Cathy in the Wright

S.O.S.

Cough, cold, croup, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma...you name it, The Governor's doctor thinks he has it. Me? I'm through with my cold. And sleep too, so it would seem. The Gov can't rest for more than an hour or two without waking up coughing. And what with Misery heart Company and all...I don't sleep for more than an hour either. Now, I pulled my share of all-nighters in college, and I've survived the minimal night sleeping habits of two babies, but this deprivation is in a class by itself. No sleep, coughing, hacking, throwing up, crying, no treatment is working...makes Abu Ghraib look like South Padre Island.

Today's trip to the clinic was another Great Performance by The Gov. For someone who sounds like he's about to deposit an entire lung in your lap with every other breath, he had more than enough energy to put on a show for the doctor. He was dancing around the exam room, making faces, and when the doctor laughed, he put his hand on his chest and gave her a deep bow.

At least he didn't wink at her.

What a shame this had to happen this week. I actually had some worthwhile blogging material. Pigs, for example. We got pigs out here about a week ago and I haven't had time to snap some pictures for you. Muddy, filthy pigs. I'll try to get around to taking some photos before we butcher in the fall.

I can't remember what else I was going to write about, but trust me, The Gov cheated you out of some great stuff.

Well, now I'm off to the kitchen pharmacy to start pouring. Being tired, I really need to concentrate when dispensing our meds. The Claritin looks quite similar to the Grey Goose once they're both in the little shot glasses measuring cups.

Hummer Lite?

What do you get when a Jeep Cherokee has one too many drinks and goes home from the bar with a Humvee? This:

I can't decide if I like the Jeep Commander or not. I'm generally a fan of boxy shapes, the main exception being the Honda Element, which looks like it should be delivering milk bottles to your back door.

And I'm not particularly fond of the Humvee either, but I think that is based on size issues, not necessarily shape.

The Commander might be a fabulous vehicle, but when I saw one on the road yesterday I thought, "Got short-man syndrome? Can't afford a Hummer? We got you covered."

Just my opinion, of course. All the same...you might want to let the wife drive it when you're going out on the town.

Rise And Shine

After a busy weekend, The Senator found it a little difficult to get out of bed this morning. I usually wake him up by singing or quoting lines from his favorite movies. Don't get the wrong picture - this is not something he enjoys. I merely annoy him out from under the sheets. However, when he's extremely tired even irritation fails to rouse him.

So today I hauled out the heavy artillery: the cork gun. The loathsome cork gun his cousin gave him a while back. pop! pop! pop! The first round got a groan out of him. A sign of life. pop! pop! pop! "Noooooooo!" It's working. pop! pop! pop! "Mom! Stop!" He ducks back under his comforter. pop! pop! pop! "Okay! Okay! I'm getting up!"

I was going to poke him with the gun just to be sure he was serious about getting out of bed, but I was afraid he might bite off the barrel.

He stumbled out of his room and headed upstairs, grumbling and moaning. Good thing I didn't mention that we were having oatmeal for breakfast. He'd still be under the covers.

Cathy In The Wright Official Endorsement

I meant to post this last Friday, when the memory was fresh in my mind, but blogging time has been holding a solid spot on the bottom of the totem pole lately.

I've only issued one other Cathy in the Wright Offical endorsement before, so you can perhaps appreciate what it takes to earn this coveted honor. I don't hand out the kudos for mere good service or a fine product. Nothing short of superlatives makes this self-absorbed princess shake off the blogging ennui and put fingers to keyboard.

Last Friday, The Governor and I went to the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud. A year or so ago (part of being a princess is never having to bother with what one considers unimportant details) Crossroads did some remodeling - a new food court was put in, and some stores changed locations. Not to be overlooked in this facelift are the new Family Bathrooms.

A family bathroom, for those few of you who might not know, is a room with one toilet and a locking door. This allows Dad to take his 4-year-old daughter to the bathroom while out in public without having to parade her in front of a bunch of exposed - well, a bunch of stuff he might not want her to see. This arrangement also allows Mom some peace of mind when her son is too old to go into the ladies' room, yet too young to be sent off into the men's room by himself.

Now, The Governor is four. He can still go with me into the women's lounge, but since I live in a constant fear that the stuff spinning around in his head often comes out his mouth, I prefer the privacy of a family bathroom.

So we checked out the family bathroom near the food court at Crossroads Center.

Family suite, I should almost call it.

The room was quite large. Very clean. Beautiful tile. Hanging pictures. TWO toilets - one adult sized, one child-sized. TWO sinks - one at standard counter height, one in a lower, pint-sized counter. Paper towels and air dryers. A changing table. A fold-down seat (think flight attendant) where Mom can strap in a toddler while she uses the facilities. The only things missing were leather chairs (right outside in a comfortable lounging area for those in the family who didn't have to pee) and a room service menu.

This mom was impressed.

Well done Crossroads Center and your contracted architects or designers.

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Comments are still busted - I don't think they will ever get fixed. If you notice grammatical errors, you'll just have to shake your head silently at my slovenly habits. Plus, my father eventually will send me an email pointing out the error.

You'll Have To Trust Me That This Was Extremely Funny

The Governor just sneezed. Runny mucus sprayed everywhere. It's dripping down his lips. He's waving his hands around wildly, as if he's afraid to touch anything. "Mom! Tissue!"

"Well, Bud, there's a box on the table right next to you."

He found the tissues and from behind the Kleenex I hear, "Why did you just call me Butt?"

.....

Okay. I guess you had to be here.

No Working Title

Lots of good news to report from The Outpost.

