Off for a 6 AM fishing trip...

Sam had some friends sleep over last night so they could get up to go fishing at 6AM. I was going to go with them but I have a killer headache and its awfully muggy out so I decided it was a better idea if I stayed home. They almost forgot to take their bate...lol. I reminded Sam before they shoved off. Yep, you can't catch much with out your squid and spirit. So far, they have called me twice. Once to find out what the fluke size limit is because Eric caught one, but it wasn't a keeper. The second time they called me to find out if their is a size limit on crabs because they caught one and then Sam had to go because they caught a Sea Robin. Hey, at least they are catching stuff, it keeps them out there and the house stays quiet. lol.

FRICK FRACK!

Oh, let me tell you, I'm not a happy camper right now. I could cry. I bought this shadow box frame at Anthropologie on sale and I used my gift card to buy it too. I wasn't about to pay the original price of $168.00 but when I got the gift card I didn't feel bad about spending a lot less because it was a gift, not money I actually worked for. Well, it has been sitting in my bedroom, in a protected corner, waiting for me to hang it up. I suddenly felt ambitions today and when I unwrapped it, I found a huge curvy crack that ran from the top to the side and the bottom. It's a curved piece of glass that can not be replaced. To top it off the inside is going to have to be chipped away so that I can get a piece of flat glass to fit in the opening. I was about ready to cry when I realized it was damaged. Sigh......well, there is nothing that can be done now. I think it cracked because the wood expanded in the humidity of the basement. I'd bet money on it. It's wedged in their pretty tight. Oh well. These things happen but I'm not sorry I cursed like an angry sailor when I discovered the crack. I think a little foul language was in order.

I'm kind of sad...

I just watched the final show of The Price Is Right with host Bob Barker. I've been watching his show on and off for so many years now that I find it a little sad to know that he is hanging up the microphone. He's had a heck of a run though, hasn't he. 50 years in the business, 35 years on T.P.I.R. You can't wish for more than that.

My Grandma and Grandpa Slater were big morning game show watchers. I remember watching with them and hearing Johnny Olson announcing for Bob. When I was older, I watched T.P.I.R during summer vacation. It was a morning staple. When I grew up and didn't have time to devote to the show everyday, I caught it when I could. Chris Leach used to watch it...Sam loved watching it too. Tonight he was yelling at one of the contestants, "It's a 4!" "IT'S A FOUR, PHILLIP!" "A FOUR!" Then when Phillip picked a three to lose, he yelled, "A three! A three, no, no, its not a three, its a four! Then when Bob made his call...it turns out that both Phillip and Sam were wrong, it was an eight. I brought that to Sam's attention and pointed out that if he doubled his prediction he would have been right. Sam said, "well I knew it wasn't a three." Ah good times. How lucky was Denise.... the final Showdown winner ever. She was wearing this bright shirt that said she was born 9 days after the show started. The lucky duck won two convertibles, a thousand dollars on the wheel for landing on the $1.00 and on a spin off. She also walked off with a Cruise to Greece and Turkey and a new grill.

Well, I will have to live vicariously through Denise....I never made it to the show. I never got to experience the excitement of hearing, Annette Kaster, COME ON DOWN, you are the next contestant on The Price Is Right!" I never got to high five strangers and jump around like a nut case and make bad bids on the items they displayed. I wanted to bid One Dollar when the other contestants seemed to bid too high. I wanted to run up those steps and plant a big wet one on old Bob's cheek. I wanted to play Plinko, Hole in One, or Cliff Hangers. I wanted to have a chance to win a new car or walk away with a clock radio or a bedroom set. Dang it!

My friend Susan Goracke waited in line to see The Price Is Right a few years ago when her daughter was living out there. She got up at some ridiculous hour to stand in line for tickets. She made it in there, she watched the show, she wasn't called down, but she got to yell out what she thought the lucky people should bid. That is as close as I will ever get to the being there myself. Oh well, I have memories of Grandma and Grandpa making their bids. Hopefully Bob **has** a great retirement.

**Please note that I fixed the grammer issue I had...thanks to my Mother. **

Ranie's Birthday gifties to me...

OK, I know it has taken me forever to post this but I was looking for the post card she sent me. I know I still have it. I never get rid of postcards. I remember saying to myself that I would put it somewhere safe until I wanted to post about it. Now I have no idea where that safe spot is. It's driving me nutso.

