If only the refrigerator lasted as long as the light bulb.

In 2002 I bought this refrigerator.  Last weekend the light bulb burned out.  So off I went like the little red hen to Lowe's to buy a light bulb for the refrigerator.  While I was there I intended to get a one inch screen for the bathroom sink drain.  I had bought one that was 1 1/8 inch but it would not go in the hole.  So I first looked for the screen.  I only found  1 1/8 inch one.  I asked the lady and she said that was the smallest they made.  That did not make sense to me.  If I have a sink that needs a one inch one, why do they not make one?  So I wandered along and decided I could put the plunger thing in and that would work.  Lot harder than dropping a screen in a hole, but what do I know.  As I reached for the plunger apparatus I spied a one inch screen.  Aha!  The expert was wrong. I grabbed that sucker and headed for the lighting department.
Well, that is not where light bulbs are located.  Silly me!  They are on the other end of the store.  Special aisle for them.  And then I started to get dizzy.  Do you have any idea how many different light bulbs there are?  And how many watts?  and what size screw in or snap on or tube and Lordy, I thought my head would explode.  I finally found what I wanted.  60 watts.  Can be used inside, outside , for appliances or lamps.  Just what I wanted,  but wait one minute!  They come in packs of four.  I have one refrigerator.  The bulb that just burned out had lasted 9 years.  If I bought the four pack could I expect my refrigerator to last another 36 years?  No.  I would then be left with extra bulbs and I am trying to break this hoarding habit I have.   So I continued to comb the aisle looking for a single bulb.  Or I could buy three refrigerators and hope they had no light bulb.  That was not feasible either.  At last I gave in to the giant conglomerate that runs the hardware store and put the 4 pack of bulbs in my basket.
Upon arrival at the check out I decided, against my better judgement, to do the self check.  Ok, scan the little 1" screen.  "Put item in the bag."  I did that.  "Place item in bag." I tapped the bag.  "Place item in bag!"  Now she was getting firm with me. I poked the one that said "skip bagging" and she seemed to relax.  Scanned the light bulbs and went through the whole thing again.  I poked finish and pay.  Fed a $10 bill into the greedy little slot and waited for my change.  Change shot out one hole.  Dollar shot out across the way and the receipt fell to the floor.  I gathered my money and receipt and looked at the man in charge.  I looked at him and said "I hate that bitch!"  He never flinched, just asked me, "So do you want your stuff?"  Red faced I grabbed my bag and hurried to the car and home to my little piece of heaven where no one hollers at me and I am always right.  And if I so choose, I can skip the bagging area!

Merry Christmas from the land of ice and snow!

I missed church last night.  First time that has happened in many years.  My driveway is about half a block long and according to my calculations we got over a foot and a half of snow on the level.  Course a little breeze did whip me up a few drifts that were well past my knees and made walking to the goose house to tend my feathered friends a real chore.  Out here in the county when the snow plow goes on South Road the end of my drive gets a double dose.  Now my neighbor man has a four wheel drive so he can get out.  A couple daughters came bearing gifts, but then again, we have the 4 wheel drive factor.  I do not know if any of you have ever tried to drive a small front wheel drive car in the tracks of a big 4 wheel drive truck or SUV, but that is one feat you are not going to accomplish. 
Yesterday morning I did manage to make it to the road but I had to shovel my young self out 4 or 5 times.  I finally quit counting.  I made up my mind that if I could just make it back home I would not leave until spring.  So when I made it up the drive and slid into a place where I could leave the car, I jumped out and ran inside.  And here I still am this morning.  And here I shall remain,but then...
Yesterday evening when I saw church was not an option, I went down to sew.  When I came up I looked out and the good fairy had came and cleared the drive and  the parking in front of my house and the neighbors house.  That was a sight which made me most happy.  I strongly suspect that it was the neighbor man's father in law.  He has a bobcat and while his name slips my mind, he is a very nice man.  So now options are opening up for me again here on Christmas day.  I think I will drift over to the step daughter's house or Kenny's ex wife's and then wind up at the Zane house for dinner (the one at noon).  Then I may cruise up to Florence and see Amanda and the Bretster.  Going to load the new serger up and have him show me how to thread it properly.  The sucker has 8 threads and is way beyond my scope of expertise.
But I thought I would just pop on in here and wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!  While I know most of you think of me as a Grinch, and that would be because I told you I am, I do have a tiny little spark way deep down that loves Christmas. 
Oh, not the shopping, or the sales, or the hoopla that surrounds it, but the quiet little time when I can look up into a clear December sky and focus on a very bright star that twinkles at me and reminds me of the night so long ago when the baby Jesus was born in a manger.  (I know December 25 may not have been the actual date, but it suffices for us to accept that date. ) As I think about that scene with Mary and Joseph and how far the wise men traveled and the Shepard's and the sheep and all of that, I think I can hear the angels sing.

