Wednesday, December 3, 2008

hiatus

I've decided to take a break from blogging again. I'm just much too busy and feeling that I "have" to do this is way too much self-pressure. So, for now until the end of the year, I won't be posting at all. I hope anyone who might read this has a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Awesome...

I saw this video yesterday on "Like Merchant Ships", which is one of my favorite blogs to read...check it out...the video, and the blog. :)


Wednesday, November 26, 2008

free kitten?

Just a note to anyone living locally...

A kitten was dropped off at our laundromat last night. It's really cute, all black, possibly part siamese and needs a good home. She looks to be about 6 weeks old, and seems to be box trained. She has a real good temperament and rode around on the dashboard of my car all day.

I can't keep her and I've been unable to find her a home yet. If you're interested in adopting her, or know someone who might be, please write me or give me a call. If I could figure out how to put pictures up on here, I would post one.

As a last resort, I may be forced to stand in front of Walmart on Friday in order to give her away. You don't want to see me doing that now, do you?

Thursday, November 20, 2008

$1.94!

Today I paid $1.94 a gallon for gas. Yes!
Am I the only one who seems to think prices at stores for gifts are marked down really low this year? Every time I hit the mall, someone has a great sale going on...
With the cost of everything else going up, it's nice the cost of SOMETHING is going down!

Friday, November 14, 2008

I haven't posted much lately.
Mostly because I'm working a ton and don't have a lot of time.
Partly because I'm more than a bit weirded out about the fact that a representative from Comcast responded to my last post.
And then somewhat because, frankly, I haven't had a lot to say.
So, here is a short-hand version of where I'm at lately:


I'm loving work, but missing being home.
I'm glad my kids are grown, but wish I still had little ones at home.
I'm happy I'm going to be a grandma again, but worried about my daughter's health.
I wish I could travel around the country in a van, stopping anywhere I want to, coming home when I want, leaving when I want.
Our wood floors are refinished. Yea.
Our carpet is still not (completely) in. Boo.
Remodeling is never-ending and sucks the peace out of my life.
I miss my Aunt and my mom and dad.
I miss my son the most.

On another note, because my computer is dead I am using my hubby's Mac and I have NO idea how to post pictures. Hopefully, I will learn because this blog is boring without pictures.

Monday, November 10, 2008

digging a trench?

My cable bill went up. Well, more to the point, my Comcast bill went up, which includes my cable and internet service. Awhile back I had our cable shut off; just completely shut off, for about 6 months. My Comcast bill went from approximately $75 to $45ish, for cable alone. When I signed back up they were running a special and I was able to "bundle" the two services for about $65. When that six month special ran out, the bill went up again, so i called and after some negotiating basically got them to reinstate the special price so that once again I was paying about $65 a month.

Now, again, that special price has expired and my bill is now $100 a month for cable and internet. Too much. I am once again going to call and try to renegotiate my price.

My point? I never knew it was possible to negotiate with companies such as Comcast for the price I paid, until I tried to shut off my service and they came back with all kinds of offers in order to keep me as a customer. It helps to have a bargaining chip...I was more than willing to shut the cable off altogether. Now? Our local Public Utility District has fiber optics available in our neighborhood, all we have to do is dig a trench to the road from our house...which I am happy to do if it means my price will go down.

We'll see how it goes...

Saturday, November 1, 2008

fits me to a T

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

~ Agatha Christie


ht: candy

Friday, October 31, 2008

the tax man cometh...

I found out a couple days ago that our property taxes this year are going to be approximately $15,000. Divided on a monthly basis our property tax payment would nearly mirror our house payment. I am at a loss. How is it I have to pay the government so much money to live in my own house? Our house will be paid off in six years, but the taxes will never be paid off.

I love my house, and even more I love our property. I could rebuild the house on another piece of property, but it wouldn't be the same. It isn't the house I would miss...it's the lakefront lots. But, is it worth it? I'm in an in-between place...hating the price of living here, but not wanting to leave; not wanting to disrupt my life anymore than it's already been disrupted the last few years, and not wanting to add anymore stress to an already over-loaded life.

I told the hubby that maybe it's time to go buy a 40-acre chunk of land, put in a garden, buy a cow and some chickens, and live off the land. He said the taxes would probably be too high.

Friday, October 17, 2008

work, work, work

Looking at the calendar I guess it's been three weeks since I last posted on here. We were gone for almost a week on vacation, most of which was spent sleeping since I was 1.exhausted and 2.sick.

We got home and I spent the next week working every day and then took off again for three days to Portland, OR for the Women of Faith Conference. It was excellent, as usual, but again, I came home exhausted. I'm noticing a recurring pattern here.

The last week has been spent working, working, working. Our hard work has begun to pay off, though. Slowly I've been able to make some improvements at our laundromat, including some new equipment, hiring a new employee, seeing some long-awaited improvements done on our building, and streamlining some procedures in order to make us more efficient and better-managed.

Business has been picking up and income is improving. It's a good thing. At least it was. I won't even get into what happened today. I will say that working with family is sometimes difficult.

Friday, September 26, 2008

One day at a time...

Monday: Up and at 'em early...move essentials out to the trailer, the wood floor guys are here at 8:45 a.m. to start the refinishing process. Oops, fridge is still in the kitchen, didn't I mention that to the hubby on Friday?

Go to the laundromat...nothing to do in the trailer...no internet, no cable, forgot a book, hubby forgot movies...spend all day putzing around the laundromat doing this and that, then work from 6 to closing. Stop for a video on the way home and some chips and salsa...not feeling so good, sore throat and tired.

Tuesday: Ugh, staying in the trailer is not nearly so fun when it's parked in the driveway. Take a shower in a 12"x24" shower, try to keep the plastic shower curtain from molesting me...feel awful. Throat is on fire. Spend all day putzing at the laundromat again, supposed to work 6 to closing, only I leave at 8 and call someone in, cause I'm feeling awful!

Wednesday: Work early, feel like cr*p, drive the grandson to the soccer field to meet his coach and get a new uniform; evidently baby sister threw his away, drive an hour to his soccer game, only to have just 4 kids show up from their team so they have to forfeit. What's that all about? Kids don't play soccer if it's 50 degrees outside and pouring down rain? They play anyway with a borrowed player and get creamed 20-3. (Guess who scored the 3? uh-huh, you got it, my favorite little boy!) Feel like I'm a walking zombie...throat is beyond painful...can't breathe...no energy. One more night in this trailer and I'm going to lose it.