On to the presents. Raine was away for my birthday. She had to go to Italy with her hubbie to attend a wedding so they made the most of the trip and went on a little vacation at the same time. While over there, she picked up my birthday present. She labored over what to get me and in the end came up with something she knew I would like. (I wasn't afraid of this...Raine always gives the best gifties) How sweet was it of her to drag my birthday present around Italy with her?! She's the best. Well, I LOVE my presents. I love everything she gave me...the hand marbled paper, the cards, the tiny lace butterfly that I will put into a memory quilt in the future. Don't try to pin me down on dates or anything, I'll make the quilt when I am feeling inspired. I have an idea book going already. My very favorite thing is the small silver box that she bought me at the Santa Maria Novella. I do have a passion for small trinket boxes and silver boxes as well. I placed the little round box on my dresser immediately so I get to admire it everyday.

I'll post the postcard when I find it and I'm saving the cover of the birthday card she sent me for another day. I just love the cover, it makes me laugh so hard. I have a feeling that I will be inspired to blog about it one day soon. Thank you Raine!

Snow in June...

A while back...I won an homemade ornament contest on Sara's blog. As my prize she was going to make me some homemade crocheted snowflakes. She had planned on making a blizzard for me but she's a busy camper. I think she felt bad about not making more, but seriously, I didn't expect more than one. She ended up making four for me and they arrived in the mail the other day. They are super pretty and glittery. I can't wait to put them on my tree. Actually, they reminded me of a thought I had last year as I packed up my Christmas stuff. I might just start an ice and snow tree. Yep, a themed tree. You can't beat that. Thanks Sara!

What a mess...

Well, the contractors came today and made a ton of holes in the walls and ceilings. This house was like a big game of OPERATION. We have some issues right now and they needed to get in there to figure out what exactly was going on and how to fix the problem. Well, We are happy to announce that two of the issue are easy and quick fixes. The other's are a little higher on the Fujita Scale. In total we have SIX huge holes. Each in a different part of the house. Don't you wish you were here...sucking in that dry wall dust with us?! Come on, you know you wanna.

Tonights view from the backyard...

My Swap partner got her package!

I see that Karen received her swap package today. Finally! I've been waiting for it to arrive. I'm limited in my crocheting and knitting so I really had to think hard about what I would be able to make. I finally came up with the photo album idea. This is the second one I made because the first one looked totally pathetic and I must have made 10 flowers before I finally called it quits and decided the last one was as good as it was going to get. You can't tell from the picture but I used beads as the center of the flower. Then I went to Kare's site and printed off some of her Sadie pictures to put inside the album. I also sent her a bunch of other stuff because she had been having such a crappy week when I was preparing it. She needed to be spoiled a little bit.

What every garden needs

It's that time of year again. Yep, we have been finding floaters in the bay. By floaters, I mean dead horseshoe crabs. They bob around in the waves . Over the years we have enjoyed scooping them out on an oar and bringing them back to the back yard where we place them in the flowerbeds to dry up and finish their rotting process. Sounds gross huh! Sometimes they are stinky, especially if they had not been dead and floating around for that long when we find them. You can always tell they are fresh when they ooze forever when you scoop them out of the water. Luckily the two that I found this week were dead for quite a while and they were not as stinky. I figure I will leave them in the flower bed all summer and they will be ready to ship off to some unsuspecting kid this fall. They are a fun thing to donate to a schools science lab too. Especially in land locked areas. You know you want one....admit it! lol.

Gifties from the Desperate Housewife

With my camera out of commission I wasn't able to post this little surprise. DH sent me a cute little package of stuff from New Brunswick. The lobster sucker was worse for wear, his poor claws were crushed but it didn't affect his taste. He was delish! Plus the fact that he was shattered made him much easier to share. Sam has a cold and I wouldn't have let him have a lick if Mr Lob was not in bits.
I had some of the tea with my breakfast toast this morning. Yummy! There was a damp chill in the air today so tea was required. I have not used the napkins yet. I know this sounds silly but I didn't want to get them dirty....lol. I know, I know, that is what they are meant for but they are new...and so cute! I might have to have a few people over for lobster this summer and if I do...I'll use them. I promise! Thank you so much DH....It was so sweet of you!

7is the magic number.

7 Random Things Meme
I've been tagged by Sue! I needed to post something so this should get me started again... Here are the rules:

List 7 random things about yourself on your blog. Tag 7 others. Leave a comment on their blog to direct them to your site to get the rules.

1. My favorite number is 7, what a cowinkadink.
2. I'm not one of those people that dislike the telephone....nope, not at all.
3. I recently came up with a great practical joke...hehe, take a bottle of suntan lotion that is almost empty and add a tube of "day time" Ben Gay....it doesn't have a strong odor like the original version. I know, I know its mean but I would love to see the look on their face as their arms and legs start to get really warm. You have to make sure they know it isn't made for the face though...so keep that in mind.You know you wish you came up with that idea first...so don't even try acting shocked.
4. I'm in a great mood because my camera was repaired, free of charge and I got it back today...Oh Happy Day!
5. I have not been reading my stock pile of books for quite sometime now. I should feel bad about that.
6. I love watching movies and have gone to 3 in the last week.
7. I'm so excited about my vacation...basically because I need a break from this house and all of the things that are breaking down around here. Let's face it, its time to see Rue again!

