The Best Laid Plans

I meant to be a better blogger.

Then mom ended up in the hospital last week.

That kind of sends life into a tailspin.

There are things going wrong in the house..

I'm stressed.

I need a vacation...

Or at least a nap.

Remembering 9/11

I have mixed feelings about all the posts today.

We lost a lot of lives to this act of terror. Many were hurt and plenty are still suffering because they played a part in the search and rescue effort. (There illnesses being conveniently forgotten by our do nothing Congress)

All these Never Forget...

No one is...

No is going to forget the 7th of December either, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

The casualty numbers on both of these attacks were close. 9/11 is higher by about 400 if the sites I read were correct, and those deaths were mostly civilian.

However in the grand scheme of things, I think Pearl Harbor Day is more important not to forget, as America was finally dragged into the Second World War. This was truly a war for our freedom and the freedom of Europe from the Nazi regime.

I've been reading more and more about that war. It is hard to believe how one country can spew so much hatred....until I start thinking about current times.

It makes me sad.

Is history trying to repeat itself?

Can we overcome our hatred for different religious and ethnic groups?

I hope so, because I'd like to think we are better than this.

We banded together in times of crisis, why does that love fade away so quickly.

New Forget...but not just on the memorial of the incident....every day.

Friendly Fill Ins

I need memes. I haven't done any in yonks. Maybe that will help me be a better blogger?

Ya think?

Here are this week's fill ins

1. I can’t wait for the new season of Doctor Who on television.  (Christmas special, but no new season until April 2017)

2. In my home, my kitchen sink needs to be repaired. (There's a crazy pipe that refuses to stay connected causing a huge wet mess under the sink)

3.I thought I lost Dewey twice, but both times she escaped I was able to retrieve her, first from the window the second time with a plate of spaghetti.  Yes, my cat loves spaghetti.

4.Once, I found the Spandau Ballet CD  Parade at CD Warehouse, for a super cheap price considering it was out of print.

Mingo Park

Not much going on...so I thought I'd share some pictures of Mingo Park that I took yesterday

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

Today is the day when we remember those pets that have gone

Allow me to share some of  the furbabies that I miss. I can't find pictures easily of all of them....like my first Itchy, Mutchka, Buddah and Misty, though I think their photos are on the sidebar of the blog

These are the furbabies that have gone on in the last few years. I don't have a photo of JayJay or PurrBee either, my lovely dogs, that made my life so happy.

Even if their photos aren't here, I love and miss all my pets that have gone on to greener pastures.

Anatomy of a Perfect Afternoon

It was farmer's market day today! Yay!

Nothing is better than the market, a cup of cold brew coffee from Little City Coffee and a crazy awesome gyro from The Gyro Man.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

Oh and I'm in love with the Gazebo at Chess Park in Monongahela

Hey She Likes It

3 of my kitties had birthdays this week.

Midnight and Mr. Rimba (Skimbleshanks) were born on the 23 and their sister KitKat was born on the 24th.

I bought them this nify little scratching post for their 8th birthday.

I can't believe that they are that old already. It makes me said to think they are getting old. I love my fur babies so very much.

I was beginning to worry that they weren't going to like the gift much. Several of my other kitties have taken up residence in the box that it came in.

(There's one cat in the box right now)

I was pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning to find KitKat on the perch.

Remembering

Yesterday I was doing a lot of thinking. I probably hurt myself doing it too.

I was thinking about my grandmother and how time and finances keep me from keeping her grave the way I'd like to.

As I talked to my mother about that, we discussed the graves of my great parents. There's not much family left to put flowers on their graves either.

It had been awhile since I was at Belle Vernon Cemetery, but today I went, just to see if I could remember where everyone was.

It took awhile, but I did find Grandma and Grandpap Wasicek.

Then I went in search of my aunts and uncles.

The grave I took a picture of is my Aunt Faith, who was truly an amazing woman. I wish I would have had a better chance to get to know her. She was one of the only members from my grandmother's side of the family that lived long enough for me to have any memories of. She was at my gram's 100th birthday party in 2007.

