Chris Daughtry - Im Going Home

♥

            I ♥ it when a plan comes together.

           April will be a very good month :-)

Wild Kingdom

What a wild week-end! EIEIO is definitely a plethora of plants, animals and birds. The life cycle is in full gear.  In just one week-end we were visited by a pregnant coyote, a murderous hawk, a defenseless woodpecker, a hungry fledgling, nesting eagles, curious crows, shivering geese, loud blue jays, suet seeking nuthatches, downies, hairies and red-bellies, blinded dark-eyed juncos, mourning doves, nutless squirrels, wandering deer and one bunny that enjoyed the safe surrounding of our front porch. and served as an animated Easter decoration for several hours. 
As a kid, I always looked forward to the weekly episodes of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.  I envied the host, Marlin Perkins for the many opportunities he had to see and share the amazing animals on the earth.  I wasn't too thrilled with the insect segments but learned they were/are a necessary evil.  I learned about the cycle of life and survival of the fittest. I learned about tracks and songs and habitats and flight patterns.  I often thought that science was a path I'd like to explore a little more.  I didn't.......until I moved to the country..my favorite place on earth.  The sights and sounds I have encountered in the few short years I've lived here are amazing. Our first fall her, we were visited by a wild boar..I nearly screwed myself into the floor spinning to find my camera or my phone but not wanting to miss a second..  Later that winter, a hungry bear descended on the patio bending Sheppard's hooks and stealing all the feeders.  He made a cozy little bedding spot and ate all the seed and drank from the Baltimore Oriole feeder.  We've have dozens of turkey and deer visit almost daily.  Woodchucks continue to roam the area taking their lives in their paws as Lee has a bit of an obsession about guns and gophers. Last Christmas we even had a curious raccoon go from door to door to see if Santa had left him anything.  Once again Lee wanted to give him some lead but the girls extolling the cuteness of little Rocky won that battle. We did watch him return to his raccoon ranch under a large tree on the hillside so it's possible he'll return again... probably not so cute next time.
Wild Kingdom continues even today.  Animal Planet revived the show in 2002 and again in 2013.
It continues to be a snapshot of the excitement and wonder that nature provides. I have just a tiny glimpse of that here in my own back (and front) yard every single day. Folks wonder why I am so enamored with my surroundings and have no desire to travel the world. I have the world right here !!

And the survey says.............

You know all the little surveys at the end of, well almost everything. They are all just little phishing trips to get your personal information. I know that! Sometimes I fill them out and sometimes I just say, "screw it!"  When I do do them, I freely give my name and my address and always give some made up phone number.  It probably really IS somebody's number but...not mine.  I never give out my household's annual income. I don't even know my household's annual income...I only know it's "outgo!"  But lately, I've seriously considered not doing them at all.  There's generally a question about your age group. o18-25   o26-35  o36-45  o46-60 and o60-dead.   It's becoming pretty depressing to fill in the last little circle.  I no longer have another option... This is it!  What can I aspire to?  The only achievement I can hope for is to reach for the sky....literally.  They don't even give you an opt not to answer box. They've removed all hope from our lives, kicked our feet out from under us and taken away our goals. I'm sure they don't even realize the depression that sets in after their little survey is completed. It's bad enough that I know I'll never win the Walmart $1K gift card or the Target Visa bonanza.  I'll never live in the HGTV's Dream Home or win the shopping spree at Dollar General and chances are I'll never see the Prize Patrol coming up my driveway but I should get something for filling out those freaking surveys.  I should at least get an invitation to Florida to see my favorite comedian, Steve Harvey.  I should at least be able to face the McCoys in a rousing match on Family Feud. I should at least be able to hear those famous words.....And the survey says...........!! After all, I am their flippin' survey!

Spring into action

That's right my friends..today at 12:57 p.m. (not 56 or 58 but 57) spring will be arriving in central New York.  Right on schedule the sun will shine, the snow will melt, the birds will sing, the temperatures will soar and the lottery officials will pull into my driveway.  Oh, wait a minute. Let me take off my rose colored glasses. CRAP!  I guess I'll put them right back on and sit back and contemplate the day when actual NY spring will arrive.

