Home Again Finnigan

My grandmother said it, my mother said it, and I still say it. I think it's so ingrained in me I don't even realize I say it. Whenever we return home it just spills right out of my mouth.

"On again. Off again. Home again, Finnigan."

When I came across this in the cartoon section of the newspaper many years ago I had to cut it out. I ran across it the other day and thought I'd share. It still makes me laugh.

Maybe I'm related to Charlie Brown!

A Response For Toohey

Because I found your comments rude and out of line I decided to answer your questions but only as they pertain to me.

Q. Does your family have a problem with black people?

A. Absolutely not.

Q. Do you have black friends and neighbors or do y'all live in gated, white-only communities?

A. Yes I have many black friends. My community is a mix of all races, is not gated and I am not going to run across the street and take a picture of my neighbor Shameika to post to my blog just to pacify you.

Q. The abject absence of black people in our lives.

A. There is no absence of black people in my life and never has been. Nor is there an absence of Asian, Hispanic, Muslin, gay, etc.

What you see on my blog (and I really don't write that much) is a microscopic piece of me. I am not sure how you came to your conclusions with so little information or why. Have you ever asked yourself why you are so focused on this issue? Also, why do you continue to read our blogs if this is a problem for you?

Am I prejudiced? Yes, I'm prejudiced of mean people. I'm prejudiced of people who hurt people, children or animals physically or with words. I'm prejudiced of people who judge people because of their race, creed or color or just not having all the facts about who they are.

As far as Kelly goes: I see her blog as focused on her family, friends and God. She has the biggest heart and shares her day to day events and beliefs with all people. No colors are exempted, you just didn't look close enough. Maybe your own prejudices are getting in the way.

I could have ignored this as nonsense but I'm not one to let things go. Yes I am a compassionate person. It has to do with how I was raised, the many places I have lived, the experiences I have had and the many wonderful friends (all colors) I made along the way. You may or may not see pictures of them on my blog. It all depends on what I choose to write about. I'm not doing this for your or anyone else's entertainment. It's for mine.

So...

Why don't you tell us about yourself?

Do you have a blog?

I'd love to see the pictures.

Cold Weather in Texas

The cold weather hit Texas early Thursday morning with 30 mile an hour winds, teen digits and a thin layer of ice. I envy those of you who got snow. Ice is scary to drive on. I went on in to work and saw three accidents where cars obviously going to fast, hit ice and landed on the medium with there front ends smashed into poles.

Friday morning we woke up to find our master bath sink pipes frozen. They are on a wall that faces north and it was 6 degrees outside. We knew we should let the faucets drip the night before and just didn't do it. We turned on the bathtub faucet and it worked so we just let it keep dripping. We put space heaters under the sinks trying to get them to thaw and were praying the pipes had not burst.

Saturday morning the cold water pipe to my kitchen island sink was frozen. Fortunately the sun came out and temps got above freezing. All pipes thawed and we thought we had made it without any breakage.

As I was leaving for the store I went to inspect the north wall. There was ice in all the bottom crevices and water marks all along the foundation. Panic city hit. Tom turned the water off to the house and called for help. He was absolutely beside himself with visions of brick being torn out to find the broken pipe(s). We were lucky enough to get a plumber out because Dallas is inundated with broken pipes everywhere.

The really good news is no pipes were broken. The faucet fixture to the bathtub was leaking and had been that way since we moved in. We have only used the bathtub once on the first day we moved in. Rosie had lost it from both ends in her pet carrier (thought she was going to the vet) and I had to give her a bath. Lovely way to use your tub for the first time. The tub faucet had been on since the day before, so it had been leaking underneath all this time.

Now it looks like this.

He had to pull the panel from the front and it broke. He was able to cap off the water so we could have water to the house until they can fix it on Monday.

We are supposed to get back into the teens tonight but the rest of the week we warm back up into the 50's. Until then it's snuggy time.

Stay Warm!

Why My Christmas Cards Are Running Late.

