What I Read in November

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust.

This is a must read for history buffs or anyone wanting to understand how one man turned entire countries against the Jewish people. I guess the simple answer to that is....he didn't. He already knew how most of the German people felt and just gave them a pardon for acting on how they already felt. They could lay all they own faults onto someone else. The Germans could take Jewish businesses, houses, and anything that was in either of these places with no penalty of being punished whatsoever. There was one catch though..but I will let you read about that yourself.

This could have easily happened in our country during this same error.

Did the Germans know about the death camps? Most of them did know that Jews were sent to prison or labor camps for the smallest infraction although I don't know if they knew they were death camps until much later in the war.  But I also think they really didn't care one way or the other as long as they were getting what they wanted and were able to live in a lifestyle much better than what they had before Hitler took over the country. The Nazi's cut off most of the communication between Jews in the early days of the Nazi regime, so it was not unusual to not talk to a member of your family for years. At first most of the camps were just prisons for free labor. It wasn't until closer to the end of the war that they turned primarily into death camps. By the time Americans joined the war these labor camps were death camps. You could be sent to prison for anything. Walking on the wrong street, being outside at the wrong house, etc. Once in prison they would sentence you to a few weeks of hard labor. Only those few weeks would turn into years, but you did get back home eventually in the early years of the war. Because of this and because the communication was so bad the Jewish people didn't realize when they didn't hear back from a loved one that they might have been killed.

This story is about one woman's ordeal growing up in Austia during the Nazi regime. What she did just to survive shows what we can do and live through if we have to just to survive. Edith was raised in what would be considered in this era as a middle class family. Her father was a waiter and her mother was basically a stay at home mom/seamtress. Now I know what you are thinking. How could they be middle class if her father was a waiter and her mom didn't work. As explained by Edith herself, back then you had to train years to be a waiter. Kinda weird to think your waiter at your favorite diner trained for years, but you have to keep in mind he was a waiter for a very high end restaurant. He had to anticipate what his customers would want before they wanted it and remember everthing his regulars wanted without them even asking. Sounds like a very stressful job to me.

Edith was arrested and sent to prison for 6 weeks just because she was chosen out of a line. She didn't do anything wrong. She just looked strong enough to do the work they had in mind. That 6 weeks turned into 14 months. She was cold, hungry, and exhausted most of that 14 months. They did get some mail during the early days of the Nazi regime but their food was rationed to such an extreme that a lot of them were hungry most of the time. Without the help of some of her German friends she wouldn't have survived. Not all Germans were Nazi's or believed in their cause.

I won't tell you too much but as you can tell by the title Edith did survive the Nazi regime. Edith inspired me to really appreciate everything I have, but most importantly to pay attention to everyone in politics. Whether I think they are crazy or not. Hitler was thought to be crazy by the intellectual community. That no one in their right mind would believe him much less follow him. The Jewish people had time to get out of the country but they honestly thought that this "insanity" would blow over.

I hope you read about Edith's life and find out for yourself what and how people are capable of surviving. And what people are capable of doing to other people.

P.S. The book I read had pictures of her and her family. That made it a little more real for me. To actually see the pictures of the people she talks about in her book.   

Happy Birthday Grandma Fulton

Today would have been my grandmother's 92nd birthday. My grandfather adored her until the day he died. Their love could be seen by anyone who spent 5 minutes with them. They always had a hug and kiss ready for one of their many grandchildren. She was a wonderful grandmother and she always had something to sweet to eat.

I would always catch the bus at her house. She was usually up cooking breakfast for my grandfather by the time I would get there. I could always grab a biscuit and sausage while waiting on the bus. Grandma was an old fashion housewife. She cooked 3 meals a day, hung her wash on a clothes line, and we always had Sunday lunch as a family. I miss those Sunday lunches.

Every year grandpa planted a garden. I'm not talking about a little garden that he could pittle in. Grandpa's gardens were acres and acres. He plowed it with a mule named Jack. Grandpa and Jack had a very special bond. Jack died not long after our grandfather passed away. Grandma said he died of grief.

I've shelled peas until my thumbs ached and turned purple, silked corn, snapped beans, and picked berries. I couldn't harvest the garden, not that I really wanted to, because of my allergies. I was happy shelling, snapping, and silking in the comfort of grandma's living room. Then came the canning. We canned everything that could be canned, even made catchup one year. At the time I didn't appreciate what we had. What I wouldn't give to go back there now.