As you all know, there's meteorological spring and atmospherical spring and of course....common sensical (upstate NY) spring all of which occur at entirely different times...like weeks and months apart.  We know that! After all, we're natives and we know that the seasons are entirely different here in the north. As they say, we have just before winter, winter, just after winter (pot hole season) and that incredible 2 weeks of summer. I like them all but most prefer the just before winter season which to me is better known as football season.  I'm coping though.  The football draft is less than 6 weeks away and Kevin Costner's new movie "Draft Day" is April 11th. All things to look forward to along with March Madness that will help pass the time.
It's definitely time to spring into action and plan my next project, order new chicks, spruce up the house and yard and prepare to welcome a few of my favorite things back into the nest...Life is Tweet!!!

The Games People Play!

"Will you play with me Grandma/Papa?"

I read an article yesterday about the importance of play.  A mom was asked by her 7 year old to "play Barbies with me Mom?"  She said no, she had dishes to do. Then it hit her, "I think I've forgotten how to play. I've been doing dishes for too long!"
 We're definitely a different generation.  I remember my grandmother playing games at holiday time with us. We'd play button-button who's got the button. Lee's Grandma always had games for us to play on holidays. My parents would play card games with us or occasionally help with a puzzle but I have no memory of them actually playing with me/us.  I remember playing with my kids.  We'd pitch them the ball, we'd play games in the pool, we'd struggle through monopoly and provide the games......but actual playing...not so much.   And then we became grandparents! Now, when our bones ache, our minds don't understand and our eyes won't focus, we're ready to play......much more ready and willing than able;-)
We even have an entire little building devoted to playing. We dance and sing, we play checkers and lose (and not on purpose), we run races, play soccer, build forts, play Clue, do puzzles, build towns, make fairy gardens and even slide down hill.. (thanks Papa for volunteering for that one Family Feud..of course we do, we're Hatfield's, we're the reason there even is Family Feud!!!

!) Never a visit or dinner or car ride goes by that we don't play some kind of game.  We play word games and math games, Jeopardy and I Spy. We even play our own version of
Do we get tired? ..you bet!  Is it worth every ache and pain?.. Undeniably! Do we hope they'll remember that we played?  Absolutely.... but we mostly hope WE remember that we played and loved every single second♥

The Internet

The technology and the medium of the Internet amazes me.  I've extolled the virtues of Face Book ad nauseam. I love the family and friends connection and reconnection it provides. I could do without the minimal drama but I'm beginning to take that with a grain of salt..(in my bloody mary.) But, I am still blown away by the magnitude and ease (usually) that things can be accomplished.  Just recently, Jeff applied online for a few jobs...fill in the online applications, attach your resume, whip up and attach a cover letter and ...voila.. ( NOT walla..it's French for "here it is") you've applied. There have been a few friends and friends of friends who have recently suffered tragedies.  Websites have been set up for them through sites such as Gofundme.com and Caring Bridge. In the span of a single week, thousands of dollars (and more) have been donated to help these families.  And they aren't huge donations either...$10, $25, $50 and so on..... Simply amazing how folks can rally around and together alleviate some of the financial burden that these families must carry through unthinkable times.  Things as little (or big) as parking, meals, daycare, everyday bills and just day to day essentials that add up are wiped away by donations that are minimal in dollars and priceless in peace of mind. Without the technology and ease of the Internet, these stories wouldn't be told and certainly wouldn't reach and touch the hundreds (and thousands) of good hearted folks who peruse Face Book and all forms of social media.  I don't tweet as I'm a twit and can't figure out even the simplicity of Twitter but I'm sure that avenue of social media is even more than I can fathom...#I'm an idiot..whatever that means..Last I knew it was the number sign and meant pounds....whatever.
But, for all the hacking, spying and spamming, I still revel in the connection and comfort that the Internet can afford.  It's become like electricity, cell phones and chocolate....things I take for granted and can't survive without. Once again, #Iamoldanddependant!  (That would read "old" not "mold!")

Potato - PoTAto..Tomato - ToMAto....

Today is March 17th.. St. Patrick's Day!  For years I have wished folks a 'Happy ST. Patty's Day and cringed when I heard or saw it addressed as St. Paddy's Day. I thought, really?..don't people see the T in Patrick?? Well guess what..I was wrong.. I know, it's a rare occurrence and even more rare when I actually admit..in public..and in print.

