Merried out

It's Friday already? Geez.

After we got around and got exposed to everybody's germs, we've been illin' all week. Mikey has a sore throat/coughing thing, I have a queasy stomach/body aches thing, and Britt has a fever/barfing/snotting thing.

Poor Britt -- it's only the third time she's ever been sick, and she's not sleeping much. Neither are we. She won't eat much, either. Trying to get baby Tylenol into her mouth is like wrestling a bear. She doesn't like the booger-puller much, either, but we gotta do what we gotta do.

I've managed to get through without barfing on sheer willpower so far -- I hate throwing up that much. Finally got over over my anti-pharmaceutical self long enough to pop an Advil for the body aches, and that made me perky enough to try out my new Swiffer Wet-Jet that Santa brought me (yes, I did ask for one). Well, not perky enough to try out the special scrubber pad, so the stubborn spots are still there -- but otherwise my kitchen floor looks pretty good. The rest of the house is a pit, though. It's been a rough week.

Anyway, we took our first long car trip with Britt -- three hours to Tahlequah on Friday and three hours back on Saturday -- and she slept a little and squirmed and fussed a lot but mostly she glared at us like we were the two most heartless people in the world for keeping her strapped into the car seat all that time.

Tried to get her to show off her dancing skills for my family in Tahlequah, but of course she wouldn't do it. Then we spent Christmas Day back here with Mikey's family and she danced her little butt off for them.

Had a couple of misadventures over the weekend -- one of Kenny's boys was chasing Britt around Debbie's sofa and she fell face-first with her binky in her mouth and busted her lip. It bled a little -- all over the front of my new Ralph Lauren sweater -- but she got over it pretty quickly. On Sunday at Mikey's folks', she went to give Buddy the Bernese Mountain Dog some love and he knocked her down and did the Happy Dance on top of her tiny little body -- a horrifying moment because Buddy is one big-ass dog. He knocked me down a time or two while I was trying to grab her out from under him. It's a miracle that there wasn't any damage done -- to her or to the dog.

I was pretty well used up after that but the holidays were not yet over for us. Oh, hell, no, because my mother-in-law's birthday was Monday. We usually go out to a restaurant for a family-only celebration, but Candy and her husband just moved into a new house and wanted have the party there, so we showed up at the appointed time and it was one of my worst nightmares -- a roomful of people I didn't know. And a few people I knew slightly:

WELL, HIIIIII!!! HOW YA BEEN? HAVEN'T SEEN YEW IN AAAAAGES!!!!

(Oh, God, don't hug me please don't hug me don't don't oh nooooooo...)

By this point, I was ready to spill my own blood on my other new Ralph Lauren sweater.

Anyway, we got through it and then we went home and got sick. And that's about all we've been doing all week.

Little Sis says

I want YOU to have a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

Me & Sis went Christmas shopping

yesterday (Mikey's been taking care of most of it, but I still had to do a little), and she was such a good girl. She always is when we go out, probably because we don't get out much.

Her exceptional cuteness was oohed and aahed over by customers and salespeople everywhere we went, to which she responded by waving and blowing kisses.

She sure knows how to play to an audience, Sis does.

Two not-so-fabulous firsts

Britt's been scribbling with crayons on scrap paper, so I thought maybe it was time to introduce her to coloring books. So I bought a couple yesterday and thought we'd have fun coloring together.

We sat down last night to color some kitty-cats -- Britt would scribble a few strokes and hand her crayon to me and fret. I'd scribble a few strokes with it to show her what to do and then I'd hand it back to her. This went on over and over again until she was getting too stressed out over it, so I put the coloring books away for a few more months. I was like, "My word, Sis, don't take it so hard. This is supposed to be fun!"

I dunno what her issue was, unless I have a budding perfectionist on my hands and she just didn't feel like she was doing it right.

The other first: Brittany had her first Happy Meal! I know, I know -- bad Grammy! But the key to handling this child is to keep her on a regular schedule and she was late for her nap after our running around all morning and I didn't have time to cook a proper lunch, so she had chicken nuggets and fries and apple juice. It was also her first experience with a juice box and of course she had to squeeze it and squirt juice all over herself.

I was really pissed when I saw what her first-ever Happy Meal toy was. It was a little character figure from Narnia. Lucy, I think? I dunno, I've never read any of the Narnia stuff -- fantasy is not my cup o' tea. Anyway, she had a book in one hand and when you move this little button on her back, the arm with the book goes up and down, like a Heil Hitler salute.

We had a helium balloon from one of the stores we went to yesterday morning, so I tied the string around Lucy's neck to see if she would float but she was too heavy. I probably shouldn't let Britt see me exhibiting passive-aggressive behaviors like that because she's such a little copycat, but I was so bummed that her very first Happy Meal toy was so lame.

Grammy's little helper

Brittany's learning how to be a proper little housekeeper, just by watching me.

Hey, quit snickering. I'm a better housekeeper than I used to be, but nobody ever comes down here to see me so how would you know?

Anyway, she helps unload the dishwasher by handing me one piece of silverware at a time. She hasn't figured out the distinction between clean dishes out/dirty dishes in yet, so I have to load the dishwasher with one leg thrust out along the edge of the door so I can block her from grabbing the dirty silverware as soon as it goes in.

She helps me do laundry, too, but if I don't hand her some clean things to throw into the dryer, she'll grab things from the dirty clothes pile and throw them in.

When she's finished eating, she'll yank off her bib and wipe down the tray of her high chair, sending bits of leftover food flying all over the floor.

She takes good care of her baby doll, too. She kisses and cuddles it and feeds it a bottle, just like I do with her.

She'll be stirring a spoon around a bowl at her little play kitchen and she'll come over and give us "bites" of whatever it is she's cooking up. It's awful cute and all, but I'm glad she's too short to help me at the big stove.

Oh, the horror

Took Britt to her 15-month checkup this morning and she screamed, squalled, flailed, thrashed and kicked all the way through it. I don't know if it was stranger anxiety (she acts that way when Aunt Bridgie comes over, but this was worse -- Aunt Bridgie should come visit more often, BTW, so she won't be a stranger) or if she remembered that it's the place where she gets needles poked into her legs, but it was pure hell.

Anyway, she weighed 23 1/2 pounds and was 28 1/4 inches tall -- if they managed to measure this whirling dervish of a child accurately, which I doubt -- dropping her down to the fifth percentile heightwise, meaning 95% of babies her age are taller than she is. I'll measure her myself later and see how close they got.

And yes, she did get more needles poked into her legs, poor baby.

Then we went Christmas shopping for two hours and I managed to get exactly one item knocked off my list. Woo-hoo!

To tree or not to tree, Part 2

Mikey has decided he wants to put up the Christmas tree after all. I said, "How do we keep Brittany off of it?" He said, "We'll just keep telling her no, until she understands not to touch it."

Um, yeah. He means I'll keep telling her no, since he's gone to work all day. I've been trying to keep her out of the kitchen trash can ever since she got mobile, and she's still fascinated by it. I tell her no daily, and it seems to have no effect whatsoever.

Anyway, somebody suggested putting up the tree inside the playpen, where she can look but not touch. That's an excellent idea, except:

1. It's currently being used as a toybox, but we could move the toys somewhere else temporarily.

2. It's currently parked in front of the aquarium to keep Brittany from tipping it over on herself somehow (I'm very paranoid about that), which is not an ideal spot for tree placement.

3. The playpen measures 28 x 40 inches, so the tree wouldn't fit inside it unless we left all the bottom branches off.

(***sigh***)

I'm less than enthused about this -- can you tell?

Brittany the Orange-Nosed Cutie

She has carotenemia, which was pointed out to me at her 9-month checkup by her pediatrician and again at her 12-month checkup. She's due for her 15-month checkup next week and it's still there, even though she doesn't eat much baby food anymore. I hope the doctor doesn't jump my ass about it.

I still think she's a beauty, even if she does have a little carrot nose:



It matches this autumn leaf box hat she likes to wear:



But it clashes with her fuzzy pink hat:



Dunno how long it'll take to fade away. I guess her doctor would know.

Britt has a molar!

Been watching closely for the two lateral incisors on top to come through. They're almost but not quite offically there yet.

In the meantime, she snuck a molar in on us!

PS: Plus a new lateral incisor on the bottom -- just discovered that one this evening.

To tree or not to tree

is the question we're grappling with.

We usually have our Christmas tree up by now, and the only place to put it is in the dining room, but that's Brittany's toy room now and she's gonna think it's a big new toy for her to play with. How do we keep her from stripping everything within reach off of it? The space is too big to block off. And if we do put up the tree, we can't put presents under it anyway because tearing paper is one of her favorite activities.

(***sigh***)

Maybe we'll have to skip it this year. I dunno.

Sleeping like a baby

Finally got Brittany adjusted to her new naptime/bedtime schedule and the past three nights have been blessedly peaceful. The two nights before that were not.

Sunday night she woke up at 1:30 am and didn't go back to sleep until after 4:00. I gave up on rocking her and brought her into bed with us, where she spun and flailed and delivered a hard kick to my left boob that nearly made me swallow my tongue. But she also kissed and patted my face so sweetly that I couldn't get too mad at her.

Monday night she woke up every time we tried to put her down -- Mikey and I took turns rocking her and were so frustrated that we started snapping at each other, which we never do. When I finally decided she was just gonna have to cry it out, she went right off to sleep.

The next three nights she went to sleep right on time, and stayed asleep through the night, so I think we're through the worst of it. I hope so anyway.

