Goats on Trees - Oh My!

Went just like we thought it would go. Micheal Bolton was let go last night. What an embarrassing performance to watch. Allowing himself to come crawling out of a dog house was just a little degrading. His dancing was way off as it was, and he is definitely no Elvis Presley. He was too stiff. Bruno's score of a 3 was appropriate I thought. Of course the audience didn't think so. So all in all I am pretty pleased with the way it went.

Loved Kyle Massey's Quickstep was fantastic. He is so animated when he dances that it is fun to watch. Sissie really liked Kurt Warner's dance. I thought he did pretty good and Bristol Palin sure improved. Jennifer Grey was so exhausted after her dance that even I felt her pain.

My prediction for next week is that it is time for Brandy and her nasty attitude to go.

Bon Voyage - Three Captains Quit Deadliest Catch!

EXCLUSIVE: A trio of stars of Discovery's hit reality series "Deadliest Catch" have left the show.

Capts. Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand (right) -- who were sued earlier this month by Discovery for allegedly not performing work on a planned spinoff special -- as well as Capt. Sig Hansen (below), issued a statement to the Hollywood Reporter this afternoon saying they are "unable" to continue on the hit adventure series due to the litigation.

"We have been through a lot over the past year and unfortunately given the current situation with Discovery we are unable to continue participating in 'Deadliest Catch,'" the three crab fishermen said in a joint written statement. "It has been a fantastic ride, and we wish the best to all of the amazing and supportive 'Catch' fans we have met over the years.

Well it is raining once again. The storm has been named "Nicole" and has already died. Guess she didn't like the sunny weather here in Florida.


Johnny's stat for today:

Wt - 200
BS - 219
BP - 130/82
Status: Sissie says he is driving her up the wall!

Getting a late start on boiling the peanuts as Frankie Jr. had a Safety Meeting today so he is late getting here. They will probably boil into the night.

Today's fun item is Goats on Trees. That's right. On Trees. Go figure!






Goats on trees are found mostly only in Morocco. The goats climb them because they like to eat the fruit of the argan tree, which is similar to an olive. Farmers actually follow the herds of goats as they move from tree to tree. Not because it is so strange to see goats in trees and the farmers like to point and stare, but because the fruit of the tree has a nut inside, which the goats can't digest, so they spit it up or excrete it which the farmers collect. The nut contains 1-3 kernels, which can be ground to make argan oil used in cooking and cosmetics.

I Found a Peanut...

We Love You Willie, Happy 33rd Birthday!

So Johnny and Frankie decided that the truckload of peanuts we had to pick a couple of weeks ago just weren't enough. They came home with another huge truckload yesterday and spent all day having to get them ready to boil. Sissie and I haven't had the heart to tell them that the freezer is full and we aren't sure where we will put them. So tomorrow they will be spending all day boiling them.

Well it looks like we will be having our first Tropical Storm come through later this week. Sissie is kind of excited as we both like rainy days. Not easy on the puppies though and the mud that gets tracked through the house, or the men complaining that there is nothing on tv and always hungry ("when are you going to cook?") , and they are bored and on and on and on.

Today's stats for Johnny:

Wt - \
BS - 256
BP - 122/76

Tune in tomorrow for our reactions to the latest DWTS loser. Sissie and I really liked Kurt Warners dance, Micheal Bolton was just too stiff, Jennifer Grey's dance was fantastic but the costume and the color of it kind of took away from the whole thing. We loved Bristol Palins dance and Kyle Massey. We both figure tonight's elimination will be either Micheal Bolton or Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino? Do you agree?

Today's fun item are some really bad headlines that got past the editors.

What does it mean "remain dead"?

Does this editor believe in reincarnation?

Note: The Diana headline is from the British satirical magazine Private Eye.

Who writes this stuff and where is the editor

World's worst psychics?

Stormy Weather

What a day. It has been storming almost nonstop since last night. We are having the first cold front of the year coming through and it brought with it some severe lightening and thunder. Sure had my puppies all upset.

Sissie is doing much better except that she sounds like she has laryngitis her throat is so sore.

We once again have Mikey for tonight and what a joy he is being. He hates Heinz 57 and A-1 sauce but does love ketchup on his noodles. He is actually eating meat tonight. Normally we can't get him to eat any.

So has anyone seen the new design on McDonald's buildings?


What are they thinking? McDonalds is suppose to be fun not grown up. Looks like a samurai sword across the roof. Mimi said that they are suppose to be a happy place but now it looks like a frown.

At least go retro, back to the old design...


And what has become of the huge Double Arches?


Now for a little fun. Found these stories and thought I would share.




A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. The woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town. Needless to say, the couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing.




When a husband found out that his new wife took too long in the airport restroom, he decided to get on the plane without her! The woman in question, a teacher, had gone to use the facilities at the airport before boarding a flight back to Saudi Arabia. Exactly how long she stayed in the toilet remains unclear. What is certain is that she emerged to discover her husband had vanished without trace. The woman, who had paid for the holiday, began a desperate search of the airport and grew increasingly concerned that something terrible had happened to him. When he arrived at his destination, he calmly told relatives his new wife was still in Malaysia. His bride was not so calm about his behavior. She demanded an immediate divorce.

