Rumors

Rumors, rumors and more rumors. Last night at work, one of the oilers came to work and started the "rumor" that Goodyear had sold the Topeka, Kansas tire plant. He said he had seen it on the Internet yesterday. I don't know where he looked, but every search I tried this morning, I couldn't find anything about a sale. Does it affect me? No. Does it affect my friends? Yes. A year ago, when the impending sale of Goodyear General Products was becoming a reality, many of our people chose to apply at the plant in Topeka. Goodyear employees (and we were at that time) are given preferential hiring status. Many had the same time as I did. Twenty or so years with the company. Their thinking was, to transfer and work there for 8 to 10 years , get their 30 years in, and move back "home". That magic 30 years comes with complete health coverage, so you can see, it is very important. They sold homes, uprooted kids, left family & friends and went where they didn't really want to go. All for security. Since most of our jobs went to Mexico, I can't even guess how many of our people went to Topeka. The rest of the rumor? It does get worse. "Rumor" has it, it was sold to a Japanese plant. Goodyear Topeka, does not manufacture your everyday, run of the mill tire. They do huge industrial tires and have government contracts for most of their vehicles. We were always told, this was our biggest money making plant. On to the rest of the rumor. It gets ugly. With this plant, Japan, would have the exclusive corner on this type of product. "Rumor" has it, buy it, close it and make it all in Japan. About 1,500 hundred more jobs to go out of this country. Now these people who gave up everything might be left with nothing. Those of us who decided, or refused to move, are at least guaranteed jobs until 2012. Sort of. That too is shaky.

When will this country realise we have to do something to keep jobs from moving to other countries? As oil prices continue to rise, the "cheap" labor overseas Will soon be lost. Prices will sky rocket, and the employed, unemployed and low income people will simply not be able to afford many items. One thing seems sure. Our current President has no qualms about the future of our country. He continues to spend money like it was as free as our water supply. (And that is getting shakier by the day.") Someone needs to sit him down and show him exactly what a trillion dollars is. I think he must think in terms of millions. Who'd have thought forty years ago the Soviet Union would fall from a fearful power to seldom mentioned anything? I can't help but wonder if we are heading in that same direction. "The rise and fall of the United States".

Rumors, rumors and more rumors. I hope that is all they are.

Coat

Well, I did it. I had put my winter coat away for the year, but I broke it out and wore it to work last night. I was glad I did. By 3:00 A.M., it was cold. Of course, we had to scrape windows again this morning.

Will spring ever get here !!!!!

Weekend

It is Sunday morning and the weekend is almost over. We have had hard frosts the last 2 mornings. Friday night the wind chill was to drop into the twenties. Generally very cool here. Several people at work have already bought plants and put them out. There are already some gardens planted too. Seems a little early to me.

Yesterday afternoon I happened to turn on an old movie, "The Longest Day" at 3:00P.M. Both Bob and I got into the story. Didn't know it was going to last 4 hrs. We had seen it a long time ago, but still was good. Unbelievable the conditions the troops went through during that war. Did I say it was in black and white? It actually seemed more dramatic than some of todays movies in "living" color.



Then we got into trivia , who was who etc. So many of the old actors. Was Red Buttons an actor too? I thought he was just a comedian who was on Ed Sullivan once in a while. There was another war movie on afterwards, but I had had enough for one day. Bob went downstairs to watch it, and I watched something else.



It's time to get some laundry done and get to bed so I can go to work tonight.

Dan's Guy's

Dan came over for a little while last night with Damien and Repeat (Raidyn). They hadn't been here 10 minutes before Damien wanted cereal.. Repeat wanted cereal. Dan hollers in from the living room, "You already had dinner". They had a bowl of dry cereal to munch on. Then Damien wanted pudding. Repeat wanted pudding. Two puddings later, (and I mean 1 chocolate and 1 butterscotch for each boy) , Damien wanted a banana. Repeat wanted a banana. Then Damien wanted pop tarts. You guessed it. Repeat wanted pop tarts. Then Damien wanted some of Grandpa's candy kisses. Again, Repeat wanted candy kisses. Grandma said no.... How much can little tummies take? That is when Repeat started crying for mommy. Since I said no, and Mommy wasn't here, what he really wanted was his "plug". Todays parents call them "binkies". He is almost 3 years old, and I think too old for them. I wouldn't even tell him I had one he had forgotten here a long time ago. Bad, bad Grandma.

