Happy Birthday to Me...

I wish I had more to talk about, but I don't. Soooo, I guess I will announce that it's my birthday! It's been a pretty uneventful day so far. John is working days this week instead of his usual afternoon shift. Hopefully he'll be home before 6 o'clock tonight for dinner. We're going over to my parents for pizza.

I almost ran over a baby robin the other day while mowing. Luckily, I saw it and swerved at the last minute. It was just a little guy. Later that night, he was hopping around the yard. The parents were getting a little nervous that it was exploring around the yard so much. I didn't want it to get hurt, so I picked it up and put it back near the bushes, where the nest is. When I got near it, it chirped and opened his mouth wide open like it wanted a worm. It was so cute. Hopefully most of the babies will be okay. We have the neighbors black lab to contend with. He likes to sniff around the bushes. The other day he was over and it looked as though he jumped on something. I was hoping he wasn't hunting for the baby rabbit that we've seen near the bushes, too.

We're going to start redoing the flower beds soon. I want to do a complete overhaul. John isn't too enthused with the whole idea, but I don't care :) It has to be done. It's beginning to look like we're growing a jungle in front of our house. It's terrible!!!

We're going to the antique's fleamarket this weekend(if the weather cooperates). They also have tons of old car stuff there, too. They have it three times a year in the summer, so if it's not good weather on Saturday, we'll go another time. Hopefully, I'll find some goodies. We take our little red wagon to carry anything we buy. It comes in handy. Last year, we had that thing FULL!

Got Crabs?...

We have quite a few Crawfish tunnels in our yard. At night they make little mud castles and leave holes in the yard. Even though people say they can be annoying, I think they are kinda neat. They are very hard to find. You have go outside at night and look near their holes. We saw one come out of his hole on night and it was sooo neat. Anyway...they other day I was checking out the holes. I noticed a crawfish claw on the top of his home. Something got it in the middle of the night. I think the "Cadillac Coonies" got it. Here is a picture of the leftovers:

The last load...

No, I'm not talking about laundry. LOL! We brought home the last two Crosley's yesterday. It was a beautiful day to do it.

The dark blue one is a Station Wagon and the one inside the bed of yellow truck is a Pickup Truck. They are the cutest little things. Remember folks...these are only about 12 ft long and 4 ft. wide.

We got the "Smurf" running great, too. We named our new 1948 Crosley Convertible that because of the color. To do a comparison for you Fiesta Fanatics out there...it's the same color as Vintage Turquoise! John took me for a ride around the yard today. I wish we could run it down the road, but we don't have plates for it yet. Plus, the cable brakes need some minor work.

Riding with the top down:

Decisions...

This is probably going to be a long story, but I have to get it off my chest. So, I'm letting everyone know right now so they don't have to read it!

I have been silently struggling inside. I have an older sister I haven't seen in almost 9 years. The last time I saw her, I drove by her father-in-laws house where she was visiting. Her two kids were playing outside and I was hoping she was outside, too. Before this day, I hadn't seen her in probably 7-8 yrs. I had enough courage to stop that day. Maybe because John was with me and I felt stronger with him there. I don't know! Her kids didn't even know who I was. It was hard for me to realize that. Even though she is only my half sister, I grew up with her since I was born. She is 5 yrs older than I. That day was hard. She tried telling me lies. The conversation ended within 5 minutes as I drove off in tears. That was the last time I saw her. I didn't have the courage to go back. I've heard rumors thru the years... Where she was living, marriage woes, family troubles, etc. She married into a popular family here in town. Even though she hasn't lived here in a very long time, her FIL still does.

Now, rewind almost 18 yrs...
This is how it started....We had a pretty normal life growing up. Both my brother and sister are step siblings to me. It never bothered me though because since birth, they were always there. My brother(11 yrs older than I) would even put me down for naps. He is a good brother! We all had a normal sibling relationship. Except my sister started hanging around the wrong crowd during high school. She got into trouble, but it was typical teenager stuff, with a few bad things along the way. She started to turn on my parents. Even calling the cops and telling them my dad hit her. This was totally false!!!! I remember that night when the police came to my house to question my dad. The police knew my dad didn't do anything. But it was procedure. I was in my room the whole time, but I could hear everything. I might have been 12 years old at the time. I don't remember. Things got difficult after that. She just graduated from high school and she got pregnant. She wasn't living with us at the time, but after she had the baby things got rough for her so my parents let her live with us again. I thought the worst was over. I thought she straightened her act up. I thought she wouldn't use us anymore. I thought wrong!!! It was more of the same. Stealing money, stealing my clothes, etc. We were all constantly fighting. After about a year, she left and never came back.

