Deathly Hallows!

The big release day ~ Deathly Hallows had finally arrived! How on earth do two adults - and older adults at that - get so excited about the release of a 'children's' book?

Roger and I went to Wal-Mart first thing and picked up a copy (normally we purchase 2 copies so we don't 'argue' over who gets to read it first!) But this time we purchased only one because I had 'pre-ordered' special edition copies from Amazon.com to be delivered at my doorstep on July 21st! But would UPS really deliver my special copies on a Saturday?

It was really big of me to allow Roger to begin reading the 'Wal-Mart' copy of the book before I even had mine...in fact it was agonizing. I was trying to be adult about the entire situation as I quietly allowed him to sit in the den, alone, reading 'his' book.

Jenn arrived at out doorstep a short time later; if we didn't quickly get out of the house Roger's copy of the book was going to mysteriously disappear if he EVER took a reading break.

Upon our return from running errands, there they were perched upon the kitchen table...3 copies of the special edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! - already opened, of course - he had to check them out. (Hummm...I suppose my faith in the UPS man has been restored, but that is still under debate.)

The outside of the box declared, "Muggles, do not deliver or open before July 21st." I had my book! I must say, it is a good thing all three copies arrived, because Jenn and Kathy swooped up their copies of the books without delay!

Now I could begin reading - I made it through a page and a half when the phone rang; another half page and someone at the door...8 hours later I was ready to settle down and begin reading again. All the while Roger had not budged from his comfy recliner, book in hand, eyes locked in place. Had he really not moved? Or was this my imagination? I could clearly see that he was at least half way through the book and I'd barely just begun. Could I catch up!? Not a chance and I knew it.

Being the gentleman that he is, Roger finished his book Sunday evening and did not breathe a word of any of it...this would have been grounds for divorce! Kathy soon finished hers - but she also maintained her silence. Jenn didn't get to start on her copy until Tuesday, so at least I was ahead of someone! Finally, three days later I came to the end of my book. It was over...I'd finished...and it was good :)

101 Days of Rain and counting??

Oh my...oh my goodness...oh my goodness gracious...oh my goodness gracious mercy sakes alive! That's how it goes nearly every day at work. Usually the boss starts it by exclaiming, "Oh my..." Then someone else in the office says, "Oh my goodness." Then, "Oh my goodness gracious..." Well, you get the point. We have a great time while we work :)

Oh yeah, back to the reason for the original "Oh my..." Yes, it rained again today. One hundred and one days out of 201. We are officially saturated. In spite of it, I heard lawn mowers choking on the grass late this afternoon, struggling to get through the tall, thick, wet, mosquito-filled masses of grasses.

Seems that about a year ago you may have heard me tell about how hot and dry it was (oh, don't get me wrong - it is still hot). I feared for the life of my cat, Adagio - no, not because it was hot and dry, but because of the huge cracks in the dry powdery earth. I was afraid he would fall into one of those cracks never to be seen again.

<--No, he's not dead; he is just asleep (upside down and twisted around) on the washer.

Adagio is pretty much famous for his laid back personality. He can rest, or sleep, just about anywhere!

~ Those Grandboys are Growing Up! ~

I realized my little grandboys were growing up, but that really hit home when they were old enough to go to camp.

AJ, Caden and their mother, Kathy, at camp ->

The oldest grandboy, AJ, will be 10 in just a few short days! They are calling him the "double-digit midget." He is not very big, but is growing like a weed during the rainy season! All their pants are high-waters, and there is no point in purchasing new ones before school begins next month because they would be too small before school even begins!

<-- AJ smiles for the camera and says he is now big enough to mow my front yard!

They are using big words that I don't understand. I can see their little brains working non-stop and the hard drive in those brains is about 80 million GB vs. mine, which is a 1 MB and has to frequently be reformatted!

Caden watches intently and learns as a camp counselor demonstrates the art of baiting a hook --> Looks to me as if he is pondering a better way to handle the worm/hook situation!

