It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Leaving for work this morning, I noticed our neighbors catacorner across the street (let's just say Mr. and Mrs. X) had a tree crew in their front yard. The crew was cutting limbs from the bottom of Mr. and Mrs. X's GORGEOUS magnolia tree. I just figured they were cutting some of the bottom limbs off because it was SO HUGE. Their magnolia was even more beautiful than this one...

which belongs to my other neighbor catacorner across the street (let's just call her Mrs. Y). The only reason I say more beautiful is because Mrs. Y's magnolia tree took a hit about 5 or 6 years back during an ice storm. A huge pine tree fell on a portion of it, and it has taken this long to heal.

So when I came home for lunch, the tree crew had cut off all of the limbs on the magnolia in Mr. and Mrs. X's front yard. The trunk was all that remained, standing naked about 30 feet in the air. I was heartbroken for them. Mrs. X was in the yard, so I stopped and rolled down my window to comiserate with her. I said it was just a shame to lose a tree that beautiful. She agreed. I asked her if it had a disease (her husband, Mr. X is a retired FORESTER...yes forester). She said no, it wasn't sick, they had just bought a new high definition television and the satellite company said that was the only place in the yard they could shoot a line to the southern sky to get satellite reception because there were too many pine trees in their backyard. WHAT???!!!! These people are in their 70s. What is wrong with this world? I'm reporting them to the DEQ or EPA or Greenpeace or the tree police or someone. I'm telling all the squirrels in the neighborhood to have babies in their chimney. I've told Norman, our lab to do his business in their yard. Now here are the after pictures when I came home from work.

Above is how tall and how big that tree was. Below is a close-up of Mr. and Mrs. X's magnolia firewood for this winter. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Wait, please notice my excellent mow job this weekend below. Do you think the blades on my riding lawnmower might need sharpening?

Pine needles have already started to fall so it is impossible to mow without leaving clumps of newly mown pinestraw everywhere.

I'm pretty pitiful at mowing, Clif is the preferred mower but he's busy at LSU this mowing season. I just leave the clumps right where they fall out of the mower. We're that family in the neighborhood that EVERYONE says, "Why don't they mow their yard?" or "That stupid dog of theirs chases every car in the neighborhood!" or "If they put any more vehicles on their property, they're going violate zoning laws." and so on....

I had a small accident while mowing this weekend. I got tangled in briars on the barbed wire fence at the back. I was hung up in the briars but the mower kept going until it hit a tree. The back wheels dug some rather large holes, the front wheels were half way up the pine tree and I was hanging off the back. The briars grabbed my legs and put stripes across my thighs and arms. I'm bleeding and stunned and all I can think to do is look around and make sure there were no witnesses doubled over with laughter. You just don't want proof positive that you're an idiot. I celebrated the imaginary incident by going in the house for a glass of iced tea.

Ruffinism for the day: "I have really never considered myself a TV star. I always thought I was a neighbor who just came for a visit." Fred Rogers

I Can Get Some Satisfaction

Some things are better said in one word. The word "yes" can mean a lot of things: affirmation, confirmation, acceptance, approval. However, in my case this week it means an expression of joy...

It can also mean a strong expression of pleasure or approval. Of course, this is what it means to me today. Thank you Mr. G, life is indeed good. I have been rewarded for hard work, for professionalism, for ability and skill, for insight, for "working and playing well with others", something that eluded me in the first and third grade of my life.

Mrs. Kelly was my first grade teacher at Andy Anderson Elementary School in Westbury, Houston, Texas, in 1960. She gave me an "F" in conduct because I could not shut up (incidental character flaw). It was devastating being kept after school, I cried buckets of tears at my desk. I remember swabbing the grained wood deck of my desk with my tears and nose emmissions. She had no sympathy, she told me my first six weeks conduct grade

would be an "F". I had no idea how to tell my mother. I had A's in everything, Arithmatic, Reading, Printing, and even Playing. My only consolation now about that unforgettable moment in my life is that I am no longer a motor mouth in my life, I truly do not gossip, mainly because I have no one to gossip with, and most likely Mrs. Kelly is dead. Life comes full circle.

