And yet another month has slipped by.

Here it is, folks...the end of October.   I still don't have any fall decorating done. 
When I was young, I never understood the old folks who would say, "Time goes by so quickly."
I. totally. understand. now.
I think its because I find lots of things to occupy my time...and some of them eat up a lot of my time (with my permission, of course).  I do some things when I *should* be doing others...and time slips away from me.
So maybe when I say that time goes by quickly, what I'm really saying is I need to manage my time better.
hmmmm....

This is my 100th post.

And I sure wish it were noteworthy.  But it's not.   My blog is called McRamblings for a reason.  I tend to ramble and not say anything of consequence.  But then, you knew that, especially if you've been with me for all 100 posts.

I just wanted to tell you that I got up at 5 this morning (not unusual) and immediately dug into the boys' algebra book (that's the unusual part).  This semester's algebra book is set up this way:  two worksheets that the class does together to explain the technique, then several problems to reinforce the technique. I studied the technique so I could teach it...then couldn't stop until I'd solved all the problems.  I love a good puzzle...and I could have went on, but ran out of problems.

I'm just weird that way.  :-)

Have a good weekend, my friends.

Well, August came and went without much hooplah.

So...I didn't blog about it.  We kept busy with work and activities, as usual.  We picked bushels of apples...gave many away and froze as much as the freezer would hold.  And I still. had. apples.   So, for the first time in my life, I made huge batches of applesauce and I canned them.  The kids helped, of course.  I can't do all that I do without the help of my children. 
We were also given tomatoes, so for the first time in my life I was able to can tomatoes without A) having to pay for them...or B) having to pick them.  In fact, the only thing I've had to purchase this year was canning lids. 
Hubs found time to install a ceiling fan on our remodeled porch.  He and the boys painted the porch floor and it's holding up nicely.  I forgot to pick up paint for the storm door, so that's not done yet.  In fact, so many things aren't done yet I've decided not to depress myself by telling you about them...so that's all I have to say about that.

Meanwhile, life goes on.  Dad has been in and out of the hospital since July.  He's 83.  'nuff said.

OH, and we attended a wedding last week.  The bride is my daughter's age.
>>freak out<<
When did I get this old?  I was too busy living life to notice.

And yet once again my favorite time of year has rolled around.  Thank you, Lord.  Hubs and I are planning a getaway at one of the most beautiful places on earth to celebrate our anniversary.  I hope to take many pictures...some of which I want to share with you.  I'm just thoughtful that way.  :-)

What we did over the holiday.

Vacation pics will have to wait.  We've been BUSY!

Doing what, Pam?

I'm glad you asked!

Ever since we purchased this house I've hated the way they put aluminum siding on the porch posts.  Hubby has been unhappy with the porch railing.  So last weekend we did some demolition...

...taking all that ugly siding off the porch posts....

(side note:  if Hubs only knew what was under the siding he was straddling, he wouldn't do that b/c it turned out there was a big ole yellow jacket nest between the inside and outside panels)

Anyway, what was I saying?

...oh yeah.  We were THRILLED beyond belief to find that the posts were in excellent condition.

So then we moved onto the railing--tearing each section down and building it back up. 

This is what the left side of the porch looked like with the solid railing.

As I said before, Hubby didn't like the solid panel railing.  Personally, I thought it was ugly, too, but I liked the privacy it provided. 
But alas, that is no more...

...because we tore it off.

Then we made it all pretty again.

The view from the porch side.  See the stacks of aluminum there to the right that we pulled off the porch? The box is full and the bigger panels are stacked up in front of it.   It was taken to the recycling center the next day.  I was soooo glad to get rid of it.

The view from the front again.  We had bought new patio furniture earlier this year and now people can see it.  Personally, I'd rather people minded their own business and didn't eyeball my porch, but that's just me.  Hubs is happy.  I'm happy that he's happy, so it's all good.

We sat on that furniture and there was a nice breeze that flowed through the porch.  We purchased an outdoor ceiling fan and it will go on this side of the porch above said furniture--just as soon as Hubs runs the electrical wire to it.  That's another project for another weekend.

We used treated lumber, so we have to wait until it dries out to paint it.  Everything will be white when it's all done.  Unless I change my mind.  Which has been known to happen.

While tearing the railing out we got a glimpse of what our house looks like under that aluminum siding.  This, we were not so thrilled to see.

