Thursday, March 31, 2011

As I Remember It.....

Well...blogger has decided there's no such thing as paragraphs....so that's why these are all ran together. I tried to separate with dots and spaces...didn't work well...here ya go!! These might not be perfectly verbatim correct....but they're as I remember them. Several commercials just crack me up. Here's three of my favorites: ..... The first one was a Pic-Quik commerical. Picture a man waiting for his daughter. She comes trotting down the stairs in this horrible "get-up" and he says "No way..." and she goes back upstairs. Next she comes down in another clown suit get up and he says "You're kiddin', right?...." and she tromps back upstairs. Meanwhile the commercial is telling how if you don't have the time to spare in the mornings you can get one of their breakfast sandwiches. Third time...the daughter comes down the stairs in a fairly normal looking outfit. The dad says, "Now that's more like it!" The daughter gives the typical teenager "eat sh-- and die" look and says, "Awesome...." and heads for the door. As she passes her father you can see the seat of her pants and it says "Hot Stuff" (or something like that)...and the father says, "OH, HOLD IT!!!!!!" ..... Then more recently I heard this one of the radio...again I think it was for Pic-Quik. They're again selling sandwiches...how the guy doesn't have time to wait for someone to make a sandwich because he needs to get home on his lunch hour to let his dog, Tina out. If he doesn't get there, Tina gets testy and does "bad things".....and the commercial goes on. Finally they say that he doesn't want Tina to do bad things. Tina is part Mastiff, part Great Dane, and part Kodiak...and she's already the size of a caribou!!! ..... And then just last night I heard a commercial on tv for an upcoming "Alaskan Highway Patrol" or something like that. They have this VERY scruffy looking guy standing beside his car. He has on a floppy hillbilly hat, long grey hair and long beard. Clearly he's DRUNK!!!!! The officer says to him, very politely, "Count backwards from 69...can you do that for me?" And the drunks slurs out, "Like WHO could???" ..... My life is simple...I enjoy the little things.. Hope you enjoyed these. I know Pic-Quik isn't everywhere so not everyone gets to view or hear these. Thought you might enjoy them. ..... Well...the sun is shining....the streets are dry...and temperature is good...time to go outside and do something. Count your blessings!!!! I do!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

How I Spent My Summer Vacation..or Something Like That


Lots of ballgames on tv today...too windy to bicycle ride...so I decided to paint. I've been needing to get this horrible looking patio fence painted for some time...well, ever since I moved here last September. I will tell you this...these pictures don't do the "ugliness" justice.

It was light turquoise, with lime green stringers and posts. AND....so you can fully appreciate the talent of the #&^%$# that lived here prior to me, it was also INTERIOR paint. And she's a school teacher...that's what our kids are learning from!! (And yes...I did just end a sentence with a preposition BUT I am aware of it!) Anyway...I digress...back to the fence. On top of the turquoise and lime green were white plastic lattice panels. Truly a lovely picture.

BTW, the entire fence...all three sides were like that....this first photo I'd already painted a good deal of it white...but ALL of it was turquoise and green!

Yesterday I bought a gallon of exterior white paint and started wire brushing and scraping today. I probably didn't do as good a job as I should have but look at it this way: my thoughts were how I could just replace the entire thing!

So mid-afternoon I decided it was time to do something. I haven't painted a fence for a long long time. And I don't see me wanting to do another one real soon either. I do still have to do the outside, but it's already white and will be much simpler.

These photos also don't do justice to how poorly my white paint job looks. It definitely will need another coat...again, much simpler than this first coat I'm sure.

Next projects out there: repaint the hinges on the gate, put down plastic and rock between the fence and the patio, and put down some pavers going out the gate. Another day, another dollar.

Good day...got something done that I can actually SEE the improvement! I like that! Hope yours was as good and as productive.

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Friday, March 18, 2011

Spring's Lovelies


They're up and blooming beautifully!!! Aren't they pretty? Surely this is a
positive sign that Spring is here. The weather in the middle of Kansas has been absolutely gorgeous (other than too windy!)...warm and sunshiny. That's all supposed to end this weekend I guess. We need rain...just hope it doesn't bring severe weather with it.


As I look at these lovely flowers I also see the remnants of last year's knock-out roses. I cut those back....WAY back....with the comment: If they come back, fine. If they don't, that's fine too. As I look at these (and at the pokes I received on the side of my hand today while trying to pull a dandelion) I question whether they're worth it. I've never been a real fan of roses. They simply aren't pretty enough to warrant their thorns. They may or may not make it through this summer. We'll see. They were about four feet tall in places and very "wild" looking when I moved in here last September. They'll be kept short this year.

