[Lush]

I have questions...I am sure glad the 3fcs are here to answer. I insist Suzanne et al come here RIGHT NOW and explain what the *&%$# Femore is.

I went to a fun party tonight. I am having a party on Saturday night. I will die if it rains. I don't really like people in my house....I prefer to entertain outside where they can't go through my medicine cabinet.

Kiwi, my DD now has red hair. She used to be a blond...but no more. I'm sure this is a blot on my motherhood record. She looks shocking. At least it isn't green.

Sissy, I am back to aid you in this time of need. Keep your chin up...these things have a tendency to work themselves out. Read a Helen Gurley Brown book. Her advice is that you refuse to argue therefore refusing to be broken up with. Be sunny. Maybe it will blow over.

I'm tired I think I'll go to bed.
L

[Darling_Peaches]

My favorite advice from her (before I read yours) is to wear makeup. Even poorly applied makeup, she said, subliminally tells people that you'll make an effort (even if clownlike) to make them like you. Then they will.

Femore? You reading your own medicine cabinet or what?

Kiwi, it's a wonderful book. I insist you read it.

With the country in the midst of a drought, of course we set our priorities right and wish people can stand around in Lush's blueberry patch unsprinkled.

[Kiwonk]

to see you stirring up trouble, Lush. What would we do without you?

I'm sure your DD looks great in red hair. My DD says red hair is boring because everybody does it. Well, not that I have noticed, but what do I know?

It has now become uncomfortably hot here. I don't like hot weather, although I will let Lush have a nice hot sunny day for her party, because we certainly don't want anyone in her med. cabinet. They'll be using the backyard Rent-A-Throne instead, right?

I got up, got dressed, made my bed, cleaned the bathroom, ran the dishwasher and fed the dog before I got on the computer today. I deserve a pat on the back. Or a kick in the a** because that is probably all I will do all day.


Movies I Have Seen

Saw an interesting movie last night: The Man Who Wasn't There. Black and white 50s period piece with Billy Bob Thornton. Not for the casual moviegoer, but rather well done. The screwed up thing about it was there was a man trying to get investors in a "wonderful new service called Dry Cleaning", which is simply absurd--My grandfather owned a dry cleaning plant that his father started, rather a long time before the 50s.

The other day, we all watched Black Hawk Down -- that was unbelievably gory. I suppose it was good, but I found it depressing. Also there was a blatant grammatical mistake in the titles at the very beginning of the movie, and my Grammar Police badge beeped throughout the whole movie.

I've been renting a lot of movies lately I highly recommend The Deep End. It started out being one of those frustrating "what's the matter with you, woman, use your head!" movies, but it got really good. Not exactly a happy movie, though.

The other movie I rented this week was Sidewalks of New York. Good acting, had great music in it.

Okay, I'm done blabbering.

Kiwi

[Wabby]

Didn't she say you can never be too rich or too thin? She's wrong. She's too thin. Don't tell Letty or Marcella I said so.

I've got a nasty headache but I'm here at work anyway. Ppl want paychecks. They're sooooo self centered.

I hope it's a dry, not too hot day for your party, Lush. What are you serving? What have you been decorating lately? any new remodeling projects? We need an update. Does your DD have any interesting tattoos or piercings? Red hair seems pretty tame.

Kiwi, what are you doing watching movies when the weather is warm and sunny???

[Lush]

I demand an answer. I am not going to click on that ad to find out what femore is. They'll harass me forevermore.

Wabby, I never have time to decorate anymore. I am too busy. We haven't done any projects either. We did put a bathroom back at the pool, but that is only because I can't stand to have people come in the house to use the bathroom and go through my medicine cabinet while I'm outside making sure their kids don't drown in the pool....since NO ONE watches their own kids.


We are having picky food...you know, wings, that several layered taco dip thing, pot salad, etc. It is not very hot here. I don't think it will rain. Peaches is right, selfish people who worry about THEIR drought simply have their priorities in the wrong place. My party is most important.

Kiwi, we all know that my daughter is kind of backwards in the rebellion department. She only has 100 kids in her class and they are all just like her. No one has much of anything but their ears pierced and red hair on a blond is still a scandal. I'm so relieved that she likes it there. Last summer, she wanted to go to the public high school where the kids have a clue about what is going on in the world. That doesn't mean that drugs and sex aren't in her school, it just means that the kids look more wholesome while they are doing the same things everyone else in the world does. She is having a party next weekend and we're already battling over chaperone rights.

My new cousin, Charlene wrote to me again. She is just a wealth of information. She has a family tree and history that goes back to pre-revolutionary times. She hasn't offered to send it to me, but I guess she doesn't know I'm reliable yet. Oh, wait...I'm not reliable! Maybe that is why she hasn't sent it.

Kiwi, I'm so impressed that you got up and got moving. I don't hang on the computer first thing in the morning anymore, but that doesn't mean I DO anything.


Wabby, I'm sorry you have a headache. Isn't middle age the pits?
L

[Kiwonk]

nominate Wabby for Favorite Title. Hope the headache is gone.

