Much too long between posts . . .

Not sure why I've been such a slacker but it may be because I'm on Facebook too often. I've got to cut back on FB because most of it really is a waste of time. I rarely see something that grabs my interest and I tend to like too many posts! But in defense of FB there really are some people that I enjoy keeping track of!

Got back from the Early Learning Center today and I was so hungry I talked P&D's Pop into going to the Longhorn to eat. They have an excellent Margarita and the best 6oz Filet Mignon with a sweet potato side. We didn't even order desert. I didn't get a chance to walk off all of the calories because it was in the 90's and super muggy. When we got up this morning the storm doors had condensation on the outside! That's a first for us. The door looked like the Zachary Waffle House early in the morning! We only keep the air on 78 and the outside temperature this morning was 78 with humidity in the 98 percent range and it wasn't raining - just heavy as heck.

Besides a great meal today I stopped at Stage, a clothing store in DS, because I finally remembered to use a 50% off coupon on the clearance racks and I snagged P&D's Pop five nice shirts for $51. I had to laugh because the slip said I had saved $193. Oh the games these stores play. But for $10 a shirt I couldn't go wrong. He wore one when we went out to the restaurant and looked super!

That's about it for now. It's late and I'm trying to catch up,on my reading.

Now that was a pretty good day. . .

Wild flowers at South Park

Started out yesterday by not going to South Park with P&D's Pop because it was just too hot and muggy and I had a Doctor's appointment at 11 am. The incredible thing was that I left home at 10 and was back home by noon! Dr. Deepak's office was running like clockwork. And to top it all off he came into the room and told me that I had the best numbers of any cardiology patient he's ever had. He said my numbers were better than his. So I was pretty happy with that. When I returned home we decided to celebrate Father's Day early and went to the Longhorn for dinner. P&D's Pop had salmon and I ate the best 6 oz filet mignon I've ever had. It was broiled with black pepper and outrageously tasty and tender. I ordered medium rare. Come to think of it it was the best steak I've had in a restaurant. So I guess I shall have to order steak when I go to a steak house!

We had some company today. It gave me a chance to go to our Delicious Donut place and pick up some super good sweets. Daughter-in- law, grand daughter and kids stopped in for a pleasant visit. I'm glad that I kept my pop up books! The five year old liked the Dinosaurs, Sharks and Marvel Comic's Heroes books. I was surprised at how carefully he opened and closed each page.

It was so humid and hot today that I set up my Beatspill and the iPad. As I walked in the shade of the carport I listened to a couple of podcasts about British History and was really surprised at how interesting it is. I'm in the year 878 or so and found myself enjoying the narration. P&D's Pop and I also completed Crimetown. It'll be interesting to see where they go from Buddy Cianci and Raymond Patriaca!

Also heard from our Kiddo today. It was his last day of  seventh grade. He made honor roll and was pretty happy to tell me about that. He sounded good. He'll be going to Parks and Rec in Groton for the summer. I'm glad he'll get a chance to spend some time with the kids with whom he was in school for seven years.

Quote:  The spirit of man, which God inspired, cannot together perish with this corporeal clod.  ___Milton (I wouldn't bet on that, Mr. Milton. A corporeal clod tried shooting up some Republicans. I feel that God must re-inspire the spirit of man. We are in dire straits.)

This has been interesting . . .

