Pegody's Christmas Present

I guess I did have the Christmas Blues after all. Not that I'd forgotten all the fun Cappy and I had with the kids and grandbabies in western NY, having had our Christmas with them,

or the fun of stuffing stockings and taking them and gifts to the guys on Cappy's boat. It's just that the prospect of spending another Christmas by myself, when I'd promised myself year after year that it wasn't going to happen again, was just too depressing. Although I'd had Christmas with the kids and Christmas at home with Cappy, I knew what day "Christmas" was; the day everybody else was celebrating; even Cappy and his crew out there on the boat. Greedy me; I wanted another Christmas. I didn't want any more presents for Pete's sake...I got spoiled this year, but the thing I wanted most of all with my whole heart was to not be alone again on that particular day. I guess I misunderstood a few things around here. I thought I'd distinctly heard a couple of times that Christmas in our town was strictly for family, but that didn't include friends. Family only. I'd tried to "horn in" before unsuccessfully in years past. Now I could have, but I didn't want to drive a hundred miles or more away to be with Cappy's family. (After the drive up north and back, I was kinda tired of road tripping for awhile.) Soooo, I thought I'd tough it out again this year, just me and my dawgs. Christmas Eve, I ran across the street to take Sonia and Jude their gifts, and when they learned I was going to be by myself, said to be sure to come over Christmas day Night, because their family were going to be getting together for food and fireworks. That sounded GREAT!

I had gifts for my friend Melissa and her family, so called her, and I guess I sounded so pathetic that she told me to come on over Christmas morning, but that they were going to be leaving to go to her cousin's house around noon. I was thrilled; I'd have a family to be with while they opened their gifts ON Christmas day. When I got there, Melissa met me with a big warm hug and a smooch on the cheek, and gently told me, "This is from Sookie", my daughter, who had called her from snowy western NY to ask her that favor. Well, then I hadda bawl. A kiss and hug from my daughter delivered by my friend, Melissa, could the day get any better.

I got to watch her family open their gifts. Melissa said that if I was going to Blog about this, to be sure to mention that so many people had contributed to their Christmas this year with gifts for her grandson, Little David. (Regular readers will remember that Melissa lost her son, David in a car accident, leaving Little David for the family to raise.) What a joy to see all the wonderful things he got to open! Clothes and toys...he was so excited, and so were we. I don't know who the folks are who brought him all these things, but they have great taste in picking out clothes and gifts for little boys. I was about to leave when they said that I could go with them to their cousin's, but I opted out, thinking that there was still a slim chance I could go visit Cappy for a bit wherever his boat might be. I sure wouldn't want to miss that opportunity.

Alas, it was not to be, but Sookie called and I got to talk with son Thom, who was with her, then later in the day, Foy, our friend from North Carolina called to say "hi". Now that was very nice. We had intended to visit with him and his lovely wife, Brenda on our way back from NY this last time, but time didn't permit. Rats.

Later when it got dark, I heard hissing and booming and loud reports going off, so went across the street and took a few pictures of neighbors gathered around a bonfire, setting off gorgeous fireworks. When people began to go inside, one of them whispered to Miss Mary, with whom I was visiting, whereupon she got up and began walking toward the house. I asked Miss Mary where the crowd was going and she said, "Oh, they said we are going to be opening presents". Since the information had been whispered to her, I took it to mean (from past experiences) family only, so excused myself and made a discreet exit.

I had, had a full and wonderful day, so got into my nighty and got into bed early. I slept like a LOG and woke up the next morning at 11(!!) to the sound of the dogs barking, letting me know Sonia was at the door. She and I were both shocked that I had still been asleep. She asked, "Where did you go last night?? I almost came over at ten o'clock, but saw the house was all dark. Here...we got you these gifts". Awwwww. She had a plaque made special for us, and her sister had given us a lovely Christmas rug. Sighhh...you know what? One of these days I'm gonna get it right. Past experiences often cause me to misunderstand the present. I love that old saying, "Yesterday's a history, the future is a mystery, today is a gift; that's why it's called the Present".

Merry Christmas Yall!

And another video of a dawg who loves to sing Christmas songs: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WcJh7itUrzM&NR=1

Weird Little Jingle Bells Video, Right Up My Weird Little Alley

This is Cappy's work outfit for the next few weeks. He steps out of his wheelhouse and waves at the people along the River and bayous, or just the other guys on passing boats. Smart alecks yell back, "Where are the reindeer??"