She traveled the world and wrote poetry and painted. She was a beautiful lady too. Very elegant and dignified.

I miss her and my grandmother so much

Clarify This For Me

I always make the mistake of reading political posts on Facebook.

I never should do that, for several reasons:

1. It makes my blood boil.

2. It makes me question the intelligence level of most individuals in this country.

The one thing I don't understand when people are bashing Hillary Clinton is their use of the word warmonger.

Huh?

So let me get this straight, carpet bombing Isis is fine but helping Syria is not? Voting for the war in Iraq was bad, even though a good deal of Congress voted the same way...cos they were lied to by the Commander in Chief about weapons of mass destruction?

I'm still in belief that most people who don't like her are scared of her because she has more balls than they do. (Bigger ones too, I'm sure) I also think she's smarter than most of them too.

One thing is for sure..I'll be glad when Nov 9th comes around, but for the most part, I'm terrified of that day too.

Clarify This For Me

I always make the mistake of reading political posts on Facebook.

I never should do that, for several reasons:

1. It makes my blood boil.

2. It makes me question the intelligence level of most individuals in this country.

The one thing I don't understand when people are bashing Hillary Clinton is their use of the word warmonger.

Huh?

So let me get this straight, carpet bombing Isis is fine but helping Syria is not? Voting for the war in Iraq was bad, even though a good deal of Congress voted the same way...cos they were lied to by the Commander in Chief about weapons of mass destruction?

I'm still in belief that most people who don't like her are scared of her because she has more balls than they do. (Bigger ones too, I'm sure) I also think she's smarter than most of them too.

One thing is for sure..I'll be glad when Nov 9th comes around, but for the most part, I'm terrified of that day too.

Dealing With The World's Problems

I've come to the conclusion that if "Public Displays of Affection" were made illegal there would be much less hatred in the world.

I've never been a huge fan of people sucking face etc in public. I'm the first to shout, "Get a room!"

Why?

There's a time and a place for everything.

Hand holding, hugs, a peck on the cheek are acceptable forms of affection when you are out in the world.

No one needs to see you swapping spit with your partner. I don't care what your sexuality is.  If more people kept there bedroom business to themselves maybe more people would be less inclined to hate someone.

Of course that means people would have to stop caring about what people do in the privacy of their own homes.

Seriously.

Why do we care so much about who we do the horizontal mambo with? And why do we hate people for it?

If they aren't doing it with you, it isn't hurting you, so suck up buttercup and DEAL WITH IT!

Rushing The Season

I was at the store yesterday doing  my usual shopping when I came upon the creamers.

One part of the store had all the pumpkin stuff. (geeze)

The creamers were all ready for Christmas.

CHRISTMAS

Spiced Latte, Marshmallow Hot Chocolate, Peppermint Mocha (Not to mention pumpkin spice on the other side of the refrigerator case)

Can I just say that this is absolutely nuts.

It is the middle of August.

Isn't it bad enough that Halloween candy is out. (Seriously decorations I can deal with but if I buy Halloween candy now, it will be eaten long before anyone can come knockin' at the door).

I can't even begin to think of either holiday when its so darn hot outside that when you step out of your door you start to melt.

PS...any city dwellers see flying roaches yet?

Days Gone By

I went to the Farmer's Market in Monongahela today. Its my favorite market in the Mon Valley. They have everything. Three local farmers come, a local coffee shop has drinks, there's other food vendors and a lady with jellies, jams and relishes.

Today I bought a jalapeno jelly, which got me thinking to days when my daddy was still with us and mom was able to get around.

Why is this jalapeno jelly part of my memories?

Well when we'd go to Lancaster on one of our summer jaunts, we'd always go to Kitchen Kettle Village and they had all sorts of great jellies, etc.

Dad would sample them all.

One of the things we'd get there, before all the gourmet jellies made it to our side of the state, was red pepper jam and jalepeno jam. It tastes best on a fancier cracker with cream cheese to cut the heat.

We sat at the kitchen table and have our snacks.

I miss that so much.

I know that things change in life, but why do the good things have to slip away?

A Good Mail Day

I got 4 books in the mail today.

Can I get a woot for that?

