Dad

This is my dad!

I know.. I know.. your saying, "Peg.. I see where you get your good looks."

Well, thanks folks.. but thats not why I show you a picture of my dad.

I think it important for me to write about him but also for you to see, just where some of my "genes" come from.

My dad is the son of a Southern Protestant preacher. He grew up in rural Tennessee picking cotton and was beat if he didnt pick his proper weight load for the day. True story!

My dad..Dave.. had 10 brothers and sisters that all lived in a 1 bedroom house with 1 woodstove.

Dad use to tell me stories about how: If he got caught doing something he wasnt suppose to be doing, and new he was gett'n a whoop'n.. he'd run into the bedroom and hide under the bed, where he new my grandma couldnt reach him.. that was until she got the broom and started poking him.

My grandparents were very loving, my grandmother cooked everything from sratch and cooked all day long. There is a lot of my grandmother in my dad.

Because of his upbring'n, he has always been very proud, very strong, very much the person that you go to when you needed advice or needed to be told exactly how things were..

Dad had a serious stroke almost six years ago come September, and it destroyed his livlihood for a "bit". When a Southern man can no longer work to provide for his family, walk (he wobbles with a cane now) or see (out of one eye,or good out of the other).. it does something to him mentally.

He has embraced his retirement now, and enjoys his days with the dog..and his wife. He now wobbles around the yard, looking for little projects, he cannes things from the garden and tries out new recipes.

You think Im organized and anal... you should see this guy!! You think I have neat handwriting... you should see my dads.He is also very creative--

He's grilling in this picture.

Turtle Humping

One of the bosses that I have out at the Renaissance is a real bitch! Literally..!!..!

.. Madeline has had a bit of an attitude lately because she has been stuck in the office and she hasnt really liked it very much. Generally she doesnt mind, but she has had the Faire "itch"...

When you first walk in, she thinks that you are there to save her and then she quickly realizes that your not! and that your just another of "them"..

I swear you can see her roll her eyes... its true!

I cant blame her though, because out on festival site, she is the Queens Dog.. and is treated as such by the Royal Hounds Keeper -- Gabriel...

She is fed out of a silver dish, and carried around on silken fabrics.

She has only the best hay to trollip around in, and the best of the best to well, hump on if she so wishes..

There are even bits of turkey legs laying about, if she needs a noonday snack.

I know that these are her daydreams. Dreaming of when her ears will be flopping in the wind, and she can scrounge for feild mice... not sitting in the office, listening at the phone ring and listening to the tapping of the computer keypads.

Ohhh only 3 short weeks until her dreams come true!!

Until then..
she will pout...
walk through the halls with her head hung low...
occassionally hump her turtle..
and continue to give you those big sad eyes while laying in her kennel.

Ohhh the life of a dog..(just be sure not to mention her bald spot to her)

...cont

((((Sigh))))
Yep, growing up fast!

Problem #2

My oh-so-cute-little-baby girl has decided to grow up into a beautiful-almost-pre-teen! Overnight!

In the course of a year, she has gone from shy little tomboy, to a young pre-teen gal that likes to wear mascara and have her nails look nice.

I wasnt prepared for that. Her mannerisms, her vocabulary, the way she acts socially has really changed and I just wasnt aware that it had changed that much, or that quickly.

My baby is growing up, and I didnt even notice until now. How does that happen?

You know how people always say," They grow up so fast" or "They grow up right before your eyes" well, I always thought that was kind of a load of crap, until well.. it happened to us.

Randi informed me last night that she is not 10 any longer.. because it is now only FOUR months until her birthday.. she is "legally" 10.5! Can you belive that little twerp?

I realize she is still only 10.5 but it does seem like just yesterday I was buying her 4T clothing at Target. WOW, to be 10.5 again..

Reality check

I dont know about you, but there are times when I just need to stop and smell the roses, check out my surroundings a bit more, and appreciate what nature provides to us.

Im in this Human Uses of the Environment Class - Ecology and let me tell you, every week, I leave school a bit more depressed at what natural resources are being wasted or taken away..

