And I thought a dump was bad

I thought all was well when the dump pile was dug under and covered up. I have never been rude or nasty about any of it....just disappointed in a neighbor that I thought was a friend. Well, today my disappointment has turned into hurt and dispair and disgust.
There has been a road grader and front loader in the pasture the past week or so. This week there has been firing up of heavy tractors at 7:30am. I had to get up early the past few days so it didn't worry me too much. I just hoped that it wasn't going to develop into a problem. Today it did. The road grader was going back and forth in the pasture all afternoon. The dirt flying was thick and in my house with the windows closed. I couldn't step outside without getting a face full of dirt. Being totally baffled, I called next door. The wife answered and when I asked what was going on, was rudely told it was none of my business.....I didn't tell them what happened at my house and it was none of my business what happened on their property. I did manage to get out of her that they were going to be parking tractors and heavy machinery on THEIR property.

I don't think I can even tell you how upsetting this turn of events is. Fifty feet from my bedroom window will be a heavy machinery lot. Fifty feet from my bedroom window will be heavy diesel equipment firing up at the butt crack of dawn. Their dirt, diesel fumes and noise is in my face and I was rudely informed that it wasn't any of my business. There was no common courtesy of letting us know what was planned. Just rude nastiness and total disregard for a neighbor that has been nothing but nice. And as far as I can tell so far........I am screwed unless I move. Oh, and my property value has just plummeted.
Cubedog: I'm so sorry. You could start to consider that maybe God's trying to tell you something. Allergies so bad you got hives, husband in North Tx, kids in OK, constuction contractor next door.....I say build a privacy fence (like we have in the city)-get an agent out to appraise and put the place on the market. Hmmmm-Boerne? Tyler? Rockport? But then, I know there are sooo many other considerations. I know its gonna be tough to leave this little hell-hole I call home. Hell, I saw a woman pushing a shopping cart down the street today from the grocery store.....this place is going down "south" fast. And beleive me, I empathize about the fumes, Our contractor neighbor warms up his ancient diesel truck in the driveway and fills our livingroom AND bedroom with carbon dioxide EVERY morning. So I get my morning coffee, news and pollution all at once.

can't make this sh*t up

I just got these from a friend across town. These were taken this week on US59.

That's a 12' ladder.

ok so maybe we aren't a "world class city", but you'd think people could show SOME class.....

You might be a redneck if......

All this guy needs is "JUST MARRIED" scrawled across the back windshield.

Fruit loops......I am forced to share my world with fruit loops.

More Proof? how bout this:

I would love to pitch an hour long comedy to Comedy Central; working title "CSI: H)&*^$*n".

After loosing accreditation, credibility, face.....and fighting and spending (our taxes) back to credible....or at least open for business, our local crime lab did it again. The person running it was giving her subordinates answers to the licensing tests they are required to take. She resigns....and lands a plumb job with the state lab.. WHAT?????

Otter: Okay, I live in way West Podunk and even I haven't seen anything so ridiculous, or at least worthy of being pulled over and ticketed.

State lab? Okay, you are just trying to scare me! Not funny :(

Happy Freaking Valentine's Massacre Day

Well, last night, I stopped by the grocery store to get cat food. I picked out a $4 bunch of flowers and some chocolate covered strawberries for Bigdog because I've put him through hell lately.

I got home and presented them to him and he said, "I bought you flowers(a dozen pink roses)."

Then he reached into the frig and brought out a Stawberry mousse/chocolate confection. "I'm trying to butter you up." (Oh God-what now)

"Why?"

"You want the good news or the bad news first."

"Hit me with the bad news."

"I got fired."

"WHAT???????" Actually, I think I buried my head in my hands and said, 'Oh, Christ'.

"Yeah."

"And the 'good' news would be......?"

"I got a new job...making more money....closer to home. Go out on a project next week."

Happy bloody Valentine's.......

where I've been

OMG! The crud that's traveling the state finally caught me. Of course, I was out in the yard Sunday; spring cleaning, It was a beautiful day-sun shining, warm breezes. Then WHAM! My chest closed in Monday. By Tuesday the 'positive thinking' therapy had shown itself to be total crap. No matter how many times I told myself, "Self, its just allergies, your fine." it just go worse and worse. So, what lesson do we take away from this? Sunshine and warm breezes are detrimental to your health. Stay away from Tahiti......it'll kill you.
Otter: Yeah, it got Di too....the day after her birthday. And you messed up, this entry should have been put under the tag of Death and dying.

On a brighter note..........LOST.

Wow.

Did you see the Oceanic commercial during Eli Stone? Totally-WTF?
Well duh....does a bear...you know. I even taped it for hubs and the kid. Emailed the oldest to ask if he was tuning in. Lucky I did because he forgot.
And I agree....Wow!
I saw a commercial to go to their website to try to win an unlimited airline pass. Yeah, that would change my life forever! I didn't register the website in my head though, so forgot. Besides, you probably have to know a million pieces of minutia about the program and I am not a total Losthead. Now oldest could, but not me.

Flashbacks

Brown-brown, my world is brown. On a clear day, you can see forever out here. This ain't one of those. We have got high wind and fire advisories out. The wind is viscious but it is the brown sky that concerns me. It's one of those nasty flashbacks to when Lubbock used to visit Midland on a regular basis. I even have pictures from back then. I never thought I would take pictures down here that looks the same. This must be a pretty vile wind because farming isn't that big in the area around me or north of me, not to the extent that it would cause brown skies. You don't suppose this is Lubbock, do you? Oh the humanity! For the love of all that's good....NO!
It's bad enough that I thought I got away from the dirt I was allergic to and moved to the cedar I am also allergic to........now it must come to visit?
I think I will go take a nap. That's the ticket.....it's all a bad dream and the sky will be blue again when I wake up. Nighters for an hour or so!
Oh yeah, while I was in town running endless errands, the fire dept ran everything they had out my way. I can't tell you how nervous that makes me to be in town when they head out my direction. I kept waiting for FIL to call me on my cell. Not to worry......didn't see hide nor hair of them on the way home.

