Finally Friday...Again

Seems like Fridays come pretty darned fast around here...so, why dya reckon we ain't got Little Miss here, yet? Oh, well. I guess I have been watching a bit too much "Firefly," it's a showin' in my language...too bad I can't rattle off a bit of Mandarin once in awhile, like the characters on the show. Alas, if you don't know what I am talking about, please have a look at hulu and watch an episode or two.



I taught SPED today...or rather, I learned some about them...as usual. It was a good day. The ladies who work there are the best. They keep me out of trouble, and help me with the kids. I don't honestly know how I'd make it trough the day without those blessed ladies! I leared something about wheelchairs and wheelchair fittings, too, but that is really something best left to the experts.



Cora took the day off and apparently had a great day, have a look here. She mde dinner and I enjoyed a healthy round of seconds...she made her special Rachel Ray Pork Chops...Oh, they were SOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!!



The remainder of the evening has been spent watching hulu..Cora has been attempting to catch up to me in the Firefly series...she likes it, too...We might buy the DVD. It's seriously THAT good.



Well, the weekend promises to be lazy...if you can call cleaning at a liesurely pace lazy...alas, it never ends. Well, HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Oh, and why the hell is blogger messing with my spaces? This morning it would not put a space between my paragraphs for a million dollars, this evening it puts in EXTRAS!!! Curse you BLOGGER!!

Thoroughly Thinking Thursday!

Well, first it was that Stephenie Meyer book that had me away from Blogger, now I have discovered Hulu. I have been enjoying the few episodes of Firefly that were made. I have always been a Sci-Fi geek. I don't do alot of reading anymore...I have a computer...DUH! But, finding an awesome sci-fi show is rare. Most of the things Sci-Fi channel puts on are childish at best. For example, all those Snake Shows...Anaconda, Python, Rattlesnake...WTF? Snakes, by their nature are cold blooded and slow moving, and they certinly are NOT THAT aggressive(well, maybe a Black Mamba could be aggressive, but most snakes try to get away, because, DUHHH!...they don't have arms!). So, what did FOX do when they got a winner like Firefly? Yeah, they cancelled it...bastards. Well, Battlestar Galactica is on tonight. Then I can watch the final few episodes of Firefly on hulu.
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I had yesterday off, not by choice. No one appears to have been sick...strike that, I know I missed one because I decided to get up and get a drink on Wednesday night. Bad timing, my life story.
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I cleaned in response to having the day off. I argued that we do not NEED a swiffer, because Cora wanted to get one. I explained that I clean the floor regularly. I used Comet yesterday. Looks nice. I also shampooed the carpet again, in responce to the rainy days and dirty dog feet of last week. When I finished I put the dog food back...and please explain to me why Toby thinks he must place his food on thefloor before he eats it! I tried to get a picture, but he picked it up again...see!

Ahhh, clean rugs! Note: Gypsy attempting to stay off camera.

I get to work again today. Hurray! I am in the SPED class today again. I wonder if the teacher liked my Ducks. I made a pattern that allowed the legs and wing of the construction paper duck to move...the kids seemed to enjoy it...but it turned out more complicated than any of the adults imagined. Still, by the end of the day there were twelve ducks hanging from the ceiling...no, we were not making a statement of hate against ducks...they were intended to be "springy." (I like ducks) Despite the scissors, no ducks were harmed...well, except for...we'll call him Student X...Student X's duck faired a little worse than the others...but, well, they all had the best of intentions!

Another Day, nother Dolla'

It would appear, after today's inquisition, that the teachers have not gone on srike against my substitutionary skills. Rather, no one was gone yesterday. I guess I feel a little better...but not much, since that does not enlargen the old pocket book. Still, at least I know they have not called the district on account of my "piece of string" joke (those of you who have heard it will know).

I had a good day subbing in the SPED class at the el. I even came up with a couple more coloring pages. The ladies who work with me suggested I change careers and begin making coloring books...somehow, that does not seem to promise economical freedom from the school district...I appreciate the good will, but, surely there are better artists out there. But, hey, the ladies there seem set on getting me working with my drawings...maybe they are not necessarily exposed to the best of the best...they make me feel pretty good about myself, though!

