Excuse Me Sir or Madam While I Download Breakfast…

Yes, our beloved Charlie comes early tomorrow.  He called me a moment ago and asked me what I wanted to eat in the morning.  

“Let’s try those new McGriddle breakfast sandwiches,” I replied excitably and very boldly I might add. 

Charlie chuckled at my exuberance and said he would see me about 9am in the morning.

“I will bring you a big ass Coke with no ice,” he told me in closing.

I’ve never tried a McGriddle sandwich before and am curious as to what they taste like.  Are they pretty good?  After eating one, would you eat one again?

Johnny Otis Emerges From Stage Left…

Almost as soon as I got off the phone with Charlie, my father came pulling up in front of my house for the medication ritual.  He said he was feeling extremely depressed after another loss by Auburn.  He reeked of stale cigarette smoke and was also a tad bit boozy as well. I could picture him ordering another drink as he sat on a barstool in some smoky sports bar somewhere down in Auburn.

“I guess we are in a rebuilding year,” he told me somberly and morosely.

This is some serious stuff folks – easily overshadowing the armistice between France and Germany signed at the end of World War One.

“We don’t have a quarterback worth a poot,” is what I told my father and he agreed.

I really honestly don’t know what in the hell I am talking about.  I just read in a forum where somebody said our Quarterback stunk and 2nd and 3rd string weren’t any better.

I also told my father that I have had some really, really awesome days lately mental illness wise hoping to cheer him up some.  I feel so calm and secure, and I can get satisfaction out of my pastimes which usually revolve around my computer which is my portal for what I really love the most – music and more music. Being able to surf the web is just icing on the cake.

Photo Credit:      https://sandwichtalk.wordpress.com/2010/06/02/sandwiches-in-review-the-mcgriddles/

Photo Credit #2:  http://www.longhornsteakhouse.com/menu/white-zinfandel/prod380012

You Just Can’t Beat Helen’s Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots…

Helen got in trouble with my father earlier in the week.  She didn’t show up for work Monday and didn’t call my father and tell him that she needed a day off.  It got off with my father and he was surly during the medication ritual that night.

“It’s not you,” my father said to me knowing how sensitive I am. “I am not mad at you, but I am aggravated at what Helen did today.”

Alabama Gets Caught in the Deep Freeze…

Whaaa? Where?

I don’t remember laying down, but I woke up fully refreshed and ready to start my day on this fine Southern morning. I was still in my clothes and tennis shoes when I woke on the bed. It was very reminiscent of the many drunks I pulled over the years as I would do the very same thing – passed out on the floor or on the bed still fully clothed. Now, it is almost 6am.  As I had alluded to in another post, I stayed awake most of yesterday and lets hope that resets my wacky circadian clock to where I can sleep at night again.

A Killing Frost as Old Man Winter Descends Upon the South…

We had our first frost this morning. Dad calls it a “killing frost” as our lawns will now turn brown and any tender vegetation will be gone. Yard services around my town let loose a collective moan and sigh as grass cutting season comes to a close.  It looks as if my car is covered in a very thin coating of ice.

I heard Maggie go out the dog door a minute ago for a potty break.  That was one very fast pee and poop – the pee and poop express.  Maggie hates the cold as much as I do. We’re snug as a bug in a rug in our 78° degree house right now.

Photo Credit:  http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/10091/jack-frost-in-the-winter-vegetable-garden

The Calvary Has Arrived With Johnny Otis Being the Flag Bearer…

I thought dad would never, ever arrive tonight.  Maggie was fully aware that something was amiss as she looked out the front window over the sofa and she whined incessantly. 

It is 10:30pm and he has just left.  I have enough of The Secretary in me that these kinds of hijinks drive us teetotal crazy. Dad had a few drinks before driving over and was very sociable and talkative tonight.  We talked forever about my mother’s side of the family and the mental illnesses that ravaged all their lives over the years.

Photo Credit:   https://acwbeyondscarlettandrhett.wordpress.com/tag/cavalry/

Like the Siberian Tunguska Meteor, I Believe this May Be The Craters Causing Mischief On My Soul.  It is a Good Feeling, but I Remain Cautious…

My ex-wife sent me a friend request on Facebook tonight.  That certainly raised a few eyebrows over Andrew’s eyes and my father’s eyes as well. 