I'm not officially tagging anyone. Basically, I am breaking the rules but who is going to fine me fore it? The Blogger police?! I think not. If you read this, you can choose to do it or no, its up to you.

Grrrr

We had issues around here and by "WE" I mean, they had issues and I had to fix them for them. Our modem was having issues. Come to find out the cable company we use for our internet connection had issues. These guys thought it was a computer problem and they did all kinds of things to try to get it working and in the process broke the modem and the cable wire that we were using. I had no idea about that so I spent a lot of time on the phone with the cable company trying to figure out what they goofed up. Come to find out that They forced a cord into the port and broke the center of the port. The plug wouldn't fit all the way in anymore. Fun. Anyway, we...meaning me and tech guy from the cable company...we used an ethernet cord and everything is working again. More on my weekend and events at a later date. I have to go outside and get some stuff done.

Jigged and Sawed....

 OK, so here are my unfinished growth charts. I have to get a router bit to curve the edges and then they are ready to be painted. then I have to put them together at a later date. More to come!

Women in Art.

This is so neat. I could watch it over and over again.

Tami had her baby last night!

I just got a phone call from my dear friend Tami. She informed me that she had herClittle boy last night. Philip Cady Russell was born on May 27th at 9:47 PM and tipped the scales at 7 pounds 2 ounces, 19 inches long.
I had a very strong feeling that "Fry" as they are calling him, was going to be born in May and not June as the doctors had predicted. I was right, I was right! His big brother Hayden and oldest sister, Meredith already came to visit him in the hospital. His little sister, Stephanie was at home with her Grandma. I can't wait to see how Stephanie deals with Fry. You have to check out the hyper links. Tami has blogs for all the kids and I love reading them, especially the girls....its so cute.

More info when it becomes availiable.

DANG IT!

Well, my friggin camera broke. I don't know what happened but let me tell you, I am not a very happy camper right now. A month away from my vacation and the sucker freaks on me. I called the canon help number and spoke to a guy with a thick southern accent. He walked me though reseting the camera. The problem is that after taking two pictures, I went to shut it off and the screen went black, BEEPED LOUDLY..how rude, and displayed, Lens Error- Restert Camera." I tried several times, I even removed the battery. The lense would not close and retract. Stupid, stupid camera! I spoke to the dude at Canon and he had me remove the battery. Then push the shutter button firmly, five times, replace the battery, switch the camera to viewing mode and turn it back on. At that point the camera lense retracted and the lense cover closed. Then when I tried to switch it to picture taking mode, the stupid thing beeped at me again and the error message was displayed. The lense was stuck out and open again. We tried this several times before we gave up and he gave me infor to send the mother hubbard in.

This can't be happening. I have Bunny Rue Rue photos to take. She has a bikini to model for us all in her little pool. She needs to laugh and smile for me. She's sitting up on her own now. Dang it, I need those pictures for my photo album. Not to mention Tami will be having a baby any day now and I need photo of the new little Russell. Seriously, this is the worst possible time for this kind of thing to happen.

What to do when Uncle Gary talks to much...

Well, Aunt Carole suggests placing your thumbs in your Ears, like so... Works for her, every time. Hehehe! If he starts talking louder, you just have to sing, "la la la", over and over, then after a few hours, he gives up and plays on the computer...making priceless self portraits of himself.

A growth chart in the making

I'm working on something new. I decided to make a template for a growth chart for Rue. I had a hankering to use my jig saw and drill. I have wood left over from a project and I'm going to use it up and get it out of the garage. I won't be able to show you the finished project until I put it together when I am home. I think it will be easier to mail before the parts are attached. I decided I'm going to have a wavy stem, with two leaves with Rues name and birth information on them. I'm not sure how I want to do the blossom yet, but I'll come up with something. I always do, after all. I have to find a box to mail this sucker in. I think there is one in the garage.
I thought about asking Marla and Jeff if they wanted one for Arianna but I figured they wouldn't. I could be wrong...Aunt Vickie will let me know what she thinks. I could always make two at one time. Just a thought. Maybe I should make one for Jesse and Megan, my parents neighbors. They are expecting a girl in August and are really super sweet people.

And the medal goes to....

