Luckily Blessing are not eggs- you CAN put them all in one basket

well a title eludes me-

most times I think of a title and then write. But for the last few days- I just couldn't think of one, and so I didn't write.

Its been kinda hard to write a funny and upbeat blog this week- and noone reads this to get depressed- SO- I have tried to store up some funnies- of course, I cant remember any of them- :)

BUT- lets get the bad part out of the way-

A dear family friend lost his battle with Cancer this week- Him and his wife have been a part of my life for my entire life- they were best friends with my grandparents- Heck, I didn't know we wernt kin till I was grown. Miles Weaver you will be missed-

A wonderful woman who I have known for years lost her newborn baby on the same day. She has known that Faith Renee was going to have a short life outside of the protective embrace of her body, but pre eclemsia moved her due date up 2 months and so she didn't have as much time as she wanted with this darling gift from God. Tonya, Todd and her beautiful girls have shared this awful time with so many of us, showing us what true faith looks like- Its amazing how many lives a baby that's never taken a single breath could touch- but before this sweet angel was even born she had taught more people the true meaning of faith and love then a thousand lectures ever could.

And my great aunt, who has taken care of my uncle and is one of the hardest working women I know, fell and broke her arm- right under her shoulder on Friday night- Due to where its at, they can not set it- I am thankful it wasn't a hip- But, its bad none the less.

now onto the selfish, feel sorry for me, part of my week-


Our calf died- well, she wasn't a calf anymore she was over a year old, but was .... for lack of a better term- mentally insufficient. She was blind, had been since birth, but she also never grew- she looked like a 3 month old calf her whole life.
She was a happy cow- or as happy as one of Gods dumbest creatures could be. She would follow you around, she would love all over you, and she ate like a horse. But there was just something wrong with her. She wasn't being raised as a pet, like everything else here she had a purpose, and that was to nourish our bodies. But since she wouldn't have made a good batch of sawmill gravy we kept feeding her, and wasting the feed.

My kids gave me HELL all week- I mean to the point that I was ready to throw in the towel. because if I didn't throw it down, I was liable to make a hangman's noose out of it. I did come to the conclusion that kids should NOT come with instruction manuals- instead they should come with a lifetime supply of Prozac, duct tape and earplugs.

BR's personal truck has been down for a week or so, which means I have been driving him back and forth. not a big deal, its 8 miles, and honestly, its only an hour or two before I wake up anyway.
Its just the aggravation of knowing that we have a vehicle down.

I faced some disappointment and annoyance at the community/family cemetery this week. Every year we have a cemetery working, lunch business meeting etc. and there is a board who runs the cemetery.

Now, I have been going to this since I was old enough to drive. I went a few times before then- I would come with family members, but I have went since I could drive. My family has been buried there since the 1800's. Well, it never fails, there is always something to argue about, most times I am NOT involved in the actual argument, but will try to explain it so everyone will understand, and everyone there that is over 60 will look at me like I am a 5 year old int erupting a prayer meeting. OH and there are usually 2-3 people there that are not eligible for Social Security.

They cant STAND it when I speak up- and will actually ARGUE with me, when I am trying to help THEM prove THEIR point. They don't listen to one another, they simply wait for the noise to stop and start talking. One year one of them actually had the NERVE to say "let the adults figure this out" Well, we were TRYING to explain to the 'adults' that they had written "you must have a DESCENDANT in this cemetery to be buried here" INSTEAD of : "you must have a DIRECT ANCESTOR in this cemetery to be buried here"
or "you must be a DESCENDANT of someone buried here"

I was NOT a happy camper that day to say the least. BUT, still I go back- BR wont. He says he has no use for the whole deal. But not me- I love my family's history, I respect everything my family did to make this country what it is, and to make me who I am, so I am determined to be a part of their eternal resting place. Now to say the President of the board doesn't like me is an understatement. Oh she plays a good game- Most of the time, but I know that I am NOT her favorite person. Which is fine, I mean if everyone loved me and worshiped me, I would never have any fun pissing someone off. Right? -

