I adopted a couple of kittens a while back. The first is Ginger, a very pretty calico, about 5 months old. The other is RJ. She was maybe about two weeks when we found her. Her eyes were not quite open and I had to bottle feed her. She is a very healthy, happy kitten of about 3 months.
So yesterday I put up my tree, got all the lights on and planned on getting it decorated today. But the kittens had other ideas. They have been climbing it this morning and it looks like they are planning on building a treehouse later. I found several small pieces of wood and tiny hammer under the tree skirt.

Coffee!
Jovi


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Steelers
For anyone who may not have heard... Once again my Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl Bound! Yay! - Happy Happy Joy Joy! - Oyi! - and how I miss Myron Cope. Now all I need is some way of actually being able to watch the game--- lost cable a while back... so sad.
I need to find a Super Bowl Party!

Snow
Once again we are being smothered in a foggy cloud of ice & snow. My granddaughters having just recently moved here to West Virginia, are having fun with the "newness" of it all! If I were their age I would be too, but right now my cold feet are wishing for another pair or two of socks. The only true good thing that I can find to say about today's dumping of this stuff is that I do not have to be out driving in it.
The 'why not?' is the Oops part of this post.

Oops
Sooo... love my customer rep. job and have been just moving up the ranks in hopes of eventually having a manager-type position. Doing really well with it . . . until the Oops.
Somehow I fractured my right elbow and the break is pinching a nerve (causing twice as much pain as just a tiny fracture would) and I am now on a medical leave of absence.
Just to make it a slightly bigger Oops, I am right-handed and one could be really be suprised at how often our elbows aid us in just simply holding a cup of coffee (which can cause a stabbing pain up the arm a few shades darker than a normal "Ouch! - explitive deleted") or a pen. I try to remember to not use the right hand for anything but old lifelong habits can be hard to break. Sigh... what a lovely Oops.

Think I need a cup of Left-handed coffe.

Later!
Jovi


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True or False

*The Monongahelia River is the only North flowing river in the Continental United States.

*Pittsburgh (PA) is the only city in the United States that the 'burgh' is spelled with the ending of 'gh'.

*One out of every five miles of Interstate is straight & level, no matter what state it runs through. (If True, do you know why?)

Coffee time.

Later!
Jovi


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The weather outside is snowing
The wind is blizzardly blowing
My wind chimes are now in the street
It's still snowing

The cats refuse to leave their bed
Sleeping in front of the space heater instead
Too snuggly to even play
It's still snowing

The quiet of the snow can be nice
Not so much though all the ice
Shows no sign of stopping
It's still snowing. . .

and I am almost out of coffee.

Jovi : )


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Happy Hell... My blog is actually still here in cyberspace. I don't believe it.

So, where have I been - what has been going on - and how is everyone else???
Still living in my lovely mountains of West Virginia & waiting on a snowstorm that should dump about 6-8 inches of snow today... again. Working for a national bank doing the customer service 800 line 8 hours a day, learning how many different ways there are to tell people that Yes, when your account is overdrawn you will be charged an overdraft fee to try and educate you that it is not a sign of intelligence to spend what you don't have for a stupid pack of cigarettes! Working with the Online Banking customers is fun however.
I still have the Terrible Trio of cats - sorry Freddie! - and currently am trying to find a home for two little fluffballs that someone dumped on my porch a couple of weeks ago. NO, I am not keeping them, but I will not turn them out in the dead of winter to freeze or starve to death.
Younger son Nick is still alive and well. College has been a bit of a challenge for him but he likes it - lots of lovely co-eds to study with. My older son Bryce has blessed me with another gorgeous granddaughter and he and family have finally moved to WV, about 3 hours from here so I get to visit them alot! Maybe one of these days I can get a current photo of them on here.

So I guess life is doing okay and moving on as it should.

Time for coffe!
Later,
Jovi :)


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Well, we moved back to West Virginia last August!
Things have been going well, and it is nice being on the Home Turf.
It is strange being here and not being able to just pop into my old home and see what Mom is cooking for dinner, or making dinner for her and dad, but it is home and this is where I need to be. The old house is still there, and I drive by every now and then... just because.

