Polish Heritage Festival

My parents and I went to the Polish Heritage Festival today. Last year's event was fantastic. This year-not so much. I don't know what they were thinking. This is a POLISH HERITAGE festival, why does the main building have nothing but country music and the Polish music and dancing is outside at the far end of the place. Why on earth is country music even there? I don't have anything against country music, but this is a POLISH festival. Add to that the Polka bands didn't even start until after we left. While we ate (wonderful Polish food) we could hear country music on one side and Dean Martin singing That's Amore on the other side. What's up with that? There also weren't many vendors this year. We did have a good time, despite our disappointment. We got some good Polish food, both to eat and to take home (a Polish grocery had a booth). They also had duck races! These ducks were something else. The race is a swimming race and the ducks are trained. Of course, this was dubbed The Great Polish American Czarnina Duck Race. but don't worry-no ducks were harmed and the losers aren't turned into soup! (If you don't know Czarnina is duck blood soup.) We also got to see llamas. At the other end of the fairground they had a llama show. That was fun too. All in all a great day.

Photo Phriday

I've joined the revolution. Photo Phriday. I'm following my friend Vinnie, who's following his friend Culley. Here's the deal: a new photo every Friday. The rules are simple, take a picture and post it. It should be taken on the day it’s posted, but that’s not necessary, no one will know except you. The photo doesn’t need to be explained - unless of course you want to.It can be a photo of you, or not of you. It’s just a way for the readers to see something you’ve seen.

So..after riding Harley and cooling him down I let him out to graze with the other boys.

Angry

It's amazing how worked up you can get over a TV show...especially a reality TV show. I am a huge fan of Top Chef. I absolutely despise one of this season's chefs. My best buddy also can't stand her and we e-mail and complain and anguish over the fact that she hasn't been eliminated yet. She's a sullen bitch who lies and can't take criticism. She's arrogant and I can't stand her!!! I even got mad at Chef Colicchio and lost some respect for him over what I call "the Polish Sausage Fiasco". I got home today from an awful day at work and rewound the VCR (call me old-fashioned-no Tivo for me) to watch the latest episode. Yet again, the bitch is on the chopping block and then....someone else gets eliminated. She actually made it to the finals. I believe longshoremen would have been shocked at my language. I'm still cursing a blue streak. How dare she be able to continue? Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Smart Cookie

Whenever I come home I give Barrett a little treat. Seneca and Calumet recently have been coming around saying, "Where's my treat, Mom?" Usually, I'll put a cat treat on the floor for them to grab, but sometimes Barrett rushes them and snatches their treats too. Callie has found a solution. While Barrett eats his and Seneca begs for hers, Callie jumps on the kitchen table. So while Seneca has to eat fast to make sure Barrett doesn't try to steal her goodies, Callie eats in peace on the table. She's one smart cookie. As for poor Aleister...he doesn't come downstairs.

Freedom

What would it be like to have the freedom to do anything you wanted to do, without having any negative consequences? To not go to work, yet still make the same salary. To eat anything you wanted-without gaining weight. To say whatever you wanted...out loud. The possibilities are endless, it's just too bad that there are consequences for all of our actions, and not all of them positive. That's life.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. (I live in the USA for those who may be unaware.) Waterloo, NY has been declared the birthplace of this holiday. While most people celebrate with picnics and barbecues, I'll be working. However, I send a heartfelt thank you for those who have died while serving their nation.

Jockeys

I had a horrible dream last night about the Belmont Stakes. I don't even want to think about it...but I did get to thinking about jockeys. These guys and gals are amazing. When people think about athletes, they tend to discount jockeys-who are probably the most fit athlete around. Jockeys must be lightweight-in this years Preakness Stakes the horses all carried 126 pounds. That weight includes the saddle and irons, and sometimes extra weights, in addition to the jockey. Alex Solis, one of my favorite jockeys, is 5'3" and weighs 112 pounds! Kent Desormeaux, winner of this years Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, so a Triple Crown Contender, weighs 2 pounds more. But the strength these guys have, and the flexibility, as well as endurance, is utterly amazing. These guys must be fit, after all their lives truly depend on it. A bad spill can result in broken bones, even death, and most jockeys do have spills at one time or another. The general public sees them on a horse for a 2 minute race three times a year. However, the big races are not the only races of the day-these guys race several horses a day. So when you think about athletes, don't forget the jockeys.