Well, My Great Aunt asked me if I would accept a nomination for the board. I said I would. It was for the vacancy that Uncle Miles left. We go today, and there are people there I have NEVER seen show up for working, meetings, or even lunch- But I was just thrilled to see more people getting involved. Like I said, I think I am the only person who comes who hasnt had a knee replacement, hip replacement, or has most of my real teeth-

anyway, we went over some old business, some new business, and got it all straitened out. THEN, it came time to vote- My Aunts hand went up, but she was ignored and someone else spoke. They were nominating someone who had just moved back here from the big city. - Because she worked with computers and ... I dont know what all- I will be honest, I dont know who the woman is, If she has ever been out there, I wasnt introduced to her- I know almost everyone that comes to those meetings, and can pretty much tell you who's graves they descend from. Well once I was nominated, our President went right into a speech about how this was NOT a Ralph Cemetery (my mothers family)- BUT there was already 2 of the 5 people on the board that were Ralphs (my grandfather, and his sister)- and how it wouldnt be right for ME to be on there too- Well, A Byerly donated the land- and to be honest, and like I pointed out- there wasnt really anyone that wasnt kin on that board. its a small community, and folks had lots of kids back then. And if her 'speech' wasnt enough, her sister chimed in. Saying how it wasnt fair. Now, dont get me wrong- when everyone showed up that morning, they knew who they were going to vote for. I have no doubt in my mind. BUT, I am NOT happy about being blindsided with this. I dont believe that this speach just come off the top of her head- and I dont honestly think she cares who I am kin to- any other time you have to BEG someone to get on the board- She just honestly didnt want me on it- And thats fine- but say so- dont give me some cockamamie story about 'kin folks'. This board has been ran with Byerly's and Ralphs, and Dubose's all its eternity. and a few fights have broken out that pitted brother against brother and cousin against cousin- More than one family fued has started out there and would still be going on, if the participants were not permanent residents of there now.

And anyone who knows me - OR has ever been to a meeting out there, will know that I am the FIRST one to argue with MY FAMILY about whats going on. I am the one who calls them out when they get descendants and ancestors mixed up. So honestly, I am not sore about loosing by one vote, I know it was all about who showed up to vote for who, not who would have been the better person for the job. And like I said, I dont even know who the woman is- she wasnt there yesterday for me to 'recognize' her. It was a popularity contest and Unfortunately, my popular vote was kinda cut short, my great aunt had fallen the night before and broken her shoulder- and her husband was with her, other family was tending to the food stuff for the funeral, and a cousin got called in to work, 2 family members thought it was 11:30 and not 10:30 and one lady who was voting for me, got the names mixed up- Michelle and Melissa are quite simmular- especially when you dont hear real well.

And I am not really sore about the whole situation- But it was just one more thing in a pretty bad week.

On our way to the funeral home for visitation we happened upon a wreck- I knew both ladies in the wreck, luckily only one suffered some minor injuries- the other was fine but sore I am sure, But it was still quite disturbing-

THEN, we had Uncle Miles' Funeral- once it was over I was supposed to go back to the church and serve. But as the funeral possession passed my house, my truck decided to overheat and start blowing white smoke- SO- I whipped myself up into my driveway and we tried to find the problem. If I am right, and have diagnosed it correctly, (I aint a diesel mechanic by any stretch) I think its the ERG cooler- which is basically like your appendix, except it doesnt have a purpose at all- except to make some EPA lawyer smile for getting one over on you. anyway- its some piece of crap that cools the exhaust with water from my radiator or some such- and has broken. lucky for ME its BEHIND the freakin engine- we are talking - total truck tear down.

This morning BR was going to take himself to work in my truck- and now the dang thing wont even start- not sure what is wrong. But I am thinking I need to find me a preacher and get healing hands laid on it for sure. The dadgum thing is in that 'limbo' of not being paid off, but not being under warranty...
SO, if anyone has an old Ford truck- one with a carburetor, and gas lines, and a normal engine in- that they wanna sell for a few thousand bucks- please let me know-

But this is supposed to be a funny blog, something to make you glad you have a normal life and dont live in THIS house- amongst all the crazy - and so far all I have done is whine and depress you.

