Sick!!

Isn't it funny how thinking of one thing gets you to thinking of another thing and pretty soon you are thinking of things that had nothing to do with your original thought? I have been sick with a head cold for the last couple of days and for some reason, all my wadded up tissue this morning made me think of an old Brittish comedy we used to watch in the 80's called the Young Ones. If you ever watched it, you know it was outrageously crazy and disgusting. Perfect for a teenage boy (my son) and his friends. The Sick episode was one of the funniest, along with Have We got a Video and University Challenge.

Anyway, then I was reminded of a time when my Mother was sick and she was in her bedroom and heard us coming toward the room and she started yelling "unclean" like the lepers did in the Bible. She didn't want us to get her germs, but I always thought that was so funny.

But unclean made me think of the laundry I had in the washer. So as I was putting that in the dryer, I had to clean the lint filter. Which made me think about the air conditioner filter.

So I checked that, and of course, it needed to be changed. When I tried to throw it away, the trash can was full, so I had to take the trash out.

When I got outside, I noticed my car was facing the wrong way because my last trip had been to my mother's house. Which reminded me that I needed to go back to her house and fix her kitchen light for her.

I got in the car and there was the mail in the sunvisor that I had forgotten to take inside the day before. And in the mail was a coupon that I had sent for. $1 off cat litter.

Which reminded me to check the cat litter, which needed to be changed. Which reminded me that I can't smell anything because of this head cold. Which got me right back where I started. I need to get rid of all these wadded up tissues and take something for this cold.

Finally a Trip to El Paso!!!

It seems like forever since we got a chance to go through El Paso and stop to visit with the kids and grandkids. We had to stay out almost three weeks, but it was worth it to take the California load that got us through west Texas. I tried so hard to get some good pictures of the boys, but they never hold still. Here are a few of the better ones. I don't think I ever got Bailey to look at the camera.

coupon clipping craziness

While we were home for a few days I meant to put some pictures of our snow storm on my blog but every time I sat down at the computer I was distracted by coupon websites. I didn't know there were so many places you could find money saving coupons. I must have printed 20 or 30 coupons to use at the grocery store. Then of course I went to the store and didn't take the coupons with me because I didn't want to waste them at Savalot when I can double them at Krogers. Now I need to work on my grocery list that I can print out every week so I get the best deals and use the right coupons. No wonder people pay for someone to watch the sales and tell you which coupons to use. Saving $.50 is a lot of work. Every time I print a coupon they also include an ad or a recipe. When I have to replace the ink cartridge in my printer I hope I can find a coupon. Of course, I won't be able to print it if I'm out of ink. Guess I'd better plan ahead for that. This is getting so complicated. Where did I put that coupon for Excedrin?

Snow Storm Blues

We are trapped in Cincinnati today. We have a load going to Akron but the weather stopped us in Cincy last night. We have been sitting in our truck for over twelve hours. Worst thing is our Sirius radio bit the dust. But Kirby found a station here playing old radio shows. We listened to William Powell in "One Way Passage." I love him with Myrna Loy on the old Thin Man movies. This story is about a woman dying of heart trouble who meets a man on his way to be executed for murder. They meet on a ship sailing from Shanghi to San Francisco. Of course they don't tell each other the truth but fall in love and plan to meet in Mexico on New Year's eve. Reminds you of Cary Grant in "An Affair to Remember." Cary Grant certainly had a happier ending but this is a great classic anyway.

Luckily we keep snacks with us so we dined on crackers, cheese spread, beans & franks, and celery with peanut butter. Thank goodness for the IPhone. We can entertain ourselves playing Whack a Mole. Or get online. I need to go now and make a phone call. Today is my son's birthday.

