WOOHOO!

In 3 months and 4 days I will be leaving the city of Paducah! I am going to see my Mother, my sister and my brother. Words cannot express how excited I am! It has been 4 years since I have laid eyes on my Mother, even though I call her every day to check on her, it's just not the same. I am so looking forward to just being with her for a while, and my brother and sister also. What excites me the most, is that it seems to be something of a tradition that every time that I go there we go through some of Mother's "junk". Well, some of it is junk, but mostly it's treasures. Pictures, pictures and more pictures, old linens that my grandmother made, all of my mother's recipe books, stuff like that. Speaking of recipe books, there is one that she has that is absolutely AWESOME! While my brother and I were young she kept all of our used notebooks from school. She would buy magazines like Woman's Day, Family Circle, and Good Housekeeping, and always, Better Homes and Gardens, cut recipes out, and glue them to the pages in the used notebooks. She has one "recipe book" that is simply a loose leaf binder, covered with contact paper (ugly contact paper at that), with recipes glued to every single page. The last time that I saw it, the damn thing wouldn't even close. That is by far my favorite one to look at. There are some really old recipes in there, as she had that one before I was even born. Maybe that's why I love recipes, any one have any that they would like to share? I can always use more.

So that's my exciting news for the day. Ya'll have a good one, and another WOOHOO! IT'S FRIDAY!

WORD OF THE DAY!

MAUDLIN

maud·lin /ˈmɔdlɪn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mawd-lin] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.
tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.
2.
foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness

I WISH THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN THE GENIUS!

I don't know why I couldn't have thought of it! What a concept someone has conceived! This evening while I was in the shower it hit me that it's funny how many different scents for different things there are nowadays! In my shower I have PINK GRAPEFRUIT shampoo and conditioner, MANDARIN and GRAPEFRUIT body wash, GREEN APPLE shampoo and conditioner. I have PINK GRAPEFRUIT body spray, and WILD CHERRY and NUTMEG body spray. In my kitchen I have DAWN GREEN APPLE scented dish soap, BASIL, BLUE SAGE, and ROSEMARY dish soap (thank you Patience! It is awesome! and yes, I do just walk by and smell it sometimes), and CINNAMON and CLOVE BUD air freshener! I also have one of those burner things, I can't recall the technical term right now, where I light a tea candle, and I have some CLOVE OIL that permeates the air when it heats up!

WORD OF THE DAY

FALDERAL
fal·de·ral /ˈfældəˌræl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[fal-duh-ral] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.
mere nonsense; foolish talk or ideas.
2.
a trifle; gimcrack; gew-gaw.

Just something to write about!

And most of you won't really give a crap, but, Cameron, I expect a comment from you and Sybil, I expect one from you also, since you all never leave comments. My faithful "commenters" are my dear neighbors! Samantha you can comment also! Mike too! Randy too! Doesn't matter, just leave me some comments so that I know that you all are alive and kicking! OK, so here's the weird post! I am going to share with all of you what is on my beloved mp3 player! They won't be in any specific order either! I will just list the artists, as it would take WAY too long, and TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE, to list all of the songs!
ABBA
AC/DC
B52'2
BETH HART
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
CHER
DAMIEN RICE
DEVO
MARSHALL TUCKER BAND
MEATLOAF
MERLE HAGGARD
NEIL DIAMOND
NEIL YOUNG
PAT BENATAR
QUEENSRYCHE
RUSH
RUTHIE FOSTER
SMASHING PUMPKINS
STYX
TALKING HEADS
THE CARS
THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS
THE HOLLIES
THE SWEET
TODD RUNDGREN
TOM WAITS
KANSAS
That's the list for now, but I reserve the right to change it at any given time. Oh, and there's also all this pre-loaded crap that really ticks me off, because I can't really figure out how to get it off!
I guess that I will have to have my son remove it for me! Well, no I can figure it out! What better way to learn!

WORD OF THE DAY
LOQUACIOUS
lo·qua·cious /loʊˈkweɪʃəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[loh-kwey-shuhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.
talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous: a loquacious dinner guest.
2.
characterized by excessive talk; wordy: easily the most loquacious play of the season.