“I would love it if you two get back together,” my father told me encouragingly. “She will find you a different man instead of that pitiful lush of a drunk you were 15 years ago.”

Geez, don’t beat around the bush dad!

“You know she loves and adores going out to eat,” I told my father. “You are going to have to help me bankroll these dates.”

“I’ve got you covered,” my father said as he headed to the X5 with the medication ritual completed.

These Are My Stocking Stuffers this Year…

BELKIN PURE AV Model AV20000-06 6 feet Digital Optical Audio Cable M-M

Velcro 90072 Sticky-Back Hook and Loop Square Fasteners on Strips, 7/8", Black, 12 Sets/Pack

NEW XSCORPION WSC106 MINI STRIPPER AND CUTTER 10 - 20 GA WIRE 10 - 20 GAUGE WIRE

Grandma Sally Lou Always Said if You Ain’t Got Nothing Good to Say, then Don’t Say Anything at All…

I am just now learning there are just things best left off the blog for my blog reading friend’s sake.  Next time I write about my neighbor, I am going to tell you how he was drinking a coke.  His heater is just broken and the repairman comes tomorrow, and that he is fit as a fiddle. He’s acting like any good neighbor should.

A real slippery slope is having a $100 in your wallet and the parents are out of the town for a week with you in control of your medications.  Now, then, damage shall be done. Call me when the Klonopin, Marlboros, and Bud Light run out. 

Oh, Maggie just farted flowers!

Photo Credit:  https://growingchild.com/GMSays.html

Time for Maggie Time…

Mom showed up over here a moment ago.

“What are you doing out this late in the afternoon?” I asked her from across my yard as she struggled to get out of her car.

“It’s time for Maggie’s flea medications,” replied The Secretary as she ambled across my front yard up to the stoop.

We need a superhero cape for mom when she is in Secretary mode.  A capital S for secretary.

The Secretary had the pill and a Vienna sausage can in her hand.   Maggie knows the ropes.  She first has to eat the peanut butter encased flea pill then she gets her six sausages.

I laughed and told mom I wished I could get such satisfaction out of a can of Vienna sausages.  

Photo Credit:  http://www.foodbeast.com/news/12-kim-kardashian-food-memes-that-fed-the-internet/

Two Nuzzles Three?

Maggie is being very needy and insistent at the moment. It is way past her usual bedtime. (Who am I kidding?  Anytime is a good time for Maggie’s bedtime.  She can drop to the floor and be snoring in five minutes flat.)

Maggie keeps nuzzling me in the side of my thigh to remind me her back needs a scratchin’. She is very subtle about it.  I will give her a good back scratch and watch as she melts into supreme ecstasy.  15 minutes will pass and then she needs a refill.

Funny Email Bombs… 

Strong magic for dumb Injun. You know? If you are going to try and discredit me in an email bomb, at least have a rudimentary grasp of of the English language and grammar.  Grasp hold of your spellcheck feature and it will seemingly raise your IQ level from 50 to 100 almost instantly.  Mmkay?  Don’t forget to sign up for Grammarly as well. That’s if your parents will let you use their credit card.

Playing the Compassion Card…

With me having worried inclinations, my elderly neighbor next door cranked his car for about the eleventh time to get warm tonight.  I walked over and asked him if he would come over and get out of the cold for awhile and watch the television.  I thought it was going to be awkward, but he was a nice, but heavily inebriated fellow.  He brought two beers with him and asked me if he could put them in the fridge.

“I eat breakfast and lunch down at the senior center every day,” he told me as he sat in my Laz-E-Boy and crossed his legs.

He colors his hair and it made deciphering his age problematic. He’s in his seventies.

“Can I smoke in here?” he then asked as I walked into my kitchen to get my old ashtray out of the cabinet. 

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas? Say them both! Christmas is a Joyous Time of the Year!

Militant atheists get on my nerves – wanting to take away from you something they don’t like or agree with.  They are the Jehovah’s witnesses of the unbelieving world – unwelcome intrusions in your home and life.  This gives the movement an unsavory and reviled reputation – the proverbial bull in a china shop.  We should be able to enjoy the holidays how we see fit.  I am not a Christian like my father before me, but I love to say Merry Christmas because of all the revelry, history and pageantry involved.  Dad and I both love to put up a Christmas tree every year and decorate our homes.