It's that old shingle-type house covering and it's made to look like brick. 

I was really hoping for some wood siding.

Anywho, that's what we did last weekend.  My hubby is a genious.  He did all this without prior experience and without blueprints.  He had a design in his head and he made it happen.  I'm so proud of him.  Did I mention that the temps were in the 90's both Saturday and Monday (the two days we worked on the porch)?  Yup, it was hot and HUMID!  My kids were great, though...every one of them worked without grumbling through this whole process.  Wish I could say the same for Hubs and I--we get grouchy when it's that hot.

Hope you had a happy Independence Day and were able to enjoy the fireworks.  Saturday evening we cleaned up, popped 5 batches of popcorn on the stovetop and met up with some friends to watch the fireworks in town.  It's a tradition that we take either popcorn or in-shell-peanuts for everyone to snack on while we wait for the fireworks to begin...since we arrive *early* at our favorite viewing spot.  To be very honest with you, I can't tell you if the fireworks display was good this year or not...I was so tired I didn't care.  That and I was sitting with my closest friend and was enjoying her company.

Happy July!

I'm spending way too much time on Facebook and not enough on my blog.  One single solitary post in May, none in June and now it's July. 
Oddly enough I didn't have anything to say all that time.  Isn't that out-of-character of me? 
Anyway, we've been camping twice this year already. Once at Lake Erie (I have lots of beautiful pictures to share!) and once at a beautiful State Park that we love to visit (I didn't take the camera out of the bag once while we were there.)
So...Happy Independence Day everyone! 

Happy Mother's Day

May you feel blessed today.

Spring is in the air.

Spring has finally come to the Ohio Valley.  It has been slowing making an appearance all month, but today I can finally show you the wonderful blooms.  My gardening friends (okay, I only have one -Deb- but it sounded good, right?) will appreciate today's pictures.

The lilac bush is beautiful. Wish you could smell it.  {achoo!}

My favorite flower.  It's my favorite because it came from my parent's farm.
...and because I've never seen this particular Iris anywhere else.  It grew wild on the farm.

The Hostas have finally made an appearance after their long winter nap.

The neighbor's Parrot tulips were beautiful this year. Sadly, I didn't make it out there to snap a pic in the morning, when they're most spectacular.

The pink Dogwood at church is blooming
...but not the white one.

The Azaleas are looking marvelous this year.

 

Even the Dandelions are a welcome sight.
  After a winter of seeing so much white, the colors of Spring are all welcome.

Of course, all this changes and the Dandelions will be a weed again starting next month.

Just sayin.

Once upon a time a woman started a blog...

the end.

Not really...but lately it looks that way, doesn't it?

I went to a Bridal Shower this weekend.  In the past year, several of the kids at our church have gotten married off.  Well, they aren't kids...but they WERE when we moved here and started attending this church.

So one of these use-to-be-a-kid is getting married in June. Her name is Jill, and I went to her Bridal Shower yesterday. It was very nice. She got a boatload of gifts.  I found out from her mother that they put a bid in on a house last week.  Jill refuses to get too excited about it just yet.  She's a smart girl.
I'm not one of these bloggers who carries her camera everywhere she goes and snaps pictures and tells interesting tales about the people she meets or places she goes.  Unlucky you.

No, I'm the kind of blogger who tells you that the table was decorated with a pale purple tablecloth and chocolate kisses wrapped in shiny purple and blue foil were sprinkled down the center.  These kept us somewhat entertained (and hyped up on sugar and caffeine) while Jill opened a boatload of presents.  Until 3-year-old Ben came running over to my table with a half-empty bottle of water and announced, "Fight wiff me!"  No, folks, I'm the kind of blogger who tells you that I snatched up my empty water bottle and had a sword fight with a 3-yr-old. 

He won. 

Ahem.

Moving along.  Is this a good time to mention that I won one of the Bridal Shower games?  My prize was a bottle of Avon shower gel and a scrubbie.   To which I announced that it was the PERFECT day for such a gift and since it was pouring down the rain I was going outside to try it out.

I just can't understand why nobody wants to sit beside me at these things.

Life is full of disappointments...and other lessons a mother must dish out.

Last week I realized that Easter was nearly upon us and I hadn't done any shopping for said event.

Uh-oh.

