For the past thirty minutes, we've been sitting here with MLB showing the poor grounds crew at RFK stadium wrestling with a tarp. They are struggling to cover the soaked field during a rain delay and the tarp is weighted down with water, or so I assume that's the problem.

I'm looking up from the laptop every so often while hubby stares at the t.v. screen with no commentation, just the background noise of the stadium crowd, and the pitiful sight of the field. I finally mention that it's almost more entertaining than watching the Mets play. Ow. Hubby didn't care for that comment at all. Sheesh, I said almost! :o)

How Difficult is it ...

to turn off a light?!?

Enter a room ON
Exit a room OFF

I thought a fairly easy concept to follow, but apparently I was wrong!!!!

A Bleak Day

It's gray and dreary and raining and cold. Befitting my somber mood. I finally had to admit my old Hoover bit the dust. It will go out with the trash tonight.

I went out and bought a Dyson. Supposedly the top of the line, best at everything. Now, my being a fine connoisseur of vacuum cleaners, I figured I'd fall in love with it. Not so. I just tried it out. First off, the attachments fell off. I knew that would happen. They didn't exactly snap in place. Second, it's supposed to adjust for carpet height. Well, it does not like my area rugs and the brush makes a horrible noise when hitting it. Also, the suction is okay, but doesn't blow my Dirt Devil away, which I expected. Lastly, I had to stick a tube down the hose, which was pretty difficult. I can only imagine it will be equally difficult removing it in order to use the hose to reach corners, do stairs, furniture, etc. I'd love to meet the individuals (men, I'm sure) that test-marketed this thing. In Dyson's defense, it's light ... but that's not enough to save it.

Contrary to belief, I do not enjoy vacuuming. So, I want to make my life as easy as possible when it comes to this --- and other chores. Fighting with a hose, picking up attachments as I go, listening to a horrible racket when I hit a different pile rug, all don't add up to fun. Guess the Dyson is going back and I'm getting that Dirt Devil I had my eye on all along. What was I thinking? Betraying Dirt Devil like that? I promise I'll never do it again.

Dazed and Confused

That's how I'm going to have to look today. Hubby is going through the boxes stacked up in the garage. They are what's left of the move that have not been unpacked yet; the boxes that came from the basement in every house before this. Translation: All useless stuff, and all his. I had the movers dump all those boxes in his garage, so he'd have to deal with it eventually. heh heh

So, I have to practice my surprised "I don't know" look when he starts asking me where this went or what happened to that. I try very hard not to touch, but do get in my "throw it away" moods and pitch stuff. The majority my own, but some of it his mother's stuff (disclaimer: stuff that was broken, but she kept anyway).

Maybe he'll just assume whatever he remembers we had went to charity during our last move. And, some things have been damaged during the moves.

.... Oh boy. I haven't even finished my blog and it's already starting. Not the "where did it go?" but the "where can we put this?" He brought in a chess set his father gave him a couple years ago. Drat. I thought I threw that away. Now what am I supposed to do with it? And, he's asking me about the GI Joe jeeps. They're not the tiny jeeps that came with the little plastic green army men, like my brother had when he was little. No, these suckers are HUGE. I put potted plants in the two of 'em and stuck them in the guest bedroom back in CT. They stayed in the basement in IN, and they've surfaced again. Double drat.

Well, I best get out there and get elbow deep in these boxes alongside him. Maybe I can curtail some of the drama.

P.S. where did this word "drat" come from? And why am I using it? Believe me, I don't ever SAY it. Do I feel like I'm in a cartoon?? LOL

Welcome to the Jungle

We have birds galore out there singing their little hearts out. Birds I've never heard before. More tropical sounding. I don't necessarily think about where I live until times like these. When I think I'm on vacation and then realize, "Oh wait, I live here!" I remember moving in last year and talking to my mother, saying, "It's really weird. We are getting a short shower every afternoon around 3:00. It reminds me of Florida." Then the lightbulb went off and I said, "Duh... Florida is just south of here, so it makes sense we have the same weather."

Just popping in to say hi. Not a whole lot going on. Hubby came home Friday and is leaving in one hour. I don't like when he leaves on a Sunday. Any day the rest of the week seems okay, but Sunday is not -- although I don't really have a reason why. Fortunately, he'll be home Thursday and has not scheduled any travel for the following week. He'll be able to enjoy his home for a little while, and we'll get the rest of our projects finished.

The weather is gorgeous. Would have been a nice day for us to take a ride to a park and hike a little. Haven't had a chance to explore the mountains around here. I drive by signs for a national park and want to explore it. Maybe one day next week we'll take a break from working around the house and do that. There's also "largest Civil War cemetery," which I want to walk through. Sounds kind of morbid doesn't it? What could looking at headstones possibly do for me? I haven't a clue. Actually, I doubt I'll ever go, but think about stopping when I drive by.

So, the house will be quiet again. That's kind of good, because I don't enjoy the music he listens to!

Can you say "the munchies" ???

