of them--and for us. Both dogs are cuties.

I am looking ahead and starting to work on the Neighborhood Bible Clubs with my church which will held the first full week in August. Work + good times.

We had a potluck yesterday at work. Our theme was "Stuffed Stuff." We had stuffed tomatoes, stuff celery, stuffed enchiladas, stuffed empanadas, stuffed kraut burgers, stuffed shells (mine), stuffed cheese cake, stuffed strawberries, stuffed ice cream sandwiches, stuffed spring rolls, stuffed deviled eggs, and some other things. It was all good. We had really different things than we usually have.

On Father's Day both kids were out of town, although Aaron arrived back home mid-afternoon. Gary wanted fried chicken for his day--homemade fried chicken. I cooked one pan full and then told him I could fry the other pieces on some other day so that I could make gravy from the drippings to go with the meal. He decided he wanted all the chicken cooked (he was afraid I wouldn't fix it later) and that we could eat later in the afternoon. So we ate at about 2:30. Aaron got home just as we were starting to eat. He doesn't really like fried chicken, so he had some veggies and potatoes and gravy. Usually I would have fixed him chicken strips or something else, but I didn't know he was coming home so early (he can stand fried chicken strips). Anyway, Gary's been taking chicken for lunch all week. He's been very happy this week, at least at lunch time.

Apparently I don't have too many thoughts today. I just found out I have to proof a paper for somebody in the building, so I guess I'm quitting with the writing.

Random Thoughts

My husband went to the emergency room on Friday. He had a kidney stone that caused him much pain. He passed the stone on Saturday. He's much better now.

I attended a Mother's Day salad luncheon at church on Saturday. I was responsible for the music and I was the Emcee. It was fun. My salad was a pasta salad with noodles, cucumbers, tomatoes, bacon, orange bell pepper, onions, and low-cal Italian dressing. There were 3 or 4 other pasta salads there also. Humph.

My family was generous with me and so I get to go buy some clothes for Mother's Day.

Husband grilled hamburgers on Sunday. Very good.

Jen called and Aaron conversed with me on Mother's Day. It was all good. They are good children.

The dog hurt his eye on Sunday and could hardly keep it open some of the time. This morning it was much better. So glad.

The front lawn was aerated on Saturday, but the backyard didn't get done because the machine wouldn't fit through the gate.

When Jen gets home before she leaves for China, she wants to go fishing and on a picnic in the mountains. It will be great to have her home. She will be gone two years. That's a really long time.

We missed both of our mothers on Mother's Day. They were both wonderful women. No one else prayed for me like my mother.

Random Thoughts

It snowed again last night and this morning. It looks like about 3-4 inches out there. Yay! But it's cold.

My husband had a sinus infection about 3 weeks ago, and now it has come back. He's pretty sick.

Riley, our dog, wet on my bed. I was NOT happy. I'm washing all the bedding today. I know he doesn't like to go out when it's cold and blowing, but yesterday was up in the mid to upper 50's. What's up with that?? And again I say--I was not happy!!

I am buying a used roll-away bed today. Aaron is going to help me get it from someone who also works for the county. The woman advertised on the county bulletin board. The roads are clear and things aren't too messy, so we should be good to go.

Jen has her crazy interview early this next week. Hopefully any craziness she has can be kept under wraps until after the interview. Seriously, please pray that everything will go well. The interview is in Michigan and she will be flying out of Miami on Monday morning.

Our church had evangelistic meetings last week Sunday through Wednesday night. The speaker was very good. We enjoyed the services and the music. My husband and I don't seem to have the stamina or energy we used to have. To be out 4 nights in a row while working full time through the day made us pretty tired. In the old days there were times when we were out over 10 nights in a row. I don't think we could do it now unless we absolutely had to. We don't.

I've already cooked twice today. If I make it to the store later, I'm going to try to have something for supper that I don't have to cook. I'm not allowed to cook 3 times in the same day!!

That may be all the random thoughts I feel like putting into writing. If you have any thoughts, random or otherwise, that you would like to share, please do it.

Random Thoughts

The weather has been pretty good lately. It has had a slight drop in the temperature. Yay!

My husband has had the flu since Thursday. He was feeling better this morning but still not up to par, whatever that is. He did go to work today.

Last night I had my first ground chicken hamburger. It was really good. I flavored it with garlic, pepper and basil.

Speaking of food, it's on my mind quite a lot. Way too much. I wish I was one of those people who only think of food when they are hungry. But alas, food and I are best friends. Sometimes it thinks it's in charge of me. Bad friend!

I am getting information to write a paper about the Larimer County Sheriff "For Significant Contributions in Improving the Quality of Justice in Larimer County." I am nominating him for the Conrad Ball Award. The paper can only be two pages long, but before I started researching, I didn't know many details. Now I could write a five- or ten-page paper. It may be difficult holding it to two pages. You may ask, Queen, why is it that out of all of the personnel at the Sheriff's Office, you are the one to write the paper. It is because I think the Sheriff deserves to be nominated and no one else has volunteered to do it.

