Christmas Time

Well after my last rant about Christmas I think it is only fair that I say some more upbeat things about it. It was quiet, for the most part. Some of Matt's friends popped in for a few minutes Christmas Eve and Casey's brother Shane and his girlfriend/soon to be wife, came over a little later. She is ready to pop with their first baby. She looks so cute. She is very slim all over and looks like she is hiding a basket ball under her shirt. The evening ended early. The food was good and their was plenty of leftovers for Christmas Day munching. As you know, Mom, that would be me, celebrates Christmas much like Megan celebrates her birthday. It's a lengthy process, often encompassing weeks prior to the actual event. And this year was no different. As Christmas grew closer and closer, my pile of items that were purchased for me or my use became larger and larger until it occurred to me that to wrap them would have made the "piles" of gifts uneven, so I chose to open them early. ;-). But I am enjoying my pressure cooker, my fancy bowels, my huge counter top roaster oven, my new silverware, my foot massager, AND my very very cool Sharp steamer with the long handles with it's little body on wheels that I can now drag around, as well as my 4 new The Sims 2 game additions that did actually get wrapped and put under the tree.

William gave everyone specially chosen DVDs. I got seasons 1,2 and 3 of Seventh Heaven. Very cool. Daddy got season 3 of Star Gate SG!. David got a movie I can't remember and Matt got another movie he liked. He put a lot of thought into it and wrapped them all himself.

David gave us all Christmas Stockings disguised as Zip-Loc bags chocked full of our favorite candy. That was a wonderful gift from him. I'm still enjoying that one. He knows what I like.

Lyndsey gave me an adorable birdhouse and Daddy a really neat set of DVDs of History's Days that shook the World. William got a DVD of Dark Wing Duck. I forget what she gave David.

Daddy had some ink prints of his home town that we have been carrying around with us for years. They are quite lovely and have just been stacked in our closets. So this year I framed them for him with a pretty matting. They really turned out nice. He was very surprised and needless to say never would have guessed what they were. He thought they were pictures of the children. Fooled him.

All in all it was a good holiday. Christmas day was very quiet. Mom stayed in bed and recuperated from the preceding month refusing to do anything for anyone, but was up the following day.

That Time of the Year

Well of course everything is going to breakdown at Christmas time. What better way to SPEND the Yule Tide than to spend massive amounts of money repairing and replacing things around the house. Like having to replace the furnace and air conditioner. Then having a crack in the pipe of the main water line into the house and digging a hole in the front yard. My oven has been broken for months and it's been getting more and more difficult to make meals so we are going to need to replace it soon too. And of course your father's car has broken down with what is an expensive repair. So even though we have successfully kept the Grinch at bay so far this year, it is getting harder and harder to keep a smile on our faces with all this crashing down on us right now. But we have a nice Christmas tree and presents under it and your father is on vacation for 3 1/2 weeks. A first for him. But I think he is enjoying it. We go out to breakfast a lot and I'm loving that. Lyndsey and Casey are here for the holidays and I'm glad for that. I wish I had some grandbabies here to cuddle and love on for the holidays. Maybe next year. I have lovely grandpuppies. They are sweet, but somehow not quite the same.

Here are pictures of a Platter I had made that didn't turn out quite how we would have liked. I love the picture and everything about it except the crack down the center. She did a wonderful job on the painting of it. But it cracked in the kiln. She didn't charge me for it because of the crack, so we will try again next year. And maybe I'll spell Matthew's name right the next time.

William Still Working Hard

William has lost 31 pounds so far. He really does work hard at it. He is very focused about it. I so proud of him.

William Working Hard

William has lost 15 pounds in the last month. He is working so hard at it. He walks twice a day, all by himself, without being prodded and does at least 50 crunches every day. He is becoming much more aware of what he puts in his mouth too. I think that within 6 months at this rate he will be at a good weight and maybe he can start using weights to put some definition in his shape. My son the "Buff Guy". Wouldn't that be something.

