Feel Like Complaining

When we went on vacation I had our mail held as usual, with them to deliver on a specific date upon our return. That day I saw the mailman coming up the walk so I went out to meet him, only because he was carrying a lot and I knew it wouldn't all fit in our slot. He introduced himself as our new carrier and said we would now be getting our mail in the morning instead of the afternoon. Then he proceeded to tell me that if I came out to meet him again, to make sure that the inside door was closed so my dog wouldn't break down the screen door to attack him. Huh? Sure she barks but has never been really interested in the carriers that much to run through a screen door to eat them. A few days ago he delivered as usual but included mail from a few blocks away. This happens occasionally and if it's close by, like a neighbor I just take it over. But this was several blocks away plus in the mail were cards that were not supposed to be delivered. They were complaint cards meant o...

I've been pretty tired for a couple of days. I think it's allergies but I sure don't know why it makes you so tired. Anyway I was looking forward to a good night's sleep so was in my cave by 10:00. I only put one ear plug in, and figured that would be enough. I think I went out fast but was soon awakened by my dog barking upstairs. She will grumble or give a little woof if someone walks by, but this was full-out barking. I could hear the Mastodon walking around quickly and then the kitchen light went on. "Uh oh", I thought, "This can't be good." By the time I got upstairs, hubby was already at the door and I could hear kids talking, it was 11:45 pm. They were holding our phone and had called their dad to see if he was home. He had left his two 10 year old kids at home and took the older one out driving around looking for a stolen mountain bike. I have heard that their mother is in jail so no one else was home. The kids heard their own dog bar...

I have become quite dependent on my ear plugs. Two years ago I bought my first package while on vacation. My husband snores and it' not a whole lot of fun to be trapped in a room with a snoring bear. It's different at home, I could always leave the room. So we're walking in this little grocery store in Manzanita and I see them hanging in the aisle. I snatched them up and enjoyed the whole week in silent bliss. I used them off and on until I ran out. My Walmart didn't carry the same exact kind so I had to buy a girly pink package which although had a higher dB rating, they didn't work as well. Even though I'm a basement dweller I still use them during the week. Since I go to bed at ten, I usually get woken up when hubby gets home at 11:00 ish. He sounds like a Mastodon tromping through the house and then has to run water and the hot water tank sits about 3 feet from my bed in a closet. So you get the picture. I pop my ear plugs in and sleep like a baby. One n...

I've been wanting to write about this for awhile but was embarrassed. Most of you know that I'm GaGa for Deadliest Catch and all of the lovely Captains of the Bering Sea. My family and I have seen different Captains at book signings, grocery stores, Walmart, etc. This summer Capt's John and Andy Hillstrand and Sig Hanson were doing their own Captain's Tours, not affiliated with Discovery. When I saw they were coming to town I got tickets for hubby, daughter and I. We got good seats but not the premium seats which included a private meet and greet after the show. But at $75.00 I wasn't going to spend as much as Elton John tickets cost. I mean I love them, but they're not worth the same as Elton. That's a ticket price you have to earn. I had seen clips here and there and sort of knew what to expect. I had a feeling that it would be an OK show, but not as great as a personal book signing tour. But we were still excited to go and joined the other few thousan...

I'm sure you've all felt it, the letdown of coming home from vacation. Especially as Monday looms, the worse I feel. My husband gets to face working doubles as the other driver goes on his vacation. At least it's not 10 hr shifts anymore but it still messes with your sleep clock. After we pulled into the garage we unloaded quickly so hubby could go pick up our dog. Car--dead. He takes his and brings a tired dog home who spent all day yesterday sleeping. She didn't even care that we weren't interested in going for a walk. She looks perkier today though. We jumped the car and got it to the shop. We really thought it was the alternator because it's been making grinding noises for quite some time. A mechanic said a bearing was going out and it could last for another day or another year. We thought that day had come. But it was only the battery which still had some warranty left so it wasn't too bad of a ka-ching. We actually came home with money this year. W...

A few days before we left on vacation my family and I took Nellie for a walk. Our usual route takes us past the football field and track which is under a complete renovation so we just have to walk on by. Sometimes I like to walk on the track, let Nellie run so I can pick up some speed and let her sniff to her heart's content. As we walked by we saw a kid's football behind a tree. Attached to it was a note. In essence the note writer was apologizing for taking the football although there was no indication as to when this happened. The write said he had 'found Jesus' and wanted to return the ball and added 15 bucks too. Hmmmm, nice I thought, but knew it wouldn't be there for long and the original ball owner would never see it, it would get stolen again. Sure enough, when we got home from our walk, we saw three young teen boys walking our way. I could see one holding the ball, one reading the note and I'm sure they had the money. I told my husband to mess w...

Since our daughter just turned 16 we wanted her party to be really special. And this will also be the last one we will ever throw for her so it had to be memorable. My husband who usually doesn't have the brightest ideas came up with this one and I've got to say that he topped himself. Let's just say that he has connections. He works with privately owned air strips by the main city airport. One place in particular has a small bistro above the office and also has a limo used mosty to drive ritzy clients around. Hubby approached the airfield owner and bistro owner and asked if they could arrange a nice BD celebration. We didn't tell her first because we weren't sure if it was going to happen. But plans came together so we did tell her. The limo is not an ultra stretch but still holds 8 comfortably. She lined up the friends she wanted to invite as well as a few back-ups just in case a few couldn't make it. Summer BD's are difficult because people are on vacat...

I'm not sure if it's proper to classify an obituary as 'fun', but this one is enjoyable reading. I imagine the gentleman wrote it himself, knowing his fate for awhile. It's long but worth reading. I remember years ago he had come to our house to give us a bid to trim our big Oak; we never had it done though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TREECRAFT, Dandelion B. Dandelion B. Treecraft died August 4, 2011 Born: April 30, 1949, Fresno, California, Dam: Nina Isabel Guard, a shy, rural North Carolina girl, graduated from the University of North Carolina at age 18. Sire: Vernon Willard Whipple, a dangerous-charming Fresno boy who managed to graduate from Fresno High School. Christened "Daniel Bryan Whipple" at his birth, in Fresno, California, Dan endured 13 mind-numbing years of public schooling in California, Washington, and Florida before enlisting in the US Coast Guard during the Vietnam War. Thereafter, he worked as a carpenter, and a wood tank "co...

Mmmmmmm, which story should I begin with? They both involve pain of some sort so I guess it doesn't matter. I'll start with my daughter's love life, she ought to love that. She has a long distance boyfriend. I suppose not the best scenario but that's how it turned out. They knew each other in grade school and then 7th grade. He moved to California soon after. He used to leave love notes on her desk in 6th grade and she had no idea who was doing it but he just confessed recently. Anyway they've been texting and Skyping on occasion and are in love. Ahhhhhhhh. His family was heading up this way to a family reunion and he was making plans to see her. He invited her to the reunion, without asking I guess so that didn't work out. Friends could come for one day but the drive was just too far to come home and then go back and get her, about 6 hours travel time. So that didn't work out. Since he and his sister didn't get to see any friends, their Mom said tha...