Feel Like Complaining

The last time I wrote about our yard, I was telling you about having to use Round-up to kill off some very invasive Sweet Pea plants. Other than that, I dug in and weeded an area I've always left to my husband, the front rocks where most of the Sweet Pea plants thrived. I figured as long as I'm killing, I may as well be pulling. It's a hard area to work, big rocks you have to work around to find the dirt. Weeds smartly wedge themselves between the rocks and you more often than not have to move them around. It's a brutal area on your knees. I moan about yard work but once I get started I don't really mind it. I even drug the kid into it this year more than ever. We'd don our grubby clothes, grab tools and buckets and hit it early. I do have limits though, 1 hour is about it or then I start to hate it. Hubby finally figured out about the Round-up and reluctantly agreed it was the only way. We also have some horrible ground cover in the rocks that looks so pret...

Our Bucket List goes on and we're still keeping busy this summer. More movies and short day excursions. One day we left our dog at my Mom's not really knowing how long we'd be gone, and headed to Fort Spokane. I don't remember if I had ever been there as a kid but it's very close to my hometown. The fort, established in 1882 lies at the junction of the Spokane and Columbia Rivers. Before the fort came about, Indians were becoming more resistant to the settlers encroaching on their land and wars were breaking out. The fort was built to keep peace between them. As the number of settlers increased, the Indians were outnumbered and no longer a threat. At that time the fort was turned into a boarding school for the Indian children. They were not taken willingly, rather taken away from their families, forced to cut their hair and not speak their native tongue anymore or wear their own clothing; in other words, taught to be like the White Man. The pictures we saw of ...

In this day and age you would think it would be so simple to debunk stories you read about online. They used to come in email form but now they're spinning fast and furious through Facebook, and they appear to be getting more bizarre. The topics run anywhere from computer viruses to the latest one I've seen on FB about Russians wanting to steal our children. Seriously. It's kept me busy copying and pasting from my favorite website Snopes.com I used to have a friend who would forward emails to me and ask me if such-and-such was true. I'd tell her it wasn't and give her the link to the story from Snopes and tell her how easy it was to look it up. Over and over she'd keep doing it. It takes 5 minutes people to look something up instead of looking like a fool to forward or share something. Waaaayyyy back when I started using the computer I was guilty of it too, but once I was corrected I never passed on anything again without checking first. Another friend on FB...

All summer we have been buying things my daughter will have to take to college to furnish her dorm. Many things we could figure out on our own; computer, bedding, clothing, carpet, towels, washcloths, detergent and fabric softener. You just can't take things from your house, you have to buy new, or buy crap that you wouldn't mind getting lost or stolen. As much as you would like to trust other people in a dorm, they suggest locking cables for your computer and lock boxes. She's been texting her room mate and just met her recently. I'm glad she is also from Spokane so they had the opportunity to meet first. They have split up the larger items to buy so there are no duplicates. We found a fridge on Craigslist and she picked up a microwave. Some things I didn't even think of is a full length mirror, mattress pad, shower shoes and caddy, trash can, ear plugs (would be a must for me), first aid kit, thermometer, flashlight, dishes and silverware. The list goes on and...

Other than my friends, my other favorite girl to hang out with is my daughter. Since her and hubby went camping in June we thought we'd step it up a notch and spend the night in a nice motel; equipped with a pool, wifi, and continental breakfast. That's how we roll! And no boys allowed. She celebrated her 18th birthday recently so it was also part of her gift. We didn't go far, just off the freeway east of town. But it's far enough so hubby can't find us, ha. We didn't even tell my Mom, she probably thought it would have been foolish. We never did any fun stuff together when I was younger...NEVER. No shopping, girls day, baking cookies, or just plain hanging out. I guess it was a different time, or maybe it was just our family. I love doing things with my daughter and so far, she feels the same. I feel like a goofy kid when I'm around her. She's the only one I feel I can really be myself with; you know with all the burping and farting. Sorry if I jus...

Grumpy's recent posts about Pitbulls made me realize something. It really isn't about Pitbulls but about dogs in general. I have come to the conclusion that I don't enjoy being a dog owner. Or rather a responsible dog owner. The kind that faithfully walks their dog everyday. I just don't enjoy it anymore. Carrying my pepper spray I feel like I'm on high alert and my heart is in my throat. I walk 4 different paths and each one takes me by homes with dogs in the yard or on their walks too. Some days I can see or hear at least 10. Some fences are partially chewed through which means some day they will get out. Some dogs look as if they will leap that 4 foot chain link fence easily. All dogs bark but some act like Cujo and Nellie and I walk way out in the street. She knows automatically which house to do that with. Once when she was younger she pulled me up to a fence and stuck her nose in it. The other dog grabbed a hold and wouldn't let go. I had to smack it o...