Historic Event

I bet you thought I was talking about Obama! No, this is even better. Last night I talked to both my grandsons on the phone and it was the first time Maverick said "Grammy" to me. He talked and talked and told me about his screwdriver and said "I love you" just as plain as could be. Then he said hi to Pop and I thought Kirby would never stop talking about it. I can't wait to see them in person. Hope I don' t have to wait til May. Also, this is my first blog post from my Iphone. I didn't think I could do it but today I figured out how. I had to switch to HTML. Oh, yes, we do have the first black president. But have you heard my grandsons talk on the phone??

We are on our way to Denver where it is supposed to be 65 degrees. Thank you global warming! At home in WV we are having a new ice age. So I'm not complaining about being on the road this week. But I'd gladly brave the cold and snow if I had to in order to go to El Paso! Maybe next week.

Our Sweet Kitty, Muffin

Almost 12 years ago, one of our neighbors asked us if we wanted a kitten. We went to look at them and ended up bringing home a tiny little fur ball we named Muffin. She was such a good cat. She did like to go in and out a lot. As you can see in the picture, she's waiting at the door for someone to let her out for five minutes so she can scratch at the door to be let back in for five minutes. Very often in the summer she would stay out all night and we would wake up to find what Kirby called "a rump roast" on the door mat. She tended to eat the top half of a mouse and leave the bottom half for us. Sometimes she brought us a chipmunk or a mole.

She was one of the most affectionate cats we ever had. She loved to be held and petted and she could purr like a motorboat. She liked to sleep near my head, on my pillow. We have a dog who begs whenever we eat. Muffin thought she should get in on that action, too. She loved it when I sat in the living room with a plate, because she knew she could get on the couch behind me and reach over my shoulder for a bite, while the dog sat at my feet whining. Needless to say, I didn't eat in the living room unless I was prepared to share.

A month or so ago, we took Muffin to the vet and he gave her thyroid pills. I blogged about that at the time. Unfortunately, the thyroid pills helped a little, but didn't solve her problem. Our sweet kitty, Muffin, passed away early Sunday morning. Rest assured, there will be no mice in Heaven when you get there.

Busy New Year

It's hard to believe that it's already 10 days into the new year. We've been pretty busy since we left on New Year's Eve. We drove to Cincinnati and picked up a load going to Louisiana. From there we got a load going to Wisconsin. After we delivered that, we went to Chicago to pick up a load going to New Jersey. We had some time to waste waiting for the New Jersey load, so we did two of my favorite things. Number one, we ate at a Chinese buffet. We found a really good place in Joliet that had great food. Across the street was a KMart, so number two - we shopped. I didn't buy a thing after Christmas this year. I didn't really need anything, and when we finally went to WalMart two days after Christmas, the selection was pretty slim. Not so at the KMart in Joliet. We spent almost two hours in the Christmas stuff looking at trees and candles and table settings and ornaments and more. We ended up buying not one, but two Christmas trees!! They are standing in the bunk of my truck right now, so we have to sleep with our feet touching them.
KMart had pre-lit trees with both regular lights and fiber optic lights for $12.50. They are four foot trees and we got a green and a white. You can use both lights at once, or either set you prefer. I can't wait to get home and plug them in. We also got three sets of lights for our front porch. One spells out Merry Christmas and the other two have ribbons and bows to put on either side of the Merry Christmas one. Is it too early to decorate for next year?? I'm really excited to see how these are going to look.

Believe it or not (and I'm sure if you know me you will believe it) we bought some placemats and napkins and napkin rings. I know!! But at 75% off you just can't pass up pretty Martha Stewart placemats. Besides, Kirby was helping me pick them out and he loved these. I'll have to take pictures when I get home. We're going to decorate the table with them for a while even if they are gold and white and Christmasy looking.

I knew after we left I would kick myself for not buying more candles. We picked out some to use at home because we burn candles a lot. But they had some beautiful decorative candles with brass snowflakes on them that I could have used for myself, or even as gifts. I don't know why I didn't get them. At that point our buggy was running over and we still had another aisle to look through, so I guess I got distracted by the wrapping paper and boxes.

I may have to make a trip to our local KMart and see if they have anything left!!