Picture Perfect Day Today

Ohhhhh, what a beautiful day it was today! The sky was robin's egg blue, with fluffy billowy clouds, warm and lots of sun. I took these pictures this afternoon, and if you look closely, you can see the new little buds on the tree - and a few squirrel's nests too :) We were out in the back yard working most of the day, getting the flower and vegetable garden areas cleaned and ready for the new arrivals soon. I hung up my windchimes, and cleaned off the BarBQ. It was getting very windy and now has cooled off, but I sure enjoyed it while it lasted. Hope all of you have a picture perfect day too! :)

Burgers To Die For

15 Burgers to Try Before You Die These were the best rated burger joints in the country, have you ever been to any of them? What is YOUR favorite burger? 1. All-American Drive-In - Long Island, N.Y. A famous and delicious "double double" for only $2.10? Fantastic! 2. Chris Madrid's - San Antonio Try the "Tostada Burger" with refried beans, chips, cheddar and salsa. 3. CityGrille - Denver Go high-end with a Steakburger, or local with a Buffaloburger. 4. Dick's Drive-In - Seattle It's all about their famous special sauce with zingy bits of pickle. 5. Goldyburgers - Chicago Serving 'em up hot, huge and cheesy since 1926 6. In-N-Out Burger - Los Angeles The perennial favorite also won in Vegas, OC and San Diego. 7. Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger - South Florida Hand-shaped, charbroiled perfection served up your way 8. O'Connell's Pub - St. Louis Juicy, charbroiled nine-ounce burgers for more than 40 years 9. Peter Luger - New York Prime dry-aged beef and signature steak sauce from a famed steak house 10. Roaring Fork - Phoenix Try the "Big-Ass Burger" stacked high with green chiles. 11. Stanich's - Portland, Ore. Try the amazing "Special" topped with a fried egg, ham, bacon and cheese. 12. Tessaro's - Pittsburgh Fresh meat ground daily in-house and flame-broiled on a hardwood grill 13. Thurman Cafe - Columbus, Ohio Thurman Burger = a 3/4 lb patty, ham, mozzarella and American Cheese 14. Val's Burgers - San Francisco You think you can handle the One-Pound Behemoth at Val's? 15. 96th St. Steakburgers - Indianapolis Perfection with ground steak cuts and buns grilled with mustard Test your Burger knowledge by taking the Great Hamburger Quiz: The Great Hamburger Quiz

God's Alphabet

Although things are not perfect Because of trial or pain Continue in thanksgiving Do not begin to blame Even when the times are hard Fierce winds are bound to blow God is forever able Hold on to what you know Imagine life without His love Joy would cease to be Keep thanking Him for all the things Love imparts to thee Move out of "Camp Complaining" No weapon that is known On earth can yield the power Praise can do alone Quit looking at the future Redeem the time at hand Start every day with worship To "thank" is a command Until we see Him coming Victorious in the sky We'll run the race with gratitude Xalting God most high Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but... Zion waits in glory...where none are ever sad! New Motto: "I am too blessed to be stressed!" The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.

I Need Some Tire Old Ass Soak!