Quiet weekend...Thursday is Jim's birthday. We are going to Carencro to buy the RV next Thursday. WILL DEFINITELY BE TAKING PICTURES THEN. 59 year old and 53 year old buy first RV after 10 years of tent camping and 10 years of pop-up camping. We've served our time. I'm ready for a bathroom at 3:00 o'clock in the morning closer than 500 yards. And a stand-up kitchen, where cooking in a vertical position is normal. And a flat screen TV with our satellite, a nice sound system, ROOM to move, a shower that you don't have to wait for, a bed with a heated platform so we can camp at Lake Catherine in Arkansas in the winter with sleet, or Devil's Den in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Mr. G and Joye are going up for pre-Republican convention in Minneapolis, MN soon. Hope they get to meet some hoo-ha's. I can depend on Mrs. Gamble for pictures. And now a commercial from our sponsors:

Ruffinism for the day: Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato

Lazy Day

It's finally raining today, after a month or so of NO rain. Makes you want to sit around and do nothing. This is soooo me, I like how he worked it out though.

Yellow School Bus

Coming home from work on Friday, I saw a school bus turn into the De Soto Parish Materials Center on the Oxford Road and I swear my first thought was, "Oh Lord, it's time for the crumb crunchers to go back to school." Mirth was replaced quickly by thoughts of book prices at LSU and scrambling to find money for those overpriced books for Clif this fall. Tuition has been (gulp) paid. But back to the school bus. I don't know how those kids take the heat in those buses without air conditioning. Sticky vinyl seats, hot air from all the windows down, body sweat, packed like sardines.


I had to ride the bus when I was in junior high school and hated it. I was a middle of the bus person. The geeks sat in front, the "bad" people sat in back and smoked. I waited until high school to ruin my lungs, thank goodness.

Riley Ritten was my nemesis all through junior high. He threw spit wads at me on the bus. Not spit balls mind you, but one-quarter notebook paper spit wads that usually stuck to my hair or back. He even got my cheek a couple of times. Riley was the kid for whom they invented Ritalin many years too late. He swung from windows, stood on seats, opened the backdoor a few times and jumped out, started fights and constantly tripped people. Once he crouched down behind one of the front seats and got me. I did a face plant, complete with bloody nose. That's when all the kids would laugh and make you feel like a total boob. However, once I got up, I kicked that kid so hard in the leg he sat down and shut up for the whole ride home. Boy, childhood was fun.

Maybe I'm glad those buses start rolling the end of this week....for all the Riley Ritten's in the world.

Ruffinism for the day: “The person whose problems are all behind them is probably a school bus driver”

First Day Back From Vacation

This says it all, it was a nightmare.

Scorching Heat

Although we have enjoyed this vacation very much, one of the things I could do without is the 100 degree+ weather we are enduring. This weekend it topped 105 degrees with a heat index of 110. I was hoping we would get some rain from Edourd but it drifted West away from us.

Today, Jim and I went to Shreveport to buy a washing machine and it was so hot, I almost spontaneously combusted from the truck to the entrance of Sears. This is some serious weather folks. Norman was even ready to hang out in the house after his vet visit today (blood test for heart worms, flea treatment, BATH!, and general loving from De Soto Vet in Grand Cane. D doggity is loved very much.)

D doggity is planted next to his favorit feet, the feet that pedal the bike that give him the exercise, that makes him bark nonstop while running alongside the bike being pedaled by the feet that D doggity is planted next to.

Ruffinism for the day: “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.”-Drew Carey

Wildest Dreams

"You've reached the Law Office of JRGJR, the office is on vacation from Thursday, July 31, 2008 to Tuesday, August 5, 2008. Please call back on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 or leave your message after the tone."Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! one whole week!
It's Saturday night and not one second has been wasted. Friday, Jim and I went to Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Longview to seek more fifth wheels rv. Piles and piles of brochures, salesman's cards, specs, sales sheets, pricing sheets, everything you could ever want to know about lightweight fifth wheel (half-ton towable). Jim sat me down at the table this morning to "review" (hours) our selected choices. Actually, the coon ass salesman from Carencro is in the lead. He has the best price, the classiest, upscale model and he calls me sweetheart like only a coon ass can do. David Morrow, go see him and buy an rv from him at Primeaux RV.
This morning, we went grocery shopping and we are going to buy a washing machine tomorrow. Please refer to this post, when I swore I would get rid of the Admiral and didn't (I'm such a liar, I confess). Kenmore, here we finally come.

I leave you with a great energy saver...much better than drilling offshore or nuclear power or drilling in Anwar...this is the answer to life in general. Powerful!



Is this person for real?

Ruffinism for the day: "I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is!"- L. Ron Hubbard