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vUi_FK_sHKM&feature=related

The ol' mailbox out by the road has been bulging with catalogs, but sifting through them I get to find treasures like these. Grandbabies!! They look even sweeter than they did when we left them last week. Zachary looks just exactly like his Dad, Joe did when he was little. Ashley is a beautiful little girl, and the baby looks like her pretty Mom...she's "little Jessica".Some of Cappy's oldest and dearest friends. I'm still in shock at the sight of Owen and Patrick in their Marine uniforms. BAW!! They look like handsome men already, not the teenagers that they were when we last saw them. And look at the proud Momma and Daddy :-)

Cappy's cousin Ainslie with her beautiful family. Their cards just get better and better each year. All I could say when I saw this year's mailing was, "WOW!" Macy looks like a model, and Reece looks so sweet and handsome as ever. And I've never seen Brad or Ainslie take a bad picture ever. They always look great.

Another part of Cappy's family includes Matt and Bernie. I didn't get to see their new baby, but migosh, he looks huge already! The little guy I did see still looks like a sweetie pie. I'll bet his running around is giving his parents fits about now. My Mom always told me to enjoy them while they were little. I tried remembering that when they were going through their terrible two's and three's. Now when I look at this happy little family, it makes me wish I could still put my sweet little "Gruntsy" or my Sookie, or Joe, or Thom on my lap. (they gonna kill me for saying that, especially Dan)

Cappy's cousin Meli took pictures of her kids and her playing in the snow. (I think that's her, too...I can't make the pictures bigger...it'll only save as a bitmap) When we had snow last week, it appears that they got wayyyyy more than we did here in our town.

They handled that snow like a regular ol' Yankee family from upstate New York. LOOK at the size of that thing they are rolling...yow!

And I'm proud of Cappy. In the mailbox yesterday, I found this certificate for him being the local Knights of Columbus knight of the month. Although he's a member, he hardly ever gets to attend, due to his work schedule conflicts. His heart is always with them, tho. When I told him about receiving the honor, he was truly touched, said he didn't know what in the world he could have done to deserve such a privilege. Then in true Cappy humility, he said that they must have run out of candidates to be scraping the bottom of the barrel like that. I told him they weren't scraping the bottom of any ol' barrel, and that we are gonna have it framed! (I covered over his name for discretionary purposes.)Knowing him, how modest he is about such things, he'll probably be embarrassed that I put this on our Blog. It's part of our 'world' so it's going on here; it's for you to know, and for him to find out...(when he gets off the boat).

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

We love road-tripping; it's something we always look forward to because we laugh and sing at the top of our lungs, take in wonderful sights, eat along the road, and just, most of the time, have a carefree time. We took the dogs. SparkyBear and MarkyBear are very good about travel; they look around, doze most of the time, and the only time they complain is when they need to potty or are hungry. They never bawl, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" About the time they need to potty, so do we, or about the time they are hungry, so are we, so it works out great. We listened to our usual Lynyrd Skynyrd road trippin' music, then some Jimmy Buffett, then I surprised Cappy with a ten-hour CD of a book named Redwall. It is a Renaissance period, swashbuckling tale of mice, narrated by actors of British fame, all told with sound effects. The writer has a poetic, intelligent way with words...a great wordsmith. Since I was driving and concentrating on traffic, I missed a lot of it, but what I heard makes me want to listen to it here at home when I get the chance. Good stuff. It accompanied us on the way up and most of the way back. Cappy loved it.
We spent the first night at a hotel just north of Nashville, so as to avoid the rush hour traffic in the morning. We all fell into bed exhausted around midnight. A few hours later, about three a.m. MarkyBear either fell or jumped out of bed, dislocated his good leg and woke us up screaming like a woman! Oh NO! Cappy surmises that since it's a habit of MarkyBear, when everyone is asleep, to sneak out of bed and go foraging for any leftover food SparkyBear may have left in his dish, that in the middle of this particular night he'd gotten the munchies and not knowing how high the bed was, being unfamiliar with it, jumped off in search of goodies. Now we were wide awake trying to decide what to do...turn around and go back home to his vet? We didn't know if he'd broken a hip or what, but he was in pain. We just didn't know what to do. We cuddled him between us and tried to decide what would be the best plan. We woke up about eight o'clock and Cappy said we should continue our trip but find a vet as soon as possible. We gingerly carried the poor boy everywhere. It was hard for him to potty, not being able to 'assume' the postition. So, on we drove. We stayed in another hotel in Erie, coddling him. I'd decided to take him to the veterinary clinic I'd used in Rochester for my other dogs. As soon as we got to Dan's house, we called, and my old vet said they weren't taking any new patients, so we got ahold of Dan and his wife, Jennifer's vet and they said to come right on over. They were only a few minutes away, so it was convenient, as well. What a great place! Dr. Larry Silberg DVM and his staff at Palmyra Animal Hospital took care of MarkyBear and got him out of pain immediately, poor little guy. (We were suffering right along with him the whole time. I had to step out of the room when the doctor gave MarkBear a cortizone shot...Cappy the Braveheart stayed with him.) Though the weather was cold, these people were so very warm and friendly. God Bless them! After I took MarkyBear, SparkyBear and Cappy back to Dan's house, I headed off to spend the day with my daughter Sookie. We'd both been looking forward to a "Mommie and Daughter Day". (Even tho she's in her mid-thirties, she'll always be my little girl.) She had arranged for us to go to a ceramics studio, where she's taken classes, etc. for the last five or so years. What a fun place. She's an artist, anyhow, so her work always looks fabulous. I've never tried it before, but we chatted and laughed and caught up on all the latest news, while we painted. I picked out a gentle "Papa Noel" for my friend, Melissa, for Christmas. I hope she likes it. We had a wonderful time, and looked forward to spending the next day with her and her hubby, Russ, opening our Christmas gifts.

