Posted by Becky on August 16, 2009
Well, what can I say about Darwin that hasn’t already been said except we are not seeing eye to eye these days. He chewed a whole in John’s beanie that I knit for him. One of my first knitting projects. He chewed up Joseph’s baseball cap which was on my desk. He knocked over a potted plant in the back yard, breaking the pot and then decided to eat the plant which I found withered in the sun. He took a tube of hemp lotion that was on my desk and ate it, which as we all know, is a gateway lotion. Darwin is a counter surfer! I have never had a dog that did that other than the time Blue stole butter and I blamed it on Jacob who thought I was on glue. And now he has taken to stealing my dish towels that hang from the refrigerator handle and stove. Darwin, not Jacob.
The towels and his ears flap in the wind as he runs around the back yard with Ziva chasing behind him barking her head off. I’ve even had a heart to heart with Hank asking him to teach his damn kid some manners. He said,” practice what you preach, lady”. So true.
Then I took Darwin on a walk. Or rather attempted. He is not use to the leash yet and he reared like a horse when I put the collar on him and managed to pull a Houdini in the front yard and ran around the neighborhood. I went and bought a Houdini proof dog collar and he got out of that too! I need the dog whisperer!
Jacob called today and put in his order for Sunday supper. Well, isn’t that special? He stated he would like a REAL Sunday supper. I asked what that might be and he said something with mashed potatoes and gravy. Real mashed potatoes. I reminded him I don’t make potatoes from a box. And then he stated he wanted white ( milk) gravy. So I said I’d make chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy (with milk) and corn. Then he tells me he wants sausage in the gravy. WTF? You don’t put pork in a beef gravy! I’m telling you the boy is mad. (I hope it’s just the August heat) You know what, Darwin’s not so bad after all. Jacob’s lucky he had my grandchild or I probably wouldn’t let him in my house anymore. Tell me how to make gravy! What fucking nerve!
Oh, for all you spinners out there a co-worker of mine has a cousin who has a farm, Painted Knoll Farm. He thought they sold yarn so he gave me their business card. Anyone ever heard of them? They have Shetland Sheep and they are so cute. I wish they did sell yarn. I do love my independent shopping.
And speaking of independent book stores (oh, nice Segway) I have good news. I went to the Bookworm and met the new owner. Her name is Connie and she seems rather nice. She is going to move the store to the Ralphs’ shopping center at the end of September and they are going to have a Childrens’ Story night! I can’t wait to take Eli to that and that should make a much nicer location. Close to Star Bucks and more visibility. I hope she makes it.
I’m reading something write now that I am really enjoying and that’s all I got to say about that.
I haven’t been very diligent with my blogging. Work is taking a toll on me these days. Why, I can barely manage to keep up with the chores on my farm on Facebook!
Okay, time for bed because I’ve got potatoes to peel and dogs to chase bright and early in the morning.
Posted by Becky on August 9, 2009
It’s 8:30 on a Sunday night and I’m exhausted and I want to know where the hell did my weekend go?
We had a funeral on Friday. Lil John and Jackie’s great grandmother passed and Lil John was one of the pall bearers and Jackie read from the bible. It was a beautiful Catholic service, complete with bag pipes ( she was born on St. Patrick’s Day. I mean, how Catholic can you get, the monsignor pointed out.) Then we drove to Santa Barbara for the burial and then on to Goleta to meet with her family and celebrate her life at a house on top of hill that overlooked the ocean and was surrounded by acres and acres of avocados. It was a beautiful day and even though it was John’s ex wife’s family, they were all happy to see Big John and catch up and made me feel quite welcome. Although it did get complicated trying to explain to distant relatives who I actually was so Bonnie’s mom (John’s ex mother in law) decided to introduce me as Bonnie’s Wife-in-law. That really puzzled them.
Saturday, we had Eli spend the night. Miss Paris and Sandy came to visit aand that, too, was a blur. Kids have a way of doing that to you when you get older. We couldn’t get a sentence in when “Paris, keep your shoes on” or” Eli Don’t tease the dog’. Came up a hundred million times. Eli didn’t quite know what to make of a Pairs. He ignored her as much as one can ignore Paris and did nothing but talk about her all night after she left. Men!
Uncle Joseph and I are attempting to teach Eli poker. I try to make a point of playing with my grandson as often as possible with old fashioned board and card games. He would rather play on the computer, but as soon as we start one he wants to play all night. He got to play with real money so that was exciting And Joseph kept stealing his pennies so the game went on forever due to their constant counting of money. But I think it is important to play with real people and that involves getting ripped off and your ass beat (metaphorically speaking) once in awhile. Kind of a Grandma’s school of hard knocks.
Check out that poker face.
Uncle Joseph trying to explain to an 8 year old that three of a kind beats two pair pairs.
