pictures and other stuff

here are some photos of kids and grandkids and a few things i saved cuz they made me smile. i noticed they were building up and i thought i would just throw them out here. oh boy, phone!

Oy, Such A Week I'm Having

With the flooding over for the moment we will have to wait to see if the fix job Joe did actually helped. Poor old house, I know it can't help it. I got little sleep last week end but more then Joe. Monday I was ready to start the clean up around here. Phone rang ( I'm not a phone person) and it was my son Billy. Calling from work and asked if I could help out Robin (his wife) for the day. She was pretty sick and running a high temp and was just having hell. They seldom ask for help and I thought I could just put off work till Tuesday. Monday was also the last day to turn in Gages library books and vouchers for the latest books we had read. That means I had a 1 yr old a 3 yr old and a 7 yr old going to the library. It was Cadys day off and I made her come along. Gage won 4 free kid lunches at Applebees so after library we all went. Jessie(Gage and Jody's mom ) met us there with 4 month old baby Jody. Wow, that was nerve wracking I gotta say. Nehemiah (1) was alot to handle. I forgot what it's like to wrangle so many kids in a restaurant. Noise was kept to a minimum and I kept up with our cracker mess. By the time we left I could have used a rum and coke. No, I don't drink and drive but it was just a thought. It was a fun long afternoon and Robin felt better by the end of it. I have 8 grandkids but am pretty much the only grandma on duty except when Robin and Jessies moms are in town, so I feel it is my job to be a really good one. Soon as I get the MRI done on my back I know I will be a better gram. Even though we do lots together it could be more I think. Yesterday was my day to clean. Phone rang bright and early again and it was Joey this time. By the way, he has been doing much better these days. Being the husband and dad he should be. Anyway, he sounded odd and he never calls me in the morning unless something is wrong. Soon as I asked what was wrong he began to cry. That's never good. I won't go into details but he found a mass that made it very painful to sit. Had bleeding a month ago and was now very afraid. I told him to go to his dads and I would be right there. Went to the ER. They suck is all I can say. I stayed with Joey till the rude woman DR came in . I ended up seeing a few old friends who are nurses and resp therapists. Helped one old lady back to her room as she was lost. Finally went back with Joey. He has no insurance so he was given the el cheapo exam. He will have state insurance in 30 days. We will get a ref from Heathers friends the Drs and go from there. They told him he may need surgery. It scares me a bit. I am going to Jens blog "The Comfy Place" to read up. Now maybe today I can clean and do laundry but I won't get upset if I get called away. When you're a mom it is forever. I was so glad that Joey called his dad and I. He kept saying he was sorry. My Moma passed away when I was 6 months pregnant with Joey. What I wouldn't give to have my Mom to turn to in times of trouble. If mom is in your corner who can be against you?
I also have a bay shower to get ready for my friend JJ who is here from Calif. She is having a baby girl and is due Oct 1. She has 2 sweet little boys and this will be her last baby. She has been over seas for both her other pregnancies and never had a shower. Her mom asked me to give her a hand and so I called my girls and we are going to make lots of goodies and bring out every pink thing we can find. I am supposed to be making shower treats now and I better go. The phone could ring any second and I will have to duck into the nearest phone booth and cram myself into my SUPER MOM/GRANDMA cape and costume and fly out the door. Or limp out ,whatever.

Wet You Say?

My hardwood floors in the livingroom are looking bad. Even with buckets the water splashes onto the floor. Joe got called in at 8 AM to the fire dept. They are on standby and have to fill sand bags. Roads are closed in Tulie and here. My friend JJ said her old auntie had called and water has now reached her back door and is coming in. Joe got up on the roof and tried to do what he could with some caulking. He got the leak that has been letting the water into my bedroom window sill. If this keeps up we won't be the only people whose old houses are in trouble. Joe did get 3 Legs to pee this morning. Yippy! He had to stay with him and play for a while. After running long enough he decided to go. Guess I will try to dry my poor floors again and bake something. I made bread and cinnamon rolls yesterday before Jimmys mom got hurt. She had her hip replaced last night and is doing well today. Jimmy was at the hospital by 6 AM. Cady got flooded in at Joeys last night. This is the biggest rain we have had since 1986.

