Long time - no post

This tree sprouted up overnight in the backyard. Kind of odd if you ask me.My cucumbers and sugar snap peas. I've already had a few snaps today!
The first of my random wildflowers to bloom.
Here's the path I put in from the driveway to the front stoop. I still need to go out and buy some dirt to fill in front of the flowerbeds.
This is Spotted Deadnettle, which I have in the Red Nancy and White Nancy variety. (perennial)
Perennial Plantain Lily, Guacamole!
Perennial Hosta, Blue Angel.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Thanks Grandpa!)
Annual Coleus, Wizard Velvet Red
Perennial Astilbe, Peach Blossom

Officially a One Kitty Household

Today was the day TAPS finally had room to take in Velma. She'll have to go through some tests to make sure she doesn't have anything wrong with her. But once all is said and done, she'll be able to socialize with the other cats, unless she gets adopted first. It's really too bad she couldn't work out with me.

As for the rest of my weekend. Grandpa and I saw another good production at Corn Stalk theater... The Odd Couple. The Cubs will win the weekend series against the White Sox... too bad tonights game is on ESPN. I think I should really look into getting more channels, especially when the Cubs are doing so well and the Olympics are just around the corner.

Oh yeah, I bought a ticket to see Sugarland perform in Peru, IL on July 19th. Anyone else thinking about going, I'll be up for a carpool.

Would you like some fizzies?

That's the question Mom asked me on the ride back from Springfield. As if I hadn't already drank enough carbonate and caffeinated beverages throughout the evening. I think I had at least one belch that rivaled the bass at the concert. Anyway, her question cracked both of us up.

Here's where we parked at Shopko. Good news, I found a new pair of sneakers for walking and a lawn chair.

At the Sangamon County Fair they had duck races. Not quite the same things as our little rubber ducks along the river front.

We took a quick run through the children's competition hall. They had everything from flowers, produce, baked goods, and artwork that had been judged. I guess you could categorize these as produce artwork.













Now for the concert. We had great timing arriving at the fair. We heard and saw some of Little Big Town's sound check. It was cool to see Mom turn into a little kid... they just happened to play her favorite song. We didn't stay for the whole concert, but what we saw was great.

Flowerbeds are done!

Inquiring minds want to know how the flowerbeds turned out, so here you go. We worked on them from about 8 to 11, then went to Lowe's to get more dirt. I've never seen a car riding quite as low as Tom's was. We had lunch while out and about and got home around 12:30, missing sealcoating on one half of the street.

Filling up the flowerbeds continued, then off to Sheridan Nursery to get more dirt and I was peer pressured into buying plants (Thanks Grandpa and Tom). Tom and I got the flowers planted and Grandpa headed out shortly after. Then I helped Tom load up his car with around 50 blocks. After that I got the watering system hooked up... quite nice! Then Tom came back and we loaded the other 50 blocks into his car. I hope he give the shocks a rest on that car for a couple days!
Thanks to Tom and Grandpa for all the help!!!
Tomorrow is my day in Springfield with Mom, yeah! I'm not quite sure what Friday will bring yet, but I'll work on getting the names of the plants/flowers together and post some individual photos of them.

Dad's Workshop

Dad was kind enough to send me a photo of the workshop tonight, now that they have power at their house. He took this angle, so you can see the TV's in the corner. Yes, the sign is right, they are cable-equipped.
Also, you can see the wall is covered in signs. That's pretty much how all walls look, along with the back of the garage door. The ceiling is becoming close to full. You can see the red with white letters TWA sign on the ceiling in the upper right corner.

Today I headed over to Bartonville around 3:00, just before the stormy clouds down-poured in my neck of the woods. By the time I made it to Mom and Dad's, there were tree limbs down all throughout the Bartonville area. Without power, Dad was limited on what he could do, so he got out the chainsaw and took care of those pesky tree limbs.
Shortly after, Tom and Laura came over and we all celebrated Fathers' Day with Dad and Grandpa, and Dad's Birthday which is tomorrow. I regret that I wasn't able to take any photos of the gifts, but it was just too dark inside for my phone camera. Next time I'm in their neck of the woods, I will take a picture of the workshop sign I made for Dad.

As I was driving home I caught a glimpse of the sun poking through some clouds and trees and did a u-turn to go back and take a picture of it. It looked cool to me, and I couldn't pass it up.
Oh yeah, I saw the movie, The Happening, the other night... totally not worth seeing in the theater. If you want to see it, wait for it on DVD.

I'll save you from a photo.