I had a wonderful grandmother to show me how to love and care for my own grandchildren one day. If I'm only half as good as she was, then I will be a terrific grandmother for my grandchildren.  I wished my own children could have known her longer. She died when Paige was 5 and Brittany was 3.

Happy birthday Grandma!!

45 and Falling Apart...

A couple of weeks ago I went for my yearly check-up. My blood pressure was up again. I had this happened a couple of years ago but I lost about 35 pounds and got it under control. Although I've gained a little of the weight back, somewhere between 3-5 pounds on any given day, I've managed to keep it off for a couple of years. The doctor decided to put me on a low dose of blood pressure medicine. I now take my blood pressure twice a day. It's getting a little better but very slowly. You may say that isn't so bad but I'm on lots of other medicines too. While I was at the doctor's office they wanted to take a few vials of my blood because I'm also on cholesterol medicine too. My cholesterol is up a little bit. I found out years ago that my body produces it. Aren't I lucky. No matter what I eat I will always have it.

While I was there for my blood pressure I told my doctor that I needed to be tested for an aortic aneurysm. This condition runs in my family on my father's side. She set me up for an echo and CT scan. During my exam at her office she noticed a heart murmur. No one had ever mentioned that I may have a heart murmur, including her. I guess she didn't want to scare me but I like to know what is going on with me. While the tech was doing the echo she found a leaky heart valve. She told me it wasn't very bad and that I probably wouldn't even have to have routine check ups for it. Just something that is noted in my chart so that whenever I went in for something else they would know to check it. If it gets worse then I will have to have it surgically repaired.

I should get my results back for the aortic aneurysm by the end of the week. If I do have it, then I will probably have to have surgery as soon as possible. Growing old is FUN, FUN, FUN!!

UPDATE: Just heard back from my doctor. The CT came by normal . I DO NOT HAVE AN AORTIC ANEURYSM!!!!

Watch Out Japan, Here Comes Elizabeth

Today's post is about a good friend of our youngest daughter Brittany. She and Elizabeth met at art class when they were both still in elementary school. They became fast friends even though they went to 2 different schools. Whenever one of them needed the other, the other one was always there.

Brittany and Elizabeth were into Japanese comic books at a very young age. Elizabeth is still fatuated with Japan. So much so that when she was a junior in college she went to study Japanese culture for a year. Her dream job is to teach Fortune 500 companies Japanese culture so they do not accidentally insult the people they are trying to do business with. Step one of this process is living in Japan for another year and teaching English. She can stay up to 5 years teaching English. During this time she hopes to learn to speak the language better and learn more of their culture. She will be living in a rural village and teaching at many different schools.


Good luck Elizabeth and safe journey!!!

    

It's All a Matter of Perspective

I realize Allen and I haven't written in a while but we just haven't wanted to get on the computer lately. We have lots of things going on and I hope to post more in the coming weeks.

My preacher writes a short column for us to ponder every week called Words of Grace. Last week's piece really got me to thinking and I wanted to share it with you.

What's On Your Mind

by Wayne Evans

My friend was waiting in line to order a sandwich at Subway. The man in front of him got angry when the clerk told him they had run out of the Soup of the Day. Things were eerily silent. Then John offered aloud, "My God gives me more blessings than I can ever imagine."

The angry man turned around and looked at John in amazement. John didn't know if the man was going to slug him for intruding or what. Instead, the man's whole expression changed. "You're right, man. I was in the Super Dome after Katrina. My whole family could have died. Here I am and I'm going to have lunch. I will do just fine without the soup." The man then went on to tell John how much God had blessed him.

It's all a matter of perspective. This story got me to thinking:

When did I last turn anybody away from self pity and anger toward gratitude?

What you and I say can make a difference in the way people live. Do we let other people sour our day, or do we lift them up? We get to decide.

Psalm 48:9 says, "We ponder your steadfast love, O God."

Do I do that? Do you?