So- I refuse to count my sorrows- (I am running out of fingers and toes ) I just thought it might be therapeutic to get them on paper- Instead I am going to count my blessings- Uncle Miles is NOT suffering any more- Faith gave each of us a look into our own souls, not to mention her family showed us that love CAN overcome even the hardest of sorrows- BR's truck is a Toyota- even with a few hundred thousand miles on it, its got life left- we just gotta get the gas to the engine without a sputter- The calf wasnt getting any bigger, but I refused to admit I had screwed up when I got her- all I could see wast ribeue on the hoof.
Noone was seriously injured IN that wreck- And lots of folks stopped at 5pm on a Friday to help people they didnt know (till we got them out, it is a small town after all)- My truck can be fixed, if not, its not the end of the world, God will show me a way- And I am young- I still got LOTS of years of tending the cemetery left in me- including the graves of those who dont like me.


Lets see- my favorite Uncle Miles and Aunt Lynn story- My grandparents had a 'bar' that we ate at- it was about 4 feet high- and every meal except Thanksgiving was served there- so Aunt Lynn and Uncle Miles were visiting, and all weekend he had been showing off his new fangled hearing aids- And EVERYONE was trying to convince my grandfather he needed to get some too- Well, during breakfast that morning, my grandmother asked if anyone needed anything else- Automatically, Aunt Lynn, who for years had the responsibility of repeating everything said to Uncle Miles because he couldnt hear a buffalo fart, leaned over right in his ear and said rather loudly "DORIS ASKED IF YOU NEEDED ANYTHING ELSE" - Forgetting all about those newfangled hearing aids that he had just spent a small fortune on- and Uncle Miles pert near fell off his chair. I think it was another 15 years before my grandmother convinced my grandfather to get hearing aids. AND I just recently found out that when he does wear them, he turns them off when all my kids come around....






and something my kids did this week- OH Rayley cut Bows hair, on THURSDAY! we had funerals, and everything else- Ugggg-- I dont know WHY she cut it, but she did- So we had to put in an emergency call to our beautician- who luckily is also my cousin, and does housecalls...

OH and Bertha Sue, with her pink hair and her prissy walk, and her eyelashes batting came walking into my house the other day- with a BONE- like a leg bone from something- not huge, but a good foot or so long- and told me she wanted to figure out how to carve something out of it, and make a chair with that pelvis that the dogs drug up. That it would fit in her barbie house and then Ken and Barbie would have a 'trophy' room like other big game hunters- so she could pretend they got to go on safari and hunt.

We argued for about 10 minutes, and finally I put my foot down, said "GET IT OUT OF MY HOUSE" and turned around to walk off, her spitting and sputtering about how mean I was and never let her decorate her own barbie house and .... I dont know something about the world coming to an end and I was the cause of it- blah blah blah- (on a side note, I will get it out of her room this week and throw it on the burn pile-)

So, I come on in the living room, and sit down for a little while- Rayley asked if she could eat something, I told her yes, to wash her hand first- Then, I get the remote and start trying to find something- In comes Miss Priss- sandwich in hand and plops herself down in the chair like she has good sense. - I pay her no mind, instead I turn it on "mounted in Alaska" its a show about a taxidermist who does some amazing mounts.

Next thing I know- Pricess Whinesalot says "REALLY? Mounted in Alaska? I AM trying to eat here ya know!" Like this grossed her out-

she had JUST been involved in disposing of a calf- and toting around a bone from God knows what- wanting to pretend its a trophy for her barbie- (who by the way needs a pink gun I was told.....) and she is offended by a show about tanned leather and plaster forms?? Heck, she was just asking me not too long ago how many rabbits it would take to make a fur coat since she has a sewing machine and all....