Missing her...

Today, I've really been thinking about my big sister, Beckie. She was 8 years older than me and I always looked up to her, thought she was really cool. Well, she was. She loved working with the severely handicapped, loved nature and being natural, loved so many things...and I loved her for it. Most of you know, but she (along with her 3 other boys) was murdered when she was 34 years old by her 15 year old snake step-son whom she tried to love, too. He has never been remorseful. As a matter of fact, he is still trying to convince the press that it was her fault, or blame her and drag Beckie's name through his hellish lies just to get notoriety for himself. I'm so glad my mom doesn't have to know about this crap anymore.

Taco Tuesday

Last night, in the middle of the night, the sounds of screaming cats came through my bedroom window screen and woke me with a start. I laid back down, and listened to the exorcism for another 5 minutes or so. I smiled with the peace of mind that my cats were safe and sound asleep at the bottom of my bed and not out causing such ruckus. I moved my legs back and forth to give each a little nudge and realized NO CATS. I jumped up and listened with a clearer mind...the screams from hell were coming from downstairs! I rushed to the basement to see what the heck was going on.

The light caught them by surprise...George and TT were on the washer and dryer close to the open window all puffed out like dandelions! I looked at the window and the cute face of a giant gray cat was looking through the screen. PSSS PSSS PSSS a few times...clap clap clap and finally "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" gently crossed my lips. (lol) My great attempt to scare the cat away worked and my cats and I finally trapsed back up the stairs to find the bed and tried to fall asleep.

Ugh. Ya know when you need to do something really basic to help your sleep, but just can't wake up long enough to do so? That was the next case. I was needing to shut the window because the cold breeze kept me from a comfortable sleep. Could I get there? NO. More awake time.

RING. Cell phone. Husband calling me to wake me so I can get ready for my Dr. appoint. Ahhh, I can lay here just a little while longer...then a little while longer...then pushed that little while longer to where I needed to kick butt to get ready. First things first. Go downstairs and shut off the fan by that open window and close up the rest of the windows so the cool air stays in. UGH. Here's what I saw...
Water coming out of the hot water heater. NOT a good time. I looked closer and noticed that the moisture was only dripping OFF the heater, not from it. So I looked UP.
Oh Danny boy, the pipes the pipes are calling...but that wasn't the source either, then DRIP...stinky floor wood drop in my eye. (umm, and when am I going to get my shower for the dr?) Drip, another...The floor joists were soaked. Something from upstairs was leaking. I ran back UPSTAIRS to investigate the plumbing. I couldn't hear the sound of a broken pipe...I couldn't find anything in the bathroom, nothing under the kitchen sink or around the dishwasher...then I saw water in front of the fridge. I pulled it out, and YEP. The water line going into the ice maker was leaking and must have been doing so for quite some time. The water dripped through the hole in the floor that the electrical and plastic lines were running through.
So I called husband, ran over to my poor neighbor's house, got him up, and he helped me figure out where to turn the valve off for the water. Then I rushed out the door for my appointment. After I got back from the DR., my neighbor came and fixed the leak...This pic was taken when everything was all cleaned up and the leak almost fixed. The water had been at least a 1/2 inch deep.

The moral of the story:
Don't wait for a broken water line to find out you have an odd square tile under your fridge.

Below, you see mom's family, all the brothers and sisters (12) and her parents. Today, my Aunt Goldie called to let me know their brother, the last brother, passed away at age 90.
It's been a very, very long time since I've seen Uncle Harry and I don't really have very many memories of him. The painful thing, the part rips my heart and fills my eyes with tears is ANOTHER death in mom's family. And, of course, it stirs the pain of her loss, as well.

Below you see Uncle Harry, standing next to Goldie's belated husband, and Harry's belated wife, Esther.

It just really makes me was. Now there are three girls left of their giant, depression lived family. RIP with all the rest, Uncle Harry.

Ugh.

Eye Candy

Here are a few nice things to look at for your weekend!

Our beautiful Cathy's smile!
Uncle Bill in his new home!

My jungle of 4 o'clocks!

My sunflower! (husband is 6'3)
Happy eye candy!