The Great Blimp Chase

We were out yesterday morning and saw a blimp over Clemson. The chase was on. I wanted a picture. Taking pictures with a digital camera and driving is not easy. I couldn't see the display to frame the shot because the sun was actually shining for the first time in days, and I forgot to use the "zoom." Mr. Fixit didn't have much better luck even though he wasn't driving. This is the best shot of the lot, and you will have to click on it to enlarge to see what little there is to see.



I don't know why the Goodyear Blimp was flying over Clemson unless it had something to do with an upcoming football game. The leaves look pretty even if the blimp is difficult to see.

Mr. Microsoft Strikes Out!

This is applicable to the last few days in the Fixit household. Has anyone heard the sighs of frustration and raised voices emanating from this part of the country? If you haven't, it because you haven't been listening.

Mr. Fixit bought himself a new computer (tower only), and we have been trying to get the @#$#%^& thing set up. Everyone complained about Vista, well, let me tell you--Windows 7 is crap! More to come on that subject when my blood pressure goes down.

Adventures in Dentistry - A Rerun

Today I had an appointment with the dentist to get a filling. While I was lying in the chair with my eyes closed, I smelled a smell that reminded me of an exchange between my late, younger brother and me. Even with the run-on sentences, it makes me laugh. Thinking about it eased the discomfort and reminded me of his quick, macabre wit which I miss terribly.

From: Lucy
To: Kevin

I went to the dentist again today. He did more impressions for my new partials. He had a tool like a Drimmel with which he cut notches in some of my teeth to hold the new partials in place.
I usually close my eyes so that I don't see what he is doing, but once I opened my eyes, and there was smoke rising from my mouth! Thank goodness, they had a fine spray of water going at the same time or my remaining teeth could have gone up in flame. It smelled like bacon that has been burned in the microwave oven.

From: Kevin
To: Lucy

Yes, you are VERY lucky that the water mist was working, and you're right about the bacon smell. During my last extraction (we old hands at this, refer to teeth pulling by the technical name, extraction), the dental micro-hydrator (more technical terminology) in the next cubicle became plugged with enamel debris, and a little old woman's mouth burst into flame. Needless to say, the dentist and hygenist were shocked into stunned inaction. All they could do was watch in horror. The little old lady, with teeth and tongue ablaze, jumped up from the chair and ran down the hall past the entrance to my cubicle. It was quite a sight. Bright yellow flames licking at the old dear's blue-toned coif. Her screams still haunt my slumber. As I am on the safety committee at work, I had noted the placement and type of fire extinguishers in the building. Knowing that there was a Type ABC extinguisher located on the wall at the end of the hall for which she was headed, I ripped my bib off and ran after her. I knew that the flames would obscure her vision and chances were that she would run into the wall, bounce back a few feet, and probably fall to the floor in a blazing heap. I made my way through the smoke filled corridor, and as I predicted, I found her in the floor right in front of the extinguisher. My safety training took over at this point, and I grabbed the extinguisher and used the fire safety acronym, P.A.S.S. Pull the pin, Aim the nozzle toward the fire, Squeeze the trigger, Sweep the area of the fire. Just as I got the fire out, the stunned dentist arrived and began resuscitation. She was transferred to the burn unit at the University of Louisville where she underwent many painful skin graft procedures to her cheeks, lips, and the tip of her nose. There wasn't much they could for her tongue though. She was left with a stump. The poor thing will never again know the joy of a Basking-Robbins double scoop rocky-road waffle cone. As for me, my stomach still lurches at the smell of certain microwaved pork products.

I thought I told you about that. Didn't I tell you about that?

Misc Photos

These are a few of the pictures I downloaded from my camera that were taken during the last week or so.


The Halloween candy makers have outdone themselves this year when it comes to making really yucky stuff. Aside from the dismembered foot shown above, they also had some edible "Bat Droppings."


A South Carolina sunset. The colors are a little off. The yellowish clouds were actually neon pink. Georgous!


Levi warming up with Cole's team before an early morning game in this weekend's tournament.


Levi found a special seat in the baseball bucket in the dugout to watch the game.


Cole (in the catcher's gear) after receiving his trophy. His team won the tournament.

(Click on each photo for more detail.)

Woe Is Me!

There are few things that are more frustrating to me than my computers. Having problems with them changes me into someone I wouldn’t want to be around. I found something yesterday that affected me in the same way.

Some time ago the children gave me a Verizon gift certificate for a new phone because I complained about my cute pink Razr so much. I hated that phone! I decided to hang on to the gift card until our two year contract was up so Mr. Fixit and I could both get new phones if we renewed our contract and they gave us a deal on new phones. I held that card for a year and a half.