I got this catalog in the mail today from the Vermont Country Store and I was happily flipping through the pages and almost choked on my coffee when I came to this - I thought this product was a joke, but it was not - I almost died laughing but this is what it said: "Tired Old Ass Soak" "A blend of salts high in iron and trace minerals and 100% pure essential oils of rosemary, eucalyptus, vetiver, among others, Tired Old Ass Soak perks you up again in a way that is no joke. If you're too pressed for time to take a bath, take a footbath-or quit your job. Life is too short to be worn out. Biodegradable, planet friendly, and 100% natural, it's a perfect gift for all the tired old bodies you know." Such a deal at $14.95, if that is all it takes to get my tired old keester back in gear! Then continuing on my journey through the pages I came across another winner: "Aging Hippie Bath Oil Fizz" "If the 1960s was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, some 40 years later it's the dawning of age-period. Aging Hippie Bath Oil Fizz is designed to soak away the hassles of everyday life so you can maintain your groove. Handcrafted in Vermont with patchouli-known for its therapeutic benefits for aging and wrinkling skin-and essential oils and other fine ingredients, it soothes body and soul while moisturizing your skin. You'll emerge from the bath ready to face a new dawn." Well holy moly, for another $14.95, not only can I get my groove back, but I'll be ready for a new Age of Aquarius! This catalog is not only funny as hell, but full of cool stuff that I did not even know existed, or did not know was still around. Then I came to a page of goodies and confections, and here they are offering to sell me "Walnettos" Now as I recall, a Walnetto was a candy that the dirty old man in the overcoat, Tyrone, (who was played by Arte Johnson) offered to that frumpy old lady with the hair net (Ruth Buzzi) on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Sitting on a park bench, Tyrone asked in a gruff, gravelly voice "Want a Walnetto?" His reward?: being whopped upside the head with her purse. Gadzooks! All this time I thought that a Walnetto was just something that was made up for the show, not an actual candy! I'll be danged! Continuing my trip down memory lane I found that this place still sells some of the old fragrances from yesterday. I was surprised to see that they have Evening In Paris, which was one of my mom's favorites - oh how I loved that smell! They also had Tigress, Woodhue, Tweed, and Arpege. Remember the pink Sweetheart Soap, and Cashmere Bouquet? They had that too! I even found Ipana Toothpaste :) Check this place out, it is full of neat stuff you probably can't live without! :)~~ Well all this wandering down memory lane has made me hungry, I got a date with a box of Oreos - see ya!!!

Hubby's Newest Project

He has been working on this for a while, and just completed it, and I LOVE it! It is a Hoosier Cabinet, from around the 1930's, and we bought it at an antique store about a year ago. It was in need of some work at the time, so hubby sanded it down, repaired any wood that needed it, then repainted it a glossy buttercream color. The picture does not show it's color that well, the bottom of the cabinet looks too pale in the pic. He put new red ceramic knobs on all the doors and drawers, and lined the inner part of the cabinet with red check gingham that we bought on Ebay. We moved it into the kitchen and it looks great in the spot I chose for it. We painted the kitchen a light shade of jadeite green (of course I have a collection of Jadeite too :) and the colors work perfectly together. This cabinet is so useful, I can't wait to fill it up with all my knick knacks and doo dads!

PHARMACOLOGY

In pharmacology, all drugs have two names, a trade name and a generic name. For example, the trade name of Tylenol also has a generic name of acetaminophen. Aleve is also called naproxen. Amoxil is also called amoxicillin and Advil is also called ibuprofen. The FDA has been looking for a generic name for Viagra. After careful consideration by a team of government experts, it recently announced that it has settled on the generic name of Mycoxafloppin. Also considered were Mycoxafailin, Mydixadrupin, Mydixarisin, Dixafix and, of course, Ibepokin. Pfizer Corp, announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one. Obviously we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of "cocktails", "highballs," and just a good old-fashioned "stiff drink." Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of "MOUNT & DO".

Bloopers From Church Bulletins

Don't let worry kill you- let the church help. Thursday night - Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community. For those of you who have children and didn't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer. This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends. Tuesday at 4:00 pm there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early. Wednesday the ladies liturgy will meet. Mrs. Johnson will sing "Put me in my little bed" accompanied by the pastor. Thursday at 5:00 pm there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be "Little Mothers" will meet with the pastor in his study. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the alter. The service will close with "Little Drops of Water". One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so. The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Our Baby Is Back Home