Thursday: Go to doctor, diagnosed with pnuemonia, second time this year...what's up with that? No, I don't smoke. Spend $30 on antibiotics, along with $90 on my regular prescriptions...so much for this week's paycheck. Supposed to be leaving on vacation on Monday...can't work, better get better or I can't fly, much less go in a smoke-filled casino...ha! I'll drive if I have to...I'm going! Get a pedicure...makes me feel better, sorta, go home to the house...we can go in! Ack! Almost have a stroke from the fumes...back to the trailer...floors look great though!)

Friday: Meds are starting to kick in. I slept last night, finally, sorta. Take a bath in my bathtub..ah! Go to the laundromat, get online, balance the checkbook...ack, too much eating out this week. Go to Oly, get a new pair of shoes for my trip. I'm done in...back to the house, go online, post on my blog for the first time in a week...heading to bed. I feel human again, but barely.

That was my week...like they say, tomorrow's another day! Hopefully by Monday I will be well enough to fly.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Conversation overheard

Yesterday, while I was at work, I was sitting on the floor between two rows of washing machines, scrubbing and polishing them, when I overheard this conversation between two of our customers, who were in the row behind me.

Hey! How are you? Where are you living these days? Oh, I'm waiting for a place up to open up, up the canal. It's really nice...it's a park-style trailer and it's in my price range... if I heat it with propane, I have to pay for it, but if I use an electric heater, the electricity comes with the trailer for free! Until then, I'm tenting it... Oh really? That sounds great, I hope you get it...where are you at in the meantime? Behind WalMart. That's where tent city is now. They moved us out of the other place, across the highway.

It put a whole new perspective on some things for me.

I am so spoiled and so fortunate.


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sco-o-o-o-o-re!

We took the boy to his "away" soccer game last night. When did eight-year-old boys start having "away" games in the middle of the week? 6:00 pm at a field an hour away? Makes it a little hard on the working parents, don't you think? Which would be...well....every one of them!

Oh well...we made it in 49 minutes...sure glad the hubby noticed the brake lights on the vehicles in front of us coming around that corner just outside of Montesano...we were barely speeding as we passed that stater!

They won...20-0. They played the second half with one less player than the other team so as to give them a better advantage; it still didn't work. They are 4-0. They've won their games 7-4, 12-2, 9-1 and 20-0. Geez, it's nice to be on the winning side of something for once, even if it is only kids' soccer.

On the down side, i met my hubby at his office and left my car parked there. All night. We completely forgot to stop on the way home and get it. My old car is still in the driveway, but the keys are...you guessed it...in my other car. The one at my hubby's office.

So here I sit. Waiting for him to come and pick me up. Just how long does it take to drive 5 miles? Twenty minutes, so far.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Migraines

Migraines...they're so much fun! This one started out like all the others...a dull, achy headache that just doesn't want to go away, soreness and tightness in my neck, then overwhelming exhaustion...pain behind my eye, sensitivity to light and noise, and then a massive headache. And there you have it...a full-blown migraine...

I took a pill, took a bath, and now the headache is gone...but I feel like I've run a marathon and then got ran over by a train.

Fun, fun, and more fun. I guess the upside is that I only get them about once every two or three months now. Not like the every other week fun I used to have! Ah, the beauty of growing old...

Thursday, September 11, 2008

clean, clean, clean!

My keyboard and desk are now the cleanest they have been in SUCH a long time. A cleaning frenzy you ask? Ah contraire!!...an entire glass of juice, spilled all over my desk and keyboard!...mopped up just in time to prevent any permanent damage. Never try to eat oatmeal, drink juice and surf the internet at the same time!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

McKenzie

My 6th grandchild started kindergarten today. Well, actually she started last week, but that was just introduction to Kindergarten. Today she started her full day, every day schedule. Hard to believe this beautiful little girl is in school now. Although, some days, with her attitude and vocabulary, I think she should be in middle school, not kindergarten. She taught herself how to read about a year ago and knows how to add and do simple math. When the teacher tested her, she completed the test for exiting K and read the entire book, something else no one in the class was able to do. The K teacher has recommended she go straight to first grade, but the principal has vetoed the idea. "Not school policy" you know. My daughter can't figure out where she got her smarts from...as far as she is concerned she'd have quit school long before she graduated...if Mom would have let her! ha!

In the past I was always one who followed all the guidelines and obeyed all the rules. Now I just think that there are way too many stupid rules which don't allow for individuality and and dumb us all down to the lowest common denominator. Why hold this child back and wait for the others to catch up, when she could be soaring ahead and excelling?

I'm thinking Grandma's going to have to take her on some field trips and do some home-schooling on the side to keep things interesting. I love that girl so much.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

My wish.

Is it possible to cure a broken heart by working so hard and staying so busy you forget about it? That's my plan anyway. If that doesn't work, maybe i'll just run away for awhile. 14 months, 3 weeks, to be exact.

Monday, September 8, 2008

family reunion

I made Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings for the family reunion today, and corn-on-the-cob. Yummy! All the food was oh-so-good! But the company was even better!

Notice there aren't any pictures?

How could I possibly have forgotten to charge the batteries to my camera? Ack!!

Mom and Dad
3 kids and spouses
5 grandchildren
14 great grandchildren

Ack!!!

I'm SO hoping my sister-in-law will copy her pictures to a disk. I still can't believe the batteries in my camera were dead.

Oh well. It was a fun day, although somewhat bittersweet.

Oh, and my brother and nephew left halfway through the day to go and fight a wildfire at Lake Cushman. When we left at 8:30 they still hadn't come home. All in a day's work for a fire chief and volunteer, I guess!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Ouch!

Ouch. I'd forgotten how much it hurts to get stung by a bee!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

missing you

We went to an anniversary party tonight for our friends, Ben and Dottie. Dottie used to live with my husband and I and they are celebrating their 11th anniversary. They were married in our back yard. Can I just say how totally happy and joyous it was to celebrate their anniversary with them? It's been a difficult year in more ways than one, and how fun was this night?! Tomorrow my family is having a family reunion. My nephew and his wife and their five children are all here visiting from Minnesota; my parents are here from Oregon. Everyone will be there except my son. I'm not sure how I feel...happy for the day, yet sad that one of the most important people in my life won't be there. :(

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Yuck.