It's great that your DD is happy with the small school, Lush. We are lucky in that regard; the local high school is fairly small and not too bad in the scariness department. I know there are plenty of drugs available, but at least there is no (or very little) violence. DD and I were talking last night about what kind of boys there are, who goes with whom, etc. I was saying that in my high school there was a permanent dating pool with the boy athletes and the girl cheerleaders/"popular girls" (not me of course: I was the smart, unpopular type) and that other than that the boys were either bad news or pretty shy about asking girls out. She said that at least in middle school, the girl athletes paired up with the druggies, the boy athletes paired up with the "nice girls". Eek! DD's more of a music/theater kid which probably means she won't date for several more years

It's all too much for me. I need a nap. Good luck with your party, Lush. I hope you have put up a sign in your pool bathroom that says "We don't swim in your toilet, don't pee in our pool". I think that always adds a nice touch.

Kiwi

[SugP]

I clicked on the ad. Wish I hadn't. I'm afraid to watch the introductory video, though. And take a look at those doctors! Yikes.

Well, disaster strikes on the West Coast. We're leaving for there on Thursday and yesterday my little old dad calls me up and leaves this message on the machine: "Hi, it's Dad. Uh, we had a little disaster here this morning. The main water pipe broke at 3 a.m. and the whole downstairs is flooded. But everything's fine, just fine. Nothing to worry about. Really. I'll call you later!"

Soooo, I call them and find out that this pipe broke in the middle of the night and nobody could get in touch with the fire department and when they did get in touch with somebody in charge, that somebody didn't have the key required to open the box where the thingy to turn the water off is (I have no idea how these things work.) Does this suprise anyone?
They finally found some plumber who knew what he was doing, but in the meantime, poor old Dad (just turned 72) was standing there at 3 a.m. in his jammies with ice cold water running down his back, desperately taping together vacuum cleaner hoses so he could divert the %$§% water out the window. Everthing is ruined and the worst part of it is we were supposed to sleep down there. Ahhhhh! . Two, bedrooms, tv room and bathroom all under water. This should be fun. Maybe they'll let me pick out the new carpets.

Other than that, I am busy doing laundry and organizing my vacation wardrobe, as it were. If you can't be thin, at least you can be fashionble, right?

Oh yes, in the middle of the night I was awakened by the fire alarm. Not ours, the one that belongs to the whole town. It sort of sounds like an air raid signal and tells all the volunteer fire fighters to hop out of bed and get to it. There's one on the top of the church, and several more attached to various people's houses. No idea where the fire was.

Anyway, while trying to get back to sleep, I hear this car driving super fast down the street parallel to ours and then I hear a sort of dull thud. Thought nothing of it until dh told me this morning that some idiot had smashed into the new neighbours' car that was parked on the street. He must have been driving like a maniac because his car bounced off the neighbours' and landed in the bushes on the other side of the road. The speed limit on that street is 30 km (20 mph). Never a dull moment.

All this talk about dating is scaring me. My kids will actually still wear the clothes I buy for them without saying a thing and they think girls are icky. Wonder how long that will last? 9 yo is getting so big and I know that his hormones will start raging any day now.

My dryer is buzzing. How depressing.

[Kiwonk]

I should know, I am one.

Gee, Sugar, sounds like a real fun trip you have ahead of you. Silly parents, having a finished basement -- if they had a basement like ours, it could flood and you could hardly tell the difference!

Is today really Father's Day? I don't see a father anywhere -- DH is on his dumb ol' sailboat in the rain and I am trying to stay away from DD and her friend.

Watched another movie last night: The Mothman Prophecies with Richard Gere. It was pretty good--had me on the edge of my seat. He's getting a little long in the tooth, as they say. But he still has good hair.

I don't want to click on that creepy ad, but my curiosity is starting to get the better of me.

Later gators
Kiwi

[Lush]

It rained in all of the towns surrounding us last night, but my town was dry. This was because the powers on high agree that it is a mortal violation for people to dig in my medicine cabinet.
The party was a success. My friend Lynn is moving to California, tears, that is why we had the party. I think people still pee'd in my pool since I heard very few flushes.

Kiwi, I've been pretty lucky with the boy stuff,too. DD was a cheerleader this year, but she is not doing it again next year. In this high school the cheerleaders do not compete so it is boring for a girl who hates sports. They did a great play this year. It was an original production written by the father of one of the teachers. We thought it was going to be terrible, but it was great. It was in the style of "Guys and Dolls" or one of those musicals. It borrowed heavily from about 6 different well known musicals, but did a great job of it.

The one who is heavily into the boy-girl thing is my 12 year old. He has been "going out" with a girl all year. Girls call here all the time. I think it is kind of young...well, not kind... of just young. But since nothing but phone calls are involved, I really have nothing tangible to object to. I don't understand because he is really kind of shy...it seems out of character for him.

Sugar, sounds like your visit is going to be interesting. I hope you have fun. Is it a relief to speak English? Your fire siren sounds so european. Here they have beepers. How NJ.