When I got back to Dan's house that night, I discovered Cappy had been having a good/bad time with the boys. Sons, Dan, Thom and Joe were all doing the 'guy' stuff, but in the meantime, our dogs, being downright DAWGS, in the worst sense of the word, had gotten into the cat's kitty litter (GAGGGGGG!!!) and eaten the kitty "cookies", and now had upset stomachs and extreme diarrhea; what the vet called "kitty cat revenge". We were staying in the "in-law apartment" upstairs where, to get up there, two sets of stairs and four doors have to be negotiated. It's an huge house built in the 1800's...1700's?? President Grover Cleveland was said to have been a visitor there and had his picture taken on the spiral staircase. I digress...Cappy could not see himself, when in the middle of the night, one of the dogs having an urgent need to go outside, trying to throw on his clothes, leashing the dogs, fumbling his way down all the stairs and through the doors to get them outside...in time. As it was, they didn't make it and Cappy found himself and Thom down on their hands and knees scrubbing the carpets. Meanwhile I had gotten ahold of wheat somewhere and was lying in bed as sick as I'd ever felt, thinking about going to the hospital emergency room....no help to Cappy, and only making things worse for him. I think he was about in tears by this time. Do you believe in fervent prayer? We do. So. In awhile I was up and 'running'...unbelievable, but true. It was as if a switch had been turned on. One minute I was so ill, just drinking water...the effort made me all shakey and weak and wondering if we should call the EMT's...the next minute...hey!!! all better. God is sooooo good to us! Cappy sent me off to Sookies house, while he stayed and took care of the dogs and got ready for the party the next day. The man insisted. (I'll relate in a later post about my wonderful "Christmas" day with Sookie and Russ.)

When I got back home to Dan's there was a lot going on preparing for the next day's activities. In the middle of all of it, Cappy had spoken to the vet again, and had me cook the dogs rice with lean meat to try to settle their digestive systems and 'firm up' their 'stools'. Cappy's fun had been punctuated by running them outside, sometimes making it in time, sometimes not, then having to get down on all fours and cleaning it up. THEN...he INSISTED on sleeping in his clothes on the carpeted floor 'under' the dining room table with the dogs, because he said, as any fan of the show, 'The Dog Whisperer' knows, that dogs will not go to the bathroom in their sleeping area. He had put up a kiddie gate, so that the dogs couldn't get into the rest of the house, where it is all carpeted, so that the only place they could have an accident was on the linoleum floor in the kitchen. Which they did...several times, as he tried in vain, to rush them outside. He said it was a nightmare to find himself down on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor at three o'clock in the morning. I wanted to sleep down there, too, but he sternly put his foot down against that idea. That man slept down there on the floor...what...three...four(?) nights in a row to make sure the 'boys' got outside when they needed to go. I said that I was going to take a turn sleeping down there with them anyhow! He said that I had hurt his feelings, because what kind of a southern gentleman would he be to allow that. He said it would hurt his dignity for him to sleep upstairs while I slept downstairs on the floor. I always offered anyhow, and he always adamantly declined.

The poor man. His only goal, he said was for me to have a very enjoyable Christmas with my kids. Despite everything, he said that he was enjoying himself, spending time with the guys, family and friends. We both had a memorable time...no dogs next time...I did indeed have a great Christmas with the kids and grandbabies, but felt so very bad for Cappy. I learned a lot about him that week, and am speechless about his unselfish giving nature. But now, he's happy, so I guess I'm happy. As it is with us here in Cappy and Pegody's World, we had an "Awful Wonderful" 'Christmas in New York.

That's Cold.