Superman is Alive and Well and Living in Enterprise

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Cold weather has come to Alabama. I had to actually put on P.J.s last night. It is 60 degrees out right now and it got down to the low 40's last night. Time for long sleeves and sweaters for me. It took 8 years, but my blood is now thinned to need some coverage when the temperatures drop. I know I won't get any sympathy from all of you who live in the Northern Tundra, but for here it is cold. But I can bet I won't be doing my Christmas shopping in any more that long sleeves or a sweater.

Stay Off the Sidewalks

Well on Tuesday David got his driver's license. What a day. In Alabama they don't do road tests if it is raining. But of course I didn't know that. So we sat for hours hoping and praying that the rain would stop. After it finally stopped we had to wait for the roads to dry. I thought David was going to have a hemorrhage. But the rain finally stopped and the roads finally dried enough to take the test, then the computer went down. Oi Vey. I started to wonder if God was trying to tell me something. But by 11:30 he was a licensed driver. I know that every one of my children have had this time in their life and I know it well. But it never ceases to amaze me how many different urgent reasons there are in the first few days after a child gets his license to drive somewhere. Friends get stranded, teachers think of new supplies that are needed by the next morning, special food is craved, other friends are lonely or afraid and then there is the old stand by, "I just want to get out of the house". Daddy and I give grades as to the creativity of the reasons. We endure this for about 2 weeks until the newness and sheer joy of driving everywhere wears off, then crack down. It will be amazing how things will change from to fun to a chore when I ask for some driving done on my behalf. At least he won't have to pick up his little brother and take him anywhere.

My Son the Rock Star

In honor of his 16th birthday I took pictures of my brand new 16 year old baby boy. My sweet little mop top. I know he looks like "Cousin It" from the Adams Family, but I love him anyway.

Still Nothing Going On

What does One do with these blogs when One does not have an exciting life? I suppose I could make stuff up, but that takes too much energy and I never did learn how to keep my lies straight, so that doesn't sound like the right way to go here.

Daddy is gone again. He is attending some meetings in D.C. I think. He will be able to visit with his good friend Greg from Clifton Springs. It's been so nice for him to keep in touch with his childhood friend. Greg is a retired Army JAG and lives in Alexandria, VA. So often when Bill goes up that way he is able to have dinner with Greg. He is supposed to get home on Friday. Once again I'm in a cleaning frenzy. Somehow my bedroom never gets all the way clean. I make piles and baskets and boxes of things, but never quite get them all put away. Maybe this time I can make a huge dent in them.

Heather called last night and asked me to tell her children about the time I tried to teach Heather how to cook Southern Fried Chicken. It made me smile. As it turned out, last week I had made Fried Chicken twice last week and every time I make it I always think of the calamitous cooking lesson with Heather and I crack up. She and I both took note that after that unfortunate incident I never again attempted to teach my daughters to cook. So with few exceptions, any cooking you learned at my knee was really an accident on my part. Had I actually tried to teach you on purpose, I may have blown up the house or something equally horrible. Be glad your powers of osmosis were good or your husbands would have had to spend the first year of marriage eating PB & Js.

Well David is the big 16 now. Yesterday was rather a disappointment for him. None of his big plans panned out. Bless his heart, he took the time during his whining about how sucky his birthday had been to tell me that it was nothing that I had or had not done for him, but that his friends had all blown him off. He appreciated the fried shrimp and home made french fries I made for him. And the video game he got for the XBox 360. Maybe today will be better. I think he is going to go out to lunch with friends. He is off from school today and tomorrow.

William has lost 12 pounds in the last few weeks. He gets up every morning about 6 and walks around the neighborhood. I managed to get his desire to be thinner to fall into his groove of OCD. So he is very good about it. I've added it to his list of morning routines. Like showering and brushing teeth and changing underwear and socks. I've discovered he can not read a non digital scale or an analog clock. I need to work on that.

