Thursday Thirteen #55

13 Irritants in Creekistan

1. No-see-ums - those stupid little bugs that bite your ankles. Just as their name says, they are invisible.


2. Bald-faced Hornets - not something you want to see, let alone be stung by. I got stung a year ago and I thought I was going to die.


3. Dog Slobber


4. Road Kill Stink Ballons - For example: a dead raccoon rotting in the son on the side of the road. Just ready to pop!


5. Ticks - Need I say more? They are really bad this year.


6. Drunks on 4-Wheelers - Driving on the road and littering.


7. Pollen Clouds - trees this time of year drop so much pollen that you need a car wash every other day.


8. Snakes - It's not the snake that you know, it's the one that you DON'T know.


9. Sunburns - Or should I say, Farmers Tan.


10. Humidity - Sometimes it's like trying to breathe underwater. I really think dry heat is better.


11. People who run over turtles - poor things are just trying to cross the street.


12. Bug Bites That Won't Stop Itching


13. Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac/Stinging Nettles/Brambles/Burrs - and other irritating flora.

Godzulla 2007

One lazy Saturday morning, I was wondering what to do with the kids. I was bored and wanted to figure out something to do for the day. Out here, excitement comes in ways that you wouldn't believe: large farm equipment driving by, the dog finding a dead animal and bringing it home, and our neighbor mowing with the tractor. My son loves to watch our neighbor mow with the tractor, and sometimes he gets a short ride. So when I heard the equipment drive by and my son get excited to go outside, I wasn't surprised. I told him to stay way back from the mower and do as our neighbor says.

But a couple of minutes later, he comes running into the house saying something about people setting up water for a race. Even though I wasn't properly dressed, (I had my Hustler 1970's style t-shirt, garden clogs, and a bandana to cover my messy hair) I went out to greet these strangers.

It seems that our street was part of a 125-mile bicycle race, and we lived near one of the major water/feed stops. They were setting up water and Gatorade at the top of our hill for riders of the Godzulla Cycling Challenge.

It also seemed that the people who had volunteered to man the stop hadn't showed up! So obviously I volunteered on the spot to help. My children were excited. Even the two-year-old was getting into the spirit, organizing the water bottles. My son got some sidewalk chalk and wrote things on the street.

It was fun--many semi-pro and very serious riders came by. But the best were the people who were just having a good time and were very grateful that there was a stop at the top of a very long and steep hill. We were especially excited to see the University of Cincinnati club (pictured), since that is where Daddy graduated.

We met lots of great riders that day. I hope they continue to have the race, and I'll be there next year if they do.

Thursday Thirteen #54

13 Things I'm Looking Forward to This Summer

1. Not having to drive to and from work - This alone should save us on gas, especially at these gas prices. Ouch!



2. Watching my garden grow and perhaps even eating things that I have grown.



3. Giving the kids to Grandma and spending time alone or with my husband, sans-kids.



4. Seeing more progress done on the house - The siding might get finished and the bedroom and kitchen decks finished and screened in. Won't it be nice to eat or sleep outside without bugs?



5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie. Looks really good. We are all huge fans, so this should be fun!



6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - We're going to go buy the book at a midnight book party, costumes and all!



7. Shrek the Third - We're going to watch the first two movies before going to see the Third.



8. Pirates of the Caribbean III - Swashbuckling fun.



9. The Transformers movie. - Looks interesting. I was never a fan, but my son likes them.



10. The Simpsons Movie - Eat my shorts! Bart should be out of college by now.



11. Going to the Drive-In Theater. - An experience I haven't had since I was a kid. I can't wait to give my children the experience of something that may not be around much longer.



12. Trying out my canoe. - It's been ages, but I used to love it. Now that someone has given me a canoe, I can take it to the lake or a nearby creek. But not our creek, it's too small.



13. My husband's Doctoral Hooding - After a decade and a half, he's finally finished, except for his dissertation. The hope is that this fall he'll get his fancy doctoral robes. His degree is in musical composition. I'm going to make him wear the robes around the house. He really should teach with them on--Hogwarts style!

Thursday Thirteen #53

13 Hobbies I'd Like to Explore

1. Pottery - Maybe I can reenact the scene from the movie Ghost. But really, I'd love to get my hands dirty and make beautiful pottery.



