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So, I thought I would pop-in and ramble for just a bit here...it just seems to be one of those "bloggy"-days! ;)
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Today is a perfectly splendid Friday afternoon...slightly cool, clear, and crisp...with a weekend outlook beautiful and sunny...and warming to somewhere in the 70s on Sunday...woo-hoo!
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Sunday we are all going to the PUMPKIN FARM!!! I have managed to wrangle-up my brother, sister, and their families...as well as Boomer and his daugher...to spend a right-Halloweenie kind of day on Sunday. I am thoroughly stoked, and cannot wait! :o}
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Another note on the weather here...I just have to add how THRILLED I am that it is finally "Sweatshirt Weather"! =)
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I simply love it when the weather finally turns to those lovely, blessed Autumnal temps...and all of my cherished sweatshirts can finally be dug out of the back of the closet. =)
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People in steadily warmer climes, such as California, may not "get" how thrilling this is...but, believe me...the liberation and freedom...not to mention the "comfort" and "luxury" one experiences while schlepping-around in a good, baggy, soft sweatshirt, is not to be scoffed at!
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I do not have to worry about my pasty-white skin for a few months, do not have to worry about tanning or toning, or squishing myself into my "skinny" Summer clothes...LOL...not to say that I plan to actually "fill out" my Winter clothes...but it is nice to be able to just RELAX for a while, and not have to worry about it all, 'ya know? =)
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The pets are good...picked up 2 cats from the groomer today...had then shorn-down. Only 7 more animals to have groomed! (And then, I start all over again.)
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Beuford apparently ate a dead frog, or something yesterday morning...while I was taking the cats to the groomer. Boom does NOT watch them closely enough! He just opens the back door and lets them out...while *I* stay out there with them...so crap like this does not happen!
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Anyway...Beu has been all hacking and pseudo-choking for over a day now...I have been giving him Benadryl...that is what the vet had me do the last time this happened. It takes a few days for it to go away...and he needs the Benadryl to help alleviate the shaking and the allergic reaction he has from the frog toxins.
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Plus, there is that nasty business of digesting the frog stuff...and that cannot be pleasant...the bones and such. Eeewww...it boggles my mind why on earth these dogs pick the smelliest, nastiest stuff out there to roll around in and/or eat!
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So, I could not go to work last nite...had to keep an eye on him. There is no way that I would leave him home alone. Boomer played a gig last night...and I did not even go to that. Beu comes first. Period.
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My mom's 50th HS reunion is tomorrow nite (11/18)...and I am her date! Well, Dad is going too...but I was her original date, before he decided he would go. I bought an adorable dress the other day...black with a bit of gold accent...totally cute. I usually do not buy anything with gold...and own no gold jewelry...just silver, white-gold, and platinum.
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Sooo...I had to buy earring and a necklace to match...and a bracelet. However, the necklace is a black, pave-rhinestone heart, with a thin gold chain, and a little gold bow across the center of the heart...so the gold is actually minimal. The earrings are black rhinestone hoops, and the bracelet is of large, black rhinestone hearts all linked together.
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The dress is 50s-inspired...princess-cut, with a swooshy, full-skirt...hits me at mid-calf...and the shoes are black, patent-leather Mary Jane's...except they are kinda "slutty" Mary Jane's! ... LOL! ;) They have SUPER high heels...and are HOT, HOT, HOT. So, in conjunction with the cutesy dress...the yin/yang vibe of it all is perfect. I cannot wait!
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Mom is wearing a little black, sheath dress...mid-calf, sleeveless, with a little black jacket. She is wearing her hair in a pony-tail, and so am I. Hee-hee...talk about the Bobsey Twins! I look so much like what she did, as a high school girl...except I am about a foot taller...with much smaller boobs! ...I wonder what her HS friends are going to say when they see us together?
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As I mentioned before, I am throwing a major bash for the parents' 50th anniversary on Nov. 9th. (Wow...Mom survived 50 years with Dad! Holy crap...she should be awarded a saint-hood for that!)
