Bob Loblaw

My brother and his family spent most of this week here. I almost felt like I was on vacation too. My brother is crazy. I love him to pieces, and his wife is a sweetheart. We went to the Railhead on Tuesday evening for the live music and he kept me in stitches with his antics. He told me he spent the better part of his life being timid and safe and he's just not going to do it anymore; he's determined to have fun. Trust me, he is not timid any longer. In fact, he can be downright embarrassing when he dances. They returned home yesterday and the quiet house is an adjustment after all the recent activity.

The birthday excursion to the Stockyards sort of petered out. We went but not with nearly as many people as we had expected. It was fun, but it's definitely not my scene. I'm not fond of bars or crowds so I think it will be a good while before I do it again.

If you've read the comments under my last post you know I didn't get the job. Realistically, I knew someone else would be better qualified, so it wasn't a total shock when they called to tell me I didn't make it through to the second round of interviews. It was a huge let down anyway.

The oldest grandson is gearing up for the football season. He did a 3 day camp this week and practices start soon. My son in law is coaching this year. Well, he's head coach this year rather than assistant coach as he has been in years before. SIL is not looking forward to the grousing of the football mommies and daddies when their little Heisman contenders don't get to play as much as the parents think they ought to be playing.

The littlest grandson started crawling and trying to pull himself up on the furniture this week and has learned what "no" means. He isn't crazy about that word either. He's so proud of himself. There's a lesson to be learned from watching him. As an adult I have not been satisfied at all with the progress I've made. I want it all now now now. Maybe I should marvel at each baby step the way Jackson does and the way I do when watching him. And maybe I should rebel against the word "no" a little more, too.

EXCITEMENT!

I have an interview tomorrow for the job I mentioned a while back that I really, really want!

Does Ft. Worth ever cross your mind?

Friday night is the big night. The way my daughter tells it, half the population of Weatherford and citizenry from various other locations will be invading the Fort Worth Stockyards en masse for fun and mayhem. I worry about hangin' in and keepin' up because I'm old, crotchety and used to being in bed early while the majority of the crowd is young and frolicsome. I'm a sitter and a watcher and "frolic" hasn't been in my vocabulary for a very long time. I like to have a place to sit my beer and park my butt. I don't think there's going to be much sitting and parking going on.

Son-in-law tells me I need to relearn how to get my freak on. I told him I thought it was weird he'd noticed his mother-in-law's freaklessness. Back in the day I was a master flirter, but then it was safe to say something slightly innuendous because there was no fear that anyone would take me seriously with the husband standing by. And yes, I know innuendous is not a word, I looked it up. I also know that innuendo is not necessarily flirting, but it was fun. In SIL's defense I think what he really meant is that I need to loosen up and quit being such a stick in the mud. I intend to try.

Anyhow, that's where I'll be. Come on out and join us. I'll be the tall, skinny, slightly-freaky "mature" woman with the rose in her teeth.

None of us will ever know what transpired between the mother and daughter in Coppell, but everybody's got a strong opinion about it. Mine differs slightly from the norm and I am wary about stating what I think. Taking her daughter's life along with her own was inexcusable, but my heart breaks for the feeling of utter despair that drives someone to suicide. Most people, thank God, have not experienced the kind of anguish and hopelessness that leads a person to think the only way out is death, and unless you have, her actions are incomprehensible.

It goes way beyond having the blues. It has nothing to do with pride and keeping up appearances. Suicidal people don't want to die, they only want the pain to end. Someone that ill does not think rationally. They're to the point that rational plans do not seem possible, and they don't ask for help because they don't think they CAN be helped. Yes, suicide is a selfish act, and hers more so than most because she killed her daughter, but suicide doesn't seem selfish to the person in the depths of an abyss they see no way out of. It's not right but it is a tragedy.

My morning glories have finally started blooming, but only the purple ones and even the purple blooms are few and far between. I planted blue and white varieties too, but neither of those have bloomed yet. It was the blue ones I was looking forward to the most. I am happy with what has been given to me.

Too Cute

This video is precious. I've never heard of Plan B. I was just messing around on you tube when I saw where someone mentioned it. I think it's really clever how they visually incorporated the beat with the jury's movement, and those dancing bailiffs cracked me up.

