One thing about cooler weather

One thing about the cooler weather setting in, is that our house is being invaded. We live out in the country. It is an older house, and you can see daylight around many of the doors... including the front and back door. There are entrance holes for phone cables, and TV cables. There are little dry rot spots here and there... and every one of these places is big enough for a mouse to squeeze in. We have had traps out, but hadn't caught anything for awhile. Just a few days go, we noticed "evidence" of mice, and set more traps.

Last night, though, the invasion and trap setting took a serious turn. I was awakened suddenly in the wee hours by something dropping onto my face, and scrambling. *shudder*

I slapped the scurrying critter off myself even as I shrieked. Shrieking in the wee hours tends to waken ones fellow sleepers. Mr C turned on the light, dutifully shook covers, searched the bedsides, muttering only a little about me "dreaming" this. I know I didn't dream it!


Not long after we had moved into this house, I did have a mouse materialize out of thin air. It literally appeared IN THE AIR just inside my peripheral vision. It landed with a plop on my computer desk and skittered away. Now, I know it is hard to believe that a mouse can just appear in the air beside you. I'd have trouble believing it, had I not seen it.
Further investigating the mysterious appearance of a mouse from the sky, we realized the heater had just kicked on. Apparently, the mouse had been in the vents above. I suspect that is the origin of last nights mouse as well.

Well, the war is on. Additional traps have been set. I am just fixing to take my room apart and make sure there isn't some little place the rodents can gain entrance in there.

Time to get busy here! Have a blessed day!

Better

I realized I haven't mentioned that I am very much better since my last post. I am back to walking, trying to make up for missing several days. The steam blisters on the cuticle of my thumb have mostly cleared up.

My "baby" brother Roger has a birthday in a couple of days. Mom's is the 4th, and Benjamin's is the 7th. The reunion is this weekend! Whoot! I am sure looking forward to seeing everyone. The twins and I have been packing camping gear, and loading the "not to be forgotten" items in the trunk of my car.

At least we WERE loading them into the trunk of my car. We haven't removed anything ... yet. But Mr C says the tires on my car are not as safe as the tires on his car. And he put brand new brakes on his car yesterday. So I will be taking his car to the reunion. I like my car better... but that is pretty irrelevant. I would rather NOT get a flat along the way than complain about which car I have to take!

We haven't switched any "stuff" over to Mr C's car yet, as he is still driving it to work every day. We haven't brought it back inside, as it is not in the way in my car trunk. When the time comes, we do a simple trunk swap over.

As I mentioned, Ben's birthday is coming up in just over a week. He is sure someone "easy" to find a gift for. I went to www.thinkgeek.com and found several great gifts in just a matter of moments. I just can't afford any of them this week. The Jedi robe would be perfectly awesome! And some of the T shirts... so very Ben.

Guess I will have to put Ben in line for his birthday present... we still haven't gotten the twins their presents. Yep, the wallet strings have been tightened since early June. The pennies pinched til they screamed. The bill's tossed into the air and those landing face up were chosen... or something like that. But things should start looking up in the next few months. I hope.

Tonight is Granddaughter Alana's first soccer game. I told Mr C I was planning to go to it. I know I can't go to all of them, but I sure ought to be able to manage a few.Which reminds me, I better charge my camera!

Tomorrow should be a fairly light day at work. But Thursday... Thursday. That is oil day.. and this Thursday is not only oil day... it is "Customer Appreciation Day!!!!" This means two things to me... one, I have to have freight done before 9:00 am, including the oil. The oil must also be put away. 9:00 am is when the caterers arrive. They will be setting up right in my freight area... which will need swept and mopped before set up can start. Secondly, I get to "stay late" and mingle... on the clock. Oh boy!  (Or maybe this was just a ruse to get me to stay so I can do the shipping once the shindig is over.... hmmmm?)

Then, Friday, that tends to be a "big" freight day... and I will have double shipping to do. Once I am finished, the boys and I will load up and head for Broken Bow. It is about a four and a half hour drive, almost straight down the eastern end of Oklahoma. I go through the beautiful Ouachita Mountains (Wah shi tah). We will be camping at a State Park on Beaver Bend Lake, a couple of miles from the reunion site. The weather promises to be in the low 80*s,  sunny and clear. the nights will be cool, but not cold. Perfect for camping! I'm sure looking forward to it!

