Dad Just Gave Me This Weeks Puzzle...

Of the Caliber of Joyce...

George's Favorite Beer in the 30 pack.

My neighbor, George, is such a good fella. Most would find fault with his excessive drinking, but he is retired and living life on his own terms. He never seems drunk or slurs his words. You can smell it on him, though. My father would die if he knew we were getting to be such good friends feeling he would be a bad influence on me.

George offered me a beer today and I waved him off. I was content with drinking my diet Coke I had just acquired from the Circle K down the street -- 69 cents of bubbly and deceptively coy soda.

"Someone rifled through my car looking for valuables the other night," George told me as we sat on his carport. "I used to never lock it, but I am from now on."

He said they didn't steal anything, but it was certainly unnerving. I learned the hard way to always lock my car and never leave the key in it. The old civil South is gone. My car was stolen on Christmas day about five years ago.

"Christmas Day!?" George exclaimed when I told him about it. "That is just downright evil."

Yes, Another Grocery Day Rumination...

My father's rendition of spaghetti and meat sauce.

I would really love my spaghetti and meat sauce tonight, but I don't want to mess up my kitchen and clean all those pots and pans. I do know I am getting lots and lots of breakfast foods. I missed them last week not buying much of the morning fare. For the longest time, I would get four gallons of Milos famous sweet tea, but got tired of drinking it. Now? I get my 4 gallons of milk mostly eaten with Kroger frosted flakes. The Michael Angelos Italian meals are delicious and I plan on picking up a few of those and some Boston Market meals as well.

Post Tired Papa...

Dad, bless his heart, brought me more food tonight despite all he's gone through today.

"I know it's the end of the week and tomorrow's grocery night," he told me astutely. "I thought you would need some food to tide you over."

"I have zero food in this house," I replied so thankful at what he was carrying.

I got a double quarter pounder and cheese value meal and two more pieces of cake. You know he has got to be dead tired. He has been going all day. I was especially glad for the exlarge soda being the soda addict I am. I guess dad got it super sized.

The Magster hasn't seen my father in a few days so she really put on a show tonight for my father's arrival.

"Nobody's gonna be more glad to see you than your dog!" Dad exclaimed as he walked across the yard making barking noises and Maggie jubilantly barked back. "You've got Maggie so you don't need a wife!"

"Maggie is my wife," I replied to my father laughing. "She's been known to nag me as well for some nibbles or handouts."

We performed the medication ritual and fed and watered Maggie. Soon, my father was on his way home to call it a night.

Whew! My Head is Spinning!

People can get kinda confused when I talk about Bar-B-Q bread. I think it must be a Southern thing. The bread is really dense, semisweet, and yeasty. You don't slice it with a knife, but pull the individual slices off by hand.

The Game is Afoot!

I made it to the cookout which took a miracle. I was actually there at 10am to help my father cook the Bar-B-Q chickens. It took them an hour and a half to smoke on two grills. Dad grilled a dozen half chickens. Yes, we don't do anything half-assed around here as my father would say.

"Things are about to start hopping around here," my father said in a foreboding manner to me as he looked at his wrist watch.

Charlie and Janice soon arrived then things really started to pick up. I nervously shook everyone's hands and welcomed them inside.

"Hello, Andrew!" Charlie exclaimed as I gave Janice a hug smelling of smoked chicken.

Then came my brother and family soon followed by my sister and her family. The house got busy quick! Grandkids were everywhere! At one point, my heart got to pounding in my chest and I had to go sit out on the quiet front porch with my iPad. It was my much needed moment of solace for this introvert. Dad calls me "reserved" when I have those types of moments.

Dad and I then slathered the chickens with Bar-B-Q sauce one last time and then took them off the grill. We ate at noon. We each had a half chicken, two slices of buttery Bar-B-Q bread, a baked potato, and Janice had brought the salad which was delicious as well -- full of salad fixins. She had made a homemade blue cheese dressing which I about died for. It's truly my favorite dressing and the salad was almost my favorite part of the whole meal not to disparage my father's grilled chickens.