I understand that we have the circle of life, but now, we now also have Big Brother wanting to own all of the water in the world and wanting to privatize it.. like they did in some cities in Europe, tried to do in India & Bolivia.. and actually did in Stockton, CA.


It got me thinking that we should be able to run free like Evaey here, my most wonderful friend Krisy's dog... and water should not be a commodity.

...and then it hit me like a ton a bricks! I buy bottled water, I buy it in a cute little container because I can.. not because I need to, but because its quick and easy and I want to. I mean, its just WATER, for cripes sake. How am I helping the situation?

If its water now, then what will be next?

You can already buy sod and dirt... you can buy air.. you can buy blood.. organs...and the craziest part of all of this is, that smaller villages in India build ponds, to catch the rain water, so that they will be able to sustain themselves in time of draught, yet those very ponds of water are trying to be taken over by the government so that the water can be sold back to them.. water actually costs them more than a gallon of milk.



Its clear that I need to recyle more.. I need to buy a filter for my water.. I need to be more aware!

Its amazing to think that there really IS a world outside of my head.

One that DOES stop to smell the buds on the trees, run as fast as it can, or "jump" for no good reason.

an Ode to a friend..

I decided that I really needed to thank a special friend, and the best way that I new how.. was through my blog.

Im not very good at sending thank you's or buying special gifts, or even sending a singing telegrams... simply put.. I suck as a friend.

Its ok though.. I know I do. Other friends have told me so.. I dont call or write, but I am always there.

So.. todays blog is dedicated to Suzi and let me tell you why:

*If your sick and down & out, she will have some witty comment to make you smile (and could possibly post about it in her blog)

*She drives my kid around everywhere, or picks her up, because I am always at work, at school or just have gotten home from said places..and it doesnt matter what time it is.

*She LOVES seagulls











*She use to be a comedian in a another life, the gal is halarious (on purpose)

*She sends home baked goods with Halie, on occassion - and we love it!

*She works full time, works out regularly, plays taxi to Halie, spends time with her family, and still finds time to do everything else.(I think she is a clone to be honest).

* Did I mention that I think its cute how she LOVES seagulls










* Her blog:http://www.suzannemcdonough.com/ is hands down, the most creative, well written pieces of literature that is around today,and she has a huge following.

Thank you Suzi for everything that you do.. the driving, the baked goodies, the always being there... its appreciated and not forgotten.

Maybe one day, I'll grow up to be more like you..... Nah, I hate seagulls

The lighter side of life

There are people in your life that you meet that you may want to forget, or laugh at!

There are people in your life that you cant help but wonder about on a semi regular basis, because they are so unlike anyone else.

Then of course, there are those people that you just cant help but shake your head at, much like Scratch here.







and then, there are some people that are just, well, that's all I can say..
...there are just SOME people..








Occassionally, people multiply creating mass confusion amongst us "normal" folk and utter chaos ensues.


.....(however funny it might be to watch)












Of course, there is always the "safe, funny looking one" that is really more demented than most.
Beware people, Beware!






(Jester boy is pure evil genius full of dead baby jokes.. so dont let that smile fool ya)








and then everyone has at least one crazy friend that eats paint, dont they?.. ummm dont they???

Well, if not.. they should,
cause they are HELL R E US!!!

..and after it rains alot, they will wear arm floaties and goggles
..and walk around in full costume carrying all their paint..."acting" crazy!

Yep... some people








But you know, Im one of those people too...

My brother and I were raised to be a bit "off our rocker" which is the way I prefer to live my life.

Were a bit "not quite right", "few fries short of a happy meal", "elevator doesnt go all the way to the top" kind of family, and I couldnt be happier.

...time of year

..its becoming that time of year once again, when I start to get excited about the thought of meeting new people, new challenges, becoming exhausted yet, not wanting to give in, quitting on a Saturday morning only to realize that none of us will ever really let it happen, meeting the crew for coffee and then immediately after coffee, hooking up for a Bloody Mary's to REALLY start the day off right.



The Renaissance is a strange entity that I have allowed to enter into my life.

It isnt even so much the Renaissance itself, its the people and the relationships that I have built up over the years.