Comments are still broken. No word on when they will be fixed. While that is not good news, I am pleased to be spam-free now for over a week.

The Trailblazer is home! I have yet to drive it anywhere, but the guys at the garage say the Sound Specialist was able to locate the problem. Some connector that was, lo and behold, not completely connected and was rubbing on something. Sorry to get all technical on you. I was a little disappointed to learn that the Sound Specialist didn't fly in from Detroit - he has an office in Minneapolis. Probably didn't wear the shades and dark suit either. Oh well.

Found out last night that my dear sister-in-law (well, technically, she's The VP's sister-in-law, but I refuse to let him claim her all to himself) was chosen as Teacher of the Year for the entire Gunnison (Colorado) Valley. She had no idea she had been nominated. Way to go, C.! We're all really proud of you!

The Governor stayed in his own bed last night. He has been waking up around 3 a.m. every morning and coming up to our bed claiming bad dreams made it impossible for him to return to his own. When we tucked him in last night, we gave him a long list of things he was allowed to dream about: fishing at the lake, riding the jet ski, puppies, going for ice cream with Grandpa, etc. It did the trick.

And now we're off to the store to buy treats for today's final Early Childhood class. Next year: preschool and TWO ENTIRE HOURS to MYSELF every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

I almost wished I smoked so I could light up a cigarette, recline in my chair, and grin with smug satisfaction

See The U.S.A. In Your Buick Le Sa...bre"

The new Trailblazer is still in the shop. My pal Jim over at the dealship told me Saturday morning that they are going to get a "strange sound specialist" from GM to come out and help them with it. I kid you not. How would you like to sport a business card with that title? I bet the guy wears dark sunglasses and a black suit.

Meanwhile, I'm becoming rather attached to the Le Sabre. I don't take it anywhere if at all possible. Yet the driveway is going to look rather bare without it. I'm thinking of buying it from Jim and planting geraniums in the trunk. Surely that is more dignified than those folks who plant marigolds in the discarded toilet, eh?

This morning was fun. My company had a ground-breaking ceremony at the site of their future building in the local industrial park. I got to be in the front row with one of the city's Golden Shovels. A photograhper from the paper showed up, so next week I may get to clip one out for the family scrapbook. Not that I'll be recognizable; the wind was blowing so hard that I'm pretty sure every shot had my hair completely covering my face. Pictured above: the mayor, the city coucil, the city development committee, and Cousin It.

Tomorrow: DSL connection. I had the wrong date before. And The Senator gets to meet The Mayor at his Tiger Scout den meeting. Movin' in rarified circles these days, we are.

Catch Up

Thanks for the email, Dave. I didn't realize comments were shut down again. Wretched spammers.

Yesterday was a real roller coaster around here. I was really excited that my new Trailblazer finally broke down for the mechanics. Again. I've had it a little over a month and I've had it in three times to fix this awful rubbing/grinding noise that seems to come from the front, driver-side tire area. The kicker is, it only makes the noise some of the time. One day it's quiet; the next people are staring at me as I drive through town. So Tuesday I bring it in and say, "Drive it around. I don't want it back until someone hears the same thing I do." And did they hear anything Tuesday? Of course not.

So yesterday afternoon I call and say, "Hey, Jim. What's the story with the Trailblazer?" I fully expected him to say that yet again...no sound. But lo and behold: "Hey, Cathy! One of our guys is out driving it right now. He says he can hear it!"

Woot! Awesome. Of course now the problem is still the same as the last time it was in - sound is heard, but they can't find anything once they're under the car taking everything apart. Apparently, even the tech support line in Detroit is scratching their heads a bit on this one.

Can't wait to get it back. The guys at the GM dealership are terrific. I'm always offered the option of a loaner car, so right now I'm cruising around town in a 1997 Buick LeSabre with 182,000 miles on it. Runs great. I'm not complaining. But I miss my Trailblazer.

What else, what else...oh yeah. Here's where the ride drops straight down. I was hauling some stuff out of the closet under the stairway and forgot that since I have to duck down to get in there, I probably should duck down when I'm backing out of the closet. Instead, I started to turn and stand at the same time and I smacked my head into an exposed 2x4. Saw stars on that one, I did. My head is still throbbing.

And to heap injury upon injury, I stubbed my toe on some toys left on the family room floor shortly after bashing my head. Not such a big deal, normally, but this toe is the same one already sporting the loose, painful toenail. (Not sure why, but just about every soccer season, I lose the toenails on my big toes.) That one brought tears to my eyes and words to my lips that no child should hear. Had to apologize to the boys once I stopped screaming.

Today we're headed back uphill. It's not raining. Yet. I think the phone company is sending someone out today to hook up a DSL connection which means no more satellite outages every time there is an "atmospheric disturbance." That's DirecWay's code for "if a squirrel belches, we're doing down." And I don't have anywhere to go today, so the Lesabre gets to sit in the driveway.

Life is good.

Why I Love Living In The Country - Reason #237

After a mild winter and heavy spring rainfall totals...our roads look like this. And that one is in good shape.

Further down the road:

Yes, sir. You go right ahead and buy your little 4-cylinder compact hybrids. Me, I'll take my SUV and a line of credit at 1st National any day of the week.

I really wanted to take a picture of the township's method of fixing the road, which is to tie an orange flag to a stake and pound it into the deepest rut. However, the stakes had been trampled too far down into the mud for me to even try and resurrect them for a photo op.

And to be fair, the township grader came down the road a few moments later. I'm not sure why they bothered. More rain is forcast for the rest of the week.