Memorial Day Parade

We had a great time!!

Single Son and I had decided to ride together to the village. He had to work during the parade, so off I went on my own to wander Downtown and get some pictures for the hour until the parade began. I hadn't made it out of the Department's outdoor picnic area when I ran into ...

The Village Idiot.

Literally. Only, at the time I didn't know who she was. And of course, none of the cops warned me! Grrrrrrr. She was an experience that's for sure. And no matter how I tried to lose her it wasn't going to happen. She even invited me over for a meal and a drink. Hello? No thanks!!

Why do I seem to be a magnet for these people? In school with all the PITAs I attract ... and now the Village Idiot. Geesh!

Finally Single Son had a chance to fill me in on who she is. He's arrested her numerous times for different things. Yet she still tries to flirt with all the cops in town. They all try to avoid her whenever possible. Yeah, thanks guys for the heads-up on that one.

The time for the parade to start was drawing near ... the Village Idiot took off to "change into something patriotic" (camo mini mini-skirt and a brown low cut tank top - yup ... patriotic) ... so I took the chance to make a break for it. I found a nice little spot right across from the Village Offices (and Police Station). There was an alley there should I need to duck from her! And I did, twice!

And then the Parade started ...

It was definitely a small parade, but a very nice one. The crowds along the streets were very enthusiastic. As soon as the lead car with two of Lake Orion's oldest Vets passed, up went a cheer through Downtown.

The Lake Orion Dragons Marching Band - among the top ten of the best marching bands in Michigan - played "God Bless America". Vintage cars, the American Legion, local softball teams and the local Girl Scout and Brownie Troops completed the participants of the Parade.

After the parade, cutting through an alley to get back to the Police Department to meet up with Single Son I once again had the misfortune of meeting up with the Village Idiot. I only had to endure her for a few minutes - a cute cop had come out of the station and she took off after him. I'm sure I heard her ask "are you married"? I didn't hear anything after that, I made a break for the safety of the inside of the station!

We left shortly after that. Headed up to the folks house for a short visit.

I have photos of the parade in my photo albums. Take a peek.

Hoping ya'll had a safe and Happy Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Parade 2009

Village of Lake Orion Memorial Day Parade.

Meet Sable ...

Meet Sable ... my new *love* ...
And love it is - at first sight!!

She's a 2002 Mercury Sable,
less than 80,000 miles.
Lots of extras.
And mine!!

Now to figure *her* out!
She's got almost all of the bells and buzzers,
things I've never had in a vehicle before.
Things I'm still trying to figure out.

Best of all, everything works!!
It'll be nice to know how much gas *she* has in her belly.
She has no dents or bruises,
And she's a little sassy, too.

Ten Thoughts Tuesday ...

Or as many thoughts as I can get it today. And I'm pretty sure these will all be random thoughts ... it's just been that kind of a week.

1) So ... I didn't make it in time to shoot photos of the annual Flower Fest. Not entirely my fault. I was told that the show wasn't ending until 6 PM ... when I got there at 5 PM they were already packing up the displays! Damn!! Had I been there earlier (which was my sole intention but my car had other plans) then I'd have been fine. Yup, stupid Grand Am decided it wasn't going to cooperate with me on Sunday.

2) Yes, I still have the Grand Am. I haven't been able to pick up the new car yet. I'm hoping that everyone's schedules cooperate this week and I can get the Mercury. Please, please!! I want ... need ... that car!

3) As soon as I get the new car I'm planning a much needed mini-trip to Port Huron. The Grand Am won't let me make the 65 or so mile trip. Just a little beyond our comfort zone, literally. And by our, I mean me and the car!! Heck, the short trip to the Village for the Flower Fest (that I missed) was a nerve-wracking experience.

4) So, the next event to photograph is coming up next Monday. The Memorial Day parade. I'll be there bright and early. I won't be missing this event. Really!! Although, I have to admit they weren't upset I missed the Flower Fest ... there was a lady there who had taken pictures on Saturday that had offered to send her prints over to the station. Whew!!

5) So, now that all the hype of the new Star Trek movie has died down, our lives have returned to their normal pace. In other words, pretty boring. But I'm liking it.

6) Still working on getting all my information plugged back into my family tree program. Geesh, what a lot of work!! And to think I could have saved myself so much aggravation if I'd have backed my files up. I know ... dummy me!! I know better!