Well I don't know about you but I don't always do this. More often than I would like to admit I probably let other people sour my day or at least my attitude. I do try to surround myself with Christian people that will uplift me and give me good advice when I need it. But what am I doing to uplift other people that are having a lousy day? What if I'm the person that is suppose to help someone else? For those of you that don't know me personally, I grew up very shy. To the point of being sick if I had to stand in front of a room of people. I rarely spoke to people I didn't know. I'm a lot better now but I've had to make a conscience decision to be better. Maybe that's what I need to do now. Make a conscience decision to make a difference in someon else's life.

#1 Grandson..Ryker

I was told the other day that I haven't posted any recent photos of my #1 grandson...Ryker. So Fonda here's a few photos of him. I need to learn how to post video too. I have one of him laughing at Allen on my Iphone. I will try my best to post it soon. He's down for the count...well, just as long as you don't count too high. He takes lots of little catnaps. Looks like he is shaking his fist and yelling at the TV. He will make a great arm chair quarterback one of these days. He's only about 6 weeks old in this picture. He looks bigger than he actually is but to me he has grown quite a bite since he was born. He is now around 10 pounds and 21" long. He is moving around a lot these days. I don't remember the girls moving this much as such a young age. He won't be 3 months old until the middle of April and you already have to watch him like a hawk. He kicks so much that he will be off the sofa in a heartbeat. No more leaving him on the sofa while you throw a dirty diaper away. If he can get his hands and knees going in the same direction, there will be no catching up with him. Looks like he is picking his nose but he is reaching out to his momma. I've got to say, Allen and I are having a blast with him. He comes to our house every Sunday afternoon to seee us. The first Sunday he came to see us, he was a little fussy but now we are having a wonderful time with him. He loves to watch cartoons as long as they are very colorful, which most are, and there is a lot of action. We keep him about 6 hours then we return him to his mom and Colby at Sears.

Kristen's wedding

Recently a very good friend of Brittany's got married. It was a very lovely wedding at her Aunt's house on the bayou. Above is a picture of Brittany (maid of honor) and the best man, Evan. Brittany looks absolutely breathtaking in her maid of honor dress. In case some of you are wondering, yes Brittany has lost some weight recently. Here is a picture of the bride, Kristen, and Brittany. Kristen was very beautiful in her wedding gown. The whole event was about family. We've known Kristen and her family since she and Brittany were in elementary school together. It's almost like my own daughter getting married except I didn't have to pay or try to organize this one. Much better this way. ha ha

twenty thousand leagues under the sea!!!

Hello everyone, its been awhile since we have posted an update on the aquarium. Its been a work in progress and Rita and I think it is going very well. Here are some new pictures to look at. This one a full view of the aquarium so you can see all the things that are going on in this miniature world.
Just another shot of the aquarium full view. In this shot you can see that our tree to the right has grown to be quite large and still growing. You can also see cinnamon our clown fish.
In this shot you can see some of the many different kinds of coral that we have living in our aquarium. It is so fascinating to watch it grow and we always have starfish somewhere in it too.
This shot as you can see of our tree once again up close. Also the rocks have many colors of algae growing on them.
I hope you have enjoyed taking a cruise thru this virtual world of undersea adventure. We also are fixing to do another aquarium that is going to be twice as big as this one. Yes we will have two! Future pictures to come.

Ryker is Here

Sorry it has taken so long to post the first pictures of Ryker, but things have been pretty hectic since his arrival on January 13, 2011. This is a picture when he was first born. Those are my hands shielding his little eyes. The light was way too bright. He wasn't in any hurry to be born. Even though he was a C-section the doctor still had to use forceps on him. He kept going back in while she kept trying to scoop him out.
Here he is being weighed and measured. He weighed 6 pounds even and was 18 1/2" long. He looked like a living baby doll.
He was very alert from the moment he was born. He stayed awake for about an hour or so after he was born. I'm sure Allen and I looked stupid talking to him through the glass but we didn't care.
Ryker has hip dysplasia. The ball of his hip won't stay in the joint. This is due to his feet being up by this head through most of the pregnancy. He has to wear the harness for about 3 weeks and then the doctor should be able to take it off. He goes back to the doctor on Feb 4 to see if he can take it off.
PawPaw and Ryker.
Grammie and Ryker

Great Great Grandma and Ryker. This is Allen's grandmother. Great Great Grandpa wouldn't hold him because he thought he might drop him. We are very blessed to have them in our lives. A lot of people don't even have their grandparents anymore much less their Great Great.
Here is my little man in his boppy. He is only 2 weeks old in this picture. He went for his 2 week check up yesterday and the doctor said he was doing great. He now weighs 6# 8 oz. The doctor said that usually they only gain their birth weight back by their 2 week check up. Ryker gained that plus 8 oz. He said Paige must be producing half and half instead of just milk.