2. Knitting - Just to make nice scarves or pot holders. I don't think I'd ever be able to make something as complicated as a sweater.



3. Painting - I would like to learn better techniques and be able to do some painting around the house--on cabinets, on the children's walls, etc. But I'm so contemporary, I wouldn't want to do pretty flowers, I'd want to do something unique.



4. Raising chickens - A useful hobby. I love fresh eggs and fresh chicken. But I also love the birds themselves!



5. Beading - Making jewelery.



6. Sewing - Get me a sewing machine and I'll start making curtains and maybe work my way up to outfits or chair covers.



7. Cake decorating - Pretty stuff that's also good to eat!



8. Motorcycle riding - I would like to have a motorcycle and go for joy rides.



9. Photography - I've dabbled in the past, but I'd love to learn more about lighting and the different settings.



10. Writing children's books - I have a few ideas I'd like to start on. Perhaps this could turn into something other then a hobby and I could make money!



11. Robotics - Don't tell my son, but I think he'll get a Lego Mindstorms set for his birthday, and we are all looking forward to playing with it. But I'd also like to learn how to make simple robotic artwork or light systems.



12. Filmmaking - Short films or funny documentaries. It's one of those things that I see and think "Hey, I can do that!"



13. Podcasting - I would like to do a Thursday Thirteen podcast from Creekistan with my husband. My friends and family would love to hear us talk, and I think we can be pretty damn funny!

About My Mom

This Mother's Day feels a little different than the previous 6 for me because for the first time, I'm officially a stay-at-home mom. That mean's that my full-time job is taking care of the rug rats and the home they seem bent on destroying. But it has also reminded me about my Mom.

Recently we all went to a Swap Meet at the local county fairgrounds. I thought it would be fun to see what people are trying to sell. It turned out to be a mult-family garage sale with lots of goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, some puppies, and the occasional iguana. There was a lot of old junk they were trying to get rid of. Some people had "antiques" that were interesting to look at but were not worth much. One item grabbed my attention--an old metal lunchbox. When I picked it up by the handle, I was immediatly reminded of the one my father used for several years. The handle, when you let go, made a sound I hadn't heard in years.

My mother stayed at home until I was old enough to be a latch-key kid. I remember her making my father lunch just about every day and putting it in that old metal lunchbox. She made my lunch, too, but the lunchbox would change along with my interests. (My first lunchbox was a Peanuts, my second was a Bionic Woman.) She also made my Father and I eggs and bacon, as well as coffee. Yep, I started drinking coffee at the age of 3 when my grandparents gave me coffee with lots of sugar and milk. So every morning, I'd have my coffee in a Mickey Mouse cup.

I didn't really appreciate the work that she did until recently--when I started to do the same thing. So, thanks Mom, for making my coffee in the morning. And for showing me how to be a good stay-at-home Mom--a gift that will serve me and my family well.

Thursday Thirteen #52

13 Great and Not-So-Great Things about Staying at Home

Since my sudden dismissal from my employment (I'd rather not talk about it right now!), I have decided to become a Stay-At-Home-Mom. After two weeks, here are my thoughts:

1. I still have to get up, but I don't have to shower and put on makeup. Instead, I have to get everyone else up and going.



2. I do a lot more cooking now: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I even make a lunch for my husband to take to work.



3. The house will get and remain cleaner now that I have the time. But because of #2 above, I have more dishes to wash--and no dishwasher.



4. I can devote more time to the garden.



5. The kids love that I'm home. But that also means that I have to figure out what to do with them.



6. I thought that being home would give me more time to listen to NPR. I was wrong. My local NPR station suddenly switched to a Christian station, but until they get their programming together, they are playing CHRISTMAS MUSIC. YUCK! I can't seem to get other NPR stations either. So I'm in an information blackout.



7. My need for high-speed internet access is painfully apparent. I can only use dial-up and that's about 28.8 or 32 bps.



8. I don't have TV either, but that doesn't seem to be a problem, yet.



9. My dog seems to love having us around all the time. But now he insists on going in the car to pick up my son from school.