THIS OLD HOUSE!

I am a faithful reader of Bill Renzulli's blog and as a result have been doing a lot of thinking. He has been writing about when he and Patience moved here and the mess that the neighborhood was. Most people don't know that we have lived here in LowerTown for the past 15 years, or at least I have. We were here when it wasn't such a good neighborhood and have seen the progression that has taken place since all of the artists have moved here. It has been a bit harrowing at times, with home inspections and such, but has been well worth it to me. See, a couple of years ago, my husband really wanted to move, and move bad. I was kind of wishy-washy about it, because I really didn't want to leave the home where I had raised 2 step-daughters and my son. It was really the only place that he had ever known, and I hated taking that away from him. Not that he wouldn't have learned to be happy somewhere else, but I really love this house, so, in my mind, that was the excuse that satisfied me, and though I shared it with no one, my husband relented to stay here. Now comes the kicker! He said that he wasn't going to live here without fixing up the house. We had already remodeled the bathroom once, and that was a real pain in the ass! The thing that I remember most about that time was the fact that we had a really good neighbor at the time! Harper Stackhouse is his name, and most of you locals probably know him, but, anyway, he said that it wouldn't be a problem if we were to use the shower while we were without one. So, most of you know that I have a job where EXTREME temperatures really take a toll on the body, and all that I wanted to do was hit the shower when I got home. To this day, I still wonder what all of my former neighbors thought when they saw me running across the lawn in my red terry cloth robe, and a towel over my hair. Anyway, it was quite humorous! I have a lot of good memories of times with Harper, and maybe I will share some of them sometime. Anyway, the next time that we remodeled the bathroom it was much better, but a little harrowing. I thought that things were going well, until one day when I came home only to find that I had NO FLOOR in my bathroom at all, the dudes were standing in the basement looking up at me when I came home. The floor joists were completely rotten from previous leaks (before our tenure here) that had not been properly repaired, so they had to rip the whole floor out and start from square one! It took a little longer that expected, but the end result was well worth it. Darryle Sosa is probably one of the best tile guys around and has done several projects here in LowerTown that are quite noteworthy. The most recent remodel project was the kitchen and I really hope that I never have to go through that again! We started the project on Pete's birthday of 2006! The guy from Kitchens Incorporated was supposed to meet me here one morning at 9 in the morning to take measurements. I came home only to find that the demolition crew had beat me here! I walked into what used to be favorite room in the house, even though it was the coldest room in the house and needed so much work, only to find that every memory that I had, all of the good times, family meals, roll making, beer drinking, and such, had just gone down the shitter! In my mind I knew that the end result was going to be better, but damn, all of the memories seemed to escape with every blow of the sledge hammer! I started to cry and I am sure that Mr. Measurement guy thought that i was a real FREAK! It's funny how you can become so sentimental about such simple things, but that kitchen really meant a lot to me. Things progressed pretty good, until one day, I came home and there was NO BACK TO MY HOUSE! No walls, no nothing! I felt like crying again! When was all this crap going to end? I was ticked at my husband for putting me through all this, ticked that I couldn't cook a meal, ticked that my life as I knew it was over for the time being! See, men just don't understand, or at least the one that I am married to, that if you take away a woman's kitchen, you have taken away half of her life! It's not that I cook a meal every day or anything, but the kitchen is where I usually went to find some sort of solace, or just a place where I could be alone and think or read or do a crossword puzzle, because no one else really ever went in there. So, to make a long story short, or longer, the foundation had a huge hole in it that the previous owner had knocked out to run extension cords and such so that also had to be repaired, I guess that it needed to be done. Then there was the cabinet issue, and i won't even go there right now, because if I do, I will be boiling mad by the time that I finish this blog! Anyway, 3 months later, on Christmas Eve of 2006 was the first time that I was able to cook in my new kitchen! The first neighbors that I invited to see the kitchen were the Renzulli's, along with friends, Dee and Lee! And of course, the Cromikas! I was scared to cook in it the first time, but hey, it was Christmas Eve and a gal has to do what a gal has to do! Probably one of the best Christmases I can remember, and probably one of the best gifts that my husband has ever given me was and up to date kitchen with all of the amenities, and I got my KitchenAid mixer that year also! What a year it was! The next project was my son's room, the front room and the living room, or den! In the front room we put in a whole new ceiling and hopefully, someday, will knock all of the plaster off the walls and put in sheet rock, but the best addition to that room was the gas logs in the fireplace, but my husband and I have had no time for romance in front of the fireplace! In the den we also closed off doorways, as we did in the kitchen, and had a custom built space for the armoire where we keep the TV and such. It's been a lot of work, but well worth the outcome. I love this old house! I love its character, its color and everything about it. I will write more about other aspects of the house, and some good times and probably some bad times at a later date. We aren't near finished with everything that needs to be done, but I am happy here and intend to stay for a long time. Also, I am grateful to my neighbors that have come here to pursue their dreams and make my neighborhood a better place.