Well, we got back home safe and sound. Cappy is back out on da boat. The day we left for western NY, Cappy was outside in his short pants, picking oranges and lemons to bring north to family and friends. That night before we pulled into Nashville, we were running into sleet mixed with rain. The roads are steep, wide and winding, so I slowed way down, not wanting to go sliding anywhere. Driving at night in strange territory is bad enough, but then to have the roads all slippery and slushy, too...not good.

Now Cappy has seen snow before. In northern Louisiana they sometimes had gotten snow about an inch deep, so he seemed rather nonplussed when we began to get some snow 'spitting' around Cincinnati. (I do NOT like driving through Cincinnati...at all. Whenever we start planning a trip up north, I always start looking for alternative routes to avoid the place, but, alas, it's the only short and quick way to do it. As we drive through, my every nerve is always on emergency standby and I'm sitting on the edge of my seat.) We were in a merry mood nontheless, and singing, so I started (mock) shouting to the other drivers, "Ok, you city of Cincinnati 'cinners', out of our way; the Saints are driving through!" (New Orleans football Saints, get it?...well, anywaze...) All that day, through Ohio, we drove in light snow flurries, til nightfall in rush hour around Cleveland, which sits on Lake Erie, notorious for blizzards. We continued until we got to the city of Erie, in Pennsylvania, where they had gotten "socked in", earlier in the day with about a foot of snow. Not a problem, the roads had been plowed and were, for the most part dry. There were huge piles and drifts everywhere, especially in the hotel parking lots, and the sound of us driving through the packed snow was all crunchy and familiar to me. It was not familiar to Cappy, who thought we were driving too fast to negotiate the turns in the plowed mazes of the back streets and in the parking lots. I think it was, for him, like having been suddenly thrust onto a very strange and unsettling planet, so I slowed down and took it easy. Erie, aint it.

Since I didn't get us killed, the next morning as we drove through the hills of western NY around Jamestown, he had his side window open, his arm out the window, held aloft, taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.

We stopped to pick up son, Thom, in my old college town, Alfred. Thom lives on a steep hill, and the road, though plowed, still has a tight packing of snow, so getting up there, one has to pick up speed before getting to the base of the hill, keep the speed up, til getting to his driveway, then turn into the driveway and kind of slide on into it. Ya get a knack for it, after awhile of driving in the white stuff. It can be pretty tricky, tho'. Actually, I drove too far in, and had to back up, spinning the wheels, then pulling forward and backing up again about five times before I caught enough traction from the fresh snow between the icy tire tracks. The guys were talking about getting out of the warm SUV to push us up and out, but I made it.

Once we got to son, Dan's house up in Walworth, just east of Rochester, we found that they had no snow at all. But it was Cold. When we left, they were on the brink of a windy kinda/sorta blizzard, but not. The wind cut right through whatever we were wearing. Cappy experienced, for the first time in his life, his exposed ears and hands stinging from the 'scalding', freezing cold.

We have lots of stories to relate and plenty of pictures and videos.

Suffice it for now to say, that we got home safely, despite the fact that down south here, the weather was in the upper 70's, the wind was crazy and we drove through tornado weather to get home. In the morning I drove Cappy to work in the rain, turned on the radio to learn that Baton Rouge was getting snow and they were closing schools. Whaaaa??? By the time I got back to our little town we were indeed being snowed on and people were saying we brought it down with us from New York. To which I said, "Tah-Dahhhh!" and took bows.

A house on our street.

Only thing...now I'm dosing myself with vitamin C, echinechea, garlic tabs, hot soups, bundling up, and fighting a fever, snotty runny nose, cough, achiness and foggy head that accompanies my .....COLD.

The Christmas Hustle

Oh gosh, I forgot to explain, for those of you who don't know; the lady who is dancing with us is Cappy's Aunt Gussie. We love her to pieces!!!

Another Good Hitch on da Boat

The first morning back on the boat dawned clear and bright, clear and peaceful, and kinda set the stage for a good boat ride. As soon as we shoved out of the little bayou into the open lake, the ever-present seagulls gathered in our wheelwash feasting on shrimps and lil fishies we churn up in our wheel-wash.

It's been several months since this year's Storms hit the Gulf Coast, and all bridges are back in working order. You can see from the blue tarp on the bridgehouse, they fixed stuff priority first. This bridge tender was complaining of the drafty control house, what with it being winter and all. I think it was like 59 that morning BRRRRRRRR.

The highlight of the whole month for me was when I happened across this flock of spoonbill rosettes just south of Dulac. I knocked da engines outa gear and took their picture.

I was feeling mischevious, so I tooted the horn and they took wing.

I was amazed to see how many of them there were as they filled the sky with their beautiful pinkness.

They flew up, circled around and came back to land where they were, at their original roost.

I was thrilled to have seen this wonderful display of nature's beauty, and I truly hope you enjoy the pictures I was able to take,of the amazing spectacle of their short flight.