Where Art Thou Parents?

I’ve been calling for hours and couldn't get my parents on the phone.  I drove by there a moment ago and the house was dark. I finally got mom on the home phone just a minute ago. They’ve just arrived home.

“Your daddy and Charlie wanted to drink some wine, eat some delicious steaks, and listen to the music down at the Honky Tonk on the crossroads to Columbus,” my mother told me merrily.

I smiled and was just relieved they were okay.  It’s really extremely odd not to be able to get in touch with my parents in this connected world we live in. I told mom to apologize for me to dad for calling my father’s cellphone so obsessively.   He probably has 10 notices of missed calls when he turns it back on.

Photo Credit:   http://www.hunterspubandsteakhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Hunters-pub-art_small.jpg

Funny Crazy and Worrisome Crazy…

I was just thinking about Joyce as my new neighbor interestingly climbed into his car to crank it and to get warm for the tenth time tonight.

“I drove all the way to the grocery store,” Joyce told me one time laughing. “I couldn’t remember why I drove there.”

“Joyce,” I told her laughing. “I think we’ve all done that crazy or not.”

Joyce and I would sit on my couch or her couch and revel each other in all the “interesting” stuff we’ve done over the course of our lives.  I very much wish Joyce was still alive and kicking.  She would light a Marlboro and wave heartily as she drove by me in her car. I would smile and wish I could tell her, “You go girl!”

Compassion is urging me to go ask my new elderly neighbor if he wants to come over and watch the television in a 76° degree house. I will be up for hours.

The Piggly Wiggly is Where it is At…

I forgot to buy any sweets Monday night.  It completely slipped my mind and has been driving me absolutely and completely batshit crazy.

(A funny aside:  Dad told me last night to turn all my den lights off so we could see what my neighbor was doing on his carport.  He was taking a piss off his porch.  “Man’s prerogative,” my father said. “But he is batshit crazy.” I said to myself as dad used batshit crazy that he is definitely making the rounds on the internet to use that word.)

I just made a mad dash to the Piggly Wiggly “down the street” to get some unfrosted strawberry Pop-Tarts and a gallon of milk.  Yes, I will get chastised for this purchase by tomorrow sometime when my father gets around to checking my accounts.  Life’s a bitch sometimes I guess. I’ll gladly take the ribbing and bitching to get my two large boxes of strawberry Pop-tarts.  Dad will have forgotten about it by next week I assure you. He better just be glad I am buying something as innocuous as Pop-tarts and not 12 packs of beer.

“There was an extra charge on your disability account last night.  This means you spent $90 in groceries this week,” I can hear him say tomorrow night with a consternated frown.

I just have woken up last hour if you can believe it.  After I wrote my last post last night around 3am, I got in the bed with Maggie and went fast and sound asleep.  I am just getting up last hour after sleeping that long.  It feels weird going to bed when it is dark and waking up to the dark as well.  Disorientating.

Photo Credit:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggly_Wiggly

Girl? I Can’t Sleep…

It is 3:37am here.  I am wide awake with a slight hint of tiredness.  Maggie keeps coming in here and nuzzling the side of my leg through the chair wanting me to come to bed.  I will give her a word of encouragement “thirty more minutes” and then hear her jump back on the mattress in the bedroom.  I think I will get in my Laz-E-Boy and see if I can drift off to sleep.

Photo Credit:  http://chiropractorphoenix-thejoint.com/scottsdale/shea/frightening-side-affects-of-top-sleep-aid-ambien/

Funny Fun with Food Accidents…

“I love you,” I told my father as we walked to our cars after walking out of Kroger last night. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Dad told me he loved me too with a big bear hug, and told me how much of a different person I am these days off all those addictions.  I got in my car feeling pleased and dad waited to make sure my car cranked and I was heading out the parking lot before he cranked his Honda and left. I noticed he took a left towards the pharmacy and not the right towards home.

Well, I was an extremely eager beaver to get home, unload my groceries,  drink my two Mountain Dews I allow myself a week, and to get a pot of spaghetti and meat sauce on the stove.  I simmered it for about an anxious hour and then took a taste.  It tasted like a very meaty chili. Perplexed, I looked at my empty diced tomato cans and I got one can of diced tomatoes with chili flavorings and spices. It made for some delicious spicy chili and that’s what I had for supper last night. I ate it with toasted and buttered sandwich bread.    