10. My 2-year-old can now concentrate on potty training.



11. I know I'll miss "adult" interaction with the people I used to work with. Now I spend my day arguing with my 2-year-old or talking to the dog. The cat just ignors me.



12. I'll also miss the unconventional work environment I was in, especially the three office dogs and three office cats. One of the last things I did at work was a disciplinary hearing with the boss and I had a cat butt in my face.



13. Naps in the afternoon. Ahhh.

. . . Another Door Opens

"I lost my job." Such a funny phrase. Where did it go? Where was it the last time you worked? Joking aside, I was terminated from my "dream" job about a week ago. I can't say I didn't see it coming. For some reason, the boss had it in for me and was looking for any reason to fire me. And when you look for something, you usually can find it.

Now I'm the latest and greatest Stay-At-Home-Mom. Probably the most difficult job ever. But there is plenty to do in Creekistan, especially this time of year. My two-year-old loves the fact that I don't drop her off at daycare every day, and my 6-year-old loves having his mother in the afternoon after school. My husband loves the fact that I make breakfast in the morning and may even pack his lunch.

So far, so good. Any tips, suggestions for activities, and adult interaction would be greatly appreciated.

At least I can blog more.

Thursday Thirteen #51

13 Recent Things That Has Happened in the Last Two Weeks.

1. The dog ran into a truck. Don’t worry, the truck is okay. The dog is okay too, if a little shaken up.




2. The morel mushrooms were affected by the freeze around Easter, so mushroom hunting has been disappointing this year. .




3. A lot of people go out mushroom hunting this time of year. And I found a hunter on my property. It was creepy seeing a guy slowly moving through the forest on my land—but I knew what he was doing. We explained that we’d appreciate it if he’d leave a few for the children to find. .




4. Since I got my ears pierced on my birthday in March, my 2-year-old daughter has been asking to get her ears pierced too. I don’t think so—not until she’s older.
   
   
5. I finally started some veggie seeds. I know I’m a little late, but the weather earlier this month had me scared.



6. I transplanted some hastas from across the street where they are growing like weeds to my front yard. Technically, they ~are~ growing on my yard, but I want them closer to my house and looking like I spent money on them. .




7. My 2-year-old daughter seems to be very afraid of bugs and anything that looks like a bug. She runs away from them screaming “Bug bite me! Bug bite me!.” If she keeps that up, she’ll never want to get out of bed. Where we live, there are bugs everywhere! .




8. On the other hand, my son wants to be an entomologist—a scientist who studies bugs. I think he might figure out a way to create cyber-bugs, since he’s into robotics too. .




9. My husband is almost done with his doctorate degree in music composition. He passed his written with flying colors and he said his oral exam was fun. So right now, he’s Dr. Creekistan, ABD (All But Dissertation). .




10. My friend and co-worker, Aimee the Red, is running in the Country Music Marathon in Nashville this Saturday. This is her second marathon. Last year she ran in the Rock-n-Roll Marathon in San Diego. We tease that she’s going to have to find a “Classical Marathon” or “Hip-Hop Marathon” for next year. Good luck Red!



11. We're thinking about summer vacation now. How about a nice trip to Disney World? I've never been! But for sure we're going to drive to my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska to visit friends and family there. Anyone from Omaha? Watch out, 'cause here we come!



12. I found out that an old friend of me and my husbands is a professor of music at Virginia Tech. We were able to connect with him again and he said the situation there at the school was the most difficult thing he's ever had to deal with in his short time of teaching. We gave him our support.




13. Every evening when I come home from work, I notice that the “Siding Gnomes” have visited. I have never seen the gnomes myself, but cedar shingles are creeping up my house. Hopefully in the next few weeks the project will be done. And I’ll have to thank and pay the Gnomes.

Thursday Thirteen #50

13 Movies for Children That I Almost Forgot About

1. The Neverending Story - This adventure story puts the watcher of the moving into the mind of the reader of a book who puts his mind into the story. Or does the story really happen to the reader of the book? Kids love to think of the possibilities.




2. The Dark Chrystal -Jim Henson puppets doing a serious Tolkken-like story.




3. The Muppet Movie - Who couldn’t love the movie that introduced The Rainbow Connection. It’s reminiscent of the Bing Crosby, Bob Hope “Road To . . .” series of movies from the 1940s.