I was getting ready for work during all of this. Damien still can't comprehend that I work at night when he sleeps. I can't figure out how to convince him that I really do work all night long when he thinks I should be sleeping. I guess when he gets older he will believe me. For now I just get that "you are pulling my leg Grandma" look.

Just waiting to hear from Mom if the boys were up all night with tummy aches.

"Killers"

I have had it !!!! I have tried Raid, and then the "traps" . Neither is working !!! Ants all over my kitchen !!! Tired of the little buggers !!! I have Bob's lunch all ready for him and I am going to bed. The only thing on his "honey-do" list today, is to call the "killers". ( For all of you who can't figure out what this is. It is EXTERMINATORS !!!! ) Any one of them. I don't care !!!!

"Grandsons"

Well, another weekend has come and gone. They go so fast. Had 2 of the grand kids Saturday night. Damien came earlier in the afternoon and couldn't wait for Shannon to get here. That is all he could talk about. Finally Shannon got here !!. Shannon wouldn't talk to him or acknowledge him in any way except to holler no if Damien asked him if he wanted to play. Shannon went to the toy cars and stayed there for 2 hours while Damien tried to play and figure out what was wrong. It was really sad. Don't know what changed, but while they were eating supper, Shannon decided he would talk to Damien. From that point on they played non stop, running through the house laughing and screaming. Then it was on to baths, in Grandma's whirlpool tub, and what a mess!!!! Water on the walls, floor and anywhere else when little boys turn the jets up instead of down.

Then on to bed. I made a big bed on the living room floor so they could watch videos until they fell asleep. I had asked Jen to send some videos with Damien because my supply has somehow diminished. Shannon and Damien were looking at them when Shannon went nuts. Batman ! Batman ! Batman! "Mom won't let me watch that because it is too violent!!!" Thank you Grandma, thank you Grandma thank you Grandma!!!! " I figured, what the heck. If It was rated PG13, and it was, why not? After all, I had seen some of the games Shannon was playing on the computer and on his DS thingee. So I thought,here goes!! (What Grandma does when Grand kids are here, stays here.)

At 10:00, I thought I was was home free. They both looked like they were out cold. I turned the TV off. WRONG !!!!! Two voices hollered, Grandma !!!!!!! It was on to choice number two. Schoo Be Doo. Don't ask me how to spell it, I only know how to put it in the DVD player and make it go. By 11:00, it was for sure. They were dead to the world. I chose to sleep on the couch in case one of them would need anything.

Maybe that isn't entirely correct. Maybe I was subconsciously remembering the last time Shannon stayed here. I made a bed on the floor for him and his brothers, just like this time. They did their best trying to stay awake all night. Sometime after I went to bed, when I thought they were all out for the night, Shannon got up, and in his sleep, thought my toy basket was the restroom. I found the mess after they had left. Want to know how I spent my Sunday morning? You guessed it !!! Washing a basket full of toys !!!

And that, was my weekend.

New Day

OK. Another day and not so bad at work. That is if you don't mind sitting thru an hour long meeting on hazardous waste. What you have to do is plan ahead. Go to the restroom, pick up a cold drink, dash outside and hope it is colder than (something), and show up for the meeting. Hopefully all of the above will help you stay awake. I did see three drifting off and one fidgeting like he forgot the restroom stop. Oh well.

Then there was more bad news. As if we need more. Another whole department is to be shut down and the product is going somewhere else. Any guesses? Of course. MEXICO. When I started working there, we had 2,000 employees. Before this cut we had 438. All those jobs went---you guessed it. MEXICO. I am now a janitor (and it takes 21 years to be able to hold it) in the offices. I get into all of the engineers offices every night to do my thing, and I get to see the returns and customer complaints that are laying around. If we had produced some of those belts or hoses it would have been traced back to the individual, and a major letter issued. More than one and you were in deep doo-doo.

