Look, there's a Leach in the dirt!

Jim Leach, that is. Jim has been hard at work putting in raised garden beds. I have been helping him cut the cedar for the beds and let me tell you, he has some large planks that he is cutting. Raine said she wanted to see a picture of Jim, with his wild hair and dirt on his face. Jim's always a good sport so he played along.
I'm supposed to go back and help him on Sunday. I think we are going to put in the posts for the garden beds. All I know is he said its something that Jean can't do, but I can because I'm far stronger. I'm the work horse...I get the job done. He wanted me to come tomorrow but I plans for a trip into NYC to see a show and to go on a haunted walking tour with Raine and Chris. When the garden project is done, I'll take pictures.

It's time for some fall crafting...

I had some Indian corn and some fall artificial leaves that someone had given me some years ago so I decided instead of letting them sit around collecting dust, it was time to spice them up. Hence, my wall hangings. I like the baby corn bunch the best but the other one is fine and dandy too. I had another large one that I used red leaves on and different ribbon but I sent it to someone before I was remembered to take a picture of it. Once it was all packaged up, I wasn't about to tear open the box.
I'm trying to use up the supplies I have because I have a lot of craft stuff. I won't let myself buy anything else unless I need it to get rid of stuff I already have. It's fall cleaning time.
I told my Mom she could have one of these if she liked it. They are looking for homes.

I'm back!

It's been so crazy around this house, its not even funny anymore. The kitchen is almost back together and we don't have boxes littering the living room anymore. The only problem now is the driveway is torn up and waiting to be resurfaced. The problem with that is all the sand and crap people are dragging in on their feet. I like to go barefoot around the house, but I feel like I'm at the beach, no matter how many times I sweep. It's getting old.

The good news is that I'm going to be free to blog more. I know some of you have missed my odd behavior and random blogging. As a good friend recently described viewing my blog, "It's like taking a Netter Vacation." Awwww, isn't that sweet. Yeah, its true, if you are bored at work and looking for something to do instead of stressing over deadlines, I'm the gal to visit. I'm even feeling crafty these days. How refreshing is that after a long dry spell. Let's face it, its hard to work on crafts when every square inch of the house is filled with drywall dust and every few minutes a contractor is calling your name to keep you updated on all the setbacks and minor disasters befalling the house you live in. It bites, people, it really does.

Before I forget, I have an announcement to make. My friend Raine has decided that it is time for a contest on my site. She's created something and has a prize package all ready. I just have to post the contest for her. First she has to send me this nutty picture of me that she wants to be posted with the contest. If I remember correctly, its a terrible picture, yet its funny, so I can't say no. Well, that and she pinches hard if she gets mad at you and I bruise easily.

I'm off to bed. See you later.

Another quiz...but basically spot on.

you are lightcyan #E0FFFF

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Not bad...

 Remember a while back I blogged about Kashi letting you trade in your normal snack for a Kashi semi-healthy snack. Well I got my cookie in the mail the other day and let me tell you. It was yummy. It was the high point to my day. Sad, isn't it. Yeah well...I'm in contractor hell here, so don't judge me. Some day, things will be normal around here. Some day we won't have a bajillon boxes of kitchen crap sitting around the house. Oh yes, some day....

Grrrr

 Nancy was away last week...Cliff was away for two days. He came home early actually, which is nice but the following morning I found this message on the dry-erase board. This was his subtle way of saying..."Annette, what did you do with my keys that were supposed to be on the fridge." Trust me, I know how he operates. He even came down stairs in the morning...around 6 AM, flipped on the office light and sighed loudly in an attempt to wake me up. I'd put money on it. I had left my bedroom door slightly ajar when I went to bed the night before but I was no dumby, I played possom and didn't move. I know that 6AM is way to early for me to deal with Cliff. He shut the light back off and went upstairs. I heard him stomping around the house and finally he left at 6:30. I got up, threw on some clothes and went outside to drag the garbage to the curb. The van was gone and the Honda was still in the driveway. They always take the Honda to the train station. Hmmmmm. I found the note on the fridge and started laughing. I knew exactly what happened.
On Tuesday morning, Cliff took the Honda to the train station. He was going to work and then taking a car service to CT for a business meeting and would come back later in the week. WE don't leave the cars at the station because they have had people break into the cars in the past. I had taken Emily with me...she drove the Van home and I drove the Honda and parked it in our driveway. Now, I used my key because Cliff had his. We keep Cliff's keys on the fridge or he can't find them. I kid you not. The man doesn't even have a key to his own house because he can't keep track of them. Nancy will agree, that if keys go missing around here, you can bet that Cliff had them. We always search his belongings first and always get lucky and discover them in a pocket of a jacket or in the bottom of his breifcase. I knew the reason that the key to the Honda wasn't on the fridge is because Cliff never put it back when he got back from his business trip, so I emailed him.

