Country Roads

Our two weekend rides were great – the temperatures were cool but not cold, and it was mostly sunny … though I did think we were going to get caught in a downpour as we hurried home in the dark on Saturday evening. Fortunately we stayed ahead of the rain and made it home dry. Both times we headed out into western Hamilton County, into the area where we’d like to live some day (we can dream, right?). I had told Chris I wanted to take some pictures of the farm animals we always see in the fields just off the road, so he pulled over a couple of times. This horse just trotted right up to the barbed wire fence while the two black bulls hung back, glaring at me. I guess the motorcycle helmet was a little unsettling? I do look a little like an alien with my sunglasses and shiny black helmet.




The second time we pulled off, there were maybe 8 or 10 black and white cows (Holsteins??) hanging out by a dirty pond. Three of them stared at me for a moment, then started slowly and deliberately advancing towards the fence in unison. (Whoa! Don’t need to be face to face, guys … those flies on your faces kind of gross me out.) So I was snapping pictures like crazy when I noticed Chris waving at me, pointing to the hill on the far side of the pond. I looked up and saw a small herd of cows galloping downhill – running, mind you, like horses would. I’ve never seen cows running before. Evidently they heard my voice and thought it was feeding time? It was the craziest thing I’ve seen in a long time. When they reached the pond they slowed to a walk, again advancing towards the fence slowly and silently as a group, shoulder to shoulder, making me feel very uncomfortable. (I know, I know, they’re just cows, for pete’s sake, and there was a barbed wire fence between us, but they were getting in my personal space, you know? I felt a little threatened by their approach.) That ended the photo shoot. No more Glamour Shots of those bovines!

One more oddity - have you ever seen a cow scratch behind its ear, like a dog would? I would never have thought a cow could balance well enough to pull off that kind of action, but darned if it didn't manage ... without falling over! (Note the tongue sticking out as it scratches - must really be concentrating hard!)

Perfect Weekend!

This past weekend was the most perfect weekend in ages. I think it was warm and sunny from Friday through Sunday, non-stop (well, except for overnight), and we took full advantage of it. Yardwork and planting flowers, two good rides on the bike, a final meal with Hilary and Frannie before they left yesterday... it was ALL good! On Saturday morning Kelly and I hit the road to shop for a prom dress, and we found one pretty quickly that she and I both agreed on. She says it makes her feel like a Barbie doll (and what would she know about them? She was rarely interested in dolls). And I say she'd better not gain even a 1/2 lb. between now and Prom else she won't be able to zipper that dress! I'm glad it fits well (as in, it's not gonna fall off) but honestly, sitting down will be a challenge. What's the old saying ... "It's better to look good than to feel good!" Anyway, we found a small black purse to go with, and she was eyeing jewelry at which point I declared, "Enough spending for today!" (She could tell I was in a good mood and figured she might go for the gusto .... good try!)




I had bought 30 geraniums during the week, in various shades of pink. I filled the two oak barrel planters with an assortment of all colors, filled 4 more smaller pots and kept out 6 for my window box (hope to fill it up this coming weekend). Let the planting begin in earnest! I think it's still too early to do much more, though - we have frost warnings tonight still. I think another two weeks before we're all clear of frost.



Much to Tyson's dismay he got a bit of a haircut on Saturday afternoon. Kelly and I bought a set of dog clippers while we were out shopping, and Kelly couldn't wait to give them a try. Tyson has layers and layers of fur to his coat - we could have shaved him for hours and still not hit bottom. Even thought he hates getting a buzz he behaves pretty well, and he's a lot cooler in the end. One of those uncomfortable things in a dog's life that's "for your own good, buddy!"

Our late spring tulips are in full bloom all across the front gardens - pinks, purples and white. They look wonderful along side the little grape hyacinth ... a feast for my eyes every time I walk out the front door. Yummy!

Enough for now - I have a lot of crazy pictures from our bike rides, so I'll write about those in a separate post. I'm just thrilled I got this much done this evening!

Beware Of Door To Door Doctors

I would like to think that none of my family or friends would be dumb enough to fall for this one. Of course, I would think that nobody would find this man believable, but sadly, there were some who did. I hope they don't reproduce.

Beware the door-to-door free breast exam guy
76-year-old Florida man arrested after two women take him up on the offer

Updated: 9:33 p.m. ET April 20, 2006
MIAMI - A 76-year-old man claiming to be a doctor went door-to-door in a Florida neighborhood offering free breast exams and was charged with sexually assaulting two women who accepted the offer, police said Thursday. One woman became suspicious after the man asked her to remove all her clothes and began conducting a purported genital exam without donning rubber gloves, investigators said. The woman then phoned the Broward County Sheriff's Office, and the suspect fled. He was arrested at another woman's apartment in the same Lauderdale Lakes neighborhood on Wednesday, a sheriff's spokesman said.

The white-haired suspect, Philip Winikoff, carried a black bag and claimed to be visiting on behalf of a local hospital. "He told the woman that he was in the neighborhood offering free breast exams," sheriff's spokesman Hugh Graf said in a statement. At least two women, both in their 30s, let him into their homes, and he fondled and sexually assaulted them, the investigators said.
Winikoff was not a doctor, Graf said. He worked as a shuttle driver for an auto dealership.