May you have a very blessed day. Thanks for reading! (Remember if you need to order from Amazon, I'd sure appreciate it if you would get there from the side bar here on PB4UGO!)

Grace Strikes Again

Or is that Grace(less) is STRUCK again?

To go back to the beginning of the morning....
You know how your Mommy always tells you to wear clean undies so you (or she!) won't be embarrassed if you get in an accident ? Well, this morning it wasn't undies I had trouble with, it was socks. I looked and looked for a matching pair. With time running out, I finally settled for mismatched socks. After all, who will see them inside of my shoes anyway?

Mr C asked if I thought today would be a short day. Saturdays usually are.

I walked in to face TWO pallets. Most Saturdays, there is about 1/3 to 1/2 a single pallet of stuff. So I already knew I was there for a fairly long haul.
At about 8:45, I was on my LAST two items that I had to actually physically handle today. They happened to be wheel hub assemblies.
These were "small" as hub assemblies go. Each weighed about 8 lbs., where some of the larger ones are well over 20 lbs. I had put one into the returns tote, and just as I let go of it, the box from the second assembly came unglued.

The hub assembly was acted upon at once by gravity.

It landed on the "start" of my foot. Just where the tongue of the shoe offered a bit more padding. I'm afraid I said the word my mommy always told me not to say... the one that ends the " Poo Poo, Doo Doo, CaCa.... my Mommy always told me not to say ____"! phrase. (Sorry Mommy, I said it)
I called the boss to come back there. He was laughing as he came back, saying, "I know I'm in trouble when she says Mr. Mc_______!" He quit laughing the minute he saw I was hurt. I already had my shoe off,  and the sock. There was a bit of skin scraped off, clean through the clothes!

My foot was already starting to swell where it was hit. Boss got me some ice. (He used freezer frost, LOL)

The ice helped.

I kept my foot up on a chair, with ice off and on (On as long as I could stand it at a time) for the next 45 minutes. The swelling went down. I could stand on it, move it freely without undue pain. So nothing is broken. But I will have a nice bruise, I'm sure. I used the chair (rolling office chair) to glide over to the computer and finish up my paperwork. Got my shoe and sock back on, and gave the foot the official "stand on it and walk" test. Then I drove on home. (It is my left foot.)

I am still hobbling just a bit... but hey, it is a deep bruise!

I have kept of it since then, except necessary trips. I had a nap. After my nap, I was getting a drink in the kitchen, and asked who had left water boiling in my whistling kettle, which was boiling away, but NOT whistling. (Should of been my first clue!) It was Mr C. He was watching football and asked if I minded pouring him out a spot o' tea. So I poured. The tight fitting lid of the kettle fell off as I poured... "someone" had not pushed it on tightly! I got a mean owie owie owie steam burn on my hand.

Maybe I ought to just go on back to bed.

Really folks, I am FINE. Just a bit battered and steamed!

Dad always said he didn't name me Grace.... for a good reason!

That's my grandson...

In case you don't happen to be friends with Becky on Facebook, I have a little funny to share from her.

Becky,  her husband Stephen, Tommy ( incidentally  is also Stephen), Tyrel, and Tommy's co-worker Steven... were all having lunch at a Mexican restaurant the other afternoon. Stephen mentioned that he was going to go sort sheep when he finished lunch. As they were preparing to leave, Steven asked Tyrel if he was going to go help his Daddy sort sheep. Tyrel looked at Steven and tells him, "That's NOT a short sheep. That's my MOM!"

Made it...

I made it through Emma. I can scratch that classic off my list. I was less than impressed. Perhaps it is the run on, and on, and on, and on and on, sentences, with, commas in the most, unlikely places. maybe it is just so far out of timeliness it didn't catch my interest.

Becky had said I ought to make a list of things I might like for my birthday.

I say, MY MOMMY has a birthday before mine and I need suggestions on what to do for HER birthday! Hers is more than 2 weeks before mine! I have made her a photo book in the past. I really don't have any new, good pictures to do another right now, since our family photographer has moved away. Mom doesn't need any more elephants, nor teapots. So... what does Mom (Grandma!) want for her birthday!

OK. for me, I could use a pair or two of "fat pants" (lounge pants/ pajama bottoms). I would like a sweater... something other than my sweatshirt hoody! (These are at Lakeside)


As much as I love to read... a shopping-free gift would be a gift certificate to Amazon, or Borders Book Store.