(First I want to apologize for not posting an update last night - Blogger would not let me into my page, nor could I read any of the comments - I kept getting a server error every time I tried.) Dear Meow, Lainey, Reverb, Darlene, DayByDay, Barbara, Susie and Emma, I really want to sent a big (((((((((((((((( HUG ))))))))))))))) and thank you to all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers. It really meant alot to me, and I am thankful that you could relate to what I was going through. The vet wanted to keep my bird another day because he was not eating well, just to be on the safe side. We were able to bring him home today, what a relief, I missed him so much - and so did our other Cockatoo, the smaller one, she cried for hours each night and was so lonely. They are pretty much inseperable, and love each other's company. I have posted some pictures of my baby, above, and you can see the collar they made to keep him from picking at the would. He looks miserable and is not very happy with this contraption on his neck. The wound is about the size of a quarter, and is right below the bottom of the collar - I don't know if you can make it out in the pic, probably better if you can't, as it is nasty to look at. I have to give him oral meds twice a day, which is a pain in the rear because he does NOT want them. I just finished after we got home and I managed to get most all of it in the beak. Then I saw he was being sneaky and had it under his tongue, so I held the beak closed and hubby warmed up a small piece of a hot dog (a favorite treat, junk food of course) and that did the trick. He swallowed everything. Hope it will work the next time, I have to do this for the next two weeks, twice a day. Then there are drops and an ointment to put directly on the wound too. I have to keep a close watch on him so he does not fall, until he regains his footing and gets used to this collar. I feel so bad for him, he can't sleep properly because of it. The lab tests showed that he is anemic, the vet said because of all the blood loss, so I am hand feeding him with baby bird formula to make sure he eats enough. And I have to separate the 2 cockatoos, because the little one wants to chew on his collar. This whole ordeal took the starch out of me, but I am so grateful that he will be OK. Again, thank you so much to everyone who kept us in their prayers, they truly helped.

Having a Terrible Day

Well I just got back from the animal hospital, and I am trying to calm down from just having a panic attack too. So if I dont make total sense, please forgive me. I had a different post ready to write today, but the day has totally changed. I got up this morning, had my coffee and uncovered the birds as usual. Everything OK there. Went back to watch my Joyce Meyer program at 9:00, fed the birds and then started with the day's chores. I was piddling around, cleaned out some stuff in the fridge, and then went back into the birds room to drop off some newspapers for their cages. As I walked in the room I saw drops of blood all over the floor, and then when I looked in my big baby's cage (she is a Moluccan Cockatoo), there was a pool of blood on the cage floor. My heart just about stopped, I picked her up and saw the blood was coming from her chest area. I started screaming for my husband to come in an bring me a clean cloth and struggled to grab the bottle of Quik Stop I keep handy to stop the bleeding if an accident should happen. It was hard to tell where it was coming from, because her white feathers were soaked from the blood. I managed to get a quantity of the Quik Stop on her, and it temporarily stopped the bleeding - but as soon as she started picking at it, the blood was dripping out quickly again. I don't know if any of you are familiar with birds, but they can bleed to death very quickly. Once before she had a blood feather (large wing feather that was growing in) get broken and we had to rush her to the vet to get it pulled out, which was the only way to stop the bleeding. I have been very lucky so far as far as my bird's health, I do my very best to keep anything that could possibly be harmful to them away from them. That is not easy, as large birds want to get into everything, and try and chew on everything too. It's like having a 2 year old in the house constantly. For the life of me, I can't figure out how this happened today, I was in there not long before and everyone was a happy camper. Thinking back, I did hear some kind of a thump in their room, but did not pay attention to it because they are always flinging their toys and stuff on the floor. I am just thanking God that something made me go in the room when I did, or I could have found her dead. So I called our regular vet, and she was in surgery and would not be done until 4:00, and I could not wait that long. They referred me to another avian vet (which are not easy to find) and they were able to see us immediately. Hubby ran down and warmed up the car and I got her carrier ready and a blanket to put over it to keep her warm. Needless to say I had just washed my hair and looked like hell but I had to go as I was. So we get to the vet and they saw her right away. We got her there in time, they have to keep her overnight because they are going to have to put a protective collar on her to keep her from picking at the wound. Of coure they have to run a battery of tests too. So it was a good thing I was sitting down when they brought out the bill, it was in the area of over $850, and that was just an estimate, there will be more added on tomorrow when we (hopefully) bring her home. That alone almost gave me a heart attack because I was laid off from my job recently and unemployment money just covers the basics. But my babies come first and she will get the treatment she needs. Oh, yeah - and there is more. My feathered baby is about 7 years old, and we for some reason always assumed she was a female, it is difficult to tell in birds and I had not had her tested to find out for sure. Well the vet comes back and tells me it is most likely my baby is a boy! Not that it matters to me, but it was just kind of a shock to me because I always really thought she was a girl. See, I am still calling her a she when she is a he.....that will take some getting used to. Do you ever have a day when you just feel that something bad is going to happen? I have been feeling pretty depressed and low for about 2 weeks (that in itself is another story), but today I just had a wierd feeling when I woke up that today was not going to be a good day. Please say a prayer that my birdie baby will be OK, she/he may not be a human kid, but she/he means the world to me. Sorry this is a "downer" post, but I guess that is the point of having a blog, so you can write everything that happens, be it good or bad. I have to call the vet before 6:00 tonight and see how she/he is doing, and I hope we can bring her/him home tomorrow. Hopefully a cheerful post will be on the way tomorrow. Thanks for listening.

