I just had to share my good news....

Oh, I was a happy camper last night. I was just casually walking through the house, ready to head up the stairs...when what to my wondering eyes should appear but... something brown - outside - on the porch.

My heart began to race....

I opened the door...

and there, sitting so grandly on the bench, was a BOX...not just any box, but a box from Sur La Table with my....Now, of course, it wasn't all done up like this one. But it will be...soon...I even got the giant sprinkles too!

Did I say I was excited? I am.
This is what actually came in the box...just incase you were wondering.

Is is jealousy...or was it a case of frustration?

Look at these two adorable kids - oops, I mean, pets. Yep, you may remember Biscuit and Cookie.

This is an outdated photo of Biscuit - before she got her new look with shorter hair. I loved her with long hair...even though I also love her with short hair.

Then, there's lovable Cookie - or at least she used to be...before Biscuit became Queen of the home.

Gabe called today with upsetting news: Biscuit had been rushed to the hospital (vets) because sweet sweet Cookie had swatted her across the face! Now, I wonder what caused this outlash of sweet Cookie? Um? I'm not sure if Emily witnessed 'the incident' or not.

"Hold on Mom, it's Emily...wait, I'll just call you back."

and then the news...

a ruptured cornea....

poor Biscuit...

It sounded horrible...but I believe Biscuit came out OK. A little bit of $125 cream...more TLC from her parents...and she should be A-OK.

I hope Cookie didn't get in too much trouble. Lindsey always told me I ALWAYS believed her older brothers over her screams. I'm sure Biscuit screamed...who did Gabe and Emily believe?

My Buddy, Bob, should have a blog!

After reading the last post on this blog, I received this email from my buddy, Bob, today:

Now that you have the newest and freshest bathroom on CC (the name of our street), I think it's time to do something about your choice of toilet paper. Surely, you could do better than ordinary white. Everyone knows that some of the very best thinking, discoveries, inventions, and problem solving are conceived right there on the thrown. There needs to be something more inspiring than plain, ordinary white.

Pretty ordinary,
wouldn't you say?

If you are looking for some good ideas, check out these attachments.
I know you haven't asked for my advice, but after all, isn't that what friends are for?

Love ya!


Now my buddy, Bob, is a pretty witty guy. If he had a blog, I'd visit it every day. I bet all his family on the east coast and in the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS would enjoy it too. I even bet his first wife would enjoy reading it. (Actually not only is she is FIRST WIFE...but she's his ONLY wife.)

Having a blog would be an outlet for all the photographs he loves to take.

Maybe Champ would become famous. See, I bet a lot of you are already wondering, "Who is Champ?"

Yep, I think my buddy Bob needs a blog.

I'll bet he's running into his bathroom with the fancy toilet paper and thinking about this.

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Please remind me....

FINALLY, this weekend, I finished hanging the wallpaper in the downstairs bathrooom. I had finished our bathroom's wallpaper the weekend before.

I have wallpapered many times before...and I don't ever remember being as frustrated as I was this time. Age? Trying to hang it on the weekend DURING the school year instead of in the summer? I don't know what the deal was...except I'm telling everyone I know to PLEASE remind me if you EVER hear me talk about wallpapering...remind me I said I would NEVER do it again.

My guy told my to NEVER SAY NEVER. I agree, except when it comes to wallpapering.Our bathroom...............

downstairs..........

Downstairs again....

Maybe I'll change my mind in 6 years or so...that's how many years it's been since the last time I papered our bathroom. Who knows.......

Anybody need a birthday cake...or an anniversary cake...or does anyone want me to make them a cake?

I think I'm fixing to become an avid cake baker...


The first time I saw this GIANT CUPCAKE CAKE PAN, I started to drool (just kidding), but I was seriously close to it. I thought to myself, 'This is something I HAVE TO HAVE!'

So a few weeks ago I was in Santa Rosa and went to Sur La Table to purchase the cake pan of my dreams...and what did I get? UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT because they were sold out.
I told one of my dear daughter-in-laws...EMILY...

Fast forward to the next day...and Emily and Gabe gave me a gift card from Sur La Table to get my GIANT CUPCAKE CAKE PAN. Now how sweet is that?