Gotta go do my Father's Day preps.
L

[Kiwonk]

as long as they are nice to them, and of course, cute...

So glad your partay was a hit. I would sympathize with your friend moving away, but after next week I will have no more friends within an hour's drive. That's NONE -- ZERO. I thought I was going crazy before. I will be needing major drugs or something.

Kiwi

[Darling_Peaches]

There is NOTHING near your Dogpatch. I looked at on the map after reading Bryson's book which you have to read now. How did you find a man who lived in a Siberiaesque setting? Was he shy? Cute?

Lush, did you tell your new family that you have a sister? I think they should all send me cards introducting themselves.

DS is at boyscout camp now. I'm fREEEEE. But I better get to work. bye. *KISSSEY*

[SugP]

Hotter than Dogpatch here today. All my chocolate has melted. I'm wearing the white shorts that fit, as opposed to the white shorts I bought three years ago that will never ever go over my hips again. *sigh*

Is it normal for a 6 yo to have separation anxiety *and* and Oedipus complex all at the same time? He never used to be this way. He's terrified I'll forget to pick him up from kindergarten or that they might go on a field trip. We're not allowed to get there too early or too late (his rules). And according to him I'm not supposed to talk to any of the other moms before or after kindergarten. Once he said to me "OK, pretend that while you were talking to somone's mom, I fell into a pit of burning lava. Would you save me, or would you just keep on talking?" I think he's just worried about starting first grade. Must be hard being a kid.

Can you believe I'm almost caught up with the laundry? Now I just need to clean out the fridge so we don't find things growing in it when we get back. And I need to hem some pants that I've been meaning to get to for the past two years.

I have no friends within a 5,280 km plane ride. Waaaahhhhh!

[Wabby]

The dads around here are all happy. I found the perfect hummingbird feeder for my dad, he was thrilled with it. I gave the fil a sack of his favorite groceries, and for DH it was a thingie thats supposed to massage your back. You put it in your chair and turn it on, it has heat and stuff. Then I cooked a steak & potato meal and fed them pie for dessert. Thank goodness it's over. I can go back to feeding DH soup and sandwiches for dinner.

Sugar, DS6 is so cute! What did you tell him? that you can talk and save him at the same time? Your poor Dad. Will they have the basement dried out in time for you?

Lush, my DD always had parties when I was out of town. I could always tell if the house was very clean when I got home that something went on while I was gone. Now she knows that I don't have to let her live with me, she parties elswhere.

I am so unbelievably tired today. I really just want to go home and sleep.

[Kiwonk]

Poor little guy--how could someone so adorable have such doubts? Now, just don't leave him at the airport or anything....

I'm very sorry to hear that all the chocolate melted. That is a tragedy on a par with a flooded basement.

Wabbit, you done good! I'm impressed. I dragged DD out to buy a father's day card and get ingredients to make a chocolate pie for DH. I was p-o'ed at her because I had told her 2 days ago she needed to make him a card, but she was "too busy". She was busy playing pinball on the computer. Anyway, she made the pie, he got home from the boat late and enjoyed that. I gave him a mug I had made last week at the mall in Portland with a cute pic of DD at about 3-1/2 holding a bunny. And I called my step-father, and had an actual conversation with him (usually it's "you want to talk to your mother?" )

Peaches, I started reading that book on the Amazon site. They have 26 pages of it. It is good; I'll have to get it. Every year we have an "End of the Trail" festival in this area. There is usually a speaker to talk about some extraordinary trip on the AT and a lot of campfire parties. I'm sure there must be other things, but I don't know what. It is held in September I believe, supposed to be for the through-hikers.

Kiwi

[Lush]

I have friends. They live close by and I see them semi-regularly. Here is the problem with that....they've reproduced. Right this minute my friend MaryAnn's kid is here. He is a pain in the butt. He gets on my nerves because he is an only child who thinks adults are interested when he talks. He insists on initiating conversations with me and on voicing opinions. My kids know they are just kids and that they know nothing worth interrupting me with when I am reading. Mary Ann is a darling good friend and I guess she is not going to give up this kid any time soon so I've got to put up with him. I hope that those of you with only children don't indulge them by listening when they talk. It gives them a warped view of the world.


Kiwi, why will you no longer have a friend who lives within an hour's drive. Who is moving?

Sugar P, DS 10...my youngest has always been the way you describe. Funny, but he is the biggest mouth in the family. He is a very dominant kid within his peer group but inside he is so insecure about things like getting left on the pier when the boat takes off...etc. He still gets nervous that he won't get picked up from places. My friend Karen took him to a party and was late picking him up. Now he REFUSES to play with her kid or go to her house.

Do your kids have IM with that slamming door? I am on DD's part of the computer and I jump every time that door slams.

Wabby, my parents traveled a lot when I was in high school. It is the reason I was so popular at that age. At least one week of the month I had a house, a car and a credit card with no parental supervision. Needless to say, we never go anywhere because we KNOW that when we do...in move all the friends.

DH is home...I'm going to go pretend to be interested in what he says...bye