I'm cleaning a rental house for my hubby. It's disgustingly dirty, but maybe most disturbing is the fact that I found a little kid's tooth in a kitchen drawer today. There's just something really icky about that.



Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Gratefulness

Several weeks ago I was in Olympia and decided to hit some of those fantastic school supply sales at the office supply stores. I went to three different stores and Target, and managed to get a ton of school supplies for a whopping 8 bucks.

Included in my purchases were 3 pairs of childrens scissors, 4 bottles of glue, 4 packs of crayons, colored pencils, #2 pencils, notebook paper, rulers, glue sticks, erasers, and a bunch of other stuff! It would have cost $50 or more for everything I bought, had I paid full price.

I have six grandchildren attending school this year. I told my daughter to pick out what her two school-age children needed, and to give the rest of the supplies to her step-daughters. I knew there wouldn't be everything that they needed in the bag, but I figured it would cover a good portion of their lists.

She added some markers to the bag and dropped it off for the girls at their house. Later, during a phone conversation with one of her step-daughters, a voice was heard in the background complaining about the fact that the girls received no new school clothes this year from their dad and my daughter, and that we shouldn't even have bothered giving them the supplies since they didn't get everything they needed and there was so "little" there.

I wish now that I had kept them and donated them to someone who would really appreciate them. I tell myself the supplies were for the kids, not their mom, and I'm sure they appreciate them, even if their mom doesn't. But still, I wonder if these kids would think the same thing:









Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Well, that just pi**es me off!

We went out on Friday. For the first time in a LONG time. We went out with another couple that are friends of ours to have dinner and listen to some music at the local casino. The band that was playing are a husband/wife duo plus one other guy, who have been friends of ours for nearly 30 years. Along with us came another friend, a great guy whose wife is/was one of my very best friends. Unfortunately, she has decided the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and recently left her husband to start a new life. Also, most unfortunately, she was also at the casino, with her new life by her side.

She knew we were going to be there. She knows our feelings about the situation. She knew her husband was going to be there. She was asked to please leave him at home.

What was it Jennifer Anniston said about Brad Pitt lacking a sensitivity chip?

Sunday, August 31, 2008

more olympics i missed...

Track and field is by far the favorite sport of my family. The 100-meter dash was held while the hubby and I were camping...once again, we missed out on this:



thanks to the Country Doctors Wife for that one!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Olympics

I've just loved watching the Olympics this year. Somehow, though, I missed this gymnastics routine.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

50

I am 50. My birthday sucked. I am no longer having birthdays. Don't even ask. I'd just as soon pretend the day never happened.

I did, however, get this gift from my hubby. Which totally didn't suck at all. In fact, it was downright awesome, especially since he totally swore there were no purses on the face of the earth that were worth the amount of money he paid for that bad boy. I'm in love. With my hubby (and my new purse!)

I have also found a card game in which I am somewhat proficient and can actually beat the hubster at. Spades. Yep, my future-daughter-in-law and I dominated my hubby and son on Sunday. I will never play pinochle again.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I love a good deal!

I know, I didn't stay away long...I just had to write about the awesome deals I got today!

First, I found a $10 off a $10 or more purchase at JCPenneys coupon in the paper last week. I stopped by today, while in Olympia, and found a pair of sweats that I really needed on sale for $12.00. With tax, they cost me $3.01.

Then I also had another coupon for $10 off a $10 or more purchase at Eddie Bauer. I also ran in there and found a nice summer t-shirt on clearance for $9.99. With tax it cost me $.85.

I had one other coupon for $10 at Victoria's Secret, and a $5 Kohl's coupon, but unfortunately, I ran out of time. I'll be going back to Olympia in a couple days, though, so I'll use them them. I'm planning on going back to Penney's, too, in order to look around some more. I saw some amazing sales going on, but just didn't have time to look.

Monday, August 4, 2008

aufedersein!

After a great deal of thought, I have decided to take a hiatus from blogging. Sitting in front of the computer is eating up too much of my valuable summer time and I intend to spend the next couple of months enjoying the great outdoors. I may be back in a month or two, and then again, I may not!

aufedersein!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

little brown dress

A while back I came across an article on the internet entitled Brown Dress Project. (The picture on the left is from her website.) It's the story/journal of a woman from Seattle, who designed, sewed and wore the same dress every single day for a solid year. She paired the dress up with different tights and sweaters, etc., and over the course of the year only one person noticed she was wearing the same thing over and over. Her purpose? To challenge her thinking about over-consumption. It was a fascinating read and I have to admit, something that might be interesting to try someday.

Two summers ago I found myself with half a dozen weddings to attend in the time span of about three months. I had nothing in my closet to wear (that fit!), so I hit the mall and came out with my "wedding outfit": a brown linen, button-up-the-front skirt and white, stretchy, sleeveless top that criss-crossed in the front, both from Eddie Bauer.

I wore that outfit every weekend or two, throughout the summer, to one wedding after another. For an afternoon, outdoor wedding, in the blazing mid-summer sun, I paired it with a pair of brown flip flops and a gold ankle bracelet. For another evening wedding, it went nicely with a white lace shawl and brown dressy sandals. For yet another church wedding, it was a nice pair of gold earrings, a gold bracelet and a lightweight sweater. If anyone ever noticed I was repeating the same outfit to wedding after wedding, they never said a word.

It was a relief to always know what I was going to wear, and not to have to search in my closet for something every time a wedding came up. Simplicity at it's finest!


Saturday, August 2, 2008

truckers

I heard last night that Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake are having a disagreement over who first came up with the idea of wearing "trucker hats" as a fashion statement.

Um, I hate to break it to you boys...but wouldn't that be, um, actual truck drivers?

Friday, August 1, 2008

Lists

Today's list was short:
  • Pay the dentist bill
  • Finish cleaning the master bath
  • Catch up the laundry (still not sure how I got so far behind!)
All done but the laundry...almost there! I'm learning to follow Larry Winget's method for getting things done: prioritize! Instead of having a "to-do" list...have a WHAT MUST GET DONE! list and go from there. There are lots of other things I need to do, but they can wait. At least the top 3 are done!