4. *batteries not included - A cute Steven Spielberg movie that’s great for the whole family. It has Sci-Fi, but it also has a great story.




5. The Last Starfighter - A “period piece” (okay, 1980’s) about a guy who likes to play video games that gets caught up in some out-of-this-world action.




6. The Princess Bride - A cult classic that is also great for kids.
   
   
   
7. For The Love of Benji - Who could forget about Benji, the cute little dog that seems to have more emotion than Tammy Faye Bakker?




8. Where the Red Fern Grows - I can’t talk about this film without crying. So lets leave it at that.




9. Snoopy Come Home - A touching cartoon.




10. Titan A.E. - I love futuristic, doomsday movies. This one includes that, with a bit of hope for the human race. Plus, it happens in space. My son loves this movie.




11. Small Soldiers - War toys come to life and battle humans.




12. The Red Balloon (Le ballon rouge) - It is not out on DVD. If you can find this, it’s worth seeing. Probably only 30 minutes long, it’s a touching story about a boy who finds a balloon (or visa-versa) and the adventure that they have.




13. Harry and the Hendersons - A friendly Bigfoot. Perfect for a family living in the forest in potential Bigfoot country, like me and my Creekistan family.

Thursday Thirteen #49

13 Things that My Grabber Is Good At

1. Grabbing garbage on the side of the road. Why do people think its okay to throw their stuff out the window? I hate that! I just want to follow them home and throw my garbage on their yard. But then again, they may not care.



2. Grabbing chunks of deer hair that the dog somehow brought back to the house. During deer hunting season, some people field dress their deer, cutting out the stuff they want to keep and leaving the rest for my dog to find.



3. Grabbing dead, frozen moles that the dog dug up.



4. Picking up toys. Don’t worry, I clean it first. Don’t want deer hair and mole residue getting on my kids’ stuff!



5. Picking up laundry. It sure beats bending over and it’s a lot more fun this way.
   
   Getting things from under the bed. You know, that elusive sock that’s just out of arms reach.



6. Grabbing things that have fallen behind furniture.



7. Picking up small sticks in the yard. Small stick help make big fires. I like fire.



8. Chasing the kids around the house saying “I’m going to get you!”



9. Being chased around the house by a 2-year-old with a grabber while she repeats “Get You!”



10. Launching rocks--an activity that my son loves. He get a rock in the grabber, rests it on his shoulder, and then quickly launches it at the dog. This activity was what ruined my first grabber.



11. Grabbing my husband in inappropriate places. Keeps him on his toes!



12. Grabbing dead mice that the cat is playing with in the middle of the night. Then launching the dead mouse over the deck for the dog to find.



13. My favorite: capturing a LIVE flying squirrel and launching it over the deck so that we can all watch it “fly.” The cat somehow finds these squirrels and sneaks them into the house. I have only done this once, but look forward to the next time. I got the squirrel by the head, gathered the children to watch, opened the door, and launched it as hard as I could. We watched it fly, land, and run away. I considered it a learning experience for both my children and the squirrel.

Thursday Thirteen #48

My birthday was Monday. (Yep, Happy Birthday To Me!) Since then, I’ve been thinking about things I still haven’t done in my life.

13 Things I Gotta Do Before I Die

1. Finish a Bachelors Degree.Now the cat is out of the bag! I have an Associates Degree. It’s been purely on my knowledge and experience that has gotten me this far. But that piece of paper would be nice! Besides, since my husband teaches at a university, I can go to school for free!








2. Go to Disney World. I feel like the only one on Earth who hasn’t gone to Florida. Of course I’d take my kids. I might have to leave my husband behind, since he’s a big grump who’ll complain about how everything is too Disney. So?!?!?!








3. Learn how to knit something. I have been known to crochet, but the knitting thing has me stumped.








4. Go on a cruise. I’m a little bit stuffy when it comes to travel, so it would have to be a more expensive cruise with not too much riff-raff.








5. Visit Yellowstone National Park. It just sounds really interesting.








6. Write some children’s books. I have a couple of great ideas and I would like the time to develop them and get them illustrated and published.