I love buttons. I love ribbon. Hell, I love lots of things and tend to collect stuff off of packages and presents. I find it hard to part with the extra buttons that come with clothes even after I discard the outfit. If its worth passing on I do, but if it isn't fit for charity because I stain stuff like nobodies business, I take the buttons off before I trash it.
Over the years I have come up with a ton of notions. A while back I saw a picture of a medal that someone made using a button and ribbon. They looked like service awards that soldiers receive for bravery or advanced skills. I figure some day I might be a nanny for a little one again and they might come in handy. (Maybe Rue would like it too) How much fun would it be to have a ceremony for a preschooler who bravely sat through their shot at the doctors office or if they are afraid of cats or dogs, were able to summon the strength to pet it without hiding behind you, crying. How about an award for Extreme patience when they sat polity and played instead of running around like a nutcase when the car was getting its annual maintenance or at the bank. I like the idea for an award for a random act of kindness or for an act of true honesty. The possibilities are endless. I'm making them so they can be safely pinned on their shirts for the day or several days but after a week they must be placed on a felt banner that we can hang on the wall of their bedroom. Each award will be labeled with a tag on the back that says why and when it was awarded. When they out grow the phase, it can be rolled up and tucked away. Years later, long after they forgot about it, it would be fun to see what they accomplished.
I think its always a good idea to praise good behavior, its encouraging. Lol, can't you see a kid strutting around the grocery store, helping you get the items you need, perhaps wearing a super hero cape and showing off the medal on his shirt to anyone that will listen. Of course, it could be a little girl wearing a super hero cape and showing off her medals....valor comes in all shapes and sizes.

I'm pimpin' out my Aunt Vickie...

I'm not sure people know what they are getting themselves into. Everyone wants to join the club and call my Aunt Vickie, "Aunt Vickie." I guess I can share her. Heck I've already got a ton of other cousins and she has a bunch of nieces and nephews on Uncle Johns side (but they are not as much fun as I am)...so it shouldn't be hard to let other people jump on the Aunt Vic band wagon.

I have to warn you, once you start calling her Aunt Vickie, there is no turning back. Yep, you are stuck with her. So, don't come whining to me when Aunt Vickie drinks all your wine or when she starts playing pranks on you and teasing you. She will, oh she will. That's part of the deal...you have to just put up with it. Piss her off and she will smack you with a broom...ask her brothers. If you leave her alone with Uncle John to long, unsupervised, they are bound to be sneaky....which will lead to a snorting laughter attack. Yes, she snorts when she laughs. She has a dirty mind but will try to blame it on you. Don't you dare let her do that. Also, she will try to convince you that her halo is bright and shiny....nooo, that isn't true, she likes to swipe ours when we are not looking and play it off as hers. Don't fall for that either.

Whatever you do, don't let her mop your kitchen floors. She gets it confused with washing a car and dumps a whole bucket of water on the floor. I hope you have a wet vac handy or a crap load of towels. Oh, she's not so bad...but don't depend on her to save you from a snake because she would sooner shove you to the ground in an attempt to save herself and seek safety. The sound she admits when she is doing it is enough to cause hearing loss. If you pretend like you are going to pick the snake up and chase her with it, she will swear she will hate you forever but I don't think she really has it in her. Oh yes, and I'll warn you right now that you will never be able to take a family picture without her tongue sticking out in it. You know, I swear she must have gotten a hold of my Katie when she was younger and told her that tongues sticking out in pictures drove me nuts...Katie does it too and they are not related.

All in all, she's a pretty great Aunt. Oh and even if she says not to tease her about her lederhosen, don't listen to her. Rule number one of Aunt sharing is you have to tease her as much as the rest of us do. No sucking up! Things to remember: You must ask her to explain how she got her head caught in a steering wheel and not accept the answer when she swears booze was not involved. Don't believe her when she tells you her age. Ask me, I know the real deal. If you left it up to her, she'd have you believe that she was 8 when she had her son. Shes a fun lady to hang around. That is why all the kids in the neighborhood end up at her house and she doesn't have kids living at home anymore. Don't let her near your car at night, or day as far as that goes...she's a deer magnet and sure enough something is going to get dented or totaled.

She's a handful but she is worth it. I don't think you could ask for a better Aunt. Unless of course your name us Rue, because that little girl has the best Auntie in the whole wide world (ME)....closely followed up by the best Great Aunt in the World...aka, Great Aunt Vickie. (My other Aunts are wonderful too...with the exception of the one who shall not be named...but everyone knows who that is. Shhhh, don't tell her I said that.) Oh, who wants to make Aunt Vickie a pair of crocheted lederhosen for her next birthday? She secretly wants a pair. Unlce John keeps stealing her old pair.