This guy let me get way closer than I thought he would.

I was only about a foot and a half away from him.

This yard is full of creepy crawlers.
I'm bored.
I have plenty to do and nothing I want to do.
I wrote a long post this morning then decided it was TMI.
Seems like half the blogs I visit are on vacation. I want to go on a vacation.

Whatever you do...

...DO NOT view/listen to this song at work OR around children OR if you're offended by the EF WORD. Otherwise, please listen to my new anthem.

Missing Girl

Perrin resident Krishonda "Shonda" Leann Townsend, 19, went missing sometime after 12:10 a.m. Monday, while reportedly returning home from Mineral Wells.

According to Townsend's uncle, Jamie Rittenbury, Townsend sent her mother a text message shortly after midnight, telling her she was on her way home -- just east of Perrin in Gibtown.

"Nobody's seen her since," he said

Townsend was last seen around midnight Monday morning leaving the residence of a friend on U.S. Highway 180 West. The mother of a 2-year-old boy, she was last seen wearing pink shorts, a black tanktop over a black and white polka dot bikini and navy blue flip-flops.

A Palo Pinto County Crime Stoppers reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Townsend. Anyone with information is asked to call (940) 325-0000. Provided anonymously, information leading authorities to Townsend will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Information concerning Townsend's disappearance can also be provided by calling the Jack County Sheriff's Department at (940) 567-2161 or the Mineral Wells Police Department at (940) 328-7770.

Baby

Yesterday my daughter, my two grandson's and I were sitting on the couch trying to get the baby to say Mama and Bubba because it had sounded like he was trying to say both words a little bit earlier. The baby was concentrating so hard and screwing his little mouth up while trying to form the words. He'd laugh and then immediately start crying after he got the words out. The effort it took and frustration of wanting to do it so badly wore him out. Oldest grandson was happy because he was saying bubba before he said mama.

I just talked to my daughter. This morning Baby J woke up early and she put him in bed with her where they slept a little longer, until he woke her up by smacking her face and saying "ba ba." He wanted his bottle!

He's almost 8 months old. It's a little early to be talking. It could be coincidence that the noises he's making sound like words. The thing about being a grandma as opposed to being a mother is that I have time to notice and enjoy each milestone. It amazes me. It's not a miracle, it's life, but it fills me up to watch him discover the world.

Un poco de Poco

I fell in love with Timothy B. Schmidt's voice when I first heard this song on the radio while on my way to the Kansas State Fair in 1976. Sometimes a song can make you feel something you can't describe. This song did that for me then and it does it for me now.

This is my favorite song from their following album after which Schmidt left Poco for the Eagles.

Maybe it's because I'm old and all old people, no matter their generation, feel this way about the music they grew up with, but what the hell happened to music after the 70s?

Yesterday I went with the kids to the Weatherford Peach Festival against my will. I kept hoping for rain to wash it out, and considering the week of rain we just had, I felt chances were good that my wish would come true. Wouldn't you know it held off until we were leaving and even then it was only spitting sprinkles, just enough to gum up my hairspray. It's just not my cup of tea to swim through humid air and crowds of sweaty people. I am such a crotchety old thing these days. On the up side, I spent the day with my family and that's never a bad thing.

After leaving the festival we drove into Ft. Worth and ate BBQ at Cooper's. I was hungry for some fried okra but there wasn't any on the menu. I ordered a chopped beef sandwich and that sucker was huge. I ate half. The beans and potato salad were yummy. The beer was the best I ever had, since I was parched from the morning's travails.

I'm mystified as to why, on the days I can sleep in and want to sleep in, I wake up before the sun. I don't like sleeping the day away, but I would like to sleep beyond 5 am on a Sunday.

I suppose I should try to get some chores done because my daughter's house is off limits since the rat bastard will be gracing them with his presence today. Try as I might not to, I hate that fucker. Being around me makes him uncomfortable so I'd crash the party if it didn't make my daughter uncomfortable too. At least Dana the snake is still forbidden in the garden of my grandchildren.