The Chair

The Chair has become the bane of my existence. It's the gold swivel rocker in Brittany's room where I spend at least two hours a day rocking her to sleep -- late morning nap, afternoon nap, and bedtime. I get numb from having 25 pounds of baby stretched across my lap for so long.

It's been getting harder and harder to get her to sleep at night. Sometimes when I've rocked her to sleep, she'll pop awake as soon as I stand up from The Chair to put her in her crib, and then I'm back to square one. Some nights it takes an hour and a half -- I'm not kidding.

Anyway, I've been thinking about eliminating one of her daytime naps so that she'll go to sleep earlier at night, say 9:30 instead of 11:00. It would be wonderful to have that extra free time.

So I started yesterday by skipping her afternoon nap, but it didn't work because she climbed up on my lap at 7:00 and fell asleep. I only let her sleep about 15 minutes and made her wake up, but still had a hard time getting her to sleep last night.

Today I skipped her late morning nap and let her decide when to climb up on my lap and fall asleep, which she did at 3:00. Then I went and put her in her crib, but she only slept for an hour so I thought I'd have it easy tonight. I was wrong.

I made Mikey feel sorry for me so he rocked Brittany to sleep tonight. I was so happy -- a whole day with NO time spent in The Chair. Woo-hoo! Grandpa rocks! Then we went out to the garage for a celebratory smoke but our delight was cut short by the friggin' baby monitor.

(***sigh***)

So, I rocked Brittany to sleep again, and when I stood up to put her in her crib she woke up again, so I rocked her to sleep again, and I am damned tired of rocking.

Anyway, there is good news: Brittany's brushing her teeth now! Or rather, I am and she's letting me! To know how truly amazing this is, you have to understand that this child won't hardly let me stick a finger in her mouth to check for new teeth (only four so far), so I wondered how on earth I was gonna manage it.

She loves to copy whatever we do, though, so when she takes her bath I leave her in her safety seat to watch me while I go brush my teeth at the sink, and then I brush hers and she loves it! I'm not sure if it's because it makes her think she's a big girl like Grammy or because she likes the taste of her Strawberry Shortcake toothpaste but, as long as it gets the job done, who cares?

Tiny dancer

Brittany practices her dance moves all day every day, and has added a number a steps to her repertoire. There's the Brittany Quick-Step, which is basically running in place; the Bounce, where she bends both knees to bob her booty up and down; the Rock, where she shifts her weight from foot to foot; the Hippy Hippy Shake, where she bends one knee to shake her booty from side to side; and the Turnaround, which is not quite a spin, but walking around in a circle.

Along with this fancy footwork, she'll slap her knees, belly or chest with her hands, clap, throw her arms up in the air, or try to snap her fingers, but she hasn't really got the hang of that yet.

The music she most often dances to is on our cable music channels. She makes us circle through Bluegrass, Classic Rock, Party Favorites, '80s, '70s, Solid Gold Oldies and Big Band & Swing until we find something with the right beat.

She's been playing music with Grandpa, too. He'll let her strum his guitar until she drops the pick into the sound hole (because she likes to watch Grandpa shaking his guitar over his head to make the pick fall out), or else she'll take off running with the pick, giggling gleefully because she knows one of us will chase after her and she does love to play Chase.

Can't hardly get bored with Sis in the house, I tell you what.

Cutest clown in town

Brittany in her Halloween costume:





She's been saying "Shazbot!" a lot lately, which helped me to finally figure out what language she's speaking -- it's Orkan!

We're down to just one binky now. I've been hunting all week and can't find any trace of the other three, which is incredibly maddening. They have to be here somewhere, dammit!

Binky hunting

is one of my regular daily activities now. We have four in circulation -- pink, purple, blue and green -- but it's rare to turn up all four at the same time. First, there's the walk-around visual search, then the hands-and-knees looking under the furniture search and, if neither of those turns up a binky, I have to start looking inside anything that has a binky-sized opening. Sissy's pretty sneaky sometimes.

We were down to two binkies for a couple of weeks, until I found the green one in the back corner of the patio and the blue one under the ottoman that blocks the electrical outlet next to the aquarium. Now I haven't seen the pink one in a few days.

The reason I have an ottoman blocking the electrical outlet next to the aquarium is because Sis likes to pop out those little plastic things you put in the plug openings to keep babies' fingers out. Yep, she just pops them right out. Repeatedly. So I've had to arrange chairs, mirrors and whatnot in front of them to keep her little fingers out of danger. Plays hell with my decorating scheme but, oh, well.

Lately I've noticed that Brittany will cock her binky over to the corner of her mouth so she can chat and chew at the same time. It's hard to carry on a conversation with her, though, because she doesn't speak English. I tried to write down some of her chatterings, but a lot of her words seem to be all consonants and defy any attempt at transcription. Anyway, it goes something like this:

Shekh! Thulom deegumm tcheegah. Ah didi dah, haw put tleekow. Shedecomow dugawah digum. Wah duk op shuk bubu da. Shigilum bugulayah gigum. Bwoogah ummegom dibidah. Awayah!

And she sings, too:

Dah! da-da-da, Dah! da-da-da
Dah! da-da-da, Dah! da-da-da

And on and on...

She's pretty good at getting around now. She learned how to stand up without pulling up on something and she started running around the backyard for the first time this week. She has a little toy lawnmower out there that talks and makes lawnmower motor noise but she likes to dance to the motor noise instead of pushing it around the yard.

She was playing in the Toy Room (used to be the dining room) the other day when I heard her making distress noises. Not quite crying, but it sounded weird so I looked around and saw that she had high-centered herself on the side of her little doll-sized playpen. Head and arms inside, feet flailing outside.

Ain't never a dull moment with Little Sis around.

I killed Bob's fish

Woops!

It was a betta that he left here when he left. All I did was change the water; it was dead the next morning.

Well, I don't guess he was all that attached to it, since he didn't take it with him. I hope not, anyway.

Tooth #3

just broke the surface of Brittany's gums. This one's on top; the other two are on the bottom.

We took her to the zoo Sunday and had a lot of fun. She's such a good baby -- she never cried or whined or anything while we were there. Plus she took a nap as soon as we got home so Gampaw and Grammy could rest up a little after three hours of hiking.

She can show me where her ears are and sometimes her eyes, but we're still working on where her nose and mouth are.

Her walking is getting better, but she still staggers like a two-foot tall drunk most of the time.

Have I mentioned her dancing? She's been dancing for months now, to commercial jingles and TV show theme songs, Gampaw's Zeppelin and Creedence DVDs, and various musical toys that she plays constantly. She'll bend one knee to rock her hips and pats her leg or claps her hands in time to the music and it's just awful darn cute.

Still amazed at the sight

of this itty-bitty little girl toddling around the house:



I took better pictures of her walking today, but the stupid disk kept going into error mode when I tried to upload them, and they're gone. This is the only one I was able to salvage.

Grrrrr...I hate my camera! I need a new one, desperately.

Baby steps

Brittany is walking! Not very steady at it yet, but she's doing 8 or 9 steps at a time today. It was 5 or 6 steps yesterday, and 3 or 4 the day before.

Her daddy was here to see it; he came in from Kansas Friday night with his new girlfriend in tow. Which would've been fine, I guess, except that he never bothered to mention her to me until they walked through my front door together.

Anyway, we were finally able to celebrate Bob's 26th birthday and Bridgie's 24th birthday yesterday. I now have a combined total of 50 years of motherhood under my belt, which is weird to think about since I'm only 43!

Took Sissy to the fair last night

Should've known better, but it's been a looooooong time since I went to the fair. Forgot about trying to find a place to park, and the crowds, and the lines.

We went and checked out Kiddieland, but decided Brittany's not quite ready for any rides yet. Maybe next year.

Gampaw bought her some cotton candy, but she cringed and batted it away like we'd tried to hand her a live rattlesnake. She never would even taste it. The kid has good instincts! Well, truth be told, if we had handed her a live rattlesnake, she probably would've thought it was some cool new toy, but you know what I mean.

So we went and looked at the animals. Saw lots of horses and cows and goats. Lots and lots of goats -- three barns full. Pretty little Boer goats, but I never knew there were that many goats in the state. Brittany oohed and aahed over all the animals, especially the horsies, but she really went nuts when we found a donkey. She grabbed hold of the side of the pen and jabbered like crazy at it. Had to peel her little hands off so we could finally move on.

Might take her to the zoo next weekend. Or maybe not, since that's the family reunion and Bob's supposed to come down to visit, if he can afford to. Maybe the weekend after.

My little one-toothed wonder

finally sprouted her second tooth! Right next to the first one, on the bottom. No sign of any others yet.

Okay, so my nekkid ladies

aren't actually Naked Ladies, as it turns out. They're Spider Lilies and they look like this, except mine are more of a salmon color. I tried to take a good picture of them today, but you know my crappy camera...

Anyway, they're in full bloom right now and pretty spectacular, so hurry on by in the next day or two if you want to see them at their peak.

Happy birthday, Bridgie!

Mommy loves you!

Brittany at twelve months

Took Little Sis to the doctor Friday for a checkup. She weighs 21 pounds, 10 ounces and is 27 1/4 inches tall. Still in the 10th percentile heightwise, meaning 90% of one-year-olds are taller than she is. Finally got caught up on her immunizations, her hemocrit was fine, and Doc says it's time to wean her off formula and baby food.

We've been letting her feed herself bits and pieces of our dinner this week, and now she won't hardly eat baby food anymore. She loves cheese. And birthday cake and ice cream:



(Hey, Bridgie -- e-mail me the birthday pictures, would ya? And remember to shrink them first.)