Whatever Happened To Toonces The Cat?

SusieBadoozie, over at her Gobhole, was reminiscing about all her adventures....errrrr....misadventures and madcap mishaps she has had in her car. Which got me thinking about Toonces The Cat, The Cat Who Could Drive - just not that well. In case you have not met Toonces, he was a character from the old SNL shows. (Whatever happened to good 'ol Toonces, did he go for a ride with Susie and never came back????) Anyway I was snooping around the 'net and found some old Toonces video clips, that I will list below. Gotta love that cat - always good for a chuckle :) Click on each picture, and you can watch the video. Toonces The Cat That Can Drive Toonces Theme Toonces Plays Ping Pong Toonces Mows The Lawn

New Design, Whattya Think??

TA DAAAAAA!!!! Well what do you think? I've been working on this new template and design for the blog all day, and I like it so far. I made a banner and some coordinating graphics with my birds on them, I thought it was kinda cute. I will probably change it some more and do more tinkering, but overall I am pretty happy with it. Can you see it OK, do all the colums show up right? Let me know if you have problems viewing it. Hope everyone had a great day

Happy St. Patty's from the Wee Little Ones

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL, from our house to yours! YES those are my birdies that are dressed up, and YES I know that I am crazy :) This is an old pic that I made in '98, when my birdies were very young. They actually let me dress them up in outfits for my pictures. One year we even dressed them up as the Three Kings, complete with crowns and robes that I made. That picture was on our Christmas card for that year. Not so sure they would let me dress them up now, as they are older, and may not want to deal with mommy's nonsense - they would probably fling their respective garments into Timbuktu quicker than I could blink my eye. But, when I dig up the other pics I made of the birds dressed up, I will post them, just to prove I was not fibbing......

St. Patrick's Day Quiz

Here is a little quiz to test your knowledge about St. Patrick's Day.

Top 10 Most Embarassing Moments

Got this off the internet: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No matter how perfect we may be, "or think we are" there are times when we miss something about our appearance. It could be anything, a piece of lint in the hair, on the clothes, a garment tag showing or something we missed on our face around the eyes and nose in particular, and instead of pointing it out folks just let you walk around like that. **(Or in my case, a plop of bird poop on my back) An example that we often see on TV is the female who walks out of the restroom with the back of her dress tucked into her panty hose. When I see this happening with folks I know, and sometimes with folks I don't know, I'll make a comment -- some people do and some don't. Care to share one of those humorous instances when you've said, darn, why didn't they tell me, or them, :-). Top Ten Most Embarrassing Moments For a Woman Are... Having toilet paper stuck to their shoe (72%) Breasts escaping (64%) Trapping their skirt in knickers (61%) Smudging their make-up (58%) Lipstick on teeth (55%) Heel stuck in a drain (47%) Displaying an unknown bogie (42%) 'Doing a Marilyn or Amy Nuttall' with a skirt blowing up in the wind (40%) Losing your bikini in the pool (26%) Getting stuck in train doors (12%) Top Ten Most Embarrassing Moments For a Man Are... Leaving your fly undone (88%) Accidentally farting in public (80%) Tripping over and then breaking into a jog to hide it (67%) An unknown bogie (49%) Spilling your drink at the bar(35%) Accidentally leaking on your trousers (31%) Getting blown out by a lady (28%) Snoring on the train (24%) Splitting your trousers (12%) Credit card rejection (7%) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK now, anyone want to fess up and add something embarassing that happened to you, or someone you know, to this list?

Wheeeeeee - It's A Blizzard!

We ran out for a little while this afternoon to do some shopping, and made it back just in time before the snow started. I dropped off some old bread and fruit over at the Forest Preserve so the critters and birds will have a treat. It just started all of a sudden and now you can barely see out the window. I love looking at a beautiful snowstorm, but I don't like driving in it. Funny, it was just in the 60's a couple days ago, but Spring will be here before we know it - yeah!