"Good Morning Cliff, I saw your note. The reason your key wasn't on the fridge is because you didn't put it back when you got back from your trip. I picked up the Honda from the train station with my key. I'm sure if you check your briefcase or where ever you put it when you locked the doors the other day, you will find it where you left it. Let me know if you can't find it. I'll have to have another copy made and they are about $95.00 each because it has the remote with it. Have a good day. Nett"

About three minutes later I get this email reply. "I'm an idiot. The key was in my breifcase. Sorry."

Uh huh.....yep, yep...just another day around here. Just another typical day. He even apologized when he got home so he's back in my good graces.

Look what blew in on the wind...

 It sure wasn't Mary Poppins or a farm house from Kansas. We had a bad storm blow in off the ocean last Thursday. There were two rotating cells that straddled us and therefore we were in a tornado warning. Sam was bugging out but I told him, "Listen, I grew up in tornado alley. You don't need to worry until I tell you to haul ass to the basement." It wasn't that bad out. I was cooking while I was watching the weather unfold and I was watching the track of the closest rotating cell that was tracking right next to us across Point Lookout and heading to Bay Colony, which is in our backyard out on the bay. The wind was fierce, the waves high, the lightening was flashing, the sky dark...but alas no tornado formed. At one point, just after it had passed, I went outside to see how the ropes on the boat were doing. The new weigh system that holds the boat away from the dock worked great but I was worried that one of the ropes would break because it was a little bit older than the other ropes. I opened the patio door on to the deck and suddenly heard this loud "WHAM", then again..."WHAM"...then again. I booked it down to the bulkhead to discover one of the large 5 mile per hour buoys broke loose from its chain and was slamming with each wave into our neighbors bulkhead. The waves were large and those buoys are heavy. I leaned over the edge and discovered that the thing was leaving huge marks....not good. Now, bulkheads are expensive to repair, our neighbors were not home and I knew I had to do something. I ran in the house and told Emily that I needed her to come outside in the rain with me...in case I fell in the water or something while I was dinking around with the damn marker.
I grabbed a length of rope from the garage, ran back out, got on my knees and tried grabbing the buoy from the front when the wave pushed it into the bulkhead. I got ahold of the metal bar inside the top but let go once I realized I couldn't hold it when the wave pulled back. I then walked onto the ramp onto the dock, got on my knees and leaned way out through the bars to grab the buoy from the side. That was a little easier, because I could sway with the buoy but even then I had to release the buoy a few times before I managed to get the rope in the top and looped off. I hauled the buoy away from the front of the bulkhead and tied it to the cleat on the side of the neighbors dock. It was bouncing against the dock but not with the force that it had been hitting the bulkhead and I knew it was cheaper to replace the side board on the dock than reface the bulkhead.
I was soaked from the rain and spray off the water. I went inside and checked my dinner and then I was going to run next door to leave a note about the buoy. Paula must have just arrived home because I saw her car was in the driveway. I rang the bell. She tried to get me to come in but I refused to drip all over her home. I explained what I did and she was so funny. She said, "Annette to the rescue again." and thanked me for taking care of it. She said Jeff wouldn't be home until late and she would not have known what to do and even if she did, would have been to scared to do what I did. I'm not much of a nervous Nelly, that is for sure. Anyway, I went out the next morning and took a picture of the buoy...for blogging sake. Let's face it...I have not been blogging lately. Things have been crazy. I have not done a single craft. I did read a book though, which I placed on the Bloggers Book Club. I just have been in such a rut with everything around here. It's never ending. I'm in the whole, "don't say anything if you can't say something nice" mode. That is why I have been MIA. I'm about to the point where I have to start venting or I will burst. The back of the house was resided in hopes that they could keep the house from leaking. Well, lets just say, that during the storm, I used ever single spare towel in the house. We had leaks in the same spots. One spot was far less severe but the dining room bay window was terrible. The guys are coming back on Tuesday. They are taking a garden hose to the back of the house, until they find where the water is getting in. The upstairs bathroom didn't leak once while the cabinets were off the wall....BUT once the cabinet was secured and every thing was about finished, water from the shower started pouring onto our new stove through our new cabinet and right over the front of our new convection microwave. YES, Murphy's Law is residing at our house until further notice. So, please, take advantage of this and get all of your important projects done while we entertain the doom and gloom here. Act fast, because one of these days our house guest is going to get sick of us and move on to its next victim. Until then, I will continue to shuffle around the house shouting, CALGON...TAKE ME AWAY!" and pouting when more stuff goes wrong. I usually just try to laugh our disasters off....but I'm way beyond that at this point. The humor has left the building, people. It's like I live in a giant cocoon and it looks strangely like a lemon.