And GOD Said "Let there Be Rain"

And so it rained. And rained.
Joe got home from his 5 days in Detroit last night. H had a 4 hour layover in Phoenix. Then flew into El Paso and drove himself the 1 hour home. Fixed the dead air conditioner and ate the chicken soup with big fat home-made noodles that he loves. He then loaded up and DROVE back to Phoenix. He was delivering a car and picking up another. Someone at the office made a mistake and Joe didn't need to be there first thing this morning. He drove all night for nothing. Then had to hang out in his truck until today in 104-106 heat. Those guys are such idiots. The rain started at 11 last night. The dogs do not like doing their thing in the rain. The 3 legged wonder pup has refused to go since last night. He is screaming at me from his kennel. He cannot be running the house. he chews everything and at some point he may just explode. Or die from urine poisoning. His eyes are looking a bit yellow. I keep taking them all outside. Duke and Jack went even though they didn't like the rain. # legs peed about a teaspoon 2 times. He could not just stay put and finish. Knowing he has to go is making me feel like I am going to explode.I cannot stop thinking about it. It's been 25 hrs. He got a slice of bread for dinner and thats it. he isn't going to poop in his cage for me to clean. Plus it would be the poopy paw prints going through the house. Oh why did I let Cady talk me into that dog?
The whole town is flooded. Closing the highway to Tularosa. No EMS service. No life flights. I am listening to Joes fire dept scanner and things are busy. All arroyos are full. They have been up the raod from me for 3 hours trying to pull a truck from 4 feet of fast rushing water in a low point in the road. Several years ago a woman and her 2 kids were washed away because she thought she could make it. It is a well known fact in these parts that you do not drive into water after a big storm. Somebody always does it anyway. I was on my way home from Hathers. Had to watch the kids. Jimmys(Hubby) mom felln her kitchen while dumping a pan of water from her leak in the ceiling in the laundry room. She slipped on the tile floor and ended up in an ambulance going to the hospt. The poor gal broke her hip. I watched the kids while they waited for her to come out of surgery. Whole new hip. On my way home the rain was so bad I could not see. A person with their brights on ran me off the road. It was not possible to see where the road was. I was in a hurry or I would have followed them home and chewed them out. It's almost time to empty the rain pan by the fireplace. It is raining pretty good in there. New drip in laundry room. Joes got some fixin to do. why is it that if i try to fix my spelling bloger won't let me replace the letters? I have to redo the entire sentence. see where it says bloger and not blogger? well, like that. I am too tired to fix anything tonight. so, just guess at what maybe I was trying to spell. i am still wet. well, it's raing in here too. but more of a leak than rain. livingroom-raining for sure. the one nice thing tonight is all the frogs croaking and hopping around. it sounds so cool. it's like they rehydrate as soon as the rain hits them. within an hour there they are.this is a big mess and I know it. sorry. anybody seen an ark?
okay, i just read this awful post. the only way i know to fix the spelling is to start over and that isn't happening. most all of the spelling errors are from me changing a letter and when i added another it took one away next word over. see, i may have grammer problems and be a lousy writer but i cannot abide poor spelling. just so ya know

and so,

If your husband has been gone out of state for nearly a week. If he gets home only to have to leave again in 2 hours and you are sad and have a headache from the heat because your A.C. stopped the night before and didn't work till husband got home. You cry and wave goodbye again. It is probably not a good idea to go in alone and watch "Sophies Choice".

Ample make this bed

Make this bed with awe;

In it wait till judgement break

excellent and fair

Be it's mattress straight,

Be it's pillow round;

Let no sunrise' yellow noise

Interrupt this ground.

I Love me Some Grandkids

I know I have alot of Gage on here but there are 7 other grandkids out there and here are a couple of them. Last night I watched little "Brother" aka Nehemiah. On my way to church in the morn I am picking up Madison . Sara and Alan are going to Las Cruces to shop and would like a few hours to themselves. Mad isn't as keen on me as Gage is. But she really loves Cady. Too bad Cady got a new job last week and has to work at noon. I think we shall come home and work on some art projects. I have lots of kid craft stuff. Cady had a job for 3 yrs with a local vet. He was a friend of Linda Blair. She rescued about 27 dogs from Louisana after hurricane Katrina. Dr Staley let her bring them to him. Wow, what alot of work. My DIL was working there at the time and told Cady they could use some help. She and I would go in early each morning and help walk and clean poopie cages. I didn't last long but Cady volunteered for 1 year everyday. When she turned 16 he put her on the payrole. She learned so many things in that job. She can do all the prep for surgery. She has assisted in lots of births and c-sections. Can give shots and take vitals. Was even taught how to use the x-ray machine. It is too bad that the vet was a very difficult man to work for. When his main vet tech could no longer stand him anymore and left there was nobody to stand up for Cady. it wasn't all wasted though. The vet tech who left is well known here and has given Cady excellent refs. Still, her new job is working at the new car wash. I think this will be a great way for a young person to learn what a dead end job really is. If she gets the chance to find a better job she will. But for now this is better than no job. Plus, she has a new boyfriend. Still, she misses the jerk who treated her like crap and dumped her. She does seem happy now but still, I fear she is going to be alot longer getting over the "love gone south."