7. Finish my house in Creekistan. Hopefully it would get done before I die, but I wonder sometimes!








8. Act in a movie or on stage. I did a little in high school, but I’d love to have the opportunity again. Any casting calls? Let my agent know!








9. Go horseback riding again. This is something else I’ve done as a kid, but I haven’t done it in a long time. I would love to have “full reigns” of the horse—not one of those tourist trails where the horse just follows the leader and could do the trail in its sleep.








10. Learn to make jewelry. I have some great ideas, but I would also just like to make my own.








11. Create a piece of art that someone actually wants to buy. Or at least have it hanging in a gallery for a while. But first, I’d have to create it.








12. Go swimming with dolphins. Sounds like quite a rush.








13. Go back to Europe and see more. I want to spend more time at the Louvre, see Pompeii in Italy, visit some haunted places in London, tour Ann Franks house in Amsterdam, and all the other major museums.

Thursday Thirteen Edition #47

13 Of my Favorite Disgusting Characters

1. Fast Bastard – Introduced in the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Played by Mike Myers, this dude is gross with all his food and poop jokes. In other words, my kids love him!

2. Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin in Batman Returns. Played by Danny DeVito, this villain made my stomach turn. I could only imagine the smell of dead fish on this guy.

3. Jabba the Hut from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi


4. Hannibal Lecter, from The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. Although I could make an exception for him: besides eating people, he does have excellent taste.

5. Goldmember in Austin Powers: Goldmember. He’s Dutch and he likes to eat his own skin flakes.


6. Kevin in Frank Miller’s Sin City. A wonderful movie made from a graphic novel, it tries to maintain the “cartoon” look. It succeeded. This character is disgusting to me because it takes a nice Hobbit from Lord of the Rings (Elijah Wood) and makes him into a serial killer who kills prostitutes, mounts their heads on a wall like hunting trophies, and eats their remains. The leftovers go to his pet wolf.

7. Gollum. Speaking of Lord of the Rings, this character should go out for sushi with Oswald Cobblepot.

8. Mr Creosote from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Projectile vomiting is always welcome. This scene makes me gag every time I see it. Every time I watch it gets better. Better bring me a bucket!

9. Azamat Bagatov (the fat guy) in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I would not want that anywhere near my face.

10. Wormtail in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This guy is a rat.

11. The Entire Cast of The Aristocrats. The joke itself is disgusting, so if you tell it, you get it all over you. I could tell a version of the joke featuring the Bush family, but I won't.

12. Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo

13. Beetlejuice - I love poking fun at death. Beetlejuice, played brilliantly by Michael Keaton, also pokes fun at the afterlife. I guess having survived the Black Plague has made him uninhibited. His real name is Betelgeuse. He is rude, vulgar and lewd, eats insects, and loves to terrify people.

Explaination #3

Note: This is an expansion of my Thursday Thirteen post: http://creekistan.blogspot.com/2007/02/thursday-thirteen-44-final-edition.html. I will try to explain all of the items listed because so many people said that they'd love to hear the reasons behind some of those quotes!

We're out of water again!

Creekistan does not have city, county, or township water. There is no municipal water service this far up our road.

We have to get our own water and store it in our cistern. So if we run out of water, it's our own fault.

We have found a great old well on the property. One of those old kinds of wells where someone dug deep into the ground and found a source of water, put bricks up the wall, and probably lowered a bucket on a long rope to get their water. And this is where we get our water now--pure, untreated, and sometimes unreliable.

Yes, we will run out of water, sometimes when you least want it to run out: while taking a shower, after going to the bathroom, or while washing dishes.

We just lower a pump attached to a hose into the well, run the hose across the street and into our cistern. If it rained recently, we'll fill up the 100+ gallon tank and we'll be flowing again.

Thursday Thirteen #46

13 Cool Things that I’ve Done in my Life

I guess every so often it’s a good thing to think back at all the cool and exciting things that you’ve done. Especially when you think you’re in a rut. This time of year is good for that.