Daughter had a World's Fair with one of her school classes. I thought it sounded like a fun idea. Behind every fun idea, there is a group of parents and teachers who are working hard to help the students do what needs to be done.

At church on Saturday evening, February 14, Gary and I will be going to a Valentine's Banquet. We are having lasagna and garlic bread. I'm helping prepare some of the garlic bread. That whole meal may put me under the weather. Oh well, into every life some rain must fall.

The Nitty Gritty

You know, life is made up of the the nitty gritty, unimportant details and what appear to be random events.

We got a new dryer today. I had to take off work from 11:30 because it was going to arrive between 12:00 and 5:00. It came about 1:30. Yay! And we didn't have to pay for it. Another Yay!

We're still looking for a new pickup. Gary was looking at a BMW SUV. It was $2800. That seemed just wrong. G asked the seller by email if that was the real price. Return email said yes, that he was trying to get rid of it soon. Trouble is he lives in Scotland and we would have to send money to a third party. As has been said, if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Oh, well.

I went to Christmas party last night for the ladies in my church. It was very nice. I won a prize for a game about Christmas songs. I probably had an unfair advantage. Oh, well.

I have another party at work on Friday. It's a white elephant game and we have pizza.

Our Master Club for our children at church is presenting its Christmas program Sunday night. G and I have quite a bit to do to get it all ready this week.

I have a wedding to play for on 12/20 and a rehearsal on 12/19 in Denver. I still have to practice quite a bit. The bride wants a lot of classical music. Well, I don't practice much on classical music even though I really like it. So I really need to get busy on it.

At work we are decorating a door in the department to enter into a contest with other county departments. So I am working on that with several other ladies. It's kind of like doing a bulletin board. In most of the past years, the commissioners have come personally to judge the doors, but this year we have to send electronic photos, and I guess all county employees will vote.

I don't have my Christmas tree up yet, but I will, Jen. It will be amazing, or at least it will be pretty.

Random Thoughts

It was good to see family yesterday on Thanksgiving: my cousin Kay (she hosted the event) and her husband and two kids, my two aunts and their husbands, my nephew Caleb and wife Mandie, my cousin's aunt and uncle on her dad's side, two dogs Skiddles and Hairy (both girls). We laughed a lot, ate a lot, talked a lot. Kay and I got to go through some of my Grandma Rose's jewelry and pictures. I brought some of the stuff home. It's not really my style, but I may wear some of the pins. I mainly brought stuff home to be able to touch my grandmother's life.

I watched the most recent Indiana Jones movie this morning on pay-per-view. I liked it a lot. Yay for Harrison Ford and his being able to keep up with the action!

The dog is sitting on my foot right now. I like it.

I'm home alone today except for the dog. He's a good boy.

I know someone through a co-worker who was going to shop most of the night last night. I am mostly a non-shopper, so I don't understand shopping all night. I think that ranks right up there with the torture of water dripping on the forehead.

I wish I had some elves to put up the Christmas tree and decorate the house. I guess I do have elves named Gary and Aaron, but I think they are more trolls when it comes to Christmas decorating (although they usually will help setting the tree up and getting the boxes of decoration for me. I guess I shouldn't look a Christmas troll in the mouth ((or the ear, nose or eye))). Don't you like all those parentheses?

My husband has two containers of peanuts sitting on the computer table. He called me a little while ago and told me that I shouldn't give the dog any peanuts out of the jar but to give him peanuts out of the can. He doesn't want the dog to know there are peanuts in the jar. He doesn't want to get him starting begging when he sees the jar, but it's okay if he begs when the can is open. My husband is a dog whisperer.

I left my coffee and scoop at Kay's house. Humph.

To write or not to write

I wish I had something to say. I really want to blog.

I considered writing something political, but that takes more courage and oomph than I have right now.

I've thought about writing down some random thoughts, but I don't really have any.

I thought about writing about mishaps I've been involved in, but I don't want to.

I don't want to write about sex, marriage, toes, wrinkles, the dog, my kids, or me.

I do want to say that so far today while I've been at work, I have spilled down the front of my shirt three times. Some people wear their feelings on their faces. I wear mine on my shirt.

Random Thoughts

1. We cooked out on the grill yesterday. I like to cook extra meat so we can have two or three meals from the grill. We cooked chicken, sausages and a few hamburgers. Now tonight I don't have to prepare much. It's all good.

2. Today I have a new piano student starting. He is in about 6th grade. He attends our church. I also have a little girl starting on Monday. She is seven. Hopefully they both will practice. Practice is the key to learning the piano.

3. I called Jen yesterday but didn't get hold of her. Maybe she will call.

I guess that's it. I don't have many thoughts today. (;>

Random Thoughts

1. I cooked quite a bit over the weekend. For Saturday breakfast I made omelettes using the little GX food makers. You know, the ones Kathy someone advertises on the TV. Then in the afternoon, I used them to make cake with chocolate candy in each piece. For Sat. supper I fried a few pieces of chicken. We had a potluck at church for Sunday lunch, and I made a meatloaf, a pasta salad and a fruit salad. The kitchen gets pretty messy.