About four hours into being there, I told my father I had to sneak out to the car and head home to Maggie, solitude, and quiet. They were about to cut the cake and eat some ice cream. I had sat down in the den and tried to calm down -- my heart just pounding in my chest. It didn't work and I didn't want to ask for any medications.

"You did good, son!" he exclaimed to me. "I would have never thought you would have made it this far."

Well, as soon as I had gotten inside my house, Charlie came pulling up front in his Caprica. This is so a Charlie like thing to do.

"You forgot your cake and ice cream!" he said as I opened my front door. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you so much Charlie!" I told him with the world's biggest smile.

Dad's chocolate cake was primo and so was the homemade vanilla ice cream.

I'll Trade You a Sausage Biscuit for a Hug...

The routines must go on and Charlie was here at 8am this morning with Maggie's and my breakfast of three bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. I learned today that Horsefly also has to have a sausage biscuit before going to bed for the day. Charlie has to tear it into tiny little pieces to make sure Horsefly doesn't choke.

Big Birthday Bash Tomorrow and I am Already Nervous...

My father decided to put my sister's and my birthday together and have a big cookout tomorrow. Dad cooked a chocolate cake last night for my sister. Mom called me at 10pm and said icing was everywhere, but the cake turned out beautiful.

"There was icing on our clothes and all over the kitchen floor and counter," my mother told me.

Dad will also be barbecuing his signature barbecue chickens tomorrow afternoon which is one of my favorite meals he grills. I was fretting about what to wear and Charlie told me to just wash what I had on and wear that tomorrow. I was not about to wear an El Jimador Mexican restaurant t-shirt and sweat pants to the gathering.

"Do you want me to come trim your hair tonight?" Charlie selflessly asked as he sat in my parent's den.

"I'm fine," I told him with many thanks. "I will just wear one of my Auburn caps with an Auburn t-shirt and khaki pants."

"Watch out!" I told my father who sat next to me sipping on white wine. "The prodigal son is coming home tomorrow. I am seriously going to try and make it."

"I wish you would!" he exclaimed. "Your nieces and nephew ask about you all the time."

Normally, I would sit out on one of these gatherings, but I realized I am missing out on my brother's and sister's lives and their families by doing so.

Dad was kind and went ahead and gave me my medications after Charlie had left which will make for a pleasant afternoon and hopefully will quell the queasiness I am feeling right now.

Image Credit: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/131235/grilled-and-smoked-chicken-halves

Blog Comments...

 Rita said...
It is Friday and it makes me think of the wonderful meals Helen used to make. Has she returned to working for your parents? I know her car had problems, and your dad had a potential long term lender for her that was your grandmothers. We have not heard any updates on this matter lately. :-)

Andrew Replies...

Rita, she has not returned to work for my parents. I really don't know what the holdup is. I do know Helen recently called my father and asked if she could still have her old job back. I've been meaning to ask my father what was going on about that. I miss her soul food meals so very much. I would pay Helen a hundred bucks to prepare her meatloaf and macaroni and cheese. Cornbread and turnip greens? I would be in heaven.

Let's Tread More Softly Shall We?

Maggie and her Bunny

This has been a Maggie-centric day today. I called out to the small animal clinic this afternoon with much determination. Maggie's drops still haven't cleared up her right eye infection.

"Can Dr. Thomas just fix me up some antibiotics?" I asked a Veterinary Technician. "Maggie's and my nerves just can't endure the rigamarole of getting her out there again."

The Veterinary Technician called me back in an hour and said Dr. Thomas had some medications for me to pick up. I was relieved and drove directly out to the clinic to pick up the antibiotic pills and some more drops.

I then called my mother so she could put some of those smoky peanut butter Greenies pill pockets in a Ziploc bag for me. She said she would.  Those pill pockets sure make Maggie much more amenable to taking her medications.

There! So let's get things done about this! Hopefully, the extra antibiotics will do the trick. 

The Secretary...

We are waiting on Martha, my mother and The Secretary, to arrive. It is time for Maggie's heartworm and flea medications according to my mother's pet care calendar. I don't know what I would do without my mother's help in this matter. She is very diligent and astute about it all.

