Tis a sad day in squirreltown.....

Tragedy has hit my back yard once again....and not only once, but TWICE this weekend. You can see two dead as a doornail squirrels in this picture...one is at the left of the silver colored pole and could be mistaken for some leaves. This has been happening at regular intervals for the past.....oh, thirty years or so. I have REPEATEDLY asked our power company to PLEASE install squirrel guards on the transformer that is situated at the top of this pictured pole. So far my requests have fallen on deaf ears. I don't want the guard because I'm a lover of squirrels, mind you....but because of the inconvenience it causes when they create a power failure, preceded by an earth shaking boom that sounds like someone has pulled the trigger on a shotgun right next to you. This is the sound a transformer makes when it goes. Unfortunately, I have one located in the extreme corner of my yard.

When I first moved here I thought squirrels were really cute and I fed them....I even tamed a few. But after so many years of them destroying things.....they have actually become pests and I'm not so fond of them anymore. However I hate to see this sort of thing happen. I am, after all, an animal lover and they could have babies in a nest somewhere. Although I'm more apt to believe that they were males headed home after a long night out with the boys and were attempting to sneak in before the little woman noticed how late it was. Both of these deaths occurred very early in the day....between 6 and 8 a.m. I'm sure they will be sorely missed by their families.

The first one occurred early Saturday morning and we were without power for about 5 hours. I considered myself lucky it was for only that long since we had had a very strong storm a couple nights before that took down many wires and trees north of us. I'm sure the power company had more than enough to do with that mess. So before I could get my grandson to pick up the first squirrel and appropriately get rid of it, we had another one occur about the same time on Sunday morning! This waking up to no power is getting old. I need my coffee in the morning. Let me put more emphasis on NEED....I mean I REALLY need my coffee in the morning!! This time it took about 7 hours before it was restored. CHA CHING. Overtime galore.

So I am going to obtain the name of someone who has some importance in their job description at the power company and I'm sending them this photo. I am going to, once again, plead with them to please put up a squirrel guard or some sort of deterrent to keep this from constantly happening. It certainly would be a lot cheaper than paying overtime for their workers to come out on a Sunday to get our power back, not to mention all of the neighborhood being inconvenienced. We average between one and two occurrences a year and we've had two already and the summer is just starting. The squirrels here have no natural predators other than vehicles and their population has really gotten out of control. Unfortunately Mollie, even though I'm sure she's still a legend, is just too old to help out anymore.

On a brighter note....we had family movie night on Saturday night. My family stayed the night as it was HOT and they do not have central AC. So after supper we settled in and watched Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood. Wow, its sad to see that such a superhero of the past (Dirty Harry) has aged.....but then, so have we all. It was a good movie....Depending on where you live, its true to the ways of our society now. Lots of racial slurs but without them, the movie would not have been realistic. It shows firsthand what a horrible violent society we live in and that most people just run from it (relocate). Only problem with that is that someday we will run out of places to relocate to. Eastwood's character doesn't want to move and he's a bitter old man with a family that doesn't understand him and doesn't really want to be bothered with him unless they need something. Thank goodness for the small bits of comedy here and there to lighten things up a bit. It was a good movie, the ending is very thought-provoking. Would I want to buy it and keep it? No. Would I have been mad to have paid $8. to see it at the show? No. Do I feel like I'm a better person for having watched it? No. It was a good movie....but definitely not for all audiences. It did deliver a message and I wish it could help the way things are in today's society, but it won't.....and that part is sad.

My family, a meal and a good movie....Priceless

We had family day again at my house and all went well. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak….but it never did. Everyone got along great, even the under 6 set.

We usually watch a movie as well as have a dinner but it just seemed like there were no movies available we wanted…..we’d seen a lot of them already and the ones we hadn’t, we had no interest in seeing. Hmmmm a dilemma. So we looked through the bookcase of older movies I have on hand. I chose one that I hadn’t seen in a long time and no one else in the family had seen it at all. Somehow this one had slipped through the cracks, possibly because of its name. Nine Months. A movie staring Hugh Grant, Julianne Moore, Joan Cusack and Tom Arnold….not to forget Robin Williams. There are a few spots that sort of drag, but the delivery room scene is so hysterically funny that you will be gasping for breath. Trust me on this. Even the guys enjoyed watching, although reluctantly, because they thought it was going to be a chick flick. So don’t be afraid to rent this one, even though I think it came out in 1995. The soundtrack is a good one too for those of us that like the older soft rock type of music.

After that movie, a friend stopped by with the latest Alien vs Predator. Since the little ones were asleep by now, we watched it and I guess I’m showing my age here because on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 3. Lots of gore, a plot that is nearly non-existent, lots of scenes that I didn’t understand and acting that was pretty horrible. The original Alien movie was terrific as far as I’m concerned and the second one, Aliens, was good too, but these cheap-shot spin-offs are terrible.

Tomorrow starts off another week and already we have Winter Storm Watch posted for our area beginning Monday evening; a possibility of 5 to 8 inches of new snow and strong north winds. What can I say? You all know by now just what I think about THIS. Meanwhile, I hope you’re making happy memories on this Sunday.

Home at Last.....

Lord have mercy! When I got home this evening I wanted to kiss the kitchen floor. Talk about a jungle out there! People are absolutely INSANE. They are driving like idiots, honking and squealing tires, cutting people off, slamming on brakes at the last minute. I had one guy miss me by INCHES…he had drifted over into my lane. I still can’t figure out how he missed ripping off my mirror on the side. Then I almost rear-ended someone because they stood on their brakes to turn into a store at the last minute. Good thing I keep a good distance back. Traveling on today’s roads is not for the meek, that’s for sure.