Friday, July 25, 2008

ahhh!

Heading out to clean the trailer before I leave for work. We, hopefully, will be leaving next week to head to Eastern Washington. On the other hand, work and life might just delay that trip. If so, I'll head the opposite direction, to the coast, for a day or two of r & r, all by my lonesome!

If I go by myself, I'll be bringing my sewing machine and a few projects I've been wanting to work on, along with my journal and paints.

Either way, it's gonna be a fun, relaxing week!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Scooba

Oh. my. goodness. Will you check this out....



a robot that mops your floors? too good to be true! I did read some reviews that said some people are having problems with theirs. Maybe I'll wait a year until they work the bugs out of it and ask for one for Christmas, or my birthday.

Which means I still want that Dooney and Burke purse for my birthday this year, hon!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Tomatoes

I planted my tomatoes yesterday. Only about 6 weeks behind schedule. They looked so great in their little 6" pots; so big and sprawling all over the ground with tomatoes growing on them. Then I planted them in the ground and now they look so puny and spindly. Kinda like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.


Not at all like this tomato plant:

Or even this one:
I kinda suck at this gardening thing and all I'm growing this year is two tomato plants and some rhubarb. At least my rhubarb is looking good. Oh well, there's always next year.

(p.s. One of these days I will figure out how to download pictures onto my computer from my camera again.)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

meltdown

So you know those days when you have a melt down?
anyone?
yea, that was me last Saturday.


It started innocently enough. I'd been a little crabby. Everything was annoying me. We tried to take the SeaDoo to Olympia to get it fixed because it's not running. Hasn't been running for two years...that's last summer and this summer. A person would think that it would be better to take the darn thing to get it repaired when you DON'T want to use it, like January? but no, we *ahem* wait until July; when there's a three week waiting list and they don't make appointments. Anyways...we take it to Olympia to the repair shop and we get there at 12:30, but they're closed. On a Saturday!?! Yep, closed at noon. Kinda explains the three week wait, huh? So we waste more gas and drive to a repair shop in Tacoma. Where they inform us that the SeaDoo is too old and they won't work on it. Too old???? We have to stop on the way home and put more gas in the car because the $15 we put in before we left wasn't enough to get us to Tacoma and back. Four hours later and we're finally home.

By this time, I'm more than annoyed and frustrated. Sunshine and nice weather are a rare commodity in these parts, and I've just wasted the better part of a Saturday sitting in the car accomplishing nothing. I go outside to work in the yard and promptly trip over a drip line from the sprinklers stretched across a couple feet of the driveway to a dead oak tree in a half whiskey barrel that's been needing to be dug up and burned for about 3 years now.

That's when I lost it.


and it wasn't pretty.

the neighbors must have thought I'd lost my mind. a side of me that seldom rears it's ugly head came out and words spewed forth from my mouth that are usually only heard in these parts of the country coming out of the mouth of a logger or a high schooler, take your pick.

after which I collapsed in a puddle on the living room floor and cried my eyes out for a good half an hour.

i feel better now.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

A question...

for all you electronics buffs out there. Is it really, absolutely, critically necessary to keep every box that electronics components come in, as some unnamed person in our household insists it is, JUST IN CASE said component should happen to break and need to be returned to the store or manufacturer?

Friday, July 18, 2008

bonus room

Today was my day to clean the bonus/media room. It's basically a small home theater. I very seldom go in there because, frankly, the controls to watch a movie are much too complicated. I end up getting frustrated and annoyed and give up. As a result, the room is mostly ignored by me, and seldom cleaned. But, today was the day.

I turned the lights up and was confronted by a host of dirty dishes, blankets, pillows and STUFF. The dirty dishes went into the dishwasher, the blankets were folded and put away, the pillows placed in just the right position on the correct couch. Now for the hard part...the STUFF.

There is a freestanding wall sitting about 3' from the outside wall of the house, which has a cabinet base built onto it, and above it, mounted onto the wall, the ginormous theater screen. On top of that cabinet rest 12, count 'em, 12! remote controls, a stack of dvds 6" high, a Wii game console, with about a dozen games, a laptop computer and mouse, and a 2-year-old paper listing of all of our movies, which is completely and totally outdated.

Behind the wall are the following items:
black suitcase
extra desk chair
4 Wii Dance Revolution floor mats

my cedar chest, (which has been handed down thru 3 or 4 generations and is technically my daughter's, or granddaughter's, but which I am afraid to give to her because I don't want it to get ruined.)
two cardboard boxes full of pictures and slides, etc.
a speaker


I don't know what to do with the DVD's and I don't know which remote controls are good and which are garbage, if any.
I put the suitcase in a storage closet, folded up the floor mats and put them on top of the desk chair, back behind the wall.
The cedar chest is there to stay for awhile, but I think I'll scrounge up a better blanket than the pink plaid horse blanket from Honduras that is presently covering it.
The boxes of pictures are sitting in the middle of the room waiting for the hubby to sort through them and put them in labeled plastic storage boxes, somewhere other than on top of my cedar chest.

I can't dust and I can't vacuum until this stuff is done. On the other hand, I sorted through the games and other junk that are in the cabinet and was able to weed out a few things to get rid of. Yea!

Guess what the hubby gets to work on tonight?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Good to know...

How Long Could You Survive Trapped In Your Own Home?
OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Good to know.

ht: http://becomingminimalist.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Soccer

This evening I went to the soccer field to watch my grandkids' soccer games. On my way into the fields I carried with me: a sweatshirt, blanket, lawn chair, can of soda, car keys, cell phone. Is it really necessary to carry 6 things to watch a soccer game? I took the soda so as not to have to purchase anything from the snack stand. Obviously I needed my car keys, but the cell phone? Well, in case my mother-in-law called and wanted to know which field we were on. The chair, sweat shirt and blanket? I have to have a chair, there are no bleachers. The sweatshirt is necessary as the field gets cold when the sun starts to go down, and the blanket? For my daughter, mostly, who ALWAYS forgets to bring a sweatshirt. I'm such an enabler.