Home Ownership

There's always something to do when you own your own home. The roofer came by early this morning for payment. He did a great job at a reasonable rate. My folks arrived shortly thereafter. My dad mowed the lawn on my riding mower and I did the trim with the push mower. Mom and I then sanded the tin ornamental architecture piece from the roof, stripped it and primed it. I'll paint it tomorrow, then the roofer will come back and put that back on as well as install my weather vane. I deadheaded the daffodils, pruned the privet, and got rid of some dead wood. Mom and I used roundup on some weeds. We never got around to filling the holes, putting the grass seed and mulching. But, the yard looks so nice!

Lilac Greetings

When I return home at this time of year I am greeted by the lovely wafting scent of lilacs. When I bought the place, it had 3 lilac bushes-2 white, 2 light purple. They sprouted 2 more shrubs, but they haven't flowered. I also planted 2 of my own-a French Purple and a Moscow Beauty. They're all gorgeous and full of flowers and beautiful scent. It's nice to come home to that!

Roofer

The roofer will be here around 8-8:30AM. Kind of sucks when you get home from work around midnight and find that out. I need to get up early for my lesson, but I didn't want to get up THAT early. And I was hungry, so I had to eat and have a little wine. Now I need to hop in the shower and get to bed. It's just after 12:30. The work needs to be done, so I'm glad he's coming, but why couldn't he have said 9?

What a Deal!

Addicted to Rubber Stamps is having a huge Memorial Day sale. Although I like to support my local shops, I couldn't resist the bargains. Stamps for $1. Some more, but still...fantastic prices. I even bought one thing from my wish list, since everything there was on sale too (only 15% off, but still). Plus half price shipping! It sure added up though. Sigh. Still, stamps don't go bad! I also got some inks, tints, glitter-oh one thing was a present-so that $2 wasn't for me!!

Stupid Technology

I wrote a brilliant blog-but the computer kept bring up these messages-"out of memory line 7071", out of memory line..." and so on. I tried to copy the text and mail it to myself-wouldn't paste, couldn't go back to the original post and blogger never saved it. So...you miss my brilliant post and get this brief rant. Time for bed! Stupid new computer. Stupid Vista I bet!

More Six Word Memoirs

I thought of a few more the other day. Some are memoirs, some more like sayings. Enjoy!

Once thin, now heavy, oh well.
New York, Ohio, Texas; lived there.
Paper crafting, making cards, brings joy.
Books, all kinds, make life better.
More animals, less humans, better world.

And one I just came up with this late night/early morning:

Must cancel lesson-working late sucks!

Snooze Button

I love the snooze button, perhaps too much. On most days I don't HAVE to get up when the alarm goes off. I'd like to get up, to get some stuff done, but I don't HAVE to get up. So, I wind up pressing snooze...and pressing snooze...and pressing snooze. I wind up staying in bed for an hour, sometimes closer to 2 hours, from when I set the alarm. Why don't I just set it for later and get better sleep all the way through? I'd still be wanting to press snooze and thus sleep even later! The interesting thing is that I sometimes still dream in those 9 minute intervals. How does that work? I thought you had to sleep like 20 minutes to get into REM sleep. Hmmm. Interesting.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday. He said his best gift is just being here and being able to do things. He's made great progress since his stroke in November. My folks drove up as usual, but we didn't clean today. Today was a fun day. We all piled into my car-me and Mom up front and Dad in the back seat with his buddy Barrett-and I drove across town to a lilac nursery my mom read about in Good Housekeeping. It smelled so good and I found a variety I want to get, but they were really overpriced. I'll try to find it somewhere else! Then we came back, Dad gave Barrett a bone, and we went out to lunch. All in all a nice day. Then I stopped at the barn, though I didn't ride, did some errands and came home to watch the Preakness Stakes. What a great race! I hope that Big Brown can do it again in 3 weeks. We need another Triple Crown Champion.