**************

My mother arrived and left. Maggie goes nuts for my mother when she comes inside. Maggie really put on a show today. Mom usually sits out at the road and honks the horn if she has something for me like my weekly Mexican meal.

Maggie also got two cans of Vienna sausages, which she just relishes, for being such a good girl and taking all her medications this afternoon. 

You Paid For It...

My father has just left after the medication ritual. He was excited to be off work and wanted to use my PC gaming computer in the den to look up things about the Queen's 90th birthday today. I no longer play modern PC games so it sits mostly unused in the corner of the den next to my entertainment center.

"This computer is wonderful!" my father exclaimed! "Did your birthday money pay for this?"

"The birthday money bought the rest of the components I needed to build the computer in the kitchen," I told him.

"My Dell is sluggish as all get out -- like molasses," my father said. "I always have to wait for it to do something."

"Would you like that computer?" I asked. "All I would do is swap the video cards since you don't game and I could bring it over tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" dad asked.

"Certainly," I said. "I will bring it over and get everything hooked up for you."

So Papa is going to have a new, very modern PC and I bet he will never buy a cheap computer again.

To Prove I am not Sexist!

LOL!

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered...

Well, I got my neighbor, George's, new wrought iron table and chairs on his carport. I had forgotten how heavy they were and I further realized how out of shape I am. I waited until he drove off for lunch at the Waffle House to avoid any social entanglements. Isn't that terrible of me? He will most likely walk over to offer me payment today. I will refuse. He had a plethora of beer on his carport, though. Mostly Miller High Life. It was very tempting to grab a beer and see how it affects me after all these years sober. It also looked like he was rolling his own cigars on his table which was very intriguing to this cigar connoisseur.

All For Risperdal...

My alarm clock went off at an ungodly 8:00am. I haven't been up this early in two weeks. Then the phone rang just as I was stepping into the shower.

"I hope you're up and at 'em," my father said. "It's shot day!"

I mumbled almost incoherently that I was getting ready to leave the house.

I towelled off and put on some clean clothes. I then awakened one of my dormant computers to check the weather -- another beautiful day in the South with just a 30% chance of thundershowers.

I think every policeman in the Valley got behind me on my drive to the pharmacy. I quickly buckled up as soon as the first policeman began tailing me. I kept telling myself if it was me they were after then they would just pull me over. The police don't play games. Still, it piqued my paranoid schizophrenic nature.

Rebecca was as congenial as ever. We talked of her daughter and her daughter's softball games.

"Tonight is the first game," Rebecca told me excitedly.

"You have a deft touch with those needles," I told her. "I didn't even feel today's injection."

I quickly hightailed it out of my doctor's office and headed back to my father at the pharmacy ever eager to get home. I handed him the next appointment card and got on the road back to my house.

I felt comforted getting my injection. You wouldn't want to know me without it and I bet it would come out in my writings as well. That'll keep the crazies away for another two weeks with the help of my nightly medications as well.

Happy Hump Day!

The Neighborly Thing to Do...

I had been over at my parent's house a moment ago taking my medications. My father was in no shape to drive tonight. I pulled into my driveway and my good neighbor, George, walked over to talk to me as I was getting out of my car.

"I'll pay you for that wrought iron table and chairs on your screened-in porch," George told me.

"It was a gift to me from my friend, Charlie, and it is going to be a gift from your neighbor, Andrew," I told George. "I will bring them over Friday."

George looked excited and shook my hand very, very vigorously.

"Now, the chairs are rocking chairs," I told my friend.

"I was hoping they were," George replied, already in the know.

I walked inside to start this week's crossword puzzle with a little coaching from my father on the phone. I could not think of the capital, Kabul, of Afganistan to save my life. I knew where the Gobi desert was, though. It's a great place to find dinosaur fossils.

Spin Doctors- Pocket full of Kryptonite- Jimmy Olsen's Blues

The Flirt...

I don't take much diphenhydramine these days, but today is one of those days that I needed it. It's great for slowing my mind and making me sleepy and restful. Fred's Super Dollar has a 24 pack of Fred's brand pills for $1.75 -- one of the best prices on that medication in the Valley.