Here's the scoop for all of you that didn't know..and it may very well just be me:-(

Unfortunately, in attempt to observe St. Paddy's day, many people accidentally observe "St. Patty's Day.""Patty" is a woman's name. The nickname used for a man named Patrick, for example, the man named Patrick who is credited with converting great swaths of Ireland to Christianity, is "Paddy," from the Irish Padraig.

Calling St. Patrick's Day "St. Patty's Day" is like referring to Christmas Eve as "Christie's Eve" or Hanukkah as "Helen's Festival of Lights."

How Did Padraig Become Patty?

Just as the process that transforms shamrocks into McFlurries is murky, so is it unclear exactly where or when Padraig's feast day became Patty's tea party. The confusion obviously has something to do with the fact that the Irish name Padraig is Anglicized Patrick. But the English nickname is "Pat," not "Paddy."

"Patty" is probably an American thing, like a McDonald's hamburger patty.

Isn't "Paddy" a Slur?

While it's true that "paddy" came into fashion as a slur against Irish people in the 19th century, it's also true that Paddy is just a regular old name still in use today. You'll have to go by intent on this one. Calling a person "a paddy" because he's Irish is offensive. Calling a person "Paddy" because his name is Paddy, is not. Calling St. Patrick "Paddy" might upset some people since he's a canonized saint and not just some guy you know.

If someone gets rankled by your use of "St. Paddy," revert back to "St. Patrick," which is more correct, not "St. Patty," which is less. (And don't get into a big fight on St. Patrick's Day. It's a happy day.)

I Still Want to Celebrate St. Patty's Day

That's great. You can do that too. Saint Patricia was born into a noble, possibly royal family (some sources describe her as the niece or granddaughter of Constantine the Great) in Constantinople (now Istanbul). When Patricia—"Patty," to you—was a teenager, she fled to Rome to become a Bride of Christ (nun). Later, she left for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Along the way, her ship was caught in a storm and she and her party were shipwrecked on a tiny island near Naples, where she established a chichi prayer community. She fell ill and died at age 21.

According to legend, over 500 years later, a knight paying his respects to Trish's remains decided he wanted a souvenir and plucked out one of her teeth, because obviously. Miraculously, blood started pouring out of the long-dead cavity—blood that nuns preserved in two glass vials. Today that blood is display at the San Gregorio Armeno Church in Naples, where it is said to turn back liquid every Tuesday morning at around 9:30 and every August 25th (Patricia's feast day).

All of which is to say: Celebrate St. Patty's Day on August 25th.

No, I Mean I Just Want to Call St. Patrick's Day "St. Patty's Day"

Well then you are just being willfully wrong. We have offered you knowledge and you have taken it, examined it, and deliberately rejected it. Cast it out like so many snakes from Ireland. (By the way: Ireland never had snakes. The "snakes" St. Patrick banished were probably the ones used in pagan symbolism, after he converted the druids to Christianity.)

If you're American, the words are even pronounced in the same way. We're just asking that you adopt the correct spelling, which, incidentally, is already phonetic.

So What Can I Call It?

You can call it "St. Patrick's Day." You can call it "St. Paddy's Day." You can call it "St. Pat's." You can call it "Maewyn Succat's Day" (after Saint Patrick's birthname). You can call it "March 17th." You can even call it "Liberalia," an ancient Roman holiday also celebrated on March 17 is probably much closer to modern American St. Patrick's Day celebrations in spirit. (A procession of people carried a giant penis through the countryside, and everyone sang dirty songs and left food everywhere.)

Don't call it "St. Patty's Day".

Now you know..the rest of the story:-)   and so do I!