It's almost time for her first haircut. I'm not really ready for that yet, but her little forelock is starting to get in her eyes, so I'll have to do something about it soon. Tried a couple of different kinds of barrettes, but they don't stay in very long. Tried to do a little ponytail, too, but she squirms so much I can't get it fastened without hurting her.

She can stand alone, but doesn't think she can. She's steady on her feet holding on to nothing but my hair, so we're working on that.

She chatters incessantly in her own little language that none of us can understand; Mikey says she must be Pentecostal, because she's already speaking in tongues.

She's gone horse-crazy already -- she's in love with her big furry rocking horse. She's not interested in riding it, though. She just pets it and lays her head on it and loves on it all day long, which is almost unbearably cute.

Happy Birthday, Sherri!

One year closer to the Big 4-0!

Nekkid ladies

Hey, Sher! Remember that clump of stuff you brought me from Nina's a couple of years ago that never did anything?

Well, it's doing it now. I counted ten blooms sprouting this morning.

Celebrating Sissy

Y'all missed a heckuva party.

Bob came in from Wichita, and Bridget, Sherri and Mikey's whole family were here.

The pictures I took on my crappy digital camera didn't come out so good but, happily, everybody else brought cameras, plus I had my videocam going, so the whole thing was recorded for posterity.

Brittany was the cutest little one-year-old princess in town, and actually wore her tiara for about 30 seconds at a time before yanking it off. She fed herself some cake and ice cream, and wore the rest. We discussed taking her out in the yard to hose her off, but Sherri wound up giving her a bath. Then she put on her new jammies and now she's sleeping like a baby.

Which is what I should be doing, while I have the chance.

Ordered Brittany's b-day cake

It's a princess castle. And it comes with a little tiara for her to wear.

Still have housecleaning and shopping to do, but right now I need to take a nap. Haven't had an uninterrupted night of sleep in ages.

(**yawn**)

Bob's gone

Moved himself to Wichita yesterday to get away from Sarah and to get a fresh start. He says the career opportunities are much better and it's cheaper to live there than here.

I have legal guardianship of Brittany, so she's staying here with me. If he eventually manages to get the guardianship lifted, it'll tear my heart out if he takes her up there. A hundred and fifty some-odd miles away from me.

I'm trying not to think about that.

Doug died last week

Kyra's daddy (Lesley's husband) passed away in Washington on the 15th. Sherri had just heard about it, so I don't know if anyone else knows yet.

A terrible thing, to go so young. I couldn't remember what his disease was, so I looked it up on Sherri's blog -- read about it here.

Brittany was invited

to Cousin Gracie's birthday party, where she tasted cake for the first time.



She'll be eating her own birthday cake in just a few more weeks. And ice cream, too -- she loves ice cream. No idea what kind of party we'll have -- I haven't managed to plan a thing yet.

Semi-sorta back to normal

The court crap is over with for a while; Mom, Bridget and Sherri have all the pertinent details if you haven't heard them yet. I'm trying real hard to get back into my usual peaceful and contented state of mind, so I prefer not to talk about it any more.

Now that I have my life back, more or less, I'm working on getting my house in order. It's been all I can do to keep the dishes and the laundry and the baby clean, so piles of clutter have sprouted everywhere. My garden's a mess, too; there's grass growing in my flowerbeds. And my fish -- poor fishies! -- desperately need a water change.

Anyway, the baby's napping and I have work to do, so I'll holler at you guys later.

Two big milestones

Brittany is finally crawling! Mikey taught her how a couple of weeks ago by tempting her with veggie crackers, a favorite treat. Now she's a speed crawler -- if I take my eyes off her for a second she's gone, and I have to hunt for her from room to room.

Also, she finally has a tooth!

Mikey & me

Many years ago, the company I worked for moved my department from Fort Gibson to Muskogee, and a guy was hired for several weeks to do some repairs and maintenance on our newly-acquired building.

The girls in the office all thought he was cute, but I was happily celibate at the time, following a string of failed relationships, and I wasn't looking for romance. No way, no how. Besides, he was impossibly young and would never be interested in somebody like me. He was 23, I was 31 and raising two kids.

My buddy Joycie couldn't resist a little matchmaking, though. The only other single girl in the office was a bad-tempered redhead, so she started nudging Mikey and me together. We had some friendly conversations and peeked around corners at each other, but neither of us really thought the other was that interested.

When his time working for us was almost through, a group good-bye lunch was arranged but, as the appointed hour arrived, everybody suddenly remembered something else they had to do.

So, twelve years ago today, Mikey and me went to lunch together -- alone. Afterward, when we climbed back into my Jeep to go back to work, he laid a big wet one on me and I was both shaken and stirred. So rattled that I got lost driving back to the office, on a route I'd driven dozens of times before.

Eight years ago today, I married the great love of my life and the best friend I've ever had.

Thank you, Joycie, wherever you are.

Crazy from the heat

Well, not just from the heat, but anyway...

Saw Chris and Sherri today for the first time in ages, and gave them the rundown on what-all's been going on around here. Then I ran out of conversation because this custody battle over Brittany has been all-consuming. It's taken over my whole life -- I haven't even read a newspaper in I don't know how long.

Went to court again Thursday, but the results of the hair follicle tests weren't in yet so we had to get another continuance. As soon as we left, Bob's results came in and he's clean.

The lady from SoonerStart came out Tuesday to test Brittany for developmental delays and didn't find any. She's finally crawling, a little bit, but she still has no teeth.

I took Brittany to baby playtime at the library on Wednesday and now she has a cold. I'm pretty sure that's where she got it. She's been snotting all day and puked a couple of times, too.

Went to my followup appointment with the orthopedist yesterday and was diagnosed with tendonitis. I'm supposed to take Advil twice a day and go to physical therapy, but I dunno how that's gonna fit that into my schedule.

(***sigh***)

I sure could use a vacation. The only escape I get is working on my egghead blog. I put a site meter on it, which tells me somebody's been reading it, so it doesn't feel like a total waste of time. Currently averaging 8 hits a day. Woo-hoo!

Dang, I'm running out of conversation again...

On a happier note

Me & Mikey hit the furniture stores yesterday to distract ourselves from our woes.

Found a very nice TV cabinet at the first one, a Bassett loveseat at the second one, and two nightstands and a dresser to match our crazy big bed at the third one.

Our home will be no longer be underfurnished, once the bedroom furniture gets delivered on Wednesday. Well, except for the dining room -- it's still empty except for my aquarium and our crazy big buffet, but I'm not in any hurry to fill it. I've grown used to having lots of open space since we bought this house, and I don't want to start feeling claustrophic in it.

The winner of the Great Coffee Table Search of 1997 turned out to be a fortuitous choice. It's a drop-leaf that makes an oval when the sides are flipped up, so there aren't any sharp corners for Brittany to crack her head on, now that she's finally starting to cruise around it a little bit.

Bookcases -- we still need bookcases. We have tons of books stacked in the office closet that need to get off the floor and onto shelves. Dammit! That's what we forgot to look for yesterday...

Sarah's lawyer

has got to be regretting that he ever took her on as a client. She's a disaster.

The judge recommended that Bob let Sarah have two supervised visits with Brittany before our next court date. The one on Saturday went all right, though it was a terrible hard day for us. Brittany came home on time without any hassle.

The second visit was yesterday, again from 12 to 7, but Sarah never showed up. Her mother tried calling but couldn't reach her, so she finally called her own attorney, who called our attorney, who called Bob at 2:30. Sarah finally called her mother at 6:40, saying that she'd been up all night talking to Jason (the guy she's not supposed to be hanging out with) on the phone, and then she slept all day.

She's also balking on taking the hair follicle test that the judge ordered.

Our attorney is supposed to call her attorney today to see if she's ready to give up yet, because she cannot possibly win and we are so ready to be done with it.

Oh, please, please, please...

Wearing me thin

Went shopping for household supplies the other night and passed by the bathroom scales display. I stepped on one and weighed 129 pounds, which is pretty skinny for a chick as tall as me.

Oh, well -- that's the least of my worries right now.

Went to court Thursday. The judge decided he needed to hear witnesses and to see the results of hair follicle tests, so he rescheduled us for next week.

Sarah's been shacked up with this guy, who has pending felony charges hanging over his head. She already told Bob over the phone that her lawyer advised her not to be associating with him, but then she brought him with her to the courthouse anyway. Her lawyer made him leave the building before the judge could see him, but not before the rest of us got a good look at him.

(***shudder***)

So, anyway, Sarah and her parents came to an agreement yesterday and she signed over full guardianship of Kayla to them. Now we're supposed to drop Brittany off at Sarah's parents' house to visit with her and Kayla from 12 to 7 today, and we're flipping smooth out about it because none of us are allowed to stay and supervise. Had a long, agonizing phone conference with our attorney last night, and she assured us that they will seriously screw themselves if we don't get Brittany back on time.

I'm completely wrecked about it, but we've got the Steamatic people coming this afternoon to clean our carpets and ducts, so I have to keep moving. Still got lots of stuff to shift off the floor and out to the garage, but I'd rather just lay around and cry.

Sissy's pulling up!

I've been working on it with her and she's been needing less and less help, and she finally did it all by herself for the first time this morning.

Still not crawling, but maybe she'll skip that part and go straight to walking.

Still no teeth, either.

Brittany saw her mother last Sunday for the first time since the breakup, and she just looked at her like, "Who are you?" No big reaction at all. Of course, she hadn't seen her mother a whole lot for several months before the breakup, so her lack of enthusiasm wasn't terribly surprising.