As the sun set on this month-long boat ride, I had to pause and thank God for the opportunity to live and work in such a beautiful place as our bayou home.

Don't forget, you can click on any of these pictures and they will enlarge for you.

Not a Lazy Susan!

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house, the dogs are not stirring; they're flopped on the couch. They went to the doggie groomer and spent the afternoon. I'm not sure how the groomer is feeling tonight, but these guys are whooped. I still have a lot to get done and am trying to tie up loose ends. Cappy is supposed to get off the boat tomorrow, but there may or may not be some kind of snafu again. One of the guys, who is supposed to be getting back on the boat to take Cappy's place has a badly injured leg. He hurt it last week, "standing wrong, while working da winch". It's always dangerous out there. One time Cappy was walking across a slippery gangplank, fell and broke his nose. You just never know. And that being said, we just don't know for sure when he will get off the boat.

As I said, I have a lot of things I want to finish up, tho. One of them is to post some photos of when Cappy was off the boat the last time, I believe. (Gosh, he's out there for so long, I sometimes forget what happened when.) We had a lovely time in New Orleans with our new friend Susan, otherwise known to us and our town forum buddies, as Swag. She's a lively ball of happy energy. First she brightened our home with her beautiful smile, then we drove on over to New Orleans and perused the shops. It was sad to see that a lot of people, in general, are still missing. Here they had a buffet all set up, but hardly anyone was around to partake. We kept walking. Even the band that they had set up was playing for practically no-one. Cappy said a lot of the bands just play for tips. We wandered on up to the French Market. I'm telling you, it's just not the same, and I don't know how many more years it will be until New Orleans will ever be her old self again. Disappointed, we went across the street to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Restaurant and had a great lunch. It wasn't crowded, but the atmosphere is still sooooo nice. We went around to the store and did a little shopping. Cappy picked me up a coral colored 'purse' thingy that stated, "I'm the woman to blame". (Ya know which song that's from???) Then we wandered around the streets and haunted a few antique book stores. It was great. You know what? Now that we've introduced Susan, this ball of energy, to you, we have another story to tell about her, which illustrates what a fun, giving nature she has. But for now, since time is pressed, we'll leave that to another time, probably when Cappy is back out on the boat when I can write it out at my leisure. She's definitly a great gal, tho, and we hated so see her head back to Texas, where she lives.

Dan called the other day to see if we would be traveling up there 'this hitch off the boat', and we told him that as far as we knew, we would be, but that due to Cappy's redoing his Coast Guard info, not to mention the injured crew, we have to wait until next week to try traveling. I took the SUV and got it serviced, oil change, tires checked, "the whole lah-lah" to make sure she was travel worthy. Dan said they've got a lot of snow already. He also said that he and the family were just getting over the flu. Oh NO! He said it was worse for him, tho', because the last thing he had eaten before it all hit the fan, was a Taco Bell Volcano. It was the last thing to go in. He said the bulk of it wasn't that much going in, but it multiplied exponentially, grinding away on his innards, until...until.... he said he was a living volcano alright. He was spewing HOT lava from every orifice of his body. It was shooting up and out, down and out, and he said it was so stinging and hot, that he was afraid that like on one of those Hawaiian mountains, a fissure was going to open somewhere and he'd start shooting molton lava sideways. I'm glad he's, and the family's all better now, but I told him they'd better make sure all those flu bugs have left the premises before we get there.

I finally got all the Christmas cards finished and even mailed, for the most part. I'm thrilled that a few people have written for them, so will be mailing them out also. It's not too late. You can write us at pegody@yahoo.com, or at the cappy(underscore)and(underscore)pegody@yahoo.com address. Not to worry, we won't come tracking you down at your house; we've got wayyyyyyy too many other things to do, and if you know us, you know we aint PREverts.

One of the main "other things", is to finish up the kitchen remodel drawings. I'm telling you, this just can't come too soon. Right now the kitchen is in such a disarray. We need more storage space. And I'll say it right now, whoever designed those corner lazy susan storage areas,...well, I'd like to get my hands on ya. The way this one is designed, there's no wall between it and the pots and pan shelves, so that too many times, a pot or pan will grab something off the spinning lazy susan shelf and wedge it way in the back or jam the whole thing. This time, the lazy susan....a pretty engergetic contraption, for having 'lazy' as a moniker, grabbed a potato from the other side, where cans and onions and potatoes are sitting on their shelf minding their own business. Well, o'l susan, grabbed said potato and hid it wayyyyy in the corner, laughing to herself, I'll wager. I couldn't for the life of me begin to wonder what in the HAYO the horrible smell was, and where it was coming from. I mean I looked everywhere in there. Finally, in desperation, I got a flashlight, got down on my hands and knees, (with 'laughing' dogs in my face and in the way, wondering what we were up to now), and tried climbing in amongst the twisty turny lazy susan shelves, and aha! found not only a rotting potato, but an onion she had swiped, as well. It gag-eth me to think about at this point. But, like Mommie Dearest in the movie, with a hideously grotesque face, as I draw the cabinet plans, I vow, "No.more.Lazy.Susans!!!!!"