Home free.....YESSSS!

I got a summons to do Jury Duty this last week. I had to call in everyday after 5PM to see if I had to go in the following day. Lucky me...I had a large Juror number and they never got to me. I was dismissed and now I'm free from it for another four years. Oh yeah, life is good. I swear the summons could not have arrived at a worse time. We had guys schedualed for lots of work around this house. Especially the floor instilation which I cancelled once already. Well, I lucked out and got away without fulfilling my civic duty. I'm sure they will catch me the next time around.

Taking a whirl...

 Rue had a blast at the County Fair. She wasn't to sure about the merry-go-round at first but after a little while, she was having a blast. Actually, we are not sure who had more fun, Rue or her PaPa. I'm sure it was a pretty tight race. I've been waiting for these pics for a month! A month.....sigh.

My Niece Rue won!

Every year at the Johnson County Fair, they have a cutest baby contest. Once long ago, my Cousin Jeff won. I remember seeing the trophy at his Parents house, years ago. This year, our little Rue won. The pic on the newspaper clipping isn't Rue, its just a random picture that they used....but the picture below is the picture that she won with. The color is off so you can't see her pretty bright blue eyes and I can't find my copy of it. Snapfish isn't cooperating with me tonight.  

 

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Rue Rue is going to be a teddy bear. Her Auntie Nett went shopping for her costume over the weekend and after much deliberating, the bear won out over the kitten and the bunny outfit. Let's face it, Sugar Bear, needs a big Sister and since Rue adores her Sugar Bear so much, who better to fill the fur. Sure she is to small to eat any of the treats...but she still has to go trick or treating at her Great Aunt and Uncles homes. She has to hit her Grammy and PaPa's house, her friend Taryn's house across the street, and her many admireors too. She's mighty popular these days. Aunt Nett has a fun care package for her, since she can't go trick or treating at my house. OK, seriously, how cute is she going to be in that costume?!

Happy 60th Birthday MOM!

Today is my Mom's (Millie) birthday! She hit the big 60th. She didn't really want to acknowledge it but with me around, that isn't an option. I sent her flowers at work...so then everyone in the school would hear about it and wish her a very happy birthday. Sneaky, huh. If you want to read all about the birthday girl, read the 60 random things about my Mother.

The first picture is of Mom in their front yard with a yawning Grandbaby...aka Little Bunny Rue Rue. Someone was a tired girlie...OK, I'm sure they were both tired but Rue's not as good at hiding it as Mom is. Oh yeah, check out the links because they all lead to different pictures and stories about my Mom.


The second photo is Mom's high school graduation picture from 1965. Five years later, she had me. Lucky lady, huh.