I started a roast tonight. I seared it, and peeled the veggies. All I have to do in the morning is add broth and everything I readied tonight, push start up the crockpot...and wait eight hours. the plan is to use the left overs for french dip sandwiches. All in all, it sounds like a god week, food-wise.

Oh, and I signed up to sub for Wapato! Cora will be thrilled! She should be home soon. She went to a candle party...I am not sure what that is. I can only assume it is something that includes candles and...costing me lots of money. Of course, I did not work much last week, so, how much can I complain? Yeah, not much...plus she let me buy some stuff off of e-bay...one such thing was a copy of the ship's newspaper from the USS Huntington, one of the first ships to fly aircraft in the US Navy. It is dated 1917...I think it was a pretty good deal. Less than 10 bucks. I suspect if I put it in a display with a picture of said ship and sold it agin..well, I might make few bucks on it...I dunno...it's an idea.

Tomorrow I work again!! Hurray!

My Day Monday.

So, I have had three days off...six if you count the weekend. I am going a little stir crazy! I did some minor grocery shopping, cleaned out the fridge, and rearranged the kitchen cabinets. I also called another school district to see about subbing at another district (and I asked if they were hiring...nope). Then I called Charter concerning bundling our phone and internet...could save us $30.00 a month...and we get a wider calling range. I am missing human contact during the day a little. Doesn't seem to have helped that it rained all day.

I do work tomorrow and Wednesday, though! SPED at the El! It will be nice to work again!

Well, I have to go finish dinner!

Who, Lou? Hoo Loo? Hulu...Hello?!

Today, Sunday, February 22, 2009 was spent doing some relaxing. We did do something exciting: we bought a rice cooker. We like rice, but, for me, it is a hit and miss affair. Sometimes I get it right, others...well, we don't eat rice a lot. So, with any luck, we will be eating rice a lot more.

Cora did some stuff with the computer, while I worked on mine...I don't know about her, but I was playing games. Oh, and I have discovered Hulu...I was able to find the IMAX movie we got to see in Sacramento. "Fighter Pilot; Red Flag" It's a good movie, and I was surprised that it was not as jumpy and twitchy as I expected it to be on my computer. Even the sound was good! Usually, if I watch anything with sound on my computer it is chopped and difficult to understand...it's almost like my computer cannot decide which to play, so it does them in turn...except with this Hulu thing! Awesome! I watched another one called "Speed and Angels." I recommend that one, too!

So, since the majority of my day was spent either on the computer or napping next to it, I have a photo that was taken from my chair. I don't think I have posted pictures of the fishtank lately...t least not since the sudden suicide of its last fishy inhabitant. So, here we have a few corals and polyps.

Oh, and Cora cooked a delicious looking "Shephard's Pie" for dinner...I will verify its taste in a few minutes! Boy, CAN SHE COOK! She always dazzles me when she makes dinner! I'm just lucky that way; that's how I roll.

Friday Mud Madness!

It doesn't look the way it felt. Note the mud IN FRONT of the rear wheels...it was tense for awhile!


I was home alone yesterday. I thought I heard them firing at the firing center, so I drove up to the side of the mountain so I could look down on the firing center to watch them fire canon or machine guns. I have done that before. My truck is a two wheel drive and I just have road tires on it. There is a spot up there that drops down on the North side of the hill. You look out and all you can see is firing center land and NSA Spy Installation and satellite dishes. It’s a tad steep in the summer, but if it’s dry it isn’t too much of a fuss.

The south side of the hill was nice and dry. I didn’t think anything of it. I got to the top and it was a bit muddy, but I did not worry, I intended to turn around. No need to negotiate that steep part. The truck was pointed slightly down hill, but seemingly stable. I got out, but could not determine if they were actually firing. It was a bit chilly. I looked at the ground…muddy. Hmmm.