Daddy and I went to Kohl's in Dothan on Saturday. It just opened and was full of really really good sales. He got me an early Christmas present of a new George Forman Grill with changeable plates. The last few times we had company for dinner, I noticed that I no longer had any serving bowls so Daddy bought me these really cool bowls I found at Kohl's. They will definitely match anything, won't they.

Not much going on here

Daddy has been gone since... darn, I can't even remember when he left. Tuesday I think. Things have been quiet. The ONLY think I like about him being gone is that I can pile things on his side of the bed and not worry about it when I'm ready to go to sleep. I've been cleaning and cleaning and organizing. Whew!! I'm not use to such hard work. But I have a rhythm now. I work on the computer for a few minutes, then I tackle the closet for a few minutes, then I do something productive in the kitchen, then I clean something in the bedroom, then I go back to the computer and start all over again. Bill comes home tomorrow and the bedroom is in that awful state of being worse before it gets better. I hope I have long enough to pass through that and make it to the finally finished phase.

Some Original Art

I thought that I would post some of the items I've created in the past year or so. They are really just a work in progress, but it's fun to look back and see what I've learned to do.

Not Much Going On Here

I was busy all day and don't have a thing to show for it. I didn't even get the kitchen clean. But I think I was moving around all day. I sat down at he computer around 6:00 and saw over 27 emails from my daughters. It cracks me up that there can be so much discussion about the most mundane things. I love it. I'm glad you guys missed me.

Big News For William

Last night we had company. There is a new single sister in the ward that has two children who are both disabled. The little girl is 5, Amy Beth, and her son is 8 and named William. Her daughter is Autistic and William has Asperger's Syndrome. Well as if that wasn't enough similarities to make for a good friendship, but NO... there is more. William mini-me is a Star War's fanatic too. How is that for cool. They spent hours playing Star Wars video games and going back and forth to our William's room to look at the Star Wars toys. Our William asked me if he could give little William a toy that he had duplicates of. I thought that was so sweet of him. Tonight, while his momma, Gail, is home packing for a week-end trip, mini me is here once again playing with his new found friend, Maxi me. I'm about 10 feet away, on my computer and can hear some of the oddest conversations. "William, stop trying to kill me. Please stop. You have to stop, because I tend to get upset easily". "Don't kill him, we don't want to kill him, I like him." I just went in to see what they were actually doing. I find our William going all over the game set with his person (leia ?) giving a running commentary to little William on what to do with his person (Luke). Little William is on some sort of animal going in circles, over and over. The two of them look like they are completely oblivious of what the other player is doing. I could be wrong about that, what do I know. I just heard a loud. "Oh NO you DIDN'T". What a crack up. Anyway, I thought you'd like to know that William has a friend. Here are their pictures in the Austin Powers Mini Me Pose.

Forgot to Mention This!!

My Ultra Cool youngest daughter Lyndsey... reminded me that I ALMOST had a phone call from Tony Orlando, of Tony Orlando and Dawn fame. Weeks ago she called me and asked who he was and I screeched at her, "girl, don't you know him? You know... Tie a Yellow ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, Knock Three Times, Take A Letter Maria... You know... Tony Orlando. How can you not know who he is?" Possibly because she is only 23 years old and she was a baby in the 80's. Anyway he wanted to call me after she mentioned to him that her mother is a fan of his. But sanity returned to her and she assumed (correctly) that I would have had a heart attack if I had gotten a phone call from him without being warned first. So those are my two latest brushs and almost brushs with fame. Oh I've had other brushes with fame, but I'll save those for another day.