Sleepyheads

Arrrgh -- they're killing us

Sarah's parents have allowed four court dates to be postponed/canceled so far. Yesterday's was canceled because Sarah wanted to settle out of court (she does not want to face that judge again), giving her parents custody of Kayla for six months. Now Sarah refuses to sign the papers because she can't get unsupervised visitation without completing a residential rehab program.

I'm so tired of this already, and Bob's first court date for Brittany's custody isn't until next week. We hoped theirs would be done by then, but who the hell knows?

Mikey's on a stress spiral and I feel like I could sleep for days. Everything will work out all right, I'm sure, but the waiting sure is getting to us.

Oh, yeah -- almost forgot. This is Sarah's attorney. Now, ain't that something?

Little Sis

Brittany will be ten months old next week, and the outfit she's wearing today is size 3 to 6 months.

We called her pediatrician a couple of weeks ago and learned that she hadn't been in for any checkups or immunizations since she was seven weeks old, so we made an appointment and took her. Her weight was fine -- in the 50th percentile -- but her height was only in the tenth percentile, meaning 90% of babies her age are taller than she is. She's still behind on her shots, but it will take a while to catch up.

She still has no teeth and isn't crawling or pulling up. She cannot get herself into a sitting position, or from a sitting position to her tummy -- her leg gets caught under her. She will stand at the coffee table and play if you put her there, but she doesn't make any effort to move around it. She does love her scootie, though, and has no trouble making it go where she wants to go, as long as it isn't onto carpet or grass. She's bright and alert, and an excellent mimic. She babbles and plays ball and waves bye-bye and gives such sweet kisses...

Anyway, I worry.

Julia, the attorney for Sarah's parents, specializes in guardianship cases involving kids under state supervision, and she's seen the aftereffects of drug abuse during pregnancy many, many times. I discussed my concerns with her Friday night and she told me that when Brittany's teeth finally do come in, they may be rotten because they were deprived of calcium in the womb, and that Brittany might be developmentally delayed as well, so she advised me to take her to SoonerStart to be evaluated as soon as possible.

I'm so angry. I'm angry at Sarah for endangering my granddaughter's life and I'm angry at my son for bringing this unwholesome woman and all her issues into our family.

I guess I've led a more sheltered life than I realized because I've been getting quite an education here lately, learning all kinds of things that I never dreamed I'd need to know.

Met with Sarah's folks

and their attorney for over four hours last night. Julia (the attorney) left with eleven pages of notes, an armload of evidence and the mystery box, which we have finally seen the contents of.

Julia also confirmed our suspicion that we need a specialist for Bob's custody case instead of the business lawyer and family friend that we hired because we were desperate to get temporary custody papers filed before Sarah could,

.......,pl'//'/l02n (Brittany says hi)

so we hired the specialist today.

Sarah's mom just called to tell me that Sarah's already been kicked out of the place she was staying because of her out-of-control behavior. Her new ex-roommate says she thought Sarah genuinely wanted to clean herself up so she could get her girls back, but now she's willing to testify against her.

Now, ain't that something?

Had an MRI yesterday

on my gimpy hip, and my orthopedist did a very poor job of preparing me for what to expect.

I assumed they would do an IV and inject stuff into that, but no. They injected it directly into my hip joint from the front side, which it was a bit more of an ordeal than I was expecting. I was already freaked out because of my chemical phobia and wasn't at all sure I wanted them shooting anything into me, but when I found out where they where going to shoot it, I nearly fled in terror.

I did, however, grin and bear it and waited until I got out of there before giving in to the weak tremblies.

Man, I hope I never have to do anything like that again.

Bob & Brittany update

We've been in full lockdown here at the ranch, afraid some goons might show up and try to snatch the baby, and we've learned things about my daughter-in-law that went far beyond anything I could've possibly imagined.

We're about 99% sure that Kayla's Nana and Papa will wind up with full custody of her and that Bob will be granted sole custody of the baby. We were in court for Kayla's custody hearing on Tuesday, but it's been postponed until next week. Brittany's hearing is still a couple of weeks away.

Tuesday was when I found out what's in the mystery box Bob's been toting around. If I hadn't been sitting down, I would've fallen to the floor.

Oh, dear Jesus...

I would tell y'all to call me if you want the gory details, but I don't really want to talk about it right now. Just pray for us, okay?

Happy birthday, Cathy

Love you, Sis!

Hell week

My firstborn's failing marriage finally reached a rather spectacular conclusion over the weekend. It's really for real this time -- he filed for divorce and full custody of Brittany yesterday, and they've moved in with us.

Reactions from the few family members I've spoken to ranged from "Cool!" to "Yay!" to "It's about damn time."

Kayla is with her Nana and Papa, who are once again filing for custody of her.

Anyway, this past week was one of the the rougher ones in recent memory and I'm totally depleted, so I'll have to holler at you guys later.

Dang, we're hot

We haven't looked this good since our own wedding eight years ago.



Mikey looked so yummy in his tux; now I'm wishing he'd buy one to chase me around the house in.

Irises were blooming last week

in Iowa. Ain't that something?

I know Iowa's 500 miles north of here, but it still amazes me that there's such a big difference. My irises finished blooming two months ago.

What a huge place this country is.

Gawd, I feel stupid

You know those black birds living in my purple martin house? The ones that I couldn't figure out what they were?

Um, well...they're purple martins.

How was I supposed to know? The picture in my field book shows a very purple bird, and I only get to see them flying or perched 30 feet up, backlit against the sky, and can't see any purple at all. Plus they live on the far side of the birdhouse, facing my neighbors, and never come down to feed in the yard so I can't study them very closely.

It was the female that finally tipped me off; the only picture I could find that looked like her was of a female purple martin. Didn't think she really was one, though, until I listened to an audio clip of its song. Which I recognized instantly. Felt like such a doof.

A new tattoo?

Bob brought the baby over; now he's off to Edmond to take Kayla to her grandparents.

Sarah still hasn't turned up.

The other day Sarah was putting the kids in the car when I noticed a large tattoo on her lower back. I knew I'd never seen it before, so I asked Bob about it today. He said, yeah, he saw it, too, and it was a new one. But he didn't know where she got it, or how she paid for it.

Good heavens.

Bob just called

to tell me he's throwing Sarah out because she stayed out all night. Again.

He fell asleep waiting for her to come home; Kayla woke him up at 10:00 this morning. He was supposed to be at work at 7:00.

Oh, my Lord.

It'll be a year in August since Bob and Sarah dropped into our laps. Okay, we thought, they're going through a rough patch and we'll do what we can to help them get on their feet. We helped with the apartment and with the baby and with Kayla. And with Sarah's car. They've tapped out our cash reserves. They've used up our patience.

Here we are, almost a year later, and there's not a lot of progress. They still can't pay the bills, hold onto jobs, get along, etc, etc. I'm starting to wonder, "Is it always going to be like this? Will it be the same thing next year? And the next?"

Well, maybe not, if they're not together anymore.

Sarah's still not home yet. Bob started to bring the girls over here so he could deal with his wife, but I pointed out that we don't have a legal right to keep Kayla if Sarah wants her, so he's going to call her parents and see if they want Kayla. If so, he'll take her up there and bring the baby to me.

Flight school

Noticed some birds gathering on the terraced part of my backyard, which was odd, so I grabbed the binoculars and saw that it was a mama house sparrow feeding three little chickies. Then the mama bird flew up on the birdbath and her babies followed, one at a time. She flew up on the fence and again they followed her, one at a time. Then she flew down from the fence and they followed her, one at a time. Then she fed them again. Then they were off again.

Way too cool.

Birding

Saw a house finch for the first time yesterday.

It was the first time I was able to identify any new bird in a while, because the trees leafed out the moment I finally got a pair of binoculars, so it was a pretty exciting moment for me.

Tot wheels

Sissy still won't crawl, so we we went last night and found a walker to help her explore the concept of personal mobility.

I'm eager to see how she likes it, but Sarah's suddenly unemployed again so I dunno what they're doing today.

Garden report

I was embarrassed to show Mom my yard last weekend because everything was so withered and dry. We'd had three or four days of record-breaking heat and no time to water properly, but there've been a couple of good soaking rains since then and everything is lush and green again.

My daylilies and rose-of-Sharon are blooming already, along with kazillions of golden-yellow coreopsis. The pinks and clematis are just dropping their last petals and the sweet Williams are fading, but the lantanas and four o'clocks are just kicking in and the Shasta daisies are loaded with buds. Got hydrangeas going out front; the new pink ones are just about finished, but the Nikko blue just started.

This year I'm really enjoying ice plant, which I never tried before, and my spider flower, which has at least ten new flower heads on it; there were only three when I got it for Mother's Day.

Arrrrg--I hate going to the doctor

Finally went yesterday to see about the pain in my hipbone, pelvic bone, whatever you want to call it, and it was a complete waste of time. It always is.

Called my regular doctor first and found out he'd retired, so I had to find a new general practitioner, right? So I made an appointment with another doctor in the same building, who waited until I was on his examining table to say, "I'm not the one to tell you what's wrong with your hip." Didn't take an x-ray, poke around on it, or nothin'. Instead, he referred me to an orthopedist. I was like, "Well, crap, what did I come here for then?"

Besides, he got a little frosty when I mentioned my pharmaceutical phobia. I don't think I want this guy to be my new general practitioner.

So now I'm right back where I was. Less my $20 co-pay.

I have had it with those two

Jeez Louise! How much is a reasonable person supposed to take?

