It has been nice weather here lately. Today it is rainy, which Cale wants, warm rainy weather so that the morrel mushrooms will grow well this year. We love them! I usually clean them and put them in the freezer, but this year I am going to dry some of them with my new dehyrator.

Had to go to Lowes yesterday, I think I spend too much time there! Cale is there almost every day picking up supplies for work. We bought a new screen for our sliding glass door. My grandmother had fallen through ours last year and we needed to replace it. Then I bought a new sweeper. It is a dirt devil bagless type. It is awesome. It really cleans!!! I only have one room with a rug in it, and it really cleaned up the dirt. I am going to use it on the logs today, as it has attachments, and this place is dusty!

I also bought a new iron. My old one died, and the girls must iron their clothes! They are coming out with "classic" small appliances. This iron is all metal, heavy and looks like the old ones they used to have before everything became plastic. It is made by Black and Decker. They also had these stainless steel, actually platinum looking toasters, blenders, coffee pots, and waffle irons. They all had an old style look to them and were very heavy duty. I was in love, but resisted temptation! It is best to stay out of the stores. We always allow ourselves some money to buy whatever we want with our tax money, so I got the sweeper, the iron, the new dishes (a few weeks ago) and Cale got a new heavy duty hammer drill and bits to go with it. So that is nice. I also give the kids some money too.

We signed Brady up for Baseball last week. He loves to play, and he can slug that ball!! I love to watch him. Actually the whole family goes to every practice and game. Cale leaves work early to help with practices and never misses a game. We did buy him new shoes last night,and his own helmet with a face guard. He has beautiful, straight, white teeth, and I hated to think they would get knocked out! I am looking forward to the new season. Last year, in the last 6 games they played, Brady hit the ball every time he was at bat, and hit many home runs over the fence!! It is so exciting to watch.

He is pretty shy and usually never says much, but all the kids love him. It is funny whenever he is leaving school everyone clamors around him and he just stands there in the middle of it all like nothing is happening.

So we spent a mini fortune last night buying balls, gloves for the girls, as they help at practice too and had outgrown their gloves. Cale also had to have a new one. Plus we bought hitting gloves, the helmet, face guard, and I said NO to new bats! Plus it was $30 to register, plus new shoes! That is why I will always be poor!

Well I had better get busy this morning, I want to do some baking and get a few things done. Have a great day and let us know what you have been up to.

Christine, did you tell Lance you were going to become a "fire-woman"? Ha, Ha!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), March 16, 2002

Answers

There's something about those screen doors! A while back I was in a hurry and walked right into mine full speed, stretched the screen beyond repair *and* fell down. And that was the 2nd time I've done that...

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), March 16, 2002.

Did it rain last night! Huge-o thunder/lightening storm. We got well over an inch of rain, so its just wet and gray today.

The kids are recovering from ear infections/bronchitis-they went back to school yesterday, but are pretty quiet today. I'm trying to recover from thier illness!

Grandma gets to come home today-she fell Wenesday and broke her leg and has been in the hospital since-she doing well, mostly they kept her so she could get some physical therapy.

My husband is home today-he has a class on alternate saterdays, but todays his off day. He has a bit of sinus problem today-I'm hoping it dosn't develop into a cold. I don't know what he's working on, but it requires two sheets of plywood and two trips to the hard ware store and a trip to the library. He likes to do these secrative woodworking projects and they are uasually something really wonderful.

I'm working on my quilt today. I did the Countryside quilt square swap and since I have been very good this week and got my sewing room clean, plus nessasary house work done, I'm going to work on the quilt! I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing but I know there will be hearts involved!

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), March 16, 2002.

I was just about to log on Friday night and ask you all to pray for ME! If you had come around here that day you might have been yelled at!

In the last two weeks, we have put a new transmission in Lance's pickup, which you all knew. Then the water pump on the suburban started leaking last week, Thursday night the motor on the central heat and air unit went out, and we only had enough firewood to last through Saturday (fortunately one of the firefighters does heat and air, and he spent Saturday morning getting me fixed up). Then I come home from running my mom around and putting up with cranky grocery checkers and my yard is on fire! GEEZ!

Oh, and on Friday, the pickup had a flat - no big deal, run down and have the place that put the tires on (they're almost new) fix it for free, right? Yeah, except that they wanted the wheel lock key - I said "There's locks on it?". They said, yeah, and there's no key. I call Lance and he says "There's locks on it?" (can you tell we don't have a lot of flats?) Then he says, "Oh, yeah, I remember that - well, they put the tires on, the key should be wherever they put it.) Of course, they look all through the truck and can't find it, but it isn't THEIR fault that it's missing. They always put it back in the glove box. Well, I ask, do you have any extras laying around? Yeah, we have four or five, but none of them fit yours.

(okay, you always put it back in the glove box, but you have four or five laying around? And they are not interchangeable? So whose are laying around?!!)

So, I have to go home, discuss this with Lance and fume awhile - they also broke the passenger seat (which was on its way out, I will admit) where it won't latch, just slides back and forth on the track now. I think it will have to be replaced, but I'm going to call a couple of salvages - I can only imagine what GM would want for a new one!

Anyway, we went back Saturday afternoon, had them break the locks off and just put regular lugs on the four that were lockable (is that a word?). So we no longer have wheel locks, but the wheels, while nice, aren't worth stealing on their own anyway - they'd just take the whole truck.

So, aren't you glad I didn't log on Friday night? You might not have like me! - P.S. - I'm all better now!

It's rainy around here today, and the first day of spring break. I think we'll work on the house, as I'm having a Princess House Crystal party on Friday (Lance's cousin just started doing this, I'm mostly trying to help her out). On Wednesday I'm taking the boys to stay with Lance's sister for a couple of days, and we're still working on that garden. I'm hoping we'll have a couple of beds up by the end of the week - those potatoes need to be planted NOW!

-- Fire-woman in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), March 18, 2002.