Seriously?

I sometimes think if Hubby wasn't around to talk me down I'd just get in my truck and drive away -maybe I'd come back after a while.

I often feel like I'm trapped doing, running, and begging for people (mostly my mother, and often my children) who don't acknowledge that I do a thing for them.  In fairness at least two are children.

Sonny Boy had me so mad this afternoon I could have pinched his head off.  Hubby has gotten him an arrangement to mow a friend's lawn.  Great, except Sonny Boy has never really mown due to the fact our lawn is a witch due to it being on a hill (I'm scared he'll lose a toe). Needless to say he's inexperienced so I try to show him how to mow and he charges through without so much as trying to do what I said, leaving patches of grass all over.  I explain a 100 times he will lose his job if he does a poor job of it, but that doesn't seem to sink in, and he throws a temper tantrum when I make him back up and go over missed areas.  It got so bad I had him get in the truck and I muscled the lawn mower into the bed alone before the lawn was finished.  Hubby went out with him to finish.  I think I should get paid for the lawn because I ended up walking every inch of it.  Kid has no pride in his work, be it mowing, schoolwork, or chores.  Frustrating.

My other gripe today was trying once again to get my mother to actually DO something.  Same story, different day.  I'm stupid for even bothering I suppose, but she has actually gone out and walked some though getting her to do it with any regularity is impossible.  I'm at a loss.  Just waiting on the next disaster I suppose.  Nothing like expecting to find her at the bottom of the basement stairs, or sprawled in the shower daily.  It wears on a person.

So just some advice to the whole 7 or 8 people who may read this.  Take care of yourself at least somewhat.  Once you get into a position that someone else is taking care of you, you are no longer just hurting yourself.  Every injury, hospitalization, or issue becomes theirs.  Don't be selfish.  Oh, and if you can at all afford it buy long term care insurance so you can go to an assisted living when you need to and your children don't resent you.

Squirrel War

Something about our neighborhood makes it a squirrell Mecca.  I suppose the numerous mature trees, a few of which are walnut and the fact there are several bird feeders available to raid help.  I also don't see many cats or dogs running free ever.

In all honestly they are kind of cute, big brown eyes, bushy tails, their little paws holding food to their mouth.  Don't let their cute looks fool you, they are a menace first class and I've declared war!

In the last year or two I've started setting up bird feeders.  I enjoy watching the variety of little birds come and go and that is when I started hating the squirrels.  The blasted animals would shimmy up the pole, sit on the feeder and gorge like a fat man pulling up his chair to a buffet.  Couple this with the fact that the neighbor on either side of our house has had some house damage and they dang things eat my tulips so I declared war!

My first act of squirrel terrorism was to simply scare them off the feeders, I'd open the window and sometimes yell.  They got used to that pretty soon.  I then started letting the dog after them, that works but I'm not always at the window and my feeders were being decimated.  It didn't take me long to figure I needed a permanent solution.  I purchased a live trap.  Game on!  The first week I caught 5 squirrels.   Husband got in the act and started sneaking around with a pellet gun as well sending several to meet their maker.  Between the two of us relocating and killing we thinned the population down to a level not reminiscent of New York rat population.  Even with all this we still have raiding squirrels near daily.

Frankly I get tired of fooling with the trap sometimes.  One morning the trap had a capture, Hubby didn't realize it until the dog had rolled the trap several times and basically terrorized the creature to no end.  It happened on a day I just didn't feel like taking a drive, so in an experiment I spray painted big red blob on the squirrel and set it free.  I figured if it had a brain, the trauma of capture and nearly being eaten would keep it away.  Nope two days later there was Red Rear on my feeder.  I opened the window and yelled and he sat there. I sent the dog after him.   Twenty minutes later he was back.  Hubby practiced his marksmanship on this none too bright member of the animal kingdom.

I do use deterent methods as well. I have the poles of my feeders heavily greased with Vaseline.  It helps.  Just this morning I watched a bugger jump, grap the pole a couple of feet up and slide down it like a fireman.  He wisely ran off after that.  I happened to read in a magazine just yesterday to mix cayenne in with the seed.  Supposedly birds don't care so I tried that.  I was kind of hoping to see a squirrell get a mouthful of that.  Wonder if I mix cayenne with the Vaseline?  That could be fun.

Stop Thief!

I haven't posted any pictures in a while.  I don't really take that many, even with a phone in my pocket I'm just not a shutterbug - I leave that task to Hubby.

 Last weekend we piled into the boat for a little fishing.  The rest of us might as well have been in the Dead Sea, Igor on the other hand pulled in this whopper a real trophy fish.  He was so proud!

 Callie thought she was going to have a heat stroke after chasing a tennis ball today - read story later in post.

 We went down to Chicago a few weeks ago and took the kids to the Museum of Science and Industry and also wandered down to see the shiny bean.

 Me standing on Marie Antoinette's staircase in the la Pettite Trianon .  All the France pictures look like I never changed clothes because I was always in that coat with a blue scarf.

Hubby kidding around in the Louvre.  Honestly I made him pose for this picture as he'd zoomed by this guy to look at naked lady across the room.  He was like walking around with a 12 year old pointing out all the naked boobs - they are everywhere - I have a feeling French boys aren't too interested by the time they get that age.

Today I picked up a tennis ball thrower for the dog.  You've probably seen them, a ladle like thing that allows even weak armed me to really fling it a long way.  Callie has been gaining weight right along with me all winter and we both need exercise.  The difference she kind of likes it.  I get home and take her down to the park that is right behind our house.  Callie chases the ball a couple of times and then a neighbor dog comes bounding out of his yard.  Callie and the neighbor dog chase each other a little, snarl, and do what dogs do.  After their meet and greet Callie pretty much seemed uninterested in the dog and he in her.  I throw the ball again and Callie refused to go get it.  By this time neighbor dog starts eyeing the ball.  I'm edging toward it, urging Callie to fetch while the little weasel is sneaking toward it as well.  He got there first, picks up the ball and starts walking home.  The whole time I'm calling him (I don't know the dog's name) but he wasn't having any part of it.  I followed him back up into his backyard to find a young guy on the upper deck of a duplex standing around with his shirt off.  I asked if the dog was his, and it was, and then tattled.  Guy apologized, introduced the dog as "Mack" - probably good to know if I meet him again since he only lives four houses down - and tosses me the tennis ball.  Through all of this Callie just follows me around panting like I had ran her 150 miles. 

After collaring the ball thief and getting our property back, I take Callie home and she proceeds to pant for what seemed for ever.  I texted Hubby, and he suggested taking her swimming.  I load her into the back of the truck to go to the river for a few minutes before picking up the kids at school.  Callie jumped in because she loves to ride.  Take her to the river and she swims and retrieves a stick a few times.  I called her load up, and she tried, but suffering from middle age and fat (much like her masters) the tailgate was a difficult leap, and she bounced off and landed on her back.  I felt bad for her, it was pretty dramatic though I don't think she was really hurt.  Then I couldn't get her to even jump again.  Nothing like partially lifting a river water soaked 110 pound Labrador into the bed of a truck.  Nasty.  I will remember to take some sort of step for her next time.