Went over to pick up the baby this morning and saw Bob's van, which should've been at work. Then I couldn't get anyone to answer the door. People in the apartments next door and across the way opened their doors, and I asked them, "How is it that you-all can hear me knocking and they can't?" Shrugs all around.

Bob finally opened the door and I asked what the hell was going on. He said he'd burned his eyes welding and I said, "Dammit, Bob! You know how not to do that!"

Ran upstairs and found Sarah in bed. Yelled at her that it was 9:00 and she was gonna be late. She stirred, so I went back downstairs and asked Bob what his plan was. He didn't know. Got tired of looking at him sitting there, so I told Kayla to go wake her momma up and I told Bob, "Well, I'll be at the house when you decide what you want to do."

And so I split.

Now it's almost noon and I haven't heard from either one, so I'm just going to enjoy my day off. Ain't no tellin' when I'll get another one.

Cheeky chick

Plumbing new depths

To recap the weekend, Bob and Sarah got into it Friday night, Sarah shoved Bob against the wall in front of the kids, Bob called 911 and Sarah called us. We rushed over, the cops didn't arrest anybody, and Sarah sent Bob and the girls home with us because she needed to think.

Bob went by the apartment after work on Saturday and said Sarah must've left right after we did, because nothing had been touched and she didn't spend the night there. He talked to her Saturday before the wedding, but they got into it again and she hung up on him. He said she never asked about the kids.

Bob and the girls went home with us Saturday night after the wedding and we all went straight to bed. Never heard from Sarah until about 3:00pm yesterday. She came over and they went home with the kids around 5:00.

While Sarah was here, she mentioned that she felt bad because her dad's birthday was Saturday and she hadn't even called him.

Mmm, okay...so if she wasn't with her parents, where did she spend Friday night? And what is it with Friday nights anyway? Because it was a week ago Friday night (Friday the 13th, in fact) that she went out for groceries and came home at 5:00 in the morning without any groceries. She told Bob it had been raining so hard that she couldn't see, so she'd pulled over and fell asleep in her car. What a load of crap.

Anyway, Bob called about two hours after they left our house last night and said they'd been talking and decided there was something he and Sarah needed to do. I listened eagerly, thinking they were finally ready for marriage couseling, but no.

No, what they decided they needed to do was to get me and Mikey and her parents together for a ceremony in which Bob and Sarah would renew their vows.

Because Sarah didn't get to have a big beautiful wedding like Sherri just had, because they eloped.

(Okay, he didn't say that last part, but I know damn well that's what the deal is.)

I was dumbfounded, so I gave Bob a minute or so of stunned silence before letting him know that any such ceremony was not a priority at this time and instead they both needed to get into some serious counseling, pronto. I asked where his wife spent Friday night, and he said he didn't know. I asked if he didn't have a right to know, and he got off the phone pretty quick.

I don't know that I have a right to know where Sarah's spending her nights away from home, but I just took care of her kids for two days right in the middle of helping my niece with her wedding, and she never called once to see how they were doing. Just dumped them on me and ran.

Congrats to

Phil, who earned a 4.0 and made the President's Honor Roll. Way to go, Bro!

And to Bridgie, who is now a loan officer! She passed her test on Tuesday and has the potential to make more money, but without the security of a salary. Just straight commission, so if anybody needs any home loans or refinancing, you know who to call.

Just spent a very nice evening

with people I love, and I'm feeling relaxed and peaceful, for the moment. Downright giddy, in fact. Mikey's eying me warily because I've been dancing little happy jigs at odd moments ever since we got home.

Got to meet Kyra finally, and she is a doll. Big blue eyes and curly white-blonde hair--she's Lesley all over again.

I asked Jearold and Linda if Brittany didn't look just like my dad, and they agreed that she certainly does.

So anyway, we rehearsed and had a great dinner and the chapel is very nice and it will be a beautiful wedding and we'll be gathered together shortly to get our oldest old maid married off and Sherri's gonna hit me when she reads that. Hee-hee-heee...

And now I must dance.

Lord help me

to be gracious and kind, always. Just not in a doormat kind of way, okay?

Yesterday was Sarah's half-day so she asked me to take Kayla for two hours. I knew the "two hours" part was bullshit, but I didn't know it would be seven and a half.

Then Kayla was sick so I tried to call Sarah at work but she wasn't there. Called Bob's cell phone (she spilled Coke on hers so it's out-of-order) on the off-chance she might have it with her, but no. She smelled like suntan lotion when she finally did show up. Took me all evening to quit twitching with rage.

If you say you're gonna do something, do it. If you're not gonna do it, just keep your mouth shut. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Anyway, I woke Sarah up this morning when I went to get the baby at 9:00. This is a daily thing, because she stays up all night and can't wake up in the morning and gets repeatedly reprimanded because she doesn't make it to work on time, which is even more embarrassing than it oughta be because she doesn't have to be there until 10:00.

So who do you think rang my doorbell at 10:00?

Uh-huh. Wanting to know if I could keep Kayla today, because she didn't have time to take her to day care, which is in a whole 'nother town that neither she nor Bob goes to except to drop off and pick up Kayla from day care. I've asked her repeatedly to enroll Kayla in a facility closer to home, but Sarah's mother pays half and that's where her mother wants her so that's where she is, and I say her mother can just damn well chauffeur Kayla to and fro then, but...oh, never mind.

So I had to explain to Sarah that no, I could not do it because Sherri's coming over to do some last-minute wedding stuff, plus we have to leave for the rehearsal and dinner at 4:00 and we'll have to take Brittany with us because nobody will be off work yet and if I kept Kayla I'd have to take her along, too, and keeping Kayla entertained doesn't just fit into my schedule today. Plus I'm tired of bending over backward.

You've seen that sign that says, "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"? Yep, that's how I feel about it.

She acted totally exasperated with me when she left, but you know what? I didn't create her problem. She did. And if she loses her job, it won't be because she was late today; it'll be because she's late nearly every day.

(**sigh**)

Sorry, y'all, but I just get so aggravated, you know?

Ever notice

how people who use the word "classy" usually aren't?

Head Cheese

Grandma used to make head cheese, so whenever we'd get a hog butchered Mom would save the head in a clear plastic bag in the big freezer until we could take it to her.

It was a bit startling to open our freezer door sometimes, if one hadn't been properly briefed beforehand.

I don't remember eating any head cheese, though. Do you?

(Link via Biomes Blog)

Bridal finery

Picked up Sherri's gown from the seamstress yesterday, and it looks just gorgeous on her. She's going to be a beautiful bride.

Found my matron-of-honor dress--it's lilac and lovely and not terribly matronly, so I'm pretty happy with it. Plus I only had to pay 1/3 of its original price, so Mikey's pretty happy with it, too.

Got shoes, jewels and undergarments, so we're almost all set. Still have to decide what to do with our hair, though--I vote beauty shop.

Happy birthday, Phil!

You're still my favorite brother.

Eight months old today

I asked Brittany today if she was the cutest thing in two counties and, right on cue, she said, "Uh-huh."

Bluejay tragedy

One day two years ago there were two fledgling bluejay chicks running around my backyard with their parents hovering nearby; I took a few pictures and left them to their flying lessons:



The next day there were no longer any bluejay chicks running around my yard; just a pile of little blue feathers, courtesy of the local stray cats.

(By the way, if you like to adopt stray cats: for Pete's sake, take them in! Don't just feed 'em and let 'em wander the 'hood like my neighbors do--it's damned inconsiderate. Either keep them inside or don't feed them at all.)

Anyway, there were three or four little bluejay chicks running around the backyard yesterday with their parents hovering nearby. Thinking of that pile of little blue feathers and the cats we regularly chase out of our yard, we debated on whether or not to do anything.

This one looked like it hurt its neck falling out of the tree:



It just sat there instead of darting around the yard like its siblings were doing, so Mikey put it back in the nest (and got dive-bombed by angry parents in the process), but the poor thing was soon back on the ground again. It was dead this morning.

There's still one chick running around back there; I sure hope it learns how to fly before the cats find it.

What a screwed-up day

I'm tellin' ya, I was not in the mood to be holidayed today.

Finally shook off my inertia this afternoon and went out and found a nice planterful of purple petunias and helichrysum for Sarah's front porch. It was too late to get anything for Mom, so I just called her.

Mikey did pretty good--he bought me a nice dinner and gave me one of these; it's about 3 feet tall and looks almost like a pot plant. Seriously, check out the leaves.

Waited all day to hear from Bridgie. Finally called her about 9:30 and she said, "Oh, I was just about to call you." Uh-huh.

Sarah called earlier and said they would be over after they went to her mom's. She finally came alone around 10:00 bringing cards and a vase of flowers, so I didn't get to lay eyes on any of my offspring today.

Love my flowers and all but, really, I wish this had been just any other Sunday: no guilt, no expectations, no stress. I'm so glad it's over.

Mother's Day

I've let Grandma's birthday, Daddy's birthday, and Mom and Daddy's wedding anniversary pass without comment here on my family blog. Now it's Mother's Day and I've managed to do exactly nothing for Mom or for Sarah.

(**sigh**)

Add a layer of guilt to my current bout of depression.

No cellin'

The Defective Yeti says:

Just for the record, I, Matthew Baldwin, as of 7:30 AM, May 04, 2005, still do not own a cell phone.

I want to document this fact in case, at some future point, there's a dispute about who exactly was the last person on Earth to acquire one.

He's got some formidable competition, then. I don't have a cell phone because I hate talking on the phone, period. No way will I carry a portable one that's liable to ring at me anytime, anywhere.