We had a new cashier today. She was wearing a beautifully hued turquoise top with black pants and sandy colored sandals. She was also rather plump which I find attractive in a woman.

"That top looks so colorful and beautiful," I told her as she rang up my item.

I quickly diverted my eyes from her buxom chest.

"Why thank you!" she said as she blushed. "I've had two people already tell me that today."

It accentuated her ebony colored hair.

"Is he giving you trouble?" Kathy asked with a smile as she walked over to our register.

I laughed and the clerk smiled. Kathy was joking as I am one of her regulars.

I then ran by my parent's house just up the street to get my sodas and some cigars when I left Fred's. My father had called me earlier and told me they were out on the porch. He didn't want me to wake up my mother to get them.

Portishead - Sour Times

For Summer...

  Summer said...

I asked you a while back and never got an answer. Do you know how much land on either side of railroad tracks is considered owned by the railroad?

Railroad ROW (right-of-way) widths vary from state to state, and can vary within the state due to the railroad’s sale of land adjacent to the tracks. Inside city limits, the railroad ROW could be as narrow as 20 feet from the centerline of the tracks, or could extend from the centerline of the tracks to the ROW line of the nearby public street. 

 http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2654675

Summer, generally here it is from a few feet to 20 to 30 feet from each side of the tracks.

I've Been Saying this For Years...

It is actually mostly said as accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.

Writing a Mental Moment...

I am feeling antsy and with much anxiety at the moment so I thought I would write for a second and see if that grounds me. Writing makes the time fly by for me.

It is 8:30pm here and I hope and wish that every car that passes in front of my house is my father. Maggie is asleep on the couch while that vile Nancy Grace drones on the television. She makes a living off of other peoples problems, murders, and death. All of that to sell soap and automobiles. 400 people died in an earthquake in Ecuador and she centers on one aerobics teacher at a church getting killed in the same church yesterday.

Another car passed and I thought it was my father. Hopes dashed, I write some more. I guess I am going through withdrawal from all the psychotropic drugs I am on. These psychiatric medications can be a catch-22. You can't live with them and you can't live without them. My withdrawal seems to be especially acute tonight. Maybe it was my exertions earlier in the day. I've never been one to tread softly on this earth.

********

I often like to write the most when my medications are soaking in. My father will leave. Maggie will get on the bed behind me. I will turn on the air conditioning, and come in here to write.

********

My neighbors have a lamp post by the road with a bulb that changes colors every few seconds. I have found that interesting and intriguing. It is mesmerizing to watch. They also have those passé solar powered lights lining the walk to the front door.

********

9:07pm and he is not here yet. Maggie's sitting on the back of the couch on lookout. She will let me know when that jet black Honda pulls up in front of my house.

9:20pm Papa arrived to much fanfare from Maggie. My long wait is over for another day.

9:41pm My father has left and is heading home.

"I am getting me an ice-cold diet Coke, crawling into my recliner, and not moving until midnight while I watch the television," he told me.

Maggie has her rituals as well. As soon as my father leaves, she will want me to bring her bowl of dog food in here with me as she will be hungry. Then she will get on the bed and wait for me to come as well.

A Good Day is a Train Spotting Day...

There was a William's Bros. unit ballast train parked on our railyard's passing siding today. I walked a mile down the tracks to see if an engine was attached and there were two. I wish I could tell you what kind of engines they were, but they were modern engines which confound me. I think they were built by EMD? SD90MAC? Both were actually dissimilar when I think about it.

Well, I am exhausted after walking that mile down and the mile back to my car. I am so out of shape. My legs feel like jelly as I sit here and I rubbed a big blister on my big toe. Maggie? Honey? Get the leash because we're both going to start walking as soon as this blister heals. I also have to remember that I am no spring chicken and have surpassed the age of 44. A decade ago I could've walked six miles without breaking a sweat.

Good Graces to Follow...

