wonders never cease

It has been a week of reckoning around our little 'burg and the surrounding communities with several deaths, some of "natural causes" and one not the natural way.  BG and her friends lost one of their own and they mourned as a group for a second time this year over a the loss of a road dog and bud.  These kids took turn being DDs and sneaking out and doing lots of things that teenagers do and managed to get caught a few times.  In my heart, I know that is what made the difference in a few of them.  She told me after the visitation that she saw his death as a message from Big Ernie to her personally....and to all of them collectively.  Amen, 'sista.

Today is my 4th and final weekend in a marathon that included both Saturday holidays.  It can really screw you up on a weekend when you're rotating them.  My check was a tiny bit more which made me think about why....and remembered the weekend shift diff.  Sweet!  Now I'm back to every third until somebody retires and then the whole deal changes again.  Yadayada.  We were unhurriedly productive today which is exactly the way I like it.  We're there to do a job.....not commit suicide by working our middle aged selves to death.

I haven't had a vacation in a year and a half and I'm beginning to feel deprived and all that.  Strong willed smartass southern gals can only keep their sweet little heads up for so long before it's time to "go away" as we call it.   I need beach badly.....like almost bad enough to walk there and sleep on a bench.  Nothing sounds better to the old Poops right now than laying in the sun and sipping a cold one with good friends by my side.  That could be because winter is only three weeks old and there's a snowstorm coming.  It's pretty and all but, hey.  One nice one is enough for me to ooh and ahh over and take a pic for the calendar.  Let's get on with it and onto growing season!

One of the perks of being a much more relaxed and happy person ( today, that is ) is that I can pay attention to situations and people closely enough to see the humor in most anything.  Maybe they'll hire me as a writer for "Scrubs", ya think?  I guarantee you I can cast the entire show with my coworkers.  Heh.   Ya'll don't tempt me.

We went south a little ways yesterday to pick up Bubba's new border collie pup, eight weeks old and raring to go.   She is one of a litter from the same mama that Bandit came from. One eye has a black ring, and the other is surrounded by solid white.  PRECIOUS.  We took her down to the junction to her new home and got her settled in with toys and a heat lamp and some nibbles.  It was one of those journeys that I will remember as long as I live, and then some.  They were all so squirmy and jumping around that it was hard to tell boy from girl much less remember which one he had picked.  A lone pup had one steel blue eye ...like Bandit's color.  We considered him and finally settled on the girl, immediately thinking about names.  His friend at the UPS store got an impromptu visit and ya'll listen.....I know dogs aren't allowed in banks but this was so cute.  Just this once :)

I found....quite by accident of course, that if your DSL provider is also your cellphone provider and you are behind on the phone bill, they will hijack your internet service until the other is paid.  Why else would my sullen modem suddenly jump to life and shout for joy following payment!  Rejoice!  The outage was probably Big E's way of telling me to clean up the damn house, girlfriend.  You will never find a sugardaddy with all that dog hair and dust bunnies.

^j^