You might want to read packaging real close on all items you purchase. If not made in USA, I would beware. Standards are not the same as they are here!!!!

Tonight? Oh I have another exciting one in store. I have another hour long certification meeting to look forward to. I just told you the routine so you know how I will prepare.

Other than that, all's quiet on the home front. Except of course our youngest daughter is back from vacation in Jamaica. I went 5 whole days without her usual morning phone calls, and now I have to adjust back to that routine. I think I will adjust real fast.

Work

I had a really poopy night at work and I don't want to blog. I will come back another time when I am in a better mood.

Ants and Stuff

The ants are still here. I think we have four traps out. Seems like the little devils don't like them or they are multiplying faster than the traps can handle them. I continue to chase them with Raid.. Only problem is, I don't know which direction to go anymore. They are now on the north, south, east and west walls and floor.

The weekend is over and it was back to work last night at 11:00. The weather was nothing to brag about. Cloudy, cold and windy. Sunny, cold and windy. Rumor is: A warm up coming as soon as Tuesday. I think that was put out by a weatherman who doesn't know April Fool's Day has come and gone.

We did have a great time Saturday. Sr. Donata was to have come up to spend the weekend with Meg. She hurt her back or hip, I'm not sure which, and was not able to make that long ride. Here Meg was with all this food, so she invited Bob and I, along with Ginny, for lunch. It was a feast !! I ate so much I almost couldn't eat dessert. Notice I said almost. I forced myself to eat homemade apple pie with ice cream. I didn't eat another meal all day, and it took me all night at work before I even felt hungry again.

After Megs, Bob dropped me off at Walgreen's. I needed to make some Cd's so I could empty my memory card. Their machine said I had 1,011 pictures on it. I didn't want that many on one CD, so I started making them by event. When I got home, I put my memory card into my computer and it said I had 1,436 pictures on it. Must have been too many for Walgreen's machine to register. When I got done deleting all the ones I had copied, I still had 368 pictures on my card. Will have to go back because I want it emptied before this weekend.

That pretty much was the extent of my weekend.

"Traps"

The ants are back. We have traps.

"My Guy"

This would be "my guy" Bob. It was taken shortly before he retired. Love this guy to death !! My husband of 41 + yrs., father of my 5 children and grandfather of our 8 grandchildren. He is Irish, and I am Swedish. What a mix. Through this all we have managed to make it through the good times and the bad. We have a lifetime of memories. My best advice to everyone is, enjoy every minute, hour and day you have. None of us knows when it may be our last. Live long and prosper !!!!

"Tis Herself"

This would be my sister-in-law, Meg. Also my "matron-of-honor" at my wedding. She and my husband, Bob are Irish. Their other 8 siblings are of various nationalities, depending on which one you talked to. She is in the process of opening a birthday present in this picture. I do believe she was surprised. Love her dearly!!!!

My "Second" Son-in-Law

This would be Kevin, married to our daughter Shannon. What a guy! Not only did he marry into this family but he married Shannon, a Nebraska football fanatic who gets up at 2:00 A.M. Germany time to watch a replay of the Nebraska football game after she knows the score. Kevin doesn't really care for football. Shannon who watches CNN non-stop (except for Nebraska football) and Kevin who would rather read a good book. Kevin, who loves to travel and site see and Shannon, who would rather stay at home and watch CNN and Nebraska football. Kevin is a career military man who has done his share of time in the "hot" spots. He has 20 + years and plans to retire when his time is up in Germany. They are planning on making their home in Texas when he gets out.

My "First" Son-in-Law

This would be Denny, married to our oldest daughter Kellie. This picture was also taken during Shannon's 2008 trip home from Germany. They ordered Famous Dave's for dinner. For those of you who have never had it, it is a favorite around here if you like barbecue. Notice how he is contemplating his next bite?