It is edging much closer to that magical hour of 7pm and the close of the pharmacy and my father's arrival around 9pm. Maybe he will be early tonight much to my elation. I will be so glad to see my father as I have felt what I call "mentally interesting" all day. The symptoms are hard to describe. An edginess? Anxiety? Restlessness? I've kept busy all day to keep my mind off of it all. I will take my medications and will feel right as rain in a short seeming hour after they have been absorbed. Bedtime will soon follow after that as I do believe the Klonopin and the anti-psychotic make me sleepy.

I Have this Feeling, Too!

The Derrière Beckons...

This morning I sleepily picked up the phone and dialed my father's cell phone number.

"My injection is this Thursday so you may want to go ahead and fill my prescription," I told him with a gravelly, sleepy voice.

"You're a good man, son," he said, sounding relieved. "I had forgotten all about it."

"Well, I always get in a mess mentally when we forget it," I replied.

It will literally take me several days to recover.

My father said he was getting it out of the pharmacy fridge and would fill it as soon as we got off the phone.

"See you tonight," my father said as I was telling him goodbye as well. 

I then called my mother to put my sodas on the back porch. Mom had the back door open which meant she was receiving visitors. I stayed a few moments and we talked awhile. Mom's like me. We just get lonely sometimes. Even introverts crave conversation at times -- conversations of the right kind that is.

"I have a new book reading friend," my mother told me cheerily. "She is my age and has just latched onto me. She is also a millionaire."

"I am happy for you," I told my mother with much sincerity.

"She's coming by to bring me more books today and I have some books for her as well."

That explained my mother being dressed and receiving this time of the day.

"We man shop," my father said...

Luck be a sale tonight. My beloved Kroger frosted flakes were on sale for $2.99 a bag. I used the opportunity to stock up on or at least get two extra bags.

My mainstays tonight were Micheal Angelo's frozen Italian meals. This pleased my father very much. I've tried a few and they are very good. They are also more expensive than your average Marie Callendar meal and have less food per serving.  I ended up spending $71 dollars in all tonight.

For my sweets, I got Little Debbie pecan pinwheels and then some fancy apple pie filling and Blue Bell vanilla bean ice cream. I also got those two large bottles of hazelnut coffee creamer as well.

"We man shop," my father said as we walked to our cars. "Did you realize it took you only 20 minutes to do your shopping?"

"I already have it mostly planned out monetarily before I ever walk into the store," I replied to my father. "I already know where each item I want is at."

And the Queen declared, "Let there be sweets!"

http://chocolatecityweb.com/?p=112

Sweet foods are going to be my modus operandi on tonight's grocery store visit. I am especially craving my frosted flakes and milk. I would love a big cup of milky frosted flakes right now. I almost set out a moment ago to run to the Piggly Wiggly and buy some, but I don't want to face the equivalent of the Spanish inquisition in doing so.

"We're going to buy groceries tonight, ding head," my father would probably tell me.

I also want more of that hazelnut coffee creamer I like to drink in my milk, and yes we will be getting 4 gallons of whole milk as usual. Four gallons lasts me pretty much the whole week. I have always traditionally drank (drunk?) lots of milk over the years so that is nothing new.

I am also craving pecan twirls today which is a Little Debbie snack. This is why my pants are tight on me as I sit here and write this. I broke the button on my jeans yesterday. Dad will even ask me if I have enough sweets to eat for the week while we are on the way to checkout. He's my co-conspirator.

Sarah McLachlan-Surrender And Certainty

Frivolities...

I bought the new Star Wars film on Blu-ray when I was at Kroger last week. I just sat through another viewing of the film on my home theater. I was thoroughly pleased and entertained. My only real complaints were that Kylo Ren was such a wimpy villain (more like a petulant child) and also that the director used too many recycled plot ideas from the earlier movies. I know he did this to cater to the Star Wars diehards. I enjoyed the film none the less, though, despite these misgivings. Due to impatience and attention deficit, it is not like me to sit through a whole film like that.

Glittermom Wrote the Seemingly Acerbic Comment...

glittermom said...

Why cant you take your trash out instead of letting it pile up for Charlie to take out?

Andrew Replied...

I've learned for me to keep the house clean then I need a trash can in each room so it will be easy to throw trash away. That way it doesn't pile up.

