Six Unremarkable Things De Moi de la jour.

Recently, Kate tagged me with a meme to write six unremarkable things about me. And, because my life has been so exciting and remarkable as of late, I haven't had the time to get to it. I'm an English major, one of those terribly egotistical sorts that basically thinks that everything about me is remarkable (in my mind) - so, this is a difficult assignment!

6. I do not like stupid movies. Airplane, Dumb and Dumber (the catsup, mustard scene made me gag), almost anything with Jim Carrey in it, no thanks. At one point in my life (many years ago) I was Cougar to a much younger man and although we had a lot of fun, I could not stand his affinity for Beavis and Butthead. Or the Beavis and Butthead laugh. Call me a snob.

5. I do not like to go barefoot. Because I have spent most of my life surrounded by hilljacks, most people have a lot of trouble with this. For one, I don't like to get my feet dirty. I'm allergic to bees and don't want to step on one. My wittle puddies are tender and "ouch!" that hurts, thank you very much. I know. Snob, again.

4. I like things to be tidy. Some people in my life think to the point of being obsessive. Sue me. Have your attorney call mine. Mine is a fancy ass attorney (my daughter) in Washington D.C. so we'll sue your ass every which way but loose. And, don't leave your shit in my car. It drives me insane. No, I don't have a trash bag in my car- take your crap with you when you get out.

3. I love catalogs and magazines. Leave me alone if you see me reading one. Don't talk to me. I am in my own little heaven for a little while. Quiet please. I don't need your mouth running in my Heaven.

2. I can read the newspaper for myself, thank you very much. I don't need you to read it out loud for me. I am also able to interpret the meaning of the story that I read. I has a college degree! This also applies to the online crap that you are reading from your cube that you think the rest of us want to hear. If you so desire, send me a link. Then, when I don't want to read it I can at least hit delete.

1. I keep my money in order in my wallet. This is a practice that Doug finds amusing. Whateve, I say. Others, again, would say "obsessive." To which I say "blah-blah." How the hell do you know how much money you have if it isn't all in order? Maybe I just don't have as much money as you do. I want my money all facing forward, right side up - ones in front followed by fives, tens, twenties. You get the idea.

So, now I'm supposed to tag six others to share in the meme. I tag Liam, Mindy, Patty, Nicole, Nina, and that is it - because I can't think of anyone else to tag right now.

Random, I know. But now you know me just a little bit better. At least the unremarkable parts!

How I went to see one cowboy, but came home with another.

Last night we saw Vince Gill at the IU Auditorium perform in concert with this tour.


This is me, all gussied up with my red pony - ready to ride. Watch out, Amy! I think Vince and I would make a good couple, don't you?

Although I've been a fan for years, I had never seen him in concert before. I have two or three of his CDs and have always loved his music. There is something about his voice that makes my heart climb right up out of my throat. When he sang "Look at Us," I had tears in my eyes. "If you want to see how true love should be, then just look at us."

When he was ready to get down, he called it "stretching out a bit." It made me remember what I love about country music - the fun, kick-ass, kick up your heels and get down music. It made me want to head down to Nashville, TN. Doug and I went down and joined Bec a couple of years ago for a birthday trip and we closed down the bars. Down there, the places are so packed that they literally count how many people are in the building and if two leave, then two may go in - because they are keeping down the numbers because of fire hazard. And the band that is playing doesn't take a break because they don't want anyone to leave.

Gill told the audience that he is drawn to sad songs and that is evident in much that he sings. He sat and told a lot of stories, talked about his wife, Amy Grant, his Dad who was first lawyer than Judge while Gill was growing up. He told us of the juxtaposition of the life of he and his brother and brought the house down when he sang "Go Rest High on That Mountain," which he wrote when his brother passed away.

Then he broke my heart with a song that he said he'd recently written with Amy and a couple of other guys that he called simply "Heaven." I had tears streaming down my face and dripping off my chin. I kept wiping them away, but they just kept coming. One of the lines was something like "I'll be waiting on you," and I was thinking of Grandma.

Another song that was an audience favorite was "It's Hared to Kiss the Lips at Night that Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long." He said his Dad inspired him to write the song and that it occurred to him one day that it was about his Mom!

He told us that she hates that song.

Vince, I was the one singin' along with you and dancin' in my seat in the balcony. The audience was D-E-A-D. I told Dug that I hope he realized he was with the most alive woman in attendance!

So I went to see a famous cowboy, Vince Gill, and came home with a not so famous cowboy, Duggles.

The kids on the farm

The first kid that lived on the farm was Doug's cat, Tree. Originally from Arizona, Doug's sister found Tree in a tree, thus the name. We believe he is part Siamese. His voice is this adorable little hoarse, snipped "mew." He likes to go out the back of the house, through the sliding glass door, over the roof and then jump onto one of our vehicles before wanting to come back into the house. He also likes to kill things and leave them on the front step for us- a gift, in cat land. Laura calls Tree "cobby," because he is big and solid and the "Hitler cow cat" because of his markings. He goes in and out and he and Milo are buddies. We think Tree is about eight years old.
This is my cat, the second kid to live on the farm. His name is Milo. I named him Milo because he looks like the cat from Milo and Otis and he is very vocal - a "talking" cat of sorts. When I lived in New Castle, I lived on a very busy street and could never imagine Milo going outdoors, so I had his front claws removed. I never dreamed I'd live out in the country and so for that reason "orange cat does not go out." (These signs are posted at the doors as a reminder for people visiting our house.) Because Tree comes and goes, Milo wants to go out, too and occasionally escapes, although it truly scares him to be outside for very long. Although it took Tree and Milo awhile to get used to one another, now they seem to take turns being the "domi," and have lots of fun chasing and grooming one another. He has been jealous of Mom and her new fur child and very aggressive with Chelsea. It does seem to be getting better. I believe Milo is about nine or ten years old.




This is my new fur child, Chelsea Kabob. The third kid to come to live at the farm. She is now twelve weeks old and weighing in at a little over seven pounds. She is a Welsh Pembroke Corgi.

These two were taken on the back steps.



These last few, she was on top of the picnic table. Her legs are so short, she won't even take the stairs in the house, yet.

Because we are empty-nesters, we love our kids on the farm!