Conundrum

Conundrum - n. A riddle or problem admitting of no satisfactory solution.

What do you call an organization that is charged with feeding hungry people on a regular basis and holds an all you can eat breakfast and then runs out of food?

And just to make the day more special, the BBQ this afternoon has been rescheduled to next week. Can this day get any better? Only if I could find a fresh donut in this town.

Looking forward to the weekend

Tomorrow there are quite a few things going on here in Tidy Town. An all you can eat breakfast is taking place - another pancake please! Then for lunch a pork BBQ is happening. Yummy! The weather is supposed to be a little bit cooler. I'll believe it when I see it.

I've been doing genealogy research this morning. Sometimes you find tons of stuff and it all falls together beautifully. Other times it's like banging your head against a brick wall. Today has been a brick wall day. I'm making a list of newspaper archives I need to check and the list keeps getting longer. I did reach out to a distant cousin in Florida who is willing to give me information. That coupled with the research I'm getting from another cousin in Ohio will fill in some gaps quite nicely.

Gertie informs me - quite forceably that it is overdue time for a nap. And I need to get all my energies in order for tomorrow......

Weird Day

It's a little after midnight and all I can say is that it's been a weird day. It started at 3 a.m. when I woke up sure I was having a major heart attack - I was clutching my chest like Fred Sanford saying I'm coming Elizabeth. Then I rolled over to get out of bed and let out a very loud and lengthy burp. I felt much better. It still freaked me out though. Gertie was on the end of the bed looking at me like "What the heck are you doing?"

Wednesday was another hot day - 118 heat index. I swear it's never going to end. My bitching, I mean. I know the heat will eventually subside and then we'll move quickly into freezing winter weather, giving me something entirely new to gripe about.

This evening I saw something I hadn't seen since I moved here and hope never to see again - BATS!! I opened the door this evening to let Gertie out for her last time out and there were about 20 bats swooping all over the place. I was hesitant to let Gertie out because some of these bats were really pretty big and I didn't want them to bite her. She went out quickly and did her business and came running right back in. She wanted to go out twice more, of course - any other night and she'd never had gone out after dark at all - now she wants to torture me with bats. They apparently moved on because I didn't see any at all. Just something more weird to add to the day.

Now I can go to bed and start all over again tomorrow.....

More Hot Days

Today things have cooled down here at Frog Central - today we're only at 111 heat index - lol. Yesterday I ran some errands first thing in the morning and I did the same thing again today. Get out and get back before the heat really sets in. Other than that, Gertie and I spend our days trying to keep cool and figuring out thing to make to eat without heating up the oven.

I've been extremely tired the last few days. I am overdue for my vitamin B shot. I'm holding off till the beginning of next week because I won't get the next one until mid-September. I want to change the time line a bit so that I'm not trying to get a shot the day after Thanksgiving and the time between Christmas and New Years.

Thank goodness Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are back this week. I was really going stir crazy in the evenings without their comedy take on the day's news stories.

Gertie informs me it is nap time - long overdue in my book.....

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie has been enjoying the air conditioning and spending as little time outside as possible. Gertie reminds you to bring your dogs inside in this hot weather and definately do not put them in the car for any reason. If you go somewhere and think you'll only be a minute or two - remember that the inside of a car can heat up 10 degrees every minute until the inside car temps reach over 140 degrees. Dogs cannot handle that type of heat!

Gertie says keep cool - and keep your dogs that way too....

Heat Index 117

I am so not kidding. I stuck my head out and I couldn't catch my breath! So for the forseeable future I'm staying inside with the air conditioning running non-stop - I can't wait to see this electric bill. Gertie wanted to go out a bit more frequently today, but she didn't stay out long. I was surprised at the number of people walking down the sidewalk. They've got more gumption than I do.

I spent the day doing genealogy research and made a big leap forward. I like days like that. I've been working months on this one particular line and I'm finally seeing the end of the initial research in sight. A couple more weeks - I hope. You just never know.

Tomorrow I have to search through the refrigerator and freezer to see what I can make without turning on the stove. I turned it on yestrday to make a pizza and I was sorry for hours afterwards. Living in a small place means it heats up quickly when the stove is on. The pizza was big enough that I was able to munch on it all day so I didn't have to cook. I could eat spicy cajun mix all day - lol.....

Heat Index 110

OK, this is getting a bit ridiculous now! The temps topped out right near 100 and the humidity is as thick as pea soup. I opened the door just a little bit ago to let Gertie out and we both looked at each other and came right back inside. Gertie's happy to cross her legs for now..... no, she honestly came right back in on her own.