7) My enhanced driver's license came today. Just a hair over two weeks since I applied for it. Not bad!! A passport would have taken so much longer, that's for sure. I can honestly say I like the picture on this license. That hasn't happened in decades!! But the best thing is I can now get into Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas by "land or water" without having to possess a passport. Well, Canada anyway. I don't see any trips to Mexico or the Bahama's in my future. LOL.

8) These kittens are nuts!! OMG!! Shimera, the momma cat, won't eat out of her dish, but will rip a hole in the 18 pound cat food bag and eat it out of the bag. Can we say picky kitty? Finicky. Then yesterday I found one of the kittens actually sleeping in the bag of cat food! One of the other kittens loves to sleep in Married Son's old smelly work boots. The third prefers to sleep in a box I left out for them to play in. I still haven't come up with a good name for the kitten I'm keeping. But I have the feeling it'll either be Star Trek related or a name that has to do with one of her personality quirks. And yes, it's a girl. I finally remembered to check! LOL!

9) I really need to get off my behind and clean out the Grand Am. Get it ready for DIL to take possession of it this week. Of course, she's got some things she left in it ... so I'll just leave that crap in there for her to worry about. A winter jacket ... some of Grandson's clothes ... a pair of shoes. It'll be so nice once she has her own car and doesn't need to borrow (or trash) mine!!

10) Absolutely nothing else to *report*. Like I said, things have returned to normal. Dull. Boring. Just the way I like it!! No drama!! Yay!!

Baby Squirrel makes it up the giant wall!

Friday Stuff ...

Been a few days since I've blogged. LOL.

I've decided to let Peanut go to the adoptive family instead of the one we haven't yet named. Peanut has proved to be much better with small children. The adoptive fur-parents have a toddler. So, it's only natural to give them the kitten that gets along well with small children.

The other kitten, the one I'm keeping instead has not been officially named. We'd been calling him shit-head, but that name has to go. I started calling him "Tribble" (from the TOS episode called "The Trouble With Tribbles") ... as much for my love of Star Trek as the fact he's a fluffy hairball. And he's trouble!! He loves to climb up my body as I'm standing at the stove. Oh, he's picky. If I'm making a sandwich he doesn't care. But the minute I start frying fish he's all over me. And I have fish at least three times a week!! He'll sit on my shoulder until I actually give him a sample. He also love to wait for me to pass and pounce. At least I think it's a him, it never dawned on me to look to see what *it* is until just now! Ah well, either way, we're keeping him ... her ... whatever it proves to be.

Back when my computer crashed a few weeks ago I lost all my information. And I mean all of it. I've spent the last day plugging my genealogy information back into my Family Tree Maker program. OMG!! I forgot how much information I had gathered in the two decades I'd been researching the family tree. No lying, LOL, there's got to be two thousand names of ancestors (starting with Grandson) in my notebooks. It'll take me a week at the rate I'm going to get the basic information recorded. It'll take months to plug in all those dates I have to fill in!

I've been offered a very part time job. Seems Single Son's department needs a photographer for the events they have planned this year. Starting this weekend with a Flower Show ... and ending with the Christmas Parade this winter. Cool!! I'm there for most events anyway, why not photograph it for the village? Pay isn't great, but that's not what I'm doing it for!! I'm doing it 'cause they said "purty please". Besides, my best photos will be on the department's website.

I really need to get some Elsie's Attic inventory up on eBay. The problem has been deciding what line of merchandise I want to carry. My wholesaler has such a wide selection (3000+ items) that it's been interesting to narrow it down to a hundred or so. I'm thinking candles, incense, oils, burners, candle holders, water fountains ... relaxation and meditation items. A few lighthouse, dolphins and fantasy (dragons) items will round out the collection.

Ah well ... that's my Friday. Hope ya'll have a good day and a great weekend!!

My Mother's Day email ...

Mom,

I know I can be a pain in the butt sometimes.  I can be snippy, grumpy, and sometimes might even seem unappreciative of you...  I'm not the easiest person to live with, I know.  I know I'm not the richest person in the world right now either.  I couldn't even really afford a card at Meijer for crying out loud.

I want you to know that I love you so much, and am so lucky to have a mom like you!  You've always been there when I needed you, and you've always been so supportive of me.  Thank you for everything that you've done for me! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Love,
(Single Son)