And speaking of Mommie Dearest, a Mr. Jerry from our town forum found this link, which I just loved, so am posting it for my kids. (and you, of course)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw

So now, friends and fambly, if you don't hear from me tomorrow, have a most WONDERFUL Thanksgiving. And know...we are grateful for You! :-)

Name that Tune

I'm still rushing around, trying to get ready for the Christmas rush, so that by the time it actually begins, I won't have to (be rushed). It's so nice outside, that I've got all the windows flung open, and am enjoying the warm breeze. While I was hanging out laundry, I was tempted to run in a get my video camera to get some shots of the sugar cane fields burning. It is still shocking to see, when it's unexpected...like the world is on fire, with the giagantic sky-high plumes of white silk smoke. I'm glad the wind is blowing in the other direction today, because even though I love the smell of it, lately, my eyes have watered so much from the density of the smoke that my eyes are beet red-rimmed. The smell of sugar cane burning has now created the Holiday feeling in the air. It's always around Thanksgiving that the farmers begin to burn their fields in earnest. (Burning the fields is part of the sugar cane harvesting process.)
Soooo, because of that wonderful feeling, and the job of wrapping presents, having wrapped presents stacked everywhere, my having put the Christmas ornaments near the opening in the attic in hopes of Cappy Claus, who soon will be here, getting them down, I've turned on the HOLLY channel on, on Directv, to listen to Christmas music while I do what I gotta do.
Sure enough, while I was in the middle of warm thoughts and happy feelings, the one song I dislike had to come on and ruin the mood. It's just me...I know it. Everybody else probably loves the song. I'm not even going to give you the name of the tune, but will let you read my stoooopid interpretation of it. You can guess on your own.
And here goes:
Well, here it is Christmas
And my question is big:
Just what earthly good (are you)
You big selfish pig?

Well, here it is Christmas
And I hope you are proud (of yourself, my 'friend')
(If you think I'm going to let you just relax and) Enjoy the Season,
Well, just think again!

(Refrain):
(Your) Joy is over, just forget it
(Your) Joy is over, I won't let it

(Yeah, you just go ahead and have a) "MERRY" Christmas
Just think of yourself,
I hope you choke on your turkey,
(don't think of the millions of starving people all over the world)
Hold onto your wealth.

Well, here it is Christmas
We should all get along
But I'm here to remind you,
With the words of my song:

There's a sore (and raw) division
Between other people and you.
(So) I'm pouring salt in the fresh wound.
"Happy" Holiday, too.

Refrain:
(Your) Joy is over, just forget it.
(Your) Joy is over, I won't let it.

Well, here it is Christmas,
MY work here is done,
(I've made myself) the know-all and be-all
(I ask all the questions) and I answer none.

(Yeah, now you just TRY to) have a Merry Christmas
(And while you're in the middle of) Holiday Cheer,
I hope my song (comes on the radio)
And my words make it clear:

Tho' the melody's pretty
Just to catch your fat ear,
So I can (sweetly) TELL you
(You'd better stop enjoying yourself and go do something
I think is politically correct) Do you hear??

Refrain:
(Your) Joy is over, just forget it
(Your) Joy is over, I won't let it. (repeat ad nauseum)

Oh for Pete's sake. I know that probably wasn't the intention of the makers of this song, but it's how I always take it, and these are the words I nastily sing to it, as it's playing. Sheesh. Oh well, back to my light-hearted happeee-happeeee stuffs I was doing before I came in here, typed this all in and made a 'foo' outa myself again. <:"->

Shoulda & Woulda Aint Gettin' it Done.