The final picture is of Mom and her big brother Cecil, out on the farm. I never thought about it much but as I was looking at several copies of pictures of Mom as a baby, I found little similarities between her and Rue. Actually, I saw a little bit of Tisha too. Then again, everyone that knew Tisha as a baby, says Rue is her spitting image.



Anyway...wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday. She's taking care of Rue right now because Tisha and Dewey had to work....and let's face it, what a great present...Rue all to yourself.



Tonight she is going out to dinner with Aunt Vickie, Uncle John, Tisha, Dewey, Rue, Dad, Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Deanna....who knows who else.

Aunt Carole emailed this to me...but I decided to use it as a meme

JUST TWO THINGS


Two Names You Go By:
1. Annette
2. Netter

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. panties
2. nightshirt

Two Things You Would Want (or have) In A
Relationship:
1. happiness/love
2. mutual respect

Two Things You Like To Do:
1 Read
2. create stuff, ie. crafts

Two Things You Want Very Badly At the Moment:
1. a neck rub
2. popcorn balls

Two Things you Did Last Night:
1. crocheted...or at least tried to
2. took a long hot shower and contiplated shaving my legs, but in then end, didn't.

Two Things You Ate Today:
1. Cereal
2. It's early but I drank ice water

Two People you last spoke to:
1. Deanna
2. Emily

Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow:
1. getting the fridge repaired or replaced.
2. dumping out melted ice cream and spoiling food

Two Longest Car Rides:
1. Vacation to the West Coast as a kid.
2. Vacation to Florida and up the East Coast in 89.

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Halloween
2. Christmas

Two Favorite Beverages:
1. Water
2. strawberry lemonade

Two Jobs I Have Had In My Life:
1. Nanny
2. Dog sitter

Two Movies I Would Watch Over And Over:
1. The Lady In The Water
2. Dirty Dancing

Two Places I Have Lived:
1. Nebraska
2. Connecticut

Two of My Favorite Foods:
1. fresh peaches
2. popcorn

Two Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
1. Venice Italy
2. In bed, snoozing. Hey, I'm tired.

Two People I Think Will do this meme:
1. Miyon
2. Sue

I have my work cut out for me...

Brandy sent me the granny squares that Kare won but was so sweet to gift to me. (You can't see me doing the happy dance right now) I just have to hook the squares together with a flat braid joint. Brandy's daughter Mary started it but once school began, she was strapped for time. She had a row and one square in the second row attached. I sat down on the sofa last night, intent on beginning...BUT, you can't watch a new series or even a new episode of your favorite show from last season and follow new directions at the same time. Nope, doesn't work for me. I finally put it down and said I would try it again another day. Updates to follow.

Good Morning Sunshine...

Sheeshus...its bright out there this morning! It always is when you want to sleep in. The sun comes streaming into your room, burning holes in your retinas....sighhhhhhhhhhhh. Well I guess that means, there is a lot of lovely things to see, so its time to get in the shower and start the day. I would prefer the day started at, oh....say, at the earliest... 9AM on Sundays. Yeah, that would work for me. And for those of you who will say that GOD...the big man upstairs, woke me up so early so I could actually get to church on time. Well, there is only one thing I can say to that. "I think the BIG GUY knows me much better than THAT! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

What color Orange am I?

You Are Pumpkin

Realistic and practical, you see the world for how it is.You know what it takes to succeed in life...And you're happy to help others reach their goals.

What Color Orange Are You?