WORD OF THE DAY!

UNGUENT

un·guent (ŭng'gwənt) Pronunciation Key n. A salve for soothing or healing; an ointment

WONDERING

I don't know why, but this has been on my mind a lot as of late. Maybe it's the start of the new year, which brings around taxes, taxes, and more taxes. I would just love it if someone would explain the tax system, or whatever you would want to call it, here in Kentucky! For instance, why, while we live in the city of Paducah, should we be burdened by paying both CITY taxes, and COUNTY taxes, while those living in the county only have to pay county taxes. Isn't their mailing address PADUCAH also? I have never understood that. Why is there no tax on food when you go to the grocery store? Wouldn't that help the economy a little bit and generate more revenue for the state? Why do they take city tax out of my paycheck? It isn't much, but I still don't understand it! Maybe the reason that I am so confused is because I come from a state where there is a food tax, we are not taxed on the value of our vehicles every year, they don't take city taxes out of paychecks and so forth and so on. I posed this question to someone yesterday and I got accused of having a REPUBLICAN point of view. I stated that was not the problem, it was just something that I really don't understand, and that I would just like for someone to explain it to me. Any takers?

WORD OF THE DAY (on my brother's advice)

CONUNDRUM
co·nun·drum /kəˈnʌndrəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuh-nuhn-druhm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.
a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
2.
anything that puzzles.

MY HUSBAND HATES NEIL DIAMOND!

Ok, as for the Neil Diamond stuff, we'll get to that later, as for now, just a few updates of what's been going on in probably the busiest week of my life as to date. Well, maybe not, but it sure seemed like it!

First of all, I want to tell everyone how proud I am of Jillian. She is my 26 year old step-daughter, (but let me clarify to everyone, that both her and Megan are both more like daughters than step-daughters, simply because I came into their lives when they were very young and I was young also!), that has been living with us since the day before Thanksgiving. She has been through living hell with her marriage and her own personal hell as well. I took a chance and hired her to be one of my employees and to make it even more weird, to take over my previous job as a shirt presser. She has been doing really well and excelling every day. I also found that I could count on her when I really needed help, as I had to call her back to work the other day, when I was in a mess, she was in the tub, but came back directly to help me finish that task that I needed to complete. Anyway, we drug test all of our employees, and after her years of drug use, her test came back 100% clean. She is also going through some sort of self evaluation, which is hard, but really making an effort to get her life back together. She is attending Narcotics Anonymous meeting on a daily basis. She has also decided to make some changes in her personal life that I won't publish, but I was so glad and relieved to hear that she is really serious about that aspect of her life. It actually feels like she is part of our family again, after being somewhat separated from her for years. So, welcome back Jillian, and if any of you local bloggers see her out and about, give her a big hey!

Megan, John and the kids are also doing well. Megan has started working again after about a year and 1/2 of not working. She is working for a big paper company in South Carolina called Bowater. She has a lot of excitement in her voice, which I haven't heard for a while, and seems to be so glad to be back to work. She will also be having other opportunities with this company that involves travelling to other states and I am so jealous! WOOOO!! New York would be awesome and so would Canada. John is loving his job as well, and especially the part that he doesn't smell like a pork shoulder every night when he comes home. He is learning to be a pipe fitter and really likes it and all of the people like him as well, but who wouldn't like John! He is the model for a GREAT SON-IN-LAW! The kids are all doing well, growing like weeds, and doing great in school. I sure do miss them though.