Mom has called me several times worried if I will need more fixings for spaghetti.  You have to be careful what you tell The Secretary.  She shall obsess.

“Let’s drive up to Kroger and get you some more spaghetti fixings,” she told me today.

“Mom it actually tastes quite good,” I told her trying to reassure her my food situation was okay and that I was not starving over here at Andrew’s Casa.   

Photo Credit:   http://www.walmart.com/ip/Del-Monte-Diced-Zesty-Chili-Style-Tomatoes-14.5-Oz/10295111

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Waiting On Papa…

I thought I was running out of tunes to play tonight that were pleasing.  You think out of 320 GB of music (a year’s worth of music) I could find something good to listen to on this computer.  I finally decided on Sarah McLachlan’s latest album which I have downloaded, but not listened to.  I am also anxiously awaiting for my father to arrive.  The pharmacy closes in 30 minutes and then we will be on the downhill run. I am waiting for some crazy meds, company, and comfort. 

I am slowly slipping into my normal nocturnal way of life again.  I don’t mean for it to happen, but I find myself staying up later and later with each passing night.  I slept fitfully until 5pm today.  I will just have to make myself stay up all day tomorrow to get back on track. 

Photo Credit:  https://twitter.com/brandcrazymeds

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Behind the Scenes Tonight…

“Our trash is smelling,” The Secretary told me. “Would you drive over and take it out?”

I drove to my parent’s house and took the trash out, but the outside trash can was missing.  I sat the trash against the side of the house and drove home.  Here’s where the mother in me comes into play.

“Mom?” I asked over the phone when I got home. “Did Helen come today?”

“She didn’t come today for some reason,” mom told me.

Well, that meant that my parent’s trashcan was still up at the road after pickup yesterday.  Helen usually brings it down when she comes into work. I explained the situation to my mother and we both agreed animals would get into the trash if I didn’t drive over there a second time and bring the heavy trashcan down from the road. So, I made a second trip and my mother profusely thanked me.

Photo Credit:  https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1z6hhj/doesnt_seem_like_she_mistook_anything_to_me/

Man of Big Beef…

“Look at the total!” my father excitedly said to me as he pulled out his wallet in Kroger. “You spent $45 in ground chuck alone.  Are you making that much spaghetti!?”

Dost thou not parlay OCD!

“I am making one pot of meat sauce to eat with cheese and bread like a dip and I am having spaghetti and meat sauce two nights in a row.  I will freeze what is left over,” I told him. “It is just a phase I am going through in my culinary journey.”

“Just remember you are not Emeril Lagasse,” he replied with a forgiving and warm smile. “Nor do you have his budget.”

Jermaine came noisily pulling up behind me in his courtesy of Kroger motorized cart asking me why I no longer get the six gallons of Milo’s famous sweet tea. He said he checked to see if they had any for sale for me and they did.

“It was excessive and too expensive,” I told Jermaine kindly. “I drink ice water these days. I allow myself two Mountain Dews a week now on grocery day.”

I unabashedly spent $82 dollars tonight.  I can do it every now and then before dad cries “Uncle”. I reminded him of a recent $108 dollar night a few months ago and he agreed with me that he was glad that didn’t happen tonight. $82 dollars seemed reasonable when in comparison. Theoretically, I can spend $85 dollars every week, but the real world (and Papa) trumps fantasy life.

Photo Credit:  http://www.coastgrocery.com/pages/Products/1827

Photo Credit #2:  https://www.pinterest.com/drinkmilos/milos-tea-company/

When Good Goes Wrong…

“I fixed my HDTV!” I proudly and loudly told my father a minute ago.

It has been driving my father crazy that we can’t watch television when he is over here for the medication ritual.  I haven’t had television for months.

“I took the backing off and there was a 12 volt fuse that had blown.  I called first and then drove to Radio Shack to get a new fuse and came home, plugged it in, and the television fired right back up.”

“Some of that intense lightning we had towards the end of summer must’ve hit it,” I told him in addition.

“Oh,” my father said with a funny sound to his voice. “Charlie and I went and got you a new flat screen HDTV the other day and it is in the basement. We were going to surprise you with it tonight or tomorrow night.”

My original plan was to cancel my cable service and get the best internet service WOW! offered, but I could never get my father to bite on that biscuit.