I was tempted today to post a copy of a Christmas poem that one of Cappy's cousins, Sara had written last year. I still may do it, but I'd better get her permission first. Every year she does something very creative for her Christmas cards. Every year, Cappy thinks up the design for our cards, and I draw them out. He's pretty creative and already has next year's card thought out. As for me, I'm still working on this year's card. It isn't that hard, but putting the time aside to work on it, has been, for no good reason.
Tomorrow. I'll try to get it finished tomorrow. I woulda worked on it today and tonight, but Cappy and I spent a lot of time together on the phone. We 'watched' a movie together tonight, him on the boat, and me here in his Cappy chair, both of on our cell phones, commenting here and there, and counting the billionty-two commercials between the five minute intervals of movie. It was the Wedding Crashers, btw.
After we hung up, here I am stalling around again, not working on the cards,but aha! I found a wonderful video over on YouTube that I thought was really funny, so I'll put the link here for you. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jWrj9TaA0Mc
And don't forget, in case you didn't know, Cappy and I have 23 videos over there at YouTube. I don't know how to find a link that would bring yall to a main page that would list all of them, but maybe putting: cappyandpegody in the search window on YouTube might take you to any or all of 'em. Some of them aren't all that great. Some can be viewed in a good quality. All can be viewed with a full screen. The one I like viewing in full screen the best is Pacing the Cage, because it gives a fuller picture and idea of what Cappy sees when he's out on his boat, and maybe a lick of what he's feeling, because, after all, he's the one who shot the pictures.
One other thing; since I am working on the cards, tho,(or will be tomorrow, I hope) I should mention that a lot of the cards we sent out last year came back to us, even tho' we KNEW darned well it was the correct address...or thought we knew. If you want to be sure we have the correct one, email us at cappy_and_pegody@yahoo.com
If there's anyone else out there who'd like us to send you a card, also email us at the same email address. Gosh, we'd like to know who's reading sometimes. You know us, and all our...uh...shortcomings...craziness. Ya know what? We write primarily for family, but honest-to-gosh, most of the fambly doesn't even read us. Can ya believe that. Hmph. So you, friends, are who we write for.
And after all this, I'm still stalling. I guess the placard I hold up in my life and wave around reads, "Procrastinate Now!"

A Possible Major Gas Leek Next Spring

It's been awhile since my last post as I really haven't had much to share. Cappy is presently on his way down the Mississippi, wayyyyy to the bottom of it, to pick up another load of crude oil. We're, like everyone else, glad to see the cost of gasoline going back down. That will help on our 'pit stops', on our drive to western NY in a couple weeks. Actually, the date of our departure, of neccesity has been pushed back five days, so our trip is going to be cut very short. DarnDarnDarn. So, to make up for the lost time, I'm campaigning for a trip in the Spring for the Ham and Leek festival. Leeks, which are nothing at all like the big version found in most every supermarket, and are, in other parts of the country called 'ramps'. I never knew that until I started "Googling" to learn when the festival would be held.

Leeks, (ramps) are amazing. At first glance they might look like green onions, but then they have these dark green 'bunny rabbit ear' leaves. The taste and smell are very pungent and like nothing else. They are found in swampy areas and there's only a small window of time that they are found; most always in May.

Some of my earliest memories are of my Dad loading bushel baskets and his...not sure the name of the tool, but it was kind of like a pitchfork, but not, into the trunk of the car. The handle was half the length of a pitchfork's, and the tines were much thicker. The handle also had a...hmmm...a handle, on the end, that you could grab to get a better hold. He'd also pack a galvanized pail, and my Mom or Grandmother would pack a loaf of bread, a stick of margarine, and a butter-knife, some lawn chairs and off we'd go. My Dad had a favorite spot down by the "Indian reservation", along the Alleghany River. Dad would drive as far into the swampy area, as he dared, not wanting the tires to get bogged down, so's we'd get stuck. The first thing, before we even set foot out of the car, we kids were always warned to stay away from the skunk cabbage, because it's poison. While my Mom or Grandma sat and drank in the quiet of the area and watched Dad, as he scouted for the best batch of leeks, we kids ran around picking up stuff we thought was interesting, like feathers or sticks...'stuff', or just ran around pretending we were playing cowboys and Indians. "Aw-wite Bwackie, Weach fo' da Sky!!" (One of our favorite lines from some tv show.) Sometimes we'd 'help' look for patches of leeks, and Dad reminded us not to be fooled by leaves that had the same shape as the leeks, but they had mottled purple areas all over them, not pure dark green, and they may or may not have been poison as well.

Dad would dig up a patch of the leek onions, and wash them off in the pail of water, he had gotten from the river, then hand them to Grandma, who would then, clean them off even more, 'butter' slices of bread and stuff a layer of the raw leeks onto them, making the most luscious sandwiches. We'd eat them on the spot. It was our lunch. Omigosh they were good! People up there in western NY...my kin, still do that to this day, every year.

One thing, tho. We had to make sure this was done on a Saturday, or even Friday night, because if we kids ate them on a school night, then tried to go to school the next day, we'd be sent home. It was school policy. Leeks are that strong and 'stinky', but they are soooooo good. We never got sent home from school for that, but every once in awhile we'd hear through the 'grapevine' that "so and so's kid got sent home today because he ate leeks". It was almost told in hushed tones, as though it were a major social faux pas, and the parents might, from then on, be looked upon with one raised eyebrow; "How could they let their kid do that??"