I got back in and put it in reverse…whirrrrr-rrrr-rrrr…shit. The road dropped down a little and turned to the left, but rose again. Safe. So, I drove on down around the bend, assuming when I reached the top it would be dry and I would turn around and not have to worry about that steep section further on. I got to the top, but the truck tried to side-slip its ass off the road everytime I tried to turn it around. Crap. I thought, maybe my memory is off…surely, I could have taken a different way last time had I chosen, I will do that this time…

Then I realize, too late, there is no choice in the matter. Despite every attempt, I could not turn around. Ahead of me is that horrid steep drop down, at the end of which is that STEEEEEP rise. I resolved to keep my speed up, having noted that the mud had gotten to two or three inches deep!

I made a run…a tad too gently. I got to a spot about a 3rd of the way up the steep side, after having had some intense puckering moments as the rear end had flirted with mid-air, I had hesitated in my application of full throttle. My wheels spun and it begn to slip back down the hill. I did this several times, backing up for another run, concentrating on NOT being stuck up there. Each time, back and forth, the truck managed to come ever so close to the edge of the road and the possibility of ending up on firing center property without benefit of being on all four wheels(as in rolling down the hill).

I am not sure if I am impressing upon the reader the sketchiness of this thing I was doing. I should have taken a picture, but, well, I was concentrating on keeping the truck on the muddy road. It is not a wide track. It was frustratingly slippery! The mud deepened as I was there. Everytime I backed up, I would steer one direction and the truck would not oblidge in going that direction, I would tap the brakes and it would keep moving backwards, or sometimes...SIDEWAYS! It seemed the truck was acting wrong.

Finally, I noticed I seemed to have more traction on the snow drifts…not much, but it did not create the drag and suction that the mud did, still, not enough to get past the mark I had reached the first time.

Then I noticed a little bit more traction on the weeds, where large rocks sometimes lurk. I decided to aim for that. I did not let off the throttle and mud flew. The ass-end fish-tailed, but when I reached the weeds, she started to move…with agonizing slowness. Finally, I felt I needed to shift to second. For a fraction of a second I thought I might not make it. I glanced at the tach, and it was in the red…I did not dare let off the gas, I was still moving. The shift to second did the trick and the truck crawled slowly up the hill…the whole time I was willing it up the hill as much as I was driving it. I could not get stuck and need to call for help! Parish the thought! Such embarrassment! Of course, there was the thought of the swift and painful death I might suffer at Cora’s hands…Why did I agree to that life insurance?

Finally, I made it though. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins INSTEAD of blood…I resolve to buy mudders before I do that again!!!

Mist It By That Much...

So, I did not work today. It sucks. So, I worked around the house. I did some laundry and dishes, as usual, and then I also finshed shampooing the front room...looks nice now. I did run to town for a few items, and then took Cora lunch.

I came out of the store and the overcast had cleared some and then I noticed the hills to the south. The clouds were pouring over Ahtanum Ridge. It was cool, but the photos don't do it justice. This photo is from the truck as I head into the mist at the gap.

When I left Cora's place of work I spotted some box cars and took a few pictures. This one is interesting, but I am unsure of the implied meaning, as is often the case with this kind of art.

When I finally got home, I found Toby in my chair. He is stretching here, but looks like he is giving me a lazy smile.

So, the day ends and I am still awaiting a teacher to fall ill...come on you teachers! Get sick or take the day off!

Good Books, Bad book.

I finally finished The Host, by that damned Stephenie Meyer, she kept me from doing a bunch of things this weekend. I enjoyed it. I think the heroine was a bit too good and too troubled, but it was a good book none-the-less. If you enjoy science fiction, this is a pretty good one, and even then, you might enjoy it, since it takes place on Earth. I had difficulty putting it down.

I am lucky I got my Amazon book order when I did, since it came in yesterday! I was tracking it and it got to our post office at 7:33AM. I immediately went down and got it.

I am pleased to note that the book on Northrop's Flying Wings is up to standards! I have several monographs concerning aircraft.

So, if you are technically minded, or simply interested in airplanes, I heartly recommend it and any of these:

However, I also got another book. As many of you are aware, I enjoy seeing things up close. Hence my love of museums. I also have been known to visit closed down military facilities to get an idea of where they were and what they looked like. I have visited ex-Nike missile battery locations, Titan I sites and an Atlas E silo. I have visited various and sundry military bases in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and California. I have visited Hanford and the B-reactor. I am aware of the NSA "Listening" post here near Yakima. I am aware of the SAGE system, or Semi-Automated Ground Environment, a Strategic Air Command system that kept track of airborne objects, there was a repeater station near the town of Kititas. These things I know about. I thought, wrongly, as it turns out, that this book might lead me to more places like that.

