My boss' wife is having surgery and she asked me if I would fill in for her to help her keep up with the work. She works for Norfolk Maritime Surveyors. So today is my first day. I had to type up one report for the bossman and I've been sitting here now for about 3 hours doing absolutely nothing. I feel bad but honestly there isn't anything to do. The rest of the time I'm here, probably about 2-2 1/2 weeks I'll work in the morning and then go back to my real job in the afternoons. The bad thing is is that I can't sub during these weeks and so there will only be a few weeks left when I'm able to again. But it's ok I guess.

Well, my mom told me that I needed to get an address book so I could have the family's addresses to send birthday cards and what-not so I'd like to add everyone, including you all :) My email address is cgreen8017@email.vccs.edu or girl0430@gmail.com that way you aren't putting your address on the internet and some crazy person comes to track you down.

So I've been done with school now for a little over a week and I cannot tell you how great it feels! I got 4 b's and 1 a. As long as everything goes how I plan and I can get into the classes I need, I'll graduate TCC in December :) Then it's off to ODU for a couple years. After that, I'll finally be able to teach full time. I can't wait for that to happen!

Nothing else is going on except we have to buy a new vaccuum cleaner which I really didn't want to have to do.

I hope everyone is doing well.

love,
catherine

well...

workmen are putting in a new sewer pipe, the have the whole front yard dug up...and the water is off.....cox cable now is out there so we don't have phone, tv, or internet, this really sucks!
and because the workmen are out there I don't want to
plant my new plants that mom gave me. I stopped raining finally and the sun is out, it's still freezing inside the house.

I had a wonderful time at mom and dads this weekend, and I got my first tick..on my lower back. I found it yesterday morning.....I was freaking out...Zsuzsi burned it with a match about 7 times,she finally got it out and I lit it up on the end of my tweezers and saved it in the ashtray for Mark to see.

Moms garden looks wonderful so many plants and flowers, mine will never look that good!
well I guess I will find something to eat...nothing else to do.

keep bloggin
jane

It's not really raining here today - just enough of a drizzle to keep me inside. We went to Wal-Mart this morning to stock up for the weekend and of course, I had to go into the garden department! They are certainly all stocked up for Mother's Day but I headed straight for the hostas - gasp! - they are now $2!!!!!!! Bought 3 Golden Tiaras to replace the ones torn up by the voles. Also 3 nice little coleus - a buck each. Coleus are hard for me - I'm too fussy about the colors - my garden area is so dark that the light colors are the only ones that look good there.

Came home, put groceries away and called a friend and chatted for awhile. She had called me several times yesterday and being in such a rotten mood, when I saw it was her, I just didn't answer the phone. She is a perfectly nice person and we have lots of laughs together but I just wasn't in the mood yesterday.

I am now awaiting the UPS delivery of my B&N order. Tracking showed it would be delivered today and he is usually here by now. I have read 2 books this week waiting for this order - both less than 200 pages with large print.

tonight for dinner we are having some frozen Chinese stuff that Scott showed me last time he and Ellen were here. Looks good - hope it's good. If not, we'll just have to fill up on Oreo's double stuff and ice cream (just kidding).

I have been buying navel oranges for myself - I know they are expensive but I only eat one per day and I LOVE them. Well now your Dad has discovered how good they are and you know him - eats 3 or 4 at a time. No wonder he's always running to the bathroom.

HARK!!!!!!!!!!! I think I hear a truck and both dogs are barking. Bet you didn't know that such a little thing could make this old woman's heart pound with excitement - almost as good as an org - oh, never mind. Dad has just arrived in computer room with my 3 books from B&N so tata for now.
(I'm happy again)

Rainy Thursday

Well, it's raining today here, so perhaps in Farmville, too, Mom so you can maybe do housework today. Our last unfixed kitties get fixed today. Nearly $1,000 later.... They haven't been able to eat past midnight, so they are frantic. The new screened porch was a good idea for about 5 minutes. I'll capture a pic of them all attached like velcro at the same time to the upper part of the screen walls. Nice.

I should be in the shower as it is late, and I have to steam my clothes and stop for gas. But, I am lingering over coffee.

Kaiti is going to come home (for a visit) this weekend and stay for a week or so. We'll be going to Williamsburg next weekend and she will house/dog/cat sit for us.

I'm glad for the rain, don't have to water my new geraniums or tomatoes. My rose bushes are full of buds and some blooms. Peonies full of buds! No sign of my new cosmos that I planted yet. My daylillies are up -- but too early for buds. Everything looks so green and lush....only a few weeks until the oppressive heat kills all the outside fun.

Happy belated b-days to everyone!!

Let me tell you about my day yesterday...Dad was prescribed a new medication - terribly expensive and Ft. Lee does not carry it. Doctor's office recommended we use Tricare for Life mail-in RX's. Fine. Off I go to their website - well let me tell you .. 4 hours and several phone calls later I think I have Dad enrolled in their program and prescription mailed in. What frustration! Not only is the web site very difficult to navigate, they give no indication as to how to pay for the dang thing, and - if you can believe it - give the wrong address to mail it to. I only know that because I called up to verify that all the info I had was correct. This all left me in a stinko mood - think I even snapped at Nancy when she called. Was wishing I had a pound or two of chocolate on hand to soothe my nerves, but was too lazy to go buy some.