The pharmacy called me to let me know my prescriptions were ready to be picked up. They'll be there a couple more days. We are under excessive heat warnings for the weekend. The outdoor movie tomorrow night will be a bit steamy. I think I'll stay inside and watch whatever is on television. Besides the season finale of Dr. Who is on. I'm still not sure if I like this new doctor - the last guy, David Tennant, was by far my favorite actor playing that role.

I'm quite enjoying two new shows - Hot in Cleveland with Betty White, and The Fabulous Beekman Boys. Both shows offer quite a few yucks. And couldn't we all use a little more laughter - especially in this heat.

I received a new frog today - I'm waiting for it to cool down a bit!

Heat Index 104

Just another day baking in the mid-west. I looked to see if my belly button popped out because I'm sure done with this weather. And there's still August to go. Ugh! I spent yesterday morning running around doing more errands - it seems like they never end. I had to go to the insurance company. They keep sending me postcards to come in and make sure my insurance needs are where they should be. Yep, they are. Another day, another trip to the post office. I was glad to get home before it got too hot.

We had quite a few thunderstorms here yesterday, which knocks out the cable and internet access. Today the weatherman says that the storms will be even stronger. The neighbor across the street lost a tree - whether for wind or a lightning stike I don't know. It closed the road for a bit while the city, in the midst of the storm, was out taking down the remainder of the tree and clearing the road. I have to say the city services are good like that.

Today Gertie and I have stayed inside and kept cool. We did receive a package this morning from a company called GeorgeHowe. They are a candy and snack company. When I lived in Champaign, a couple hours north of my present location, the local supermarket used to carry these snack mixes in big barrels. My favorite was a spicy cajun mix. I had not found it around here so I finally went to the internet. Some places it's really expensive - but then I found GeorgeHowe candy and snacks. Ridiculously cheap! I bought 10 pounds for about 15 bucks. Needless to say, I was in heaven when I opened that package. It's one of those snacks that lasts a while. I spent all afternoon munching on a small bowl - YUMMY! I also bought some great spiced jelly beans and Bassett's licorice. I highly recommend the site.

I had a great genealogy lead from a distant cousin, who is a folk singer in the upstate New York area. I'm looking forward to hearing some of her music and maybe I can grap a clip to put up here.

Now I think I'm going to go watch the news to see what's going on in the world.....

Have You Seen Me?

The Garden Collection - Wart's Motel
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

I'm looking for this particular Toad House - the Wart's Motel from The Garden Collection. I first listed this piece in 1995, but it probably dates to further back than that. If you have seen this for sale anywhere recently, please contact me.

Home Just In Time

I've been out running errands. In this heat - Ugh! The usual spots, the bank, post office, Walmart, CVS, etc. I just made it in the house when the skies got so dark I thought it was night time. The wind is whipping up quite a bit and I'm hoping that we don't get the hail that other communities have gotten. The best thing about a storm is that it will hopefully cool it off a bit afterwards. Who knows. The weatherman says that it's supposed to be major heat warnings until the weekend. All I know is that I melted out there in the heat. I didn't want to go out, but the errands had been piling up.

NC called today - it was the last day of her job. Her choice to leave and move on to something new. When you're a nurse you can do those things. Anybody else would be scared to death to lose a job in this economy.

No word yet from AB, but she has a Facebook page. I just joined this morning and have no clue to what I'm doing, but I'm hoping that she'll add me as a friend and tell me how to do this thing! I joined so I could connect with quite a few people that are distant cousins. There are a number of clustered little groups that I've found while searching for my genealogy project. It's all slowly coming together and I hope that I'll be able to start putting everything into some kind of order soon. I'd like to have a book published sometime next year with my findings. We'll see.

I guess the thunder and lightning are flashing pretty good so I'm going to post this and I'll be back later. I have someone who is looking for a particular Toad Abode and I'm hoping that you can help me find him one. Because everyone knows my readers are the best!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Did I say it was hot? Very dangerous heat indexes out there - so Gertie and I are staying in. The few trips Gertie has had to make outside, she's gone as quick as possible and heads right in. She takes a nap right after - the heat takes everything out of her. Gertie doesn't like to hang over the registers like Shadow did, but I think she might change her mind soon. The temps here have been hovering around 100 with a heat index of 105. Tomorrow the heat index is supposed to go to 110 to 115. Let's burn another barrel of oil, shall we?

I need to go over to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, but I think I'll wait until Monday and hav them deliver it - I do not want to go out at all! Hope things are a little cooler for you.