Back at the swamp...When Dad had a few bushel baskets loaded to the gill, full of leeks, we'd head back home. Usually that night we'd have boiled ham and leeks with potatoes all cooked in the same pot, with a few raw leeks cleaned and 'trimmed' and standing all purdy in a glass of water in the middle of the supper table, for anyone who'd want another dose of them that way. When leeks are cooked, they take on a more mild flavor, but again, sooooo delicious. And as I remember, if we had cooked leeks, we could still go to school the next day.

Mom and Grandma would can leeks, too, and we had a family member who pickled them. Now that was another way to really enjoy them.

Needless to say, I haven't had them in at least eight years and I surely do miss them. That's why I'm 'campaigning' to go up this Spring to Franklinville, in western NY for their annual festival. Cappy has heard me talking and talking and talking about them, but has never tasted one yet. One thing I neglected to mention; leeks are a 'Spring tonic', and as I recall, a purgative as such. It should be an interesting long ride back home here, to South Louisiana, fraught with a lot of pit stops, but well worth the trip. And there's probably going to be an advantage to having nice fresh Spring air blowing in through the widely opened SUV windows.

My Favorite Things...(sing along with me)

Raindrops on bayous and whiskers on Cappy,
Bright, sincere smiles and chick-flicks that are sappy,
Brown chicken stewing in Gumbo with rice.
These are my favorite things that are nice.

Dreamy white clouds in an azure blue sky,
Writing our Blog posts, and stuff that we buy,
Laughing and sneezing, as we blend our spice,
These are my favorite things that are nice.

Visiting family and giving them hugs,
Dancing with Cappy and filling his mugs,
Practical jokes are my one special vice.
These are my favorite things that are nice.

When the news bites,
When the world stinks,
When I'm fuming mad,
I try to forget it and do something else,
And then I don't feel so had.

Curlie white Bichons, and no they're not poodles,
UPS truck bringing kit-and-kaboodle,
Sugar cane burning, the smell is so nice,
But here come the cockroaches~~~
Here come the mice!

When the toilet takes the cockroach,
When I hear the mouse TRAP!!!!
I think of those people I'd like to see there,
And then I don't feel so had......
And thennn I don't feel sooooooo baaaaaaad.

My Choice for Resident of the United States of America

Good old salt of the earth, Cappy. When he was off the boat the last time we were run, fun, running around. Because he wouldn't be home today to be able to go vote, we voted on October 21, so we got that done. Now, we just wait, with everyone else, on pins and needles, to see who will take over the country.
One of the things Cappy wanted to make sure we accomplished before he went back out on the boat, was to plant our little square foot garden. As you can see, we did it once again, "planted the back 48"...(square feet). As usual, we had help, in the form of two white curlie Bichons. SparkyBear is always Cappy's right hand 'little man', supervising, having his nose in everything we are doing.

We planted green onions, carrots, snow peas,beets, radishes and a bed of salad greens. MarkyBear told SparkyBear, "Tell him to plant asparagus".

I guess this Blog posting will be a little rushed, as I'm kind of distracted. I've got a lot going on, in that I have to have this year's Christmas cards completed in the next few weeks, ready to mail before we leave for western NY on the 27th. I'm also in the throes of our kitchen redesign and entails working with the coordination of carpenters, plumbers, cabinet builders, electricians, and salesmen for the new stuff. Thennnnn, there's still the matter of trying to FINALLY complete the shopping and wrapping gifts for Christmas to take north...it's taken me longer than I had anticipated. Then, the usual; same as with you, the "heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to". Stuff that happens.

Soooo, this individual resident of the United States of America, who dutifully cast her 1 (ONE) and only vote, will, with one eye on the news, get back to what she was a doin'.

(Oh, and guess who showed up at my door the other night? A John Wayne impersonator, wearing what I should be wearing when I deal with all these guys whom I'm trying to deal with about the house,...and his little sidekick. When the doorbell rang, the dogs exploded, barking the paint off the door, especially because they saw this shiney, evil little face smack up against the door window, leering in at them. The dogs thought it was downright WRONG and it took every bit of my strength to keep them from getting outa the crack in the door and taking a bite outa 'crime', while I tried to hand these perpetrators their candy.)

One last thing, fellow voters...think about this from both sides...I've said it before and I'm going to repeat it here: Once the country goes Barack, it can never go back. (I'm not on a soapbox...I'm on a tightrope) I'll try to lighten up tomorrow...EITHER way: The sun will come out TO-MORROWWWWW, Betcher Bottom Dollar That To-morrowwwwwww, there'll be SUNNNNNNNNNNN <:-/