Thanks for voting for me — Vote AGAIN!

Sophie here — see me smiling?

Remember you can vote once every day for me!

Sunday doin’s

…recently back from a lovely afternoon with Southern Cousin, which included going to the theatre to see The Proposal, a walk, and a trip to Culvers for a turtle sundae.

During our conversation at Culvers, I found out she didn’t know who Victor Borge was. He is always good for a laugh and since she’s been needing one, I sent her the link to youtube.

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Before that trip to R-town, I was outside filming the flowers and while finishing that up, a lady came by walking a Pembroke corgi! How cute!

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NP: Late night news.

Soph?: Sacked out on the floor — she piddled her bedding so it took a trip to the washer/dryer.

Mood-o-meter: Somewhat melancholy. My knees hurt.

It is a bit warmish out…

…so instead of a walkie, Sopher and I are playing a game.

It doesn’t have a name. I wouldn’t call it “fetch” exactly. It’s more of an “exchange.”

To play this game you need several destuffed stuffed animals with holes in them. Take two of the bigger formerly stuffed stuffed animals and shove in smaller stuffless animals.

You now have  two stuffed animals that are full of formerly stuffed animals.

Throw one of the now-stuffed (formerly unstuffed stuffed) animals for Sophie to catch. Whilst she is catching it, hold out the other newly stuffed animal out for her see — shaking it vigorously, but not so’s to make the small destuffed animals to come out.

Sophie then abandons the first animal — which she has had time to destuff — and is attracted to the second fully stuffed animal.

Throw it! She will chase it!

Then go get the first unstuffed stuffed then destuffed animal and restuff it.

Repeat.

Now isn’t that fun?

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NP: The local weathercast.

On the telly tonight: Lark Rise To Candle…was it “ford?”

Dinner tonight: BBQ, carrots, coleslaw.

Mood-o-meter: A bit excited. I may have found a new source for Cook family genealogy info from a relative in Massachusetts! Also a bit down: DH will be working late tonight.

I know…

…it often seem like I just arrived on this planet…

I’ve recently discovered Cameo apples — and are they ever good.

Just sayin’….

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NP: The news, the fan, the air conditioner.

Mood-o-meter: I hate “power surges”.

How’s about that dog?: Started training Soph to weave between my legs. Since she has a good grasp of “wait” she is no longer bolting after the Cheerio and messing me up.

Hulu tonight: Burn Notice!!!!!

Nora Barlow columbine

I thought she was a goner, as in: none of these came up last year from the year before…

…sooo pretty!

NP: Nada. There is nothing on TV. I just might have a go at the book I’m tryng to read.

Where’s Soph?: On her perch, looking out the window.

Mood: Meh.

Happy birthday, Grandma T!

Grandma T.  (1905-2002)

I can’t begin to number the times when researching my family history that I wished I could talk to you — but unfortunately I didn’t take that up until after you really couldn’t remember things very well. But you were the one that got the ball rolling with your little brown book full of handwritten history, newspaper clippings and pictures.

• Wish I could share with you all that I have found out since!
• I have the 104 year old dress you are wearing in the picture in my cedar chest.
• I loved your chocolate chip cookies and if I think real hard I can just about smell them.
• I don’t remember this, but I am told that your old cow, Old Red, licked me right across my cheek when I was itty-bitty.
• I was curious about your kitties on the farm, but Mom made sure I was scared of their claws.
• I really liked your white and yellow glider on the farm. In fact, I liked everything about the farm.
• Except the outhouse.
• I liked getting a good cold drink out of the well.
• I loved your apple orchard.
• Your little black faced sheep were soo cute! Especially the one R was bottle-feeding.
• The farm’s gray barn was huge!
• And if I remember correctly, you had a beautiful flower garden surrounded by a white picket fence.

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NP: Fringe

Sophie news: We took a walkie to see the Chief. Sorta creepy without H. Soph ignored the gray squirrels in the forest. She seems to be much more interested in the birdies. Naughty girl.

Waiting for: DH to get cleaned up from work…he’s just in at 9:30 this evening…so he can eat supper and the both of us can eat some rhubarb crisp. And more asparagus.

Just checking in…

I’m still around — but still getting used to a new work routine — which very closely resembles the spinning plate routine…

Been walking Soph nearly every day. She gets a bit snappy when her energy level is high in the evening, so we try to wear her out. What really wears her out is going all the way down the street to the drugstore where she has “issues” — she plants her feet in front of her and won’t go. So I’ve slowly been coaxing her, with plenty of treats, to get her to go clear to the corner. She is doing better, but like I said, it stresses her out.

She is asleep on the floor right now.

More perennials are coming up, along with that dratted Star of Bethlehem…I think I have thrown in the towel over fighting that stuff. I pretty much would have to dig out the beds and start over with everything new.

But I am happy to say my peony made it though the winter, along with the lady’s mantle, beards tongue (hmm…is that what it’s called?), coral bells and some sort of columbine.

