Entry for June 28, 2007 - Vic Munster...

I can not tell you guys anything.

I blogged the other day on my poor wrenched ankle,..(bytheway thanks to those of you who were somewhat sympathetic to my plight)... and tonight as I finally hobbled my way back to the computer desk to log into my e-mail, what do I find but a little graphic in my in-box.

My dear, dear, VERY dear friend Wukky having picked up on a sentence in the previous blog about having a "Herman Munster-like gait" had graciously made me a little Vic Munster avatar. Upon seeing it, I wanted to assure all of you in 360 that Halloween had not come early this year.... Nor had I been out in public without my make-up on, or had been beaten by the ugly stick....or in this case, the ugly tree!

The graphic did give me a giggle or two, but I have a feeling it had an underlying meaning. As most of you know Wukky and Gloggy will be soon starting up on their blogging tour of North America. I think the avatar was left in my in-box much like a dead chicken is left on someone's door step as a sign or warning. I have a sneaking suspicion that Wukky may very well be our own 360 mafia "Blogfather".

I am now on tenderhooks worrying that Gloggy and Wukky's visit has to go as smoothly as possible. That they have the best accomodations, the finest foods, and that every attention to detail is given to assure their comfort and blogging entertainment.

I KNOW I can count on each and everyone of you to help fulfill that mission.

They will be arriving soon....

....and the red carpet treatment will be rolled out...

...and when they make their way across the U.S to my home state of Nebraska,...

.... I will greet them with a small kiss on the ring of Blogfather Wukky,.... and with the best curtsey I can "Munster"....

Entry for June 27, 2007 - Alice...

Today I am feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland. Yesterday when out and about for a bit in the yard I fell in a hole. It wasn’t exactly a rabbit hole like Alice’s, it was just an ordinary hole that I stepped in. It wasn’t the most graceful of steps either. I waved my arms, tried to keep from dropping the stuff I was carrying and did this spasmodic dance step to keep me from sprawling flat on my face. My ankle is feeling the results of that hole today.

This morning as I got up and looked over my ankle it didn’t appear to be too swollen. It wasn’t too colored up, unless you look at the bottom of my foot and then you will see the darkened purple area that runs the length of my sole. It didn’t hurt too badly, till I stood up on it. Which posed a bit of a dilemma since I like to be upright for most of the day. Putting shoes on helped some, and with a Herman Munster-like gait I hobbled to the doorway. I was then at a crossroads. One way was to the kitchen where I could go grab some breakfast. The other direction lead me to the computer room. Priding myself on being practical, I opted for the shortest distance, which was the computer room. Once settled in a chair my foot didn’t feel so badly again. It’s only appears to be this walking stuff that bothers it.

I was feeling a bit more smug, I can handle this wimpy wrenched ankle foot stuff. It isn’t so bad, and by the end of the week I will be doing cartwheels. But after an hour or so of blogging and web surfing, a bagel for breakfast was sounding good and as I looked down the hallway towards the kitchen, I realized now it was even a bigger jaunt or hobble.... I sighed.... This foot stuff was beginning to be so inconvenient.

Around noon the clouds rolled in, and brought a much needed shower of rain. I would have jumped for joy if I could have, so I mentally whispered hooray. I had hobbled up and down the hall a few times by then. Each time I mentally patted myself on the back. I wasn’t exactly the swiftest but at least I was mobile. Last night I chatted a bit with Cyn who was trying her best to catch the flu..... Poor girl. I started not to feel so sorry for myself, after all it could be worse... I could have the bum foot AND have diarrhea.... now that would make me hobble faster.

So much to do. It’s bugging me. I don’t make a very good patient. I get cranky easily. I know my foot/ankle will mend soon enough on it’s own....with the price of health care and the huge deductible that I haven’t met yet,..it better.

Such a stupid mistake, not paying attention where I was walking. I will most likely pay for it the rest of the week. I can already feel me turning from a peeved Alice into a Mad hatter.... Mumbling and grumgling.... In such a huge yard, I had to find the one and only hole, empty except for my foot in it...... No rabbits,...no odd characters....not even a tea party.... Just a little pity party for me.... another cookie anyone?