Still, is it really necessary to carry all those things? I need to rethink this before the next game. Trying to make life more simple can be so complicated.

By the way, both kids won their games! yahoo!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

perfect

Ahhhh!

a beautiful summer day + a ride on the motorcycle along Hood Canal = a perfect Sunday afternoon

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

exhausted

I am exhausted.
I have sleep problems. Some nights I toss and turn and can't fall asleep; my mind swirling with events of my day and life. Some nights I drop right off to sleep and wake up at 2 or 3 a.m. and can't fall back to sleep.
Now it's nightmares. Every night for the last week. I sleep, alright. and dream. bad dreams. and when I wake up my jaw is so tight and my teeth hurt so much from grinding them. This morning I chipped a tooth when I woke up because my teeth were clenched so hard together.


Edited to add: I am currently eating a big bowl of ice cream with strawberries on top. Emotional eating can make up for so many things! Don't ever let anyone tell you it's a bad thing!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

a/c ?

You know that feeling when it's so hot that sweat starts to bead up on your top lip? and behind your knees? Yea, that's where I'm at. The thermostat says it's 79 degrees in the house. I refuse to turn on the a/c unless it reaches 80. I think it's time for a swim.

Eating local

I've been trying to purchase and eat more local foods lately. Well, depending on what you mean by "local", I guess. My definition is anywhere I can drive within a day.

So my bi-weekly trip to Costco on Sunday? Well...

Cherries, grown in Washington
Eggs...Washington
Cheese...Tillamook, Oregon...wait, I put back that cheese. where is the cheese I bought from? Buffalo, NY!! What was I thinking?
Bananas...well, i know they're not from Washington, but the hubby's not going to give up his bananas, no matter where they're from.
Canned mandarin oranges...uh oh. I think I forgot the whole local thing...China! China! Who knew they grew and canned oranges in China!
Parmesan cheese...Illinois.

I'm not very good at this, I guess. I did buy strawberries from Spooners today, though!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Happy Birthday!


Today is my grandson's eighth birthday! Happy birthday Josiah! Hard to believe he's eight already...in only 8 MORE years, he'll be driving! Oh my!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Olympic trials


Check it out, this picture was taken at the U. S. Olympic Trials for track and field, held this past week in Eugene, Oregon.

See that guy in the front? That's Alan Webb. He's the American Record holder in the mile. He's also a world champion athlete, and one of the best middle distance runners in the world.

See the guy in second? That's Bernard Lagat; one of the best 1500m runners in the entire world. He holds both silver and bronze Olympic medals and is a world champion athlete.

Now see that guy in the red shorts and white shirt with the shaved head behind them? In about fifth place? That kid is named Andrew McClary. He is a junior at the University of Arkansas. His mom is one of my best friends and my dear, sweet hubby was his high school track coach, just a few, short years ago.

Andrew finished eighth today, in the finals, running with some of the absolute premiere runners in the entire world. Unbelievable.

Watch for both Andrew and his twin brother, Alex, in the 2012 Olympics!

Friday, July 4, 2008

vacation


As I posted previously, we are back from our trip. We were gone for a total of eight days, traveling with our grandson, from Washington, down the Oregon coast to northern California, back over to I-5 and back home again.

When we were in the Redwood National Forest we went to see the Trees of Mystery. That's $12.50 I could have lived without spending! I don't know what possessed me to think that going up in one of those little tiny gondolas suspended about a million miles above the earth would be fun! I'm terrified of heights and every time I was able to pry one of my eyes open and unbury my face from my husband's shoulder, all I could see was thin air beneath me. By the time we reached the top I was in tears, despite my best efforts. I hate being afraid of heights. I guess it's one of the reasons I went on the ride; I am forcing myself out of my comfort zone and making myself do things that I don't want to do, even if it scares me.

After leaving the Redwoods, we headed back up north and then east to Grants Pass. We then went down I-5 to Phoenix, Oregon and visited with my parents for a couple days before going back up to Grants Pass and what was, without a doubt, the funnest thing we did on our trip. We caught the 4:15 jet boat down the Rogue River. If you've never done this before and you ever get the opportunity, go for it! It was SO MUCH FUN! I'd been about 15 years ago and kept telling my hubby that he just had to go. I think he was looking forward to it, but I would say it probably surpassed his expectations. It was just an absolute blast! I'm hoping we can go back later this summer or fall and do their white water trip. It was sold out for weeks when we checked.

I've got the trailer about halfway cleaned out. We have a couple changes to make in it and I have to put a few extras in for our next trip, but I think we'll be heading over to the Omak area in eastern Washington soon.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Walking, stumbling

We're home. Just in time for our grandson's soccer game last night, which they won 7-0. He scored 5 of the goals. Such a stud. It was so fun watching him running and playing with pure joy and abandonment.

Found this song today, thanks to Molly. I am in love with it.



"Shadowfeet"

Walking,stumbling on these shadowfeet
toward home,a land that i've never seen
I am changing: less and less asleep
made of different stuff than when i began
and i have sensed it all along
fast approaching is the day

[CHORUS]
when the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
when the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Theres distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
but I've heard rumours of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

[CHORUS]

You make all things new

[CHORUS]

[CHORUS 2]
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Saturday, June 28, 2008

money

Just if case anybody is wondering...the new truck is getting about 14 mpg, even towing a trailer behind it. Not awesome mileage, of course, but not bad considering we're towing a travel trailer. We've prepared all our own meals, on about $40 worth of groceries, plus what I had at home, and most of our camp sites have been around $20-$25. If gas wasn't so expensive, this would have been a darn cheap vacation!

Sweet sleep!

Slept for 10 1/2 hours last night. Sweet!

Today we are headed south for the Redwoods, where we will stay for the night, then turn north again and travel to Grants Pass and Phoenix, OR where we will be visiting the parents and going on a Jet Boat ride on the Rogue River. So, we'll see you tomorrow night or Monday, Mom and Dad!

Friday, June 27, 2008

the trip

The housesitter is at the house, and all is well.

Today we went to the Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon. Frankly, I got a bigger kick out of watching the sea lions out on the rocks from the pull-out we stopped at yesterday, than from the $26 we paid going down the 200' elevator into the cave, with about a 20' span of fenceline, overlooking the actual cave. We were told there were about 200 sea lions in the cave this morning, but actually it was more like 30. It was fine, fun for the grandson, but much more commercialized than I remembered it being.