My Son Dan

This would be my youngest son Dan holding his youngest son (our youngest grandson) Peyton. This picture was taken in January, 2008. Notice how Peyton has grown since his picture in the sidebar? He is really a cute little guy and full of smiles. Unless he is hungry, there is no formula and Grandma doesn't know he is on milk.

My Three Girls

Here they are. My three girls. From left: Shannon, Colleen and Kellie. If Colleen thinks she has her hands full with her three little guys, she should have tried raising this bunch. This picture was taken January 2008 on Shannon's trip home from Germany for dental work. As it turned out, she didn't need any. It then turned into a shopping trip for her. Prices are so high over there (Euro vs. Dollar) that she shopped for clothes that she and Kevin (her hubby) needed.

Last Dryer Update

All bets are off. The dryer was in, doors were replaced and a load was running within 2 hrs. of the "fixer" coming. This should be the end of my dryer problems. I hope.

Next update.

My dryer is still in the garage. Seems like we need another "fixer". This house was designed by an idiot. Bob can't get to the vent pipe at all to fix it the way it should have been done when this house was built. But then, who would have put a 20 + ft. vent to a dryer? Even "I" know better than that. Bob was going to take the furnace duct work apart and try to fix it himself. That is when I hollered, "Maybe you should call somebody". It still gets cold in Nebraska, and they are calling for snow today. I was scared to death he would get it all torn apart and still not be able to fix it. That would leave ME without heat. That is something that CAN NOT happen. So, this morning we have a plumbing and heating guy coming to "fix" our problem. I am taking bets on whether or not I have a dryer in the house (working) tonight. Any takers?

Dryer Update

The "fixer" came yesterday to clean out our dryer. He said it wasn't as bad as he thought it might be. He pretty much gave it a good once over too, and said it should work just fine. See next update.

Auctions

Who doesn't like a good auction? I do !! It is 4:15 A.M. and I have been at it for 1 1/4 hrs. All alone, in my Jammies and a fresh cuppa coffee on the desk! It don't get no better than this. Have you ever tried E-Bay? If not, you should. There ain't nothing you can't find. I find all my stuff. Clocks, pencil sharpeners, jewel tea and scrap booking all in one place. I even found Elmo neck ties for Bob. If you want it, it is out there. I have 12 "buy it now" items I am watching. Will probably buy some of them.. Or none of them. Sometimes I just mark them to see what they bring. The closing time is indefinite, so no hurry. If they sell before I bid? No problem. Just an excuse to look again. I did put a bid in on an item tonight. It was going for a ridiculously low price, and I couldn't let that happen. The persons max bid was higher than mine, so I was immediately outbid. But, I didn't know that at the time. At least the bid isn't as low as it was. It is like a live auction and sometimes the bids get waaay out of hand. You just have to know when to quit. OH !! That auction I bid on is nearing the end. I had better check, just in case there might be a deal !!
Later.

Dryer Update

The "fixers" got here late yesterday afternoon. It was a 2 man job. One stayed in the house and held what looked like a board over the dryer vent opening. The other went to the backyard to where the vent exits the house. Don't know how to describe what he used. It looked like it was attached to a long garden hose. It was a cord, with some kind of head on it. He forced it into the vent over and over, and would release high pressure air through this thing. It would then blow the plugged lint backwards, to the outside of the house. I was sitting on the patio steps and Bob was near me. WRONG place to be!! Bob retreated to a bench near the shed and I had to go in for a few minutes to get out of the dust. The man doing the job even had to quit a couple of times to get some fresh air. This thing was like a sewer snake and eventually made it all the way into the house where it hit the board the other guy was holding. That is how they tell if they got all the way. Not very high tech. I was kinda bummed. But it worked !! You should have seen our yard ! They did make an effort to clean up some of the lint in the flower bed and in the yard. I was impressed. The guy said this was one of the worst he has ever seen. Most don't get this bad. Probably didn't take them over 30 minutes. Our next "fixers" come Monday to clean out the dryer. I don't intend to follow "Somebody's" suggestion and go shopping. I guess I will do a trip to the Laundromat sometime. Later.

