wanted: control

 

my mother is compiling a power point presentation for her funeral. if anything at all says 'control freak', that is pretty much it.

so she needs these pictures that she thinks i have for her presentation. husband dear says mother forbade us to remove these items from her house when we visited. we are far too irresponsible to handle such things as pictures of her father. she insisted that we scan the picture and documents in at her house and take only electronics with us.

nine years later, she calls asking for the pictures back. since i have seen the pictures she is asking about, i tell her we will check in our storage unit, where we keep things we aren't looking at right now. she called back 48 hours later, wanting to know if we had found them. i told her i hadn't looked yet. that did not make mother happy. 

four days later, she called again. said my brother was going to drive down and get the pictures from us on friday on his way to her house. she was very disappointed to learn that we were to be out of state on friday. 

two days later, my brother called to ask if we could puppy sit for him whilst he visited mother. seems his puppysitter was unexpectedly called out of town. mother does not allow dogs in her house, so she told him he would have to board the dog. doggie, however, was not old enough to receive all the shots she needs to be allowed in a boarding house. no go. well. mother does not allow dogs in the house. so i am going to puppysit. and brother is supposed to pick up those pictures we discussed. 

i cannot believe that my mother is being so self-centered. while i was talking to my brother, she called my house and cell phone FIVE times. when i called her back i said, "seriously? five times in ten minutes? can't a girl take a dump??" seems she planned originally to drive up this way and stop by my house anyway. to fetch the pictures. UM, WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME, BITCH?? i think it would have been hilarious had she decided to just show up and we were out of town.

i am really not understanding what is going on here. i told her, "i have contractors coming in and out of the house. i have multiple children going to and from summer camp. i work full time and have a house to run. i haven't had time to set my pants on fire and go look for the pictures. what is the big hurry??" 

the only answer i got was, "i need those pictures."

effing control freak. someone tell me why i left home at age 18 years, 3 weeks and four days? yeah. that was it.

 

 

husband has just returned from the storage unit. and the verdict is: we have no pictures or documents from my side of the family. at. all. everything we have has been scanned or downloaded from the census bureau. mother will not be pleased.

my all-stars

To my Den 8 Webelos at Dulaney Cub Scout camp: you are my all-stars, those boys of summer who tried their hardest, sang their hearts out (even when they didn't want to), made new friends & palled around, learned scouting values (and the Scout Law!), sweated like pigs & drank like horses, wowed the camp with their sincerity, all the while earning the bragging rights to Best in Camp for Marksman, Archery, Fishing & the Obstacle Course, in addition to top Webelos scores in those categories. On behalf of Mr. Mike, you made us proud.

 

See you on the trails, boys. 

 

PS - I remember your names, finally.  ;o)

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFk friday.

 today i celebrated friday by

 

* working with douchecanoes on the checkpoint when i didn't have to (but wasn't told that until 11am)

* getting my new badge re-issued since this current one was deactivated the day after i got it

* staying an hour late to re-vamp a 940 line spreadsheet in which i was directed to "guess" at some of the unknown/uncollected data by a dude whose breath smelled like he frequently licked public ashtrays

* not calling the house because someone sat on the phone making it off the hook for 6 hours

* not fixing dinner because i couldn't call anyone to start the bread machine or tell me what was left on the grocery list

* and having no inclination whatsoever to fix dinner.

strawberry rhubarb pie

 

ingredients for 9 (or 10) inch pie

 

double pie crust or single crust and your favorite crumb topping
 1/2 (1/3) C sugar
3T (4T) cornstarch
1/2 tsp (heaping) cinnamon
1/4 tsp (heaping) nutmeg
2 (3) C sliced rhubarb
2 (3) C sliced strawberries
2 Tbsp butter, cubed if using double crust
you can use frozen fruit but let it thaw 10-15 min, until it is partially thawed but still icy.

 

1. slice strawberries & rhubarb into uniform pieces.

2. set bottom crust into 9-inch pie (or 10-inch tart) pan.

3. combine dry ingredients; stir well.  pour onto fruit and toss to coat.  turn into prepared crust.

(4. place butter cubes on fruit)

5. sprinkle prepared crumb topping OR roll top crust over fruit & butter.  pinch edges to seal and flute, if desired.  make sure to vent the top crust.  i use tiny cookie cutters to make designs in crust.