Merry Christmas To All and God Bless Us Everyone!

Now this is what snow looks like at my house.

Happy Anniversary to me.

 First let me say, I do not share this anniversary with Kay and Frank. Thiers is in August.  That is why it catches me off guard when i see it in the church bulletin.  That is a mistake every year.

Well, it is Friday, December 23, 2011. I know where I was on this date in 1983 and I know what temperature it was.  I was here, in this house preparing to become a new bride.  Kenny and I had been living together for just over a year.  My theory on that was that I did not have a very good track record in the marriage department, so I decided if we could live together for one year that it should be good to go.  So now the year was up.

Kenny had dropped a drive line in one of the dump trucks and had left it to be repaired at Pueblo Brake and Clutch.  Gene Baugh was helping him on the repair work.  It was -15 degrees so working outside was not a fun thing anyway.  Well, about 11 AM they had gone to pick up the drive line and found the shop closed for the Christmas Party.  No way to get it and so what to do with the rest of the day?  We had decided a while back that marriage was definitely an option, so him being the romantic that he was, he stomped the snow off his boots, slammed the door behind himself and announced, "Well, let's go get this shittin' mess over with!"

Now, ladies, who could resist anything that romantic?  I happened to have a new pair of jeans, a very nice checkered western shirt, and a new pair of white cowgirl boots.  He had some nice Levi's and a clean shirt, and wellington boots.  So off we toodled to Canon City.  Went there because Pueblo published marriage licenses in the paper every day and we did not want the fuss and bother of explaining why we never invited anyone.  We got to the Canon City courthouse about 30 minutes before closing, grabbed out license and the name of a retired minister and away we went.  4th floor of the retirement home.  Nice little man, but I forgot his name.  Two witnesses to sign.  One was his wife who was bedridden and another was walking down the hall and knew how to spell her name.  Whole thing took about 7 minutes and that included introductions, staging, and paying for his
services.  Then it was off to our wedding supper.  That was a chocolate covered doughnut and a cup of coffee at the doughnut shop.

When we got home we found a note from Gene.  "Congratulations!"  And a bottle of very cheap wine.  We never did get that gagged down.  We asked Gene to share a few months later and his response was "If I knew I had to drink it I would have got the good stuff."  Finally found a son in law who could be talked into drinking about anything.  He shook it up good and when he took his thumb off the cork, it flew out of the bottle, hit the ceiling, and ricocheted into the side of my head and almost cold cocked me.  Made him take it with him when he left since he was the last one to touch the bottle.

So now here I set 28 years later.  It is -7 below zero.  Got a foot and a half of snow out there on the level.  Got no Kenny, but I got a lot of memories.  It may have started out  a little non traditional, but it was quite the ride and I would not undo one minute of those years.  And when life gets a bit more than I can handle, I remember Kenny and the song he always said was "ours" and when you have that once in your life, once is probably enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EigVvZMw3Ds&feature=fvsr

All these years and now Friday is coming!