Entry for June 24, 2007 - U.S. Invasion...

Warning...warning...warning.... we are about to be invaded....

No,.... it's not the Beatles again,.... or another H.G. Wells moment.....

(Well in a way it kind of could be),... but it doesn't involve aliens or creatures from another planet, just creatures from another country.... Two countries in fact....

Teaming up to be make a bigger wave than any Tsunami, Wukky and Gloggy are making plans to visit the U.S. (and possibly parts of Canada).....

....(insert panic'd shrieks here).....

In an effort to extend to them the same hospitality as was shown to numerous bloggers on their trips down under, bloggers are needed to entertain and host the twosome while on their adventures here in North America.

Sign up now to be a "host" and have them visit your blog area. Make sure to mention the great state or area you live in, so efforts can be coordinated to have them visit as many bloggers as possible. Also a welcoming party is needed to greet the two as they enter into the country and to pat them down for any smuggled vegemite or huhus.

In the event that all bloggers have gone mysteriously MIA as the two arrive on their U.S. blog visit, Wukky and Gloggy will be "whined" and dined at Chuck E. Cheese and given 10 free game tokens. They will then be presented a gift basket of leftover ketchup packets, bubble gum, a coffee mug, and t-shirt, before being hastily loaded onto the nearest plane, train, ship, canoe, or inflatable raft available.

Let's give them a trip they won't soon forget, .....and show them the awesome sights,... wonders,.... and Motel 6's our country has to offer.

Sign up now..................(don't make me do any begging and arm twisting!)



*Sign up by the 29th to ensure a visit with the twosome. Not legally responsible for any thefts, trauma, accidents, fleas, diseases, huhus, drama queeens, spilled drinks, crashed modems, temporary blindness, or pre-existing medical (or mental!)conditions...

Entry for June 22, 2007 - Bookworm...

I read a blog recently that brought back a lot of memories. Memories of a time that was without computers, video games, and cable tv. Or at least a time where those modern devices and conveniences wasn't a part of my life.

Possum posted a blog on a book she was reading. She posted an excerpt from the book that made me think. I had read the book, eons upon eons ago. I could remember a few of the characters and some of the plot, but some of it was very vague in the recesses of my mind. I got to thinking just how long has it been since I picked up a book? A real book...a book of substance and quality. I hate to say it. It's been ages.

When I was a kid I loved to read. I looked forward to going to the library each month and picking out books. I always picked out the maximum amount of books that I could, then take them home and have them all read within a week or two. I would anxiously be waiting for a return trip to the library for more reading material. I read a lot, an awful lot. I blame it on Dick and Jane and Spot. They are my earliest memories of reading. From there I graduated to Dr.Seuss, Curious George, Ramona the Pest, Pippylongstocking. As I got older and what I call the "prairie years", I read all the Little House books. I read books by Willa Cather, Bess Streeter Aldrich, and Janice Holt Giles. I read old westerns, books my mom had, books found at rummage sales. I read, "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew", and found out they really weren't vegetables at all.

I got older and read Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney, and got into mysteries and Stephen King. In college I read more of the classics, Shakespear, Euripides,Faulkner, and others. I in no way read everything or even all of one author's novels, but I read a wide sampling.... I was a bookworm.

Things change though. Time seemed to be at more of a premium and I traded in those novels for magazines and short stories. I read more on gardening, alternative medicines, art and photography and other hobbies and interests I had at that time. I still read some, but not to the degree that I had earlier.

It was a time I call B.C........"before computer".

With a computer I now read on-line,... newspapers, stories, webpages, and blogs. The computer has become my library. Everything seems to be at your fingertips with a computer. Online encyclopedias, dictionaries, references, public records, books in pdf format,... it's all there.

Or is it?

The computer is a wonderful invention. I don't know what I would do without it. I think of all the friendships I have made, all of the things I have learned and read without having to leave the confines of my home. With all of the progress that has been made and the knowledge available at my fingertips, I still don't feel any smarter though.