Just another day

Florida 48, Kentucky 14

One lazy Sunday for us all. Watched the race today and the Gator game was on yesterday (YEAH GATORS!) Was going to cookout but it rained last night and looked like it would rain all day today. Half of us are fighting a cold so we just decided to do nothing. Sissie is really taking a knock from the cold with a nasty sore throat. Her blood sugar when tested this morning was 153 and the redness and swelling from her leg is gone so the antibiotic is working.

Johnny is out cleaning out his toolbox.

His stats this morning:

WT - 202
BS - 328
BP - 130/82

He started taking 25 units of insulin last night.

Not much planned this week. Sissie and I are going to watch "The Prince of Persia"

Today's fun items are miniature art carved on lead on the tips of pencils by Dalton Ghetti.

Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends. He said: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand”

The Alphabet

The longest Dalton has spent on one piece was two and half years on a pencil with interlinking chains. A standard figure will take several months. He said: “The interlinking chains took the most effort and I was really pleased with it because it’s so intricate people think it must be two pencils”

I added this one in honor of Sissie.

I love how he carved into the wood and lead for this one.

Truly a piece of art. Wonder how many pencils it took to get it right.

When Dalton, from Connecticut, USA, first started he would become frustrated when a piece would break before being finished after he had spent months working on it. He said: “It would drive me mad when I would be just a bit too heavy handed and the pencil’s tip would break. I would get very nervous sometimes, particularly when the piece was almost finished, and then I would make a mistake. I decided to change the way I thought about the work – when I started a new piece my attitude would be ‘well this will break eventually but let’s see how far I get. It helped me break fewer pencils, and although I still do break them, it’s not as often”

Things that make you say WHAT!?!

FRENCHTOWN, Montana – A Montana woman fended off a bear trying to muscle its way into her home Thursday by pelting the animal with a large piece of zucchini from her garden.

The woman suffered minor scratches and one of her dogs was wounded after tussling with the 200-pound bear.

The attack happened just after midnight when the woman let her three dogs into the backyard for their nighttime ritual before she headed to bed, Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli said. Authorities believe the black bear was just 25 yards away, eating apples from a tree.

Two of the dogs sensed the bear, began barking and ran away, Maricelli said. The third dog, a 12-year-old collie that wasn't very mobile, remained close to the woman as she stood in the doorway of the home near Frenchtown in western Montana.

Before she knew what was happening, the bear was on top of the dog and batting the collie back and forth, Maricelli said.

"She kicked the bear with her left leg as hard as she could, and she said she felt like she caught it pretty solidly under the chin," Maricelli said.

But as she kicked, the bruin swiped at her leg with its paw and ripped her jeans.

The bear then turned its full attention to the woman in the doorway. She retreated into the house and tried to close the door, but the bear stuck its head and part of a shoulder through the doorway.

The woman held onto the door with her right hand. With her left, she reached behind and grabbed a 14-inch zucchini that she had picked from her garden earlier and was sitting on the kitchen counter, Maricelli said.

She threw the vegetable. It bopped the bruin on the top of its head and the animal fled, Maricelli said.

The woman called for help from a relative staying with her. They found the collie outside, unable to move, and took it to a veterinarian.

The dog appeared to be fine on Thursday, but the vet was keeping it for observation, Maricelli said.

Just When You Think You've Seen It All

Along comes something else to laugh at. But more on that in a minute.

Sissie is doing pretty good with the cellulitis. The leg doesn't seem to be as swollen. The dr. put her on Cephalexin and that is working. Her diabetes is still to early to tell how that is going (considering she has only tested her blood once since she learned she had it "it hurts" she says).

Johnny is having to increase his insulin 5 units every 5 days until it levels off at a consistent 150. Right now he is at 20 units once a day. His weight and BP is staying pretty level. He is doing pretty good. He and Frank have built a smoker and are constantly on us for meat to do on it.

Frank did find his cell phone the next morning right in the spot where he was getting loaded. Such a relief that it didn't get ran over. Was even still charged up.

Beautiful weather these days with a hint of fall in the air. The guys have really been making a difference cleaning up around the shop.

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF....

What's a Penny Worth?

Sometimes pennies can be more trouble than they're worth. While a 1909 penny could send a postcard or buy a few eggs, in 2009 it can't even purchase itself: the U.S. Mint spends 1.4 cents on every penny it produces.

The Bladeless Fan

Ever since Schuyler Skaats Wheeler introduced the electric fan 127 years ago, there hasn't been much innovation in the field. The old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind. But who ever said it was perfect? Certainly not James Dyson, which leads us to the bladeless, nonbuffeting Air Multiplier. Air is pulled in through vents in the base and then pushed out by a hidden impeller over a circular airfoil-shaped ramp that runs inside the rim of the halo, creating an uninterrupted stream of cool air. Because it's bladeless, the Air Multiplier is safer than conventional fans, and it retains normal functions like tilt, oscillation and speed control. It looks cooler too.