Then today we had Sunday supper. Hamhocks, beans and cornbread. Big John made my moms deviled eggs and I made my own. My mom dices up olives and I don’t to olives. So, the whole clan came over.
We played on the swings, we wrote with chalk on the sidewalk and Jacob brought over Tiger Woods Golf for the Wii. They played golf while I planted some new rose bushes and tried to salvage the succulents I planted yesterday in a pot that Darwin apparently didn’t care for my arrangement so he tore them up. That bastard! Then Baby JJ drank some water from the dog bowl and you would think he ate poison. I thought they were going to induce vomiting. Good Lord the dogs drink from that bowl every day and not a one of them has died yet.
And now on my way to crawl into bed Darwin had beat me to bed.
And here it is Sunday night and the whole weekend seems like a blur. The days go by too fast anymore. I still have gardening that I didn’t finish. Clothes that didn’t get washed. And now sister calls me and she’s moving to Tennessee in two months. She’s been telling me for two years as soon as she retires they are out of here. But it just came upon me so soon. My sister is leaving and I can’t imagine me traveling to Tennessee anytime soon to visit with her. She lives just blocks from me and we don’t visit that often because well, first we both work and second, she doesn’t knit and then a weekend goes by in a blur and you just figure you will have time later.
I think I might be sad, but I will save that for later when I have time.
Posted by Becky on July 29, 2009
Welcome to the world, Jack!
Posted by Becky on July 28, 2009
I called mom today, “Are you still breathing?” I am required to call on a regular basis to make sure she hasn’t died. I don’t need to do anything if she’s alive, just call and make sure she hasn’t died. That’s all she wants.
But it just so happened my brother called today. He only has to call every other Sunday. That’s it. Every other Sunday on his day off. Because the sun rises and sets on her only son. But I digress. So, my brother calls my mom today on a Workday. He works on Kiawia Islands in South Carolina and got an unusual phone call. Most Maintenance calls are pretty standard. Can’t get my safe open, the Jacuzzi isn’t hot enough, etc. So, today he gets a call that a RACOON IS MOCKING THE GUESTS! WTF? How can a racoon mock guests, he wonders? So, he wanders on over and sure enough a racoon is up in a tree throwing wads of insulation at the guests! The little bugger had got in to a wall of one of the unitss and had hoarded the insulation in the tree and was throwing it at the tourists. I think somebody seiously pissed this racoon off and it was most likely a foreigner.
So, he lured him into a cage with food, my brother not the racoon, and took him into the woods and released him. Kind of like a witness protection program for animals. And mother will be tickled over this for years.
Posted by Becky on May 29, 2009
For the gifts of flowers, plants and stuffed animals and visits and laughter over the phone.
It really meant a lot to me.
My boys were great troopers. Sean brought me home, Roger stayed with me until Jacob and JJ came to spend the night and John and Joseph left town to give me some peace and quiet for my first night home.
They’ll be home tonight.
Jerry even came to visit.
Posted by Becky on May 11, 2009
Jacob woke me up with a big hug, Roger and Joseph bought groceries and made me carne asade tacos. They even found the little corn taco’s like TDM. Oh, and they made an avocado pico de gallo that was the bomb. Sean brought me a lovely sentimental card and a Bonsai tree that I hope to keep alive. I’ve never done well with the Bonsai’s for some reason. And Joseph rode his bike to the book store and she was closed so he made me a homemade Mother’s day card like he use to in grade school. It was to an “awesome mom” and it was a gift certificate to anywhere with money taped inside. It was adorable and of course the rest of the boys gave him hell for it.
I have to say I am very proud of my boys. Even when they fight they are still loving brothers. I’ll give you an example. Roger and Sean were on their way to Outback Saturday night, for some reason they start to wrestle in the front yard. Roger takes Sean down on top of a sprinkler,then it got ugly there was attempted strangulation, elbows in the rib and Sean could barely walk on Sunday, but not two hours after the fight Roger rubbed Sean down with Ben Gay. Now that’s a brother for you.
Oh oh oh and I have the most exciting news of all. John and I are going to be grandparents again. Jackie Sue came over yesterday and told us the news. She got hugs all around. You know how those boys love babies! But before she broke the news she did some acupuncture on her dad. She put a ring on his ear that is suppose to relieve anxiety. Smart girl.
Posted by Becky on April 26, 2009
OMG I can’t believe a year has already gone by.
It was just a year ago when I got to hold this tiny baby and now he’s moving furniture around my house.
He’s cutting more teeth so he didn’t feel much like partying, but Uncle Joseph did get him to smile after I took this picture.
My sister, Great Aunt Patti came to visit.
Grandpa decorated the cake. It’s a giant cupcake and not a giant turd, if you were wondering.
You can see his little cheeks are flushed and he just didn’t feel good, but we all had a blast. Uncle Roger got him a t-ball set with sound affects. Grandpa and I got him a ATC that runs on peddle power, a giant stuffed dog and some legos. Martin and his girls got him a badass fire truck.