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Beuford apparently ate a dead frog, or something yesterday morning...while I was taking the cats to the groomer. Boom does NOT watch them closely enough! He just opens the back door and lets them out...while *I* stay out there with them...so crap like this does not happen!
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Anyway...Beu has been all hacking and pseudo-choking for over a day now...I have been giving him Benadryl...that is what the vet had me do the last time this happened. It takes a few days for it to go away...and he needs the Benadryl to help alleviate the shaking and the allergic reaction he has from the frog toxins.
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Plus, there is that nasty business of digesting the frog stuff...and that cannot be pleasant...the bones and such. Eeewww...it boggles my mind why on earth these dogs pick the smelliest, nastiest stuff out there to roll around in and/or eat!
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So, I could not go to work last nite...had to keep an eye on him. There is no way that I would leave him home alone. Boomer played a gig last night...and I did not even go to that. Beu comes first. Period.
.
My mom's 50th HS reunion is tomorrow nite (11/18)...and I am her date! Well, Dad is going too...but I was her original date, before he decided he would go. I bought an adorable dress the other day...black with a bit of gold accent...totally cute. I usually do not buy anything with gold...and own no gold jewelry...just silver, white-gold, and platinum.
.
Sooo...I had to buy earring and a necklace to match...and a bracelet. However, the necklace is a black, pave-rhinestone heart, with a thin gold chain, and a little gold bow across the center of the heart...so the gold is actually minimal. The earrings are black rhinestone hoops, and the bracelet is of large, black rhinestone hearts all linked together.
.
The dress is 50s-inspired...princess-cut, with a swooshy, full-skirt...hits me at mid-calf...and the shoes are black, patent-leather Mary Jane's...except they are kinda "slutty" Mary Jane's! ... LOL! ;) They have SUPER high heels...and are HOT, HOT, HOT. So, in conjunction with the cutesy dress...the yin/yang vibe of it all is perfect. I cannot wait!
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Mom is wearing a little black, sheath dress...mid-calf, sleeveless, with a little black jacket. She is wearing her hair in a pony-tail, and so am I. Hee-hee...talk about the Bobsey Twins! I look so much like what she did, as a high school girl...except I am about a foot taller...with much smaller boobs! ...I wonder what her HS friends are going to say when they see us together?
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As I mentioned before, I am throwing a major bash for the parents' 50th anniversary on Nov. 9th. (Wow...Mom survived 50 years with Dad! Holy crap...she should be awarded a saint-hood for that!)
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Anyway, I am hosting their party at the same banquet center which I had my wedding reception...the Heart of St. Charles.
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It is a big soiree...dinner, dancing, open bar, 50th anniversary/wedding cake, ice sculpture, favors, etc., etc...everything except the horses and the butterflies! LOL... (Referring to my wedding...there was a veritable FLEET of white horses, and 100 Monarch butterflies were released as we came back down the aisle...it was outside, BTW. ;)
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This thing started out relatively small-ish...and has now morphed into about double it's size.
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This thing started out relatively small-ish...and has now morphed into about double it's size.
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Mom keeps adding names...as does my sister...as well as my brother...and none of the siblings are thrilled about this...and do not want to help any...for it "was not their idea." ...WTF? The last time I checked we all still had the same parents...unless that adoption theory of mine actually rings true.
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~* **{EDITORIAL REVISION...Post-Party:}
Anyway...it all eventually worked out...
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The brother forked-over his allotted share to help with the party, plus did some major running-around town to complete a few of his appointed errands....thank God! (He then called me the next day to tell me how great the evening was, and that he saw how much work I had put into the night.) ...The sister...seared my ass with a scathing comment about the blog recently...thanks loads...much appreciated. ***~
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{~***Now, back to our story, already in-progress! ;) ***~}
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Mom is really going to love their party...she never had a wedding. They married at the courthouse, with her wearing her graduation dress.
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Grandpa did not approve of her marrying Dad...he was divorced twice before, and SHE was strictly Catholic.