I went back and read Poss's blog today. To read those words that moved her from the passage of that book. It drew me in as if I was holding that book in my hand and rereading it again. I had almost forgotten that feeling,.. that feeling you get from a story that draws you into it. Where you read the pages faster and faster as the plot thickens....When you read the words slower as you come closer and closer to the ending, and wanting to savor every last bit of it and wishing it wouldn't end so soon.

A good book will do that...and sometimes a good blog will do that too.

Entry for June 18, 2007 - Feels Like Christmas...

I was lucky to find myself the recipient of not one but two gifts from a couple of bloggers in a fun sort of tag game. MkChippy graciously took into account that all girls like to feel pretty and has given me a lovely wig to sport when I am feeling the need for a change.

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Dixie appealing to the chocolate loving side of me, gifted me with a lovely chocolate jelly ring, which I am hoping really is edible and not some sort of chocolate flavored teething ring of sorts!

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I was then suppose to give back to them a gift as well...I thought and thought what lovely gift to get an equally lovely person as Dixie. After seeing the gift she got from MkChippy, I thought it only fitting that I should get her a flyswatter to swat away all the guys who will be chasing her after seeing that shirt she is wearing...

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I then selected for MkChippy, a thumb wrestling game for hours of enjoyment when he is bored and no one is on-line to entertain him...

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While shopping, I spied a few gifts for others...

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Now,not only can Jimwoodkrvr, pick his nose, but he has a choice of what kind of nose to pick. A sure fire way to keep him picking for hours...

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For Misty on those days she is not quite feeling herself. One or two quick sprays and she is back to feeling Canadian. I was tempted to try it myself but thought mabye I would be considered un-American if I did...

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What better way for Cyn and JD to enjoy their new wood floors in their living room, then to sit in their living room while watching their new FLAT SCREEN TV!!...No need to thank me you two, nothing but the best for my friends...

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For my friend Bubs,... I couldn't help myself, I saw it and had to get it. Nothing screams style more than polyester, rhinestones, and a pompador. I know you will be rocking out and singing "You ain't nothing but a weiner dog" when you get behind closed doors...(or at least we hope the doors are closed, bolted, and sound proof)...

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For Hillbilly and his fishing buddies, when they go fishing. They might not always catch the girls, but they can always catch happy hour. They will now be able to measure the fish and their tall tales...

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For all of my blog friends. A new clock for when we never seem to have enough time...

Having just done a tag not too long ago, I won't make anyone continue the gift exchange tag unless they want to. If anyone is interested,....Copied from MkChippy's blog, here is how the gift exchange works:

Here are the "rules". . . Start with the picture of the gift you received. Give out at least 5 presents, including (hopefully) one for the person who sent you a Virtual Tacky Gift in the first place. Gifts can be something funny/ugly/silly you own… but if that’s too much work, go ahead and “shop” on Google Images. Have fun!

Entry for June 17, 2007 - Father's Day

Father's Day...

I wasn't going to write a blog on Father's Day. I was going to blog on Wukky and Gloggy's Excellent Adventure, and have every one sign up to be a host as they come to visit the U.S. That blog will come later now,... another day. Being Father's Day I thought maybe I should stick with the program. I have read a lot of blogs on fathers today, some good, and some not so good.

Parents are such a big factor in our lives. Helping to mold us and make us the individuals we are today. Some times despite their best efforts things don't go as planned, and sometimes we as individuals do turn out to be a better and stronger person than we ever thought possible.

I think my childhood was rather ho-hum. One of four kids, with a mom that was a stay at home housewife while my dad worked. My dad would often be gone for the majority of the week, and when he would arrive home on the week-ends it seemed like such a big event. Sometimes he would bring home gifts or small treats, and almost always he would settle down in his chair and watch tv in the evenings. Cigar smoke reminds me of him. SwisherSweets cigars were his brand of choice. He smoked on and off his entire life. When MkChippy wrote a blog earlier this week about his pants on fire (insert smile here) it reminded me of my dad. He was forever burning holes in his shirts, and you never wanted to sit in the backseat of the car when he was driving. The flick of the ash always flew back thru the window and landed on you or in your face.