In Case of Emergency...

Please Remove Your Bra

Caught in a disaster? You'd better hope you're wearing the Emergency Bra. Simply unsnap the bright red bra, separate the cups, and slip it over your head -- one cup for you, and one for your friend.

Dr. Elena Bodnar won an Ignoble Award for the invention last year, an annual tribute to scientific research that on the surface seems goofy but is often surprisingly practical. And now Bodnar has brought the eBra to the public; purchase one online for just $29.95.

"The goal of any emergency respiratory device is to achieve tight fixation and full coverage. Luckily, the wonderful design of the bra is already in the shape of a face mask and so with the addition of a few design features, the Emergency Bra enhances the efficiency of minimizing contaminated bypass air flow," explains the eBra website.

SHOCKED!!

I AM TOTALLY, SERIOUSLY ANGRY!

Can you believe that "THE HOFF" was eliminated from the first night of "Dancing With The Stars"? We all know that Margaret Cho should have been the first to go. Of course Sissie was freaking out, thinking that Kurt Warner would be the first to go.

We really are rooting for Kyle Massey, Jennifer Grey and Kurt Warner. Florence Henderson made a good showing, Micheal Bolton was too stiff as was Bristol Palin. We will continue to watch until our favorites are eliminated then who knows.....

DR'S VISIT

Sissie and Johnny were both seen by the dr today. Johnny still needs to increase his insulin until it is at a certain amount. Otherwise he is doing good. Unfortunately, Sissie isn't so good. She has Cellulitis and diabetes. She was put on Cephalexin and Metformin.

IN OTHER NEWS...

We are celebrating Mimi's 16th birthday tonight. Yesterday was her birthday but Shelby ended up in the hospital from dehydration. She is doing better. Just has a virus.

Frank lost his cellphone in the woods today getting loaded. All those numbers to all his friends and job contacts. Just hope one of the guys out there will find it soon. Man can't function without his phone.

A Little Fun

Today we have for your viewing pleasure ...


Mikey

Lying Down?

There are times when you catch someone "lying down" on the job...

or is it "laying down"?

Either way, getting caught is not good....

having to explain yourself can be embarrassing unless.....

you can catch your helper doing the same thing. Once again, is it "lying down or laying down"?

Johnny and Joyce
9/18/1956

Doing Good...

Doing pretty good these days. Everyone is healthy and feeling fine. Frank and Johnny have been cleaning the yard and doing a dang good job at it too. Thought I would upload some pictures I have been taking lately. These are just a few of them and will post some more of them tomorrow.

Mikey has been spending a few days with us and he is having a good time.

Frankie and his friend Ricky went fishing this past week and they caught this Spanish Mackerel and ......

30 mullet. Not as many as usual, but enough to fry and some to smoke.

Shelby even tried her hand at cleaning fish.

The light of our lives.

Johnny's stats have been running pretty good. He is now on the insulin shot and it seems to be doing it's job. He goes for a checkup tomorrow.

Today Frankie and Shelby went to the Dr. for their first Ultrasound. She is 12 weeks and 4 days and is due on March 25. We are very excited. The video is of the ultrasound taken this morning. Looks like he is going to be a very active baby. Shelby is going to have her work cut out for her! We don't know the sex yet but they are hoping it is a boy. I'm just happy to finally be a grandmother. Enjoy....

Osteen Baby @ 12 Weeks

It's happened again!

Believe it or not, twice this week we have had Water Moccasins in our yard! This one was found by Johnny yesterday evening crawling across the driveway next door down from Frankie's house. Johnny didn't have a gun with him so he BEAT it to death with get this....A PVC PIPE!!

This is getting way too scary to even let the dogs go out. We watch them carefully.




Of course they had to carry it off from here and this is the pole with the snake on the end of it that he used. Men are so crazy!

Had a pretty good day today. Frank filed for unemployment and then got a phone call from a friend to drive a truck for him for a few days. He also has a meeting with another man he knows to possible drive a truck for WBT Trucking. They haul chips to the mills from Cross City. I knew it wouldn't be long before he finds another job. He can not stand to be idle for long.

Johnny is doing pretty good today. He wasn't feeling well last night. Complained of a headache and said he wasn't feeling right. He actually went into the bedroom and went to bed well before his normal time. He said it wasn't bad enough to go to the dr. though. He is out with Frank today. They are still working on their new smoker they are building.

His stats for today are...

WT - 197
BS - 250
BP - 118/80


Today's entertainment is -- UNUSUAL CANNED MEATS

This one is Whale in Curry Sauce

A Whole Chicken! Fully Cooked!

Crocodile in Curry Sauce from Thailand

Frog Legs in a spicy Curry Sauce

Cajun Style Alligator

Ready to Eat Jellied Eels from Thailand

Pork Brains in Milk Sauce (check out the cholesterol!)

Hot Dogs in Brine Sauce

"Road Weary Possum"

Yoder's Smoked Canned Bacon! (notice the camouflage label, must be a hunter's specialty)