2. My daughter Jen is preparing for a tropical storm/hurricane. I worry a little.

3. My husband's birthday is coming up this week. I hate to admit I have a problem remembering exactly which day it is. My dad's birthday is Aug. 19, an old boyfriend who passed away when I was 16 had Aug. 21 as his birthday, and Gary's birthday is Aug. 20. For some reason, when we get close to Gary's birthday, I mix the other dates in there too and can't always be certain of Gary's day. However, yesterday at church I heard him tell someone else that his date is Aug. 20. I'm good for this year. (I had been thinking it was Aug. 21.)

4. I sang in a ladies trio yesterday for morning church. Gary said it sounded good.

5. One reason I like our little church is because it gives a lot of people opportunities to do many things. Our young teen girls sing in a trio. One of them plays the keyboard. They all helped with the Bible clubs. Two little boys (probably 5th grade) are going to sing together. One of them can't really sing, but we don't let that stop us. Another young girl, probably 5th grade, is going to sing a solo. She can sing pretty well.

7. My dog, Riley, can go pretty far dancing on his hind legs.

8. I was given some lovely fresh veggies straight from someone's garden over the weekend.

9. My husband's kidney stone started acting up yesterday. He has a couple that are too big to pass and will need to have surgery. We are hoping this one isn't one of the big ones or that it will stop.

10. On August 30 several members of my family are going to have a picnic in a state park near Castle Rock. I'm looking forward to it.

11. At church we are studying Revelation. It always disturbs me to see how terrible the future will be for those left behind after the Rapture.

12. I think that's it for now.

Random Thoughts

Some random thoughts:

1. My son went to the emergency room this morning with a very painful kidney stone. He has no insurance. My husband hasn't called me back to say whether they have been able to go home yet.

2. I just overheard a co-worker talking about how rude a clerk was in a store. When she and her husband went outside to unload their purchases, they realized that they hadn't paid for two things. Because they were so irritated with the clerk, they decided not to go back in and pay. This disturbs me.

3. We are getting a new shower stall today for our master bathroom. Yay! Gary had to leave the house to help the son with his kidney stone problem, so the two plumbers have been in our house alone. Hopefully all is going well.

4. I'm having a broccoli/cauliflower mixture for my lunch. My supervisor doesn't like the smell of it, so I took it to the break room to cook it. Now I'm eating it back at my desk. I don't know if cooking it somewhere else helps the smell or not since I bring it back into the work room.

5. Apparently I don't have any more random thoughts I want to write about. Just remember a zebra's stripes are as unique as fingerprints are. You will always be able to identify your zebra.

Random Thoughts

1. "Voila" (with an accent mark over the "a") is the spelling for what some people type as "wa la" or "wah la" and is pronounced "vwah la".

2. "Then" rhymes with "when". To remember the spelling of it, ask "When did it happen? Then is when it happened."

3. "Than" rhymes with "an". Say, "It is bigger than an egg."

4. Remember, "The cat has lain on the hat until it is flat." I haven't seen anyone using "lain" lately. How can we cause grammar revolution if we don't work at it?

5. We had steak on the grill today. Ummm.

6. My husband has been working on one or two kidney stones for a couple of days. Good times.

7. Gary and I sang a duet at church yesterday. I don't sing solos anymore and haven't for a long time. (Nathaniel, tell me about your schooling.)

8. I talked to Bryan, my brother-in-law, yesterday. Ben just graduated from college. Bryan is doing well.

9. My nephew, Caleb, and his wife also just graduated. Caleb has his master's degree.

10. My mother's birthday was yesterday. She has been gone for 10 1/2 years. I would be so glad to see her.

11. It's been raining off and on all day. The rain is wonderful even if it precludes a picnic. And rain is much better than tornadoes.

12. I talked to my Aunt Io. She has new kitties at her house.

13. It's great to have four days off. I took Tuesday off. We're not doing much, but that's okay. Jen, I got a purse. Thanks for it and the book. Grrrrreat!

14. I like northern Colorado but I would like to be closer to family.

15. The people on the corner have a Chinese pug. A cutie pie.

I think that's it for now.

Not much to say. Just some random things.

It snowed yesterday and today. Some people have flowers starting to come up. I don't because I live in a duplex and I don't want to invest time and money in planting (and energy).

I fixed tacos for supper.

My youngest piano student turned five last week. He's the one who can't see very well, and he got glasses. He could see better today. We read stories, do flashcards, play with cars and a little tea set. We sing "The Ants Go Marching" while he marches. He's precious.

At work tomorrow we are having an April Fools potluck. I have water boiling for macaroni, but I don't yet know what I'm fixing.

The End (or as my little piano student says, "Vee End")