So off to the store we went, me and my brood (sans daughter, who was working).   I carted the boys down the candy aisle of the nearest mart store and made them pick out candy.  It was torture, just ask them.  {snicker}  I think it was the biggest haul they've ever made.

While they were busy planning a massive sugar overload, I asked them what *else* they wanted in their baskets.  Normally they get a little bit of candy and one or more non-candy items--some, if not all, will point to the reason for this celebration.  We don't emphasize the basket in our house, but use it as a bit of fun.

Anyway, this is where I back up and mention that I really *had* thought about Easter weeks before the event. I *had* asked the kids what they wanted back then and only one of them came up with an answer.  The 17-year-old wanted a laser pen.  Like the red pointing lasers...only this one was violet. 

So when I asked them at the store what I could got them for their baskets, he bulked.  He had already told me what he wanted and it wasn't at the mart store.  So he pouted instead of telling me what *else* I could buy. 

Then, just 3 days before the event he came to me with ideas.  Mind you, we live in a small town. Shopping choices are the grocery store, the gas station and a dollar store.  So when he said he wanted a new flashlight--a **GOOD** one--I asked, "can I get that at the dollar store?"  No, I could not--and it wasn't looking like we were going out of town before Easter.  Poor child.

So on Easter morning as he dug through his basket he found.....a violet laser pen.  It was at this moment that I pointed out to him that life is full of disappointments--but today wasn't one of them.

Ahhh, life is good.  Thank you, Jesus.

The FINAL chapter of 15 Random Things You Never Needed to Know About Me

....because it's Saturday and tomorrow is Easter and I have a MOUNTAIN of work to do--so naturally I think it's time to work on the blog.  Got it?

31. Sprite or 7-UP?  
Whichever is in the house when I'm sick.  Did your mom do that? --give you 7Up when you had an upset tummy?  Do people drink it any other time?


32. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work?
Nope...I've never had that formal of a job or education.  Dh has always had to wear a uniform, though.  We're night and day, my man and I.


33. Last thing you bought at Walgreens?
We don't have a Walgreens in the area, so I only visit one when I'm on vacation. It's been a year, but I think I bought folders the last time I was there.  Not just any folders, mind you...these had gross versions of food wrappers on them....reminding of the garbage pail kids cards I used to collect when I was a kid.

34. Ever thrown up in public?
I have NO idea why this question is here.  Let's ignore it and move on, k?

35. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love?
All the money in the world won't get you through the tough times--gimme my true love.

36. Do you believe in love at first sight?
That's a toughy.  I believe in lust at first sight. Love is something that grows and develops with care if you work on it. 


37. Spongebob or Jimmy Neutron?
Who? 


38. Did you have long hair as a young kid?
Sometimes....until I wouldn't brush it and it would get all tangled and mom would take me to the hairdresser and have it all cut off.  It always grew back.  Fast.

39. What message is on your voicemail machine?
"HI, thanks for calling the McL's.  We're not answering the phone right now, so leave a message."  BEEEEP
I'm. so. creative. 
When my oldest son was 3 I changed it to, "I can't come to the phone because I'm cleaning up yet another mess, so leave a message and I'll call you back if I can." It was a very frustrating time for me.  He's 17 now and cleans up after himself most days.

40. Where would you like to go right now?
ha-ha-ha...you've got to be kidding.  I *need* to go to the kitchen and start working on Easter dinner. But instead I'm doing exactly what I want to do...so I'm content and I'm not dreaming of Hawaii or some other far-away place.  Not that I'd turn down a free trip to Hawaii, mind you.


41. What's the name of your pet?
Mimi.  She's a retired racing Greyhound and was named when we got her.  Her race name was "Come By Me", but they never call them by their race name so that they won't become distracted by people shouting their names during a race.

42. What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it?
I have a clearance backpack that I purchased new...oh...3 years ago for a couple of bucks.  It's light green and silver and black. It still looks new. There is nothing in it right now.  It's my vacation backpack.  I'm obviously not on vacation. ...in Hawaii or anywhere else.  Not that I'm bitter....  Moving on:


43. What kind of tennis shoes do you have?
I just bought my first pair of Easy Spirit shoes.  I have a narrow heal, so it's hard to find shoes that I don't walk right out of. I'm also hard on shoes and they don't last long.  So far so good.

44. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Hmmmm....probably my daughter.  Before that it was my Mom to tell her we'd be visiting her and dad today. Another reason that I really shouldn't be working on my blog instead of working on tomorrow's dinner.


45. Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny?
Bugs Bunny.  I can't stand that shrill voice of the mouse.  And in all the years that we've been to Florida visiting my snowbird parents, we've never taken our children to see the Mouse in it's Florida habitat.  Even though we were 30 minutes away from Disney.  Shamu, on the other hand, we visited.  That's just how we roll.

Have a blessed Easter, dear friends and family.  I love you all.  Please remember our Savior each and every day...not just when reindeer and bunnies are in the stores.  HE's alive. HE has risen.

It's time again for 15 Random Things You Never Needed to Know About Me

As noted before I copied this list....so since I only did 15 the first time, I won't bother explaining why the numbers start at 16.  Prepare yourself, there are 45 of these mindless questions altogether.  :-)

16. Do you know all of the words to the national anthem?   You betcha. Don't put me on the spot and ask me to sing it, though--I'll freeze.  Just wait...I'll randomly burst out in song some day.  Let's just hope its a song you want to hear and you can at least recognize the tune.  :-)

17. Do you shower in the morning or at night?   {sob}  We don't have a shower.  I take a bath in the mornings, though.

18. What is your favorite pizza topping?   Lately it's been plain cheese.  But when I make my own I load it up with veggies.  Mmmm

19. Chips or popcorn?  I love my popcorn!  Real butter, please.  Salty buttery popcorn.

20. What cell phone provider do you use?    Verizon...it's the only one that knows where Mudville is.

21. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? ...Seriously?  Do people do this?  Not me.

22. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?  No, I'm not a girly girl.

23. Orange juice or apple juice? Orange...or better yet...Orange Pineapple Banana.  Mmmmm

24. Who were the last people you sat at lunch with?  My husband and youngest son. We made toasted subs.

25. Favorite chocolate bar?  I've stopped eating chocolate. From experience (because I occasionally stop eating chocolate, then fall off the wagon so-to-speak) I know that what used to be my favorite chocolate no longer tastes good.  Sorry, it's true--your taste buds stop liking it.  But when I was eating chocolate, any *REAL* chocolate was good (and if it had nuts or coconut, even better).  Can't stand the chocolate *flavored* stuff.  Ew.

26. Who is your oldest friend and how long have you known each other? My oldest friend is Cindy. We've known each other for over 40 years.

27. When was the last time you ate a homegrown tomato?  Last summer. It will be late July/early August before we'll have homegrown tomatoes again.  I just said this weekend how I missed **REAL** tomatoes.  Hothouse tomatoes are pretty, but tasteless.  Nobody sells acid-y tomatoes any more!  That's what make 'em good!  When your mouth gets sore from eating too many, you know you've got a good crop. Mmmmm

28. Have you ever won a trophy?  Yeah, in High School I won several awards for Office Education competitions and classes.  Sad, huh?

29. Favorite arcade game?  Asteroids!

30. Ever ordered from an infomercial?  Can't say as I've ever been sucked into THAT black hole.
 
 
There you have it. Maybe I'll get the last 15 finished this week.  ttfn

Random Thoughts

....cuz that's how my mind has treated me lately.

1. I used to love blogging...but lately I can't seem to find my voice.
2. I'm not usually at a loss for words.
3. I am, however, shy.
4. I love Jesus.
5. I'm still learning how to express number 4.
6. I may complain, but it just shows that I'm not perfect. Don't judge me.
7. Speaking of complaining, I'm very frustrated with the local school system right now concerning required testing.
8. I might lose my cool over number 4. Which will only make me look bad, so even though I want to contact the Principal, I shouldn't.
9. This afternoon my son will take the driving test to get his license.
10. He's a very good driver and will pass unless he gets too nervous.
11. Tomorrow I will be very frustrated with the insurance company when I inform them we have a male teenage driver in the house and they tell me how much my insurance will go up.
12. Prepare to see fireworks Friday. See number 8.
13. I soooooo need a vacation. 
14. I will get not one, but TWO vacations this year.
15. I made the reservations at two campgrounds earlier this week, so now we *have* to go on vacations.
16. hehehe
17. Spring is not my favorite season. I've nicknamed my location as Mudville for a reason.
18. The mud is worse this year.  There is some sort of water leak coming from the house up the hill from us.
19. More frustration...because nobody seems to own said house. I don't have the time or energy to fight this battle.
20. With all these minor things, I do realize there is a bigger picture.  God is in control. His timing is perfect. His ways are perfect.