It is a giant stinking piece of donkey dung. Not worth the $11 I spent to buy it. It has entries for every state. I thought, wow, nice concise entries that might be able to add to my knowledge of Washington State Cold War History...NOPE! There are two entries for Washington State...Hanford and the NSA Listening Post near Yakima. The title Top Secret Tourism would appears to imply that maybe it's something that isn't well known...well, guess what. It SUCKS.

There was nothing about military reservations like the Yakim Firing Center, McChord AFB, Fort Lewis, Bangor Submarine Base, Bremerton, Everett, Fairchild AFB, Larson AFB, Nike, Titan, or Atlas missile bases, nor any one of a dozen other types of lesser known government facilities. What a staggering disappointment!

I plan on writing a scathing book review for Amazon and Alibris and whatever other on-line book store I can think of, simply so others don't waste their money on this guy's book. I am MOST disappointed!

Whatever you do...

DON'T BUY TOP SECRET TOURISM by HARRY HELMS!!!!

Custom Blog Designs

Hey, I know I don't talk much about the people I know, but I think I need to come out of the closet about one of them...Diana, at Custom Blog Designs is holding a birthday give away. Diana did the blog makeover for Grandma...and I think she did an excellent job! She also designed the award you see flashing at you...she did it with tongue-in-cheek, but by gum, I posted it...I think much to her chagrin! Still, Diana does a wonderful job on her Blog stuff!

More Play Than I Let On!

So, just so there is no misunderstanding, I DID manage to do some things that I wanted to do today. In between errands, I did manage to slink off into a part of town I hadn't been before. The train tracks, well, I have been in that area before, but it's been years and it seems I just never got to it from that particular direction before. I took some pictures.

I like the graffiti. I find it interesting that someone can make words appear so appealing to the eye.

With some of these things I don't even know what they say, but they look neat.

It was a sunny day. It made me want a better camera.

It was hard to stay on track. LOL!

I kept railing against the notion that I did not belong there.

Then I went and found most of the geocaches my beloved Sister and Brother-in-law left for me. My favorite, in that it was annoying (trust me, I will get even), was one that had the instructions hidden in two tiny tubes, which were stuck in a Corn Syrup Bottle...except, SOMEONE had neglected to rinse out the corn syrup. Molasses might have been only slightly worse, and at least it wasn't on fire. I was fortunate I had thought to take a pocket knife with me...I cut the bottle open because the tubes would not come out...oh, and I should have taken some wipes. I am glad there wasn't more Corn Syrup! I might have been caught like a mastedon or a saber tooth tiger in a tar pit...I was even resorting to sucking it off my fingers so I would not goo-up my GPS... didn't work. Here I am in the bottom of the canal, Rosa Canal, returning to thetruck from a cache...I could have driven around, but there wasn't any water.

Oh, and the next cache appeared to be setup so I would break my neck...fortunately, I found what I was looking for before I did that. Turns out I was blaming things on them that weren't their fault. I thought I had to climb up a rock face...tured out it wasn't so bad...now, I still need to attempt the night time portion of it...

Days Lost, Dirt Found

I have had the past two days off. I have not been enjoying it as much as one might expect. I have been cleaning and doing chores and errands. Yesterday, I got some groceries and did some cleaning.

Today, I took Cora to work. Then I gassed up her car. After that I got it washed and then did more running around. I ended up at Best Buy to purchase one of those damned digtal converters. No fear of them being out, there was a gigantic pile of them. I think some one is making an inordinate amout of money from this switch to digital programming...but, no one asked me, and I did not enjoy economics.

My sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephews were up yesterday and left a few geocaches...I finally locted my misplace GPS, so I will go out and find them. I began the first of doubtless many carpet shampooings in the living room. You can SURE tell we have pets...dirty pets.

