WHEW......Get me to the mountains!!

The title says it all: I just finished 2.5 hours of mowing the lawn....thinking when I started that it was a nice, beautiful day and how I would enjoy pushing the mower through grass. WAS I WRONG!! The heat index slipped upwards, the temp rushed higher, and so did my body temperature.......I detest heat/humidity.....hate it, always have....always will. And....I almost overdid it......became hot and dizzy at one point and had to take a break. Good God!!! The more I write in this journal, the more I find myself thinking I am getting old(er)......is it an excuse or is it reality??? PLEASE don't answer that question.....it was a rhetorical one...ok?? (I think I know the answer anyway)

Soooo, as I said above, "get me to the mountain!!"....and I do mean that. It is only two weeks until we leave for our extended summer vagabonding throughout the northwest, and if the temperature gets up to the 90's tomorrow, then those two weeks won't pass quick enough.

Prior to the start of my morning of sweaty labor, I had two early morning phone calls......and both at the most inopportune time....hehehe (only the callers know the REAL story). But, it was good to hear from both of these people........long time friends Sue Hanner and Andrew Gipson. As usual in the Life of Sue Hanner, she is running around like a chicken with its head cut off doing all that needs to be done for family and friends. I have no idea how she keeps everything going and on track........watching her go through all of the things she does gives absolutely no clue to how she manages to handle her life.....hehehee. But, she does and everything falls into place......sometime it just falls, but later will go into place.

Andrew.....well, he is about to complete his first year of being a Band Director in the Edwardsville, IL, school district. So, our conversations often turn to his experiences......my experiences....and the resolving and solving of problems. I always thought I was busy with my position here at F'town High School, but........it was nothing compared to the schedule he keeps each day(and night). Sure glad it is him and not me. No matter the hectic schedule, he has been highly successful this year as a first year teacher.......in fact, he was voted the Outstanding Beginning Teacher of the Year for the large Edwardsville District!! CONGRATS!!

I am pissed.....already....at the Social Security people!!!!! I filed to get the BIG check started in March, received confirmation that all paperwork was good and complete, and that I would get a check automatically deposited on April 25......the very first one for this aging man of 62. Guess what??!! NO CHECK!!!!! Sooooo, now what do I do?? I was going to use it to pay for my monthly wine allotment(medicinal only), and now I have no medication!! My heart may not make it and I am toooo young for Medicare, so what the hell do I do??? It has to be those damn Republicans in Washington......they KNOW somehow that I ran on the Democratic ticket last year for Mo State Rep!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, now to play the phone tag game of reaching a human being....a real living entity....to resolve this issue and get me my Cabernet medicine! So, I will close for a bit, get on the phone, play tag, and suffer withdrawal symptoms from not having my evening dose of Cabernet!

I'll let you know how this goes..........(we already know, don't we???).

10:45pm

I knew it! Nothing on that phone call but a machine that listened to me talk about my problem, but didn't reply back to me with any answer........I hate talking/working with machines. I am a "person" person but that oftentimes puts me in a position that is not enjoyable these days.

The 1st Lady of TheHowserHouse is a senior class sponsor and had to attend the Senior Dinner this evening, so I fixed some quick fried chicken breasts to go with some rice cooked in chicken broth and this was all topped with some stir-fried broccoli.......VERY GOOD, if I say so myself.
Later while watching The Amazing Race finale I fixed some hot chocolate pudding.....yummm!
The Race finish was very exciting and I really hate to see it end........probably one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Prior to that it was American Idol........never know about the outcome on this .....the voters are unpredictable.

So.....the day draws to a close. At least, the yard is mowed!!!!!!! (and I survived)