Clubs

 Club is a four letter word.  There are so many kinds of clubs.  You can have a club sandwich. You can enjoy a round of golf with your clubs culminating with some cold ones at the Country Club. You can don your sparkly top and your go go boots (age thing) and head out for a night at the Club. You can drift back to cave man days and reminisce about the men who carried a club and dragged their women by their hair (btw, why do cavemen drag their women by their hair?.............because if they dragged them by their feet, they fill up with dirt1!)       You can play poker and have a straight with all clubs. You can be part of a professional baseball club.  A clubhouse in your favorite tree or neighbor's garage or basement is one of the "funnest" things you might ever do in your childhood.  There's  Fight Club, Bridge Club, Gun Clubs, Lions Club, Rotary Club, the American Kennel Club and even Sam's Club!!!!  There's even DRAMA club....so  fulfilling and such a wonderful avenue for building self esteem as a child and young adult.....   Clubs are awesome..............Drama.............not so much.  Drama should be left on stage and end on or near your 16th birthday.     Wikipedia  explains that drama is the specific mode of FICTION represented in a PERFORMANCE.  Exactly.....it's a untruthful act..... a show......a classic, "who really gives a damn", grow up display of immaturity unless acted out on a stage.


You know me!  If I think it or feel it, you'll know it!!  That could be a very good thing....or maybe not.  I've tried to raise my kids knowing that drama is overrated and that everyone has issues.  We're pretty much all the same despite where we live, what we drive, what our job is and where we came from.  You reap what you sow and you are what you've earned and only YOU can make yourself happy.  There will always be those who thrive on drama....especially in small town America. 


So if you have a notion to join a club, stay far away from the ADC (Adult Drama Club) and head for..........maybe..... a Strip Club.  There you can shed your worries and the bare facts will become crystal clear. Who doesn't love a good club?

Mother Nature.. the jokester

Mother Nature has an incredible sense of humor....and who doesn't love a woman who can make you laugh. Yesterday she made many of us giggly with the anticipation of spring.  She melted lots of snow, made our falls come roaring to life, uncovered a few miscellaneous Christmas decorations, turned ditches into mini rivers and even flew in a few robins for good measure.  I actually turned the heat off in my car as the rays were warming me nicely. 


Somebody obviously pissed her off!  This morning she dropped the mercury more than 20 degrees, started some dripping rain that she's now turned into big, white flakes.  I'm watching flocks of geese across the road practicing their take offs and landings and frankly they just don't seem to have a clue which direction is favorable. They're obviously getting in each other's way as all I hear is honking!!! The patio bird feeders are full and the giant bird feeder across the road has 5 luscious courses displayed in various stages of decomposition (yum.)  I have only seen one adult eagle at a time and that makes me suspect that possibly they're taking turns on the nest. It's a wee bit early (laying usually is between mid March and mid April) but Mother Nature may have tricked them into a false sense of mating time (we have that on this side of the road year round :-)


I have all my chicks in the nest for a couple more days.  That's a very good thing and helps to weather the storm with a smile on my face.  I can face almost anything Mother Nature throws at me as long as I'm here at EIEIO and my family is happy and near.  Boy, the sap is really runnin' today:-)

I love Mondays

...........You know I do........especially this Monday.  Soon I'll be heading to Ithaca to pick up some very special cargo.  This visit may be extra special.  Oh, did I mention it was Jeff?  Did I have to?  Bailee knows we're having a special visitor arrive today and I'm pretty sure her smart, little brain has it completely figured out and is playing along "just for the fun of it!" She knows that chuck roast is on the menu for tonight and that pretty much throws up a giant red flag saying, "Uncle Jeff!" Also, the guest room bed is not cluttered with various decorations or gifts for upcoming birthdays and holidays.  Yep, she knows!  I told her that a dear friend named Mortimer Snerd was stopping by. (Who the hell knows why his name popped in my aged brain and out of my wrinkled
mouth.)  So she "googled" him....of course she did.  I heard a little screech from her as she explained that large wooden puppets are "just plain creepy!"  I actually found the old dummy on Amazon and had I been able to get him here in 1 day, he'd have been sitting at the table tonight....  Instead it'll be Uncle Jeff just as she expects and that will make ALL of us happy little campers!  And won't she be really excited if he ends up at the table for many, many, many more chuck roasts..... just sayin"

Stay tuned :-)

Remember?