I really can't think of too much I am in "need" of.

A family portrait would be nice. And/or a picture of Mom, me, Becky as a "generations" picture. Maybe one of as many of Mom and her grands and great grands as we could get together!

OK, Mom... now help me and your grandkids out and come up with some birthday present suggestions for you!

Septembery Bookish

Today, not only have I already been to work, but I have also done my walking AND had a nap. The nap was really a hard sleep, too. I am now having a cup of afternoon tea, hoping it will wake me up!

The twins are listening to an audio book, Redwall.
. The author actually is one of the full cast of characters reading. They began reading the Redwall series about a year ago, and a few months ago discovered the audio books. Listening to the books has not slowed their enthusiasm for actually reading.


Here we are in our second week of school... and already I have been failing to record our daily lessons. How well I knew myself, when I said I may as well NOT invest in a fancy lesson planning book. I get the boys started, show them what I expect, and then we just keep going. When they have questions, or if I see something I believe may need further explanation or pronunciation, we have a few minutes of talk. Otherwise, once they are set on their learning course, they are pretty self motivated. I do make sure they ARE doing the work, or have an oral pop-quiz to be sure they are getting the  material. They seem to be doing quite well without me hanging over their shoulders all day long. This is pretty much opposite of how Mr C believes we should be doing things. Half an hour of having him 'instruct' leaves the boys close to tears and usually too upset to learn much at all.

Their math is on computer CD's. It has a real teacher that goes over the lesson as many times as they need to "get it". I am so glad we found this course, back when Ben and Tommy were needing an Algebra course. We bought the whole series, from Pre-Algebra to Geometry. (It is called "ClassMates").  Having already had three kids go through High School at home, we are pretty well set up with curriculum. Becky, Benjamin, and Tommy all "proved" up on their education by passing their GED's with flying colors. (Becky took her GED in Texas, while Ben and Tommy took theirs in Arkansas.)

I have continued doing "improvements" at work. Today I got a good start of moving the Wix  Air filters off the tops of the shelving units, to the next shelf down. On top of the units, they were actually in violation of the fire codes, by being closer than 18"  below the sprinkler heads. To move them "down a shelf" required several *days effort just to empty the shelves below. (*days= 15-30 minutes per day in addition to my regular tasks.)
The actual start of the moving today had me up and down the step ladder dozens of times. First, I had to remove the actual NEXT shelf down, as the air filter boxes, for the most part are taller than the shelves were spaced. Then I had to move the ladder to the beginning of the filters on top of the shelves, and carry them down the ladder and over several units to where we had room to start the filters. Up the ladder, grab boxes, down the ladder, put on the new shelf... repeat until shelf is full. Then start over with removing/ adjusting the next shelving units spacing. I got about half way finished in the actual moving today. A benefit of having the filters lower... they can now be reached by all of us, without climbing! (Climbing on the shelving units is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. Probably the most often broken rule at the store). I will probably finish up tomorrow, as Saturdays tend to be easy days, stock wise.

The weather has gone right back to being warm here. It is in the low 90*'s much of the week. Nights have been pleasant enough to have the windows open. A few mornings have sent me in search of my sweater!

I have been trying to read some classic novels. I started Jane Austen's "Emma" today. (No wonder I needed a nap!)
I read "Pride and Prejudice" a couple of weeks ago. I have found I cannot read these books while on the treadmill, as I can many other books. I have been reading a lot of Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour. (Both classic for their genre!)

Thankfully for Jane Austen, I saw Pride and Prejudice with Becky, on video. Otherwise I'm not sure I could of followed the plot. Since I am to the bottom of my library bag with Emma, and won't head to the library until Monday, I am sure I will muddle through! (I have a strange quirk: Once I start reading a book, I read it to the end. I am always sure it has to get better. Only twice have I failed to read to the end.. Once in high school reading a book called "Arrowsmith" by Sinclair Lewis, and another book a year or two ago. The second book I cannot give particulars on now. After a couple of chapters, I was so infuriated by the authors undisguised and contrary political biases, I just closed it and sent it back to the library.)

Well, in writing here and playing with the Amazon search box... I have let time slip up on me. Since I am planning to make spaghetti for supper, I had best get it started. (It is sure hard to cook for four! I won't have any idea how much sauce to make. What looks like not enough is invariably too much!