(**shudder**)

The very thought of it gives me the willies.

I know my blog's been

pretty boring lately. Sorry about that, but I've been too agitated and distracted to do much about it.

Bob got his job back, starting Tuesday, so that should help; he's had me tied in knots.

I finally have some time to myself today, which will help more than anything, prob'ly.

(Oh, dang. The phone just rang and my heart dropped. Thought I spoke too soon, but it was a wrong number. Oh, thank you, Lord.)

Just went outside for a smoke break and was serenaded by a mockingbird, which was a delight. One of the rose bushes Bridgie gave me has produced a single perfect red bloom, beautifully scented.

So, you know, life's not all bleak or nothin'. I just need everybody around me to get their angst worked out so I can be peaceful again.

UPDATE: I did speak too soon. The doorbell rang at 11:30 and I spat and cussed all the way to the door. It was Bob with baby in tow, and it took an hour (and several not-so-subtle hints) to get him on his way again, baby in tow.

Jeez Louise! Now I'm feeling all jangled up again. Thanks a lot, son.

Uh, Sher...?

It's only two weeks until the wedding and I still have no matron-of-honor dress.

Whatever shall we do about that?

Sorry I haven't

been blogging more; I just haven't felt very talkative lately. You know how I get.

Anyway, in my few moments of computer time this week, I listened to bird songs and figured out it was a great-tailed grackle that serenaded Mikey and me the other night; looked at other people's garden blogs; read up on the Girl Scout murders because somebody (was it Phil?) asked if I ever figured out what really happened there; and played with the Big Red Button, which was mildly amusing.

That's all for now; I am seriously bummed out and finally have a chance for some quiet time, so I'll holler at you guys later.

Stacking the Kitty

Found this last night and yelled at Mikey to come and see.

We used to play this game with our Kitty, but we called it "Stacking the Kitty." In our version, we'd see how high we could balance stuff on him, carefully stacking assorted lightweight items until the whole pile fell over.

Didn't take pictures, though--didn't want any evidence that could be used against us.

(Link via Czeltic Girl, where I also found the Silly Sleeping Pose Olympics)

Still pouring

Bob lost his job this morning. I'm too drained to feel much about it yet. I'm sure he'll be by shortly and I'll remind him that a guy as broke as he is doesn't have the luxury of a smart mouth but, honestly, I wish he would just stay home today. I need a day off, badly.

Had both girls yesterday, and all three of us were sobbing by noon. Then their mom was three hours late picking them up.

Been worried about Cathy and not feeling very chatty. I hear her diagnosis was changed to an actual aneurysm; Sherri's posting updates on her blog, so go there for more info.

When it rains, it pours

Jenny's baby's in the hospital, too. The same one as Cathy, so that's one small mercy.

It's Piper's asthma; she couldn't get any air yesterday, so she's in the pediatric ICU.

Cathy's still camped out in the critical care section of the ER, because there are still no beds available in ICU.

Cathy's in the hospital

They think she might have a pulmonary embolism, which is serious, so everybody needs to pray.

Sherri took off work and went back up there; you can call her or Mom on their cell phones for updates.

UPDATE - 8:30pm: Not an embolism after all; it's a tear in the lining of her aorta. Still in the emergency room, waiting for a bed in ICU--can you believe it? She's been at the hospital since about 5:00 this morning.

Read about her condition here, if you want. I kind of wish I hadn't. It is very serious.

Just pray as hard as you can.

Margie's blog

is not margie.blogspot.com, unless there are aspects of her personality that have never before been revealed to us.

So, Marge, your user name is not "Margie." That's why your password never did turn up in your mailbox. It isn't "Marge" or "Margie" with your numbers after it, either, or "Margieblog" or "Margiesblog." Couldn't think of anything else to try.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Let us know when you get it figured out.

Chris & Sherri have been showered

And a fine time was had by all.

They did forget to add this item to their registry, though, so if you know anyone who hasn't picked out a gift yet...

Subversive diapers

Brittany's nappies have a colorful band of zoo animals printed across the front; the rest is decorated with little green lines of verse. And what do you think those verses might be? Nursery rhymes? Children's songs? Nope. Try John Lennon:

Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Isn't that cool? I love it.

I'm being humped

by Bridgie's dog.

Off! Quit that!

Gyaaah--and it's a girl dog, too.

Why don't you go find something else to do? Please?

Oh, finally. She laid down.

This dog will not eat the food Bridge left for her. She chowed on leftover spaghetti sauce yesterday and ate some bacon and the filling out of a chicken cannelloni today.

Oh, for Pete's sake--she's whimpering.

What? What is it?

She's being very needy right now. Anyway, she's got these funny little fringes on her toes that remind me of the Grinch...

Would you quit humping me, please? Oh, that is it.

She's cooling off in the backyard for a bit. Anyway, these fringes, they're cute and her nose is real pointy, too, so she kinda looks like a little Grinch dog:



She's cute when she does her business, too; she doesn't quite manage a hike or a squat. It's sort of a half-hike with a twist.

Things that made me laugh

during my last spin through the blogroll:

Finslippy's pot roast recipe

Dooce's plumbing problem

Go read.

Bridgie's in Cancun

so I'm watching her little doggie this week. Missy's a fuzzy gray terrier mix, and a cuddler. She's having a timeout in the backyard right now because she had a barking fit right after I put Brittany down for a nap, but mostly she's been pretty good.

Strollin'

Pausing for a cute break in front of the spirea hedge:



The stroller's been stored in our garage for a couple of months; I just brought it outside two days ago because the weather's been so nice. Brittany sits in it and smiles and claps at everything while I bird-watch, and we take walks around the yard--it rolls great on the grass.

So, of course, Bob asked if he could take the stroller home yesterday. I said, "Sure, it's yours. Take it." Inwardly, though, I was like, "No! No! Don't take it away from us! We were having so much fun!"

I gotta go shopping--need a stroller of my own and more challenging toys for Brittany. She's already bored with the ones she has.

Finally figured out why

the flash doesn't work when I take still photos with my video camera.

It's because I don't have the optional flash attachment.

Duh!

Birdie love

Oh, my--I feel like such a voyeur. Watched my sparrows doing the wild thing this morning. It just seems naughtier somehow through binoculars.

I'm pretty sure they're house sparrows. Almost certain. I could be wrong.

Birding: Fledgling efforts

Finally got some binoculars for my birthday, but the pair Mikey picked out are so powerful that I can't focus on anything in my yard. I can see what's going on in the neighbors' trees just fine, though. Sherri loaned me a little bitty pair that's perfect for viewing within the yard, so I've been getting to know my birds and enjoying myself immensely.

There's a pair of (I think) sparrows that live in the top right hole of my purple martin house (it's a 12-holer), and a black or blue-black bird that lives in the top left--too small to be a crow. There's a huge granddaddy bluejay living here that looks as big as a crow. Saw a robin today, and watched a squirrel cavort about and then drape itself across a branch in such a cute way that I ran to get the camera. Got one shot before it took off, but the picture came out too dark.

I think I need a more comprehensive bird identification book (sorry, Bridgie). And a 35mm camera with a telephoto lens--I just can't get the pictures I want with digital.

15th mission: Royan

Exchanged e-mails with B-17 navigator Marshall Stelzriede a few years ago, and he told me:

It is really amazing that your dad could have flown 15 missions in 30 days. That was a mission every other day. It took me five months to do 25, and that was really exhausting...

Daddy's last combat mission, just a few weeks before his 19th birthday:

It was yesterday's target but today's weaponry was new--for the first time the Air Force used napalm. The armorers obviously had trouble with these "new fangled" bombs for pilot Peder Larsen recorded: "New petroleum bombs were put into the planes and were leaking! Flew ship #777 out to the Channel and was instructed to drop them from 300 feet"... -- Snetterton Falcons

[T]he bomb load consisted of some P-51 wing tanks filled with napalm with an igniting device. Emitting fumes that even penetrated the crew's oxygen masks, the bomb bay doors were opened slightly to allow the fluid napalm to go out into the slip stream. One can conjecture that the personnel responsible for filling these tank did not take into consideration that by filling the tanks to the brim at ground level, the fluid would expand at altitude and over flow... -- GG Greenwood, 351st Bomb Squadron

1,278 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack fortifications, strong points, gun emplacements, and flak positions at Bordeaux, Royan, and other German defensive positions remaining along the French Atlantic coast. One B-24 is lost. The Royan mission is of interest in that it involves the first and only operational use of napalm bombs by Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber units. The results are negligible, and plans to drop more napalm from heavy bombers are canceled. -- 354th Fighter Group

A total of (54) 75-Gallon and (154) 85-Gallon canisters of Napalm was dropped along with (156) 100 pounders to act as a diffuser for the Napalm. Results of the mission were most satisfactory though the new weapons were noted to have very unpredictable falling tangent ballistics... -- 392nd Bomb Group

<***WARNING: POLITICAL CONTENT!!!***> This next bit is by Howard Zinn, historian and anti-war activist, who was a bombardier on a B-17 crew; follow the links at your own risk:

The raid on Royan was an even more difficult experience for me as I thought about it later. It was a situation where the war was just about over, a few months before the end of the war. We thought we weren't going to fly any more missions, because we had already overrun France, taken most of Germany, there was virtually nothing left to bomb, and everybody knew the war was going to be over in a few weeks. We were awakened at one in the morning, the usual waking up time if you're going to fly at six. It's not like in the movies where you leap out of bed into the cockpit, rev up the engines and you're off. Five boring hours of listening to briefings, getting your equipment, putting on your electrically heated suit, going to the bombardiers' briefing, the officers' briefing, going to eat and deciding whether you eat square eggs or round eggs. They briefed us and told us we were going to bomb this little town on the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux, a town called Royan. They showed it to us on the map. Nobody asked why. You don't ask questions at briefings....It wasn't until later, when I did research into it after the war, that I realized that it was twelve hundred heavy bombers going over against two or three thousand German soldiers. But they told us in the briefing, You're going to carry a different time of bomb in the bomb bay. Not the usual demolition bomb. You're going to carry canisters, long cylinders of jellied gasoline. It didn't mean anything to us, except we knew jellied gasoline would ignite...