Yesterday I registered Pete for his second semester at WKCTC. It was the last day for registration, so there were slim pickings on the classes. He has some harder classes like, THE ETHICS OF WAR AND PEACE, GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY, INTRO TO MUSIC, and WRITING II. I really hope that he excels and makes good grades this semester. He does love the "college" scenario better than the "high school" scenario though. And of course, he still loves his music, and times are rare when he doesn't have a guitar in his hands just picking or strumming at it or something. He doesn't even know how proud that I am when I hear him playing the guitar, and that he is talented enough to just hear of figure out a tune without much effort. I always had such a hard time memorizing a piano piece, and learning to read music. His work schedule has been cut to two days a week at the laundromat, and he is still doing rugs at the plant, and I will also be able to call him in for various other jobs as I need him, IF he's not too busy studying.

OK, now as to the reason why my husband hates Neil Diamond! I really don't know! Who in the world could hate Neil Diamond? He says that he just hated all of the "pop" stuff that we grew up with, but who could hate Cracklin' Rosie or a live version of "Holly Holy"? Or, songs like "I Am I Said". It is just beyond me! Well, years ago, when my sister came to visit me we were talking about music. I used to love fooling around with her record player! I would stack those 45's up and just let them play and play. Well, I don't know what resources she had, but one day she came home with this album. It was Neil Diamond Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and I am here to tell you that it is the most awesome thing ever. Even now, years later, I still listen to it, and am listening to it now! The orchestration is awesome, and if you have ever read the book by Richard Bach, well, that's all that I need to say! If you don't have this CD or have never heard of it, I encourage you to find it somewhere because it's definitely something that just makes you feel peaceful and it's something that you can just kick back and relax to! Every time that I play it, it also makes me think. I don't know why, it just does! Oh, the picture is for my sister just because I told her that I would post one. By the way, the earrings are JULIE SHAW originals. I got them for Christmas and I love them. The photo was taken after a hard day at work. I usually try to not look so CRAPPY!

WORD OF THE DAY!

ESCHEW

es·chew /ɛsˈtʃu/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[es-choo] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object)
to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid: to eschew evil.

GOODNESS GRACIOUS!

Can you believe that it is 2008? Where has the time gone? I have and 18 year old son, and 2 step-daughters ages 26 and 24 and 3 grandbabies ages 6, 5, and 4. It seems surreal to me that I have lived here in Kentucky for so long and that the kids are so old now. I won't dwell on that though.

We had a pretty good new year. Pretty uneventful and quiet, but nice. We did Christmas with our neighbors on New Year's Day because they were out of town on Christmas. I got the most awesome POUR SPOUT for my KitchenAid mixer (from Ashley and Michael and Pete) and a purse that I was looking at one day while shopping with Ashley. What was funny was that I got her the purse that she was looking at the same day. Before we traded gifts we ate Colaches (don't know how to spell this one and don't have a Spanish dictionary), drank Mimosas, visited and just had a good time. Then after we opened gifts, we played a game of Apples to Apples. If you haven't played this game you really should get it. We had a bunch of laughs until we were all worn out. Gavon even helped Pete play while Grace was napping in the middle of the living room floor. I guess that it was all just too much for her.

I made bread the other day! French Bread! I made a regular loaf and I also made a Sun-dried tomato and Basil loaf. They turned out pretty well. I shared those with some different neighbors who are on my blog list! It really makes me feel good to do things for other people. I just wish that I had the time and resources to do it more often.

I don't feel too insightful this morning. My hair is FULL of static, my lips are chapped, I am tired and so this will be very short and sweet.

WORD of THE day!

SUBJUGATE

sub·ju·gate /ˈsʌbdʒəˌgeɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[suhb-juh-geyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -gat·ed, -gat·ing.
1.
to bring under complete control or subjection; conquer; master.
2.
to make submissive or subservient; enslave.