Well, it is Lost Wednesday, haddock squares and potato wedges are in the oven, and I am contemplating what to have for Easter dinner…and whether to buy a yogurt maker or not.

Furlough bullets

As I am now in the middle of my second week of furlough, I thought it best to list what I have done thus far so I can see I didn’t Completely Waste My Time Off (and before I completely forget…)

Monday:

• Developed a headache in the morning — dreadfully nasty rainy weather one.
• Netflixed the first part of Elizabeth, with Helen Mirren
• Went to Rockford for an appointment. Listened to Chris Cornell on the drive up.
• Sorted through books upstairs — what to keep, what to donate/sell.
• Moped around due to headache
• Tried to watch Chuck, 24, and Castle…slept through the end of Castle. Argh.

Tuesday:

• Tried unsuccessfully to watch Castle online: hint to ABC — please include the audio portion of the video playback … soooo figured a work-around that…
• Shredded more stuff from the 80s and 90s. Found the hospital bills for when H was born and for J when she had spinal meningitis
• Still headachey
• Had teeth cleaned…so much for the headache. Ugh.
• Bought groceries.
• Discovered ceiling leak upstairs. Sigh.

Wednesday, thus far:

• Netflixed a History Channel biography of Abraham Lincoln
• Washed dishes.
• Reconciled checkbook
• Sorted through and organized my church music
• Took Sopher to the groomers for a nail clip and bum buzz.
• Netflixed an A & E biography of Charles Dickens.
• It’s LOST Wednesday!
• Leaving for eye exam right now… UPDATE: Where to begin? I went in to get glasses and Doc tells me I’m a candidate for having an intraocular lens put in my left eye — my vision has deteriorated a lot. I wasn’t exactly prepared to hear that, so will have to do some research on the procedure. Then it got a bit more stressful as the optician had to call the lab to see if they could even make my prescription…and if I could have  progressive (i.e. no-line) bifocals. And she said it would be better if I selected plastic frames with a wide side arm to hide the whoppin’ thick-even-though-hi-density lenses.
• I want my old eyes back!
  

Dunder-Mifflin — this is Pam

So here I am — waiting for this football thing to get over so I can watch The Office special coming on afterwards.

I need a laugh as tomorrow I start my one hour per day every three weeks stint at the switchboard.

One hour a day.

Five hours a week.

Yes, I am such a whiner.

But is quite possible that I’ll do an untold amount of damage during that hour — most of it to my sense of well being.

Um, if I had wanted to be a receptionist, I would have applied for that job. Sigh.

Somehow I don’t see this as a resume-building experience. At least not in the direction I’d like to go this late in life.

Oh well. There are two ways to look at it.

1. The more I know, the better off I’ll be.

2. However the more I know, the more likely I’ll be scheduled to cover switchboard for the rest of my “career”.

…still not seeing the real advantage here…

OKAYOKAYOKAY… I do have a job.

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NP: The aforementioned football  game on mute. (The Unit is a repeat.) DH is telling me the score…”thanks, but  I don’t care, dearest”

Where’s Sophie? In her corner, working over a rawhide chew. Did I tell you that she fell off the back of the couch twice today and jumped on top of the humidifier once? She did.

Song running through my head right now: Coldplay’s Lost.

Well… IIII’ll Be! — Gomer Pyle

First — let me introduce you to my GGGrandpa Samuel B. Cook and GGGrandma Susanna Rice Cook.

Grandpa Cook (1817-1900) and Grandma Cook (1817-1870) were married Aug. 26, 1841 and came from Pennsylvania to eventually settle in southern Illinois in 1863.

I’d like to think these are wedding portraits…I think the medium is either pencil and/or charcoal. I came about them very accidentally — serendipity sort of comes to mind — and depending on the season, they sit on the fireplace mantle. The frames are modern, the glass UV and the mats archival. I hope they will last another 150 years!

Their daughter, Sarah Jane Cook Rutherford (1850-1920) and John Calvin Rutherford (1850-1916), were the parents of my great-grandfather James L. Rutherford (1883-1964).

While this person is not identified, I believe it is Sarah:

And this child has been identified as James Rutherford:

And of course, I think I have shown you this cute picture of James and his older sister Susanna “Susie” Rutherford Lambert (1879-1958):

Which brings me to H’s observation.

She says my first grade picture at the right resembles Grandpa Sammy…

Hmmm…

Wish I could get my hair to stand up like that.

(By the by–if anyone happens to see this post and thinks we might be related, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! Yes, H, I know you are related…)

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NP: The local news and the space heater.  Will Blago ever go away? Will it ever be warm again?

What I will not be doing this evening: Boot camp. Have to give these old knees a rest.

TV viewing tonight: Lost (a Desmond episode!) and Life On Mars

Where’s Sophie?: On Daddee’s lap.