We are enjoying Ryker very much. Will try to post more pictures soon.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Well we got our first mini ice storm yesterday. The roads are fine and the mini storm didn't knock out any electricity so I chalk it up to a good storm. Allen started a fire for me and we sat and watch the fire and little TV. It even snowed just a little bit.

We also helped Paige and Colby put down new floors in their living room. She wanted to rip up the carpet before the baby arrived. Colby had most of the flooring down Allen just help with the tedious outside pieces. A LOT of cutting. I guess tonight we will go back over there and Colby put the funiture back in the living room.

Baby Ryker will be here Thursday!! Please continue to pray for Paige and the baby. So far everything is good. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I know some ladies out there do not even want to acknowledge they have birthday's anymore much less celebrate them. Thank goodness I'm not one of them or else I would have missed an amazing birthday dinner. My birthday was November 18 so I'm a little late in posting this but at my age, better late than never.

Allen, Brittany, Paige and Colby decided to take me somewhere special for my 45th birthday. It was a surprise so I didn't know what to expect. I was told to dress casual and be ready by 3 p.m. We all loaded up in the car and headed east on I-20. At first I thought Allen was going to take me to a little Mexican restuarant that we found in Winnsboro, LA. Nothing fancy but GREAT food. Well, Winnsboro came and went and we were still driving. Then I thought maybe he was taking me to St. Francisville to the Ox Bow but then dismissed that idea because he said to dress casual. They like business casual not blue jean casual so I knew that was out.

As we kept driving I was racking by brain trying to figure out where he was taking me. Finally, a sign...Welcome to Mississippi. Then I knew....King's Tavern. I couldn't wait for the bread pudding. Paige even tried and liked it. She said she doesn't like bread pudding but really liked theirs.

I found this little place back in the summer when we took Brittany to look at old Antebellum/Colonial houses in Natchez, MS for her birthday. It is a little hole in the wall but the food is wonderful. You can go to your web browser and type in King's Tavern Natchez, MS and read about the history of this wonderful little restaurant. It was built in the 1700's and his been several things over the centuries. They found 3 skeletons in the fireplace back in the 1930's. One is believed to be the original owner's mistress. Suppossedly, his wife found out about the affair and stabbed her with a jeweled dagger. They think the other 2 people may have helped her hide the body and then she killed them.

After dinner Allen and the kids gave me my present. A kindle. I have really enjoyed it. My only problem is watching how much I spend in buying the books. I could go broke as I'm an avid reader.

Thanks Allen, girls, and Colby for a wonderful birthday!!!

It's Official....

Allen and I are alone in the house for the first time in 25 years. We have been alone a total of 10 months and 3 days in out entire marriage. Paige was born 10 months and 1 day after we were married.

Brittany and Scooter moved out Saturday. It was so nice to clean the house once and it stay clean all day long. I had heard of people doing this but didn't believe it until I saw it for myself Sunday. I half expect to come home this afternoon to find a shoe or a piece of dirty laundry in the living room. Scooter was notorious for bringing stuff in the living room while we were away at work.

After Brittany cleaned out her room and moved everything to her new house that she will be sharing with a friend in the GAP band, she helped me move Paige's bed and the baby bed into her old room. Now Paige and Ryker will have tons of room when they come to stay with us for the first 2 weeks of his life. As of this Thursday it will be 5 weeks and counting down. I'm a little excited if you couldn't tell.

By Sunday I was still so excited about having the house to ourselves that I went out to the shed to get the Christmas decortions. Allen helped me put out a few things and with a wave of my magic wand and help from my little elf, the house is ready for Chrismas this year. I have a few more things to get but basically I'm ready for Christmas.

Who knew moving your last child out would give someone this much energy!?!?! If I had known I would have this much energy I would have kicked her out years ago. Just kidding Britt.

