The Big Three Five.

Yep today I am the BIG THREE FIVE. I have to say that it doesn't feel any different than yesterday. One thing that this day does make me think of is my friends and family. On this day I am truly reminded of how blessed I am. Have a great day everyone.

West Salem Fireworks 2008

Wish you were here.

Flood Pics

Happy B-day to me. Well not yet.

Today we went down to Needles Mom for a B-day lunch. On the menu was BBQ pork ribs, Au gratin potatoes and green beans. For dessert was homemade brownies, squash pie with cool whip followed by a DQ ice cream cake. Of course I had a sizable helping of all three. After filling my gut we sat around the table discussing Needles Uncle C's brand new truck. It is a silver 2008 ford ranger. It is a very nice truck and has that new truck smell. I received several gifts from Needles Mom, mostly Halloween decor items and a few scratch off tickets with one being a $5 winner. It was a good day.

Lots to do and lots got done.

Today we woke up late unlike Cynical and Ragged. We rolled out of bed around 9am. After brewing some Mudhouse Espresso coffee we decided on breakfast. Needles had scrambled eggs and I decided on a fried egg and cheese sandwich on toast. We then knocked off a couple of movies we had Tivoed from our free showtime and Starz weekend. First was Lucky Number Sleven, I wasn't sure about this movie at first but within a few minutes the banter like lines reminded me of The West Wing. The writing was very smart and witty. When you get into the meat of the story it has the feeling of another movie which I like, The Usual Suspects. The twists and turns in the end made the story. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it a strong 9. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. The second movie was an oldy but a goody, Oceans 12. We had seen it before but at the time we lost interests and missed most of the show. Today we were able to commit our full attention and watch. We actually enjoyed it very much and are looking forward to seeing Oceans 13. By this time it was getting to be close to 2:30pm and I hadn't done a thing. I decided to go out and mow the lawn while Needles made Barilla spaghetti with home made meatballs. Mmmmm. When I was done mowing, weedeatting and spraying weeds, I went in to eat and just after eatting I received a phone call from my Mother. After the talk it was time for the second yard of the day. I mowed and weedeat that lawn and returned home around 6pm just as the storms rolled in. After the storms Needles and I went out on the front porch and sat and listen to the rain as it was unusually quiet in the normally noisey neighborhood. After the rain stopped I retrieved my hedge clippers and started in the front bushes. After about an hour of clipping, the bushes were done and it was time to go in, collapse on the couch and eat again as the spaghetti from lunch was long gone. It is now time for showers and relaxing for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we are going down to Needles Moms for an early B-day party for me. It has been a good, productive day.

Mudhouse Magic!

I mentioned a few posts ago that I had ordered coffee online from our home away from home in Springfield, MO. A few days after I placed the order I received a message from Kyle the head roaster stating that my order information had went through perfectly except for exactly what I ordered. He stated that he was sorry and that the situation was very embarrassing and that he would get my order out as soon as he had all the information. I returned the phone call and left a message that I had ordered the Mudhouse Espresso Blend, 1 pound, whole bean. The next day I received another phone call asking how I wanted it ground. I again returned a message restating that I wanted it whole bean, not ground. Several days go by which leads us up to now. Today when I arrived home I noticed a little black box on the front porch. Was it? Could it be? Yes it was. My long awaited Mudhouse order. I grabbed the box up greedily and went to the kitchen table to open my prize, the Mudhouse logo smiling warmly at me like a warm cup of coffee. After I carefully made cuts in the tape to gain access to my coveted treasure. Upon opening the package the first thing I noticed was a note and the second was another package of coffee. Apparently the have just started the interwebs sales and they have had some growing pains. I miss our little home in Springfield.

I think the note is very neat. They didn't have to send more coffee but I am sure we will "make" ourselves drink it. (In background there's the whirrr of a coffee grinder followed by dripping of coffee maker and soon to be followed by slurping. Might throw in a yum or two.)

If you would like to order coffee from the Mudhouse click HERE.

A/C All Better.

The air conditioner is all better now with a brand new blower motor. I still haven't received a bill but I will sleep well tonight. Last night although it wasn't too bad was a little humid in the house. :)

New Blower Motor.