This is going to be a Happy Anniversary to Frank and Kay, Friday I mean.  And I am going to do a special on that day because that is also the anniversary of Kenny and I.  Funny how I have known Kay and Frank all these years and it just dawned on me that we shared this day in history.  Guess that is because I been walking around all wrapped up in myself all these years.  Best part of this is that a couple (?) years back I helped plan a surprise Anniversary party for them with their son.  Dense, dense, dense!
So now I am pretty busy with year end orders for eBay and trying to contend with this foot of snow here in my yard and all up my driveway, and the daughter is here and we are making her a quilt.  So,  I will see you on Friday.  In the meantime, if any of you want to come and lend me a hand, you just feel free to come on over with your shovel.  Right now it is 2 degrees.

A Colorado snowfall in real life!

Well, now if it has to snow, this is the way to do it.  Here I set snowed in by a foot of snow with one daughter, one grand daughter, one grand something in law, and two great grandsons, ages 2 & 5.  The highways are closed from here to Kansas and beyond.  Help!!
Some one suggested tranquilizers for them, but I find it works better if I take them along with a big shot of Jack Daniels!
I have measured all over the back yard and come up with a figure any where from 9 inches to 23 inches.  So I guess it is anyones guess as to how much we got, but here is the good news...it has stopped snowing and the sun is shining, so snow is going to be out of here in short order.  This is Colorado and I am in the Banana Belt part of the state.  The moisture here is usually nil, if you get my drift.  Even the geese did not get very excited when they saw the snow.  Just walked out and when they figured out their bellies were dragging bottom they just sat down.  They do not seem to mind the snow at all.  The only thing they do insist on is that the straw in the house stays dry.  I guess they are silly.  That is where that saying mother used to use came from...."Oh, you silly goose!"
OK.  I am going to go call Debbie and see if she is buried yet.  Just wanted you to know that I am house bound for a while.

Happy Birthday to the baby boy!

Kind of hard to tell that this is my baby boy.  But it is.  Last one of the litter.  And today he turns 20.  Just one more before the big one.  Course he has already flown the nest and he and his girlfriend are in their own home in Florence.  You would be amazed at what all they are learning.  Gas to drive to and from work is very costly.  And groceries are out of sight.  It is not really necessary to have 2 cell phones with "Everything data" from Sprint for $178.00.  That is not all though.  They have also figured out that if they do not pick up after themselves, house work is a never ending chore.  Think that was their rudest awakening.  I have figured out that they were not the only messy ones living here.
But it is his happy birthday and I can not help but remember where I was when I turned 20.  I had been married for 11 months and was 5 months pregnant with the Debbie.  A couple months earlier we were living in Yates Center, Kansas.  I had gone to the doctor and when he said I was going to have a baby my mind leapt around the small town. 
" Well, where is the hospital?"  That seemed like a very good question to me.  He, however, looked at me like I had just landed my spaceship.
"Well, it is about 75 miles away."
"Well, what about when I get ready to have his baby?  How do I get there?"  Then he sighed and looked at me like I was a complete idiot.
"Well, around these parts, women have their babies to home."  I immediately left his office, ran down the street to where I had left Duane in the pool hall, having a beer to settle his nerves.  When he saw my face he knew we had a situation.
"What did the doctor say?"  And I broke it to him as gently as possible given my terrified state.
"Well, he said pack up your clothes because you are going to have to move back to Hutchinson, cause there is no where to have babies around here."  And we did.
Now what all that has to do with Bret is more than I can understand, but you knew I would make it into something all about me, didn't you?
So, Happy Birthday to the baby boy.  I know he will not get to read this because his new frugal lifestyle does not allow him to have high speed internet and even if he did he does not read my blog.  I only have 3 kids out of  10 that does.  That is 30%.  Kind of poor percentage rate if you ask me, but who am I to judge?
OK. I have got to figure out what to do for the little guy's birthday.  Probably spanking him is clear out of the question.  And when they grow up and leave home, momma is no longer responsible for his every thing like when he was a baby.

But gee, I kind of miss those days.!