Light Pole Mockingbird

Had to have some fasting blood work done today for my six months regular check up with the cardiologist and after we ate breakfast at Waffle House in Zachary (it had been excellent once; went downhill last year and is starting to come back to pretty darned good) I felt the need for a ride to somewhere. The grey days are getting to be a pain in the derrière and I needed to get away to something different so P&D's Pop agreed to take me to Cabela's in Gonzales, about 32 miles south of DS. He generally finds something in the fishing department that is useful for making the 60 foot lines he uses to fly the control line planes. We did find what he wanted but they were too expensive so when we returned home he bought them from Cabela's on line for a much better price - go figure! In any case I got a chance to try on a couple of what nice t-shirts but they looked terrible on me so Grampa lucked out until after we renewed our fishing/ hunting licenses and we agreed to mosey up stairs. After looking around for a bit I spied the On Sale Room and it was pretty cool - at least for me! I actually found a few things that I liked - I now own a new pair of Teva's - not quite sandals but not thongs - very comfortable; I also own a laser pistol with two targets that works quite well. I'm not even close to comfortable around guns, especially pistols so I thought this might get me used to doing some target practice. I've always like to shoot a 22 rifle at a target but haven't done so in eons. I would love to be a good marksman and now I just may get a feel for it. The only drawback at this time is I'll have to use the hallway in the house for practice as it's too bright outside for the targets to show up! Oh well, nothing is perfect. The pistol is pretty hefty and is somewhat like a Glock 42/43, so the paperwork says! I am treating it like a real gun and so I'm still overly cautious but I hope I never get over that - I would like to be comfortable though! We'll see where this leads me. I haven't gotten too far with getting to a real practice range and maybe this will goad me on. I also bought a set of marbles and a floor target so I can beat up on the Kiddo when he comes to visit! Lastly I insisted that Grampa buy a new mesh hat. So for $160 we did okay.

I've already walked today because so far the rain has left us alone! That's a good thing. My plants are turning yellow from over watering! Time to think about supper tonight - pork chop casserole à la Moosup - browned chops, raisin and brown sugar gravy with apples on top and mashed potatoes on the side.

Quote:  No wickedness proceeds on any grounds of reason.

Most pokey, dull day . . .

Sky at South Park

P&D's Pop has gotten himself a formidable cold; it showed up yesterday with a sore throat and it is progressing. Not used to seeing him not feeling well. It's a good thing it's Sunday and he can watch the Dover Race on TV. Speaking of TV - Friday I had a cleaning company come in to see if they could clean up the living room carpet before I decided that I wanted new carpets all over hell and damnation. Well he tested it; it was cleanable and offered to do it right away instead of scheduling it for next week. That was cool but we ended up watching LSU trying to lose its home game on the TV in the bedroom! That worked out well once I remembered how to work the darned thing. We brought my rocker and a glider in the big bedroom and had very good seats for a terrible game even though they managed to win after committing only five errors!

We went to breakfast at IHOP this morning and  P&D's Pop didn't even go to the flying field afterwards while I went to Mass! That's odd. I walked In the neighborhood after Mass and it is muggier than hell; I imagine hell is pretty bad because I was drenched; only did about 5,000 steps before I quit, sat on the swing to get a breeze and recuperate. We'll watch LSU play again this evening if the weather holds. They won yesterday but it was too late for us because of the rain delay. At least they won again. Hope they can hold it together - I wouldn't mind a National Championship! That would be pretty cool.

Will start back at the Early Learning Center Summer Camp this week and will also help for a full week at the Bible School. I was accosted at Mass today and agreed to help with Bible School as long as I'm not teaching. I'll be watching over the high school kids who are getting ready for confirmation and have to perform so many works of charity etc. I had a really good kid last year - I expect I'll get the same type of kid again. Got a cornbread jalapeño stuffed chicken cooking for supper and we'll have a nice salad with our own cukes and a creole tomato thrown in. Should be just what the doctor ordered to clear up that fierce cold and keep it away from moi!

Quote:  Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age.   ___Aristotle

It's been so long my new iPad made me sign in . . .