Happy Endangered Species Day!

That's right: it's Endangered Species Day, a national celebration to spread awareness about all our planet's wildlife, fish, and plants -- including the beloved polar bear -- that are threatened with extinction. It's also a great day to take action to help save them.
One of the most important actions of all? Spreading the word. Species need help every day, from everybody, so use this holiday as a jump-start for a year of conservation actions to be carried out by you, your friends and family, and your community. To start, all you have to do is wish someone a happy Endangered Species Day with one of these attractive and witty postcards, humbly brought to you by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Oh, and they do have a present for you after all -- if you haven't already, you can download free endangered species cell phone ringtones from our Web site here. Choose from the sounds of lots of cool owls, frogs, whales, wolves, and other species.
Thanks for caring about our planet's imperiled inhabitants, and a Happy Endangered Species Day to you.

Happy Birthday Calumet!

Today is Calumet's third birthday. We had a little celebration before I had to leave for work. The cats all got turkey and wild rice moist food, the rats got carrot cake moist dog dessert, and Barrett got filet mignon moist food as well as the chance to lick the carrot cake spoon! When I get home from work, I'll toast her with a glass of wine! Happy Birthday Callie!

Six Word Memoirs

I'm going to borrow...well steal...OK, copy a blog from my friend, Vinnie. The other day he wrote about Smith Magazine's Six Word Memoirs. Vinnie was recently had his as a featured story at http://www.smithmag.net/ Here's the story, copied from the website:

Six-Word Memoirs: The Legend
Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).

Here's what I've written for myself:

Always alone, never lonely, that's me.
Cats, rats, dogs, horse: my family.

I challenge you to write a six word memoir. And check out Vinnie's blog.

Let's Dance!

more cat pictures

Mother's Day

I'm a day late, but I hope all the mother's out there had a lovely day yesterday. I dedicate this message to all moms, whether your kids are human or not. Perhaps I even send bigger wishes to those women who, like me, have chosen not to have human children, but care for those with fur, feathers, fins, and tails. Barrett, Aleister, Seneca, Calumet, Flurry, Palin, Gilliam, Leon, Josef, Snickers, and Harley-I'm proud to be your mom!

iTunes Confusion

OK, I have a new computer. I backed up all my iTunes from the old computer on discs and then reinstalled them on the new computer. No problem. I didn't disable the old iTunes in case there was a problem, so that I could go back. Last night I tried to download some free songs, I was told it didn't recognise an account, so I signed in using (I think) my correct user name. At any rate, it let me download the songs. However, when I went to the "purchased" library-it just showed those songs-not all the other things I've purchased. Those items are in my library. Then when I went to sync my iPod it told me it was synced to another library and can only be synced to one library at a time. It then asked me if I wanted to erase and sync or transfer purchases from this library. EEK. I'm afraid of the word "erase" so I just cancelled. What do I do?

Gardening

My yard looks nice. Even though there are lots of weeds, and holes, and problems, my property looks nice. I even have some landscape designers that work for free! The squirrels have made new plantings of privet and walnut trees among other plants. Dad came up this morning and mowed the lawn and Mom did some weeding so it looks especially good now. The lilacs are just starting to bloom and the tulips and daffodils are still out. I have lots of work to do to make it even better...but it's nice.

So Much

It's the same old refrain, "So much to do, so little time!" I was on the phone with Albany late this morning. They are allowing me to take the test, even though they're questioning my qualifications to take it-don't get me started. Anyway, that gave me a late start getting to the barn. I rode Harley for a little and chatted with my instructor who was still there working. After that it was already after 3PM! I filled the gar up with gas, chatted with 2 other guys filling up, picked myself off the ground after seeing the cost, then proceeded to the paper store. I dropped off my ATCs, picked up a card challenge, and got some things I had ordered and for which I prepaid. I stopped at the library to return books and pick out some new ones. Now I'm cooking dinner. In about an hour and a half a Master Gardener is coming over to walk the property with me. I still have to do the dishes, pick up the dog stuff from the yard, vacuum and tidy up the house as the folks are coming up in the morning and because I have the test I must complete everything tonight. Oh, my shows are on too!