Dryer

Seems like I only have three topics going on in this blog. All major happenings of course! Bob and Dan hauled my dryer out into the garage last night. With what Denny found outside and what we found just inside the vent it is amazing. We could have had a fire. The "fixers" are coming between 4 and 6 this afternoon. I can't wait to see how they do what they do and what they find. The first company Bob called wanted $1,000 to do dryer vent and both furnace vents. Like I said, that was the first company he called. The next one wanted $160 to do the dryer vent. I said, "BOOK EM !!!!" They will give us an estimate on furnaces while they are here. If we think we need a furnace done, I think the only one we would need would be the main floor one. We only run the upstairs one when we have company. (Wouldn't want them to freeze or anything). Did I mention my dryer was in the garage? WELLLLLLLLLLLL, the whole idea was so Bob could work on it and clean it out. It is obviously full of lint. Bob says this one isn't like the old one we had for many years that he worked on many times. He can't figure out how to pop the front off so he can get into all the working parts to clean them. Seems like we have to call "fixers" to come do it for us. Then we have to get Dan back over here to help haul it back in and attach the pipe. That is, unless Casey is home. What I am trying to say is, I need this done soon !! I am running out of underwear. Ooops. Too much information there. Will update later.

Strategy

Strategy paid off ! Instead of chasing them around the room, I sprayed ahead of them. Seems like they have disappeared. Or else, that was all of them that I swept up off the kitchen floor last night. This battle may be winding down !!

Update.

I am making progress. The ants have moved to wall # 2. I figure if I keep chasing them with Raid, in two days they will be arrive at the back door, and I can force them back outside. I can see an end to this battle now. Should not need any further updates.

Maybe.

Did I say maybe? The ants never left. They just regrouped and came back in larger numbers that before. Lots of carcasses on the floor by the trash can, but the second wave just crawls over them. You would think it was D-Day all over again. Well I guess that would be an apt description. This is war !!! The Raid came out from under the sink and now is placed on the counter and ready for the next assault. The battle lines are drawn ! There will be no retreat ! This day will go down in infamy !!!! I am now going to join forces with "Raid" . Will post live battle updates as they become available !!!!!!!

Weekend

Here we are, back into the work week. What a week end! Seems like when you make a simple comment, it comes back to haunt you. I spent 6 hrs. Sunday trying to dry three loads of clothes. The third still isn't dry. We have a clogged dryer vent, and I do mean clogged. This is no short vent as we are talking 20 plus feet with multiple bends. We are going to have to call someone to come out and fix the problem. Before we can do that, we need to remove the door to the closet it is in, take off the door to the garage and take the dryer out in the garage. That is just so the men have room to get to the vent. Then my husband has to take the dryer apart and clean it out good. It is full of lint. I have been complaining for a long time that something was wrong, but nothing got done. Now we have quite a problem. I just figured out what this blog is good for !!! A place to vent. No pun intended. So much for laundry being simpler than blogging. Then there was the house to clean and we had 2 Easter egg hunts. Since the Easter Bunny here was in Michigan on Easter, he made a late stop. Sure left a lot of candy filled eggs. Then there was Friday! For those of you that think spring will never arrive, I had one of the first signs!!! ANTS !!!First they were at my back door. I chased them down with a can of raid and was sure the problem was solved. Wrong. Sunday morning they were all around my coffee pot. My coffee pot!!!! I sprayed the base board good, but couldn't figure out where they were coming from. After several different sites, I think that problem is solved. Maybe. Then Sunday afternoon it was time to get a nap in so I could go to work Sunday night. That didn't work out so well either. And that, was my weekend.

I did it !!!

Oh my goodness !! What wouldn't work for me the other day worked today. Of course, "Somebody "had to tell me to download Kodak Easy share to make it work. Still should have worked using a scan, but I got the results I wanted. Once in a great while, "Somebody" comes in handy.