15 Random Things You Never Needed to Know About Me

Here's a partial list that I saw on Amber's blog.  I so stole it from ya, girly!  She did 45 random things.  I will do the other 30 another time.  If I don't forget.  I'm doing a lot of forgetting lately.

1. What is your name spelled backwards?   M-A-P   Pretty clever, eh? 

2. What did you do last night?  Lounged around all evening...being lazy.  Daughter and I watched "Sleepless in Seattle".   :-)

3. What was the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?  Music

4. Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? WHY would I do THAT!?!?!?  No.

5. When was the last time you swam in a pool?  The last time we were in Florida.  What...three years ago?  There are no pools at the campgrounds we vacation at--only lakes.

6. What are you wearing?  Comfy clothes--a big blue long-sleeve t-shirt and blue lounge pants.  Oddly enough, blue is one of my least favorite colors.

7. How many cars have you owned? Ummm...5..maybe 6.  I can't remember.

8. What is the type of music you dislike most?  Anything with disrespectful/rude lyrics.

9. Are you registered to vote?   You betcha!

10. Do you have cable? Nope. Good thing, too--looks like they've made the news over this Awards ceremony.  Watch out--cable price will be on the rise.

11. What kind of computer do you use? A plain black Asus.

12. Have you ever made a prank phone call? Who, me?  And tarnish my halo? 0:-)  (DON'T SAY A WORD, CINDY!)

13. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? Neither. I'm afraid of heights!

14. What is the furthest place you ever traveled? Hawaii.  Mom and Dad dragged me there when I was 15.  I sooooo didn't want to go....and I sooooo didn't want to come home.  Had a fab time.  Thanks for the memories, Mom and Dad!!!  Sorry I was such a teenage snot about the whole thing. Now that I have teenagers of my own, I see just how rude and self-centered they can be.

15. What's your favorite comic strip? Baby Blues


BTW, I had to turn the comments off.  T.R.O.L.L.S. are among us.

I have a confession to make.

I love to watch old musicals.  There, I said it.

Some of my favorites (in no particular order) are:
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Kiss Me Kate
Sound of Music
Annie Get Your Gun
Calamity Jane
These are a few of the movies I could watch over and over again.

And then there are the ones I like to watch on occasion. Like:
Fiddler on the Roof
My Fair Lady
Grease
Mame
Royal Wedding
Holiday Inn
White Christmas

But then, we don't usually have time to watch movies, so all of them are watched on occasion.  LOL 

Who wants to come over for a movie night?  I'll provide the popcorn.  :-)

My name is Pam and I'm a font-aholic.

I love fonts.  What are fonts, you ask?  Fonts are typeface...and you can change them to suit your mood.  I love that.
When I'm designing a new header for the blog or a newsletter or just about anything, I search through my large collection of fonts to choose just the right one to convey the message.  I have fonts that make you think "Western" or "Beach" or "Childish" when you see them--before you even read the words.  I love that about fonts.
Sadly, I can name the fonts they use on billboards and advertisements.  If I can't name it, it will drive me crazy until I find it.  I know!  I need a life.
I love the gentle, romantic swoop some fonts have.  And the crisp, clean lines of others.  And still others with uneven, carefree elements call to me.
I know there are other font-aholics out there. Why else would there be so many websited dedicated to fonts?  But for those of you who are not, I'm betting you're sorry you read this post and are thinking, "Well, that's two minutes of my life I'll never get back."
I'm sorry.  I'm just being me.  :-)

Happy Valentine's Day

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day?  I did.
After church, we stayed home and relaxed.  All day.  No, I'm not kidding. It was wonderful. We didn't rush around and go here and there...we stayed home.  With three kids and numerous responsibilites, that just doesn't happen.   On Saturday I got to stay home while hubs did the running around.  I was scanning a big pile old pictures that Mom had picked out to be put on the digital photo frame I had bought her for Christmas.  Since hubs was going to be in a town that has stores, I told him what to get me for Valentine's Day.  Even though I told him weeks ago that it was coming, I knew he hadn't done anything about it.  So off he went and did a perfect job of picking out my practical present.  I guess hoping he'd pick up a flower bouquet was too much to ask...but I'm not complaining.  Really, I'm not.