My son, after some serious thinking and career searching decided to join the Army.
He left today for Boot Camp in Missouri.
And yeah, I cried a bit... but! I am very proud of him and support him in this decision. He is going into the Reserves so he can be back here late this summer to attend WVU in Forensics Science.

I have a really nice place here, it is on the outskirts of town near the lake and often come home to find deer in the yard and driveway. Winter was not as bad as the Pittsburgh Winters but I am glad Spring is here.

Basically.... I guess things are looking up.

Later!
Jovi


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So.
It's been a while since I blogged.
A While???
How about ages?

Let's see......
Lost my heat in November...
had to trim the budget to save enough money to get the heat turned back on so...... disconnected my Internet service.
Heat WAS turned back on mid-december.
2006 started off nice. . .
Things were going good... I had heat. I had internet. I had a life.
Then Jan 27th I was paid a visit from the local police.
They had come to inform me that my dear mom had passed away.

Yeah... jan 27.
My day of Hell.

My mom, My best friend... had gone to sleep.
And even tho I miss the Hell outta her, I know , in my heart, that she is now with Daddy and happy.
So I try not to cry.

but. . . I do.

So... I am moving.
Moving back home to West Virginia!
Yeah, am trying to find something positive here. . . .

I should just take this blog and shove it.... but.
I can't.

I can't put into words how devestating mom's passing has been.
I can't face it, actually.
(denial?)

So... I am moving.
Back to a place where I once belonged.
I may blog, I may not.


Later.
Jovi

PS oh yeah. . . somewhere in there the Steelers won the Super Bowl! ... again.


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Found this entry in the EvilDevilCats journal this morning.
It was partially hidden under the sofa, with a Christmas Bow.

munday
played in the big room with lots of boxes
we had the mostest fun in the box with the ribbon things and long tubey things of pretty litter box paper
we played mouse with the ribbon thingys and hid them around the house for mommy to find when she gets up
she yells when she finds them
the litter box paper rolls out on the floor and we had fun sliding on it and then shredding it
the paper was fun to tear with our claws

Yes, once again, in spite of my efforts to HIDE the box of Christmas Wrapping Supplies, has been discoverd, knocked to the floor, opened and trashed.
Now I know how the EvilDevilCats spent Labor Day.
My storage garage looks like it is ready for the holidays.

*sigh*
I need coffee
Later,
Jovi



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It's a perfect morning for coffee.
We had a wave of severe thunderstorms roll thru here Saturday evening and the temps have been much better since then. Right now it is 56 out and the coffee is brewing. Coffee tastes so much better when it is cooler out. I actually had to stop drinking it for a few of those 90+ days we had these past few weeks! *Gasp!*

Saw a commercial for I-don't-know-what on TV last night and the Stones were in concert in the background. It made me remember the first time I saw them. That would have been back in '76 *ouch!* in Cleveland Ohio. And here they are, still touring. And yes, I still have all their albums. In storage.


Mmmm coffee is done!
Later!
Jovi


|





Can cows get the munchies???
Gives a whole new theory for the cow jumping over the moon. . .

Later!
Jovi


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Okay, so Alaska is a pipe dream.
Actually, I think it is mostly wishful thinking for a cooler clime, right now.
The heat + humidity of the past few days has been a few steps beyond unbearable.
Even the EvilDevilCats have wilted and not destroyed anything lately.
They just lay on the floor or coffee table (NO NO NO!) under the fan.
I even put winter wallpaper on my desktop to try and convince myself that it is actually Not So Bad. . . Didn't help.
So yeah, Salmon fishing in Alaska for a while sounds good. It is one of the states I have never been in and have it on my list for a vacation spot someday in the future. But as to actually moving there???