Well, that is just a short update, I have been busy reding Stephenie Meyer's The Host whenever I am not doing chores...I am nearly done, but am definitely having trouble staying way from it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cora and I just got up from a sumptuous dinner that she cooked! Lemon and Garlic Chicken! I threw in a bit of sauted zuchini, we made a salad, and then followed it with a glass of wine...how better to spend Valentine's Day evening?

Today we worked on the house. I removed a table from the ex-computer room and worked on gutting the room a little, but was largely unsuccessful. We decided to move some of the plants. We bought two small 13w florescent lights to allow us more flexibility in placement of said plants. My Banana is still in the window, but I moved the African Violet that Grandma gave me. It is not in the dining room and is under one of the lamps. The Philedendron remains, but it is hardy, so I see no difficulty from it.

We went to town for a few items and returned to clean. Now we are sitting enjoying the wine and watching Star Wars on tv. I seriously can't recall a better February 14.

Saturday the 14th

I did not post yesterday. I would like to say it is because Friday the 13th got the best of me. Well, that's not true. I don't want to say that there was a freak lightning storm and our house was struck, frying both computers and two TVs. I further don't want to say that Cora was walking up the sidewalk and slipped in a puddle and landed on the dog and now they're both in their respective hospitals. I don't want to add that just before she fell she dropped the Northrop Flying Wings book she got me for Valentine's Day in the puddle. So I won't. None of that is true. Not one drop. Except, I am certain Cora will jump online and buy me the book. Cora, it is Spelled NORTHROP.

I made Bacon for breakfast this morning, remember? And Chocolate, I got you Chocolate for Valentine's Day! Don't you want to buy me a book?

So, we survived Friday the 13th with nary a scratch. I fixed dinner and we had relaxing evening.

I DID start Stephanie Meyer's book The Host...I am now 150 pages in with no end in sight. I don't want to do anything else until I finish that stupid thing...it is keeping me glued. Damn You Stephanie Meyer!

Almost Friday!

You thought I'd run out of ship pictures! Hah! You were wrong.

I have one more day, then I get four off. But, I promised I would work on my resume and look for a job during those two extra days. I'm thinking 7/11, but I suspect Cora has other ideas.

I got the part for the washer yesterday, but didn't get it in until tonight. The good news is it works! No leaks! Saved us $2000, did I mention Cora has already picked out the Cadillacs among washers and dryers. I don't know if she will get them, she is only married to a school teacher.

We also managed (by we, I mean me) to get our long lost channel back so we could watch Survivor. It was a good show. I ended up having to just put the antenna in the back of the TV rather than running it through the Dish receiver...which it is supposed to be able to do. Even after 30 minutes on the pone with a tech, I had gotten nowhere...figures. Oh, and it will be obsolete in less than two weeks...just my damned luck.

Wednesday Salad Day

So, I enjoyed the first day of three at the intermediate school. I spent some time with the sixth grade teachers, who continue to like me...weird. I also watched over a couple advanced classes. One was to do a report on Greek Gods. They were doing research on the internet. It turns out my main job was to prevent them from printing any untoward pictures...which, remarkably, is NOT AT ALL easy when one is given the subject of ancient Greek Gods...can anyone picture them with clothes on? Please!?! Well, apparently NO ONE draws them that way!

They were sixth graders. They were my sixth graders, so they were cool about it. Not one of them tried to get anything past me. They were supposed to ask me to look at what they were printing, and they did. One was having difficulty with the goddess Artemis. Apparently it is difficult to find her with any clothes on. Personally, I find it difficult to believe it possible to shoot a bow and arrow with bare boobs without taking off a nipple...honestly, I don't think it's possible. Think about it!

Another student wanted to change gods when she discovered how complicated it would be to draw Hestia's family tree. For those of you who are Americans a few years out of school, or anyone else who does not have a degree in Classical Greece, the family tree is somewhat convoluted. Hestia's grandmother was also her great grandmother, and her son fathered the Titans with her, from which came the bother and sister couple who fathered Hestia. The girl called me over to ask how the first thing could happen. I said, "In Greek Mythology, that happened all the time." She gave a look like it was difficult for her to fathom incest...a word I inadvertently introduced her to...and I left her puzzling over how to put this in her report. A few minutes later she asked me, sheepishly, if she could choose a different god. I laughed and told her she could and I didn't blame her.