I came in my house, threw off my coat, thanked God for seeing me home safely and promptly made myself a stiff drink. I still need a few things at the store but I’m honestly afraid to venture out tonight….so I will wait until Monday morning. I conveniently have that day off so I’ll make the most of it.

Yes, I’m planning another family night tomorrow. We will watch the newest Harry Potter and Shrek III. I’m fixing a ham with baked beans and au gratin potatoes. I may even make the holiday meatballs too. Can’t think of a good dessert yet (its got to be easy). I’ll come up with something…maybe pumpkin bars.

In the meantime, I’m now in my jammies and have finished a drink so I’m feeling much calmer. Hope you all have a happy Friday…Oops…my weather alarm just went off and we have a “Winter storm watch” in effect. Possibly up to 8 inches of the S-word by Sunday night. Good heavens……pour me another drink.

Poked, probed and x-rayed......

This morning it was freezing rain and foggy and….OF COURSE….I had to go out in it. I had a doctor’s appointment and his office is approximately 5 miles away. I got there without any trouble and was surprised that I didn’t have to wait long….maybe they had some cancellations. Anyway, I had a new nurse this time. I love that because as she stopped at the scale I said…”I don’t want to do that, I’m not in the mood” and…..I got away with it! Wahoo! I HATE weighing in. It always puts me in a rotten mood….and with a new nurse you can usually get away with intimidation…at least once.

Well, after checking my x-rays, my arthritis is worse and now he wants me to see an orthopedic surgeon for my hip. Even though he says I don’t have to do this immediately, we are talking surgery here and I’m not pleased about that. He is also going to try a new medication and see if that helps; and is doubling up on my pain pills. I can’t believe that I once used to jump up on a horse and ride bareback at a full gallop. Oh well….at least I’m glad I was able to have that experience in my lifetime. Those are sure happy memories.

To soothe my nerves, as soon as I got out of the doctor’s office, I swung by Dunkin’ and got a coffee and some coffee cake muffins. Oh my…if you’ve never had those muffins, try one. They are great. (now you know why I skip the weighing in).

I’m also concerned about my friend, Jamie, who is having surgery today. I know they have had a horrible ice storm in her neck of the woods and I sure hope that everything went ok in spite of that. I’ve been thinking about her all day. If you get a chance, stop by and wish her well.

I had a great time at the party that Anonymous Boxer had last weekend. I visited a lot of blogs and had a lot of party-goers visit me. AB, if I didn’t already do this….thank you for the invite….sorry I didn’t stick around to help you clean up.

The movies we watched last weekend at my family night get together were pretty good. There was a slight change and we watched Spiderman 3 instead of Shrek III. It was very good…lots of action and a pretty good plot. The other movie, TRANSFORMERS….was pretty good too. Its definitely a “male” movie. My grandson was in seventh heaven. I have a couple complaints about it…one, it was pretty long at 2 ½ hours and two, I sometimes had a hard time telling the good guys from the bad ones. But lots of action and the graphics were impressive. The plot was a bit shallow but they threw in some comedy to make up for that. All in all…not a bad movie.

Family night was a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. If my son hadn’t decided to have ten one too many beers, it would have been a 9 or 10 for sure. We are still going to have family nights even if I have to pull hair to make them do it. Sigh ~ its not easy being mom.

We still have weather advisories up and I sure hope we don’t get what Iowa got. In the meantime, I’m gonna snuggle in with a good book. I’m reading Dean Koontz’s last one: The Darkest Evening of the Year.

Snow is Another Four Letter Word......

This morning as I was plucking my chin hairs, I decided that if your mood depends upon your state of mind, then I'm changing my state of mind. It may be cold and icy and snowy in my neighbor's yards, but in mine its balmy, the palm trees slowly swaying in the breeze as the fragrance of night blooming jasmine lulls my senses into a peaceful sense of well-being.

AHA.......what have I been smoking you say? Why nothing. I'm just tired of the cold ALREADY. I need a warmer climate. I need to move. To think that we have at least 4 more full months of this crap gives me heart palpitations. I read about people who crave snow........who would give anything to have it. Well, let me tell you, they certainly would have a BIG change of heart if they knew just what it was all about. Slippin' and slidin' everywhere you go. Shoveling the walks, only to have to do it again a few hours later. Shoveling your driveway and then having the county snow plow go past your house and make a berm of snow across the entire width of your drive that will ensure you getting stuck when you pull in or out. It's a mess, I tell you......and every person who lives in snow country knows I speak the truth.

There is no getting the mail without putting on snow boots and a heavy coat. Usually the snow will go over the tops of the boots anyway and manage to get your feet wet. With me being so short, its common for the snow to be knee deep for me. I keep asking myself this same question every single year.......why do I stay here? Roots. A simple one-word answer......roots.

Sigh ~ why didn't grand-daddy decide to settle in the South.......or maybe Hawaii? You know we always want what we don't have. I imagine if I never saw snow I would be complaining about THAT.

Anyway........God Bless the UPS man......my packages are coming in every day.

Tomorrow night is family night......both my kids plus the grandkids will be here.......we are making a huge pot of chili, chips and dip on the side......then settling in to watch not one, but TWO movies. Number one is TRANSFORMERS and the other one is SHREK III. I'll let you know my opinion of them in a future post. Oh yeah.......and I'll let you know what I think of the movies too. LOL