I hated to spoil my father’s surprise, but he can take that other TV back and save some money. I actually only watch about 20 minutes of television a day and usually when I am eating or the 30 minutes my father is here every night.  It is a terrible habit I assure you eating in front of the TV.

Photo Credit:   http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2574455/replacement-hdtv-fuse.html

Where Art Thou Fred's?

I haven’t been in Fred’s in a few days which is rather odd for me.  Sometimes, I just need that cheap dollar store experience.  The main reason I went this afternoon was to get some more hard candy.  I’ve had terrible cigarette cravings lately that have come out of no where it sometimes seems. I had to quit smoking cigars as I think they were also triggering the cravings.  I just don’t have the self control right now to keep from smoking at the moment and needed some help. I also got a canister of roasted cocktail peanuts.  I love to snack on those things! I keep the salty can of peanuts by the computer.

“How are you, honey?” McGruff said to me looking over her reading glasses as I stepped up for my turn at the register.

I smiled back and told her it was good to see her. You could almost see her grumpy old heart melt.  Just don’t have a return as all hell breaks loose.

That Concentration Camp Look…

This morning I stepped on my scales for my daily weigh in.  I weighed 195 pounds and I am 6 foot 3 inches.  I’ve lost a lot of weight lately – over twenty pounds.  Dad was noticing it in my cheeks last night saying they looked sunken in.

“Don’t get the concentration camp look going on again,” he told me callously and without a heart.

“I just haven’t been that hungry lately,” I told my father honestly. “I put everything I cook in the freezer.”

My father sees it as if a schizophrenic calamity is on the horizon. He sees it as signs of imminent doom.

You know what would be awesomely delicious to me right now?  An extra meaty meat sauce with lots of grated parmesan cheese added and sopped up with slices of toasted Sunbeam old fashioned sandwich bread.  I think I will cook an extra batch of meat sauce just for that this evening (If I can afford the extra tomato sauce and ground chuck!).

photo credit:  http://rusnakfamilydentistry.com/candy-thats-scary-bad-for-your-teeth-this-halloween/

photo credit #2:  http://www.jugglingwithjulia.com/2013/01/08/thick-and-hearty-meat-sauce/

Hey Jermaine! We will be Shopping Between 9pm to 10pm Tonight! So Get Ready For Us!

I wonder if I will get accosted by my good friend Jermaine once again tonight?  I am one of his few “friends” in this world that will actually stop and listen to him spout aimlessly about various subjects.  My mother will say, “He is such a pest!”  Jermaine has special needs I will retort in his defense.

The grocery store is Jermaine’s main social outlet and meeting place. His favorite time to shop is around 9pm to 10pm these evenings which coincides with my father’s and my favorite time to shop. The store will only have a handful of patrons around that time of the evening which parlays to a quick ingress and egress most eveinings.

I am probably sticking with another spaghetti and meat sauce week on tonight’s grocery outing. That tasted so very good last week. It was warm and filling and damned delicious.  I also want a gallon of whole milk and two large 12 pc. boxes of unfrosted strawberry Pop-Tarts as well. That’s my new beau right now as far as sweets go.  Heaven on Earth – how can I resist?  I’m sorry, but frosting is for hairdos, weirdoes, and wuss kid pussies.

Photo Credit:  http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Tarts-Frosted-Strawberry-12-Count-Boxes/dp/B001PNIEJ0

The Breakfast in Me…

Photo Credit:  http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2014/12/new-12-hormel-black-label-bacon-coupon-deals-shoprite-wegmans-walmart.html

Exactly What My 3 Piece Supper Looked Like Tonight…

I love the deep fried potato wedges.  They are my favorite side dish of all that KFC sells. You have to eat the biscuit while it is still hot or it will taste terrible. Be sure to get some napkins as the original recipe chicken can be kind of greasy.

photo credit:   http://www.sodahead.com/fun/chicken-white-or-dark-meat/question-2029173/

Get it in Gear Guys…

I keep having to remind myself of the time change and how that screws up our routines.  I am pretty sure Charlie and my father are out gathering meals for our families and making sure Horsefly has his Sunday night dosage of KFC chicken finger tenders.  I am hoping my father will just get me the three piece original meal like last week. 