Well I had my A/C guy stop by today and the diagnosis is a bad blower motor. After looking online I have seen prices ranging from $60 to $100 dollars. It could be worse. He is going to bring home a motor tomorrow and replace it. It really comes in handy to know a A/C guy.

I get my answer.

I asked "What Next?" Well I got my answer today. The air conditioner blower fan is whats next. It started making a noise tonight and hasn't shut up since. I put in a call to my favorite A/C repairman but it is late and I suspect we won't hear anything tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

What Next?

Over the past few months I think we have had our share of weather and other natural disasters for this area. First of all the earthquake shook us up for several days followed but a weeks worth of storms including a tornado that fortunately didn't cause any damage, and now the flooding. The flooding has caused us to go without drinkable water for the last few days and who knows for how much longer. At least we do have water for bathing, washing clothes and using the restroom. Tonight we had another in the round of storms roll through. I think other than the fact we were without power for a couple of hours we got though it OK. At about 8:40pm I noticed a missed call on the cell phone. It was my brother calling to say that his dog pin was laying upside down in the horse pasture behind his house. We went out to survey the damage. Other than the dog pin everything else was alright. Also Waylen the dog is OK.

Today Needles and I ended our 5 year hiatus from the movie theaters. The last time we watched a movie in the theater was X-men 2 and we were in Kansas City. We have been to the drive inn several times over the years but not the theater. I have to say I don't think we have been missing much. We arrived early to get prime seats and went in the middle of the day to hopefully decrease the number of people that might be there. I think we had a little over 30 people in the movie we were watching. Lets see where to start. We sat through 20 minutes of advertising of T.V. and movie shows before the feature and the sound was so loud that I thought I was going to have to plug my ears at times. We gave it a shot but I don't think I am cut out for watching movies at the theater. For the price we pay for tickets I would rather pay a little more and enjoy the movie on DVD in my own home. The show we watched was The Happening. It is the new M. Night Shyamalan movie. We love all of his other movies, some more than others. It is amazing the suspense that can be created with the way the movie was shot. The music and camera moves made me jump a couple of times. We enjoyed this movie a lot but is was not as good as Signs, The Village but better than Unbreakable. I would have to say that it was a little better than Lady in the Water and right on par with Sixth Sense.

Flood Footage

At the beginning of the video you see the large white water tower just left of center. This is very close to where Needles works.

Have You Called Jenny Yet?

Thanks to Jenny from the Blog for allowing us to wash our funk off at her house. Man she lives up town. She has runnin water and everthin. Thanks.

State of Emergency

I always wondered what it would feel like to have your county declared a State of Emergency. Well today was the day. I have to say that other than not having running water, it doesn't feel that different. As the days go on we will see how that changes. Today the main line that leads from the water wells broke. This on an average kinda day wouldn't be that great of an inconvenience, a couple hours or a day without water, but this is no ordinary day. The field the the wells set on are flooded and so is the area over where the break is, so they had to call in engineers to see what they can do. It looks like we might be without running water for several days to weeks. Grreeeeeaaaattt. It's not like we don't have options. My sis in law just dropped off a couple of gallons and we do have friends in neighboring county's that will let our scroungy arses in for a pity shower. The main problem is toilets. I can go outside and do my business but I wonder how Needles will cope. We might have just found a use for our yellow pales that is left over from the kitty litter.

I get my drugs in the mail.

Today I placed my first order to The Mud House. It is a little coffee place we visited in Springfield, MO. last month. We have run through the beans we had brought back with us so we thought we needed to place an order. I have to say the price of the coffee isn't too bad for not being Starbucks but the shipping is a little high and when you buy more that one item you don't get a break on shipping..... I guess it is cheaper than driving there.

Heroin...It does a body good.

GO OBAMA!

Well it looks like the primaries are winding down and even though it is a close race I am glad that this mess will be over. I am tired of all the mud slinging and the candidates being called out for each and every faux paus. Three or four months ago I would have loved a have a Obama/Clinton ticket but now I am not so sure. I think that both candidates have whipped their side of the party into such a feud that if their candidate doesn't make the cut, then they are going to vote republican. Yeah, That's what we we need 4 more years of what we have already put up with for almost the past 8 years. By having another republican in the white house will definitely show Obama. And I am afraid we will ALL pay the price for it. Democrats and republicans alike.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YURI!

This is hilarious.

Herbal Elements - Funny video clips are a click away