Holy Cripes

This place has everything!

The neighbors were outside last night looking at this. It just emerged from the cocoon and was hanging out waiting for its wings to fill out. It is 4-5 inches in length.




Here's a bit on it.

When the adults eclose, they have to pump fluid into their wings to extend them. The females emit pheromones at night, which the male can detect with its large, bushy antennae. Males can fly for miles in order to reach a female. The moths mate, and the female spends the remainder of her life laying eggs, while the male may mate several more times. Because the adult moths do not have mouth parts they are unable to eat. As a result, the lifespan for an adult Cecropia moth is generally only 7 to 10 days in the wild, perhaps a little longer or shorter, depending on how much movement the moth makes.

An OSU Entomologist sent me a little about it. He says "They don’t feed as adults, so she would need to find a mate and get to reproducing ASAP!"

Well, she wasted no time. This was the scene this morning...




The little tart.

In the snow. Barefoot.

more cat pictures

More time waster...

1. Are your parents married or divorced? Married, for 42 years this year!! I want that to be me someday.
2. Are you a vegetarian? Hell to the No
3. Do you believe in Heaven? Definitely
4. Have you ever come close to dying? Not that I’m aware of.
5. What jewelry do you wear 24/7? I don’t wear anything 24/7. When I am home, my watch and wedding ring come off and go into the basket where I keep my keys.
6. Favorite time of day? Evening
7. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? Bleech. I only eat the tops of them when they are chopped up fine and mixed in with rice and CheezWhiz.
8. Do you wear makeup? Nope.
9. Ever have plastic surgery? I had a tummy tuck.
11. What do you wear to bed? PJs or shorts and a t-shirt. (By the way, what happened to question # 10?)
12. Have you ever done anything illegal? Yep. And I’m gonna leave it at that.
13. Can you roll your tongue? Yes. Shorty can do the shamrock roll.
14. Do you tweeze your eyebrows? Me and my eyebrows have an understanding. They keep in line and I don’t have to pull out the tweezers.
15. What kind of sneakers? What kind of sneakers what? Do I own? Have I ever owned? Am I wearing now? New Balance.
16. Do you believe in abortions? When performed correctly and not used for birth control.
17. What is your hair color? Was brown, now more black with lots of silver.
18. Future child’s name? No future children or I will have some ‘splainin’ to do.
19. Do you snore? Since The Commander got his snoring problem fixed, he says I snore. I guess he couldn’t hear me over his racket.
20. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? Ireland.
21. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? No, but I have my stuffed bear from when I was nine – Herkimer.
22. If you won the lottery, what would you do first?
The dance of joy.
24. Hamburger or hot dog? Depends on my mood. Oscar Mayer Cheese Dogs rock.
25. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Shuh. Donuts.
26. City, beach or country? Country-ish.
27. What was the last thing you touched? A can of Pepsi.
28. Where did you eat last? On the recliner. I made Rotel dip.
29. When’s the last time you cried? A couple of weeks ago in the shower.
30. Do you read blogs? Does the Pope crap in the woods?
31. Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex? I am a tomboy to the bone so I’m gonna have to go with yes.
32. Ever been involved with the police? I sleep with a cop every night. Doesn’t get more involved than that.
33. What’s your favorite shampoo conditioner and soap? I use Suave Professional 2 in 1 and Oil of Olay Quench.
34. Do you talk in your sleep? Not that I am aware of.
35. Ocean or pool? Pool. No, ocean. No, pool. I don’t know!
36. So, who has the original missing questions? If I knew that, they wouldn’t be missing.
37. Who would you take on a ménage à trois for a dirty weekend? Not a woman, that’s for sure. I have someone in mind, but I plead the fifth.
38. Window seat or aisle? No preference.
39. Ever met anyone famous? Gordon Jump from WKRP.
40. Do you feel that you’ve had a truly successful life? Yes, I have a great marriage, great family and great friends.
41. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? I cut it much to the consternation of my husband.
42. Ricki Lake or Oprah Winfrey? Rachel Ray
43. Basketball or Football? Baseball
44. How long do your showers last? Not long at all. 5-10 min.
45. Automatic or do you drive a stick? Automatic. I can drive a stick, but I prefer not to.
46. Cake or ice cream? CAKE!
47. Are you self-conscious? Just about my hugely fat thighs.
48. Have you ever drank so much you threw up? Once and only once.
49. Have you ever given money to a beggar? Yes.
50. Have you been in love? Yeppers
51. Where do you wish you were? At my mom and dad’s house.
52. Are you wearing socks? Yes. They keep my feet from getting rough.
53. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? No.
54. Can you tango? No.
55. Last gift you received? My new neighbor brought over a pan of Rhubarb Crisp a couple of weeks ago. It was yummy. (My friend V is sending me something. I can’t wait to see what it is!)
56. Last sport you played? Bowling and before that, volleyball.
57. Things you spend a lot of money on? My damn cell phone bill.
58. Where do you live? 1970s split level in Iowa
59. Where were you born? California
60. Last wedding attended? My friend Kel in OKC.
61. Spit or swallow? Sunflower seed hulls? Spit.
62. Favorite position? Perpendicular.
63. Most hated food(s)? Not fond of seafood.
65. Can you sing? I can sing, just not well.
66. Last person you instant messaged? I haven’t IMed in forever. Probably Todd from work.
67. Last place you went on holiday? Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.
68. Favorite regular drink? Milk
69. Current Song? We Use to Be Friends (Come on now, Sugar! Bring it on. Bring it on, yeah.)
70. Tag 3 friends: All my frins.