Three days ago I quit drinking diet Cokes or any cokes for that matter.  It has to be one of the hardest addictions for me to beat yet – almost as hard as stopping smoking.  I was drinking a case of sodas every four days.  I keep expecting terrible migraines like they are discussing on message boards online.

“What are we going to do with all these extra Cokes?” my mother asked like a lost puppy in Central Park.

You should see the wall in the garage.

“I am pretty sure dad will drink them all over time,” I replied to my pitiful sounding mother. “Give some to Charlie as well.”

My mother can be a tad bit codependent in such matters.  The secretary must do secretarial things to keep her and her family’s universe tidy and orderly.

Welcome to Anal Retentive Computer Repair…

I’ve said it many times that if the computer ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.  This holds especially true for my gaming computer which is working fine right now. It just needs some finishing touches as it is rough around the edges. Should I leave it alone or crack the case open and delve into the insides of my computer?   The video card needs securing with screws and my case cover does as well.  I also need to use my can of compressed air and clean the dust out of the darn thing as well along with checking that all the fans are working.  I also want to get my third USB 3.0 port outside my case working.  I’ve managed to get two working. It is just a matter of plugging the right cord into the right socket on the motherboard.

photo credit:   http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-computer-repair-image19568581

Coming Home From Dreamtime…

Charlie just has brought a bag full of McDonald’s breakfast and it was just pouring down rain – a cold or flu catching chill you to the bone type of rain.  I ran out into the front yard halfway with my Auburn Tigers umbrella to meet him.

“Love you!” he told me as he scurried back to his car. “This is nasty weather. I’m headed to Polly’s and then I am ready to get home and eat.”

Photo Credit: http://restaurantsfastfood.blogspot.com/2011/03/mcdonalds-hamburger-restaurant-americus.html

Quiet Saturday Evenings with the Magster…

Auburn plays at 7:30pm tonight, so I knew I better get my butt in gear as it got closer and closer to seven.

The Magster and I were having a quiet evening curled up together in my recliner browsing the web with my iPad.  I reached over and called mom saying that I needed my medications shorty and would be right over to get them (my forwardness pissed off my father).  It would be almost midnight if I waited till after the game was over and if left to my father’s own devices, and I also wanted to keep my father off the road tonight on a game night which would entail quite a few glasses of wine.

Dad had cooked “Hoboes” and the house smelled pungently delicious from that wonderful and taste bud tingling stew.  He apologized profusely for not having enough left over for me to eat. Mom had made me some Carving Board ham sandwiches in recompense. They were quite equally as delicious. I don’t know about you, but ham sandwiches just taste better when mom makes them.

 

 

Photo Credit:   http://chefmom.sheknows.com/articles/971323/foil-pack-hobo-stew-recipe

photo credit #2:  http://www.thegrocerygirls.com/oscar-mayer-carving-board-ham-slow-cooked.html

Quiet Fridays and Nice, Quiet Friday Nights…

Both are good kinds of Fridays – the kind of Fridays meant for quiet introspection and rest. A recharging of the spirit if you will.   As was expected after my injection yesterday, I have felt drowsy and cat napped most of my day here away. I am just now stirring good and it is almost 7:30pm.

I don’t know what Helen cooked, but my cantankerous father is bringing me a plate of food around 9pm when he arrives for the medication ritual. That will be a nice and interesting surprise. I bet you a $1000 bucks we have are having boiled rutabagas as we haven’t had those in a week or two. That’s one of dad’s favorite vegetables.  Helen says they wreak havoc on her arthritic hands, though. 

Being the caveat of the night, we have thunderstorms building to our West and headed this way.  Dad and I both didn’t see that coming.  We have to keep the weather guessers guessing, don’t you know?  I just called him and told him to be careful driving over here in an hour or two.

Photo Credit:   http://farmersalmanac.com/food/2014/12/22/turnip-rutabaga/

Tunnels: the Trials of Endurance…

This morning was my every two week injection.  The drive down through Valley was certainly interesting.  I was having some pretty weird and odd feelings in that old cranium of mine. I felt like I was driving in a tunnel with an echo, and then I was so glad to finally pull into my father’s former pharmacy.  I had a few moments of relative safety and calm before I continued on with my journey to get my injection.

Rebecca stood in the waiting area and loudly called out my name to come on back to an examination room. I was taking a potty break.