Frog of the Day

Leap For A Cause
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

I woke up yesterday with my right knee swollen and very difficult to put weight on it. Today the left knee decided to join in sympathy. I look rather amusing - take a step - ouch!- take a step - ouch!

I heard a lot of activity at Charley's house the last couple of days. The family came in and moved out the last of the furniture. Realtors showed up yesterday and by last night a sign was in the front lawn. I went to the website to see what the sale price was going to be - OUCH! You have to understand this area and the value of real estate is not the same as if you were in a big city - that being said, the asking price is $98,000.00. It does contain three lots, but the house can't be more than a 1,000 square feet. I think it will sit empty for a while. Certainly out of my realm unless one of my readers wants to buy it for me......

This frog collectible is from the Hamilton Collection's new line Hop to a Cure Frog Collection. This piece is called Leap For A Cure. It is made of resin, and features a glossy finish and lots of sparkling glitter for the perfect finishing touch. This is a limited-edition collection and each piece is numbered. This piece is number 407A. And best of all, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each figurine will be donated to help fight breast cancer. There are three different figurines to the collection. At this moment, this is the only one I have. I received this July 2010.

Expectations

I was flipping through this evenings newspaper. It only comes twice a week and like a rabid dog I drool over every page. For the whole 2 minutes it takes to read the 4 pages. I'm waiting for them to say that they're going to go to a once a week printing - it certainly wouldn't suprise me at all. On the back page was an advertisement for a local farm - with homemade cider and stop in for a free homemade cider flavored doughnut. Who could resist such a thing! Not just a doughnut, which I've been going through withdrawal over because there is no doughnut shop within 100 miles, and homemade cider flavored to boot. Heaven! My mouth is watering at the prospect. Since I live in the middle of nowhere and there are hundreds of little wide patches that have 2 houses - a town! - I use google maps a lot. I plug in the town name and keep pulling further out looking for anything familiar. Nothing. Finally I pull way back to find that this place is about 4 hours away! I'd be the first to admit that I'd go out of my way to get a fresh homemade cider flavored doughnut - but that is ridiculous. You would think that if they are going to advertise in a local paper, that it would actually be somewhat local. Dashed expectations.....

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

It's been a busy week for Gertie. She's the big dog in a small body, ready to take on anything that comes her way. We've been dealing with the situation of the gentleman who I think probably has Alzheimer's. He showed up again today and I was able to get him to tell me his name. So tomorrow I'm going down to talk to the police. If he lives alone, he's in need of help. Gertie isn't quite sure what to make of him - today she didn't bark at him when he rang the door - just went to the door and waited for me to show up. Such a protector!

Today she wanted to play for the most of the day - especially with her favorite toy, her perfume bottle squeaky toy. I think she likes this one the best because she can make it squeak the easiest. She loves to make her toys squeak - over and over and over.....lol.

Hope your weekend was a cooler one.

A Very Late Friday Night

The last couple days seemed to just fly by. In the midst of everything else I tried to get some housework caught up today. Yesterday was grocery shopping, today housework. Now I'm exhausted. Good news in that the doorbell hasn't been rung by the mysterious stranger in two days. I hope my threat of the police got through to him.

I did find some time over the last few days to work on my genealogy project. Lots of new and promising leads. I've sent out a bunch of e-mails and hope to get some responses. It must be kind of weird to receive an e-mail from someone that knows a lot of information about you. With the internet today, it's easier than ever to find information on someone - which is both awesome and scary.

I don't think Gertie was feeling to well yesterday. A number of times she came up to me and jumped like a little kid wanting to be picked up - which is exactly what she wanted. She put her head on my shoulder and would be out like a light. I did get a bit concerned last night - she did a morning pee yesterday morning and then nothing more all day. And all night. Finally this morning about 8:30 she went out and the waterworks started again. She's been much livelier today and so we had to spend some time on and off all day playing. Gertie finally wound down a little bit ago and decided to curl up at my feet while I work on the computer.

Did you like the frog yesterday? I don't know if it is the last one in that series - it's a pretty cool series though. I received another new frog which is also part of a series. I'll put that up the beginning of this next week.

Mom's birthday is this next week. It's a big one - but I'll be a gentleman and not tell her age. I'll just say you know how many trombones were in the big parade - she's going to be one less. Hey it's better than the coronets! (Look it up).

I talked tonight with EH in Mississippi. His parents had been to visit this last weekend and so he's enjoying a bit of down time now that they've headed home. I'd like to head down to visit him - but not in the middle of the summer. I think it's way too hot here. He laughs and says he wishes it would cool off to what the temps are here. Now that's hot. And he tells me it's really sticky. And really buggy - he has lizards that stick to his doors evenings. OK - I'm staying right here, thank you very much.

