Another Memory on a Rainy Day

My dad was a very talented musician. He had a wonderful singing voice and he taught himself to play guitar by ear. I have many memories of daddy getting out his guitar and entertaining us with songs. Some were silly. Some were raunchy. Some of them he played often enough that I'll never hear them without thinking of him. Here's one he sang all the time when I was little.



Here's another of his favorites. This is the song that popped into my head today and sent me wandering down Daddy Lane.



Enjoy! Try to stay in tonight. It's not a fit night out for man nor beast.

Baseball and hotdogs.

Today I took The Boy to Wal-Mart for a baseball fundraiser. All he had to do was ask for donations. The next fundraiser will be harder. They have to wash cars the Saturday after next.

After that we went to the field for a practice game. This year he has moved up from the midget league to the minor league. HUGE changes. People in this town take their baseball VERY seriously. The minor league field has a concession stand and bleachers and a crow's nest. The midget league games were in a field behind the YMCA and everyone sat on lawn chairs. We also have to pay admission now to watch The Boy play. Let me just tally this up.

$ 25 sign up fee.
$ 35 for white pants, jock strap, cup and red sox.
$100 in donations must be collected or I have to make up the difference.
$ 30 season pass for the family to all the games.
$ 15 for snacks and drinks for the team at one of the games.

That's $205 to play baseball. That doesn't count the dinner dance ($100 a couple) or the proceeds from the car wash. No wonder the kids with single moms can't play.

Anyway, we loved watching The Boy play today. I get a little tired of it by the end of the season, but mostly I LOVE baseball. When we got home I made chili dogs for dinner. It seemed like the All-American thing to do.

Cinderella (And the Wizard behind the curtain.)

Here are a few pics of my niece posing for pictures after her musical last weekend. I wish I could have gotten some of her in her ball gown or wedding gown, but I don't know how to use my camera in low light yet.

And this one is my nephew. He ran the lights from behind a curtain and he did a spectacular job.

It's a Boy!

Here he is! The first pic is a full body profile. You can see his head and face on the left. The second picture is a tiny little footprint. We also have a very clear picture that proves he is a boy, but I think it may be illegal to post it!

We can't wiat for September when he'll be here to join us.

Rainy Days and Sundays

Yesterday I drove home from my Mom's house in a pouring rain storm. I almost couldn't see some of the time. When I got home, I put on my pajamas and drank hot tea for the rest of the day. Oh, how I love hot tea. I like the peppermint, the chai, the berry, and even the chamomile. But my favorite is the Cinnamon Apple Spice from Celestial Seasons. That's what I was drinking yesterday while I read a murder mystery. I LOVE mystery novels.

I was at my Mom's house because Saturday night she and I went to my niece's school musical. My niece had the lead. I know she didn't learn anything about music from me. I'm a vacuum of musical talent. But she was wonderful. I am very proud of her. I think she should use her talent to rule the world, but she's too practical. She wants to be a band and/or vocal music teacher. Oh, the innocence of youth. I want so badly to tell her to get a degree that will make her wealthy, but she is at the age where she thinks that happiness comes from a job you love. Phhhhht. Whatever. Happiness comes from being able to buy your kid shoes and pay your bills on time. Never mind. Maybe she'll marry well. Then she can set something aside for a rainy Sunday so that she can drink hot tea and read trashy books and maybe even paint her toenails.

(Go 3 posts back to expose my hypocrisy.)

Spring Has Sprung

I love the way springtime looks and smells and feels. Unfortunately I'm highly allergic to tree pollen (among other things) and I end up with a sinus infection every year. That's why I've been scarce lately. I'm really busy moaning and whining and napping. Soon I will be back in all my glory. In the meantime, check out this blog. I love it. http://tidingsofmagpies.blogspot.com/

On an unrelated topic, we got to see my husband's sister and her children for Easter. They live in Maryland and we haven't seen them in 2 years! My how the kids have grown. Here is a picture of my niece, my nephew and The Boy. Aren't they a gorgeous group? Great genes in this family!

Just Showing My Age.....

I LOVED Joan. I wanted to be Joan.

I love my job...

I love my job. Seriously. There is no punch line here. I know a whole lot of people who go home at night thinking they are glad to leave the office. Not me. I want to be there. I love it there. I feel like the real me is there.

Tonight I was telling a lady that I have the best job on the planet. People PAY me to talk to other people and help them solve their problems. Most women do that all day, every day for FREE. How cool is it that I get to make a living being the keeper of the answers? Oooh! I like that title. I'm going to have it put on my business cards. Maybe even a tshirt!

I think my allergy induced sleep deprivation is making me a little bit crazy tonight. Please ignore my rambles. I'll do us all a favor and go to bed now.

G'night.

Dr. Mojo At Your Service

I don't have a doctorate in psychology or an MD. But despite the lack of educational qualifications, I am, quite frankly, a diagnostic genius. House has nothing on me. Just ask my family. Each and every person to whom I am related, as well as most of my friends, have reaped the rewards of my uncanny knack for pegging their personal problems into a DSM4 or ICD9 code.

Though no medical professional has, as of yet, confirmed any of my diagnoses, I have quite a list under my belt. I have diagnosed friends and relatives with Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, a vestibular disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, migraines, ADHD, food allergies, personality disorders, early onset Alzheimers, speech apraxia, etc.

In addition to pegging them all into their proper categories, I also know exactly how they should treat their disorders. Abilify is a wonder drug. Seroquel is great, but you need to watch your cholesterol closely. Eat more fiber and leafy green vegetables. Try cutting gluteins from your diet. I am a veritable fount of medical and psychiatric knowledge. One of these days... just once .... one of my diagnoses will be confirmed and I will be impossible to live with after that. In the meantime, people don't complain about their problems around me any more. I wonder why?

Now take two aspirin and call me in the morning.

The Grassy Knoll and Other Modern Fairy Tales

I just had a conversation with the father of my son's friend. It turns out we were NOT the only family in our small, midwestern town with an Obama sign in our yard. They had one, too. He sells real estate and says that there is no slump. As a matter of fact, this is on target to be his biggest month ever and there has been no downturn, except in California and Florida where the housing markets needed correcting because they were artificially inflated. He said that the $700 Billion banking bail out was "the biggest daytime heist in American history." He also said that there was a reason why it occured in "the final months of a failing administration." I agree whole heartedly, but if you say that stuff out loud, it sounds incredible. It sounds like he's saying there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll. We all know that's not true. The second shooter was firing from a sewer drain.

Is it as amazing to anyone else as it is to me that GW can wipe his butt on the constitution and there is no outrage, but when Bill got a blow job, they almost impeached him? It's all about which headlines appeal to the lowest common denominator. OK. I'm getting off my soap box because I'm starting to get a nose bleed up here.

Have fun and, as always, feel free to disagree with me.