Brown Thrasher Crossing

That's rather funny, don'tcha know! There has been lots of good stuff happening; walking daily, photos, trip to El Dorado, Arkansas, new plants but I get kinda down and don't feel like writing when I've got doctor stuff that needs to get done. But . . . as of this day I've been to the new doctor for the UTI's and things are looking pretty darned good. I even hate to mention it but I've got to say that the stomach problems I've been having lately seem to be gone at this time! I get so damned nervous now when I go to medical appointments that I work myself into a tizzy! Today Dr. Stephen Vick did a couple of tests and I'm good to go for another four months! Yay! He may even take me off  the latest daily medicine if the UTI's stay away. He's blaming my susceptibility on a surgery I had over 29 years ago! I also saw Dr. Hailey at Woman's and I'm all set for another year before I go for a mammogram again! Cool beansies plus he got me in touch with a super new gynecologist so I think we've finally covered all the bases. I guess when you come down to it a year to get the medical stuff  straightened out isn't too bad.

We'll be off to Houston, Texas Friday for a flying contest. I've never been to Houston so this should be fun. It's about a five hour drive, I think. I doubt I'll get any special photos because I'll just be along for the ride and launching the plane but that's fine too. I'll be seeing lots of new scenes as we travel and that is very enjoyable. I'm sitting on the front porch as I write - first time I write out here and I like it. I'm starting to sit out on the glider more often to watch the sunsets. It's been grey and rainy most of the day but it's still beautiful with shades of grey and green everywhere. Summer will be upon us soon.

Been Face Timing our Kiddo on Sundays. It's a good thing we'll see the Connecticut folks in August because he's growing up so fast he changes each week. They are happy in their older new home - even have a neat garden. I'm also looking forward to visiting Connecticut towards the end of Summer when I'll get a chance to drive our son-in-law's new flatbed! That will be extra special - haven't been on a Tow Truck Job in years!

Quote:  Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable than fidelity. ___Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind.   ____Cicero

Lost the habit . . .

Ca sent bon!

No, not the nun's habit - silly! I've lost the habit of blogging on a somewhat regular basis - perhaps I'm spending too much time taking pictures, walking and reading. Not sure how you can spend too much time at those endeavors but I'll put the blame there.

For the second time since we've moved into our home CVS Pharmacy in DS has filled a prescription improperly. It hasn't had dire consequences for me but it makes me worry about the quality of the people who fill the prescriptions - probably not the druggists themselves but the helpers! I picked up a prescription 6 days ago and have taken one a day as directed by the new Doctor located behind Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge. Today I kept looking at the container because it is so full I almost spill it each night when I take my one pill. The container indicates that there are supposed to be 30 capsules and since I have already taken 5 there should be 25 left. I counted them - there are 79 left! Holy shitski! The pills are the right ones, I checked but the amount is crazy. I never really looked to see how many were supposed to be in the filled prescription but today as I looked and found the error I noticed that I had 11 refills! I called CVS and they had trouble understanding the problem - they were going to give me more since he thought that they hadn't given me enough! Well, I finally convinced him that the container that should have held 30 capsules had held 84. The light came on and he apologized and said not to worry - just use them up and when I needed more to call them. I explained that this was second mistake in less than a year and I thought they should look at who was filling the prescriptions to make sure these mistakes don't happen to anyone else or me again. He thanked me and said they would look into it. Cripes - suppose they put the wrong pills in the damn container? I think the pharmacist probably told a helper, "Fill this prescription." and the helper proceeded to fill the container with as many capsules as would fit! This is scary stuff! The last time the prescription was for a 30 day supply of medicine. That meant that I only needed 15 pills because I had to cut them in half to get the correct dosage - yup, you guessed it - I ended up with 30 pills which when cut in half gave me a 60 day supply. I'm not making this up. Well time to make some gumbo supper. Talk to you later.

Well the gumbo is now cooking and Mr. P&D's Pop is taking care of the salad so I'm back for a bit. Salad tonight will be lots of cucumbers - I'm pretty impressed with my cucumbers growing in a pot near the wood fence in the side yard. Mr. P put up some twine on the fence and the cukes are growing up the twine like mad.  So I've decided to grow some green beans too.  We've got another pot set up and hopefully when we return from our El Dorado flying contest they'll be sprouted enough to put up some more twine for climbing.  All of my flowers are looking good too and to top it all off our Sago Palm has come back from the brink of ugly to almost beautiful. I wish I could take credit for all of this but I can't - living in Louisiana is a boon to pot gardening!