My Nose In A Book

These are my books for the last couple of weeks. Finished up The Cider House Rules last week. I really loved the characters in that book. It was a nice big book and I gobbled it up and had to run to the library for another. I like to already know what I want just to speed things up a bit. But this time I had nothing picked. Joe went with Gage and I for library day. Gage is up at 88 books not countuing the 13 books we checked out that day. If I lived in town he would have more books read but this is the best I can do. Like last year there will be prizes drawn. For every 12 books read you got a prize ticket. For the most read in your age group there are other prizes. Now this year I have it stuck in my craw that my grandson is going to win one of the most books read prizes. But I will only take as many books as I know we can actually get read. This may sound like too much to be competing but since last year when we first joined the summer reading program, Gage has developed a total love for books. And I really want him to hear his name called again this year. He just assumes that will happen. He's 3 he just believes. Grabbed a book called Bread and Dreams. So far so good. My next book is going to be On The Road.

Rain

Wow, a real storm. Thunder so loud it rattled the windows. Grabbed my camera and ran to the porch. I didn't really get anything much but it was great seeing the yard flood in 3 minutes flat. I watched a hummer fly in seeking Shelter From The Storm. "Twas in another lifetime one of toil and blood. When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud", never mind. It was wonderful to see and smell. Then I came inside and because nothing gets by my sharp eye ,I noticed right off that it was also raining in the livingroom. And my bedroom. Yippy!

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted (not so much))

I told myself we would have so much fun today that I would not mind how broke Cady and I would be all next week when Joe is in Detroit. I lied. It wasn't that much fun. It was too hot. I decided we needed to take Gage. He was good but it wasn't a little guy kind of day. He had fun just going someplace with us but still. We wandered the tiny cobblestone streets of Old Mesilla going in this shop and that. When I had reached a years worth of stress level, I happened upon a nice little wine cafe. Tapas and wine. I sampled 4 wines and admitted to the lady I just needed a buzz and wasn't interested in how fruity it was or wasn't. She was cool with that and we had a nice visit while Joe played outside with Gage. Cady hung with me. Gage was in a very talky mood today. My ears still ring. It was talking with the volume turned up to max. We did like going into the old building that was once the courthouse where Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang. it would be fun to back back in the fall without kids. Cady found a wonderful old General Store bldg that had been made into a book store. That is where Joe is reading to Gage. We found some amazing books. Too bad the humidity was 100%. I should know better I suppose. Still, as I look at the pictures I can see it was a better time that it seemed then.Gage wants me to lay down with him so good nite John-Boy.

Gotta Have One Joyful Day

The things that are breaking my heart these days are not exactly happening to me. For this reason I should give thanks instead of feeling always sad. Because we never have anything left after bills our hope of a short vacation is now gone. But thats fine. Like I said before, I freak out being too far from home anyhow. Such a punk I am. We can afford to go an hour away to Old Mesilla . I have not been there in years. It is famous for being the town where (one of em) Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang but escaped from the jail. You can still see the bullet holes in the wall. The La Posta Restaurant is over 100 yrs old. The building was owned at one time by Roy Bean and his brother. It is beautiful in the Mesilla Valley. So off we will go tomorrow for our day vacation. No crying allowed.

The little guy is Sethy the Kid.

I Don't Even Know What To Say Anymore

Last week we had a wedding and a funeral. My son in law Jimmy has a son whom we all love, Charlie. He visits each summer and Christmas. He and Cady are the same age. (almost 18) Charlies step dad called Saturday morning to let them know that Charlies mom was in critical condition and was going into surgery asap. She has been ill with a terrible disease called Stevens-Johnsons syndrome. Charlies flight got in at 11:30pm. His mom never regained consiousness. She passed away last night. None of us knew just how sick she was. It is so shocking and sad I cannot put it in words. So keep this young man in your prayers please. He is trying so hard to hang on.