Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Saturday, May 29, 2010

PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS

How will I ever catch up on my blogging? Today there were 315 new posts in my google reader. I decided to start by reading the ones I do not leave comments and do not need to open their entire page. There was no getting through all of them and I still have 284 posts to read. Most will stir my need to comment. By tomorrow the number will only increase. I feel like I’m trying to jump on the Merry-Go-Round but there is no stopping so I can’t get on. It will probably be June 3rd before I can safely return to my normal blogging. (See previous post for explanation.) Probably a thousand will be staring at me by then.

Curiosity killed the cat because it was so afraid it might miss something. That is my feeling on blogging. If I miss one of your spectacular posts, I may never get back to find it and there could be something useful never incorporated into my brain.

This means it’s up to you. Please leave a comment telling me about the date/s of your most spectacular and interesting post added during my absence. That will give me a starting place when life is back to normal.

Enjoy a long and relaxing holiday weekend. Remember to thank a Vet. Remember those being honored who died for our freedom. Stand and salute our flag when it passes.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

FAP YAP CRAP!

I have reached over 80% usage of my allowed broadband width according to my internet provider DISH through WildBlue satellite. My warning light changed from blue to orange. (Sounds like a terrorist alert and in a way it is with WildBlue being the terrorists.) This usage is dictated to us through their FAP (Fair Access Policy) and only applies to their rural customers. Can someone explain what's "fair" about that? If that doesn't sound like something straight out of ATLAS SHRUGGED I don't know what does.

Anyway my dear friends, don't look for me for a while until we can get our usage back down. The grandchildren are coming today so it is really going to be difficult. They love the computer.


(Third world countries have unlimited high speed internet but rural America is limited on their internet access and their digital television access. Again I must point out that we landed on the Moon -- shouldn't this other stuff be a piece of cake?)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

sent to me in an email:

INSTALLING A HUSBAND
Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from
Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition,
Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as
Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.3, and then installed undesirable programs such as

NBA 5.0,
NFL 3.0
and
Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0
no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate.


DEAR DESPERATE
,

First, keep in mind,
Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while
Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command:
ithoughtyoulovedme.html, try to download Tears 6.2, and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.
If those applications work as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause
Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1.
Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the
Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta Version.

Whatever you do,
DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the
Boyfriend 5.0 program. This is an unsupported application and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary,
Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend
Cooking 3.0 and
Hot Lingerie 7.7.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

STORMS GIVE BIRDS THE EDGE


Our weather continues to be typical. Lots of rain and storms and tornado warnings. Meanwhile this weather keeps me from harvesting our ripening cherries but it does not seem to bother the birds. I stand in the house and watch the birds dart in and out of the tree stealing my grandchildren's hopes for granny's cherry cobbler.

Gibson has hatched three chicks. Two are guinea fowl keets and one is a black sex-link rooster. We know it is a rooster because they are born with a white dot on top of their heads. Gibson will not let me get a good picture and it will probably be a while before I can but if you look closely, you will see a blond keet and a brown stripped keet and a black chick. (and a pile of poop, but don't look at that.)

I forgot to tell that we drove across the new bridge on Mother's Day. It still isn't open to the public but we could not resist. Michael has closely followed the construction of this bridge and it seemed appropriate that we give him a ride across as well as his parents and sister. I took this photo out of the van window from the middle of the bridge.

And, okay, I guess I need to tell the rest of the kitten story. I regret to have to inform you that Cutie was found murdered in the field next door. That left Sugar Cookie motherless again. Our other nursing cat would not take the kitten. Our neighbor's granddaughter had a nursing kitten and they wanted to try. Her cat, Lovable, would not nurse the kitten. They gathered some supplies and have been nursing the kitten with a baby bottle and proper milk and she is getting fat as a butterball. Her name is now Smokey and her new mother is a nine-year-old Trinity.

Friday, May 14, 2010

LOST IN THE MALL WITH DENNIS FRANZ


She was simply strolling the second level of Southroads Mall in Tulsa when a reflection in one of the window’s caught her eye. She was positive the she had seen Andy Sipowicz in the shop across the way. Picking up her pace, she circled around to that store and stepped inside. There he was, in profile, sitting quietly and looking out a window to the rush of 41st Street traffic in front of him.