We Have Neighbors From Hell !!!!

WARNING -THIS IS A LONGGGGG STORY I need to get this off my chest, so pardon me if I do some rantin' and ravin' today. Yep, we have Neighbors From Hell (which I will call NFH) they are living upstairs, and right above our heads. First I will begin by saying that my hubby and I are quiet, clean, considerate and thoughtful of our neighbors - always have been and always will be. Guess you could say that we are kinda "stealth" because we mind our own business and don't disrupt others lives. I was brought up to respect others, as I would like to receive the same in return. Not the case here. I can honestly say, and it may sound rather strange or kooky, but I believe the upstairs apartment is CURSED - we have had such a bad run of tenants up there. A few years ago, we lived elsewhere in the city, and after my mom passed away, we chose to move out to a different area of the city - the area was great, clean as a whistle, and it was not as congested as other areas were. We were thinking about buying a house, but since taking care of my mom at home had been such a financial drain, we chose to rent for a while until we decided where we would like to buy and live long-term. We chose the place we are at now, it was very spacious, great area, super clean, nice owner, and the price was really a good deal. Soon after we moved in, I was offered a great job which I accepted, and we figured we would stay here for a few years and see how it goes. We have the owner's unit in a 3 flat, there is an apartment above us and below us. When we first moved in, we were excited about the move. Little did we know that we had a total nut case living upstairs. Enter Upstairs Neighbor #1 - He seemed OK at first, a middle aged guy, and his wife was friendly. We went about our business, and the next day this guy was knocking on our door telling us we did not lock the inner door downstairs, he had checked at 4 a.m. We are very careful about locking doors, and I know we had not done that. After that, he made it a point to always come out when we were arriving or leaving, telling us how things were "done" at the building. Never mind that he was not the owner. Shortly after that I noticed that my bird feeder was missing from the back yard, I looked around and found it thrown in back of the garage. He saw us and came out and told me he "didn't like bird poop on his car" and my birdfeeder would attract birds. I LIKE birds, I said. But he just stared angrily at me. I then knew this guy would be trouble. We started getting little sticky notes on our front door, telling us not to use room fresheners or potpourri, because his wife had allergies - never mind the fact that his nasty stinking cologne reeked to high heaven. We were told when to open and close the windows in the hallway, and then we found him going through our garbage! Every single day when he got home, he would go in the back and go through our garbage can! We were also instructed not to use a spare refrigerator that was in the basement, because it was his. Soon we got our first electric bill, and I noticed that it was about 3 times higher than it should be. We started checking around, unplugged everything in our house and the electric meter was still spinning like crazy. We then found out that OUR electric meter covered all the lights in the building hallways, the entire basement, and the garage. So we threw the circuit breaker, and sure enough, this jackass was using OUR electricity for his spare refrigerator, and his washer and dryer! I was hopping mad and contacted the building owner, as he had just returned from out of town. Unfortunately our landlord is out of town the better part of the year. He is a real nice guy though. So that day while I was waiting for the landlord to come over, I went out in the garage because we had a lot of boxes stored out there. The upstairs jackass had not only gone through my stuff, but he had thrown the boxes all over the garage. At that point, steam was blowing out my ears. So the landlord finally arrives, and he was going to switch over some of the outlets in the basement to the upstair's guys meter. My husband went to the basement,and then the upstairs guy went down there and told him to "get the hell out" I hear all the yelling, and go tearing downstairs, because by this time I had had my fill of it and was ready to move. So this guy starts swearing at everyone, landlord included, and I get right in his face and tell him I'm calling the cops. He gives me the finger, tells me to go to hell, and I get right back in his face and I say "YOU MAKE ME" Actually, by this time I was almost hoping he would take a pop at me so I could have his rear end thrown in jail. He turned beet red, and stormed away. Shortly after the landlord took us aside and told us that he was going to kick out that guy and they really wanted us to stay. The jerk upstairs left on his own, he was outta there within two weeks - we couldn't believe it, we were so happy! We figured some nice folks would move in......WRONG! We had about a month of peace and quiet before Upstairs Neighbors #2 moved in - They weren't all that bad, but they came in with 3 kids and a few months later 6 kids were living up there. Sounded like a bowling alley over our heads. They were from Iowa and the wife always looked miserable, she was not happy in the city. They did not last long, only about 6 months and then they moved and bought a house. We again figured we would get new, nice neighbors and were looking forward to it.......WRONG! Upstairs Neighbors #3 moved in about 6 weeks later - I guess it was a good indication when they started moving in at 2 a.m. and most of their stuff was thrown in hefty bags, what we were in for. I was starting to get nervous again, because the landlord rented to them and left town again for a few months. Our landlord is a nice guy - TOO nice for