Trying to get a photo to put on a Christmas card this year was not easy for many reasons:

• I put it off too long.
• I've never tried to use my self timer before.
• I misjudged how long it would take to get them back from the drugstore.
• And.........

Finding the right spot to do it.

Checking the distance, settings, etc. with a helper.

Making sure I had time to get in the picture.

Making sure mom would show up sitting in the chair.

Not mom - another helper.

All in but ........

Someone likes to make faces.

Let's put the cats in the picture!

Bad idea.

Charlie wants to jump on mom and Jackson finds it way to funny.

Would you believe the first one I took is the one we're using! Another lesson learned.

Fall Into Christmas

I am in the midst of switching from "Fall" to "Christmas" decorations. I put very few fall items up, just enough to feel the season. I just love this ceramic pumpkin I picked up at Hobby Lobby at one of their 50 percent off sales. You Hobby Lobby shoppers know what I mean.

When the kids were little I used to decorate every room and corner in the house. It was overkill of red, green, tinsel and garland. As the years went by I cut back and went from 10+ boxes to 2 big green bins and a tree in a box that fit nicely in the garage and not up in the attic.

This year I'm just lightly skimming the surface with decorations.

I'm still trying to put things in place from our move here uh . . . 2 months ago! And NOPE, we do not have room for a car in the garage yet. (And Yes, I know that "and" does not belong at the beginning of a sentence. It's just how I talk.) I hope to get a little cooperation from the family decorating the tree today. They have been "cutting back" over the years on that job too. We'll see how it goes.

I've been very lax in posting lately. There has just been so much to do. I plan on getting back into the swing soon and have a major itch to redo my blog layout. Our computer did not make the move very well. The USB ports have pooped out, the DVD drive can't read and it doesn't recognized my camera or scanner. It makes it more of a job to post pics with pooped out ports! Ha!

Tom and I hit Fry's yesterday and picked up the "very last" computer on sale for $299. It was a fantastic deal. So this week I am transferring my pictures and documents via email to mom's computer for safe keeping. (It doesn't recognize the flash drive either.) We will then switch out computers and be back in business.

Have I said pooped out ports = pain in the popo?


Have a wonderful day!

Love, Miss Potty Mouth.

From A Tiny Little Acorn

We lived in our home for 26 years and it really was not difficult for me to walk away from it. It needed so much work and it just never has been the safe haven it was after our intruder, stalker, or creepy guy as I call him violated it. I told Tom the memories of our years there are in my heart and head and they go wherever I go. Besides the echoes of little feet pitter pattering through the old house are loud and clear in the new one! They are still with us while working on college degrees. It's a new phase in our lives and we are beginning new memories here.

The only thing it hurt to leave.

We planted a tree.

A Beautiful Red Oak.

A little over 20 years ago our son Scott, was stillborn. That memory is as clear today as the day it was made. Planting a tree in his honor and watching it grow seemed like the right thing to do. Seeing it out my kitchen window everyday was comforting. I never thought about how I would feel if we ever moved, until we did.

I couldn't bring the tree but I could bring these that I gathered from under its branches.

I thought about trying to plant them but decided I would rather see them.

20 little acorns

And - out our window - a new Red Oak to nurture and watch grow.


"From little acorns mighty oaks do grow"

Old and New brought together.

Halloween 2009

It was the perfect night for Halloween, clear, almost a full moon and a chill in the air. Being new in the neighborhood I had no idea how many kids would show up. I prepared for many. I always buy candy we like and it was a good thing I did that this year because WE ONLY HAD 5 "TRICK OR TREATERS"!

I set a table up outside and brought out my favorite Halloween buds to help. I even put my devil horns on. We are at the end of the block and right now there are many empty lots and empty houses before you get to us. They just didn't make their way down this far.

So now I have lots of candy but I don't think we will have any trouble getting rid of it. This guy has quite a sweet tooth. Maybe that's why he looks so happy!

Hope your Halloween was fun!