“Coming!  I am in the bathroom shaking the dew off my lily!” I told her. “I’ll be right out.”

I was extremely glad to see Rebecca instead of one of the other girls that work at Kamath Medical.  She called me her favorite patient which I appreciated very much, even going so far to tell me how she missed me while she was on maternity leave. We’ve developed quite a rapport over the years with each other.

Photo Credit:   http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-you-build-a-tunnel-underwater/

That Lovely Lady Who Cooks an Awesome Mac & Cheese…

Helen dropped by this afternoon. I smiled when I saw her white Honda Accord pull up to the curb. She was a sight for sore eyes.  Mom had sent my daily 6 diet Cokes with her and a couple of hotdogs Helen cooked mom for lunch.  She was just finishing up her shift as my parent’s custodial engineer (someone once told me saying maid was politically incorrect).

“Baby, lock that dog in the bedroom,” Helen said before she would come inside.

Helen has an irrational fear (Cynophobia) of canines as if all dogs bite. Maggie is innocuous at best unless you are furry, feline, and you purr.  She was just barking jubilantly because we had familiar company.

Helen sat on my war-torn couch and asked me questions about how I quit smoking. 

“Baby? How many years did you smoke?” she first asked.

I had to guess as it was easily 25 years.

“How did you quit?” Helen then asked.

“I had to quit cold turkey as I would just get hooked on those expensive Nicorette gums and nicotine patches,” I told her. “Dad was also going to let me order $100 dollars in computer parts each month as well. That was a huge motivating factor for me and it was also very friendly to his wallet.”

Helen didn’t stay for long.  I watched as she drove off south to Beulah and then I let Maggie out of the back bedroom.  Maggie had an indignant look and air about her as she sniffed where Helen had been sitting.

Photo Credit:   http://www.nbdragon.cn/More.asp?id=176

Reporting for Duty Sir!

UGH!  I am barely alive this morning.  I hope I perk up as the day grows longer.  I once again fell asleep in my Laz-E-Boy recliner and slept all night with Maggie in my lap.  At least I slept soundly and well.  Breakfast was homemade spaghetti and meat sauce.  Maggie wanted some breakfast something terribly.  I got a bowl of her dog food and put it on the floor.  Amazingly, she ate it without a fuss. Never mind she had a full bowl of food in the laundry room. 

And it Rained on Andrew’s Parade…

Shopping went as planned.  I hurriedly only bought $56 dollars in groceries which I will probably regret later in the week. I just wasn’t in the grocery shopping mood.  I got caught by Jermaine and dad laughed and laughed at my misfortune. Dad got caught last week.

“Jermaine?” I asked trying to turn lemons into lemonade. “Help me find the Pop-tarts.”

Jermaine, in his motorized cart, took me straight to them all the while going on about Bill Cosby and his infidelities. I got two big boxes of unfrosted strawberry off the shelf and Jermaine continued onwards with his shopping.

Dad and I used self checkout and we were soon headed out the door.  It was raining cats and dogs outside much to our surprise. We both didn’t see this coming.  Dad and I ran to our respective cars and I got literally soaked as I unloaded all my groceries into the rear hatch of my Honda.

Photo Credit:  http://motivational-speakers-review.com/dont-rain-on-my-parade-i-wont-rain-on-yours/

Marge? She’s Getting a Permanent…

“Just what are you doing?” I just asked my father over his cellphone.

“I am on the interstate headed back to the Valley,” he told me. “I made a run to the bookstore in Auburn, ate lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse, and don’t you dare tell your mother!”

“Where’s mom?” I then asked. “I tried to get my sodas, but she wasn’t there.”

“She’s getting a permanent at Rhonda’s hair salon,” my father replied.

We both chuckled as if on cue. Mom will be having a “big hair” day we both agreed.

“What are you doing, Chuck?” he asked me.

“I just went to Family Dollar while I was out and about to get some generic Excedrin,” I told him. “I feel a headache coming on and it is probably from the lack of caffeine by not having my sodas.”

“I’ll put your sodas out as soon as I get home,” dad told me encouragingly.

Photo Credit:   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/15/hair-dryer-photos_n_4961380.html

Grocery Day Musings…

Last week, I tried a little experiment and added a large bottle of Ragu chunky style pasta sauce to my meat sauce.  It was edible, but my meat sauce was just way too sweet. That Ragu sauce was just filled with sugar.