Are you sitting down?

I just had a contractor show up and measure for the fence. He said he would have the estimate to my by 2:00 this afternoon. Plus, he sounded like he could get to it within the next week or so. (Not the end of July/first of August like I had one guy quote me on the phone.)

Things are looking up. Knock wood and all that.

First I would like to thank...

WizOfOz83 for introducing me to them.

The bartender at the Biting Sow for making them so crazy tasty.

Whoever invented Butterscotch Snapps. And Bailey's.

The Boy for sitting patiently in the car while Mama ran into the liquor store to get the makings for them.

Amen.

College Man!

Not a beanie
Originally uploaded by Sherrypg

He's all grown up. Click to see the flickr set.

all the cool kids are doing it

To make your own, answer these questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your Flickr name?

Type your answer to each of the questions into Flickr search.

Using only the first page of results, pick one image.

Copy and paste URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

Details & credits on mine:

1. Pierre & Sherry, 2. Daylight Donuts, 3. Coweta Falls, 4. Purple fingers, 5. David Duchovny 14, 6. Buttery Nipples, the drink of the night, 7. GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN!. TIPPERARY, IRELAND., 8. Blackberry Cobbler, 9. pastry brush chef, 10. Snowmen family in TX, 11. Funny Face, 12. Fruit Salad @ Jonathan T's

Get Yer Motor Runnin'

I'm a Ford Mustang!

You're an American classic -- fast, strong, and bold. You're not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Pea-own-ees

So, how do you pronounce them?

Pea-uh-nees
Pennies
Pea-own-ees

However you do, I got some. They came with the house. I've never been up close to them before. They smell wonderful.





We also have this unknown.




These heathens are confined on the deck until we get a fence. (Soon. Oh please, oh please, oh please.)



You may have me now, Woman, but soon I'll be free.



(I say pea-own-ees. The Commander says pea-uh-nees. He also says Puh-jam-uhs. I say Puh-jaw-muhs. Lie-lack? Lie-lock? These northerners. Sheesh.)

Dear New Town

You're killing me.

I'm trying to give someone hundreds of dollars to put in a chain link fence and I am having no luck what-so-ever!

Five phone messages left.

1) Never returned call.

2) Never returned call.

3) Returned call. Made an appointment to meet with me. Never showed up. Didn't return "Where the hell are you?" call.

4) Returned call. Made an appointment to meet with me. Never showed up. Didn't bother making "WTHAY?" call.

5) Returned call. Said he would "try to make it out there this week". When informed that I was leaving town at 11am on Wednesday, he said, "I will try to make it out there before you leave."

Seriously? WTF is wrong with people?

I went to the building center in the Minnesota town we frequent and got a three page list of contractors. The guy circled three people he said have put in chain link fences. I'm calling first thing tomorrow. I can not deal with these dogs not having a fence much longer.

Anyone out there with chain link skills willing to travel to Iowa and put in a fence? Free room and board while you are here!

Noodle Head

The folks at the OKC radio station I listened to talked to Lee about noodling a couple of weeks ago. He said Gordon Ramsey was in Stillwater and they were taking him noodling. Here's proof.

P.S. Freddie Paul's has awesome hummus!

Iowa - Week One Cont.

Wednesday, June 11th, Day Six

I had a good cry today.

I cried for his* family. I cried because I miss my friends (a lot), I miss The Commander, I miss Shorty and I miss my Mom and Dad.

I'm better now. We went to the diner for dinner (lunch) and then to the library (again). The Librarian is trying to recruit me to teach Sunday School. Ha. Then we went to the big city park.

Jealous much? Isn't my life thrilling? During my bawl fest this morning, I was trying to decide if I would rather be in my situation right now or would I rather be going to work each day and seeing all of my friends. Mixed emotions right there I tell you.
__________

*I met Scott and his wife this past February at a Dining Out with the OSU ROTC. The Commander has known Scott since he was a Cadet years ago. Scott and his wife seemed like really good people in the short amount of time I talked to them. They were smiling and laughing. Scott was talking about his deployment and I was telling his wife that I felt kind of guilty because when The Commander got mobilized, he only went to Texas and I got to see him from time to time. This was the third time (I think) that Scott had been sent overseas and his first time to Afghanistan. I couldn't imagine my husband being overseas and not knowing what was going on with him. My heart really hurts for her right now.

Iowa - Week One

The Boy and I have moved to Iowa. The Commander still has a few more weeks at the Police Department before he will be able to join us. He is going to be making trips up on the weekends to bring the rest of our junk important household belongings.