Yesterday we shopped for new phones. All I wanted was a phone with a larger keypad and Bluetooth technology. Are all phones Bluetooth now? I don’t know. We don’t need texting, to get on line, to play games, or watch tv on our phones. We just want phones to make phone calls.

After finding ones that we wanted, I came home and took the instruction book out of the box. In the scan below, the top manual is the one for the Razr. It has 100 English language pages. It answers almost any question relative to the use of the phone. It’s all beaten up because I carry it with me at all times. The one little manual is for the new phone. It is half the width of the old one and has 79 English language pages. It had very little information in it to help me set up the phone properly for my use. I haven’t been able to set up the voice mail; I have to take it back to the store and ask for their assistance.



The Bluetooth wireless headset is junk. It has no indicators that I can find to show if it is on or off or if the battery needs to be charged. I couldn’t get it to work at all. The only instruction with this item told how to synchronize it with the phone. The young woman at the phone store did that for us.

I know that I am not technologically gifted, but we have had wireless phones for a long time. Our first one was a big “bag” phone. We usually change phones every two years or so when their expensive rechargeable batteries become useless. I have never been unable to set up my voice mail or to use my headsets. I went on line for assistance and looking for a more detailed manual and couldn’t find one to help me. I am so p.o.ed!!!

And now there is a double whammy. I can’t figure out how to share files on the old computer with my new computer. The printer is shared; apparently the flatbed scanner cannot be shared. I can’t even figure out how to share folders. I tried for two and a half hours to figure it out. I’m using the old computer to post this because I can’t find the scan of the manuals on the new computer.

To add insult to injury—while I was proof-reading, my cat who has taken complete leave of her senses in the last few weeks lay down on the mouse and half of my post disappeared. I had to rewrite it.

All in all, with broken arms, new phones, lack of knowledge, and a CRAZY cat, it hasn’t been such a good weekend. There are only a few hours of the weekend left; I wonder what will happen next.

Third Time Is NOT the Charm!

For the third time in Noah’s young life (he’s 9 yrs.old), he has broken his arm. The first time was at daycare where he fell off the monkey bars (left arm). The second time was two years ago when he fell off the monkey bars while he was at the after-school care program at school (right arm). Yesterday he was playing at recess and fell (left arm). I might also mention that Owen, his younger brother, also broke his arm at daycare.

The first two times the caregivers simply called Jason and he picked him up and took him to the hospital. Yesterday an ambulance was called and the principal rode with him to the hospital while Alisa and Jason (Mom & Dad) were en route.

He is such a little trooper. The nurse said, “On a scale from one to ten with one being a paper cut and ten being the worst pain you have ever felt, what number would say describes how much you hurt?” After he thought about it for a few seconds, he said, “Nine and three quarters.” I guess he remembered how much his arms had hurt when previously broken. He had also already been given morphine by the EMT's and that accounts for the missing quarter.

The way the community reacted was unbelievable! Of course, the news spread throughout the school with the speed of light. Jason and Alisa are very nice, sociable people who have lot of friends and have many acquaintances. Owen had a baseball game last night and Noah’s Recreation League team also had a game at the same time. After his arm was put in a temporary splint (the hard cast will be put on in a few days), he wanted to come to the park to watch his team play. He was so upset because he thought he was letting his team down. That’s the kind of kid he is. He was still glassy-eyed from the pain killers he had been given when they arrived. I would say that more than half the people in the park came over to see how he was and to wish him well.

Jason just called and said he was doing okay this morning. Noah’s traveling team has a tournament this weekend, and he wants to go watch them play this afternoon.

Jason said that if he had to break his arm three times, he was glad it happened when he was with people other than family. If not, he and/or Alisa could have probably been reported for child abuse.

When at the hospital, they asked the doctor if there is a physical reason why he seems to break bones as often as he has. The doctor had he couldn’t see anything that would cause it. Maybe when he goes to the orthopedist he will check him out just to be sure.

Jason has put the orthopedist on speed dial.

It Must Be in the Genes

When Mr. Fixit had his hearing aids “installed,” I sent our sons, Ben and Jason, an email telling them about Mr. Fixit’s reaction. I mentioned that he hadn’t said “Huh?” once. Ben’s answering message said, “Huh?” That's all, just "Huh?"

He also signed me up to receive Dog the Bounty Hunter’s news letter by email. I threatened to enroll him and Jason in Barry Manilow’s fan club. (I haven’t received anything from Dog except the acknowledgement of my inclusion on his list. Thank Goodness!)

Today when I explained why I think the insurance company is going to deny my claim for the damages to my car, he sent me an email with the link to Judge Judy to submit my case for her consideration. There was no further message.

His sense of humor is as dry as the Sahara. I wonder where both my boys get it. I couldn’t be from. . . Nah!