1. Giant road trip with my parents from my hometown in Nebraska to California when I was 11.
2. Visited the Redwood Forrest in northern-California. The trees are tremendously big.
3. Went to Disneyland when they still had E-Ticket rides.
4. I got my parents in trouble for letting me into a casino and playing the slots in Las Vegas.
5. I talked my parents into letting me visit a UFO museum on Fisherman’s Warf in San Francisco.
6. Took another giant road trip with my parents from Nebraska to Connecticut when I was 12. (I guess I could say that in one year, we drove from coast to coast.)
7. Traveled in an old Pullman sleeper car on a train across Nebraska, Wyoming, and into Denver.
8. Slept on the floor of a Spanish-style Catholic church in New Mexico, complete with distant coyote song. We tried to learn the Rosary in Spanish.
9. Toured a real nuclear sub in London, Connecticut. I used the periscope to find were our car was parked.
10. Got married in a wedding chapel in Las Vegas—a double ceremony with my fiancé’s mother and her fiancé.
11. Took an Amtrak train to New York to attend the Field Day Festival in 2003. It was cold and wet, Beck fell right before his set and couldn’t perform, the Beastie Boys were not very good, but Radiohead was absolutely awesome.
12. Completely booked a trip via the Internet for a vacation to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris. My husband spent his birthday in Amsterdam and I spent my 29th birthday in Paris. My goal was to go to Europe before I was 30.
13. Bought 2 tickets to see Duran Duran’s reunion tour in 2005. Called up my childhood friend Sandi the Red in Denver to go with me, and she did! I cried when they first appeared on stage.



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Explanation #2

Great, the dog found another frozen mole. Good dog!

Our dog, Bandit, is now one year old. At least we think so, since we’re not sure of his actual birthday. We’ve decided to make it Valentines Day.

This is his first winter in Creekistan, as well as his first winter ever. He did really well staying warm and enjoying himself. We suspect that on the coldest of nights, he made his way into the abandoned Bee House and kept warm among the old clothes. We’re pretty sure because he keeps dragging articles of clothing onto our front porch--shirts, jackets, pants, shoes, and long underwear.

He’s kept himself busy by digging for moles. We know this because he brings them onto our front porch too! They are frozen and dead. But he likes them anyway.

Thursday Thirteen #45

In honor of the resurrection of the Thursday Thirteen, I would like to SPREAD THE LOVE and highlight some of my fellow TTers.

13 Thursday Thirteeners I Like To Visit

1. Colleen from http://www.looseleafnotes.com/. She has some interesting thoughts, a great writing style, and she lives very similar to me! I just wish I had a Floyds near me so that I can play Scrabble and participate in poetry readings.






2. The Shrone at http://www.homeburrough.com/. She is very clever and interesting.






3. Jen’s Horde at http://www.homeburrough.com/. We share kid rising philosophies.






4. Tricia’s Musings at http://www.feverishthoughts.com/. I love nurses and they stories they tell!






5. Scribbit at http://scribbit.blogspot.com/. Wow, another creative mom. I love the idea of roller-skates on the wood floor, and I’m seriously considering it. I can only imagine what cabin fever is like in Alaska!






6. CraZedMoM. http://crazedmom.net/WordPress/ With a title like that, I SHOULD like it!






7. Raggedy at http://its-a-raggedy-life.blogspot.com/.






8. Trish at http://incoherent-ish.blogspot.com/. My Canadian Twin, sort-of.






9. A fellow Amy at http://amyruttan.blogspot.com/ .






10. Janet at http://www.fondofsnape.com/. Okay, she’s fond of Snape, and since I’m a big Harry Potter fan, we’re supposed to be enemies. But I like her blog anyway. ;-)






11. Anyone who visits my blog and leaves a comment. I try to visit them too!






12. People who have interesting things to say and creative topic ideas.






13. You could be next on my list of favorites!

Explanation #1

“I know what dead mouse smells like, and that’s dead mouse.”

For those of you who are squeamish at this sort of thing, I suggest you don’t read the rest of this entry. Even thinking back to this sometimes makes my stomach churn.

I have heard that a smell can trigger a strong emotional memory. Like when you smell a particular food cooking you remember being a child and your mother’s cooking. Certain colognes trigger memories of my old boyfriends. And for some reason, I remember the smell of a dead mouse. I guess if you’ve ever had one, you wouldn’t forget it.

My cat is great at catching mice. I am not worried about the little creatures now that Gracie is around. She will spend most of the night waiting for a mouse to come out of its hiding place, and then the rest of the night playing with the terrified mouse.

