Life in Weyers Cave

I realize this is shameless advertising, but apparently many of my friends don't know what is going on in my business life. For the last year, I have done free-lance work for PcTechs, a company that has been in business for twelve years here in the valley. We have contracts with lots of companies like HP, Dell, OfficeMax, Staples, etc. If you follow the blog, you will see I have had a great time traveling around, meeting people, and working on their computers. Some businesses, some individuals. My arthritic back, sadly, has gotten to the point where scooching around on the floor and lugging big computers and monitors around are no longer possible. I can still program, help with software, and teach people things, but the hardware end has become too tough. My boss, Lee, who has been doing this part time on the side (since he is also an accountant), has decided to expand. He wants me to be the sales rep and get enough businesses so that we have local companies as customers. That way, ...

Lots of tidbits to report: My sister tried out the "Tammy needs" Google thing and got "Tammy needs a baby". I know she loves Robyn dearly, but another one would be - um, that was really funny. I went to the farm in costume Monday. Actually, I had to stop at the Food Pantry on the way there, which was a hoot. I need to update their computer system. It seems so strange to be in a 1708 costume fixing a 2008 computer system. Then at the farm, I had so much fun. We had a big bowl of spelt grain and we were opening each grain by hand and taking the two seeds out. After two hours, we had less than a quarter cup. It is a LOT of WORK! But fun to do while you are sitting around and talking. After that, we had to take the cow Lisbeth into her pen from being staked out. She has big, big horns. Laura was leading the cow, but Lisbeth would have none of it, so Laura told me to get some hay out of the barn. The next thing I knew those horns were coming at me and I was double timing...

Whose idea was this? You type your name and the words "needs" into Google and respond to it. Okay, well, I will use Debbie for this since Dubby is apparently the name of a sled: DEBBIE NEEDS A SADDLE (Don't I need a horse first?) Debbie needs a second guitarist. (My three older kids play guitar, so that keeps my bases covered, I think.) Debbie needs your help in CD2. (CD2? Cash Drawer? Crayon Drawings? Help me out here!) Debbie will need a lot more help than that. She needs volunteers. And she needs cash. I think she has a good message... (Thank you for your support) Debbie needs to look behind her. (I fear what this portends) Debbie needs prayer (Looking worse) Debbie needs to change this (Evil cometh this way, I can feel it in my bones) Debbie Does Dallas (Needs a second guitarist) (Dang it! I KNEW this was coming! But where did the second guitarist come in and why don't my kids save me? Did they leave because they found out about my movie and were too embar...

Dianna and I went on a joint diet on Monday with Martha. Just a support-each-other cut back on simple carbs and cut back on portions. We warned David and it is arguably in his best interest that we lose weight. Especially me. So why does he sabotage us, especially Dianna? Last night I was gone, so he made dinner for Dianna. Lots of butter in the veggies and he even put sugar in them. He said she wouldn't even taste it. Guess it would just go straight to her hips, then? The purpose is lost on me. Fortunately I missed the meal altogether. I came home and had leftovers from her meal two days before. On her dresser is a new bag of Milanos which calls our name. Courtesy of David. So since we share so much, I think this diet thing is going to be tough. The chocolate in my closet doesn't help, but there is only a little left. Other than that, I am doing pretty well. Okay, except for the ice cream last night. Dang it!

Today I got my costume at the museum! The apron was just for today -- next week I get a white one. I loved hamming it up and the looks people gave me and having my picture taken. It was great. Then I had to RUN to get to my chiropractic appointment on time. And then RUN to the church for a blood drive, where we stayed until after 8. Long day, but very pleasant.

There is a lonely chair in the kitchen where Terrace has sat with Gracie, my laptop, for the past 12 days. I drove him to Richmond last night and he flew back to Oregon and is now safely with his family. I arrived home at 7 and Dianna had cooked me stuffed flounder, baked potatoes, creamed spinach, and frozen corn. I love having a daughter whose food tastes mirror mine AND is a great cook. But we miss T.