A little Excitement

Well... you know how I'm always saying that nothing ever happens around here and I never have anything to write about in this blog. Well something finally happened that might actually make my list of top 100 Moments in Time and I thought I'd share it with you. As you know, my baby daughter, Lyndsey, works for a communications company that organizes conference calls and orchestrates the radio tours done by celebrities that we hear all the time on the air. Well this morning I got a call from this young man. Billy Gilman called my cell phone to tell me what a wonderful daughter I have. (I knew that already) I thought that was really sweet of him. He is doing a radio tour to promote the MD telethon that Jerry Lewis hosts every Labor Day week-end. He is the "Youth Host" this year. We chatted just a few minutes and I told him I really liked his music and asked what music was coming out. He said he has a new CD out entitled "Billy Gilman" and another one is scheduled for release next summer. He thanked me for asking him. He was very sweet and well mannered and respectful. I think I will stay a fan and buy all his CD's. ;-)

A Moment in Time

This is a picture to immortalize the semi-submerged submarine that Kinley and Tanner encountered in their tub yesterday morning. This picture was commissioned by their Grandma and painted by their Uncle William.

Just Another Day

Today I can walk, and after spending yesterday with little hot pad plasters stuck to my knees they are feeling much better. All things being relative, they are better than they were yesterday, not as good as they were 20 years ago. I think I actually got a good 8 hours sleep last night. Imagine that. I was up and showering by 7:15. David missed his bus this morning, so Daddy took him to school. That was nice of him. Yesterday, before I even showered I got a call from David telling me that he had forgotten his medicine, so I hobbled to the school to get it to him. I sure don't want to ruin a good thing with him. He is doing SOOOO much better in school this year so far. I only wish I had had him tested years ago when I suspected he was ADD and I sure wish I had had Matt tested. I KNOW he is. Every night he is doing his homework. Which is better than last year when he NEVER did any homework. Anyway.... minutes after I got home from the school, I got a call from Matt, asking me to bring him some cold remedies and pain relievers. Poor baby, he was suffering from a snoofy nose and plugged head something awful. So I gathered together a bag of everything I had (which was a lot) and drove over to his house, which is about 1 mile away from where I had just been with David. Oi. I won't go into the details of Matt's house. Suffice it to say, that it looks like 4 young men live there. One of them just turned 21, so I expect that the piles and towers of beer cans and squished cigarette packs will only get wider and higher. I did manage to rescue the arm chair that we had given him that goes with the dining room table and chairs we had. It works much better at my computer than the chair I had been using. It is higher and seems to be less of a strain on my knees getting up and down. But just like at the other house, I have to keep shooing Supie off of the seat. She either REALLY likes Burnt Sienna Corduroy or she smells Matt (her boy) on the seat. Interesting.

Just got an email from my friend needing the wedding pictures. She needs them by tomorrow, so I need to get to work.

Not Much Going On

I cleaned and scrubbed the Jacuzzi yesterday and last night I took a nice long hot soaky bath with the jets running. What a treat. My Alan Jackson playing from my iPod and speakers and the silly dog perched on the top ledge of the tub watching me. Perverted dog. Anyway.... this morning I can't move. My knees are in agony from turning over in the tub and putting weight on them to get up and out of the tub. Oi Vey. I am just too old. Oddly they both hurt the same, which is really strange considering one of them is bionic and the other isn't. Well I got a clean tub out of the deal, so that's good. I just may never get to use it again.

It's been pretty quiet here of late. Daddy went on a 3 day trip last week. I hate it when he is gone. But I got a lot done. The house is getting better and better. I don't know what I would do without William. He is such a blessing and a help to me.

Well I have to work on a wedding project for a friend. Actually it is the set of pictures from Lyndsey's husband's brother's wedding. But I have to have them ready by this Friday. So off to work I go.

I DO Love Technology

I just saw the post on Megan's site about Paul Potts from England singing. What a little jewel that film clip is. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA

Also, if you want to see something else truly amazing watch this video clip. It's called "The Battle at Krugar". It's 8.23 minutes long, but you must watch the whole thing. You won't believe it was filmed by an amateur. And you won't believe what happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

The "You Tube" site is an amazing place to spend a few minutes. There are all sorts of things to watch. But be very specific in what you want or search for, because there is also a lot of yuck.