But one mouse got away.

We started smelling it in the bedroom. It was enough to make you sick, if you thought about it too much. I spent two evenings cleaning the room, searching under the beds, even under the mattresses to find the source of the smell. My husband suspected the smell came from a dirty diaper that escaped and was hiding somewhere. But I knew better. “I know what dead mouse smells like, and that’s dead mouse.”

Since we don’t have a washing machine or dryer at home, I have to take the laundry to a Laundromat. I have huge duffle bags specifically for that purpose.

While searching for the stinking dead mouse, I packed up the laundry. But I never found the dead mouse. Interesting enough, the smell lessened. I didn’t go away completely, but it wasn’t so nauseating.

You guessed it, the dead mouse was in the laundry. Imagine my shock when unloading the laundry and a dead mouse fell out. Fortunately, I am not squeamish about such things, and was able to discreetly use a plastic shopping bag to pick up and throw away the poor creature. No one at the laundry knew.

I was glad that we finally found it. I was glad that I was right about the source of the smell, but I was not happy that the cat let this one get away.

You got your Salmonella In my peanut butter!

No, got your peanut butter in my salmonella!


My husband, in his infinite wisdom, buys peanut butter just about every time he goes to the store. He says that it’s a good thing to have around, in case of emergencies. So, we currently have several jars in our pantry.

As you probably know, there was a recall on some brands of peanut butter for fear of a salmonella contamination. The FDA issued the warning that people should not eat Peter Pan and Great Value (Wal*Mart brand) peanut butter if they have a product code beginning with number '2111' on the jar's lid or label.

One of my jars may be contaminated. The rest are okay. If we would have eaten the bad jar, it defiantly would have been an emergency - Emergency room visit!

But look on the bright side, I could have lost a lot of weight AND eaten peanut butter too!

Thursday Thirteen #44 - Final Edition

13 Things I Never Imagined I Say

1. I know what dead mouse smells like, and that’s dead mouse!








2. Great, the dog found another frozen mole. Good dog!






3. We’re out of water again!






4. Stop dripping deer blood on the floor!






5. Darn! The truck is stuck in the front yard.






6. Okay, I’ll pick up some diatomaceous earth on the way home from work.






7. I’m bored. Let’s got to Wal*Mart!






8. I can’t wait to use my new string trimmer!






9. Gosh darn deer ate my beans.






10. Get me the flashlight, I’m going to get the mail.






11. So how did that beaver taste?






12. Don’t forget to tie the dog up, Ron’s setting traps for that fox again.






13. Don’t mow over there, it’ll make the bees mad.




This is my final, official Thursday Thirteen post. The sponsors have retired the MEME for some reason. But I will try to keep up with my posts, at least every Thursday.

Thursday Thirteen Edition # 43

13 Things That Has Happened In the Past Two Weeks

1. My son has had school called off several days in the past two weeks.








2. My son would have missed a couple of days anyway, since he got Strep.








3. I couldn’t participate in last week’s Thursday Thirteen because I took last Thursday off of work to be with my sick son.








4. I got sick too. It was the kind of sick that anything other then staying warm in bed was dreadful.








5. But I did make a great roasted garlic and sun dried tomato hummus.








6. We watched The Legend of Ricky Bobby. A funny movie.








7. We also watched An Inconvenient Truth. Very interesting.








8. Right after watching An Inconvenient Truth and all the information about global warming, we just had to watch Ice Age: The Meltdown. Kind of brings everything together.








9. There was snow a few days. I joke that a lot of people around here call it “White Death From Above.”








10. Snow doesn’t phase me, but I won’t take unnecessary risks, either. So I left early from work to drive in the 3-4 inches of snow that had fallen. I was glad that I did.








11. We did decide to drive home on the forest route instead of the safer, straighter long route. Either way, there was a lot of snow on the road and we would have to climb up our small mountain to get to the house.








12. I didn’t have any troubles. But our neighbor asked why we didn’t stop and instead just waved as we drove by. They were joking—they knew we didn’t want to lose momentum.








13. My son can come to work with me on days that he has off. He and another employee’s boy get along great and play video games in the back room all day. What a perk!






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