After that we went to The Dunes. I stayed in the trailer and wrote and read, while the hubby and grandson rented a dune buggy and went for a ride. They had a great time and some day we hope to come back again and stay for a few days.

Tonight we are staying in Cape Blanco and who knows where we will be tomorrow.

My only disappointment so far is that I really want to just stay at a campground on the beach and we haven't been able to find one. I was able to go online tonight (obviously) and found what is supposed to be a great campground...back up by Florence. Oh well, live and learn. I guess I should have researched things more before we left, but frankly, we weren't sure where we were going to go.

Our daughter has given us strict instructions to have the boy back by the 4th of July, so they can celebrate his birthday. Although the hubby is objecting to this time table, I am insistent that we abide by it. That'll give us a day to clean up the trailer, get the mail, pay the bills, and then head out again. I'm still struggling with not feeling well, but the hubby and I both came to the same conclusion that the problem right now is with the new trailer. We've been leaving the windows and doors open as much as possible, in order to air out the trailer of all of the "newness"...i.e. toxic fumes from construction. It's giving me a headache and sore throat every night and last night I was awake from 3:30 until 7:00 a.m. Hopefully my exhaustion, combined with some Benadryl, will help me sleep tonight.

I have no idea what we are doing tomorrow or where we are headed. The hubby wants to continue south to the redwoods, but I am ready to go east and visit my parents. He thinks we can do both, but I'm not sure we have the time. I guess we will have to map it out tomorrow and do some planning, for once on this trip!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

My aching body

Woke up Wednesday morning at 5:00 with a migraine headache. Took some meds and went back to sleep. Woke up again at 9:00, headache gone, packed and hit the road.

Traveled to Seaside, Oregon where we found a nice park to camp in. Came down with a sore throat during the day, woke up today with a sore throat and headache.

Can a girl get a break?

At least I know it's not strep throat since I'm still on antibiotics for my tooth.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

my tooth

Well, $1400, an hour and fifteen minutes, and one root canal later, and my tooth is fixed. It better work this time. I've spent way too much money and time on this one tooth.

Spooners!

Oh my word...Spooner Farm's strawberry stand is open! Yes, summer is officially here!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Grrr

So our trip is once again delayed. :(
The tooth is a slight bit better, but I'm not completely pain free, so the hubby and I decided we'd better not leave until I can see the endodontist. I was able to get an appointment tomorrow at 11:30. We'll see how it goes after that.
I am extremely disappointed and generally just bummed out. We were supposed to leave on this trip a week ago and because of my health issues, our departure date keeps getting bumped further and further out. I thought I had all of my teeth and dental problems fixed a couple of months ago, after spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on dental work, and now I'm right back in the middle of it and it's going to probably cost over a thousand dollars this time. This sucks.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Score!

What a find!

I had the hubby drive me to Olympia yesterday because I wasn't feeling well, but I had to go and get some things done.

First item...soccer shoes for my granddaughter. I promised her I would buy her new ones as her old ones are two sizes too small. I intended to stop at Famous Footwear because the word on the streets was they had pink shoes. Hubby took a different route and went to the Goodwill first, though, in search of some items needed for the trailer. There, lo and behold, I found black soccer shoes with pink stripes...in her size...perfect! I called Famous Footwear...nope, no soccer shoes with pink on them! Six bucks..what a bargain! Now, for an older child or adult, I probably wouldn't buy used shoes, as they tend to conform to the shape of the foot, but for a 5 year old? Perfect!

Next up...drapes for the guest room. What did I find? The perfect drapes...gold linen, lined, tab tops, perfect size...six dollars a panel...$12.00 total for drapes I probably would have paid almost $100 for in the store. What a deal!

We were able to skip Famous Footwear and head to Costco next. We got the things we wanted, all except a table for camping, but we did find four aluminum camping chairs...lightweight, comfortable and pretty much perfect.

Next to Fred Meyer, where we found a small, portable, propane bbq on sale for $20.

Guess it must have been our lucky day! :)

oh my aching tooth.

First it was the flu. Took me out of action for two days. Now I have a raging toothache. I managed to get into the dentist Friday afternoon. He took an x-ray and concluded that he had no idea what was wrong. Doesn't look abscessed. Can't see any cracks. (I've already had a root canal on the tooth and it has a crown.) Maybe there are four roots? Go see a specialist. In the meantime, take some pills. Oy vey, why do these things happen on a Friday? When we're trying to leave on vacation on Monday? How much money can one tooth cost? Will we ever hit the road for our next adventure? The tooth hurts. My whole head hurts. The pills are making me sick. Oy vey.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Metro

maybe i really should get one of these.

and the winner is...

I made a decision about the car. The Suzuki it is. I think. I just filled up the tank and will drive it until it's empty to check the gas mileage and get a more accurate reading, but the list of pros and cons reads like this:

Suzuki:
Pros:
running good
less miles
better gas mileage
easy to zip in and out, easy to park

Cons:
kinda rough and uncomfortable to ride in
needs a new belt
needs a front end alignment
sucky cup holders (this is important, people!)
filthy, stinky dirty, desperately in need of detailing

Blazer:
Pros:
more comfortable
generally just nicer

Cons:
generally just a poc: broken suspension, brake lights on 24/7, door panel broken
not as economical
every freaking cop in town follows me thinking it's my son driving the car

In the end, it was just the gas mileage that was the deciding factor. That and I can parallel park it in front of the church without being completely and totally embarrassed by my lack of mad parking skills!

Friday, June 20, 2008

The Return of Hope

I was beginning to lose hope. I thought for awhile, that I was losing faith, and I wondered to myself "how can that be?" I have always had faith. When we did a bible study class in church a few years ago, faith was one of my spiritual gifts. Then I realized that it wasn't my faith that I was losing, it was hope. I'd sit and think this situation we're walking through was never going to get any better. But suddenly my hope is back. I'm not sure why. But I'm glad. I felt like God was so far away. Like he was hiding Himself from me. Then I realized He was there all along. I just wasn't looking for Him. Maybe someone is praying for us. Probably.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Joan, Joan, Joan!