I sure miss having my kids at home!

Another day in the Neighborhood

There just isn't anything going on here... which is really OK with me. The twins are doing their schoolwork without too much goading. Shipping at O'Reilly's is about the same old same old! (Though tomorrow I will train one of the new kids on how to do shipping and receiving... then HE will train the other new kid, so that everyone in the store will be able to do this job. In a few weeks, I will be working just Tuesday- Friday. Since I am normally done on Saturdays in under 2 hours, it just doesn't make sense for me to drive in for under $16.00 pre- tax!)

The boys have been taking themselves out bunny and squirrel hunting. They have been using their pellet guns. So far, no animals have been harmed in their efforts.

At the request of Mr C, we will be having pork ribs and sauerkraut  for supper tonight. We are fixing to get that on baking in a slow oven.

The weather has been cool and rainy. Hooray for both.

I am thinking that as soon as I get these ribs into the oven, I will have a nice, rainy afternoon nap.

Have a blessed afternoon.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Random stuff

I added a link to Amazon on my  blog sidebar. If you were planning to order something from Amazon, I would be really pleased if you would get there through this link! This gives me a small "bonus"... I don't know how much. I have been blogging with ads on the blog for two years, and so far haven't accrued enough "bonuses" to get paid!

Anyway, if you see something in my blog, like the Redwall cookbook I mentioned a few days ago... and highlight that word, you are then supposed to be able to just click on the "GO" in the Amazon search box to find it on Amazon.

I got a phone call from one of my DIL's last night! I haven't heard from her in a couple of months. I got to talk to my grandson Gavin for a few minutes. Gosh, he is sounding so "grown up" (He will be 4 tomorrow!).

Today was another BUSY day at work. What would I do without my co-workers pitching in and helping put freight away? As it was, I had 20 totes plus a pallet of bulk items and batteries. I didn't get finished until almost 11:00 am. By the time I got to the treadmill, I was just wiped out tired. I barely did a mile... but that puts me at exactly 120 miles so far. I have 39 days to go 30 miles on my "150 miles by my birthday" goal.

When I got home, the boys had all their "toys" out of their bedroom. They had taken it upon themselves to get rid of old broken toys that haven't seen a kid in several years, and started sorting their Lego's and K'Nex. Boy, do they have a LOT of Lego and K'Nex. At the moment... there are still boxes and drawers and bins of the aforementioned building toys scattered about the living room.

I made a batch of laundry detergent, and explained the basic procedure to an online friend who is interested in trying it. (I discovered I can order Soda Ash in 1 and 5 lb. bags from Amazon, as well as the Zote soap!) Yay!
Then I got my bed sheets laundered, while the deep freeze thawed out. It is pretty well empty, but we are supposed to get some Blue and Gold Sausage, as well as the Blue and Gold Bacon, in a few weeks. As long as the freezer was so empty, it may as well get cleaned out and prepared!

I sure look like I am busier than I really am, when I write it out!

Well, those sheets are ready to go back on the bed, so I suppose I ought to think about doing that. It is, however, a tricky thing. I might get sucked onto the bed and forced to nap... those beds get pretty forceful in the afternoons.

Have a great day!

And the week trudges onward...

Really, the week has gone by pretty fast. Today was our third day of school.... and had a couple of smiles in it. We were reviewing antonyms. The boys had to supply a word meaning the opposite of the given word. Sam must have misread "farther" ... because his answer was "mother".

While Mr C was home for lunch, we looked at "conservative bumper stickers" . We laughed aloud at several of these.

I talked to my boss, and he has agreed to let me be off on Saturdays, working only Tues-Fridays, starting in a few more weeks. I am usually finished in less than 2 hours on Saturdays... so really it just isn't worth the $15. +/- (total) I was getting paid. I will be training one of my new co-workers on shipping and receiving, so they can take over on Saturdays. (Saturdays tend to be fairly slow and this won't be much extra burden to them.)

We have finally gotten some rain! I am guessing in the neighborhood of 3.5 to 4" since last night. Nothing like the 10" Mom got yesterday at her house near Ft. Worth! But I am thankful for what we have received.

It is just a few more days until my brother's/ grandson's birthday. They were born Sept. 11th. Gavin will be 4 years old! I haven't seen him since late March of 2009. He wasn't even 3 then. Robbie will be 47, I believe.