Rita and Allen

Laugh of the Day

Just for the record I have my husband's permission to tell this story. Now you will have to use your imagination a little bit. For those of you that know Allen this is probably going to be so funny that you might fall out of your chair. For those of you that don't know Allen, imagine your own husband or male figure in your life.

Allen was standing before the throne (toilet) in our bathroom taking care of business with just his underwear on when Callie, our grandcat that we are keeping while Paige is pregnant, decided she wanted to get a better view of what Allen was doing. In our bathroom is a half wall that hides our throne.

Callie decided that she would jump up on the half wall to get a better view of what Allen was doing. Little did she realize that a towel was on the wall. Upon delicately landing on the wall Callie falls straight down into the trash can that is sitting beside the throne. It was almost like one of those Wyle E Coyote cartoons when he falls off a cliff. As soon as she falls into the trash can she springs out of it into the toilet. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire. ha ha.

Now I must remind you all of this has taken place in a matter of seconds and Allen is still standing in front of the toilet taking care of business in just his underwear when a cat is all of a sudden in his "stream". She is wet, she is NOT happy, and she has claws. He trys to take a step or two back but can't go to far back without peeing all over the floor and a big mad hairy cat with claws is coming straight for him.

Of course being the great wife that I am, I am about to fall to the floor and pee on myself because I'm laughing so hard. I can barely see because of the tears of laughter in my eyes. I must admit there is rarely a dull moment at our house.

I hope this at least made you smile today.

Yes, We're Still Here

Sorry it has been so long since our last blog. We have been really busy. I thought I would show you some pictures of our aquarium.

This is Cinnamon Stick. He is our clown fish. For those of you in the know, yes this is Nemo.
This is an anemone. The clown fish is suppose to love this thing but so far he hasn't gotten into it yet. If he doesn't get in it soon we will have to start feeding it ourselves. The clown fish is suppose to rub up against it so it can produce it's own food. Two weeks and no luck yet. The anemone can go inside itself and it can move all over the tank. Believe it or not it dug it's way under this rock. We had to move it to the other side of the tank because it got into the tube that carries the water up to the filter. It is amazing to watch.
I forget what this is but it is amazing to watch. It can go inside itself and it looks just like broccoli. But when it comes out it stretches it's limbs. Right now it is in a growing stage so it is smaller than normal. Can't wait to get some more coral in the tank. Everyday it's something different going on in there.

We helped mom move some of her things a few weeks ago. She has moved a lot of the basics but still needs to get stuff from the old house. I think she will like her new house once she gets to stay there more than a few hours. Mom works long hours and most of the time she works at least a 1/2 a day on Saturday's.

Paige is getting bigger and bigger. It is thrilling watching Ryker grow and feeling him kick. Paige has complete previa. If you don't know what this is you can look it up on the internet. I don't even won't to think about what can happen to her and baby Ryker. Basically, Paige gets to work and go bed. Nothing in between.

Paige and I went shopping for some clothes for Ryker today. I think I need to design boy clothes. Two thirds of the little boutique we went to had the cutest little girls clothing. There was a piece of a wall for boys clothing. I'm sorry but little boys just don't have the cute clothes like little girl's do. We were oohing and aahing over the cutest little girls clothing.

Believe it or not, I'm crocheting a blanket for my little doodle bug. I haven't crocheted since I was a little girl but I'm actually have a great time crocheting this blanket. I think it will be a tradition for me. I will crochet one for every grandchild. I'm not good enough to make little hats but I bet I could make a scarf or two.

I have 2 more weeks left on my Abundant, Faithful, and True Bible study. It has been a joy and a lot of fun leading this Bible study. It is by Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore. I highly recommend this study. I have to admit Kay's portion of the study was hard but I learned so much from her. Priscilla is very funny and a delight to watch. I have learned a lot from her too. Beth is our next segment. Beth is always a joy to watch and I always learn so much from her. All of these ladies are truly on a mission for God. Thank you God for sending these ladies to us through video.

Well, I hope this kind of catches you up on our lives at the moment. I will try not to wait so long before I post another blog.

What Do U Do When U Can't Go to the Beach...

You bring the beach to you. We have started a fish tank.

Not just any fish tank.
Can you guess what kind?

Figured it out yet?