Little Brother David

David is doing so well. It seems that having a job has changed him. He says he really likes making his own money. But more than that, he seems to have a new maturity about him. He has been getting along better with everyone, and not so quick to anger. He comes home from school and changes and then I take him to work. He comes home around 7:30 or 8:00 and then piddles around a little, eats dinner, then does his homework, piddles around a little more, plays his guitar, then goes to bed. For the most part he gets himself up in the morning, not counting the last two days.... but so far he has 100's in all his classes. Amazing what a little bribery and actually find things to give positive reinforcement on. I'm loving it. He loves his new guitar and he seems to really appreciate the fuss I make over his playing and the pictures of himself I make for him. He puts them on his website and his friends think they are "cool".

He got my organ up and running the other day. It hadn't been touched for so long, and when I wanted to play it, it wouldn't work. Anyway he played with it and got it working again. I played some hymns this morning and worked the kinks out of my fingers. That was fun. I think I may do that more often.

FHA Kit Collections

Heather's


Megan's


Courtney's


Mom's

I Should Have Known Better...

You know those moments when you just knew you shouldn't be patting yourself on the back for being in control of things. You just know that the morning of Prom you are going to wake up with either Chicken Pox or zits, or the day you are given the City's Best Parent Award is the day you child gets picked up for shoplifting.  Well I was sitting here feeling all warm and fuzzy with visions of peace, love and harmony in our home flitting through the lamb filled green pastures of my mind. After all, didn't I just relate David's plans for his first paycheck. Didn't I just beam at the thought that David would share his bounty with his older brother who has waited for months to have enough money to get the toy of his dreams. Yes!! The tide is turning. The stars are aligning and there will be love in this home..... Just as I am basking in this warm light, my darling eldest son calls me into his inner sanctum to show me the latest footage of his ongoing feature cartoon, "The MacAhroon's"  Above are the pictures.  They are rather self explanatory.  

I think I will go lay down now.   I am undecided as to whether I will laugh or cry.  I really should have known better.

Rock & Roll & Roll & Roll

Big doins' at the Ahroon house. David bought his first lead guitar with his own money that he earned by being my slave for 3 months this summer. The night before he knew he was able to buy it was just like Christmas for him. He could not sleep. It was so cute. He also has a job. He's been trying to get one all summer with no success (which is why Dad had to be his bank) and finally, while I was picking up burgers at the joint down the street from us, the manager asked if David had been able to ever get a job. I told him no because he was still only 15. David had asked at least a dozen times over 3 months if he had an opening. So he told me to bring him in. So today is his first day. He is, of course dreaming of all sorts of ways to spend his newly found wealth. One sweet thing he told me. William has been saving for months to buy a new Xbox 360 Elite game system. David said that with his first paycheck he was going to give money to William. Now a cynical mother would see that as a shameless attempt to win favor in order to have unlimited use of said xBox. But I choose to see this as a little rosebud that smells soooooo sweet with love and affection.

This is a Pictorial collage of grunge, blood and gore that more or less reflects my feelings about Rock and Roll. Underneath the yuck is my sweet baby boy playing his above mentioned new guitar. Yes I know his hair is too long. Believe me, I know his hair is too long. This mother chooses her battles very carefully. And his hair isn't even in the top 5.

Oi Vey!! What A Day I Had Today!