When I was young, I idolized my father. As I got older, my father was gone more and more. I think he could have been home more often, but I think he relished his time alone. A lot of our upbringing was left to my mom. I know she must have felt trapped. I know I would have. Being a parent is the hardest job there is.

As I got older, I was more aware of things. Little things would bug me, bigger things would anger me. Things of my father that no longer made me idolize him so much. I was never abused, I really can't say that I was even spanked that much. Parts of me though, were resentful at what I felt was my father's selfishness. I think one of my biggest regrets in life, is letting him see that resentfulness in me towards him. It is easier now to look back and realize that some people do the best they can. That their own upbringing and childhood makes a mark on their life. Life truly came full circle for him in his final years. He suffered with ill health and diminishing eyesight. When he was finally home fulltime, we were the ones that were gone. I am sure he felt if, even if he said nothing.

People are who they are. No matter how much we want them to change and be what we want them to be. We only have control over ourselves, and the person we desire to be.

Today a lot of father's will be getting ties, or powertools, or handdrawn cards. Father's will be firing up the grill to cook out in the backyard while the kids are setting up the croquet set. Later on they will pitch horseshoes, and eat homemade ice cream, with each kid giving the old ice cream maker handle a crank. People will stop by later and sip lemonade on the front porch as the evening cools and children chase fireflies before sitting on the steps and listening to stories from their dad of when he was a kid.

Okay maybe it won't quite be like that for most. It might just be an old episode of Leave it to Beaver I am remembering. It's a nice thought though. If everyone could have those kinds of memories. Every day is a chance for a new memory to be created, for you, or your kids, or for the kid in you.

Happy Father's Day Ward Cleaver...

Entry for June 16, 2007 - Vegging Out....

.....lulled into a false sense of security, Teddy blogged his way merrily across Yahoo 360. It wasn't until he felt an irresistible urge to go dipping and saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye, that Teddy realized he was being stalked......

Entry for June 13, 2007 - ARGH! Tagged by Jean....

I was tagged when I wasn't looking.... that will teach me to nap while blogging...

I will be a good sport and play along, but this is my one and only good deed for the day, I don't want to get into the habit of being too nice or people will talk. I think my fear of tagging comes from being traumatized as a child when being tagged to be "it" and everyone ran away. I never did find all of my friends,... to this day I still feel the guilt. I just know there is someone hiding in a cupboard thinking any day I will show up to find them.......

(Sorry Suzi, I know ya had a big 50 question tag-type thingey but there is just not 50 interesting things to say about me, just finding 7 things, I will have to do some creative fibbing,lol)....

Okay, down to the specifics....

The rules and mechanics about this chain:

Each player starts with seven random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged, need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose seven people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog. Let's begin!

1. I am a twin (not identical though)
2. I really do live next to a cornfield ...
3. I am artistic...
4. I studied in college to be a teacher, but I have never taught school...
5. I have never owned a pair of red knickers :P
6. I have been on-line well over 10 years and I am still using the same computer...
7. I procrastinate.....a lot...

And now drawing from a big hat the seven lucky contestants to be tagged......(drumroll please)....

1. Farrell
2. Barb
3. Teddy
4. Teddy
5. Teddy
6. Teddy
7. Teddy

No, that wasn't a misprint or typo, I am tagging Teddy FIVE times so he has to write 5 x 7 = 35 comments about himself as well as tag 35 people and go visit their blogs to tell them he has tagged them. By the time he has made all of his rounds, he should be one tired little bear :) ...

Entry for June 05, 2007 - For Angie...

Angie has asked for our favorite outhouse pic, so I am posting one for her.... I am not sure what she has planned, but having seen Gloggy communing with nature on her blog, I am a bit worried.....and traumatized....


(oh yeah...paybacks are just beginning Teddy! lol).....