Thank you Darlene~

My Prize arrived in the mail today from Darlene, the famous Madame Z, via "our neighbors to the North" (I meant Canada...in case you are slow). Thank you so much!!!!!! I can't wait to eat the chocolates, they look yummy and I am half tempted not to share...hehe, I kid you not! It's chocolate people! Don't look at me that way, you can share YOUR chocolate. The card made me chuckle because, that is the kind of luck I have. Hot guys only show up on days I have bad hair or a big zit...like I'm friggin 14 or something, sheesh. I started the mystery word search. The funny thing is I flipped it open and the first page I came to had knitting terms. Luck of the drawl. The napkins are cute and frankly, you can never had to many napkins. The Flour Sack towels are to die for. Serioursly, they are so soft. There is a bright orange one hiding under the blue and green one...and I think I may have to do a little embroidery on them. I have to find something fun to put on them. I'm excepting suggestions. Can you see the magnet? It says, "Welcome Friends ~Relatives by appointment~ " LOL, I totally love that. I keep telling my Mom that I am going to make a sign like that for her to hang in front of their house. Not that it would make a difference anyway because I seriously doubt any of our relatives read.......lol. Oh sheesh, I'm just joking~ I'm going to get the emails now, or the passive aggressive silent treatment, which I wouldn't mind...hehe. No seriously, they can read, they just choose not to. OK, OK, I'll stop. I really don't want to though.

You are a sweetheart Darlene! I have a little something for you, I'll pop it in the mail sometime next week. Don't get to excited. It takes ffffffooooorrrreeeevvvveeeerrrr for packages to reach you guys. Why is that? Hmmmm.

I must have been tired...

My alarm went of this morning, I stumbled out of bed, dragged my feet to the bathroom. After doing my morning business transaction, if you know what I mean, I went to wash my hands and instead of squirting soap on my hand, I squeezed toothpaste on it. I stood there trying to figure out what felt wrong about the situation before it dawned on me. I then started laughing like a demented fruitcake. I'm happy to report that the little laughing fit, woke me up from my morning fog.

Ahhh...its going to be one of those days. I can tell already.

Happy Birthday Katie!

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday, dear KATIE...

Happy Birthday to youuuuu....

My Ka-Ka has turned 20. Sigh!
She was a shy little 4 year old when I became her nanny, all those years ago.
I suddenly feel old.
Really old.
You know, like the old ladies that used to come up to you, pat you on the head and say, "I remember you when you were "THIS" big!" and they hold their free hand at their knee caps. Sigh...

My wish for Kaitlin Rose... besides the obvious birthday advice of not drinking to much... Good health, Great friends, Wonderful adventures, and that she will enjoy all the little things in life that so many of us overlook.

Hugs! Kissers! Can't wait to hear about how you celebrated your first day out of your teens! Oh, and I mailed your presents yesterday...so they will be a little late. Watch out for a box and a mailing tube.

Why I love Katie soooo...

She's so funny. Katie made an early birthday present for herself. Yes, she made a self portrait t-shirt. She could have bought 50 for $750.00. I told her all her friends and relatives could have sported a Beefy Katie shirt. I might have to make a couple shirts of my own as jokes. Mnnnn birthdays are coming up, family reunions, hmmmm. She said all you have to do is google "make a shirt." Go on, you know you want to..

I'm so excited!

My wonderful cyber friend Miyon, is a very talented digi scrapper. She created a set of freebies and named them after me. I just love them, they are so cute! YES, ME! She named them after me! I know! How exciting and sweet is that! You have to stop by and visit her. Send some good will her way.

Can someone explain this to me?

For the love of....

This is the strangest thing I have ever seen in my life. Seriously. I talked to the fence installers and they have never done a job like this in all the years they have been putting up fence. It's so bizarre. There are three different types...completely different types of fence in my neighbors back yard. It was ALL put up by the same company at the SAME time. It's how the neighbors wanted it done. I mean seriously, its strange...and they have the corner house so it looks like crap. Take a looksie..
Uh, yeah...and our porch sits up high, so this is the view we get if we look up the street like we are waiting for someone to show up. I know they put a big sliding gate on the side but there is no reason they couldn't have used the same wood fence on both sides of the corner. Dear Lord its ugly like that. Here, if you can't see the details of the THREE FENCES...I'll post better views.
Seriously...am I the only one that this bothers? Now the funny part is that the block grid topped fence in the second picture runs all the way along the side of our house. Then when it gets to the back where the view for the bay starts, they put up the black metal see though stuff again. Yeah, when they did it, they took out these BIG old, lovely shrubs and Cliff about had a stroke. Of course there was nothing that he could do, because it was all on the negihbors side of our the short fence. They were totally trying to get the view of the bay, which I can't blame them but its going to bite them in the butt. Cliff already has plans to plant some large bushy shrubs that will take over and completely block it off. Things are going to get interesting around here soon. I'll keep you posted.