On to a weather update...cuz I know you really want to know.  It's still snowing.  It hasn't stopped for days and days.  The local weather forecast says it might stop briefly on Thursday.  I hope; we all need a break.  Now everyone is concerned about it all melting.  We live near the Ohio River....you do the math.

Snow pictures!

It snowed last weekend. Boy howdy, did it snow.  First we got the perfect packing snow on Friday.  The boys had a blast playing...making snowmen

and snow forts and snowballs.

And it looked pretty in the trees...

Then overnight we got more snow. It covered up the tracks the boys made building the snowmen

and this snow was colder and didn't pack well, so the wind blew it into drifts.

My daughter tried to measure it in the back yard, but found it was 10 inches deep in the shortest area and 20 inches deep in the tallest area. Doggone wind. She put pics on her Facebook, if you're interested. 

 I never did hear the "official" snowfall amount.

These pictures were taken in the morning.

Then in the afternoon, unexpectedly, the sky cleared to a brilliant blue and the sun shone bright.  It was beautiful.

Same closeup of the same tree...only the sun has melted the snow and changed it to ice in the top layer.

The sunshine was wonderful, but didn't stay long. It has snowed every day since Friday. Snow is in the immediate forecast. No warm up in sight for us.  I just hope it doesn't all melt in the same day. What a mess that would be!

You know it's cold in your house....

...when your Greyhound keeps curling up in a ball and covers her nose with a paw to keep it warm. 

BTW, her nose is still cold when she unexpectedly presses it on your bare skin.  Just sayin'.

Oh yeah--we got snow.

So I'm laying in bed last night and thought I'd watch a little TV while I waited for the heating pad to warm up my feet enough so I could sleep.  I turn the TV on and within seconds......pfth...the electric goes off....followed by a blue flash of light outside and a ...bzzzzzz.   Oh yeah--the transformer blew.  The good news is that the heating pad had warmed up, so we were okay for a little while.

That was 9:30.

About 3:30 this morning dh woke up--because that's the time the alarm usually goes off.  He'd went to bed about an hour before I had, so he was surprised to hear that the electric was off.  Then he couldn't sleep--because he doesn't usually sleep at this early morning time.  So guess who he wanted to talk to?  Good news is...I'd gotten nearly 6 hours of sleep and was up to the task.  So while he's contemplating whether or not our orange extension cord would be heavy enough to run the furnace if he fired up the generator....TADA...the electric comes back on.  I know because I had left my bedside lamp on .  Ooops.

So we all went back to sleep (the kids woke up because they'd left their lights on, too) and when it was daylight the guys happily trekked outside and shoveled....and shoveled....and shoveled all that wonderful snow for about an hour.  Meanwhile, dd and I lounged around and had a leasurely morning.  :-)  Life is good.

Pictures will come later.

Hello, dear friends!

Does anyone still check this blog?  I'm sorry.  Really, I am.
My browser was messing up, so I downloaded Firefox and sorta lost all of my bookmarks...and I FORGOT about my blog.  Can you BELIEVE that?
I can.
But don't get me started about meno
....pause.

So...what's new with you?

Lemme see...since I last blogged....

we had Christmas.
...that was nice.

and we had New Year's
...that was ok.

and we had MLK Day. 
...eh.

and oldest son had a birthday but since it was on the same day as a funeral for a friend (in which he was asked to be a pall bearer), we had to postpone the celebration.  He had fun with friends on a snowday two days later.   It was "awesome"...or so I hear.

and tomorrow is Groundhog Day. 

Yup, that brings us up to speed.

Tomorrow also marks the first day of oldest son's first scheduled drive at driving school.  In Ohio, minors have to take a drivers' ed class before they can get their license.  He just turned 17 and can't wait ONE MORE YEAR before going for his driver's license...so it's off to class he goes.  Our 19-year-old-non-driver couldn't be out-done by her brother, so she's taking classes, too.  Her *final* drive is tomorrow.  She says she's doing well--even went on the highway.  She refuses to drive out of town for us, so I dunno why she wants a license.  Mudville is small enough to walk everywhere we need to go.   Mind you, *I* don't walk---but she's much younger than me.

So anyway, now that my old browser is working (sometimes) I'll try to get back here more often than once every 6 or 7 weeks, k?
See you soon....