Remember when I made two "sketchy" resolutions for New Years? One was keeping my desk clean and the other was learning a new word every day.  One stuck...one didn't.  Somewhere here on my desk is today's word.  It's froward!  I know, my first thought involved a inner mini rant about the idiot who types and publishes the "Word of the Day" on my home page. Seriously, could they at least hire someone who knows how to spell, keyboard and proof read!!!  My bad.. (who the hell ever thought I'd say "my bad?")  One of my prior "new words/phrases!  Anyway, I looked it up...It is, indeed, FROWARD...

Word of the Day

• froward
• 
• \FROH-erd\

• DEFINITION

adjective

: habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition

• EXAMPLES

The nanny informed the parents that she would seek employment elsewhere if the froward child could not be compelled to be more obedient. 

Good thing I didn't contact the programmer that posts the "word of the day" and tell them they really should get their act together. ......not that I've ever done that....................a lot!

So, with today's word (and  "jumping to conclusions" lesson) under my belt, I'm moving forward on this sunny, winter day. I'm pleased that I know very few people, if any, that are froward.  I have no froward friends,no froward relatives, no froward thoughts and will immediately disregard any froward folks and comments on Frace Book...;-)

Shhhh the sun's out!

It's 5 degrees but THE SUN IS OUT!  No time for sitting in front of a computer:-)

I give up!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is traditionally and religiously the time for giving up something...... It encompasses the 40 days prior to Easter (not counting Sundays....not sure why.)  During Lent, many Christians the world over observe fasting (that ain't happening here), do acts of penance (daily,) practice moderation and keep spiritual discipline. Besides fasting, believers choose to avoid luxuries of life and many abstain from sex ( who knew Lent last years?) Different churches observe Lent in different ways. Some Christians take part just to see how long they can go without their favorite things. Some folks are giving up carbs, some are giving up social media, some are giving up shopping and one fellow decided to give up homework and insist that his professors respect his religious beliefs...geez!!

Sister Joan Chittister says that "Lent is the opportunity to change what we ought to change but have not..Lent is about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now."

I've got it!!   I know what I'm giving up this year for Lent!!!!!!!!!!   WINTER :-)

Grammar Gram

Today is National Grammar Day... of course it is.  Everything seems to have a "day" these days! If I researched deeply enough, I could probably even find National Enema Day........but I won't!  I even had an email this morning hawking toys and useful "learning tools" to promote the use of good language skills.  How does my computer know the things that are near and dear to my heart.......and my brain. That's a rhetorical question and doesn't require a question mark.....just sayin'!

I was raised knowing (and learning) that how you speak is often how you're perceived..... the old "first impression" thing!  You may not think it affects how you see people but it definitely affects how people see you! It may not bother some folks, obviously, but it sure gives me the old nails on the chalkboard

cringe when it surfaces...........especially on Face Book posts. I don't profess to be better or smarter than anyone else but I guess I do profess to be a little more educated in the basics. I am as guilty as anyone of making mistakes, of typing too fast and sometimes not rereading what I have typed.  The difference between and me and others is that I know when I've made a mistake and I make every effort to correct it. Will good grammar make you a better person or change the course of your life.....maybe not......but you just never know.  Now that head hunters and job seekers are all surfing the Internet, you might easily acquire that perfect job....or lose it... all because of too's, yours and theirs. If only you had learned it to begin with.......................hmmm, did I just end a sentence with a preposition?

If Common Core won't teach it, Common Sense should!!!  Happy Grammar Day from the Grammar Gram:-)

I'd like to thank................

I'd like to thank the Academy.......for an outstanding event.  I watched all 3+ hours  of this year's Oscars and enjoyed every single minute.  I'd like to thank Ellen for keeping it lighthearted and fun. I'd like to thank Jared Leto for one of the night's most heartfelt acceptance speeches (To those of you who have felt injustice because of who you love and who you are, I stand here with you and for you.") I'd like to thank the producers for choosing relevant musical numbers and choosing the perfect entertainers to sing them..yes even that Smokey the Bear look alike that amazingly makes us "Happy." I'd like to thank all of those women who chose to wear strapless gowns for not continuously pulling them up... on and off stage. I'd like to thank Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep for losing gracefully as you are all winners with me. And last but most certainly not least, I'd like to thank Matthew McConaughey for being easy on the eyes, easy on the ears and a man for all seasons!  Your time has finally come♥

Alright, Alright, Alright!!