Anyhow, that shot down my day of housecleaning and I gave up the ghost to work in the garden. First I was scared out of my wits by a lizard scampering around - always on the lookout for copperheads, you know. Then I couldn't decide which to do first, mulch, weed, transplant - etc. Ended up doing a little of each - very little - until the UPS man arrived with my latest order - just some summer shirts from Land's End and NOT my Barnes and Noble order - Grrr! Ended up yaking over the gate with the UPS driver - have known him for years - as we swapped stories about government beaurocracies. Then into the house to whip up some ultra delicious dinner - yeah, right, sure. Nothing defrosted so had to resort to tuna salad sandwiches. That would have been okay, except that the celery was brown! Managed to salvage half a stalk. Then into the den to watch The Savages - from Netflix. I ordered it because Laura Linney - who I like - was nominated for the Oscar for this role - anyhow, it was a rather depressing movie - and dull enough to put me to sleep for the last half hour.

So - today is a new day (even if it began at 2 in the morning for me) and I will resume cleaning - send Dad to store to buy essentials - you know - milk, chocolate, bread, chocolate, and oh yes - and some fruit so we don't get backed up with all that chocolate.

Love to all
Mom

And today is Bobby's birthday! How well I remember you coming home from the hospital with Marianne - at first glance it looked like the carseat was empty, but she was so tiny, she was way down at the bottom. Remember how colicky she was? But in between cries she could always give a smile - lol. And I remember sitting in the coffee shop with Nancy and Michael when Bobby was born and the intercom calling for your doctor STAT! We were laughing when we heard that. And then Michael got a polaroid of Bobby from the delivery room and went around to eveyone he saw showing it off - "dis is my brudder!"

Now I'm going to tell you how much your father likes Kentucky Fried Chicken! Yesterday as we ate lunch I suggested KFC for dinner - immediately Dad said let's go - I protested that we'd just had lunch and that would be for dinner. He kept it up until I said we would go at 4:45. We didn't have enough cash so he even called KFC to see if they took credit cards. Anyhow, the chicken was good but what a rip-off! $13 Bucks for 4 pieces of chicken and a side of cole slaw!

I am reading Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks about women of the middle east and her experiences there as a journalist. Very interesting. Am waiting for my B&N order - supposed to be shipped tomorrow and I should have it by Wednesday. I got the new Elizabeth George novel, Twilight at Monticello. and Mountain Madness about an ill-fated climb of Mt Everest. Now the big decision - which should I read first?!

Had a interesting and creepy experience in the garden yesterday - heard a big commotion from a couple of birds by my dovecote, so I stopped what I was doing to watch what I presumed would be a bird fight, when lo and behold, a huge (and I mean HUGE) black snake slithered out and down the pole! Since then Dad has placed some wire mesh around pole so snakes can't get up there again, but it might be too late for this little bird family. What I am wondering, how did the snake know that there were eggs in that nest? After all, the pole is at least 6 feet in the air - and snakes can't smell, can they?

I have not watched the John Adams show on HBO but I have it TIVOed. Will watch it one of these days. Tell Szuszi that we tried to watch Kontroll from Netflix. I ordered it because it won some awards, but we ended up not liking it. It was filmed entirely in the subway system of Budapest, in Hungarian of course. Kept it here for a while hoping Szuszi would be up for a visit, but finally sent it back.

Have a great day everyone (I have to clean house today because Mrs. Cleanjeans is coming for a visit)!

Mon

It's Marianne's 24th Birthday today!

I think I am going to make her a giant chocolate chip cookie and bring it over to her, wow the time has flown by, 24 years ago she was just a little over an hour old.

Yeah for the plants...I can't wait to get them planted in this yard! I will be there on may 10th..isn't that Aunt Nancy's birthday?

Nancy took my to see "Maid of Honor" it was an enjoyable movie, especially the scottish parts.

Did anyone watch the "John Adams" series on HBO? Zsuzsi found out a good portion was filmed in Hungary, and one of her friends was an extra... in the theatre seen in Paris ...it was really in Hungary and some of the castles were Hungarian too.

Mark had to be at work at 1am last night so he is still at work now, he should be home by early afternoon.

I saw Jamie's scratches by the rose bush he fell in, ..his back didn't look bad at all, and he has a big bandage on the back of his thigh, I could tell it was painful, cause he was asleep in the car and leaning so his thigh wasn't touching the seat. I hope no one pushed him into the rose bush, because he fell backwards... I am judging that by his wounds.

Zsuzsi is trying to go to Hungary sometime in July, she is still waiting for her social security card to come in the mail so she can get a job, she says she is going to get 2 jobs. Michael will me her in Hungary in Sept. for 9 days on his vacation.....I wish I could go too. I know her family misses her alot, and she has had 2 deaths ..her grandma and her aunt(fathers sister) who died very recently.

Well I am gonna get dressed and make the giant cookie.

Have a great sunday!

luv
jane