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So, her dad disowned her for a few years, and her mom was not allowed to talk to her... before my dad managed to get on his good side.
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Dad went to Grandpa's house one day after my brother was born, with a brand new hunting rifle, which Dad gifted to him.
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Dad went to Grandpa's house one day after my brother was born, with a brand new hunting rifle, which Dad gifted to him.
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That was a big deal...Grandpa was a major outdoorsman. He raised hunting dogs...Brittany Spaniels...and used them for bird-dogs. Grandpa won all kinds of awards for his dogs. He also had a lot of rifles...and apparently the one Dad gave him was a really good one.So, somehow that managed to break the ice, and the rest is history.
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They became VERY, VERY close after that...and were like father and son. When Dad remodeled the farm house in the early 70s, he had a special private suite added on to it, for Grandpa and Grandma.
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OMG...they LOVED going up there with us all every weekend! They both adored the outdoors and everything "nature".
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Grandpa hunted for EVERYTHING...and fished...and Grandma PAINTED everything. She was a magnificent artist..and the oil paintings and water-colors she did of the farm, and the lakes, and the wildlife in the forest...they are phenomenal!
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Grandpa hunted for EVERYTHING...and fished...and Grandma PAINTED everything. She was a magnificent artist..and the oil paintings and water-colors she did of the farm, and the lakes, and the wildlife in the forest...they are phenomenal!
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She could also sew and create anything! She made all of our quilts and Halloween costumes (she also had made that graduation dress which Mom wore when she married Dad.)
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Grandma used to go traipsing around in the woods with my sister and I...taking Nature Walks...pointing out the various plant-life to us, telling us their scientific, Latin names, and then she and I would dig a lot of the seedlings up, for her to transplant in her garden at home.
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We had a big ravine which led down into a large creek, on one part of the farm...and we called that "Fern Hill". (There were also numerous massive, sturdy vines dangling from the towering Oak, Walnut, and Hickory trees...vines which we used to swing across the creek! SO much fun! ;)
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Grandma used to go traipsing around in the woods with my sister and I...taking Nature Walks...pointing out the various plant-life to us, telling us their scientific, Latin names, and then she and I would dig a lot of the seedlings up, for her to transplant in her garden at home.
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We had a big ravine which led down into a large creek, on one part of the farm...and we called that "Fern Hill". (There were also numerous massive, sturdy vines dangling from the towering Oak, Walnut, and Hickory trees...vines which we used to swing across the creek! SO much fun! ;)
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In the Fall the hillsides were blanketed with mounds of colorful leaves, and jumping about in the piles of leaves was always a major source of entertainment, as well. :o}
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There were all kinds of ferns growing in abundance, completely covering both sides of that hill, and in the creek bed...Umbrella Ferns, oodles of Boston Ferns, and many other which I do not remember the names of.
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However, Grandma knew what they were...and she transplanted many of them into hanging baskets at her house in St. Louis...and planted them in the flower beds around her house. She also dug up little Pine Tree saplings, and transplanted those as well.
In the Fall the hillsides were blanketed with mounds of colorful leaves, and jumping about in the piles of leaves was always a major source of entertainment, as well. :o}
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There were all kinds of ferns growing in abundance, completely covering both sides of that hill, and in the creek bed...Umbrella Ferns, oodles of Boston Ferns, and many other which I do not remember the names of.
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However, Grandma knew what they were...and she transplanted many of them into hanging baskets at her house in St. Louis...and planted them in the flower beds around her house. She also dug up little Pine Tree saplings, and transplanted those as well.
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(Those little saplings were planted across the back of their driveway at home, and they grew to mammoth proportions! ...And it was so sad to see them chopped-down when my parents had to finally sell that house after my grandparents finally passed.) ... =(
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OMG...did Grandma ever have a green thumb! She was a true miracle...she could do anything and everything...Sew, paint, cook, garden, and just be the best all-around Grandma, wife, and mother one could ever hope for.