Cos you know I need more books. (Kinda like I need a hole in my head)

I can't wait to dive into one of them. Unfortunately I've got a TBR pile extending around the globe, so I'm not sure when I'm getting to these three, but oh look how pretty they are.

What books have you bought recently?

Look At My Shelfies

Blame this post on Bilbo. He's lucky, he has pretty bookcases. Mine are, well, they are the $19.99 variety that you pick up at Ollie's Bargain Outlet whenever they have them in stock.

As you can see, there's a little bit of everything lurking about on my shelves, but the one case is dedicated to Doctor Who and Terry Pratchett's Discworld. (I sadly don't have the whole collection there).

Before I go any further with this, I want to say something.

My name is Andrea and I'm a book a holic. I am nowhere near the road to recovery. I'm most likely on the road to a book store or on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

This is one of my "neat" book shelves. Notice the lovely cat statue with glowing eyes sitting on top of this one.

I had to remove the books from the top shelf for him and put down a piece of cardboard so his little leggies didn't get stuck.

My Mokey isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. Nope, he isn't.

I originally had my Stephanie Plum novels on top, along with the True Blood series. (One series I've read all of, the other I keep telling myself I'll read one October in celebration of Halloween)

Yeah, I'm crazy like that.

My TBR (to be read) pile is out of control and I don't care.

I just love books.

Here's further proof that I do indeed have a problem.

And yes, I even donated a lot when we moved last year. I'm not even showing you the inside of my walk in closet, that has more books than clothes.

Food Snobbery

Where to begin...where to begin.

1. I hate click bait recipes that say..."You'll never use spaghetti sauce in a jar again."

Let me tell you people. I work. I don't have time, or the inclination to make spaghetti sauce from scratch. Plus I can get some pretty awesome sauces for much less.

2. Overzealous housewives: You know who I'm talking about. The kind that make fancy cakes and cupcakes and decorate everything. Seriously, I don't have time for that. My cakes get made in a 9 x 13 pan, m'kay.

3. Not everything is going to be plated perfectly. Life is all about comfort food, and comfort food is seldom gorgeous, but it is tasty.

4. Chain restaurants are good, so Food Network guys, F-off. I like Applebees, Outback etc....

All in all, most of the time, I eat because it tastes good.

I could go on an on about this, but this is enough for now.

Andrea 0 Car 100

I have a headache.

Sway bar went in my car.

At 4:00 pm.

I was lucky to make it to the shop and have it fixed before they closed.

I was even luckier that it was under $100.00.

Now if someone could tell my head that it could have been much worse, because I have a splitting headache now.

Its at times like this when I wish I had a horse.

Have I mentioned lately that I want, no need a vacation.

Beauty Around Me

I don't get out much anymore but that's no excuse not to find something beautiful in this world.

There are pretty things out there, even if the rest of the world seems to be going crazy.

(cough, cough, Donald Trump supporters)

Today I found beauty in the butterflies that were having a lovely time on the thistle outside of my office.

It may not be a beautiful beach or someplace new and different, but it is beauty that is around me every day.

I challenge you to find something beautiful in your world each week.

The Grandma Bunny

Little bunny rabbits make me think about my grandma, which is nice,  because I've been haunted by the last image I've had of her for a very long time.

See, I was the one that found her after she passed.

The first time I saw a bunny in her yard, I could see her smiling face again.

My grandmother loved to see bunnies in her yard. Her face would light up like a child's when there was one bouncing around the yard.

This bunny has been hanging around near my office for awhile. What's special about this little fluff butt is that he lets me get pretty close. Close enough to get a decent picture with minimal zoom.

I know if my grandma could see this little guy she'd be beaming.

Love you grandma, and I miss you so much.

I Wish I Could Be A Better Blogger

It seems like only yesterday when I could write a blog post a day. Now I'm lucky if I can get one or two a month.

That makes me sad.

I look up prompts and they do nothing for me, or I start them and I somehow lose interest mid month.

I don't know what it is that has just sucked the fun out of it.

I'm open to suggestions to get my blogger mojo back because it really seems to have gone for good.

On that note...here's a cat picture