Just gotta say....

Ok, first order of business: Thanks to Attila the Mum over at Lil Walnut Brain for teaching me the term "Rantypants", cuz I'm about to get some on:

1) What the HELL is with tax rebates being given to people who don't pay taxes?

Its like the gov't saying,"Oh good, you're breathing, here's some money."

The problem is, that's MY freaking money! Paid outta my freaking check! I say get a

damned job and participate like every other RESPONSIBLE citizen!

Oh, and on that vein.....how much effing 'boost' did the ecomony get LAST time they crapped

out checks to every Tom, Dick, and Crack-Ho(& no, that is NOT a racial slur-I know

crack-hos of every color)?

2) When, in history, has 'redistribution of wealth' ever been successful as a societal norm?

Hmmmm? Queen Hitlery needs to do her homework and make sure the cameras aren't

rolling when she makes statements like "...I will redistribute the wealth....", but it will soon be forgotten.

3) I hate the media....I hate the media....I hate the media.

Why? Oh thank you for asking;

A) Can we please have both sides of a damned headline? ie:Texas ranked #1 in the nation for

'Greenhouse gas' emissions. IF we were an independent nation, we would rank in the top

10 in the world.

Okay great, but could you please remind Mr. & Ms. Clueless Liberal out there who are

baptized in the religion of Global Warming (alleluia, brother), that Texas has the GDP

index of a small nation. Where do they think all that electricity to run their cars is coming

from?

B)Two words-Barak Obama. Every since this DICK decided to run, CNN has been running

non-stop free political ads for him-thinly veiled as "news stories". Interesting that they

haven't run any "news stories" about Tom Tancredo's bid for nomination, or any of the

GOP hopefuls for that matter. Ok, they occasionally mention Mit, John, Rudy, Mike, or

Ron, but then its back to Barak. You'd think Barak Husain Obama was the second coming.

C)Bias......OMG, I was watching local dumb-holes and they were taking about the GOP

debate and showing BARARF AND SHRILLARY gladhanding their adoring masses.

I was like, WTF?

Alrighty then-just had to get that off my chest. And do you have any idea how hard it was to keep it PG-13?

Otter: Well, now we come to the reason I don't watch the news or news story programs. According to the media, we are suppose to vote for a woman or a black guy......just because they are there. Doesn't matter if they are the right person for the job or not. We are just supposed to make history by voting one of them in.

Scuz me.....I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.....

Cubedog: Yeah, I'd LOVE the chance to tel Shrillery, "You can talk to me, but where will we put the barf." Actually, I'd relish the chance to tell almost any politician that.

Busy Doin's

Got the bug early. You can see the first results above. I weeded out and reorganized a cabinet so it made sense. Also removed the crocks from the top. I will only keep one and the rest are going heaven-only-knows. I may have to make a haul to the second hand store. I will post more cabinets as I get them redone. Right now there are boxes of food all over the countertops where I went shopping and have no place to put them. When the food prep crap overtakes the kitchen to where there is no place for actual food.....it's time to weed out and reorganize. It's not like I cook either.

NEWSFLASH!!!! Murder in Podunk!
Some white guy got offed at the trailer park last sunday. They didn't find him until tuesday. Ick.
Now murder is so rare here that it makes an impression. Like when notorious outlaw Will Carver was gunned down here. Anyway, this is only the second since I moved here, I think, and that was somewhere around 18 years ago. The first one I remember just after I moved here was when a crusty old drunk couple got pissed off at each other and she shot him (I think he shot first and missed.....you lose a turn). Any other murders in the area were a result of illegal Mexicans crossing the border and killing a ranch family and an attempt on ranch workers. We refuse to be all PC and stuff when we live with the murderous rampages of illegals here. I guess if you don't live with it, or turn your head the other way, then you can get all dewey-eyed over the plight of people who won't do anything to improve their own country, so sneak over here and suck funds off the taxes paid by honest hard working people.
Cubedog: Well, alrighty then.....an event like a gringo murder in a trailer park wouldn't even get news play down here, unless there was something peculiar about the circumstances. Like it was his wife, or kid that did the killin'...or if he had died defending his property-ahem, er, sorry, died in the vigilante attempt to shot some poor defenseless victim of society or the Imperial US of A...
or like the woman found (at closing time)dead on the firing line of a local gun range...they still aren't sure whether it was murder or suicide. She walked in, rented a gun, went to the firing line, and never returned. Now THAT gets media coverage!
Otter: Show off! Actually, the Texas Rangers were called in to investigate. How bout them apples? Should know by tomorrow if they are releasing anymore information. Sure got the town abuzz.
Oh, and hub is home, so all quiet on the front lines for this week.

Okay, off that soapbox. I'll let you know more about the mystery murder victim as info is leaked.

PS....in the photo above, you can see on the top left shelf, the whiteish mug is my San Antonio Starbucks mug. The dark one behind it is my Houston Starbucks mug. Interestingly, the Houston mug is larger than the San Antonio mug. Hey, that reminds me....I neglected to get one from Tulsa. I will have to email the kid and get Casey to pick one up for me since she is the resident Starbucks addict in that household.