Mow, Mow, Mow your lawn...

We got a new mower. One of those old-fashioned mowers. No engine, no gas, no noise. No, we didn't buy it because how environmentally friendly it is (although it's a plus, huh) but because it was cheap, I never have to go buy gas for it, never have to have someone else come start it, etc. AND, my almost-8 year old (LittleJ) can use it! He loves it. I like to sing when he mows... "On the mow again, J can't wait to get on the mow again..." He laughs, and wants to know where I learned that song. It actually does a good job, as long as you don't let the grass get too long. Did I mention that you can mow at 7 a.m., and not worry about waking the neighbors? How cool is that?

"Dodged the Bullet" and Broken Freezers

It's been a so-so day.
We "dodged the bullet" (as Bugman likes to say, making fun of the media coverage), in that Edouardo went northeast of us and we are just having a bad thunderstorm. It is hilarious... all these businesses are closed, all for naught. At least the dentist was smart... he didn't officially say he was closing. Buddy (16yos) had an appt. this morning and it still happened.

On the other hand, I have strep throat. I started with a slight sore throat Friday night, turning into a horrible, throat-closing experience by Sunday. I kept waiting for it to improve, but no. It has steadily gotten worse. I can barely swallow. Called the Dr.'s office today, and it's closed due to the storm. Same with the local Rediclinic. Egads! Luckily, I have a lovely doctor, whose email and cell phone number I happen to have. She called me in a prescription for Antibiotics... yes, I am that desperate! I feel fine, except for not being able to talk and swallow!

And on top of all that, my deep-freeze is acting up. Yesterday, I rearranged it, making room for a whole bunch of frozen gallon-size water bottles. Last night about 11pm, the alarm went off... the door was locked, and the temp was about 10 degrees. It went off again about 2:15pm, and the temp was about 15 degrees. Bugman says it should be about zero. Great. So today we called a repairman... of course, it is *just* out of it's warranty period! Find out that this model has had repeated problems, that may cost more than a new Freezer! Yikes! But, upon reading online here, I found that sometimes it can be a clogged defrost drain. So, Bugman took apart the freezer bottom, and lo and behold it was blocked by ice. We cleaned it out, loaded the food back in, and we are now in the "wait and see" period. Praying that the alarm does not go off again. Meanwhile, I have an appt for a repair guy to come Saturday between 1pm and 5pm. That means, that he'll be here at 5pm if I stay home, but if I leave, he'll show up at 1pm. Saturday is my "sabbatical" day. Bugman is taking boys off to "the farm"... a farm owned by some friends out in Flatonia. I get two days ALONE!!

Battening Down the Hatches...

We are here at home, readying ourselves for tropical storm (hurricane?) Eduoardo (or however you spell it's name!). I'm stocked up with water, batteries and canned goods. I figure whatever I don't use, I can send with the kids camping this weekend! Seriously, I don't think that there will be much to worry about. Some of my friends have left, or are leaving town, but not us. After the Rita fiasco, Bugman has declared that we'll just ride it out. Hope you all stay dry!

Yes, one more

Thanks to Celeste for doing this. It really was fun to do!

Here's how to play:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
4. Save image to hard drive and post to blogger.
5. Copy HTML code for flickr photo credits and paste into blogger at the bottom of the post.

1. What is your first name? Susan
2. What is your favorite food? Italian
3. What high school did you go to? Clear Lake High School
4. What is your favorite color? Shades of green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Kevin Bacon
6. Favorite drink? Sweet Tea
7. Dream vacation? Tuscany
8. Favorite dessert? Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Artist
10. What do you love most in life? Jesus
11. One Word to describe you? Multi-tasker
12. One hobby of yours? Collage Art

1. black-eyed susan, 2. Spaghetti in Tomato Cream Sauce, 3. DSC_0012, 4. Green, Green, Green..., 5. Kevin Bacon, 6. Sweet Tea, 7. Tuscan Countryside Winery October 20, 2003, 8. this always makes me happy :), 9. Work space, 10. Operador de vôo - Flight operator, 11. 365.37: multi.tasker, 12. Art Journal Page

Yeah, another one of these...

that I lifted off Celeste's blog (can I post a link to your blog, Celeste?).

1. Where is your cell phone? nightstand drawer
2. Your significant other? Bugman
3. Your hair? Short and Gray
4. Your mother? In Heaven
5. Your father? In Kansas
6. Your favorite thing? Ink, Paper, Paint
7. Your dream last night? Nope
8. Your favorite drink? Sweet Tea
9. Your dream/goal? Heaven
10. The room you’re in? Bedroom
11. Your church? ARP
12. Your fear? My sister not knowing Christ
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Still Homeschooling
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What you’re not? Thin
16. Muffins? Banana
17. One of your wish list items? Pretty Little Things
18. Where you grew up? Seabrook
19. The last thing you did? hug
20. What are you wearing? Jammies
21. Your TV? BIG
22. Your pets? Cats
23. Your computer? Mac
24. Your life? In Christ!
25. Your mood? Happy
26. Missing someone? Mom
27. Your car? Sienna
28. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
29. Favorite store? By Design OR Novel Approach
30. Your summer? HOT
31. Like(love) someone? More than I can count
32. Your favorite color? Brown/Turquoise
33. Last time you laughed? Tonight
34. Last time you cried? Sunday
35. Who will re post this? Kathy?