You guessed it...It's a salt water tank. It is a work in progress.
We have a few rocks but will have to wait to put the coral, fish, crabs, and shrimp in here.
We will have to wait 30 days before we add anything else. We will mostly have living coral in here with just a couple of clown fish. I will keep everyone posted on our progress. Are we crazy or what?!?!?

Cake Divas

Brittany and I made a cake using fondant this weekend. It was for a friend's baby shower. We have the caked baked, iced with butter cream frosting and the fondant placed on it. Of course we rolled the fondant by hand. that took a little while but it really wasn't that hard.

We have started decorating the cake. I know it doesn't look like a lot but it took quite a while to get this little bit done.
As you can tell the baby is suppose to be a little girl. Her colors are pink, purple and yellow. By this time we had been working on the cake for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It takes a long time to roll out all this balls individually and to tint all that fondant just the right color. The spokes on the wheel are individual pieces too.
Almost done. Not much left now. See if you can tell the difference between this photo and the next one.
Completely finished. Took us about 3 hours to get this little cake complete. Some of that time was coming up with the design and trying different things out. Sometime less is more. We had a great time but I definitely have a new appreciation for cake decorators. Doesn't look like it takes very long but it takes a little while if you don't have the gadgets they have. We had to roll all of our fondant out by hand. If I did very many of these I would definitely get a pasta machine that would flatten the fondant for me. I think I will try making a cake for Allen's birthday next month.

Melting in Louisiana

Allen and I have started walking again. We took about 3 weeks off just because it is too hot and we were getting little rain showers late in the afternoon but we knew we would have to get back out there soon. It was so hot and muggy last night that I had a little trouble catching my breath. It felt as if I was suffocating. I think I will take a wet towel tonight to help keep me cool and keep me from burning real bad. We walk about 3 miles a day. I know it doesn't sound like much but believe me it is plenty when you are out in the hot sun and you're so out of shape that you have trouble breathing.

I can't complain too much. I've gone from a tight 12 to a 6 in a little less than 6 months. I still need to lose another 5 pounds so my 6's will fit a little better. Other than that, I'm where I want to be. I don't have a flat stomach nor do I have a bikini body but I am a lot better than I was health wise. Clothes are easier to find too. Shoes are another story. Poor Allen went shoe shopping with me one night. We shopped for 3 hours and I still didn't find anything. Most stores around here don't carry wide width shoes and I can't wear shoes with heels. I sacrifice style for comfort.

I know I'm old but I'm at a time in my life where I really don't care anymore. It is so liberating. I can't wait until I'm that little old lady that can and will say whatever she feels like and everyone around her will just laugh, pat her hand and say bless her heart. Which is southern speak for forgive her she didn't mean it. But I probably will mean it.

I'm Still Here

Okay everyone, I know it has been a while since I last posted but I've been sick for several days. Nothing serious, just sinus/allergies/cold....take your pick. All I know is that I can't breathe and my throat has been hurting. Not sleeping much either. I'm in zombie mode right now.

Brittany is on vacation in South Carolina and Virginia with a friend so not only are we keeping Callie for Paige, we are also keeping Scooter for Brittany. We have become a boarding keenel with one small difference. Mom and Dad don't get paid. It's not so bad though. We have a fenced in back yard so all we have to do is get up let the dog out, then get up a few minutes later and let him back in. She is having a wonderful time visiting a part of the country that she has never been to. I think she is going to Busch Gardens today. That should be fun.

Paige is doing well. No morning sickness and so far her blood pressure is under control. I've been trying to find things for the baby which is a lot harder than it you would think. Everything is gender pacific. It's so hard to find things that are neutral. Now I know why everyone finds out the gender of their baby ahead of time. We have several consignment shops here with very good strollers, car seats, infant seats, etc. As soon as Paige finds out the gender of the baby we, meaning I, will start going to garage sales, and consignment shops. A few of my friends at church have given us a practically brand new high chair and play pen. Thank you Ann and Sharon. It is much appreciated. If anyone out there has anything, please let me know.

Cat Fight

While Paige is pregnant she isn't allowed to clean out Callie's litter box for health reasons. So, we will be grandcat sitting until after the baby is born. The problem is we have a cat named Sylvester. He is used to being the only cat in the house and getting all of our attention. Sylvester has pretty much grown up with Scooter, our other daughter's Shih-Poo (dog) so they get along pretty good. But you throw the 3rd one in there and things get out of balance.