Actually I will be moving once Son moves out for the second part of his college education. I won't need all the space this house provides. I will probably go back to West Virginia, not necessarily to the same town tho. I have been looking in a few areas outside of the hometown, so I could be close to old friends. I know 'you can't go back home' because life goes on once we leave and grow away, but it would be nice to be in the same general area of where I grew up.
A few days ago I had a wonderful phone conversation with the neighbor who still lives across the street from the house I grew up in. She said there are a few new families on the street, simply due to the passing on of some of the folks, but that overall, the street is still the same as it always has been. She invited me down for a weekend in Sept for coffee and catch-up gossip while sitting on the porch swing. She is inviting her daughters for the same weekend. I used to be their babysitter and now they are grown with their own kids!
Makes me feel a bit. . . . old?
I am really looking forward to the visit. Should be a great time!

Time for more coffee, before it gets to hot to drink any!
Later
Jovi
PS Yes, I realize I am having issues with my new header pic.



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My guidelines for the future are changing. . .
Am now considering moving to Alaska.


Jovi


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Cassie has her August Calendar of Holidays up,
you can check it out here: August Bizarre & Unique Holidays.
Seems as if the 6th is Wiggle Your Toes Day
and I like the idea for the 25th, Kiss & Make-up Day!

Too hot here again this week, with lots of storms expected.

Time to get air conditioning!!!
Later!
Jovi


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Ya gotta love this town!
Pittsburgh Zoo Names Penguin After Steelers Announcer

Later!
Jovi


|





Hey Hey Hey!
Cassie-b has her calendar posted for all the holidays in July.
Check it out!
July Holidays
Please note that the 26th is a Special Day!

And. . .
Live 8 Today!
Wish I were in Philly right about now. . . . .
Only 2 days till the Pittsburgh Blast of Fireworks down at The Point!

Later
Jovi


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Tagged by Mingling.
A Meme on Childhood.

The Rules are simple.
Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross pollination effect.

1.Blog, Blah, Blah
2.Adventures of a Domestic Engineer
3.Crazy Like A Zircon
4.Yeah, I'm A Cat
5.MeanderingMusings & What Not

Next: select 3 friends to add to the pollen count.
(No one is obligated to participate).
1.Cassie-b
2. Tricia
3.Freddie

So ... The challenge is to list the five things I miss most from childhood.

1. My grandmother.
(Okay so she is not a thing, but she was a very important part of my childhood) She started living with us when I was 8. It seemed as if my mum was always working ( she wasn't, it just seemed that way) and when grandmother came, she filled in the holes. She was always there when I came home from school, with a snack waiting. She taught me how to cook. How to make homemade bread. She always had plenty of hugs. She would sit down with me and we would talk about anything and everything. She was always there for me, no matter what.
She passed away when I was 13 and I still miss her terribly.

2.Family Trips & Camping.
Dad's side of the family lived in Michigan, mum's relatives lived in Nebraska and we visited both at least once a year.
We drove,- - - from West Virginia,- - - in a Rambler.
Dad always found different places for breaks along the way and made the trips interesting. If it wasn't trips to see the relatives, we went to lots of other places too. One I remember vividly was Williamsburg, Va.... I had a great time on that trip. Beaches in Florida and Cypress Gardens (Disney World wasn't there yet). Ocean City in Maryland, Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. . . Just really,really good times.
When my mum was working on her dissertation, she often needed quiet time away from my brother and me. (For some reason the bickering that my brother and I did almost constantly was a distraction for her) For those two summers, my dad would take us camping every weekend. We had a place near
Coopers Rock in West Virginia and dad set us up a campsite, complete with tent, kerosene lanterns and a campfire. He taught us how to cook over that fire,how to keep marshmellows from catching on fire, how to fish,why you should avoid skunks and porcupines, what plants were safe, what snakes were safe (!), how to paddle a canoe and how easy it was to tip a canoe and dump my brother out in the water. I learned alot about appreciating the outdoors, and also if you cook a potato too long in the coals it makes an excellent weapon to toss at the annoying baby brother.

3. My bike.
We rode bikes everywhere! To a friend's house, the penny candy store, the ballfield, the park,the school(after it was closed, of course), the Dairy Queen......If you could get there on bike, we did. Sometimes even if you couldn't get there by bike, we did. Mine was purple (of course!) and had the funky banana seat. Wonder how many miles I logged on that thing ?

