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When daughter's roomie went to work on the bus the other day, she found that someone had left her purse under the seat. Roomie called the purse owners credit card company and asked them to call the woman to let her know that her purse had been found. Then the roomie took the purse to the police station after work. The police said the woman was on her way to get her purse and wanted to thank roomie personally. Roomie waited and met the woman whose purse she had found. She was very grateful and wanted to take roomie out for coffee but she declined the offer. It is nice to do something nice for someone and to be thanked for it. L

stories

Hey Cousin,
This is going to be a long one so get your tea. I was inspired to write a little missive about the coming of fall while I drank my coffee this morning. I might put it in the local rag. We will see.

THERE IS A CHANGE IN THE AIR

Sometime in August, I can pinpoint the exact moment when something feels different. The light is different with the position of the sun. The breeze sounds different and there is an air of change. The insects begin to act differently in August. The most noteable are the flys that cling to the screen door in the afternoon and manage to slip inside when the door is opened. The wasps hang around the doors also and I see catarpillars lumbering across the sidewalk. I never could figure out how to tell what kind of winter we will have by looking at the Wooley Worms. I'm not sure that it works but it is fun. For years I have been writing down the date that I see winged ants gathering on my back step. The date is September 18th almost without fail. How do ants with wings (hope they aren't termites) know that it is September 18th? I would never know by instinct what the date is. This makes me wonder whether there were signs of last winters' blizzard. Did the bugs already know? Did the birds go south a few days early? I wonder if the cave men could sense what the coming winter would be like. I know that we modern humans have lost much of our natural instincts. Maybe we should stand still once in a while and listen to what our inner instincts are trying to tell us. I am a birdwatcher and I pay close attention to the fall and spring migrations. The birds know by instinct when it is time to head south for the winter. The early migrants are the hummingbirds that I enjoy so much. I still have a feeder up just in case there is a straggler who might need a tasty meal on his or her way south. According to the bugs and the birds, it is time to get the shovels out of the barn and bring them to the house. It is time to order diesel with kerosene in it. It is time to think about holiday shopping and to buy the turkey. OH NO! There is so much to do! It is time to put on my winter coat and migrate to the store.


Daughter told me some cute stories this morning about her roommate. They are moving from Chicago to Denver. Her roomie is already in Denver. My daughter is staying home for some heavy doses of nature and Mom's cooking. The roomie, K, worked for the Chicago symphony. She was a ticket sales person and in charge of filling the symphony hall with bodies. Before she left Chicago, a man called and asked for two tickets for that very evening. K said that there were none left. The man said that this was kind of a "Devil Wears Prada" moment and he was trying to get two tickets for two important clients and he would REALLY appreciate it if she could ask her supervisor if there had been any cancellations. She did so and two people had cancelled just moments before his call. She called him back and told him the good news. Since that time K moved to Denver. Yesterday she got a box in the mail from Paramount Pictures with an 'INSIDE' copy of the Devil Wears Prada and a red scarf that has "the devil wears prada" printed on it. The man she talked to was some sort of assistant to some sort of assistant in the making of the movie. Wow. How neat and for him to thank K in such a way. Awesome.

I have one more story but I have to go now. Later L

family tree

Oh, you are soooooooooo funny. Really you are. I think that L the pig looks lovely with her sunglasses and tiny feet. She walks on her tippy toes and is quite dainty. E says she isn't crazy about her suitors and doesn't like to be moved around much but other than that she is ok. None of the females in the family are dainty except for L the pig. H is calling friends this evening as he is in a chatty mood. He is talking to his cousin C in California. They kind of grew up together. Well, I will see you later. BE GOOD. L

Family Tree

I get so excited!

I just found David Copperfield on Audible. That is just perfect. Now I can download it and listen while I read the book and use the SparkNotes. One way or another I am going to finish this book and have some understanding of its plot. I was getting desperate enough to look for the movie. And that would have been the absolute last resort.

DS decided to be the photographer recently.


You can see what he finds important.






Ha ha ha.

So here's the story

Monday. First day of DH's vacation. Find Obit notice that a dear friend died. Dressed and left for a meeting. Crashed McD's computers while trying to get much needed coffee (and DS's obligatory sandwich). Returned home to find the Necessary had a problem. The sewage pump was not working. DH spent quite a lot of time destroying the sewing room to get to the pump. Removed it (waste on his arms up to his shoulders). Cleans up and we go off to get a new pump. Get back. DH discovers there was a rag wrapped around the blades of the old pump. Removes the rag. Tries to yell at me about dumping rags into the septic system. I remind him that I DON'T dump anything into the system. I dispose of buckets of dirty water outside. Remind him that HE dumps the buckets into the commode. Therefore HE created the problem. I am not sympathetic. He decides old pump is fine, replaces it.

Two days later, old pump dies for good. Here we go again. Only this time I am annoyed because I have to forgo the funeral for previously stated good friend to take DH back to the hardware store. He purchases more pipe and fittings, pulls the old pump of of the tank and spends hours refitting the new pump. I went to the local pharmacy, bought moisturizer, and eyebrow pencil, deodorant and CHOCOLATE. Which I am now eating to soothe my irritation. Because everyone knows that chocolate is a sedative.

I miss my friend.

And how is your day going?

Broken Cameras

Hey there. What a rainy day. Someone needs to figure out how to control the weather. Oh wait, don't they already think that? You know 'them'. The ones that tell you, "It is going to be a dry summer. Hot. A drought." Of course when it is a rainy summer they take credit for that too. "Them" I avoid 'them' whenever I can.