After work, I went to town and bought salad goodies. I MEAN SALAD GOODIES!! I got Zuichini, Cukes, Tomatoes, Onions, Carrots, Green Onions, Celery, Red Cabbage, Green Leaf Lettuce, Spinach...and then I used peas, bacon, feta, and Chicken to add to it. Our dressing was a personal concoction involving an orange, balsmic vinegar, olive oil, a touch of wine, and some other secret ingredients. It was...acceptable...ok, it was just plain yummy! We haven't had Salad for awhile.

Ah, Winter...And a Blah Blog

So, today we had Snow again...

I am not sure I welcomed it as much as I did back in December. Oh, well..what did that Groundhog say?

I finished my book today. Several weeks ago, we were in the 3cities and I convinced Cora to let me buy a book. I bought a book about some of the experimental aircraft of WWII. Considering its technical make-up, I feel pleased that I finished it in that mount of time...also, I usually only devoted a small amount of time to it each day.

I herded cats today. They were a bouncy bunch of kinders...I survived, though, and THAT is the important thing! I also have jobs for the rest of the week, in fact, my week was filled on Sunday. and with the number of requests I got, I could hve filled it again! I am fairly popular, and yet, I don't understand it...Oh, well.

I got some Kitty Hwk stuff I bought on E-bay today. A patch and a souvenir coin, they should go well with my photos and my cruise book.

Hmm, intermediate kids tomorrow...

The Cat IS BACK! HURRAY!!!!!

So, this morning I got up and decided to shoo the dogs outside. I made coffee and walked over to my chair to pick up a glass and put it in the sink and out of the corner of my eye I saw something. It seemed to be black and white, it took a moment to register. I looked again and sure enough!! The CAT is BACK! Sully looks a bit dirty and bedraggled, but overall, he is healthy and seems happy! Oh, we took his cone off as soon as we got him back. That cone was a little beat up and dirty, though!

We feel so much better! HURRAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Born on February 7, 1951, he was a precocious kid. My grandmother had film of the before and after of him chasing the chickens and getting spanked for it. She showed that to her grandson with extreme glee.

He graduated from Sunnyside Senior High Shool in 1969. He went to YVCC. I recall a story he told about how he and several other malcontents took the college newspaper and changed the headline: "No Butt Flicking On Campus" (about cigarettes) into something much more...shall we say, x-rated. I also recall a trophy he won for being the fastest driver through town in legal way...although I suspect legal may have been a stretch...and I think some of the details may have slipped his mind...

In 1972, he was married. In 1974, he helped produce nothing less than a miracle: Me. About five years later he helped create someting a little less wonderful (at least to me at the time): my sister (love ya, sis!). Since then, he has worked, cooked, cleaned, and suffered through physical malodies like the best of them. Yet, he has remained steadfast and stubborn.

It is from him that I learned to appreciate ships with big guns. He stirred in me the interrest in aircraft. He made me slightly interested in trains, even (don't tell him). He is none other than my father.

Happy Birthday, Dad!! I hope it was a good one! I am sorry I did not get the chance to spend it with you, but I hope last weekend was a weak second. I don't call anyone else MY DAD.

Here is Cora and my dad on the hangar deck of the USS Kitty Hawk on the day of her decommissioning.

Here is how his grandkids see him...as we call himon occasion, Grandpa Camera-Face.

Without him, the world would be missing a very crucial thing...me!

Oh, yeah. And these would not be a part of the family, either...

Good Job Dad! Happy Birthday!

FFFF...Boats, Ships!!

Diana posted an FFFF with the theme of boats...boats, how do I love thee? Diana did this for me.

Thank you Diana! Here is the Turner Joy.

The sail of the USS Parche.

Probably the USS Vincennes between the Kitty Hawk and Contellation.

The Golden Bear and the USS Tripoli.

The sail of USS Mariano G. Vallejo.

This is the USS Pampanito.

The USS Hornet.

All of these are ships I have known. Thank you, Diana, for the chance to show off!

Cat Cruelty or Feline Frailty...

Let's have a moment of silence for Sully...he misplaced his coat (Yes, he's still live!).