Personally? I don't like it when Charlie does it. He usually only empties my kitchen trashcan. I will only have a few items in the trash bag in each room and then Charlie will not put an empty trash bag back into the trash cans. Etiquette decrees that I must be nice and say, "Thank you!"

The Comeuppance of Fried Chicken...

On the menu: Cold Pizza and KFC!

"That kitchen better still be clean from last week," Charlie told me laughing as he walked across my yard with a big box of KFC.

I had told Maggie earlier that Papa and Charlie were coming and I was true to my word. Maggie sat in the window for an hour waiting on them.

Maggie and I then stood at my screen door as the welcoming committee. Maggie barked and I talked -- welcoming my house guests inside.

"If it's dirty then he will clean it," dad said chuckling as he walked right behind Charlie carrying the drinks.

It was good to see those two fellas tonight and yes, my kitchen was clean. Charlie gathered all my trash bags around the house and then bagged up my empty milk jugs which seem to multiply on top of my fridge -- always the busybody. Dad and I sat on my couch and took my medications. He almost forgot two of my Klonopin and I pointed it out to him.

"I was talking and not paying attention to what I was doing," he told me.

They didn't stay long, though. Charlie has extra mouths to feed tonight and they had to feed mom as well. Any dawdling would mean cold food for everybody.

"Why are we whispering?" I asked.

"We don't want to wake your mother up," my father replied. "It is nice, quiet, and sleepy around here today and I want it to stay that way."

I don't know why I was whispering as well because mom's not going to hear me over the phone.

"Do you want Kentucky Fried Chicken tonight?" my father asked.

"Please," I replied. "And get me the three piece meal. A cameo appearance by the Colonel would be nice as well."

My father chuckled.

"Your mother said she is getting fried chicken as well," my father told me. "That is going to make it so much easier on Charlie and me tonight."

Crazy Andrew stayed up till 4 am working on his new computer. This motherboard hates most of the memory I have tried in it. I finally got four sticks of 2000 MHz ram running stable before I retired to the bed. I also installed a DVD rewritable drive as well which was a cinch.

Charlie was running late this morning and didn't deliver breakfast biscuits until 10:30 am. I was fitfully asleep when he arrived and Maggie woke me up.

"I bought Janice a new laptop," Charlie said. "Will you come over and migrate all her old data over to this new computer?"

I said I most certainly would.

Fort Tyler...

We are home to an old civil war fort, Fort Tyler, overlooking the Chattahoochee river basin. Every year they have a fundraising supper to help with the upkeep of this historical fort. The fort is only a few hundred yards down from my parent's house.

I was getting worried because my father still had not arrived at 10 pm. I am always so afraid he's going to have some wine and get a DUI. Just one hefty glass of wine can put you in the clinker quick these days. Well, he finally came rolling up in front of my house at 10:20 pm after attending that supper. Yes, he smelled boozy again. I was just glad he was okay. He was treating me very delicately due to this being two nights in a row he was very late with my medications.

"What's my eldest thinking tonight?" my father asked as he leaned onto me while we sat on the couch. "You're being quiet."

Here was another instance where I evoked my much touted Auschwitz Mantra. My problems, other than a late father and late medications, could be ten times worse. I really have it rather lucky when I thought long and hard about it after my father had left.

Well, Charlie will be here around 9 am in the morning with Sunday morning biscuits. That gives me something to look forward to and I can already taste those bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits as I write this. Bon Appétit!

A Bright Sunshiny South...

It is a wonderfully gorgeous day here in the Chattahoochee Valley this afternoon. I opened up all the windows in the house to let some spring air in. Maggie loves it when I sit out on the porch swing with ye olde iPad. She can be a little busybody and keep up with all the many pedestrians we have on my street.

Mom completely surprised me with that hot Little Ceasar's pizza a moment ago. I told her she was my little bit of instant bliss. We about couldn't hear each other talk due to Maggie's jubilant barking. I had to step out into the yard.

My Little Bit of Instant Bliss...

Mom just surprised me with a pizza. She's such a sweetheart. 

Making Progress...