his own good. He is way to trusting of people, and does things on a handshake without doing background checks. Well our wonderful new neighbors turned out to be GYPSIES! My hubby knew it right away, I had never met any and was unaware. Well all hell broke loose upstairs, soon at least 15 to 18 people were living up there, parties all night long, fights breaking out, and they used the hallways as an addition to their apartment. We called the cops on them so many times it was a joke. Plus they were drunken crackheads too. Their kids were of school age and did not go to school. This I gleefully reported to the School Board and they start to take action about it. There was so much hell that went on for the 6 months that they were up there, that I can't even begin to write it all down. It was to the point that in the end, we were afraid to leave our house alone for any time, I am sure they would have broken in if we did. Anyway, they moved in and stopped paying rent - the owner was out of town and he did not start legal action until he came back in town, by that time they had trashed the apartment. He finally did evict them. My husband had warned him in the beginning that they were gypsies, and what their lifestyle was about, but I guess he just didn't want to believe it until he saw it himself. When I went upstairs with the owner, I could not believe what that apartment looked like! It looked like something on the news where you see the cops break in and the place is a slum of filth. They had totally destroyed every fixture in the apartment, ruined the new carpet, etc. etc. So now they are gone, landlord was up there for 2 months fixing all the damage. He decided not to reinstall carpet, can't say I blame him, but was afraid it would be noisy with wood floors. He assured me he would rent to quiet people. I believed him. I figured after all this, for sure we would get nice neighbors, right?.........WRONG! Enter Upstairs Neighbors #4 - they moved in on the hottest day of the summer (must have been because they came RIGHT FROM HELL! Anyway, they seemed OK at first, the husband was friendly, the woman was big and bossy, and they are in their late 40's with a 2 year old kid. I figured how bad could they be? We chatted at first, the woman is real nosy and a big gossip, she said as plain as day that her husband is a recovering alcoholic, and he was standing nearby. I thought, OK, here we go again. She came down to our door and asked my husband to help her with something that was wrong in her kitchen, which he immediately did. OK, so far, still OK. Then that weekend all hell broke loose upstairs - seems the husband has 2 teeneage kids from a previous marriage and they spend every other weekend here. I have no problem with that except that they made so much noise and crashing going on that 2 of my cherished antique plates fell right off the shelves and broke, there was so much banging and booming up there. So my husband went up there, and very politely let them know what the level of noise was down in our place, and what happened, and asked if they could please keep the running in the apartment to a normal level. With that, the witch slammed the door in his face, and it has been hell ever since. Now they go out of their way to make noise, the little brat is running from one end of the house to the other, even at 2 a.m. What the hell is a little kid doing up that late anyway? At their age, mid to late 40's, they should have a clue about how to raise a kid. Guess they don't. They even stole our vegetables out of the garden, my hubby worked so hard to grow. I enjoy sharing the harvest with others, and used to take big bags of tomatoes, cukes and peppers to the seniors that liked to visit the store I was working at. One day I happened to look out the back window and saw the witch upstairs, and some of her friends, helping themselves to a bunch of tomatoes. I should have run down there but I was so shocked at the nerve they had, I was speechless. Yep, hard to believe I was speechless, but I was. Fast forward to New Year's Day - yep, the cops were here again. Seems the witch stole her husband's paycheck, and all his money out of his jacket. She locked him out and he was going to kick down the door (deja vu here, the gypsies had already done that before) to get his money back. Hell, at that point I was about to open the door and offer him some money just so he could get away from that miserable bitch. Cops show up, he gets his stuff and moves out. As he was leaving, I heard him yell up at the witch, "Have a nice life, you sad, sorry ass" My thoughts exactly. I felt sorry for the guy, no wonder he was an alkie, living with a shrew like that. Anyway, he has been coming around lately, and I am sure he will probably move back in. It was quiet for a while, but now it is starting up again. I think sometimes I will loose my marbles, it is so hard to think with all that racket going on. And every room I go in, it seems someone up there is tromping around like an elephant. Is it just me, or does it seem that people are getting ruder and ruder, in all different situations? And this cow upstairs does not throw out her garbage, she just piles in on the landing between her floor and ours. It stinks and we are afraid it will draw bugs. I even took pictures of it so she can not lie her way out of it. If you wonder why on earth we have not moved, it is because 1) I really love this apartment and the neighborhood, 2) ALL of our other neighbors and the downstairs lady are wonderful, 3) we get an incredible deal here, all the other places like it in the neighborhood are going for $1500-$1700/month, and we only pay $950, heat and gas included, and we control it. 4) I will not be driven out by a**holes. Will have to see what happens, the landlord is due back in town in the beginning of April. Sure got an earful for him - wish us luck, we need it!