6. place foil around edges and bake at 375 for 25 min (50 for frozen fruit).  remove foil and continue baking 20-25 min (20-30 for frozen fruit).  cool completely on wire rack.

7. roll remaining dough scraps and sprinkle with cinnamon& sugar. prick crust & bake with pie for 15-20 min.  yums.

curiouser and curiouser

 

we moved into our house in 2005; sometime that fall, we got an irate phone call from an old man who insisted that we had to come and replace his windows because he paid us.  i tried very nicely to reassure him that he had the wrong number.  i felt bad for the guy, but uh, nope.  wrong number.

sometime in 2007 a baltimore county sheriff came to the door with a court summons... for a roofing company.  i can't remember the name.  he asked for the guy and i was totally thrown off, no idea who he was talking about.  i fetched my ID and told him he could come in and look around if he liked, but no roofers here.  i mentioned the weird phone call from a couple years prior.  he left without anything further.

today i went to the post office with a postcard, dropped in my mailbox that said they had a letter needing signature confirmation.  when i showed my ID she asked if i had my business card.  stumped, i answered, "no, i don't have one."  she asked if i was with everett roofing.  since i do have "roofing" going on in my house, i said, "maybe it's from my contractor?  can i see the return address?"  

a rather large virginia law firm sprawled across the front of the envelope, stuffed thick with about two maple trees' worth of paper.  nope.  not for me.

upon spending an hour (that i don't have) searching for everett roofing or contracting or something, i have found nothing related to my phone number or address.  

preplexed, i am.

off to make a chocolate cake.

moroccan spiced beef kabobs

 

adapted from the McCormick 3-step cooking cookbook

because i can't have dairy, i've omitted the yogurt and made this a simple dry rub for the meat, leaving the veggies to roast on the grill in their own yumminess, without a sauce.  my favorite grilling veggies for beef kabobs are videlia onions, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes and green pepper.  oh, and my recipe feeds a family of six, sometimes with leftovers...sometimes not!

2 Tbs minced onion
1 tsp dalmation cinnamon (regular works too)
1/2 tsp black or white pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder (i used minced garlic)
2-3 pounds cubed beef

mix spices together.  shake over meat in either a plastic bag or tupperware container big enough to allow movement of meat and spices.  make sure all sides of cubes get spiced.  skewer with veggies (or separate) and grill over med heat 18-20 minutes, turning to keep from burning on one side.  OR bake in 450* oven 12-15 minutes or until edges are browned and crisp.  serve hot, rolled in whole wheat tortillas or with couscous and salad.

headline news

 

westboro bastards church:  the bastards will be protesting "outside" of meade high school (no reports of exactly where they are allowed) thursday morning during arrival, approximately 6-7:30 am.  if i didn't live so far from the base, i would be there to help create a barrier between these animals and the children of military families who attend this school.  i have heard that several friends are attending for the same reason, and i want to thank you all for doing this.  i can't imagine the parents actually sending their kids to school tomorrow; if we were still stationed there, i know i wouldn't.  i also know that as a hot-headed teenager, i would have been right in the faces of the bastards if this happened at my high school, and i hope there is a measure of protection planned for that situation; the hot-headed teen situation, that is.  my thoughts are with my military families.... as always.

had to have the talk about "don't get into a stranger's vehicle EVER" with my kids again because some nine-year-old-knuckleheads in this area jumped into a pedophile's car on the way to school yesterday.  seriously???  yes...  those kids SHOULD HAVE known better, and were obviously not paying attention to the message the past four years of elementary school when the message has been broadcast.  come on, parents: it is ultimately YOUR job to educate your children with the help of the schools.

you hear all the negative attention this evening about how awful all of us TSA child predators are?  

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90044692?Kentucky%20family%20upset%20after%20TSA%20does%20pat%20down%20of%206-year-old%20daughter  while i will admit, the video shows the TSO giving a standard patdown when clearly the child is under 12 and should have received a modified patdown, i will leave you this evening with a little light reading on why i will continue to pat down children and the elderly.  i trust no one.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/02/taliban-buying-children-to-serve-as-suicide-bomber/

http://www.betar.co.uk/articles/betar1059578683.php

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/21/Child-bombers-in-training-arrested-in-Iraq/UPI-48761240326883/