Are you Sipowicz? She inquired with an excitement pounding in her chest.


“Yes.” He casually responded.


“Andy Sipowicz from NYPD BLUE?” she added to make sure he knew who she was asking about.


“Yes” he again replied with little expression in his voice.


“That was my very favorite television show!” she proudly shared with him.


He turned with a look of frustration to view this intruder. She knew he must run into fans of the show on a daily basis and she felt a little guilty for bothering him. A shot rang out and shattered the glass behind him. That small turn had saved his life. He dropped to the floor and demanded that she do the same.


“They are here” he announced.


“Who?” she inquired in a frantic voice.


“There is no time to explain. You need to make a run for it.” He ordered.


She was off like a flash, back out into the open Mall running and feeling tremendous fear. Suddenly the Mall was filled with Andy Sipowicz look-alikes. She could tell they were imposters and darted in and out of stores to try and avoid them. They would all be targets of this unknown assassin.


She was suddenly overcome by her greatest fear. She felt the call to relieve herself and there was not a bathroom to be found. She darted in and out of stores and ask the Andy Sipowicz cloned clerks if they had a bathroom she could use but they did not have a facility for the public. She continued her search while dodging occasional bullets coming out of nowhere until she awakened, realized the dream and got up and went to the bathroom.


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE AND BE CAREFUL IF YOU GO TO THE MALL.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?


Ron mentioned that one of my roosters appeared to be limping. It turned out to be Daryl. Somehow our oldest rooster had managed to tangle in some string and hobble himself. You would think it was easy to catch a rooster with his legs hooked together but never underestimate a feisty fowl with adrenaline surging. He managed to escape me until he let down his guard and took shelter in the hen house. I walked in with the net and, smiling, closed the door behind me. He spied me and (second mistake) dove for a nesting box. It was simple then to grab him and hold him until Ron could get the scissors and clip the string. Each time I see him I have to ask, "How do you like me now?" I could swear he wears a look of adoration:)

There is even more going on inside the hen house but I don't have pictures yet. Mr. Gibson the hen (now known as Gibson) has hatched one chick and has two others about to enter the world. More of that story later.

Up, up and away! Carmen's sketchbook has gone to Miami once again. It first spanned west coast to east coast then found it's way to the Central U.S. Now it has gone east again. Aren't you curious about what goes on behind these sketchbook covers? This one is especially tempting with the tassels showing at the bottom. Monique's (aka Holland's) wonderful picture was also in Carmen's book and I added my offering before sending it off to Valeria. We all should be receiving the third book of the project this week. I cannot wait to see Serena's. Each cover opens to great artistic surprises.


BREAKING NEWS: Owen Michael has a brother. Logan Douglas was born around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. . . . .Owen Michael has a brother. Logan Douglas was born around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. . . . . Owen Michael has a brother. Logan Douglas was born around 4:00 yesterday afternoon.

Monday, May 10, 2010

WHAT CAN I SAY?

This mother was delighted in my special day and so happy to also celebrate the wonderful mother my daughter is.

Here we sit like birds in the wilderness waiting to be fed:)

The boys hold our table while the ladies go through the buffet line.

Michael brought his art portfolio for my review. It is awesome. He is awesome!

Hope manages to get her hands on our lost kitten. She has named this famous baby "Sugar Cookie".

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

CHILL OUT


What could be better for WOO HOO WEDNESDAY than a picture of Owen chilling out? He better relax now because his new sibling will be joining the family next week. No one knows if he will have a new sister or a new brother.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

One of my Bonnie friends of Bonnie's Blog is off and running (walking rather) for her fitness program. She mentioned me as her inspiration and I had to make this comment of confession:

"Bonnie good for you! I am glad I could inspire you but I must tell you that I am starting to backslide a bit. Perhaps this post of yours will kick my butt back into action. This is my 12th week of riding my exercise bike and that has not changed. I am up to 50 minutes a day. But I'm back on computer too much and I've slacked off on putting on make up every day. While those aren't big things, they are the beginning of the crumble. Never fear, I'm getting a grip again. Thanks Bonnie and you keep up the good work too."