We've had Callie for about a week to week and half and they are just now starting to tolerate each other. They have stare downs and Syl stalks Callie a lot. Last night Callie decided to get on Sylvester's perch. If looks could kill, Callie wouldn't be alive this morning. Syl just glared at her for about 15 minutes from his spot on the sofa. He never budged or took his eyes off of her. When she finally decided to get down Syl followed (stalked) her the rest of the night.

I guess Syl just couldn't let it go because this morning he decided to jump on Callie. She jumped right back on him and it sounded as if WW 3 started. It didn't last long but sounded as if they were killing each other.

I will post pictures of both cats soon. Callie is a beautiful and loving cat. I don't know if Allen will let Paige have her back after the baby is born. She gets in his lap all the time and purrs and licks him. Syl on the other hand, allows you to love on him when he's in the mood for it. Not the other way around.

Let's go racing boys and girls !

Well Father's Day weekend has been so awesome ! It all started with finding out that I was going to be a Grandpa...yikes...ha ha. And then came Saturday, I woke up early to get things ready for Saturday night at Adventure Speedway in Jackson, Mississippi. I broke out the race car and started prepping it and getting things organized and loaded in the trailer. I thought I would be going it alone but Brittany decided to be my crew chief for the night. That made me excited to have her coming to the races with me. Rita would have went too but she and Paige decided to go shopping for baby stuff...oooowwweee..haha. So everything is loaded and Brittany and I are on the way to the races. We got there about 4:30pm and boy was it hot! It was 98 degrees with a heat index of about 107. g We got everything setup for a night of exciting racing. Brittany took over the organization for the things that we would need to do to take the #45 to the front. We set the air pressure to get the correct stagger on the tires. And then we made a small chassis adjustment for the hot lap session.
I got out on the track for the hot laps, then the flag man drop the green flag. I got behind the #96 of Jerry Malone, he has been the track champion for the last 3 years..and has not lost a race in 2 1/2 yrs. I needed to gauge the adjustments that Brittany and I had made earlier. I stayed at a steady distant behind Jerry and he never pulled away from me. I knew we were on the right track with the adjustments.
Brittany and I decide to do one more small chassis adjustment for the NAPA DASH!! She prepped the tires, topped off the fuel and we were ready to make history. I would be starting in the 3rd spot right behind the #96 (Jerry) on the pole and the #83 (Danny) on outside pole and the #b52 (Bill) beside me on the outside. As we came around the curve to the green flag waving! I hit the gas and the race was on, as we came to turn 1 we were bunched up real tight! Jerry took the lead and I was right behind him in 2nd coming out of the turn and the battle was on. As I stayed right behind Jerry I noticed he was getting a little loose in the curves. As you are driving you have to pay attention to what is going on with who you are racing as well as what you are doing too. On lap 7 I sucked right up on the rear bumper of the#96 putting on the pressure! On lap 8 he slide a little wide coming out of turn 4 and I saw my chance, so I cut under him.Then it was a drag race down the back straightway. Coming in turn 1 I took over the lead all the way to the checker flag for my first WIN in my Super Champ! As I came up to the scales there was this little girl waiting for me holding out her hand to give a high five as I drove up on the scales.
As the night got later Brittany and I were excited and felt like we were on a roll! She prepped the tires again for the feature race of the night. No chassis adjustments this time we were dialed in ! Jerry could not believe he had just lost his first race in a long time but, he congratulated me and he said, I'll see you in the feature. And if you did not know, by me winning the NAPA DASH... that meant I had the pole for the feature race.
The feature race arrived and I was feeling a little nervous before we went onto the track. We lined up in our starting positions in a tight pack, the green flag dropped. I got to turn 1 and was in the lead and never looked back . I led the whole 15 laps and never was contested for the lead and the car handle like a dream on the track and was super fast! Brittany and I did not mind getting home at 2:30 am in the morning because we won!
Then came Father"s day, I could not wait for some Japanese food at Ronin Habachi. I also got a digital picture fame too. Yes, I have been wanting one for awhile. Its been a great weekend! The best and I hope that you have had the same. And all you other Fathers out there happy Father's Day!
Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you enjoyed it...Allen