Yesterday I went back to Sur La Table...bad news awaited me. They're not going to sell it in their store...but it is on their website...and I could use my gift card....

which I did last night. So, in 7-10 working days, if you need a cake...just give me a call.

"I'll drink to that," said Marvin

Marvin was over for dinner tonight. Ron barbequed chicken on the grill - and we had salad and corn on the cob.

After dinner, we played a game of cribbage. We haven't been playing much lately because we've gotten in the habit of having Marvin over on Sundays. You might think, 'yeah...well, what's wrong with that?' Ron has to get up SO EARLY on Monday morning that Sunday nights can't go too late - thus - no cribbage games after dinner. But tonight being Saturday - we played cribbage. I was afraid I would have forgotten how to play. I remembered, but as usual, didn't do too hot. I think Marvin feels sorry for me. Ron doesn't.

Marvin is counting his cards. He's THE MASTER at this. He is finished counting before I can usually blink and focus on the cards!
Marvin is always the RED PEGS. Notice he's jumping ahead. He did say we were having a "cozy little game" since we were all pretty close together. The lead kept changing...although I don't think I was EVER in the lead.
This hand of Marvin's had 19 points...if you're a cribbage player, you know this is pretty dadgum good! Marvin doesn't look too excited, but you can blame that on the photographer...I just didn't get the right shot.
Marvin had a hand earlier in the game that had 1 point. Yep, just one...he had the right jack. So when he got his hand of 19 points, he was excited...he said, "I'll drink to that!" and he did!

But Ron won the game.

Good things come to those who wait - SOMETIMES

Well, well, well....I had to pinch myself to believe what I was seeing. Look what came in the mail:You may be having trouble believing it too...but look closely...it is an envelope from SOUTHWEST AIRLINES. You remember, the airline who had their automated phone lines crossed with OUR PHONE NUMBER. For EIGHT - that's 8 .... VIII ... or 2/3 of a year... that we have been getting phone calls wanting to know the status of a flight. I called, they would tell me it was my problem... and then one day...

I "used my head for something besides a hat rack" as my mom says - and I got MAD (that might have been from my mom too... MIGHT HAVE BEEN I said...) and I told the uncaring person at Southwest that I was going to start telling people their plane had crashed.

Wouldn't you know it, things started happening then. I finally got connected to CHRIS. He's head of something there at Southwest...he started researching what was going on (and asked me to please NOT say the plane had crashed.)

Well, they FINALLY solved the problem - THEIR PROBLEM - and in this envelope that came to my house were 4... that's FOUR... IV.... round trip tickets. We have to use them within a year. Not a problem....

So now my guy and I have to look at where all Southwest flies...and take a trip...maybe where there's no phone??? I may have to call Southwest to check on the status of our flight...

Heat rises

Heat rising is a scientific principle...

Ron knows it all too well as we proceed with all this house remodeling.

This weekend our goal was to FINISH the bathroom - at least the one off our bedroom. I had already removed all the wallpaper from ours and the downstairs....which was a P-A-I-N.

I used the Wallpaper Stripper...and the little tool that perforates the old paper so the stripper can penetrate through. It was still a pain to get off. Maybe the fact that it had been on so long had something to do with it. I got it all off, cleaned the walls, and then we decided we should refinish all the oak in our bathroom before I put up the new paper. Of course, we had to paint the ceiling first. Painting and refinishing happened yesterday. A second coat is going on the ceiling as I write. I can hear Ron singing.

"Heat rises"... you may be wondering where in the world this comes into this post. Well, within approximately 2 minutes of Ron painting the skylight yesterday, this scientific principle hit home to my guy...he was sweating. He said it must have been 100 degrees up in that skylight.


Notice the physique in both these photos...
Oops, maybe I shouldn't have added this picture. He doesn't usually paint without his clothes on. As most readers of this blog may remember, Ron has shoes and outfits for all his tasks. He, of course, has his 'painting the bathroom ceiling clothes - and shoes.'

It's not like I'm trying to 'put one over' on anyone. Some of you MAY realize this last photo is actually NOT MY RON...but do you see the resemblance? My friend Rema says Ron is "buff."

Oh yeah...refinishing the oak...here is David - I mean Ron - hard at work again.
You may notice the clothes are different? These are his 'staining the oak' clothes.