The second batch turned out much better.  I added a large can of Hunt’s tomato sauce and two cans of Del Monte tomatoes, diced onions, and green peppers.  That recipe was much more pleasing.    

We are looking upon another grocery day.  I will be buying enough ingredients to allow me to make my spaghetti and meat sauce twice for the week again. I am sure I will get a goodhearted jab from my father. It will be a ground hog day kind of experience. 

Photo Credit #2:   http://www.jehancancook.com/2009/05/speedy-post-for-a-speedy-dishspeedy-weeknight-spaghetti/

Nalla AKA Dixie Finds a Home…

Chattahoochee Humane Society

Thanks to all of the volunteers and foster parents who came out Saturday so this sweet girl could find her forever family!! We are SO happy for Nalla!

I missed her deeply after my father said he found her a home.  She was such an affectionate dog.  I now learned he took her to the Humane Society.  Things work out for the best sometimes as they often do.  She’s been in foster care and now has a permanent and loving home. It does my heart good!

Pacific Theater of Operations II…

That’s the game for the Sega Saturn that I am currently playing right now and I am having a lot of fun with it. I am also anxiously awaiting on my Saturn USB game controller for the PC to arrive from China.  They say it may take 15 days to ship from that far overseas.  It was a steal at $23 dollars and free shipping.

I also got a GameCube controller, a Super Nintendo controller, and a Nintendo N64 controller. These are all connected via USB ports for the PC.  The total cost for all game controllers was around $60 dollars.

(Boy, it is really heavily raining cats and dogs here right now – torrential downpour for sure.)

There is also a long forgotten P.T.O. IV for the PlayStation 2 that I am going to have to download and play via emulator on my computer.

Why couldn’t games today be so enthralling?  Like Myst or The Longest Journey?  Now, it is everyone running around and shooting each other in high definition glory.  One ad nauseum game after another.  I’m serious! They are all the same.  Run and gun just in differing environments!

Photo Credit:   http://www.museumofplay.org/online-collections/22/46/109.4723

Salutations on a Wet Sunday Evening in the Southland…

My father arrived tonight without Charlie.  Maggie kept looking out the window over the den to see if Charlie would get out of the car and come inside.

“It’s amazing what she knows,” my father said. “She knows Charlie comes every Sunday night.”

Charlie’s eldest son was in town from Atlanta and he wanted to spend time with him.  Alan, his son, is a class act kind of guy. We worked together as research technicians in Forestry at Auburn University. Alan actually got me the job when I was working as a tropical fish department manager at a pet store in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dad got me a box meal of original recipe fried chicken from KFC.  Mom got a Burger King Whopper and onion rings. Dad said he got himself a fried shrimp tackle box at Popeye's.  

We then completed the medication ritual, fed and watered Maggie, and soon my father was on his way back home.  I hated to see him walk out my front door, but food needed to be delivered while it was still hot.

It is a nasty night out tonight weather-wise.  It is cold and raining heavily, and there seems no end to the rain on our local radar.  I will sleep well tonight I do portend. 

It is also 7:00pm meaning I have 40 more minutes to wait until my medications soak in.  I do hope they are gentle tonight.  The last few times I have taken them is like being hit in the cranium with a sledge hammer.  They have felt that strong. I just like the “butterflies in your stomach” feeling they impart. I don’t want to feel tired and drugged.

The Dog Father…

I’d make a terrible parent and that’s probably a good thing why I don’t have children.  I wouldn’t be able to say no when my child wanted candy or a toy.  

Charlie knocked on the door early this morning and Maggie went flying through the house to greet Charlie.  I opened the door and Charlie and I had a little discussion why we hate the time change. 

“It will get dark at 6pm tonight!” Charlie said with an aggravated tone to his voice.

Today we had sausage and egg biscuits and Maggie began begging as soon as I opened the fridge door to get out some yellow mustard.  I finally had to give Maggie a sausage biscuit to make her happy.  Her hair will probably start to fall out tomorrow or she will get projectile diarrhea.   It’s kind of like Montezuma’s revenge when it comes to dogs and people food.

Photo Credit:   http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g41129-d3400480-i87121551-McDonald_s-Elkton_Maryland.html

Farting Teacher Hidden Camera