Yes, We Have No Bananas

My access to the internet is hit and miss right now...mostly miss between jet lag, Oakley sunglasses and the Reverend Schuller Hometown Buffet.

*This person is not, and in no way resembles the Reverend Schuller.

Cleaning Poem

I asked the Lord to tell me
Why my house is such a mess.
He asked if I'd been blogging
And I had to answer 'yes.'

He told me to get off my fanny
And tidy up the house.
And so I started cleaning up...
The smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shined the topside.
That really did the trick...
I was just admiring my work..
I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops I found
A real absorbing site
That I got SO way into it
I was into it all night.

Nothing's changed except my mouse
It's very, very shiny

Ok, this is something someone sent me in an email....and since I figured you all might find it cute, I'm sharing.......that's right, that's the kind of person I am. Besides, I'm busy being silly and eating junk food.

Here We Go Again!

*******************

FLIGHT INFOAA*5102

29JAN GRKTO DFW 8:55AM

CANCELLED

CALL1-800-433-7300

TO CHG FLIGHTS

******************

Does anyone remember my trip to Las Vegas last summer?

When I had to spend the night in the Houston Airport?

Do you remember Phillip? He was the keeper of the luggage closet and the only person around when I spent the night in the Anchorage Airport last September.

Here's the airlines' dirty little secret....it's always weather related because if it weren't....they would have to compensate you.

Big Girl Owies

Or maybe this post should be called...
What Happens When You Procrastinate.

I waited until the last day to pack and do last minute things for a trip. Not just packing...but stuff like making sure all the perishables where taken out of the fridge, and the trash was all taken out. Little chores like washing any dirty clothes and dishes....so you know, there wouldn't be any musty, or nasty odors lingering when I return.

Stuff like getting the car washed and the gas tank filled in case someone needed to use my car in an emergency....like, you know, a teenager needed to go cruising if they wrecked their own car, or so they would be able to pick me up when I return to town.

So there's a plan....not that much to do on an icy day with only one game plan....until the phone rings. Can you take someone to the doctor? Sure, that shouldn't take but an hour or two.


Besides, it's someone who can fill out their own paperwork at the Pediatrician's office. And it's someone who isn't exactly dying. No, it's just someone who ran into a concrete wall in a gym...ribs first.

Which means an additional trip to the hospital for exrays. Which means getting home after dark.

But low and behold....the game plan went forward.......and everything falls into place!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACHY!

Seven Isn't Just seven.....

When your name is Zachy

Today is my grandson Zachy's birthday! Zachy lives in Colorado. He is seven today....and being seven means you were born in the year 2002.

Which is the year of the Horse in Chinese checkers

I remember Zachy's second birthday....it was at a jump bounce house. He was so adorable, and we had a blast.

I don't get to see Zachy as much as I'd like....but when I was in Colorado last year, we spent the day at an arcade. We played and we played until.....

.....we had enough coupons for swords! Sword pictures are valuable...even when your grandma has a bad camera and can't take decent pictures.

Lordy, lordy, can you believe Zachy was the sword pirate even when he was four?

He and his brother Ty were prepared to take on the villains at The Pirates Dinner Theatre.

I love you Zach! I can't wait for Spring Break so we can go to Buckskin Joe, and Boondocks.

And...do you want to know what I like the most about Zachy? He calls me Grandma DeLuxe!!

WHEN ICE COMES TO TEXAS



Everything is Cancelled..........except Mom's job.


Since there were no games, practices or after school jobs, and Mommy had to work late, I took my grandson on a dinner date. OK, so it was at 4:30 in the afternoon. It's iffy to be out once the sun goes down because the streets turn into sheets of ice.


We went to Cheddar's. This was my first time there. They don't have any locations west of Texas, but I have to say, they are the best restaurant here, that isn't available in CA. I think I'll be back often. The menu is large with steaks, ribs, pasta, seafood.....but tonight, we stuck with sandwiches......



These sandwiches! Actually, since neither of us wanted condiments, the roll was my only "sin".



Look who came along for the ride? The car was warm, and he had his comfy bed and a blanket...but he was took busy standing watch, and keeping bad guys away to take advantage of the comforts.

Happy Chinese New Year.....

The Year of The Ox

If you were born in any of these years, the Ox is your sign:

1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997

Check here to find your sign, and what other signs you are compatible with. Grandma J's sign is the Dog.....anyone surprised?

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back to the business of the day, or the business of yesterday.

Week Three Results

After three weeks on the Blogger Butt Smackdown diet hosted by Big Hair Envy...I don't have good news. I confess to falling off the wagon, and wallowing in a pool of sinful sugary delights full of carbs, calories and vitamin B19.

Between birthdays, deployments, root beer barrels basketball games, and JJ, the temptations have been overwhelming. On top of all that....we welcomed a new neighbor.....

Yeah, The Colonel of all people made a grand entrance into town.

The good news is, I bought a bottle of gin decided to forge ahead and get back track with the Blogger Butt Smackdown diet.

C IS FOR.......


