Sport du Jour

Baseball has given way to football. Both Owen and Levi are playing full contact ball. Owen plays in the 10-and-unders and Levi is in the 8-and- unders. Saturday was their jamboree. Even though they play in separate towns, the jamboree included several area rec teams.

The games Saturday were shortened to one 2o-minute half per game. We sat thru five games. I get a little uptight. It just so happened that both boys were shaken up a little. Levi really scared me; he was hit a little high and his head snapped back. I had visions of whiplash.

We haven’t had games to attend since the latter part of July so I am a little out of practice for preparation. I forgot to put on sunscreen Saturday until after we got to the field. I found some in the trunk of the car, but missed putting in on my neck. I’ve got a dilly of a burn.

Levi had a real game Monday evening. The field was marshy and the bugs were swarming. Luckily I had the battery operated fans in the car to blow them away. I couldn’t do much about the mud. The weather was nice though.

Last night Owen had a game. Our weather decided to heat up. Finally in the fourth quarter it cooled off a bit. At least the field was dry and I remembered to the bug repellant.

I’m getting back into the “fan” routine. . .chairs, sunscreen, insect repellant, fans, hats, water, etc., etc. Now if the weather co-operates, I’ll be in full fan mode.

Oh, yeah. Noah’s travel baseball team starts again soon, and it probably won’t be long until Bella begins volleyball.  Cole is the only one not playing. He’s busy getting into the college routine.

A Real Stinkaroo

A few years ago, Mr. Fixit constructed a barrier to limit our outdoor cats to the dining room and kitchen areas. It’s not pretty, but it can be easily taken down when need be. It doesn’t reach the top of the doorway. It worked out quite well.

A few nights ago, I made the white cat stay indoors overnight because it was raining, and when he gets wet or cold, he develops a cough. As I lay reading in bed, I heard him bumping the barrier. The noise stopped after a few minutes. Then I heard him meow; it sounded close. I walked out of the bedroom and he was sitting there looking quite pleased with himself. He discovered the secret of sliding the barrier aside.

Last night he wanted to stay inside again, but I put him out because I didn’t want him invading the rest of the house with his fleas. I was afraid to block the barrier with a chair because I figured he would climb on the chair and go over the barrier.

This morning he was waiting, as usual, for me to open the door so they could have breakfast. Both of them came in at the same time. Whew! SKUNK! I couldn’t tell which of them was the stinker. They were both eating from the same dish so it looked as if the smell wasn’t affecting the one who hadn’t been sprayed. The white one left after eating; Mother stayed behind. I could tell she wasn’t smelly one.

He stayed outside until it was time for dinner (His since of time is remarkable. He always show up at 6:00 pm). When I opened the door, he came in and I thought the smell has disappeared. Then it hit me! It was worse than it was this morning.

After he ate and left, I turned on the vent fan over the stove and opened the windows in the dining room with a fan positioned to blow toward it. Then I found the Febreeze. I’m not a big fan of those room deodorizers so I seldom use it. I was surprised at how well it worked. We were able to eat in the kitchen after about an hour. That Febreeze worked a small miracle without leaving it’s own cloying odor.

I wonder how long it takes for the smell to leave the cat. It’s not as if I can bathe him; he’s too wild for that. I hear thunder off in the distance. Maybe it will help dilute the stench. I can only hope.

I could try spraying him Febreeze, I suppose.

Our College Freshman

Cole checked into his dorm yesterday. I’m so proud of him. He’s such a good young man. I know it’s not all fun and games, and I also know that he will do the best he can. Classes start August 21. I wish him the best.

Miscellaneous Photos

These are pictures taken from our deck during recent recent “flood.”

This is a newly retouched water tower in downtown Pickens, SC. I think the motto reads, “Where the mountains begin.” It looks like this one goes back a few years.

This picture was taken riding north on I85 in Georgia at about 70 miles an hour. This motto always seems a little threatening to me. I have visions of a horse’s head and an offer that can’t be refused.