Today I hope to get back on my daily schedule and lighten up a bit on computer time. I am just addicted to all of you! I'll take all the encouragement you can give me and take a minute to give Bonnie a bit of encouragement for her success too if you can.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

ADOPTION STORY WITH A TWIST

Two of our barn cats were showing up quite fat at the breakfast table each morning. Cutie and Boomer appeared to be pregnant. Suddenly Boomer did not show up for a couple of days and when she returned she was skinny again. Next Cutie missed breakfast a couple of days and when she showed up, she was skinny. Somewhere on our property we had two new litters of kittens.


We were leaving to go get the tractor on Friday and noticed a dead animal on the road. It appeared to be a cat and I did not want to face the fact that it could be one of our barn cats. I did not inspect the body until we returned. Horror of all horrors, it was new mama Boomer! I began my hunt for an abandoned litter of kittens. I did not have any success until much later in the afternoon in the rain, I heard those unmistakable cries of a hungry kitten. There it was, under a mower barely hidden by grass, eyes not yet open, wanting mama. A careful search was made under the mower but this was the only stray kitten.

A dry warm bed and some nourishment seemed the importance of the moment. The kitten nestled into a box of rags and took a few drops of warmed milk then exhausted fell asleep.

The Internet is a best friend when animal medical research is needed: 1) don't give a new kitten cow's milk; 2) the best way to save the kitten is to find another nursing animal. If this kitten made it through the night, I could try to put it with Cutie when she showed up to eat breakfast. Meanwhile walking around calling her name, I had hopes of finding her early.

Who would have guessed that any of my barn cats knew their names. suddenly there sat Cutie looking at me as if to say, "Here I am, this better be important".


Cutie followed me to the food bowl and was relishing this surprise evening treat. While she enjoyed the prize I went inside and got the kitten. Gently placing the infant under Cutie, it began to sniff, search and cry. Cutie began to sniff, ignore, sniff, ignore and get back to eating. When she finished her snack she payed closer attention to this intruder and soon Cutie began to position herself to nurse the kitten. The pictures are blurry but you can tell how she manages to finally wrap Cutie in her embrace.



New mother and kitten were there a long time. I returned to the house and checking later found Cutie was gone and the kitten hopefully had been taken with her. I did not see their departure but I did see how closely they bonded and knew Cutie would not abandon her new kitten.

So, what is the twist? Yep, this could have been a nice Easter story. At breakfast the next morning Cutie was there to eat but guess who else was there -- BOOMER!

Did I give away one of Boomer's kittens or did I give Cutie back a kitten of her own or did the cat that was killed on the road drop off a kitten before it was hit? Regardless, it does bring to mind the fact that we are not supposed to interfere with nature. One day soon Cutie and Boomer will debut their new kittens. Will I be able to recognize this vagabond?

Saturday, May 01, 2010

LET PAULA DO IT


This is Wilma, on the left, and Paula, on the right. Wilma was selling her deceased husband's Allis Chalmer's G. Paula, her youngest child, was there to help. If Paula had not been there we would not have brought home this tractor. If I heard it once yesterday, I heard it a zillion times, Wilma would say "Let Paula do it" and by golly Paula could.

Gracie, Wilma's dog, was there to help also. She kept constant guard and was ready to attack any copperheads that might appear.

The neighbor's dog showed up to help with the entertainment. The dog ran around and around with this big box turtle in his mouth trying to give it to someone. We were there a long time and when we left the dog was still carrying the turtle.


These are the neighbor's sons who showed up with sleep in their eyes in time to see the tractor already loaded on the trailer. They were able to help Ron with the tie down so finally Paula could get a break.

And here she is! Just exactly what Ron needs -- another tractor. It is a 1948 Allis G with cultivator and plow. We could not get it started (that's why the loading was so difficult) but they assured us it does run. Now could you see two more honest looking people than Wilma and Paula?

We arrived home well ahead of the storm but it did hit mid afternoon Remember this is tornado season and heading out for a drive from Oklahoma to Missouri with dark clouds and high winds is a frightening thing.

Okay friends, if you guessed a tractor, congratulations, you were right.


Another adventure was in store for me when we arrived home. It will have to be another post. It is one of those sad/happy tales from NOL-NOC Estates.