Oh yeah. Did I tell you that my one neighbor believes it is all NASA's fault? Because the shuttles make clouds?

Right.

Now on to the fun stuff. Shopped at Staples today. It was full of children. Apparently it is 'back to school' shopping day. They were running around wildly. Probably the only dry place large enough to run in since outside was Noah weather. Sheeting rain. (can you hear me laughing?)

We looked at laptops and digital cameras and flash drives. But we only bought calendars and post-it notes, and a calculator and rulers. My day planner is so jammed that I will need a newer larger one. Then I will need a new wallet to go with it. Drat, two things instead of the one I carry now.

I think I will also need a separate notebook for sewing items. I could put the smaller items in a pencil bag and use a ruler / calculator that has a holes for the rings. Or I could forget all of it and carry a pencil and paper......Nah. I like stuff.

No photos of my beautiful socks or anything else until the new camera arrives. DH wanted it ordered online. I wanted to run straight to the store and buy a new one. Instant gratification. But yesterday was not a great day for photos anyway. Too dark. Same as today. So...just imagine dark, dreary, wet.

There, I knew you could do it.

Out from Under the Rock

I have always found the phrase 'tastes like chicken' to be funny. And it is my usual answer to questions that amuse me. So when I read this:

"Rattlesnakes are prey kingsnakes, roadrunners, pig, hawks, and eagles. They have been harvested as human food, such as at the Rattlesnake Round-Up in Sweetwater, Texas. When cooked, they taste like chicken, but a little more "gamey".

from here, I was really amused.

So the next time someone wants you to go 'walk about' in your neck of the woods, think Dinner.

HOT

I am patiently waiting for new hummers. I changed the sugar water this morning. I had to fight off a few spiders in webs. They don't deserve to live. It will be 100 plus today so I plan to stay in and catch up on laundry and various tasks that need to be done. H has been out doing yard work since 6 this morning and will quit soon as it is getting hot already. It is 9:40 right now. I got up about 6:30. The humidity was 85% at that hour. Not good. E called and is very hot in NC. I don't know how I is in Chicago. With the AC though she will be fine. I will attack the spinning wheel today. If I find the right kind of string I will be in business. Wish me luck. It is exciting. Later. Li

Wanna Play?

Hey, Li.

I found a great site. Wanna surprise I and H? Go here and give it a try. I spent the morning listening. And remembering some of my High School classes.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the first lesson.

I like the way they do this. Let me know what you think.

Congratulations to I on her a.c. aquisitions. Two units after none at all. Amazing. Having a birthday is a good thing. Especially when you are living in an apartment in the city. Yeah for birthdays and gifts and good friends and family looking after you and more gifts and blessed cool air. Ahhhh.

So not only are you now a sock knitter. And an mp3 player (love that pun). But you are a techno phone geek. Thank goodness we were not Skyping when you got the calls. I wish I had a photo of you with a phone in each ear. Hey, have you heard of conference calls? Been around for a while now. You could talk to I and E and H all at the same time. And probably some other letters of the alphabet. So are they jointly HIE, HEI, EHI, IHE? And where do you put the L?LIEH, HILE, HELI, Acronyms are not my strong suit.

The Renaisance Festival is in full swing. I will try to get some shots. But please explain to me why somewhat normal folk choose August to dress in woolen clothes, live in tents in the open without any trees to shade them, use outhouses, cook over open fires. AUGUST in Western PA is not nice. It is hot (97° = 36.1C) and humid (81%) and grey and ugly. If you made me wear wool in this humidity and temperature I would show you how to return to England. Forcefully!

When I take photos, I will be sitting in my air conditioned auto.

I am Not Alone

Go here.

Go on. Go.




I feel so much better now.

maiden posting

Well, hello!!! This is my maiden posting. I loved the pics that you put on there. Wow. Cloudy day. We don't get those very often but I love them. I called this afternoon. She got a birthday box from E and wanted to call her but didn't have her new cell #. She is heaven with the two new window AC's. I told her that AC changes your life. Mine is going and going and going right now as it is close to 100 outside. I went out for a short time today and it was rough. You will have to show me again how to upload pics to this site. I have to be in a patient mood, which I am not at the moment. I was talking to I on the phone and my cell rang and it was H and I had two phones on my ears. I thought, now, there is something wrong with this picture. Way too much technology for me. I called your Ma today. It was good to talk to her. Well, I have to get back to the laundry. This will be a fun activity. Blogging, not laundry. L

There is in truth no modesty aloud.

Well, Cuz. What a morning. Not only did my mp3 player not work (thus depriving me of L & V during my wet drive) but I was assigned to the only male tech on duty. So, modesty? Not happening. Plus a woman with 7 children (yes SEVEN) ushered them all into the room. And they had a good time playing with the flimsy curtains that partition each section. I was ready to come out from behind curtain number three and deliver a surprise! They survived my momentary lapse of control. Or else you would be bailing me out of jail.

Now to the good stuff. The day was foggy, humid, hot, dreary and generally miserable. But even in the midst of that there is some beauty.

Thus, Photos:



Trees everywhere.

Horses later.

How is your day going?

La

And So It Begins

This is the story of two cousins who like each other a lot.

Who encourage each other to mischief.

And who would bail each other out of jail....if we ever got caught.

And we both like pointy sticks.