Okay, so I was watching one of those entertainment news shows this morning...the one with A. J. Hammer, or whatever the dude's name is...

and I see this little blurb about Joan Rivers, who, generally I don't really think is all that funny, and how she was kicked off a TV talk show in England, I think it was, yesterday, because she dropped the F bomb, and it was live TV and all...

Well, she apologized afterwards...and, excuse me for saying it, but I think this is hysterical! She apologized by telling them that she was so effing sorry for swearing on their show...

I haven't stopped laughing all day...I know...I'm sick..and I'm tired, but this just struck me as outrageous and so funny...

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Focus!

I have accomplished an amazing amount of work so far today. I couldn't get to sleep last night and was up until after 2:00 a.m. Because of that, I didn't get out of bed until almost 10:00! Add to that the time necessary for bathing, dressing, eating, etc., and I didn't really get started on my day until about 11:30...yet already I've accomplished more than in the last two days put together!

So far I've balanced my checkbook, paid bills and done my filing. I went to our laundromat and picked up the blankets I had dropped off there yesterday, and also dropped off my garbage into the dumpster. After that, I went to the dry cleaners and dropped off my son's wool, winter coat to have it cleaned. I've done 2 loads of laundry, with a third load started, done the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, planned dinner and made up a list for the grocery store. I've also got my desk cleaned off and, of course, done my usual morning pickup on the rest of the house.

Yet to be done? Go to the store, finish cleaning the guest room and bath, and adjoining hallway, look online for drapes for the guest room, and finish boxing up my son's clothes and putting them into storage. Whew! Amazing what you can accomplish when you're focused!

Omak

So it turns out we own 200 acres over in eastern Washington that I didn't know about. Actually, that's only half true. I knew we owned property in eastern Washington, but I didn't know it was 200 acres. I thought it was like 5 or 20, or something like that. I've been dying to go and see it, although I think my hubby thinks I'm a little loony. He went online today and found it via the whole earth satellite website thingy...it's almost to Canada and there are no towns anywhere near. How perfect can you get?! He says he and his dad are going over there hunting this fall...not in my new trailer they aren't!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

flu

On a brighter note...today I am nearly recovered from a bout of the stomach flu, accompanied last night by a migraine headache. Isn't life grand? This illness has delayed our next vacation trip by several days. I have yet to pack the trailer or get my house cleaned and laundry done. I haven't collected my mail from the post office, refilled my prescriptions, balanced my checkbook, or paid my bills. I have watched hour upon hour of inane daytime television; do you have any idea how many dance shows are on television these days?

I treated myself to a bowl of chicken noodle soup at Denny's today, in a desperate need to get out of the house and try to get back on my feet. It actually helped quite a bit and my stomach is nearly back to normal. I'm exhausted and feel like I've been run over by a truck, but there is one good thing about having the flu; losing three pounds in one day!

In addition, the book I requested months ago from the library, came in today! The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing...it's a book I've been wanting to read for SO long; perfect for camping!

this valley

Sometimes I feel like Job. Over and over again, for years, we have fought to hold our family together, despite the attacks from the evil one. To write out what we have been through the last ten years, would leave most in disbelief. It wouldn't even make a good soap opera...too dramatic, not very believable! lol

I tell myself over and over that other families have been through worse, yet it doesn't ease my sadness and depression.

Today I read this...the "Daily Snippet" I subscribe to on my blog:

He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing.
(Job 8:21)

Will that day ever come? Will I ever rejoice again? I cling to the promises of my Heavenly Father and trust that He is ever faithful. Without Him I will not make it through this valley I am walking through.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Home again...for now.

After being gone for four days, I am NOT happy about being home and cannot wait to leave again. That speaks volumes to me.

Spending the last four days together was the best thing my hubby and I could ever have done. He is my best friend and no one knows me better than him.

Is this not the cutest group of grandkids you have ever seen? *sigh* I love being a grandma.

gone

Current location: somewhere in Washington, off the I-5 corridor

We took off for a few days vacation; just threw some clothes in a bag, loaded 'em in the truck, and off we went for some much-needed r & r.

We purchased a trailer along the way and pick it up tomorrow. Can't wait to go camping with our friends.

For the first time in a long time, I'm really, really glad we're self-employed.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ridiculous

I read something interesting the other day. Our county prosecutor makes $140,000 a year. $140,000!!! That's $11,666.67 a month. He makes as much as our Superior Court judges do. Ridiculous, especially considering his lack of competency.


Monday, June 9, 2008

finally!

We trekked to Oly once again on Saturday, starting our search for a new truck all over again. The hubby wanted to go to the Toyota dealership and ask them to search for a Toyota Tacoma like he wanted. We drove through the auto mall past the GMC dealership and out of the corner of my eye I spotted it. Well, not just "it", a whole row of them...Toyota trucks...all lined up, in the GMC lot.

Look! I said. There's a red one, like you wanted...what are they doing over here? We drove into the lot and took a closer look, a REAL close look...there it was, the EXACT truck he wanted. I mean, the EXACT truck. It wasn't sold, after all. It had been moved over to the GMC lot, along with a dozen other Toyota trucks!

We went around to the Toyota lot, several blocks away and inquired about it. "Oh yea", the salesman said. "That's our overflow lot. I forgot about that. That's where we put cars and trucks that we don't have room for over here."

Unbelievable. This guy almost lost a sale because he couldn't be bothered to check their inventory list and see if the truck had actually been sold!

Well, long story short...we bought it. My hubby and I are now the proud new owners of 2008 Toyota Tacoma crewcab 4WD pickup truck. Bright red, to boot.

This is the first new car or truck the hubby and I have ever bought in the 30+ years we've been married. We have always bought used. BUT, the new truck actually cost LESS than the used trucks we were looking at. We got $4000 off the cost by using our Costco membership, plus another $1000 off from a Toyota rebate they are now offering. It's such a relief to have a nice, reliable vehicle. Both of our cars are falling apart. In fact, in one week last month, the transmission went out on the hubby's car, then the clutch went out on the work truck he started driving when his car broke down, then the fuel tank fell apart in the '63 Corvette we own that he started driving when the truck broke down. The only vehicles we had left to drive were my blazer, which has no heat, a broken suspension, and a broken door panel (and I was driving it), or his motorcycle, and considering our lovely (not) Washington weather, it wasn't really an option. He finally had to borrow a friend's truck for a week!

Now the next question is do I keep driving my Chevy blazer with 168,000 miles on it, or drive his old Suzuki Grand Vitara with 140,000 miles on it? The blazer is definitely the nicer, more comfortable of the two, BUT the Suzuki has an extra year of driving on it, gets better mileage and has 4WD. Not to mention all the repairs that need to be made to the blazer. I'm thinking the better gas mileage will be the deciding factor.

Friday, June 6, 2008

It happened again

It happened again. The hubby finally decided on his new truck and picked it out. A red 2008 Toyota Tacoma crew cab pickup. It had everything he wanted, except leather seats. For some reason, they don't make Toyota Tacoma pickups with leather seats. He had researched and thought about it and after seeing it on Sunday, decided this week that he wanted it. He stopped at the dealer today to buy it, and it was gone. Sold. Maybe we're just supposed to keep driving the cars we have until they die.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Chickens!

I want chickens. Yes, I know. My husband and kids think I'm crazy, but I want chickens. Just a couple! I don't even know if I can have chickens where I live. Kristi, do you know? Just think...fresh eggs! no hormones...straight from the hen's butt, chicken eggs!

Maybe I need to move to a farm.

I also want to learn how to ride a horse.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Lupine

I am becoming obsessed with my yard. For the last ten years it has been ignored, except for mowing and trimming. The plants are all overgrown, there is no bark left to speak of, and all the beds are full of grass and weeds.

I've spent hours and hours this spring, working on the flower beds around our house, hoping I could get them all cleaned up this summer. So far I'm almost 3/4 of the way done; much further along than I thought I would be at this point in time.
I keep getting distracted though, by purchasing new plants! I told my daughter today that I'd rather be spending money on plants than on counseling, and at this point I think my gardening is more therapeutic!

One of my beds is being turned from a rose bed into a perennial bed, with a few roses mixed in. I have the weeds all pulled, the roses pruned and the soil all tilled up. The fresh-dug dirt keeps begging for new plants, and who am I to resist?
It's probably not a good thing, though, to spend one's gas money on Lupine! There are so many of these growing along the highway that I wanted to just stop one evening and dig up a few! but I didn't. The DOT would probably frown on that idea.

There are also some amazing deep purple iris' growing in someone's yard not far from here. I wouldn't mind some of those, either!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Oh my lands sake!


Look at this dress! It is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen! I found it on this blog: Malphi: Frills, Frocks & Fancies!

It has rekindled my desire to start sewing again...I wish I could buy one in every color...along with the bloomers..and several pinafores and aprons! Adorable!

Monday, June 2, 2008

STOP

I was driving into town today from my house on the way to the credit union. I came up to a stop light where I could either proceed straight to the next corner and then turn, OR turn into the grocery store lot and enter the credit union parking lot from the back.

Looking up, I noticed that the light had turned red, and thought to myself...guess I'll go to the next corner and turn there since this light is red. I proceeded ahead...

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Halfway thru the intersection it dawns on me that the light is RED. Which means I need to STOP. NOW.

Well, actually, about twenty feet back.

I am brain dead. I need a vacation.

Fortunately, there were no cops around and I didn't get a ticket.

I did get a bunch of funny looks from all the other drivers, though, as I backed up out of the intersection.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

P.S.

The car dealer called today.
It's sold.
Bummer.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

17 cents?

I bought gas on Thursday for $4.09 a gallon.
At the same gas station on Friday the price was $4.19 a gallon.
At the same gas station today the price was $4.26 a gallon.

$.17 in two days? give me a break.



I looked at a new (to me) car last weekend that the dealer says gets approximately 28 mpg; which is about 10 mpg more than what I get now. It was such a great car. Cute, red, fast, black leather interior; totally not practical. I covet it.

sigh

My prayer today

"...With everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the Lord, your Redeemer...for the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you!"
Is. 54:8-10

Friday, May 30, 2008

A little story

Let me share with you a little story:

We own a two acre piece of property on a nearby island. It's a beautiful piece of property, with some large, old growth timber and a meadow. It's quiet and peaceful. When we bought it, as an investment, it had an old beat up house on it, and roughly 30 or 40 cars, boats and trailers in various states of rust and disrepair. There was a smallish semi-trailer full of garbage and bags and bags and bags of garbage piled everywhere. We spent thousands, actually tens of thousands, of dollars cleaning the property up, including tearing down the house. Neighbors stopped by and said "thank you! this looks so much better!".

Originally we had planned on repairing the house and reselling the house and property, but as time went by we realized it just wasn't cost-effective to repair the house and it would be better to tear it down. However, before we made that decision my hubby and I were at the property one day, measuring for windows. A strange truck pulled up in the driveway, loaded to the gills with bags of garbage.

"What are you doing?" my hubby asked the driver.
Dumping my garbage, he replied. The owner said I could.
"No", said my hubby, "I'm the owner and you CAN'T dump your garbage here!"
But I already paid Mr. X (the former owner) and he said I could!

At this point I wandered behind the house and looked in the back of the acreage and lo and behold, there was a pile of garbage already dumped that was 10-12' high.
The hubby was none-too-happy, to say the least. He copied down the gentleman's name, driver's license #, address and license plate number and promised him he would be calling the Sheriff's office. Which he did.
However, the Sheriff said the gentleman had already called him and explained the situation and promised he would be out promptly to clean up all of his garbage.
Days, then weeks passed, and no one showed up.
The hubby called the Sheriff again; they were too busy to deal with the problem, they said.
Fast forward six months.
Last month my hubby had to go to court. We are being fined by the county we live in for the garbage dump on our property. Garbage we did not dump. Garbage that was dumped by a total stranger on our property, which the Sheriff refused to do anything about. All of this after spending $50,000 to clean up the garbage that was on the property when we bought it.
Oh, it's not fair, the judge assured us. But regardless, we are responsible for keeping our property cleaned up.
So today, three of our employees, plus a local company we had to hire, who own a backhoe and a dump truck, went and cleaned up the property, again.

And people wonder why I hate living in this county.