I LOVE Yard Sales!!

Well I just happened to come across a yard sale on Sunday, and even though we were on the way out to eat, I just HAD to stop. My hubby will do anything to distract me away from yard sale signs, but this one I was going to! Heck, there have not been many lately because it has been so cold, but this past weekend it hit the mid-60's, and spring was in the air. So a junkin' I did go, and glad I am that I spotted a few really neat items. First I found one of those cool old Jefferson Mystery clocks, and it works great - just have to clean it up a bit. A pic of it is above. I also found a really beautiful filigree choker necklace, a pair of little ceramic owls, a pair of adorable pewter penguin candleholders, and my favorite item, a gorgeous pink Cherry Blossom Depression glass footed bowl - woo hoo!!! I only paid $5 for all of it, and I will clean up the goodies and take them out to the antique store tomorrow. I can never get enough of garage and yard sale-ing!

Woman Gets Beer From Her Kitchen Faucet

No, it wasn't in my house, but it sure would have made the hubby a happy camper!!...here is the story: OSLO, Norway - It almost seemed like a miracle to Haldis Gundersen when she turned on her kitchen faucet this weekend and found the water had turned into beer. Two flights down, employees and customers at the Big Tower Bar were horrified when water poured out of the beer taps. By an improbable feat of clumsy plumbing, someone at the bar in Kristiandsund, western Norway, had accidentally hooked the beer hoses to the water pipes for Gundersen's apartment. "We had settled down for a cozy Saturday evening, had a nice dinner, and I was just going to clean up a little," Gundersen, 50, told The Associated Press by telephone Monday. "I turned on the kitchen faucet and beer came out." However, Gundersen said the beer was flat and not tempting, even in a country where a half-liter (pint) can cost about 25 kroner ($3.75) in grocery stores. Per Egil Myrvang, of the local beer distributor, said he helped bartenders reconnect the pipes by telephone. "The water and beer pipes do touch each other, but you have to be really creative to connect them together," he told local newspapers.

Crazy Dog - this is too funny!

5 Things I Am Thankful For Today

1. Knowing God loves me, in spite of my faults. 2. Hearing that many songbirds have returned, after the long, cold winter. 3. Having a loving husband, to be a part of my life. 4. I am thankful for my 3 feathered babies, who are always happy to see me and love me. 5. To have had a most wonderful family - even though my mom and dad have passed away, I could have not asked for more loving parents. I miss them so much.

Birdie Pix - 3

Here is my big honkin' baby, the Moluccan Cockatoo, being the nut that she is, hanging upside down and enjoying wing scritches.

Birdie Pix - 2

Here is the little girl, a Goffin Cockatoo, always on the lookout for possible mischief to get into!

Birdie Pix - 1

Here is the little girl, totally engrossed in playing with her toys.