As we all know, I had an accident with the kitty. Sully, our cat had bad mats. I accidentally cut him with scissors, which required an all too expensive batch of sutures and an overnight stay with the vet. I picked him up tonight...he looked pathetic...looks pathetic. He might be a little embarrased, too.

You see, they asked if we would like to have him "De-matted." (For a price, of course) I think they knew they had a guaranteed customer. I mean, what was I going to say? "Nah, I want to try it again with the scissors, I don't think I will cut him again...huh? Yeah, see you again tomorrow." Yeah, it was a no brainer. I expected he would look a little blotchy, but...naked? Hmmm....

Funny thing is they left his tail, his head, and both front legs untouched.

I feel horrible! I can't believe I did such a thing! He is spending his time in our bedroom. It's warmer and he isn't supposed to go out side. If he did go outside, he would surely freeze. Then where would I be? Frozen, sliced, stitched, hairless cat...isn't it bad enough he is nearly bald? At least he still purrs. I love that cat.

Sully, Scissored and a Swift School Day.

I worked an extra hard day today. I got up about 530AM to look for job. Shortly after that I got one. A Spanish teacher at the High School. Crud, I could not go back to sleep, since I would have to leave a little after Seven AM. So, I sat there and played Space Domination on Facebook. Finally, I went to take my shower and left for work.

I got there and got the class lists and went to the classroom. No plans. I knew there were some on line, so I tried to print them. No luck, since the computer only showed a paragraph. I called the secretary and she said she would print them and I could come get them. When I got there she asked me if I knew that I would not have a class until 3rd period. That was at 945. So, I hurried home to try beat Cora to scraping the ice off her car. I did and she left for work.

I then called for the cat. I had attempted to cut some mats off the cat last night. Unfortunately, he zigged as I zagged. He gave a half-hearted meow, and I felt something not quite right. I had cut into my precious kitty with the scissors. Cora has warned me for years, and, except for a couple small snips, I have chided her for being so wrong. Last night was horrible. There was no blood, but it was obviously more than a scratch. (more like a slash.)

I took the cat in this afternoon, for his shots and his scissor wound. The vet looked at that and said, "We want to give him some sutures and keep him over night." ARGH! That means money! Still, even though Sully has not complained, nor has he bled, I feel we need to take care of him before it gets infected. Cora thought so, too. So, off he went, to surgery. I will pick him up tomorrow and kiss a big wad of money I don't have good bye.

If you are unfamiliar with Sully, he is the most laid back cat I have ever seen. You can hold him in any position. You can give him a bath and all he does is complain verbally. I have picked him up by almost every limb(gently), including his tail, and all he does is wait to be petted.

I went to work at 945AM and arrived just in time. Then, after a LONGGGGGG day speaking poor Spanish, I packed my bag at 130PM and went home to round up the cat. Yes, that was an extremely short day. It is one of those rare things that I am sure all subs live for. Short day, full pay!

Apart from the cat debacle, it wasn't a bad day.

Score ONE Jim!

Admiral Timothy Keating delivered a rousing story at the decommissioning. I was most impressed with my first official admiral. Thennn......




Last year I bought a Cruise book on ebay. It's like a yearbook for a navy ship. It was from the USS Kitty Hawk's 1981 Westpac tour. I forgot about it until yesterday! I looked into it tonight. I thought, what if Admiral Keating was in there, tht would be cool...and look!! Viola!



I managed to win a few other Kitty Hawk things on ebay today, too. One was a challenge coin and another was a postal cover...a postal cover is an envelope that has a stamp cancelled by the ship's post office...well, this was supposed to be among the last ons cancelled by her post office. I am now waiting to obtain patch.

Here are pics of my cruisebook.

Cool, huh? Ebay normlly sells them for bout $200 each...I got mine for considerably less!

Here is Cora and me on our way back from Bremerton aboard the ferry...She is trying NOT to smile and NOT to look at the camera...isn't Cora cute?


In this one, I had assured her it would be complimentary...I think it worked.

Today, I subbed for a kinder class and had a student teacher do the work for me. All in all it was a good day! Then I tried to cut the mats out of the cat and nearly cut the cat off the mat...Still, there wasn't much blood, and I will take him to the vet, so, all is good, right?