We went to Natural Bridge. Lots of pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/debbiebf/PicturesWithTerrace. Pepsi called and was really, really nice and explained how they have fixed their communication problem. I hate decisions like this. At Ruritan last night there were several members that really wanted to stay with Pepsi. We had an outstanding magician. He will be teaching classes starting late September. I think I should take them. How fun would that be? I am playing an online game with Facebook, but I don't understand. Why is it when I take someone's people (which I thought was part of the game) I get stupid posts on my wall from some girl saying "Don't DO that!" It is so whiny! Aren't on-line games supposed to be where you do that kind of thing? It is called Space Raiders. I need to quit anyway, but I guess I am a n00b and just don't understand the rules well enough. It's all Jen's fault. She made me join and I enjoy talking with her and b...

As the person who stocks the Ruritan Concession Hut, and with a Pepsi plant I can see from my backyard, we have dealt with them forever. But they have really let me down. Not only did they NOT come as a knight in shining armor when the hut was vandalized, dropped by a HUGE sign when I asked for it that doesn't fit, etc. but they have also NOT been stocking the hut or returning my calls. So I called Coke. Not only did they immediately return the call, but they kept calling when they couldn't reach me. Nice guy, better prices, GOTTA be better service, and they said they will give us the display fridge we got from Coke if we order 35 or more cases. Piece of cake. I spent yesterday driving around getting soft drinks since I didn't know if Pepsi was coming or not. They never made it. I did the best I could, but was grateful that Dianna and Terrace were there to help drag it in, take the prices off, and stock it. I'm not used to being treated like this. Usually people are ni...

Make a Smilebox slideshow Today was the quarterly children's activity at church. First, we did a craft, decorating notebook/journals for school with lots of stickers and rubber stamps. Then it was on to games, followed by putting together some quickie plays of scripture stories. The kids let their hair down and really had a great time, but seriously, they were really good. I took out my hat collection and of course, that was fun.

Can you tell we hit the Little Debbie plant today? Dianna sure seemed to enjoy it.

I'm looking over My dead lawnmower That I've overlooked before Half the lawn's even The other is long I'm pulling the start cord Don't know what is wrong There's no use complaining The lawn remaining Is something that I abhore! I'm looking over My blankety blank mower That I've overlooked before. *Sung to the tune of "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" or, as my children will tell you, an irreverent spinoff of said song! Do you think I put the wrong flavor of Gatorade in the mower?

David left this morning for ten days in Long Beach, California. Dianna and I sent him off at the airport, and then went into town to buy a couple of things. We stopped on the way home to take pictures of Ashton to help him find some jobs. We will make him some business cards. He lives 15 miles away, so it isn't exactly close to home. After we got home, and visited for Martha a bit, I realized I had to start on the lawn. This is with the new big clunky lawnmower I swore I would never use. But I had no choice. It says that it is a self-propelled machine, but the front wheels are self-propelled and the weight is really on the back wheels, so the front ones just kind of spin hanging up in the air. The lawnmower is very heavy and the small wheels spaced far apart make it awkward to maneuver. I had to stop to empty the bagger after doing just a small section of lawn. Of course, it was very, very heavy and the grass wouldn't come out without my digging in and pulling it all out. The t...

  Dianna had plenty of frosting, but, uh, well, she gave up after frosting the first half. It tastes wonderful, though. Cooked perfectly, except kind of where it stuck to the pan.

     

Yup, Yup! Yup, she is! There is someone to share the cat with, although she (the cat, not Dianna) still slept between my legs last night and made it tough for me to roll over. A lot of kids from church met her at the airport with a nice sign. Dianna was so embarrassed! I love it. Yes! Someone to eat cheese and whole grains (but NOT tomatoes)! Someone to laugh and tickle and who understand me, even the girlie stuff! She says she wants to learn to sew, and we will try, but Dianna has never been very good with the manual dexterity. Cathryn didn't particularly enjoy it, but she was really, really good. She made an outfit once that turned out very professionally. Well, one minor flaw, as you can see in the picture. She sewed the inner seams together upside down. But she was a good sport about it and after we took the picture it was relatively easy to fix. And I miss Cathryn because of haircuts. She was great! But you don't trust Dianna with scissors! No, no, no! Sorry, don't me...