4. The Library and Carlson's Bakery in Minden, Nebraska.
Okay.... Sounds dumb, but I loved that library. It was across the street from my grandparents house and was the first place I was allowed to go to by myself. It is where I got my first library card, and I spent hours there.(avoiding my annoying baby brother)
Carlson's Bakery? Was just around the corner, in the town square across from the Courthouse, and Mr Carlson made the absolute best cinnamon rolls I have ever had!
I can still remember how wonderful his place smelled.

5. Dad's cartoons.
My dad had about 15 reels of black & white silent cartoon films from when he was a kid. The only time he showed them was during the winters when it was too cold or yucky to go out and play. Mom would make a batch of popcorn, and I would help dad set up the projector, and the screen. We sat and laughed at Micky Mouse and Popeye, Rip Van Wrinkle and Briar Rabbit. Dad gave them and the projector to me when I moved away and I still have them. I tried showing them once to my oldest son, but by then video games were the rage and the old cartoons just didn't seem to be the same for him as they were for me when I was little. But for me, they were a part of growing up and laughing.

Overall, I would say I had a great childhood.
Treehouses and kickball games.
Snowball fights and sledding by moonlight.
First crush on the boy next door and first heartbreak.
Backyard picnics and cracking open Black Walnuts between two rocks.
Climbing apple trees eating the golden delicious apples.
Life was good.
Sometimes I wish I could go back. . .

Later,
Jovi


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Waiting for the storms to roll in.
There is a line of severe storms headed right for Pittsburgh and should be here within the hour.
Most of the time, the storms are simply wonderful, full of lightning and thumder and cool winds.
I don't mind them , unless we lose power.
Son is working at the local amusement park, Kennywood, and he was working there 2 summers ago when tragedy struck in the form of a micro-burst(tiny tornado?)
and after havoc and chaos, one was left dead and several were injured.
My son was fine.
He walked home *sigh*
(We won't mention the 2 hours I spent looking for him among the 100's that were being evacuated from the park)
Soooooooo now when he is working, and bad weather is headed our way , I tend to over-worry.
But I am a mom.... what can I say?
Ever since that day however, the park does shut down if they feel the weather calls for it.
So basically sitting here, waiting for the storm, with a Clive Cussler book
(decided I didn't want to tackle Tom Clancy right now---too heavy after all the Robert Ludlem books I just read), thermos of coffee(decaff) and have a Chef Salad ready to go in the fridge.

Should be an interesting evening.

Later!
Jovi


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I have survived the first real week of Hot&Humid Pittsburgh Weather.
And hardly used the AC at all.
Can't wait for Autumn to get here.
Wonder if there is a way to just bypass summer. . .

Have been doing alot of reading lately, wading thru my older books trying to see if I can weed some of them out, and find myself wanting to read them all over again.
My friend Jim of Velvet Blog Fame did a Book Meme,
and so did his dog Freddie.
Freddie had some really doginterestingly reading that he has done listed.
So anyways I have just re-read all of Robert Ludlems books that I have and decided that I really don't wish to get rid of any of them.
Am going to start with Tom Clancy next. . . I think.
It's just too dang hot and sticky to do much of anything else right now.

Later!
Jovi


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What is the purpose or thoughts that cats have when they do this?
Cat curled up sleeping.
For about 3 hours.
They get up...
Do the Halloween Cat Stretch....
Turns in a circle 3 times...
Lays right back down where they were...
And are sound asleep again within 3.37 seconds.

I don't get it.
But they sure look comfy!

Later!
Jovi


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Odd,
but slightly amusing,
if you think about it.
Lake Disappears

I wonder where all the poor fishies went?

Later
Jovi


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According to the Hollywood Reporter, (and a few other sources)
FOX has decided to let 24 run for 2 more seasons.
24 Re-Upped and
Jack Is Back and
24 X 2
Works for me!


Later!
Jovi



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The 8 Wonders of the World???
Yup.... 8.
The eighth being the person who can remember the other 7.


Apparently I need more coffee if that is how my brain is thinking this morning.
Later!
Jovi


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Day 5 Countdown
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