Monday, My Day, and Pictures.

Today was a busy day. Well, I had to admire the photos I took during the weekend. Then I had to make sure that the space ship I fly on Facebook was still dominating my friends who also have ships (it was). Then I took a shower and got dressed and began working on the house. I cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, wiped out the shower, and did some laundry. The worst part of my day was separating the socks.

Socks have been collectng in a laundry basket. We have both dreaded matching the socks and so, each day, we take our socks and go about our business. So, today, I took an hour...well, it seemed like an hour...and matched all the socks I could. There is still an unbelievale number of single socks in the stupid basket!

I also went to the optometrist and picked up my accursed contacts. At least the insurance picks up some of it. I have been using something called Clear Care, which has Hydrogen Peroxide in it to do away with the protien build up that collects on the contacts. Because of that stuff, my contacts have been lastng MUCH longer than the three months the package calls for. Used to be, by the third month my eyes were ready for the new ones, but this new stuff keeps them feeling good.

I did not get a sub job today, either. That was disappointing. I don't have one for tomorrow yet, either...I may need to do as Cora has been telling me for a very long time...start looking for a...dare I utter the word? Job...Eugh! Yuck! I know, it sounds disgusting to me, too.

So, I made dinner. I made a wonderful steak and some peas and carrots. Fresh carrots, frozen peas, boiled together in a yummy pairing I have never tried outside of a can. Cora gave dinner two thumb up.

Look, here is a picture of Cora on her first Ferry Boat ride.

Apparently, that beautiful young lady had never been on a real ferry (I specify because I don't include the ferry she did once ride as a REAL ferry). My wife is beautiful, there is little doubt.

This is to prove that someone admits that they were my parent. This is my mother! Don't we look like family? Note the characteristic coffee cup.

A Wonderful Decommissioning, and Museum Ship, Too.

It was a wonderful day!!

You can see how pleased I was! Here, I am looking into the future of Carrier Technology and a time when Kitty will be called to action again!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed the day! It began early, and a good thing it did! We ended up getting there just in time. The ceremony was held on the Hangar deck. Cora was disappointed, as she was looking forward to seeing the 4.5 acres of sorvereign US territory, also called a flight deck. We did get run of the pier and I got some pictures of various other ships there at the Naval Yard. I will post those at my other site, since you readers might not want to see one hundred ship pictures. Should you want to, though, here it is. My parents came, too, and also enjoyed it. My Dad had purchased a very nice Kitty Hawk shirt for me on Thursday, too!

Next we visited the Bremerton Naval Museum. Which was a terrible disappointment! Years ago, it was a wonderful museum full of naval curiosities, from Admiral Dewey's couch to a 15 foot model of the USS Midway! There were mines and torpedoes aplenty. Today, it is run by the US Navy, and it is a piece of shit. There is plenty of room for good exhibits and they have some wonderful cobbles outside surrounding the sail of the USS Parche. They still have the ship's bell of the USS Washington and the USS Bremerton, but little else. It was a wild disappointment. Oh, and nothing mentioned WHY USS Parche was the most decorated submarine EVER! Nothing about secret missions and Cold War intrigue. Nothing. It turns out there is a treasure trove down stairs, but the Navy has only allowed a small amount of that treasure to be viewed by the public. I intend to write a letter to the Navy stating my disappointment that these treasures are not on view, furthering the education of another generation and interest in the navy.

We went to the USS Turner Joy next! THAT was worth the price of admission! Cora and I wer all over the ship and Cora even stood on the bow, declaring her royalty and eminence over the world. I think the exact quote was "I'm king of the world!"

It is a beautifully restored Destroyer! I highly recommend it!!

They had 55 lb projectiles all over the ship. I figured, if you could carry it off the ship it was yours, but Cora told me I could NOT have one... I think she is narrow minded and mean. As it turns out, they were not for you take home...darn it. Would have been perfect on the TV stand.

Shhhhhhhh, Cora could not figure out why I was having troube climbing ladders! No need to tell her of my little souvenir! (Just joking, I'd never do such a thing...although, if anyone has such a paper weight, I am VERY interested in buying![it's an educational item, really!])