Well today was the first day of school and I was so looking forward to a whole day of doing what I wanted instead of doing what David wanted. I drove him to school this morning because I had to go with Daddy to drop his car off at the repair shop and then drive him to work. David normally takes the bus, but I figured since I was going to the same general area... what the heck. I would take him just this morning. The last thing I said to him as I dropped him off at school, after I told him I loved him and told him to have a good day, was "don't you dare call me to bring you something you have forgotten or something you simply must have". Silly me. So I get home with visions of sugar plums in my head.... ooops, wrong time of year. So I get home with visions of a day of no interruptions and a day to focus on whatever I want to do. Within 15 minutes of getting home I get a phone call from the school nurse telling me that they can not allow David into classes because he does not have his shot record on the standard blue sheet of paper and nothing that documents David having gotten the tetanus shot that was required. I knew he needed the shot and as usual waited until the last minute before school started to get him the shot. I hadn't been able to make an appointment with his doctor before school started, so our home teacher, the ER doctor gave it to him on Monday in the Dr. lounge but didn't have the paperwork to write on. Well I, being so wise in the ways of Alabama school regulations.... NOT... thought it was more important to actually get the shot than to document it right then. I figured I could get the proper paperwork later form whomever I had to. Anyway.... I had to go to our home teacher's house, wake him up to sign some papers, then spend 2 hours at the Public Health office waiting until everyone had been seen for WIC, Family Planning and whatever else they do there. It would have taken 3 minutes to fill out the form onto blue paper. To make matters worse, because as we all know, never never do things in a normal straightforward way with no problems, my right knee that had been bothering me for the last 3 or 4 days chose the time in the Health Dept. to go out completely. So now I'm paralyzed because no matter which way I move it's agony. And after I finally get the paper it takes me 10 minutes to walk to my car. I then drive to the school and pull up in front of the school and have spent the last 5 miles calling the school to have David come out to the car and get the paper so I don't have to get out of the car. The line is busy the whole time. I slowly get into the building and by the time I see David I am out of breath and tears are forming. I find him in of all places in the library being confined with all of the other kids who had dared not bring in there blue paper. You know how much I love bureaucracy. I completely understand the need to sequester those children because the floors of the school are covered in rusty nails and there is a real risk of a pandemic of Lock-Jaw in Enterprise.

I didn't get home until after lunch. Needless to say my visions of sugar plums were no where to be seen.

Snowbunnies Heather & Noah

I thought this picture was so cute it just screamed to be framed.  First the before then the after.

Original Creation

I made this a couple of years ago. It was created in Photoshop with stamps and brushes.

Busy Busy Busy

I've been so busy lately. I have been cleaning and cleaning. Now the only room that is a mess is my bedroom. Oi Vey, what a mess.

We had company on Tuesday. Our friends the Latins are in town visiting Enterprise on their way from Korea to The Netherlands. Jackie is a DAC teacher I think. Department of the Army. Big Chris just retired from the Army and they recently (within the last 2 years) adopted 3 siblings from Korea. They sure keep her busy. Little Chris is back from his mission and is attending BYU. Here is a picture of them. The twins are Jason and Brian and the little girl is Jessica. They are adorable.

As I have said in the past, this is the place where I can show my creative side. My "Gallery" as it were. So here is my very first effort at Painting.

This is a picture of either Hudson or Duncan Corbett. Aunt Ann and Uncle David's dog. There is the before shot and the after. I sent a copy of the finished work to David and Ann and they thought it was wonderful. Actually what they said was that he looked a whole lot better in the painting than he ever looks in real life. Beast that he is. Anyway..... here it is.

Time to Update

Well my daughters have shamed me into updating my blog. It seems that twice a year just isn't enough to suit some people. But I must tell you.... the strangest thing has happened. I heard it was getting a little frigid down in he-- and sightings of angels skating have been reported. Word has it that Heather has gotten herself a blog. That is so cool. Now I really will have to keep this thing updated, cause everyone will know everything about everyone but me if I don't.

When last we met here in cyberspace way back in early June, Daddy and I were sick with colds. Well we are all better now. Since then I went to Maine to try to help Courtney while she was in her last days of her third pregnancy. I got to spend 18 days with Courtney and her adorable family. Though little Spencer didn't make an appearance until it was almost time for me to go home. He cut it a little close. I got to watch a home birth and got to see a new use for a Jacuzzi bath tub. It was all very very cool. Best of all I was able to get to know Courtney better. It occurred to me that she and I haven't really sat down alone and had a good talk since she was a wee teenager. If you count "alone" as being in a house with 4 other people. But I got to spend some really good quality munch time with my Wilson grandbabies. They are so sweet. I've tried to put up 2 pictures of my trip. If you don't see them, it's because I couldn't figure out how to do it. I'll update some more later.