Free snacks?!

I just saw a commercial on TV and of course I had to run to the computer to get my free snack online. It seems that Kashi is having a snack drive. You trade in your normal snack and they give you one of their three samples. I thought I would spread the word. So visit kashi.com and get your FREE SNACK delivered to your home.

My Grand Prize!

 I was finally able to get pictures on the computer! FINALLY! Poor Marianne, must have thought I was snubbing her gifties to me. Indeed not! I have been drooling, waiting until the dust from the drywall settles and the weather cools off a bit so I can start making something from that yarn. But what?! I need ideas...uh, ideas that do not over step my abilities. I have enough challenges in my life right now, lets not add to them, shall we. I'm chomping on one of the longhorn mints right now...and yummy, they taste good. I'm scared of those lolly pops because they have dried dead things in them, but what the hell, you only die once...Uh, uh, I mean, live once. No seriously, I'll try them and I'm sure they will be good. I wore my Texas t-shirt today and Sam took a double take. At first he thought I was wearing my Hawaii T-shirt that our neighbors, Paula and Jeff picked up for me. See, cleaning up dog puke pays off...and I thought all that gagging I did was for nothing but a clean floor.

I know I have not been blogging. I know I thought I would get on the ball once Sam started school. Ha! I have contractors and delivery men calling my name just as I sit down and my creative juices are just starting to drip. By the time I am done getting them light bulbs or signing stuff or telling them where they left things, the blogging juices are dried up. Once we have a function kitchen again and the house is clean and organized, I'll feel more at ease. Until then, fear not...I LIVE.

I have some ideas for altered jewelry that I am tossing around. I can't wait for the fall to settle in on us. I should have time to work on all the stuff that I have been dreaming up. I think I need to go through my stuff first and pitch or give away all the art supplies that I know I will not be using. Sooner or later, I has to be done. Maybe I will post stuff and if people want it, they can leave a comment, then I can draw the winners name out of a hat. It's an idea.

I started sanding the dresser that I am going to refinish but that was before the guys piled all their tools and supplies in the garage. I can't get to it to sand...so that is on the back burner.

I'm not keeping up with blogs the way I should either. I have not forgotten you. I try to leave comments when I can. I at least try to read them. I'll be better, I promise.

OHHHH, the neighbors cut down all the shrubs and trees on the property line. Cliff about had a stroke. Then the put up a fence. WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THIS! OMG. You won't believe what they did. I'm not saying anything else, not until I take pictures....lol. OH, and Doctor Ray is getting married this weekend. Yeah the stupid neighbor who gets his boat stuck in the same sandbar, over and over. I'm still not sure what the story is there, but this is going to be interesting. I have not met his future wife, but I heard she is very nice and seems to be very nice.

Raine is back from Nebrasky...I get to see her this weekend. It's always so nice to see her, but our visits are never very long. She's so busy and I completely understand, but I still miss her. I just keep telling myself, that its quality not quantity that matters.

OMG, guess who I spoke to tonight...BRANDY! She had a pretty bad day, poor thing. It was so lovely to finally put a voice to the blog. I was chatting with her hubby Jeff but had to cut and run because I had been sitting on the bulkhead and a boat came up to the dock and needed directions. It was low tied and he wanted to know how to get back to get back to East Rockaway and he didn't know where the channel was. I had to tell him to NOT cut across and go back the way he came in or he would be stuck in Doctor Rays' favorite sandbar. Then I told him how to get around the point, but after the clam bar, I didn't know the way. I hope they made it, it was pretty dark. I'll have to call Brandy back in a few days. She's such a sweetheart and so easy to chat with. It felt like I'd known her my whole life.

Hmmm, I'm not sure about that...

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!








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Kare told me about this quiz when I chatted with her on yahoo last night. I saw it on Sue's site also....so Check it out for yourself.