Michael's Birthday

Yesterday was Michael's birthday. This is the day he can do anything he wants. Does that mean I don't let him do anything he wants the rest of the year? I don't think so! But I did ask him if he wanted me to fix him breakfast before I left for a morning of shopping. He passed. He had already snacked on some leftovers in the refrigerator. I left for a few hours to see a couple of shops in town and found the cutest gift for my baby girl niece, Bitsy, a rat terrier. For some reason she's getting most of the presents in this next shipment to Texas. I'd mention it, but my sister reads this blog. When I returned home, Michael had the new grill unpacked...really unpacked, in the garage-the box, styrofoam, plastic bags, and parts. In the office, which is right inside the garage door, more plastic bags, pieces of styrofoam, parts and the rotiesserre box. I followed the trail upstairs to the living room and I could hear a loud radio and talking to the cat. Michael is sitting in a patio chair with most of the grill put together. I was amazed. He was not a happy camper. He said he had been working on it since I left which was two hours earlier. I guess there were about 7,362 parts to this grill and I think that's a low estimate. I tried to help with getting the rest of it put together by finding the rest of the parts in the garage and office and bringing them to him. I had to come inside because the wind was so gusty yesterday it nearly blew me and the grill off the deck. He finished everything but hooking up the propane tank. We still have to oil the grates and wipe down the stainless steel with a solution that keeps it from discoloring. We were so tired after all that, neither one of us felt like going out to dinner or cooking so we did the drive thru, hurried home and watched the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals in overtime 4-3.

The Latest

Just incidental news.
Yesterday was errand day. I took TC to the vet for his glucose check. His sugar was in the normal range so he is to continue on 7 units twice a day. We go back in 4 to 6 wks. That's fine with both of us. He was very stressed yesterday and even though we do this a lot, he never gets used to it. He did the usual breakfast expulsion in the crate. After taking TC home, I made a trip by the post office and on the way home stopped by the swan's nest. NO ONE WAS HOME! Everyone was gone. I didn't have time to go look for mom and any babies but I'm sure they are all safe and enjoying a relaxed life on the Allegheny.

Also did the grocery store routine. I had to get taco stuff to celebrate Cinco de Mayo a day late. Last year we went to Bradford to the only "real" Mexican restaurant within 1400 miles. It was so crowded, we waited an hour without getting served and decided to leave. That's when we determined if we are to celebrate any more holidays at restaurants, we will celebrate a day early or a day later or better yet, at home! Our restaurant in Bradford and the sister restaurant in Lakewood, N.Y. were both raided by the INS. The one is Bradford is now closed and the one in Lakewood has a changed name. Actually, Michael seems to think it was good food. I am spoiled by the "Tex-Mex" menus from home (Texas). I don't care for white cheese on my tacos and enchiladas. That is Mexico Mexican food. NOT THE SAME. I'm perfectly happy at Taco Bell for now. I'm just waiting for some good ole boy Texican to get up here and open a decent Mexican restaurant. We even had a Mexican restaurant in Warren. Their problem was they had hamburgers and peanut butter sandwiches on the menu. ???????? What's with that???? Wonder why they aren't open anymore???????? My point, I guess, is that you have to come to Val's house to get a good Tex-Mex meal these days. I even serve beans and rice (ok, out of a can and a bag).

Today, I'm off to make myself look younger. Gotta get the hair colored and deshag my eyebrows. Tonight, we might go look for a new grill. I'd put in here more about my other doings this week, but seeing how it relates to Michael's birthday, Mother's Day and an anniversary coming up in a month, I'll save it for later. Off to the shower.

Looking for Spring Photos?

I just love this time of year because something new is blooming every week. We had a few days of rain last week and it seemed like every tree on our hill went from brown to green in two short days. The flowering trees are blooming in town and azaleas are bursting with blooms. I'm not sure our azaleas are going to make it. We planted them last year, got one pretty season from them and I think winter may have killed them. Since our trees and bushes bloom about two weeks after the ones down in town, I'm giving the azaleas two more weeks to shape up. I have a fellow blogger friend who is taking beautiful spring pictures in Warren. She's a great photographer. Go to her blog, Linda's photo journal, (on the right) and look at the blooms. Thank you Linda for sharing!

Swan Update

I can't believe that we are going by weekly to check on "our" swan. We haven't seen any babies yet but we did get a surprise this time. Looks like someone is getting a little impatient. Either that or he's just making sure mama is doing ok.

Beaver Town

What can I say about this? Well let me tell you, this girl born and raised in the concrete jungle of Dallas, Tx. never saw nature like I see nature now. I take every opportunity I can to stop and admire wildlife around me. I taught it for 30 years from a book but never got to actually see the real thing up close and personal. As we drove into Wellsville for the trout derby I noticed these trees off the exit ramp of I86 in N.Y. It wasn't until the next day that we were able to stop and check out all the work these little guys did to these trees. The beavers had a lodge in the back behind a chain link fence and then 3 different levels of water caused by two different log dams. Amazing

Derby Weekend

You can swim but you cannot hide. This past weekend Michael and I went to Wellsville N.Y. for a trout derby. 450 tagged brown trout were released into the Genessee River. Each one was worth anywhere from $7,000 to $25.00. If you catch a "tagged" fish, it must be taken to the registration booth live. They remove the tag, read the number and find the amount that you win on a wall chart. You are given a check and then you can go back and fish for more. The event took place on Sat. and Sun. It was HOT! Michael fished with his buddy Jim and Jim's wife and I did the lounge chair nap waiting for the cash to roll in. Those N.Y. fish don't know how to eat. Well maybe one did. Jim caught a $25.00 fish around 2pm Sat. After a long day and some rest at the hotel, we all decided to do dinner and the Salamanca casino. I found a few quarter slot machines then a nickel machine but not the right one until I nested in the non smoking section of the casino. I found a blazing 7's quarter machine and after spending about $12.00 of my $20.00 I get a ring, ring, and 1000 credits on my machine. I look up thinking that's quite a few credits. Wonder what I did. I see 3 blazing 7's in front of my eyes, take a look at the top at what that reward is, and sure enough it says 1000 credits. Teaching Kindergarten for all those years didn't increase my math IQ so I figured I'd cash out and see how much that was. The ticket came out of the machine with $ 258.25!! HOLY MOLY. I won some money. From then on, whenever I had more than my 80 credits ($20.00) in the machine I would cash out. I turned in 5 tickets at the end of the night totaling $370.00. I profited $170.00. Michael didn't catch any fish but I made up for it at the casino.

More Spring Blooms

I can't believe I have spent the morning on Facebook (I joined yesterday). How in the world does that work? And I'm on Twitter and I have this blog. How do people get anything done? Am I being sucked into this stuff? We'll see how long it takes me to give up on that and get back to the real world, if ever. But now for the latest...

We spent Saturday on a drive east. We drove east to Coudersport and south to Wharton and then back home. It took most of the day but we saw a lot of fishermen (first day of trout season). We also saw a lot of beautiful scenery even though it was brown. We did take a back road through the mountains and happened upon some vistas. It's amazing I think I saw NYC. :>)

The bloomers I saw this week were hyacinth and dogwood. Hopefully the spring rain we are getting will make lots of blooms for the next week.

Sunday was spent at the Garland Community Center volunteering. We put in the wiring and two ceiling fans. We were unable to finish the third fan because of a scheduled baby shower so that will get done later this week. See the man's great work above!