Never, ever -- I repeat -- EVER, go to the grocery store after drinking some wine. Hubby called to tell me he's on a 6:30am flight home, which means he'll be home EARLY tomorrow morning. That meant I better get to the store quick (no, S, I still don't have great eating habits... I didn't eat anything all day yesterday until I had a waffle at 11:00 last night!). Anyway, my main concern was getting there before the deli shut down. HEAVENS if we don't have cold cuts in the fridge!!

Made it to the deli, stopped in the produce department for salad stuff - literally picked up and inspected every green pepper in the bin, or almost every one -- bought two loaves of bread (two-fer sale) only to discover I have half a loaf in the fridge and a whole one in the freezer (I best get a bread box, too). But the worst part... instead of one of those rotisserie chickens, I got the bad, bad, BAD fried chicken; and, there is now a box of Little Debbies snack cakes (Devil Squares, I think??) sitting on the counter downstairs. How do I explain that??????? I've never bought Little Debbies ANYthing ever!

So much for the six pounds I recently discovered I lost......

Goodbye Raymond

I am currently watching Oprah with the Everybody Loves Raymond cast on.

Having moved away from New York, I realize I have come to rely on shows such as this to get my fix of "New York humor" and attitude. And, can't forget, THE ACCENT :o) Although I never made a point of sitting down to watch this show, hubby and I do catch it in syndication. (I also enjoy "Friends" in syndication - but those Californians never did, to me, cut it as real New Yorkers!)

I have to say, though, I never fully understood there was anything different about "us" UNTIL I lived in Indiana and saw "My Cousin Vinny" one day. Okay, I may not talk like Marisa Tomei's character, but seriously, it hit me square in the eyes: some of the sayings and actions are dead on - and you don't see/hear them in the midwest! ("Yeah, you blend." "Cuz he's DEAD." "Now I ax ya, would you give a f*ck what pants the son of a b*tch who just shot you is wearing?" --- get the picture?! --- the inflections of tone are key, also.) . Okay, I digress....

Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is "Thank you, Ray Romano, for taking me home for half an hour during your shows."

Yankee or Dixie?

"28% (Yankee). You show a very strong Yankee score." I've still got it ... LOL

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/lgrob/southern_dialect_quiz.htm

Them's Fightin' Words

I think most everyone is familiar with the "Peach" state, which is Georgia. Yesterday, the news reported there is another state claiming they produce much better peaches, and there are rumblings they plan to petition to be recognized as the peach state. THE NERVE!

Let the battle begin.

Daylight Saving Time

For the past three years, we didn't have to change our clocks. At that time, we lived in Indiana. Indiana is on Eastern time, but does not follow daylight saving. People think it's odd that Hoosiers don't change their clocks. They don't know the half of it. What would they think if they knew the whole state does not follow the same procedure?

There are some states, like Kentucky, that are half in the Eastern Time Zone, while the other half is in the central time zone. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, don't follow daylight saving time. But it's way more messed up than that in Indiana....

While the majority of Indiana does not change their clocks at all, that's right, ever, there are a few counties in the state that change. They not only change, a few follow eastern daylight and a few follow central daylight. Those counties in the far northwest corner and far southwest corner of Indiana (bordering Illinois) are on the Central. While some counties in the far southeast corner (bordering Kentucky/Ohio) follow Eastern. The explanation for this? ... I read in the Indianapolis paper that people from those counties commute across state lines for work and the counties are heavily influenced by the big cities they are close to (i.e. Chicago, Cincinatti, Louisville) Well, why don't the cities take those counties and make them part of their states? Why are they even in Indiana?! -- and then there's the case of Evansville, IN wanting to be... I don't know, different?

So, Indiana is totally screwed up .... because the way the other counties spring forward and fall back, the bulk of Indiana is on the same time as the Eastern time zone Indiana counties during one half of the year, and the same time as the Central time zone Indiana counties the other half of the year! Did ya follow that?! Don't feel bad. I lived in it, and it was hard to follow. LOL

Gardening et al

My mother-in-law loved gardening. Her house looked like a picture postcard.

Every weekend my husband comes home, I get the distinct impression he's disappointed I haven't planted any flowers. The tulips are coming up, so that's a start, but I do have to get moving. We need to add some more color to the landscape. I, however, like pockets of color here and there, while he'll want every inch covered -- like his mother did it. Uh, I don't think so, pal.

The backyard is going to be a lot of work. True to builders' form, our builder bulldozed the lot and left a nice hill along the back side of our lot. It's all dirt (correction, red clay). Oh, he was kind enough to plant two trees on one side and cover the whole area with pine straw, but there is a whole lot of nothin'. We planted two more trees last fall, but we will have to plant ground cover, bushes and perennials all along there. We'll have to do it in stages, though. Otherwise, it will be too overwhelming.

Does anyone out there really ENJOY doing this stuff ?!?

... I'll chalk it up to "the hard work will pay off" -what else can I do? One thing is certain: don't expect it look like my MIL's did -- cause that just ain't gonna happen!

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE.