And a Happy Mother's Day to you too!

Yes, evening has come to the mountains. The photo above is one of green and cool WV, so I thought it best to switch headers to invite summer to come along soon!

We, here at the farm, are full of oatmeal cookies (Thank you Tracy). And enjoying the brief pause between getting ready for work tomorrow and getting ready for bed tonight.

Tracy, Keith and Delia stopped by to wish us all a happy Mom's Day and give gifts: Grandma Freda her Birthday card and cookies, me a lovely storebought card and bamboo ring freshner.

Grandma enjoyed their visit and so did Grandpa Stan who wolfed down the Subway sammy that Keith brought at my behest. ( I thought no cooking was a way we could all enjoy the day with no clean up either...I was informed that Subway was subpar inthe sammy department -- and we won't do that again...)

In retrospect, we had a nice time and everyone survived this meeting limbs intact. Yes, Tracy got her Mom's Day gift from Trisha (Thank you) and her card from Me.

School will be over for the summer soon. Delia has a fieldtrip to Prickett's Fort on the 22nd of May. And I will be finished sometime after June 9 - there is an "academy" on the 10 and 11 or the 11 and 12...I'll check my calendar later. And so it goes... whether we want it to or not.

Happy May, gentle readers.

Happy Mother's Day or Sunday in the Valley - May 10, 2009

It's just like you remember it. Green, sunny with a cool breeze. The grey squirrel escaped the hillside and made it to the silver maple in the front yard to play today.

Noone is moving inside. Grandma is sleeping after a bout with the "after breakfast cough"- Grandpa Stan is watching TV and waiting for me to dig up something for lunch. Windy is waiting for G'ma to rest before she gets her lunch @ 3.

The details of our lives are not very exciting. But the weather is gorgeous, and the weather changes daily, of course, so that give great fodder for writing.

Mebbe, yesterday's activities will be more exciting to talk about:

Grandma is officially 87 years young.

There was cake: two layers with lemon glace spread between them. Yellow and bright orange roses atop a background of white icing. yummy.

There was food: Rigatoni, meatballs, salad with tomatoes and that special dressing -oil and garlic. There was Italian sausage and peppers for Dad and Ed.

There were cards: a plethora of them - birthday and mother's day... beautiful.

There were guests: Barb n Ed; Trisha and Zoey; Windy and Linda; of course, yours truely.

There were presents: Trisha brought cards and pictures and we loved them! Linda brought gowns (and flowers from her yard.)

A good time was had by all... We missed those not in attendance, as we do at all family get-togethers nowdays.

How Long Can You Tread Water?

April Showers bring Mayflowers, pilgrims, ducks in the pool, and such... The Eastern Coast is famous for its humidity and so we have it hanging in the air, by the buckets, in the droplets and flowing across the roadways and down the rain spouts splashing into the yard.

OUTSIDE: The fragrance of the valley is changing to rain fresh (from Tracy's flowery, violet-lavender scented, (or as some would call it: PEZ) fresh mountain air.

The dandelions have thrown off their white halos in favor of their progeny and, I fear, we will see many golden dots among the green when the grass is finally cut - looks like after next Wednesday at this time...

We, the inhabitants of this country estate, have feasted upon steak and gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn along with the plethora of deserts from which to choose - courtesy of the Wilsonburg Lions and their mates who cook to raise funds for the blind... I didn't know a single person there by name at the school this time. Nobody tried to sell me a raffle ticket or a fifty-fifty. Times have changed.

When I go, I'll leave no imprint. Just like everyone else.

Got to get to the bills and the grades.

Hope you are all well.

Now rain is the forecast -Wednesday, April 29

Nothing is so boring as checking the blog-O-sphere only to find old and mouldy posts. Thank you, Amanda, for your butter brightener. And Tracy for your cuddle-bug reflection. And Keith for your "Eh!" or was that "Eh?"...

The sun has gone (thank God - from the school teachers...kids are slowing down like the little reptilians they really are) behind the clouds; the rain has pushed the snowy dandelions way up above the grass's last cutting; and, the temperature has become a tad bit more bearable.

BREAKING NEWS -- Announcement: Joey is coming to WV in June - over the weekend of the 5th-7th. Make an appointment with the circus master to get your ring-side seat on Saturday. We are keeping his where-a-bouts secret until all the tickets have been snapped up. No free viewing or chance encounters... he is a COLUMBIA man, ya know. Ivy league and we are proud of it.

Another Day Older-April 8-Home in the middle of the week

Hello Gentle Readers.
The day is sunny, but cool. We've discovered the electrical problem, and therefore, the solution.

First, Jeff stopped by as he saw two nut cases trying to change a lightbulb in the driveway with a ladder, etc...

Next, Supersleuthing determined the light bulb was not the problem; however, the outlet concreted into the ground near the holly tree was filed with wet-snuff like material and made a buzzing noise when the breaker was turned on. Jeff pried the old outlet from the steel box it lives in, and replaced it. All's well. Light light; garge door opener flashes; water heater heats; softner softens; etc.

Finally, 25 smollens. Cheap at any price.

Monday - rainy and all that jazz

April 6, dear readers, should be a spring day. However, it is a bleak and cold and rainy turn-to-snow-by-midnight grey and overcast-windy 24 hours. You may have guessed, my spirits mirror the foul and unfriendly weather.
Let me catch you up. [never end a sentence with a preposition (I'll use it as an adverb...up as in lift YOUR spirits by laughing)]

Upon entering the basement of the manor house tonight (almost 7pm after gathering the RX and retrieving the trashcans and mail, etc.), I noticed that the rec room light would not answer to the switch on the wall.

After further investigation, all the wall sockets work fine, even my hair dryer... the basement TV and the Mac, all fine.

Upstairs, the water in the bathrooms is darn cold and not warming up as is the plan with the electric hot water heater... I check the breaker box: 26 is flipped. I flip it back and it shuts off immediately.
There are several things hooked up to that breaker besides the overhead light in the rec room: five gallon hot water tank, h20 softener, garage door opener, various 4 fluorescent garage lights, the chair lift batter backup, the lights down the driveway (2), the extension cord with the lightbulb that keeps the outside faucet from freezing in winter...

I'm guessing that the lightbulb in the driveway has somehow gotten water in it and shorted out the system. I will not attempt to fix it in the rain-snow-yuck that we are going to have this week. Maybe after Easter... I did not get an electrician's license when I did not get the nurse's certificate, so I must call for a professional-fix-it-man to trouble shoot this deal. I wish I knew more about how to fix stuff. I didn't get the carpenter's certificate either, but I'm one hell of a shopper, given half a chance.

Linda fixed the roast with potatoes, carrots and onions. That was a truly delicious meal.

Kim got the job with the college working weekends Sat. Sun. and Monday as a security guard, for now. She will continue to help us for a little bit, maybe a week or so.

Brenda did not call today. I'll call her tomorrow to see how she's feeling.

My break does not equal all the surrounding counties who have the entire week after Easter off. I will take 3 days, otherwise there will be no one at home with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Stan. That will make my schedule Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday and the entire 7 days afterward...

Maybe by then, my glasses will be here and I can see to do stuff, like clean and read. Then again, maybe not. Are you laughing yet or still?...

Horses

There were horses on the loose. There were horses in our yard in the rain. there remains horse poop in our yard to explain... You had to be there. (Here)