City Tries New Energy Source: Dog Poop

San Francisco, a leader in urban recycling, is preparing to enlist its canine population for a first in the United States: converting dog poop into energy. Norcal Waste Systems Inc., the city's garbage company, plans to test collection carts and biodegradable bags in a city-center park popular with dog walkers. A city study found that almost 4 percent of all the garbage picked up at San Francisco homes was from animal waste destined for the city's landfill, Norcal Waste spokesman Robert Reid said. San Francisco has an estimated 120,000 dogs. "The city asked us to start thinking about a pilot program to recycle the dog poop in order to cut back adding more waste in landfills," Reid said. Dog feces could be scooped into a methane digester, a device that uses bugs and microorganisms to gobble up the material and emit methane, which would be trapped and burned to power a turbine to make electricity or to heat homes. Dogs and cats in the United States produce about 10 million tonnes of waste a year, Will Brinton, an environmental scientist and owner-director of Woods End Laboratories in Maine, said. "As much as we love them, our pets leave a lot of manure behind them in yards and on the street and that can be a major source of contamination of groundwater," Brinton said.

This Month In History - March

1 Yellowstone becomes the U.S.'s first national park. (1872) 2 Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 100 points in a basketball game. (1962) 3 The Star Spangled Banner becomes the National Anthem (1931) 4 The Constitution of the United States of America goes into effect. (1789) 4 Mrs. Charles Fahning of Buffalo N.Y. is recognized as the first woman to bowl a perfect 300 game. (1930) 5 The Boston Massacre occurred. (1770) 6 Silly putty is invented. (1950) 6 Well known and loved Walter Cronkite signs off as anchorman off the CBS Evening News (1981) 7 Alexander Graham Bell patents the Telephone. (1876) 7 Monopoly board game is invented (1933) 8 President Ronald Reagan calls the USSR an "Evil Empire" (1983) 8 Baseball great Joe DiMaggio dies (1999) 9 Ironclad ships the Monitor and the Merrimack battle in the Civil war. 10 The U.S. government issues paper money for the first time. (1862) 10 Alexander Graham Bell places the world's first telephone call, to his assistant in the next room. (1876) 11 The most famous storm in American history, the Blizzard of 1888, begins.(1888) 12 Girl Scouts were founded. (1912) 12 Baseball great Joe Dimaggio agrees to a new contract with the NY Yankees, and gets a $6,250 raise. My, how times have changed! (1942) 13 Senate begins impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. (1868) 13 Harvard University is named after clergyman John Harvard. (1639) 14 Eli Whitney patents the Cotten Gin (1794) 14 George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company, commits suicide rather than facing the ravages of Cancer. (1932) 15 "The Ides of March" Julius Caesar is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus. (44 B.C.) 16 Professor Robert Goddard launches the first liquid fuel rocket. (1926) 16 The Mai Lai Massacre takes place in Vietnam. (1968) 17 On this day everyone is a little bit Irish- It's Saint Patrick's Day! 17 The rubber band was invented. Can you imagine life without them!?! (1845) 18 Soviet Union cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov becomes the first person to take a space walk. (1965) 19 Congress approves Daylight Savings Time. (1918) 20 Harriet Beacher Stowe publishes the book Uncle Tom's Cabin . (1852) 21 The infamous Alcatraz prison is closed. (1963) 23 Patrick Henry declares "Give me liberty, or give me death!" (1775) 24 German scientist Robert Koch announces he has discovered the bacillus that causes Tuberculosis. (1882) 24 Elvis Presley joins the U.S. Army. (1958) 25 The European Economic Community (ECC) is established by the Treaty of Rome. (1957) 26 Ludwig von Beethoven dies in Vienna, Austria. (1827) 26 Dr. Jonas Salk invents a vaccine to fight polio. 26 The Eastman Dry Plate and Chemical Company manufactures the first motion picture film. (1885) 27 The biggest earthquake ever recorded strikes Anchorage, Alaska. It measured 8.3 on the Richter scale. (1964) 28 Nathaniel Briggs patents the washing machine. (1797) 28 The city of Madrid falls to the forces of Francisco Franco, ending the Spanish Civil War. (1939) 28 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident occurs in Middletown, Pa. (1979) 28 Sally Ride becomes the first woman in space. (1983) 29 Ice jams stop the flow of water over Niagara Falls. (1848) 29 Coca Cola is invented. (1886) 30 The 15th amendment goes into effect, giving black men the right to vote. (1870) 30 Jeopardy debuts on television. (1964) 31 The Eiffel Tower opens in Paris, France (1889)