It's what the fetival is and what the grounds mean. It's the smell of the fires and the feel of the dew on the tall grass. It's paging for "Gabriel & Petri" over the radio and hearing them call for "Grouper" in reply...and of course pointing out fashion disasters over the radio is always quite entertaining.

..and how could anyone not love to watch the Dew Drops (especially when there are new tricks promised for this season?)



Even with new tricks promised, what I really love, I mean truly love, is walking around out there and seeing how our "people", our entertainers, make a difference for other people AND for us.



When it comes down to it, we have some of the funniest people on earth in our little neck of the woods, and I absolutely love to catch them cracking up the other entertainers.






Case in point:

The Royals being cracked up by Scratch the Beggar. He was killing everyone last year with the stuff that was coming out of his mouth, and his pants.

It just doesnt get any better than that people.

There is one thing though, that people REALLY come to the Renaissance for (NO, it isnt cleavage)... its smoked, its meat, and its $4.50

You got it... its the damn Turkey legs!

It amazes me at how many of these freak'n things they go through in a season. It's astonishing really.



Just think of all of those poor defenseless turkeys...!! Yeah, I dont care either.

Shhhtuff...

Is anyone else strangely excited about the fact that Clerks II is coming out soon?

I went to see Pirates with my hubby,and I have to say.. I dont know what to say about it yet, I havent quite formed and opinion as of yet. It's still sinking in...

We also went to see Little Man, it was ok. Again, it wasnt horrible, but it wasnt great either.

We rented The Libertine the other night, and I was sadly disappointed. Not in Johnny, but the movie itself. It seemed to drag on and on.

I finally get to go back to work on Monday.. for good!

How did the surgery go you might ask? It didnt. They had me all prepped and ready to be seditated, when my doctor was checking my films and could not find my stone anywhere. Since he couldnt find the stone, he couldnt obviously do the surgery. He is looking into other avenues to see what could be the cause of my problems. So I am the exact same....

Bummer!

Stoned

Well my friends.. today is the day! Im having surgery to remove that F%#King Piece of S*%T Kidney stone... and I can't wait!!

(((((((sigh)))))))

I have this little problem, and I need some help. Ok, I need a lot of help.

Some of you might say that its not a problem at all, while others of you will say, Yeppers Peg, that's a whopper of a problem, thats for sure.

Ive mentioned this problem a time or two before... at various stages of development, and yet, every new stage seems to be a total suprise to me.. I ask you, HOW THE HELL CAN THAT BE??

Its not like I fell of the damn turnip truck yesterday, I mean I DO have some background with this sort of "issue"...

My problem is this:










My "baby" is growing up, and I finally had to admit it. ((((((sigh))))))

Ive had a really hard time adjusting. I admit it..I of all people would of been the person to tell other people, "You have to just let them grow up and think of all the positive" and now I have to eat my own words... Yeah, that's tough!

Halie has evolved over night or so it would seem, from that picture.. to this:








But you know, it hasnt stopped there.. the haircut wasnt enough, nor was the haircolor change.. ohh no, she wanted to go even further.... Ohhh yes people, we are talking about a piercing!!

She had to have, must have, or would be the laughing stock of all of Apple Valley.. if she didnt pierce her nose....

I of course said NO WAY, she said, "All of my friends do it at school in the bathroom, can I just do my own?"

I of course said "Sure" thinking that there was no way in hell that she would actually do it...she appeared to be very dedicated to the cause and serious enough to warrant some supervision so I gave her the proper guidance and tools.. and let her do it! What was I going to do...I totally thought she was bluffing.

So now, she has once again evolved:





Now she is the "oh so meloncholy teen with 15 yr old angst with a pierced nose".. or whatever she is attempting today... I never really know. All I know is she has a new group of friends (which are nice but drive..arghh) and she is never home!!

So I have had to learn to let go.. somewhat. As a parent, how the heck do we know how much?? I mean seriously, we have enough to deal with, cant someone just give me a freak'n bullet point list already to let me know...... or a pie chart, that would be swell.

All I know is, the growing up stuff is really HARSH'N MY MELLOW ....


Ohhh, and an update on the "kidney stone ordeal".. I still have the damn thing, for F$%K sake! I have an appt with the Urologist on the 11th..