We stayed at my parents’ house Tuesday and Wednesday night. When we arrived at their house, my Mom had supper ready for us. For me actually. Chicken, dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and made from scratch banana pudding. I told her I should move more often!

We left about 7:30am on Thursday and headed off to Iowa. I packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Pringles and Gogurts so we wouldn’t have to stop to eat, only to get gas and let the dogs potty. We arrived at our new house at 5:30pm. Then I curled up in a ball and died. (Not really.)

Friday, June 6th, Day One

We got up and went to the library for the summer reading program. The theme is Bugs! The Boy wanted me to stay since he didn’t know anyone so I took a chair to the side and tried to blend. The Boy had a pretty good time. After they split the kids into younger and older (there were about 50+ kids!), each group had three books read to them and then they gathered in one section and a lady did a presentation about the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. The Boy got to hold it repeatedly and was grinning from ear to ear. They did a craft, got a snack and then we headed out the door.

We went to the bank and handed over the check for the proceeds from the house we sold. We decreased the new house loan amount by 2/3!

We went to the newspaper office and to change our mailing address, the post office to pick up our mail and let them know we are officially here and the cable office to sign up for cable and DSL. Guess which two out of three happened? I’ll give you a hint. I had to dig out the VHS tapes because we have run out of DVDs to watch.

The cable office is closed in the mornings and when I went back that afternoon, no one was there still. I called the number and got an office in another town that was handling his calls because he had a trouble call to go on. The lady I talked to didn’t know the exact services and prices for our town. She actually told me, “I reserve the right to be wrong.” If I make it through the weekend, I’ll go back to the office on Monday.

The Commander showed up later Friday evening with a load of stuff. After we unloaded, we went into Minnesota for Jake’s Pizza and a Sprawlmart run for groceries.

Saturday, June 7th, Day Two

The Commander’s Mom and Sisters came down from Minneapolis today. We visited for a bit and went to the diner for lunch (dinner). They left right after. Then the excitement began.
Unpack, mow, unpack, mow, unpack, rototill, plant tomato plants using kitchen spoon as trowel and slice open palm of hand in three places, wash clothes, wash clothes, wash clothes.

When I sent out an email with my new address, I said it was in case anyone wanted to send me a Christmas card. Guess what was in the mail today? A Christmas card. Kathy, you so funny. Thank you so much. Keeping in the spirit, we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas tonight.

Sunday, June 8th, Day Three

The Commander got up and headed back to Oklahoma bright and early this morning. I had a nasty case of the sleepies. I could not get out of bed and function. Finally, I managed to get up and showered about noon. We ate lunch and headed back up to Minnesota. (We are only 9 miles from the border. 20 miles to a town large enough to have real stores.) We spent quality time and money in ShopKo (Four new DVDs!) Including Godzilla. We are watching it now.) and headed back home. I unpacked three more boxes and made supper.

My goals for this week:
GET CABLE AND DSL!
Get someone to install a fence for the dogs.
Unpack at least 10 boxes.

I’ll try to take the computer with me to Minnesota tomorrow. There is a Starblechs up there that will hopefully have wi-fi.

This is harder than I thought it would be. We don’t really know anyone and The Boy is very sad about not having anyone around to play with. I keep telling him he will meet people, but it will take time. I’m having problems keeping him entertained, the dogs corralled and trying to get organized. I need my husband!

Monday, June 9th, Day Four

Unpacked 2 1/2 boxes. Woo! Slow going I know, but this house has a lot less storage than the one we just left. I’ve got most of my kitchen stuff unpacked and we all know that is the most important, right?

The dogs are driving me crazy. Scotch, aka Sir Chomps-A-Lot, managed to drag the middle cushion off of the couch in the den and chew chunks out of both sides of it. It is still useable, but we may have to get a slipcover for the couch.

Cooper, aka Houdini, has managed to bend the chain link in the corner and get out of the 10 X 10 dog kennel we have been keeping the dogs in when they are outside.

Makes me want to ship both of them off to boarding school.

I am meeting with a guy tomorrow night to get an estimate on the fence. Couldn’t happen soon enough.

Finally got in touch with the cable guy and he is going to hook us up with cable, DSL and phone tomorrow. I certainly hope so. We have watched three or four National Geographic videos and are currently watching The Music Man. We have also played Trouble, Snap and the Playstation. And scooped poop.

Trash day is tomorrow so there’s that.

Did I mention I need my husband?

On the bright side, The Boy met a friend at the park! He is in the same grade, in Scouts and his birthday is two weeks after The Boy’s. I hope it works out. He came over to the house for a bit and seems nice.

The neighbor kitty corner from us brought over a fresh out of the oven Rhubarb Crisp.

The Commander’s Aunt and Uncle came over and brought fresh out of the oven Apple Pie and Ice Cream.

I guess I’m going to have to wait a bit to start losing weight…

Tuesday, June 10th, Day Five

We have phone, internet and cable!