Ladies, I firmly believe in getting yearly exams but please, please don't try this at home!

It Was A Good Idea For A Minute ...

There are so many cute clothes for spring and summer, and I've always thought the crop pants look cool and practical ... so I tried on a pair of jeans-style crop pants the other day. I cringed as I looked in the mirror in the dressing room - ugh. Very bad idea!! I took them off as fast as I could. Nobody should have to look at my awful white legs, not at home and especially not out in public. That's the end of that idea. I'll stick with full-length jeans. I know "what not to wear!"

Easter Sunday

We enjoyed a warm and mostly sunny Easter Sunday - church, family visits, two meals and lots of good conversation. One of us needed a little nap to get through the day. One of us got a fluffy yellow duck from the Easter Bunny. And several of us had some sort of ... Easter Egg Pale Ale? or whatever it was called.

Chris has been working long and hard this week - I've not seen too much of him! Between extra hours at Toyota, and evenings helping with the bathroom remodeling project at Bob and Peggy's, he's had a few really tiring days. It's about 7:30 and he's finally on his way home.

Aunt Hilary and her friend Frannie are in town - well, kind of in town anyway. They arrived Monday evening (the day after Easter)from Iowa, and left this morning (Wednesday) with Mom in tow to drive down into the hills of Eastern Kentucky to visit another nun-friend who lives down there (David, Kentucky, if you can find that dot on the map). Picture Thelma and Louise - lots of gray hair, lots of getting lost probably ... lots of bathroom breaks! I bet they're having fun.

Much later in the week ... I had hoped to write more about Easter but time keeps escaping me so I'm giving up! Let's just say Easter weekend was great, and we had a couple of fun meals with Aunt Hilary while she was in town. The End!

Happy Easter!

Life's Simple Pleasures

We've been enjoying the most perfect spring weather this week. Sunny days, soft breezes, heavenly warm temperatures. The evenings have been cool but not chilly - great for a short bike ride after work. Last night we rode up and down and around the hills of Colerain Twp. ending up at the Lil' Goodie Shoppe on Harrison Ave. We sat at a picnic table and inhaled some (messy) cheese coneys with ice cream for dessert.

More Signs of Spring

The lawn did finally get it's first cut of the season on Sunday afternoon. It was warm and sunny and we got a touch of sunburn since we were outside for probably about 3 hours. Gorgeous! Of course I spent some time dabbling in the flowerbeds, raking out the debris from the winter months and poking around to see what's growing. It's all coming along - coreopsis, coneflower, daylilies, black-eyed susans, catmint, hollyhocks, lupines, mums, cranesbill geraniums, daisies, yarrow. For now, though, I have to be satisfied with the grape hyacinth, daffodils and tulip buds.




Oh, and we finally made a decision on a new car - fuel efficient, great features and fun to drive.

Molly's Birthday

About 10 days ago, on a Monday evening, we gathered to celebrate Molly's 14th birthday. There were presents, cake and ice cream, lots of fun conversation and joking around.

And would you believe ... HE showed up again. I got a picture of him scarfing a piece of birthday cake (once again, nobody talking to him, he was just kind of wandering around by himself in the background). Then I saw him put his cake down and I just managed to snap a picture of him as he grabbed some shopping bags filled with womens and childrens clothing that we'd been going through (outgrown clothes that Amy was looking to pass on). He took off and left through door out to the garage. What's up with THAT? This is a really weird guy - must have some strange fantasies about dressing up in womens clothes? Whoa. He's pushing his luck. (And trust me, from what I've seen of him he'd make quite a homely cross-dresser. Ughh. **Shudder**)

With the Easter holiday this weekend, we're going to have to be careful. This guy is getting bold. We must put a stop to his party-crashing!

Frustration

We spent the better part of our day driving from one car lot to another, Ford, Toyota, Mazda .... around and around we went. Small car? Fuel efficient car? Pick-up truck? Used car? New car? What colors can we live with? What features must we have? With each passing hour I became more confused and less certain about what we needed. What an exercise to have to go through. By the time we finished we were still unclear about which direction to take. We looked at a 1986 Ford F-150 pick-up truck. We talked to our neighbors about their 1998 Honda Civic that they're thinking of selling. And so the chaos continues on into the evening as Chris goes on-line to browse the offerings on Auto Trader. Madness. And I keep thinking that we shouldn't have to be doing this at all, if only that lady hadn't been so careless in her driving on Wednesday. Aaargh. Not fair. We don't need this added stress right now!

We finished our day at Bob and Peggy's house, with the guys tearing out an old green bathtub. Bob has been working on updating their upstairs bath and had it almost cleared out - the tub was all that needed to go. So after a little bit of prep work, out came the tub, down the stairs and out the front door for the garbage men. We had dinner together courtesy of Peggy and Jenna, then headed home.

Tomorrow is an outdoor day - the weather is supposed to be decent, warmish and sunny. So I think our lawn will get its first cut of the season, and we'll do the same down the street at Mr. Gibson's house. He's been getting antsy about his grass getting long and I'm sure he's wondering when in the world we're going to show up to get it cut. Tomorrow!