Cooking With Catsup

What? You say catsup is spelled ketchup or ketsup? Not according to everyone...like me. Not if today is the letter C day.

World's Largest Catsup Bottle , located in Collinsville, Illinois, has a fan club with a website. Not only that.....they sponsor a car show called Cruzn' In Antiques. Watch it now...I can hear you saying to yourself..."she really doesn't have a life!"

Here is an old ad from the Brooks catsup people. Another site that should convince you that Catsup is spelled with a C is The Catsup Crapper. There you will find the cutest little Catsup video....check it out, you won't be sorry.

* The spelling catsup seems to have appeared first from the pen of Jonathan Swift, in 1730, according to the folks at wiki.

Brought to you by A to Z Mondays.

RETRO FITTING or...



....babies got a brand new top.

Once upon a time, long, long ago in Grandma J's world...which is really just a Compound now, I showed you one of my favorite personal possessions on Vintage Thingie Thursday.


It was my Alf Lamp. Remember Alf? The Alien from the planet Velcro Melmac?



This is what my poor Alf lamp looked like when I posted it on Vintage Thingie Thursday. The lampshade was uh, borrowed from him.....



That's right it's Grandma J's mixing bowl Astro Bear's aka Phillip Johnny Bob, space helmet.


Recently, I tried to research Alf lamps, so I could get him a good replica topper.. but I found none anywhere...not eBay or Amazon. I did find an Alf phone, which was a stuffed animal with a phone attached it to for $85. Evidently Alf is still in demand by alien lovers. So I went in search of a replacement fitting a star.





So here is Alf....all spruced up and on my old abused antique dresser. Actually it's my craft supply dresser since I no longer have a guest room......be that as it may, it's now Alf's new home!




Say, "Welcome home, Alf"

How Do You Know When It's Time

........to clean your desk?

There probably aren't any guidelines set in stone. I know some people have clean desks all the time...some others, eat and drink at their desks, not that I know anyone who does that.

But generally speaking, when it comes to cleaning my desk, I think it's probably a good idea to give it some serious thought when this happens.

Yes, I believe it's time.

The Honest Scrap Award

I know what you readers are thinking.....what did Grandma J do to deserve that award? And of course, I say to that......who cares? very little. All I know is, I'm grateful to Treasia at Confessions of a Mid Life Trucker's Wife for her kindness and thoughtfulness. Thank you.


Here's what the Honest Scrap Award is all about:

I'm supposed to pick seven blogs that I find brilliant in content and design. I know that was a difficult task for Treasia, but for me it's impossible! I admire a zillion different blogs and would like to leave it up to each of you to decide if you would like to rat yourself out tell us all ten things about yourself....honestly.

I have done a whole lot of memes moomoos since I've been blogging so some of the ten things I list will be reruns because I can't remember the details of all the different outpourings I have done....

Here are ten things about Grandma J that you may not know.

1. My hair was totally grey by the age of forty. If I let it grow, my mustache would probably be the envy of most men.

2. I am retired and blog full time in my spare time.

3. I moved to Central Texas when I retired from a job as a civil servant in Orange County CA. And yes, I knew what I was doing....sort of.

4. I used to hang glide, go kayaking and I miss the ocean.

5. I've been to three continents. I still want to get to Ireland.

6. I used to smoke like a chimney...and I used to be thin!

7. Since reaching the age of "Oh, God!" umm yeah, I have a whole new respect for velcro.

8. When on vacation in Mexico, I babysat for Barney and Wilma's a friends Iguana .

9. I love sleeping in, and staying in my pj's all day....here in TX I would not be out of place in Walmart in my jammies....no I wouldn't.

10. I try to go to the movies once a week, sometimes bringing Phillip Johnny Bob. This is something I did less than once a year before retiring......it's a real luxury and I love it because I hate watching movies on TV.

10.1 My cell phone became my land line 6 years ago. Saving mucho dinero and talking more!

10.2 I love it when my granddaughter sends me a text message that was meant for her boyfriend. BWAAAAAA!

10.3 And for those of you who never knew, I'm the granddaughter of a wanted man!

Revolutionary Road

The movie is based on the Yates 1961 novel by the same name. The story is set in the 1950's......a young married couple, Frank and April Wheeler, played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, try to overcome the normal suburban existence and do something more with their lives. It's about hopes and dreams and escaping the blah life.

Alice is a beautiful woman aspiring to be an actress, but then she's saddled with two children and her husbands disapproval. Frank is the charmer she fell in love with, but now it's the secretaries at work who enjoy his flirtations. Theirs is a mundane love/hate relationship.

I Like Kathy Bates, their Realtor, and her hunky dory character. Michael Shannon plays her son, her whacked out son, who is an odd force in the movie.

Anyway, tensions build with each fight Frank and April have. I love how they stay together through the unraveling of the story...but there is a twist, and this story isn't about Gidget Goes to Connecticut (where it's filmed) and marries Moondoggie. No, it's not.

I give this movie four out of five cookie cutter tract homes.