As usual, click on each photo to enlarge.

Time–Where Has It Gone?

Cole’s 18th birthday was Sunday. He starts college next week.

Our other two grandsons aren’t far behind. I saw a sign of leaving little boyhood behind. The décor in their bathroom has changed from a SpongeBob motif to a color co-ordinated, grey and dark red, masculine adult bathroom.

Oh, my!

I’m happy that Levi still has time as a little guy. I hope he enjoys it.

Mr. Fixit’s Economic Theory

A few days ago Mr. Fixit saw a gasoline station advertising gas for $2.99.9 per gallon. We had the car filled up a few days before when the going price was $3.19.9 a gallon. He said when he needed gas again he was going to come to the station with the cheaper price. That station was in a town about 25 miles away from our house.

Today he decided it was time for a fill-up. Off we go on the 25 mile trip. The price was still $2.99.9.

He said, “ Okay, I bought 13 gallons of gas; that means I saved $2.60.”

I said, “But you used $3.00 in gas getting here.”

He said, “Yeah, I know but it makes me feel good to know I saved $2.60.”

That man really knows a bargain when he “feels” it.

Catching Up (Again)

I can’t seem to get into blogger mode to post with any regularity. I know what the problem is, and it is a goofy one. I feel weird sitting here writing when Mr. Fixit is around. I feel like I should be doing something constructive. He has never said a word about my blogging. Well, he does get a bit upset when I get snarky and catty. It could be that he doesn’t agree with my opinions maybe, but that has nothing to do with my feeling guilty about writing. And I have cut back on my snarkiness and cattiness. In fact, I spend an inordinate amount of time playing games, looking at cute cats, and living vicariously through other bloggers’ lives. I don’t feel guilty then. I don’t understand why blogging seems to be a problem for me lately.

Oh, well. Now that I’m here.

Mr. Fixit came back from his vacation after a week. Right after he came back, he had another nice event happen. Every year the Big League World Series is held in Easley, SC. It comes under the umbrella organization of Little League, but the participants are 15 to 18 years of age. It bring teams from the US and several foreign countries to compete. It is broadcast on ESPN. The interpreter for the team from Mexico couldn’t stay for the whole tournament, and the team was left with no language help. A host family for them knows Mr. Fixit and asked him to act as interpreter. He had a team shirt and hat and was included in the team photograph. He enjoyed it. Incidentally, the team from his home in Venezuela also participated so he saw them play.

Our sons tiled the bathroom floor recently. I love it! It looks so much better. And on these hot summer days, it’s nice to kick your shoes off and walk around on the cold ceramic tile. I probably won’t like it as much in the winter.

Since he has been back, we seem to be continuing with household problems. The sink in the kitchen was leaking again. I think the disposal vibrates something loose every now and then. Plumbing is NOT one of Mr. Fixit’s areas of expertise. He swears and grumbles quite a bit while his head is under the sink. At least he swears mostly in Spanish. It only took about a week to find a solution.
The television has also been a problem. He bought indoor antennas so we can get some local channels. They were the cause of a bit more swearing and grumbling. For a while, he was able to watch several channels; my tv picked up ZIP! I was so envious! After buying and returning several antennas, he finally found one for me that that gets the PBS, CBS, and NBC stations. Last night I was looking forward to Masterpiece Mystery, but I think the current series was ended last week on our local station. I was p.o.ed!

The rain keeps coming! The lake levels are higher that I have seen them in the 30+ years we’ve lived here. It’s nice! I wish we could get out and explore the way did before. It is go pretty and green now. I haven’t taken pictures in ages.

Now, to do something constructive. . .

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Note:

I've been doing constructive things: (1) Checked out the LOL cats and dogs (2) Played a couple of boards of Word Scramble (and made the hourly top 20 board; I was probably the only one playing) (3)Went to Wal-Mart and poked around while Mr. Fixit bought a garden hose (4) checked Amazon for a cell phone headset to replace one I lost (Hey, that's a subject for my next post--losing things)