But I really do like the jonquils or daffodils...I don't know the difference and the grape hyacinths...or whatever
they are. I like these yellow and purple flowers. How's that?

Also I notice my pictures loaded backwards (don't think that's the pictures' fault!). First picture was to show that there's still more to come.

Hope your weekend is great! Don't forget to count your blessings...and ask for help for all the people in Japan...what a tragic mess.



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Monday, March 14, 2011

Has Spring Sprung???


Has Spring sprung???? I sure hope so!

Last night I went into the kitchen and before I switched on the overhead light I noticed how bright the room was. At first I thought someone must be sitting out in a car with the headlights on, but I took a quick peek through the blinds to see SNOW!!! The yard was completely covered with snow! The driveways never did cover, evidently warm enough to keep the snow melted.

We got only a trace and it was pretty much gone before noon today.
Blessings....my friends at Salina had about 5 inches of snow!!!





While outside this afternoon I noticed these grape hyacinths(?) beginning to bloom. Two so far. There are about seven or eight plants with larger plants alongside them (daffodils???). We'll see when they bloom I guess.



And speaking of "blooming"...here's a blooming idiot!!! She'd been "burying" a milk bone (you can't see that, can you?)
When she turned back toward me (to check to see if I could see it) I moved to get a camera. Her hair had actually settled down quite a bit, but she had a halo of hair for awhile. She works so hard to get those bones hidden...and then stands and barks when she wants them out. Her nose is too flat or short or something to get back in the crack of the sofa. Duh!!!


Count your blessings!


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Friday, March 11, 2011

Hawk?



As I was running my errands today, I saw this hawk just standing in the gutter at the corner of Countryside Drive and Whitmore. That's a very residential area that's only about a block north of Main Street.

I went past it the first time, made a u-turn, and went back with camera ready, because I thought he'd take off. I snapped several pictures and he just stood there in the water.

But when I started to pull my car up a little further, he finally took flight and disappeared.

Seems unusual to me to see a hawk right in town. I don't know my birds...but isn't that a hawk? Somebody comment and tell me for sure please. Maybe he was fishing?


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Friday, March 4, 2011

Rackin' My Brain

Did you ever have something that you just can't quite remember all of it and it just drives you nuts?? Some word or expression that you know is just perfect to describe the situation, but you can't quite pinpoint it? Well, I had one yesterday!

Yesterday was gorgeous here in Kansas. A little wind from the southeast and temperatures in the 60's. An ideal day for a bicycle ride. I have a friend Carol that I ride with quite often, but she's much more dedicated than I am. I rode on Tuesday as well...and met up with Carol on 82nd Avenue...she was coming back in from a decidedly longer ride. We agreed that we'd ride on Thursday and made our plan.

She called yesterday morning and was headed to Yoder via Crupper's Corner. Now one can get to Yoder in about 8 or 9 miles one way....but not via Crupper's Corner. From my house to Crupper's Corner is 10 miles...then another 4 or 5 to Yoder! So our plan was that she'd go to Yoder (actually she went a few miles beyond Yoder) and then meet me at Crupper's Corner about 1 pm and we'd ride back in together.

I left here about 11:45 and headed out. I was riding into the wind and not very fast so I thought I'd probably get there about 1. Turned out I was there at 12:30, so I decided to ride on toward Yoder. I met Carol in the second mile and turned around and we rode back in together.

Now...back to not being able to come up with the right word to fill in the blank: On the way out I was riding along, thinking about someone and what that person should do. Then I thought to myself, "No, that probably wouldn't be such a good idea...because he doesn't ________ fools well." I could not think of the expression I was wanting. He doesn't tolerate fools well. He doesn't cotton to fools well.

So, when I met Carol, knowing that she's a excellent "word" person, I asked her. Old expression about not liking stupid people or tolerating foolish people. Neither of us could come up with the expression.

Have you got it yet?



Wanna think about it a little while longer?


Here it is!!










He "doesn't suffer fools gladly!"

Thank you, Google! He doesn't suffer fools gladly....and with a little more thought, I realized WHY he doesn't suffer fools gladly: because his mother doesn't suffer fools gladly either!!!

BTW....Carol had about 32 miles and I had 22.56 when we got back in. Great ride, great company, great day!!!!!