What is a Grammy to do? How do I manage to keep them 'little' boys? I suppose there are consolations to the boys growing so quickly; maybe I won't have to mow the yard as much...

100 Days of Rain (or It's a Jungle Out There!)

Today, July 19th, is the 200th day of the year. Officially we have had 100 days of rain so far! Hummm…I suppose that means we’ve had 100 days without rain. And I think I’ve had the mower out 100 times this year!

The Grass is Always Greener...

Oh my...we have grass - it is mid-July.... It is hot. It is steamy. And our South Texas grass continues to grow...and grow and grow. Normally during the months of July and August we mow the yard once every 2 or 3 weeks, and that is if we water the grass.

But this year we have had so much rain - Lake Mathis is overflowing, the Nueces River is overflowing , Labonte Park has become Labonte Park Lake, and houses near the river are flooded; people are out of their homes and in shelters. Thankfully we are on 'high' ground and our house is safe.

It seems that since the new year, rarely has a week passed that we don't spend two evenings a week (between rains) mowing the grass! And now that summer is here it is 98 degrees, 98 percent humidity and 98 mosquitoes per square inch of human being - mosquitoes the size of small birds!

You'd think that with an over abundance of mosquitoes, they would be smaller (the law of supply and demand - more mosquitoes, less food supply). Well apparently that does not apply to these particular mosquitoes; these creatures are huge...very plump...and quite juicy! Wonder if there is some type of delicacy that can be made from plump, juicy mosquitoes? (That's quite alright, I really don't want to know!)

Bottom line...I am feeling overwhelmed with the tall green stuff. Help! I need some lawn-mowing help!! Tell me again how old those Grandboys need to be to handle a lawn mower!?

Go figure. It is raining again.

Is the Maytag Repair Man trying to round up business?

First the television, and now the dishwasher! Ach!

I get a lot of junk mail and much of it gets thrown into the trash. Yesterday there was one from Maytag/Jenn-Air; the outside of the envelope said "IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE." Since I have a Maytag dishwasher I decided it might be prudent to just have a look inside this particular one.

As instructed in the letter I called the 800 # and after a considerable amount of time, one hang-up and a lot of talking to a computer, I was able to find that my Maytag model could catch fire and has done so in 135 reported cases. I was to unplug the thing and cease using it immediately!

My dishwasher is defective! I am devastated. Like the dilapidated X-television set, the dishwasher is quite old. It doesn't do as good a job as it used to do (better than I would do on my own however) and is beginning to look a bit worn...it may be 10 years old but I am not certain.

There are two things I do not like to do around the house...#1 is dust and #2 is wash dishes!

The offer: I was to choose between 2 options. I could either have a Maytag Repair Man come to my house and repair the defective unit, or I could get a $75 credit toward another Maytag/Jenn-Air dishwasher. Those are not very good choices! My dishwasher is OLD - it is on it's very last leg - and even though I know the Maytag Repair Man is desperately looking for work (I even saw him on a TV commercial repairing a copier), I hate having repair men come into my house.

And, I have used that dishwasher for years without burning the house down, so does it really need repaired? On the other hand, I don't want to spend $469 on a new one (even with the $75 credit they are offering, that is a LOT of money!) Wonder if I could handle not having a dishwasher?

There was a time when the kiddos were little that the dishwasher crashed - 'crash' is a word used a lot in our racing family; a simple fact of life, not pleasant, but still a fact. At the time Roger was racing and we had a separate 'racing account' at the bank. I replaced that dishwasher with racing funds! Back then not having a dishwasher was not on my list of options.

But, that was then...and this is now - the kids are gone, we occasionally use paper products, I rarely put any pots or pans in the dishwasher anyway. Do I really need that dishwasher? I suppose I will continue to use my old, dilapidated dishwasher until my Cascade runs out and then see how long it takes me to get tired of washing dishes by hand. Can I make it 2 weeks? 6 months...how about a year? Anyone care to place bets?

Afterthought: How many paper plates can I buy for $400 anyway?