Now, fast forward to now. She has been in contact with my parents. Something she hasn't done in years. My parents had her phone number for a little while now. They didn't have the guts to call her either. Anytime they would try to talk to her, she didn't want to listen. She was being stubborn. Maybe she knew she was wrong and couldn't own up to it. A few months ago they called her and she answered the phone. They talked for a long time. I guess she is getting a taste of her own medicine. Her daughter(now 13 yrs old) is giving her trouble. Probably just the typical teenage trouble, but still. She knows how it feels and she even admitted it to my parents. They talk once in a while, but my parents never really tell me what they talk about. I just happen to see her number on the caller-id when I'm there. Her birthday was May 5th. My parents, now on a slow mend with her, sent her a birthday card. I sent one also. This is the first contact I have had with her. I even gave her my email address just in case she wanted to email me. I doubt that will happen! Maybe she doesn't consider me her sister. Sometimes, when I check my email I hope to see her name pop up in my inbox. Nothing yet! She even called my mom on mother's day to wish her the best. My mom adopted both my brother and sister after their real mom left them and moved away.

Sometimes it hurts me soooo bad that I can't call my sister on the phone and gab about the cool Fiesta I just got or tell her that I had a bad day. I haven't told anyone about the birthday card I sent her...not even John. I don't know how he would react. He knows about the whole situation, but I'm having a hard time telling him for some reason. I usually tell him EVERYTHING.

I guess I'm having such a hard time because she is so close, but so far away. She has visited my parents once or twice in the past few months. Neither of them have called and said, "Hey, your sister is here, why don't you come over." I'm sure they are treading lightly. They don't want to scare her off or make her mad, but still. Every year in July we go to Ohio for the Crosley Show. We always pass thru her town. Not on purpose, but it happens to be on the way down there. I always look out the window wondering if I'll spot her somewhere in town. Nothing so far. I have her address now. I wonder if this year will be different.

This was very hard for me to tell. Please don't judge me. I really have had a good life, but sometimes I just want my sister back.

The Cadillac Coon Family...

We have a little coonie family living in my FIL's old Cadillac camper conversion(I'll take a picture of it sometime, but I know Papa knows what it looks like :) . Anyway, during the winter my FIL took the door off the camper because it was flopping in the wind. A month or so ago, he put the door back on. Well last week he was walking by the camper and he heard a noise. Since it was dark out he couldn't really see what it was. We suspected it was probably a raccoon. We have seen little coonie tracks in the mud and I can hear them chattering at night. We looked inside the camper the other night and saw what looked to be a few babies. From there...the story gets better....

Friday night my FIL looked out at the old Cadillac and saw the mommy coonie "driving the car". It was sitting in the front seat with her front paws on the steering wheel. I'm not joking! He said it was hilarious to watch! We peeked in on her yesterday morning and there she was. We haven't been able to see the babies very well...just some fur. She has them well hidden underneath the old bench seat cushion in the back of the camper. They sure make a mess, but the car was a disaster to begin with. We can't get rid of them now. Especially with her just having her babies.

Last night we let Rizzo outside about 1 o'clock a.m. He bolted to the tree in the front yard. John ran out to see what he ran after. Well, he put the coon up the tree!! Don't worry, no one got hurt!! We suspect that the mommy coon was in for a snack at the bird feeders. This morning she was gone...back to her usual hangout...the Cadillac camper!

Happy Mother's Day...

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. I have to give you ALOT of credit because you work so hard!!!

Strawsers...

John and I made it to La Grange, IN. Tomorrow is the big Strawser Auction. Let's see how much trouble I can get into. **Evil Grin**

Mowed the lawn today...

It is the first time this year we have mowed the lawn. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. It's always hard to start mowing for the first time. That means the official lawn mowing season has started and won't stop until probably late September or early October. There are times that I love to mow the lawn. I'm the one who usually does it. Today wasn't too horrible, I guess. I killed two birds with one stone and rolled the lawn as I were mowing it. It's a perfect time to roll it because the ground is still soft enough. The grass in spots was really getting high. I hate it when it gets high in spots and hardly grows in other spots. I think that's from Mr. Pee Pee man himself(you know who).

Sunday was a very nice day to go pick up one of the Crosley's. I will post a picture of it soon. I haven't had time to download the pics yet. Since it's a convertible, I was paranoid all the way home that the canvas type top would blow off as we were driving down I-75. The top simply uses regular snap fasteners to hold it in place. Definitely not rocket science!! LOL
It surprised me though and stayed on the whole way home. In a few weeks we will go back and pick up the station wagon and the pickup truck. I think we can get those home in one load.

Estate Sale...

Well, the family had the estate sale today. People were lined up almost around the block this morning. It was a total mob!! We were glad to see it, though. People came and went...bought lots of stuff. I wish they would have bought more though. There is soooo much stuff in that house!!! It's totally amazing how much stuff one can pack in a house. Luckily, the weather cooperated and it was a beautiful day. We have 2 more days for the sale. I hope alot of people come tomorrow, too. We still need to get rid of the big items.

Sunday is Crosley day. That's when we go to pick up the first load. I will post pics of that adventure then.