After the war, Daddy was stationed in Occupied Germany through 1945 and 1946, but I haven't done much research on that part of his service yet.

14th mission: Royan

Daddy's next-to-last mission--they hit Royan two days in a row:

It was an early wakeup at 0030 for an 0200 briefing which led to take-off at 0425 for the long over-the-water haul down the French Atlantic coast to end these last desperate pockets of resistance near the massive gun emplacements in the Bordeaux area. All three air divisions woke British civilians with the drone and roar of over 1,000 four-engined bombers. Assembly, unlike the old days, was made over France. Royan was a town situated on the mouth of the River Gironde in which a stubborn German garrison was still holding out thus preventing the Allies from use of the port of Bordeaux. All A/C carried fragmentation bombs and strike photos were only fair to good. No losses. -- Snetterton Falcons

The target assigned on this mission was one of the most unusual types ever given to the 14th Combat Wing. Enemy ‘pockets of resistance’ were still prevalent in various parts of France and on this date a gun emplacement on the Giraud Estuary, just north of Bordeaux, was slated for attack. The bombing formations were unusual, as well, with six ship squadrons flying in waves across the target. Also, since enemy fighter reaction was not anticipated this late in the war for a mission to be flown almost entirely over friendly territory, .50 caliber machine guns and ammunition were not loaded and most Waist Gunners did not fly with their crews...A tragic accident occurred on take-off to one of the 578th aircrews - the last 392nd crew to be killed-in-action in combat during World War II. The aircraft, # 446 (R-Bar), piloted by Lieutenant Charles Warner crashed just after breaking ground in the pre-dawn take-off. He, and (6) others of his crew were killed in the crash but (1) Gunner survived, having been thrown clear of the burning bomber after impact on the northeast end of Runway 05. The cause of the crash was attributed to the loss of two engines on the left side just as the ship was breaking ground on take-off. Tower observers saw the pilots vainly struggling to keep the crippled Liberator in the air and gain some altitude, but the left wing would not come up and the bomber crashed in an open field, bursting into flames immediately. This grim tragedy was a somber spectacle for the remaining (26) crews which took off over the crashed bomber’s site to continue the mission... -- 392nd Bomb Group

April 14, 1945 was the number 5. We bombed gun batteries at St. Palais. That is down in southern France. The Germans had about 100,000 men down there and they had the entrance to the Harbor at Bordeaux. We had a bomb load of small frags. Boy oh boy, we really plastered that place. When we got over the target, it looked like it was raining bombs. We didn't see any fighters or get any flak. We flew over Paris on the way down so we didn't see the city. We passed over LaHarve and it was really tore up. It has so many bomb craters that it looked like it had the smallpox. That was a pretty nice mission, but as far as I'm concerned none of them are milk runs...You have to fly level and straight no matter how thick the flak is. Brother, it gives you a creepy feeling to see a wall of flak in front of you and you know you have to fly through it. You just sit there and hope to hell you don't get knocked off... -- Sgt Madison Parker, 486th Bomb Group

Mourning doves

Sherri said she could hear doves when we sat on my back porch last night. I saw these in the yard today:

Birthday flowers

Made our annual trek to Grandpa's Greenthumb yesterday. Got a couple of hydrangeas to replace the ones Mikey pre-emergented to death, and a miniature rosebush to replace one I accidentally yanked up while weeding. Geraniums and asparagus fern for my big patio pot, and some lantana.

Didn't find much I wanted, really. Still need forsythia and a flat of something or other and a couple of packets of seeds to fill in some empty spots, and then I should be all set for the year.

Oh, yeah--snuck out last week and bought some different colors of irises--blue, pink and yellow--and some echinacea. And a packet of zinnia seeds.

Got everything planted already and Mikey mowed and edged this weekend, so the yard's lookin' pretty darn good.

Just me & Sis

Kayla started back at her old day care last week, so I'm only watching the baby now. Haven't mentioned it before because it kinda hurt my feelings--her mom just announced it one morning without any discussion.

Hope it wasn't a comment on the care Kayla was getting here. Surely not. I won't deny she's a handful but--surely not.

It's not all bad--my days are calmer and pass more quickly now. Gave Brittany-Boo her breakfast this morning and then a bath, then we played, and now she's down for her nap. And, for the next hour or two, a little quiet time just for me--which simply doesn't happen when her sister's here, because I can never get them both to sleep at the same time.

13th mission: Donauworth

This was Daddy's last flight over Germany, though he still had two more missions to go:

Another milk run for participating crews and a bombing under ideal conditions for bombardiers. The 108 Fortresses of the 45CBW dropped 321 tons and thus left another massive space in Hitler's diminishing logistical network. -- Snetterton Falcons

We bombed airfields at Ingolstadt, Germany. We had a 6000-pound load of G.P. bombs. There was very little flak and none of it was close. Boy we sure bombed the hell out of that place. From the best I could see, we really did a neat job. Bombs scattered up and down the runways and several of the hangers got direct hits. We flew over several large cities. One of them was Brussels . It is sure a pretty place. We saw a lot of towns that were completely destroyed and miles of country that was a solid bomb crater and shell holes. It was a pretty long drag. We were up 7 hours and 15 minutes. -- Sgt Madison Parker, 486th Bomb Group

On April, 11 1945, the 357th FG was on an escort mission to Donauworth. After they were released from escort duty, they went looking for trouble and a few found it. They looked in on the Prague/Ruzyne Aerodrome, home of over 100 ME 262 jets. In spite of very intense light flak, they destroyed two ME262s, two JU88s and a big FW200. Three 364th pilots were shot down by flak during the strafing. Lts Monahan, Muller and Snedecker. I believe Lt. Irving Snedecker was the only survivor...On his first pass across the airfield, there was a loud bang, a jolt to his Mustang and he saw his prop going off across the field. A 20MM shell had hit the prop hub taking the prop with it. He managed to land the crippled plane inside the Aerodrome perimeter fence. The plane broke in two behind the cockpit in the process. Quickly getting out of the wreck, he sat on the ground a safe distance from it and lit a cigarette, thinking it might be his last one for a while. Told me it was a lonesome feeling watching the group leave for home... -- 364th Fighter Group

12th mission: Burg-bei-Magdeburg

The Burg Bei airfield, long suspected of harboring jets, was successfully bombed. Three A/C had major flak damage and a dozen others returned more severely riddled. -- Snetterton Falcons

After the unit had been operating for almost a month, the Allies learned that their nighttime nemeses in Komando Welter were based at an airfield outside Magdeburg, and a special strike was laid on the airfield for Easter Sunday, April 10, 1945. As Czypionka remembers, "I had flown operations the night before and had slept in. I awoke when I heard the alarm but was told that the bombers were going somewhere else-- not near us. I went back to sleep; then came the second alarm. The bombers were closer, so I got up." He packed all his gear in boxes that he placed near the barracks wall and then reported to the unit on the airfield. "Everyone had gone, and all the airplanes but one had been taken into the woods, so I went up in a 262 to see what was happening. I got chased by some Mustangs; then I saw a huge formation off in the distance, which I later discovered was a balloon on the loose. I landed and went to report it. The ground crew tried to pull the airplane into the woods, but they pulled too fast and tore off the nosewheel, so the plane was sitting there when the Americans arrived." The raid consisted of three waves of bombers. "It seemed to go on forever: it was the most terrifying experience of my life." -- Flight Journal

Just after our bombers hit targets about 10 to 15 jets started to come through. Our boys were ready for them and in the mad scramble that followed five twin jets were destroyed and two damaged. Some of the blow jobs were caught at altitude and chased to the deck, another was caught trying to land, another was shot down and crashed in the heart of Berlin... -- 20th Fighter Group

We were hit badly on the I.P. The hydraulic line below the Co-Pilots feet was cut in two, spewing hydraulic fluid and fire all over Willems who wasn't wearing his goggles. The instant that I saw the fire and Willems leaving his seat I heard Robbie give the order to bail out. I reached down and picked up my parachute just as Willems went by me knocking my parachute out of my hands. I picked it up again and followed Willems to the nose escape hatch. When I got there Willems had opened the escape hatch door and was squatting over it .I yelled at him to get out so the rest of us could and he moved over. I noticed that the fire was no longer on him and when he moved over I also noticed that the fire was no longer in the cabin. I returned to the flight deck and Robbie was still at the controls. I shouted, "Do you still want us to bail out?" He shook his head no and I got on the interphone. Mottola had, while waiting for the other gunners to leave the ship, hooked up on the interphone and heard me yell, Robbie says NOT to bail out. Fortunately, Mottola was able to stop them and no one left the plane. We went over the target on two engines far below our group and dropped our bombs with the other bombs as they fell around us. It was a miracle that we weren't hit. After getting rid of the bombs we were still losing altitude and Robbie told us to throw out anything that we could find to lighten the plane... -- Lyman R Huffman, Jr, 832nd Bomb Squadron

The flak was plenty heavy. It started coming up when we started the bomb run. They had our range and boy they were not shooting for fun. Flak was busting all over us. A ship in front of us got an engine knocked out and he left the formation with it on fire. We moved up and took his position. A big burst of flak busted under us, just below my right window. All I could see was a big sheet of red flame and it tossed our ship around like a matchstick. I thought for a minute that my turret was blown lose from the ship. We got 3 holes in the nose and a few in the wings. I don't see how we got by. I think we lost 3 ships. In spite of the flak, they said we did a good job. When flak starts bursting close to your ship, it sounds like hail on a tin roof. We were up 7 hours and 30 minutes. She was pretty rough. It was the kind that makes air crewmembers get religion. Boy, I was trying to crawl up into my little flak helmet, just anything for a little protection. -- Sgt Madison Parker, 486th Bomb Group

B-17G 44-6820 E/C Missing in Action Brandenburg, flak. Crashed Brandenburg, Germany. Aircraft received a direct flak hit following bombs away. Aircraft started smoking and headed for the ground in a manner that developed into a spiral. It exploded on impact. Nine chutes were seen but it was also observed that ground defences were firing at the parachuting men. With 18BS. Pilot: Roscher. Missing Air Crew Report # 14198. 2 Evaded, 7 Prisoner of War. -- 34th Bomb Group

11th mission: Grafenwohr

If you've been reading daily mission details from the USAAF chronology, the April page is here--scroll down to find the date you want.