We had a major problem Sunday when the toilets would not flush - called Slaughter son and in no time at all between son and father the problem was rectified.  It only took some digging and a snake and lots of hard work to get it all figured out and flowing smoothly.  Thank goodness our son lives fairly close by and knows how these septic systems work.  Eventually we'll get someone to come and empty the system and make sure all of the lines are cleaned out and working well but for now we have a reprieve.  Yay!  Thank Higgs Bosun for a son who always helps out.

Quote:  Ingratitude is monstrous; and for the multitude to be ungrateful, were to make a monster of the multitude.   ___Shakespeare

It's been a while . . .

Just a baby

We've been busy lately just trying to get in our flying and walking! Went to a neat birthday party for a newly minted four year old and they had a crawfishboil and barbecue. It was great and a lot of fun. We also had Slaughter friends stop in Monday; we went to Big Mike's for lunch. I'd been wanting to go there ever since I found out on TV that Bar Rescue had rescued Big Mike's after the August flooding. I liked the show and was impressed with the fact that they completed the work in just three days in October, only two months after the August 2016 Flood. It's the biggest rescue they have ever done and it was unusual too because they usually rescue bars that are failing; Big Mike's is a 1.9 million dollar a year business! But they would probably never have reopened without Bar Rescue because besides the Bar their home also flooded and they didn't have room in their FEMA trailer for all their kids! Typical mess à la Louisiane. The trip to Big Mike's was well worth it. We enjoyed the food, the company and the waitresses. Hope to go again soon. We both liked it there. Maybe I'll even spring for a Margarita!

It seems I've finally managed to get the Early Learning Center to send me to help someone else besides the three year olds' class. Tomorrow I shall graduate to the four year olds. I'm looking forward to branching out! I truly enjoy Miss C and her sweet kiddos but I've really always wanted to help with different teachers so hopefully this will all work out well. They've already got me for the summer camp program and the lady in charge of religious ed has also reminded me she'll be calling me to help out again in their short summer program. That's cool as long as it doesn't conflict with any flying contests or Kiddo visit!

We think the baby Bluebirds have flown the coop. P&D's Pop watched them keep popping their heads out of the box yesterday but they wouldn't leave. This evening there doesn't seem to be any activity around the box. We have one more box still holding babies so we'll have to keep an eye out for them too.

Made a Polish dinner this evening and it was pretty darned good: Haluski - Fried Cabbage, Ham & Noodles. It showed up on Facebook so I decided to give it a try; worth making it once in a while. Of course it made a heck of a lot but we're going to turn it into Poboys tomorrow with Dijon Mustard and chips! Sounds good to me and easy peasy, just the way I like things to be.

Tried to order a full cover for my new iPad because it only has a cover over the screen but they don't have a full one for it yet. I left them a piece of my mind. Man, the back of it is very slippery and needs to be covered. I hope they come out with one soon - disappointed in Apple.

Also fighting with Terminix as they have not fulfilled their contract in the fight against termites - we don't have any but we don't want them either! I've telephoned and emailed them every day since last Friday to no avail. No one answers the phone - they just put you on hold and advertise their products! Finally I got sneaky and said I was calling about opening a new contract - sure as hell someone called me back but couldn't help me contact anyone about our present contract although he said he'd call the local manager. That didn't help so today I called and pushed the button to cancel our contract - sure enough a nice young lady answered my call and when I told her the real reason I called she set up an appointment for Tuesday between 8 and 10 am. She said she'd look into the problem with contacting service! Seems that's been happening a lot! No kidding! We may look for another pest control service that is local.

Quote:  Live only for today, and you ruin tomorrow.   ___C. S
immons