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When she died in 1977 (the same year as Elvis), it completely took us all by surprise. She was going into the hospital for heart surgery...but none of us thought that she was not going to come back home.
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However, SHE knew. Somehow, she just KNEW. Grandma was really into astrology, and her "charts". And, apparently, we discovered after she had passed, that the time that she had scheduled her surgery for was the ABSOLUTE WORST time on her "chart" for her to undergo surgery. She could have changed the date of her surgery, but did not...for whatever reason.
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And, when Grandpa returned to the day-to-day things which he had to do just to keep on living...just the simple things...like doing his laundry, and putting his clothes away...etc., etc...he started to find little notes tucked all over the house, which Grandma had left for him...notes she had written before the surgery, and placed in strategic locations about the house...telling him how to do things...where to find stuff...and how much she loved him. =(
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OMG...did Grandma ever have a green thumb! She was a true miracle...she could do anything and everything...Sew, paint, cook, garden, and just be the best all-around Grandma, wife, and mother one could ever hope for.
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When she died in 1977 (the same year as Elvis), it completely took us all by surprise. She was going into the hospital for heart surgery...but none of us thought that she was not going to come back home.
.
However, SHE knew. Somehow, she just KNEW. Grandma was really into astrology, and her "charts". And, apparently, we discovered after she had passed, that the time that she had scheduled her surgery for was the ABSOLUTE WORST time on her "chart" for her to undergo surgery. She could have changed the date of her surgery, but did not...for whatever reason.
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And, when Grandpa returned to the day-to-day things which he had to do just to keep on living...just the simple things...like doing his laundry, and putting his clothes away...etc., etc...he started to find little notes tucked all over the house, which Grandma had left for him...notes she had written before the surgery, and placed in strategic locations about the house...telling him how to do things...where to find stuff...and how much she loved him. =(
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~(Hmmm...I wonder what ever happened to those little notes...??? I wonder if my Aunt Kim has any of them saved...??? ... *Tap, tap, tap!*... Attn: Auntie Kimmer!: "Do you have any of those little missives???")~
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Like I said before...NONE of us ever recovered from losing her. And, it was many years before Grandpa could return to the farm, without her. When we moved up there, and lived on the farm for 2 years (1978-1980), their suite became my room. (It was pink...what can I say? =)
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My mom and I are at just about the same ages that MY mom and grandma were when Grandma passed. I cannot imagine ever losing my mom (or my Dad, for that matter.) Even at this point in my life, I still need her...I am so sad for her that she had to go through losing HER mom, at such a relatively young age.
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So, anyway...Dad and Grandpa were super-close, like father and son, until my grandpa died in 1987. It broke my dad's heart when grandpa died. (Not to mention my mom's!)
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Like I said before...NONE of us ever recovered from losing her. And, it was many years before Grandpa could return to the farm, without her. When we moved up there, and lived on the farm for 2 years (1978-1980), their suite became my room. (It was pink...what can I say? =)
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My mom and I are at just about the same ages that MY mom and grandma were when Grandma passed. I cannot imagine ever losing my mom (or my Dad, for that matter.) Even at this point in my life, I still need her...I am so sad for her that she had to go through losing HER mom, at such a relatively young age.
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So, anyway...Dad and Grandpa were super-close, like father and son, until my grandpa died in 1987. It broke my dad's heart when grandpa died. (Not to mention my mom's!)
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Alas, Grandma never did like dad. She knew what was really going on...on the INSIDE of the marriage...and she hated him for the way he treated my mom.
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Okay, so anyway...skipping ahead, to much happier times...I am hosting the parents' 50th...my lame-ass brother and sister are not being the easiest to deal with as far as receiving any "help" with this.
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However, my brother sure is telling me who I CAN and CANNOT invite! The nerve! Grrr...
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Allrightey...that's the latest.
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Hope things are good with you all...and may you all have a "Fern Hill" day...a languid day of Nature, peace, fun, sweatshirts, pleasant surprises, and swinging from a few vines! ;)
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