The rapid deterioration of German defenses was illustrated today when intervalometer troubles aboard the lead A/C resulted in three runs over the target with impunity. Not too long ago such lingering over a target would have earned German flak operators medals galore. But this target, an Ordnance Depot, was destroyed without consequences. The group's 38 A/C put a telling dent in Germany's remaining ammunition supply. -- Snetterton Falcons

One thousand one hundred thirteen Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack munitions plants, munitions dumps, marshalling yards, a jet factory, and several airdromes. Nine B-17s and one of 763 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost. Approximately 620 9th Air Division bombers attack an oil depot, an oil refinery, a communications center, a marshalling yard, and city areas at eight locations... -- 354th FG

Thirty seven aircraft led by Major Krieger took off and bombed a locomotive works at Stendahl, near Hanover, Germany. Bombing was by instruments, PFF, with fair results. Flak was meager but accurate. Lt Adelmeyer’s aircraft caught fire and exploded near Kassel, while on withdrawal. His ship was seen to crash into a large building which was set on fire. Three chutes were seen to open but were fired on from a wood by automatic fire. Two crew members were later reported safe and uninjured and they subsequently returned to base... -- 381st BG Medical Detachment

No fighter interception but flak was HEAVY and ACCURATE. We received 12 holes in plane. Upholstery in pilot's cockpit and engineers station was torn all to pieces when an oxygen bottle was hit and exploded. Robbie, Willems and I were COVERED with asbestos insulation and strips of the upholstery. We all looked comical and we all had a good laugh when we had time to look at each other. We had cotton in our eyes, mouth and face. We thought for a moment that we were going down. We lost three ships from our group and one from another that was flying with us. Five chutes came out of one plane, one was afire. Flight time was 8 hours and 55 minutes. We were flying Aircraft 931. I guess they will have to make some repairs before she can fly again. -- Lyman R Huffman, Jr, 832 BS, 486th BG

10th mission: Kaltenkirchen

Sixty years ago today, Daddy was somewhere in the middle of this:

Today the Leftwaffe seemed to utter its last gasp and give up the ghost. In a final desperate operation, the Germans dispatched 130 prop-jobs and more than 50 jets. And today's operation would register the last claim of the 96th gunners for E/A. Of most interest was the first and last appearance of the German kamikazes. Sonderkommando Elbe was dedicated to ramming bombers... -- Snetterton Falcons

Over 1,300 bombers and almost 850 fighters were launched by the USAAF for this mission, and their presence was reported quickly, via the remaining communication links, to the headquarters of Fliegerkorps (AirCorps) at Treuenbrietzen. The assembly of the force would not have been the first sign of an imminent attack. Throughout the morning the Luftwaffe would have been intercepting both the signals of the Eighth Air Force units in England and also the reports from the weather and route scouts already airborne in advance of the main force. Although the targets could not yet be forecast with any accuracy, these initial warnings were common indicators of large formations, indicators which the Luftwaffe had a great deal of experience in interpreting. This activity was enough to persuade Oberst Hajo Herrmann to issue an order which placed the Schulungslehrgang 'Elbe' force on standby... -- Adrian Weir, Last Flight of the Luftwaffe

I looked to my right just as a diving Me 109 swooshed by so close that we bounced from the shock wave. Inexplicably, the pilot had not fired at us nor was he at his gun-sight aiming at some one below - he was looking at me. We stared at each other for a fleeting moment then he was gone. He crashed into Lieutenant Arthur Calder’s Candy’s Dandy in the squadron below; they exploded and everyone died. Up and down the line, Elbe pilots were crashing into other bombers...Caarraash! The nose yawed left, we skidded right and the plane waggled like a dog shaking water off itself. Instinctively Carl and I kicked hard right rudder -- both pedals disappeared under the instrument panel then returned to dangle uselessly; the control columns were violently jerking back and forth, the number one engine was streaming white smoke, and all the radios including the intercom were dead. We had no way to ascertain the crew’s condition or to get their damage assessments. However, like the stubborn old war-horse unwilling to give up the fight, E-Z Goin’ seemed to still want to fly, so we stabilized the rocking and rolling with the ailerons and hung on... -- Hank Cervantes, Air Force Museum

Little sugar baby

Seven months old this week:

First rosebuds of the year

On Chicago Peace and Golden Showers. Thought I killed Honor last year, but now it's growing back from the roots. Have to wait until it blooms to see if it survived the ordeal all right.

My redbud tree is in full bloom, the spiraea hedge is getting whiter by the day, and the irises have been both bountiful and gorgeous. Got little purple violets blooming and big purple buds on one of my clematis vines (the other sent up new shoots instead), and my little azalea is fixin' to turn hot pink.

Got a lot of weeding done yesterday and moved some things from here to there, making empty spaces to be filled after my annual birthday spree at my favorite greenhouse.

9th mission: Kiel

Daddy didn't know it at the time, but he was more than halfway through with his bombing missions. The air war over Europe would end in less than two weeks:

German submarine construction had just about been forgotten. But lately it became obvious that the German fleet was a menace once more. Newer technology made U-boats larger, faster and radar-proof. Moreover, they were able to fire on Allied convoys without visual sightings. Revolutionary snorkel equipment kept them under water longer and they were now raising hell in the Channel once again. Today's planners took advantage of Double Summertime. The strike was scheduled for 1715 but, even so, the bombers could return just before dusk. Thirty-five of the 38 dispatched were effective. Although the inbound journey was impeded by 8/10s undercast and thick contrails, the skies cleared over the target area. Smokepots were of little help because strike photos showed that an airfield was hit 3 miles north of the MPI and that a trail of well-placed bombs led through the eastern part of the city into the torpedo boat section and the harbor. The harbor was crowded with shipping. But flak was accurate and tracking and a new German technique, firing from floating flak barges--in this case, 12 of them--took a toll. Each barge had been mounted with two .88mm guns. Lt Charles McFarland's 339th Ractup, 43-38871, was hit and tried for Sweden. The plane, the last official 96th MIA, eventually landed safely at Bultofa. The crew were soon repatriated and even the plane was returned to the USAAF. Flak caused major damage to four other planes and minor damage to nine. -- Snetterton Falcons

Target: U-boat sub pens, 100 guns at this target. Inaccurate flak, bombed by instruments. Jets attacked some of the formations. Load: 6 1,000 pound bombs. -- Harvey K Wingard, 350th BS, 100th BG

Target, Unusual as it is the "Admiral Sheer" heavy cruiser at the dock area at Kiel, Germany. Bomb load was six 1,000 Ib, bombs dropped from 25000 ft, Flak was moderate. We flew aircraft no. 931. -- Lyman R Huffman, Jr, 832 BS, 486th BG

The motor minesweeper YMS-71 is sunk by a mine off Borneo. The destroyer USS Sproston (DD-577) is damaged by a dive bomber; the escort carrier USS Wake Island (CVE-65) and high-speed minesweeper USS Hambleton (DMS-20) by suicide plane; and LST 554 by storm, all in the Okinawa area. The German submarines U-1221, U-2542 and U-3505 are sunk by Army aircraft at Kiel, Germany. -- America at War

A treasure trove

Out of the blue, just got a package in the mail full of newspaper clippings:

I don't know if you will enjoy reading about all of this, but I thought you might. Some history, some up-to-date stuff, and a lot of funny, sad and morbid.

My mom's the coolest.

First, some bad news: Uncle Rich had surgery for prostate cancer. No word yet if he has to have chemo. What a lousy year for him--being shipped out to Iraq, then the hurricane, and now this. We'll be praying that he gets through it just fine.

Been flipping through this packet and I'm just delighted. Let's see--some history, some politics, some WWII heroes, some spiritual pieces, the Amanda Bateman murder (no, Ma--I never pick up hitchhikers), ooh--more politics...

So Margie's a Red Hat? She needs to see Mikey--he's got lots of Red Hat stuff.

An autographed photo of Paul James, the Gardener Guy, playing a grass guitar.

An obituary for the doctor who delivered me almost 43 years ago, God bless him. He was 81 and had delivered over 7,000 babies.

Anyway, lots of stuff in here I can use for my blog. Thanks, Mom!