Civil Service

I'm trying to take a test to get on an eligibility list for a different job. What a mess! I applied online and mistakenly signed up for the promotional version, when I needed the open competitive version. I was on the phone with Albany yesterday, then ran to my personnel office, hurriedly filled out the form, and faxed it. I called this morning-the woman helping me never got it! She says someone else probably picked it up and attached it to something else! So, when I get to work today, I'll refax it! Hope she gets it, the test is Saturday, but I don't know what time or where?!?! Sigh.

Confused

OK, I'm confused. What day is it? I ended my vacation so that I would start work in the middle of my week. For me, Sunday is my Monday (as my weekend is Friday and Saturday) and I get up early Mondays for my riding lesson. I came back to work on a Tuesday and all day I was thinking it was Monday. Now I need to go to bed, but I know I have to get up early...is it my lesson? Today was my first day back at work. No, it's early Wednesday morning-Doctor's appointment. I'd better set the VCR for my shows now before I forget it's Wednesday!

Over

Well, my vacation is over. I'll be leaving for work in a few short hours. So...what did I do on my vacation? I went to the Wine and Herb Trail, a paper sale, my folks came up and we went to dinner and lunch the next day. We also shampooed the carpets and the sunroom. I had lots of teeth work done and recovered from that. I did some rubber stamping, though not everything I had planned. I got a package out to England and a letter to California. I organized my 12X12 papers. I installed my new computer. I had some landscape work done and made contact with the roofer. I added things to Fanpop spots and read some books. I rode Harley, but no more than usual. Barrett and I went for a walk, but he never got his bath. And that's about it. I still don't want to go to work though.

Last Day

Today is the last day of my vacation and it's a beautiful day outside. I had a good lesson with Harley, even though he started acting up at the end. I had some blood work done-I nearly forgot I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I was thinking of going to the zoo, but I think I'll just hang around the house. I think I'm going to do a little yard work now-it's warmer outside than it is in the house!

Lazy

It's been a lazy day. I slept in, aside from Barrett getting me out of bed at 4:30AM and 7:30AM (when you gotta go, you gotta go) and have been in lounge wear all day. I watched the Heads Up Poker Tournament-they're down to 8 now. Unfortunately, I saw who won in a poker magazine-so the thrill is kind of gone, still, it's enjoyable watching these guys play. I planted my herbs from the wine trail and I've been playing on Fanpop. Josef has his own site-so I've been adding things to that. I need to do some stamping-maybe I'll get offline and do that. Or some organizing. Only today and tomorrow left for my vacation.

Eight Belles

It was a run for the roses. Not many fillies get the opportunity to run with the boys at the Kentucky Derby, and less than a handful have won, but Eight Belles ran her heart out. The big girl (17 hands) ran a great race finishing second before disaster struck. Somehow, this beautiful girl broke both front ankles and was euthanized on the track. It's hard to celebrate the great race run by Big Brown and I wish him the best, but Eight Belles is the horse I'll be thinking of tonight.

Money

The cost of everything is skyrocketing. Add that fact to the expenses I've been incurring and I've got to cut back. With gasoline at $3.78 around me (it'll be $4 by the end of the month, if not sooner), food prices up like there's no tomorrow, the landscaping I had to have done, the new computer and printer, the tooth problems, and the soon to be new garage roof, I'm starting to feel the money crunch. I spoke with a billing person at my dentist about the root canal specialist, then asked about the implant. I may not even be eligible to get an implant, and if I am, insurance may not even pay for it. The cost-around $3,700. There goes my trip celebrating my 40th birthday this June.

May Day

Joyous May Day! It's also Sir Mordred's birthday. That's just something I know.