So, share her! No fighting over her or tugging at her because then I will have to take her away and then you will be sorry. Don't make me pull this blog over!

Rue and her Paw Paw and Grammy

Rue has her Paw Paw wrapped around her little fingers. When its time to be burped, she gets the royal treatment. Yep, she gets propped over his leg and Paw Paw reads her a book while he tries to pat those bubbles up for her. She seems pretty happy with the arraingement. Trust me, if she wasn't, she would let him know. She laughs at her Grammy a lot too. I dont' blame her one bit, I do the same thing. I laugh everytime I see this picture. That's my Bunny Rue Rue...and I can tell she is going to be a silly girl. I wouldn't want her any other way. She's getting so big and I'm missing all the cranky teething issues....whew. She's my girl. We talk on the phone, well she looks at the phone trying to figure out where the sound is coming from before she tries to chew on it and I do most of the talking. I just hear a bunch of heavy breathing and some laughing.

Finally! More Rue pictures

 If you keep on people long enough, you finally get some pictures of your neice. Rue is getting big. The little turd better stop growing, atleast until I get there. She's going to kill my back, I know that already....but that is just part of the deal. If you want to spoil her, she has to injure you, that is just the way it goes. Her 1/2 birthday is coming up on June 9th, but I already sent her present. She needed a book case for all of her books and toys...so I had it delivered earlier in the year.

Under supervision...

So today was the day that Sam had some of his Science project pals over to work on their big visual display. They needed to build a 3 foot by 3 foot jail of sorts to house their giant molecule. Don't asked me what the technical term of it is. I don't do the book learnin' I'm the contractor in charge of the dirty work. I went with Sam to Home Depo on Friday to pick up a crap load of supplies. We brain stormed and eyed materials before I came up with the easiest and cheapest way to do this thing. So, today I manned the jigsaw and did some prep work, like find the correct size drill bit so the dowels "bars" would fit into the pilot holes. I thought I was the only supervisor but we soon discovered that there was a pigeon on the roof that kept a close eye on all of us. He'd keep moving around but he was intently watching what we were doing. I was sure he was waiting for us to leave so he could drop a few poop bombs on the car. After all it was clean, those "rats with wings" love to mess up clean paint jobs. Anyway, we are letting the paint dry and the boys will be getting the rest of it done in the next few days. It's due on Friday, which means I have to take the seats out of the van to transport it. A nannies job is never done.
Funniest moment of the afternoon is a toss up between Nancy opening the door when they were almost done and shouting, "Holy Shit!" because she was surprised that it looked as good as it did and in such a short amount of time...OR.... When the boys were almost done drilling the holes for the bars and said that they only had one side left to drill. I said, "Nope you have three sides left." They looked at me funny and I said, "Think about it, you will get it." but when they still didn't get it and tried to argue with me, I said, "You have to drill the top holes, so that means you have to do the two parallel sides on the inside." To which I got a long, "OHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH!" My Parents raised a mechanically inclined daughter...those chumps should know this by now, sheesh!

What I made for Aunt Vickie...

OK, I can show you what I made for Aunt Vickie now. She received it in the mail on Friday. I made a wine bottle night light with grapes on the top and let me tell you, it looks prettier in person when its plugged in in a dark room. I just knew she needed one for her "wine cellar" theme she has going in her basement now that she has become a total wino lush....lol, I'm only joking. Shoot, she didn't drink for years so she has to make up for lost time. I have another set of red grapes and one set of green grapes so if Anyone else wants one...lol, I'll take orders. Actually, I might make a pair for the winery in Pawnee City Nebraska. That could be fun. Maybe Vickie could get some free booze out of it.

That's it...I need to start sewing doll quilts.

I have collected a lot of bargain fabric over the years. Most of it is fun stuff, very bright and kid friendly. I have wanted to learn to quilt and I honestly have to start with small projects because a huge quilt would be overwhelming for me. Anyway, since I have a baby niece now....I must, MUST make a dolly quilt for her. Plus my Cousin Jeff has a baby girl now and so Does my Godson's Uncle and my parents neighbors are expecting a girl in August. That means I need to get my rear in gear and make at least 4...5 if I count my friend Susan's new Grand daughter. I have some time because they won't be needing them until they are at least two years old, three would be better.

I didn't take a picture of the fabric that I have for dress up clothes. Remember I made all of those clothes for my friend Tami's little girls. Yep, and without patterns. Hey, I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal. I'm just lucky that I can visualize things. OK, so if I have not posted a pic of any dolly quilts by the end of October, yell at me. Sometimes I just need to be pushed into things. As of this minute though, I am planning to start work on them in August.