Yeah, I know I need to let it go.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see a gnome or a fairy walking through the enchanted forest of this flower pot. The plant isn't doing so well, but the toadstools are thriving. They're delicate, pretty, little things and look like tiny parasols fit for a fairy princess.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, say a prayer, send me positive vibes, etc. Yesterday I applied for a job that I'd really like to get. It's not exactly paralegal work but it's close, and the pay isn't all that great, but it could be worse and I could live on it. I wouldn't have to commute which would save a ton on gas. The dress is office casual so I wouldn't have to invest in business attire. I want that job!

So much for getting the mowing done this morning as I'd planned. I'm not going to complain about the rain, though, because I am loving it. I only hope that when I do get the mowing going I don't run into any scary critters hidden in the tall grass. And I hope I don't slaughter my Prince with the mower blade.

The morning glories I planted on Mother's Day have been busy climbing the fence but they have not bloomed yet. Did I plant them too late?

His name is Prince and he's kinda cute in a toadie sort of way.

FINALLY, and honest politician?

Happy Independence Day

My best Independence Day celebration ever was spent in Silverton, Colorado. Silverton, an old mining town, is nestled in a valley in the San Juan Mountains along the million dollar highway between Durango and Ouray. The town sets its fireworks display on a ridge above the town, and at an elevation of over 9,000 feet, the display is breathtaking. The splashes of fire across the dome of the sky seemed close enough to touch and the echoes of the booms off the sides of the mountains brought the same thrill one gets on an amusement park ride. It was fantastic. The ride down off the mountain in the dark was a little hairy. Gosh, I miss living near there.
This video doesn't do it justice, even with the sound turned up all the way.

Book Ramble

Is Weatherford having a fireworks show this year?

It's so nice to sit out on the patio of a morning when the weather is like this. The afternoons are sort of sauna-ish, but the cool misty mornings are wonderful. The rain yesterday broke my heart in the way it quietly and gently fell. It reminded me of the rainy summer I turned 13, which was an idyllic time in my life.

I am glad I rediscovered the library. One of the things I have missed the most about my previous life is being able to go to a book store and buy books. It's more practical to borrow them from a library anyway. The only drawback is that this library doesn't always have the books I want to read. I could not find 1 Greg Iles book, and I only found 2 Jodi Picoult books. I didn't check the card catalog. Maybe they have them all and they're checked out. I've read all but 1 written by each of those authors. I want to read The Help by Kathy Strockett and couldn't find it.

I have a preference for reading southern fiction. I don't know why since I am not a daughter of the South. My present location is as far south as I have ever lived. Maybe I was a southerner in a past life, or maybe it's a remnant of my youthful infatuation with Rhett Butler. Right now I am a couple of chapters into reading Pat Conroy's South of Broad, and it's excellent.

I know I am not the only person to wonder why Harper Lee stopped writing (or at least publishing) after To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the best ever novels in southern fiction. Some say she didn't write it at all, that it was written by Truman Capote. I can't think of a reason why he'd have allowed that to happen considering what I have read about his personality. I know he was not liked at all by any of the people who met him when he was in my home town doing research for In Cold Blood. My ex FIL hated him, with reason. He had worked for the Clutters.

Another little jewel of a book, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, was written by author Louise Shivers who has published only 1 more book since. I found author Bev Marshall a few years ago and I have been watching for her to publish another book. I hear she's written a sequel to Right as Rain but it's sitting on her agent's desk awaiting a publisher.

Have a safe and fun 4th of July. Happy Independence Day.

QUESTION

I also read the Craigslist Job Ads for the DFW area. Do you suppose when the say the location is "Uptown" they mean Dallas or Fort Worth? I figure they're meaning Dallas.

Buffalo Bill

One of my time wasters is to read Craigslist Missed Connections. This ad stuck out last night. I laughed when I read it, but wouldn't it be awful if he was being serious?

I can't find a link for this video outside of Facebook, so I am going to try it this way and hope it works. This is a graphic and haunting video about unsafe driving. It's fairly long and it'll make you think, either about your own driving habits or about being more diligent when watching out for the other guy. It seems especially pertinent with the holiday weekend coming up.

edit: I think the link only works if you're logged into Facebook.
re-edit: I found the website and I am not going to link to it because the site disgusting.

THANK YOU, MZCHIEF!