I am fixing to have to run to the store for milk and bread. I would probably just put this off and get them after work tomorrow, except that I have already thawed chicken for supper, and promised the boys I would fry it. What is fried chicken without gravy? So, I suppose I better get with the program and get that done.

Have a blessed day!

Back to School

Today marks our first official day of back to school for this year.


Dan

and Sam are in ninth grade.

You can't hear the classical music they have playing. Well, not all is classical... they intersperse the classical music with "video" game music. Still, it is mostly quiet and soothing.

I have been working on drinking a second cup of tea for the last two hours. I made the tea. While it steeped, I got on the treadmill. By the time I got off, it was cold. So I "nuked" it. I set it for 1.5 minutes. That was too long. It came out boiling. So while it cooled, I took my shower. I made school assignments. I surfed the web. I forgot the tea. When I saw it sitting there on the kitchen counter, it was once again cold. This time I "nuked" it a mere 30 seconds. Just about right.

Our first few school days are repeating and reviewing old material. To squelch the many protests of having to repeat the "stuff we have already done!", I reminded them that it should be easy for them, if they truly learned it the first time. If they didn't learn it, then the review is necessary to see what needs to be gone over again. They have been more enthusiastic than I expected on the "Eight Parts of Speech" nouns worksheet.

My older kids, who have many times pointed out that I have been much easier on the twins than I was on them, would be tickled to see me this morning. Sam came to me with a word on his worksheet. He didn't know what the word meant. I looked at him sweetly and asked him how would he be able to learn what that word meant? With a heavy sigh... he says, "Dictionary."
Yep. Took him less than a minute to look it up.

I was off work today, since yesterday was a holiday for the shipping warehouse. Tomorrow, back to work, with a holiday load of freight coming in. Yikes. Hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks for reading.

September!

And the weather feels like it!

It was a bit chilly as I was leaving for work this morning- in the low 60's. I came home to find the house closed up, battened down like the boys were expecting 101*. (They cover the windows so that it stays dark inside, keeping the house more insulated and cool. I mentioned it ought to be opened up, since it was going to be a beautiful day, with a high of just 83*

They laughed a bit sheepishly. It was closed up, not because they were trying to keep it cool, but because when they got up, they were COLD. Tonight it is supposed to get down into the mid 40*'s.

My energy level has really flagged this week. Not a bit of giddy-up. I would have been in bed by 6:30 last night, had not it been the opening kick-off of Buckeye Football. I made it to just past half-time before I couldn't hold my eyes open another minute. I was asleep by 8:30pm. (It doesn't help that I find football about as entertaining as watching paint dry.)

Work has been... about the same. Though today I left polite "nasty-grams" on the message board. I have offered to teach the aggravating jerks that just randomly cram stock anyplace unspecified coworkers that mislay items, how to a) read the shelf labels and b) how to use the computer to know EXACTLY where to put an item if they aren't sure. I asked the boss, since he hadn't mentioned it, if I was going to be working Labor Day. It is my normal day off, but for the last 2 years, I have worked because my co-workers get it off, with pay. The Boss was surprised I had asked, but said he would be pleased if I would work until 10 am, as he had been going to try to man the store alone until then. (Yay! Time and a Half!) And I will be off Tuesday, as the warehouse will be off on Monday... so I won't lose hours this week. Wednesday... now THAT will be a busy day, I'm sure. I will have the backlog of freight ordered since Saturday!


Our plans for the weekend: Cleaning house. That's about all. Maybe the guys will need to mow, as we did (finally!) get some rain last night. Same-O, Same-O! The thought of going to visit family in Texas crossed my mind briefly... but being Labor Day weekend, I figured that flying out would be pretty much impossible. So I may as well work!

I just HAVE to pass on my grandson Tyrel's funny from yesterday. (Which Becky will probably also have on her blog... whenever she gets around to it!) He and Kimber Ann (who is now 10 and a half months old!) were playing. Tyrel had a book he was trying to read, and Kimber wanted the book. A tug of war ensued. After regaining control of the book, with Kimber still trying hard for it, Ty tells her, "Stop it........... Oaf!"

Becky said it was hard not to laugh as she told Ty he mustn't call his sister an oaf. (This line is from Bugs Bunny's RabbitHood episode.

Have a blessed day!