We had a new gas station open here in town. They had a big grand opening yesterday. I went over but you couldn't get near the place with a soup spoon. They were giving away tickets to a lot of events - so everyone was trying to get in on that. Tomorrow there's a dinner at the NMN Club (No More Nicotine Club) - I don't smoke, never have - but it's a benefit dinner for a young man who was killed here recently. They're making a memorial fund for the school, so I thought I'd go up - it's only two blocks away. There's also a fish fry at the Oddfellows Lodge - I hate fish, but I thought I should go to show my support. Right after that we're having the start of our county fair. It's getting into a busy time here in Tidy Town.

But for now, I think I'm off to bed....

Frog of the Day

Toad Riders - Hoppin' Wild
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

I've been having a situation here at Frog Central the last few days. A local gentleman, who I think is suffering from Alzheimer's or is otherwise mentally challenged has decided someone he knows lives here. The first day he rang the bell I told him he had the wrong address. He stared at me blankly like he couldn't comprehend what I was saying. The second day he leaned on the doorbell, ringing it 4 or 5 times before I could get to the door. I again told him that the person he was looking for did not live here. The third day he walked in the door. That was quite a bit scary because you just never know what someone is going to do. He left quickly when the dog barked at him. My saving grace is that he seems to be scared of the dog barking at him. That doesn't mean that I haven't taken to locking the door 24/7 though. To city folk that might seem like a no brainer - but here in small town America, there are quite a few that never lock their doors. I always locked mine at night, but left it open during the day - not anymore. So he showed up today again - at 6:30 in the morning. I am not a morning person and that was the straw that broke the camel's back - I'm going down to the police station to file a report and the next time he shows up the police are going to have to intervene. This gentleman obviously needs supervision that he's not getting.

This frog collectible is another in the Hamilton Collection's Toad Rider Collection. I've held on to this one for a bit, thinking that around the 4th of July would be the most appropriate time to showcase it. It's called Hoppin' Wild. His motorcycle is decked out in the American flag, as is the jacket of the rider. He's taken his freedom on the road and definately born to be Hoppin' Wild. I received this frog June 2010. It is a limited edition piece, each one numbered. The number of this piece is 128.

All Day on Hold

It's really hot here at Frog Central again. The east coast is sweltering right along with us - now you know how it's been here for a month! I decided not to go over to the festivities on the 4th because it was too hot and I don't need to pass out at the park. I never go to the fireworks because I want to be here to calm down Gertie. She was funny - she wasn't scared of the booms from the fireworks - she wanted to go out and bark at them. I decided that was the best thing to do for a couple minutes. She calmed down a bit after she got it out of her system. And I turned up the sound on the television.

I spent all of today on hold with the education loan service provider - they're the people that you pay your student loan to. What they don't tell you when you get a student loan is that when you start paying it back, it will get sold over and over again - changing where you have to send the loan payment constantly. With it being the 4th I went ahead and put in the payment with my bill pay service and lo and behold - I received a letter today that it had been sold to a new company. They really should tell you a little more than 3 days before it's due. So I called the old service provider - they'll forward it on and it will take 30 to 45 days. I called the new provider - they're a bit p.o.'d because they're not getting a payment for 30 to 45 days and want to slam me with a late fee. What! 3 levels of supervisors later - I'm not supposed to get a late fee but I have to call back in 3 weeks to be sure they've received the payment from the old place. I said that would be 21 days - not 30 to 45. Best they could do. I can tell this is going to be an on-going saga for a bit.

Hope you had a good 4th. I've got a couple new frogs to put up. I can hardly wait!

Happy 4th of July

Just a quick post to wish you a happy and safe July 4th. Gertie and I are staying in and away from the fireworks that hurt her ears. Don't tell her, but I might run out to the park to get a funnel cake - it's been a long time since I've had one.....

The heat wave has finally broken

I awoke this morning to a nice cool 58 degrees. It was wonderful! Gertie has spent a lot of time outside today, enjoying the ability to run around without overheating. The reprieve is will be short lived - but so much needed. Especially after I got my electric bill!

It's been interesting doing genealogy research the last couple of days. Very little divorce seemed to take place - until recent times. Now I'm dealing with people who have married and divorced two or three times and each person they marry has been married two or three times and there are kids by everyone all around. Very confusing indeed.

It was strange to look around outside today and know that Charley's place sits empty. I tell you this, I wish I could afford to buy his place if it goes on the market. His place doesn't have a basement and is entirely ground level - even the entrance. Very walker friendly.