Roger and Joseph taking in some rays and yes Roger is wearing my sunglasses.
Roger and cousin Eugene who is constantly being asked if he’s Serj from System of a Down.
Jacob and Senna. Jacob got drunk with a friend on Friday and then proceeded to wrestle with said friend (who was also drunk) and his face now looks like a giant raspberry or a serious case of acne. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again “the first 40 years of raising a child are the roughest.” I’m really more of an animal person.
That’s Louis behind my head, Eli to my left, Ziva at my elbow, Darwin near my feet and Hank at the end. No one’s drunk or wrestling or giving me grief.
But I think I can tolerate any kind of nonsense these boys can throw at me if the just keep them grandbabies coming.
And Joseph, puppies don’t count.
But she is freaking cute when she surfs on Blues back.
Posted by Becky on March 28, 2009
Today was my birthday, but it seems like we’ve been celebrating for days. Sandy surprised me Thursday when she baked me a cake and got me The Knit Kit. Friday, I went to work and Lois had pastries waiting for me from Royal Bakery and Terry bought me lunch. Today, I met the kittens for breakfast at Eggs N Things in Ventura and Nancie bought some great party favors and the girls greeted me wearing party hats complete with water guns and bubbles.
It was a blast. I had so much fun and I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have such wonderful, thoughtful friends.
Then tonight the boys came over and they took me for a sushi dinner at Masa Sushi.
Sean, Roger,Joseph
Odin
Roger bought me this cool statue of Odin.
Flowers from Sean and awesome kntting bag from Lisa.
Me and my man
And now I’m in my milkbone jammies watching United States of Tara and have twelve more months to be in my forties.
Posted by Becky on February 15, 2009
Sean sent me a text message while at the yarn store to let me know he had asked Caroline to marry him and she said yes. His plan changed somewhat as he was going to ask her in Central Park, but he wrote that he got down on one knee at the Irish Hunger Memorial. I can’t wait to hear all the details. And I am so happy for them.
I had a great Valentine’s Day myself. Mom called this AM to let me know she had bought some strawberries and made some whipping cream and it went great with the Nonnie Waler Pound Cake I had sent to her for Valentines. She is going to use the hat box for her sewing supplier. I hung out at the yarn store (bought me some cashmere) John had bought me a beautiful bouquet of roses and Joseph did some much needed yard work. And for dinner, Jacob stopped by and treated us to sushi that he prepared and it was really good. He made a California roll and a Philly roll.
Jacob has really gotten into cooking ever since he was laid off.
The puppies continue to grow and amaze me every day. They bark at one another now and bite each other on the butt. Last night Sadie refused to feed at their usual midnight feeding and they complained quite loudly. It’s sad to see them being, what they perceive as. rejected, but it’s so amazing to watch Sadie make decisions, regarding her brood. Instinct is such an amazing thing.
I went to Victorias Secret to get John a little something for Valentine’s and there is nothing like having to put on your reading glasses to read the labels to make a girl feel sexy. I mean, could they make the tags any smaller? It was bad enough when I went to buy new jeans today and tried on a pair of pants that I thought were size twelves and damn near had a heart attack when I couldn’t get them past my knees only to find out there were size 2’s!
I hope everyone had a great day.
Posted by Becky on January 14, 2009
Sunday, Jacob and Yesenia cooked dinner. She made pico degallo and rice that was delicious and Jacob “bought” carne asada that Joseph barbequed and it was delicious. Eli was there with his Charger shirt on (poor kid, they lost big time). Eli is turning into quite the prankster. I asked him to bring me some of his old books so I could read JJ a story so Eli comes back into my room with a copy of Free Inquiry in his hand and he just cracked up. Free Inquiry? It was too funny. Of course he brought his old books to read to JJ that he hid behind his back.
We went to knit last night at the Bean and it was 68 freakin degrees so we left early. My sinuses were bothering me so I went to bed early. Probably that damn air conditioner. And after reading “Why Darwin Matters” I now know all this vacant sinus space in my head is a waste of space. Our ability to rely on our sense of smell is not necessary like it was back in the day when we relied on our sense of smell to warn us when trouble was approaching. So there I was in bed with my laptop and after John found dog drool and the floor (which a common occurence in our house) and insisted Sadies’ water had broke I went oline to look up the gestationg calendar (again!) to let him know that she is not due yet for anther week, but I discovered www.mydogspace.com I promptly signed the dogs up and this morning they have FOUR friends! Fuckers have more friends than I do. Sandy you gotta sign up Jack. I think Hank might write a blog. Any suggestions for the title?
It’s hysterical. It’s just like myspace. Each dog has his or her own profile and I put their pictures. Soembody voted five doggie bones on how cute Hank was. Am I turning into one of those crazy cat ladies only with dogs? Oh, and they have one for cats too!