So far so good with the closing doors plan, but I still hope TAPS calls within the near future. As some people may know, the only mishap so far this week has been a lovely hairball. My guess, the culprit is Jinkies. He moves about two inches from his slumber to dispose of hairballs (I have witnessed), and the other night he must have been sleeping on my sandals. Yep, you guessed it, one nasty hairball deposited directly onto the top of my sandal. Ewwww!

Two more weeks of frustration.

After getting lectured by some lady at TAPS for not having their adoption rules memorized since adopting Velma over 2 years ago, I found out they need two weeks notice before taking the pet in. That's fine and dandy, but I didn't appreciate getting looked down on and gave the lady some business right back.

Gameplan now, wait for the call from TAPS. Keep all bedroom doors closed, so beds cannot be urinated on and cross my fingers that the living room furniture doesn't become targeted once again. If only I had a large closet to put her in, then my mind could rest easy.

I still can't believe it's all coming down to this. This really sucks. Why can't she just use the litter boxes?!??!!

Today will be a sad day.

I've thought about it for quite a while now, and Velma broke the last straw on the camels back last night. In order to keep my sanity and happiness, I will headed to TAPS to return her today. She's cute as a button, but I can't live with an animal that uses my entire house as a litter box. I just hope she'll be happier there because evidently she's not content here.

This just breaks my heart.

Tuesday was the greatest

The only downside to my Tuesday was having to drive to Moline and back through thunderstorms. But you know what? It did get my car pretty darn clean, so let's just move that back into the plus column.

9am - Mom and I headed out of town towards the Quad Cities.
11:30am - Over the river and through the storms, arrived at the Putnam Museum to check the schedule for the IMAX shows.
11:45am - Ate a little Subway and some 75 cent ice cream cones at Whitey's (bargain of the day)
12:30pm - Back to the museum to watch Sea Monsters in 3D
12:45pm - Getting elbowed by mom for laughing at her getting startled by the sea monsters
12:53pm - Another elbow for the giggling
1:03pm - Lost count of how many times Mom jumped from the sea monsters
1:20pm - Bought a really kick ass mood ring in the gift shop
1:37pm - Mom poses for the camera as an Egyptian Queen
1:40pm - Back to the theater to watch Grand Canyon in 3D
1:45pm - Enjoying the Dave Matthews Band soundtrack of the show
1:57pm - Trying to stay awake during the documentary-like story of the Colorado River
2:25pm - Mom and I tried to shake the depressing feeling left by seeing the devastating effect we have all had on the Earth
3:00pm - I stop in to get our Sheryl Crow tickets at the iWireless Center and get to hear Sheryl Crow's soundcheck
3:05pm - Tell Mom we definitely get to hear the song Motivation at the concert
3:07pm - Looking at Sheryl Crow's tour bus wondering how long I would have to sit there before she came back out
3:08pm - Trying to not think about stalking Sheryl Crow and stifle the excitement generated from getting a taste of what was to come
3:15 - 5:15 - Shopping around Moline, trying to redirect extra energy away from thinking about the concert
5:15pm - Dinner at Arby's... roast beef sandwich plus Jane's anxiety/gas filled stomach equals no repercussions
6:11pm - Try to get into Reserved Parking at the venue, but get denied
6:13pm - Joke with Mom about the sinkbomb in my bag... that would be the sign I brought... fabric written on with permanent marker
6:15pm - Chillin' in line to get into the concert
6:45pm - Set my butt down in my Row 2 Seat 16 seat and take in the view
7:03pm - Talk to the security guys near the front row about the stage diving rules during the show
7:30pm - Brandi Carlile takes the stage and rocks the house
8:27pm - Get album signed by Brandi Carlile.... sweeeeeet!
8:47pm - Sheryl takes the stage and blows the roof off of the house!
9:33pm - Contemplate diving over the row infront of me to snag the guitar pick that landed in the beer and the drunk front row people don't see at first
10:02pm - Realize my voice is quite hoarse and I can't hit any high notes
10:38pm - The show ends and even after the encore, Sheryl didn't play my sign requested song. Kind of a bummer, but at least she didn't play Diamond Ring (yeah!)
10:47pm - Sitting in the car, about to leave the parking lot
10:53pm - Turning out of the parking, forced to go the direction I don't want to go
10:56pm - Attempting to cut through to the next street, getting stuck in the parking lot, and causing mom a slight panic
10:58pm - Back on the right track, but my street turns into an alley and then deadends into another parking lot
10:59pm - On the street I want to be on and 74 is just around the corner
12:32am - Drop Mom of at home
1:00am - Time to wind down and go to bed

I hope this all makes sense, I didn't proof read it :-)
You got a question, then I'll gladly expand on it!

Two Paws Up

I learned today that surprisingly, Velma likes Avocado.