Quarantined

Daddy and I both have colds. That is no fun. I hope it's gone by next Friday. My coughs tend to last forever though, so that's not going to be cool. I bet I have to get some masks so I don't breath on the new baby. That will be so hard for this grandma. Cause my favorite thing to do with babies is to munch on their little faces. You can't get a good munch with a mask on.

Poor William. He can't catch a break. Just as he gets his own computer fixed and it looks like life as we all know it can return to normal, his little LeCie drive breaks. We've tried everything. It will not be seen on the desktop. All of his artwork and projects are on that drive. So needless to say, things are a little tense around here today. Add to that that I told him he has to get a haircut today and that poor boy is ready to explode.

David had his first guitar lesson yesterday. He was very excited. Daddy bought him some software called GuitarPro that he has been playing with. It is quite elaborate. It will create the written music for whatever you play. He plays his guitar and it records it and plays it back in written music. It does all sorts of cool things. Cool, if you're into that sort of thing. I already have enough hobbies so I am staying clear of this one. But his music teacher uses it also and they email stuff back and forth. I think they are called "Tabs". Some sort of shorthand music for guitar. It's all very confusing to me, but they know what they are doing. Anyway, he is very excited.

Gotta go. Be back later.

Money Pit

Well it all just keeps on getting better and better. The big beautiful swimmin' hole in our back yard needs a new vinyl liner. We had been loosing water at an alarming rate the past 2 to 3 weeks. The "pool guy" came yesterday and checked for leaks in the liner. His assistant got in his swim trunks and goggles and snorkel and inspected the bottom. He stopped counting holes after he got to 12. One hole couldn't even be patched because it's on a corner and patches have to be on a flat surface. He said that all of the holes were what he calls "pole holes". That's where whoever was cleaning the bottom with the long brush didn't notice that the brush had fallen off the end and continued to plunge the pole down and down making crescent shaped slits in the liner. Well there is one advantage to being so lazy you stink. It is very easy to figure out who might have done this. Since there is no way in heck any of the boys or myself ever cleaned the pool, that leaves poor ole Dad. With one possible exception. The pool guy said he has seen those same kind of holes in pools where people have tried to Pole Vault across the pool. But those slits are usually in the center of the pool and our holes are all around the edge. So there you have it. My excitement for the day. Now we have to pick out a liner pattern. What fun. There is a science to that too. Dark colors tend to make the water warmer. I guess I will pick a lighter color because I sure don't want my pool the temperature a bath water. What would be the point of that in this horrible Alabama heat.

I'm starting to pack for my trip next week. I'm getting very excited. Gotta go now. Hugs to all.

This is the "Before"

This is the picture that I plucked the little angel from. I think that she definately needs to be in a field. That bonnet just screams wild flowers.

News from UCLA (Ugly Corner of Lower Alabama)

Well my daughters all have decided that my having written one entry in the Ahroon Family Blog was not enough. It seems that I am required more timely and more frequent additions. Well hey.... what about people with no life. What are they supposed to do? Make up stuff. So if I have to make daily entries into this, you will never know what is made-up, or what is real. AH!! So there.

My daughter's also tell me that this is the place to put my artistic creations. Ok, I can do that. But we are agreed, no one but family is seeing this, right? Ok.

Nothing to say and a Big World In Which to Say It.

Well family, this is the first installment of the Ahroon Family Blog. I wish I had something important to say for such an occasion, but alas, I don't. Today is the last day of school for David. He only has half day and he took his guitar to school. That should be interesting. I am assuming he is passing. Yesterday we got much of the carpets cleaned in the house, so today we get to spend the day putting furniture back where it belongs. That's always fun. I may rearrange all the rooms and really confuse everyone. Hey, I have to get my fun where ever I can.