• Nina just returned from Chicago after burying ML in the family plot in Forest Park.
• As per ML’s request it was just Nina and Christina, her lawyer. I was not even allowed to attend . . . . . thankfully.
• Nina picked out the casket and Christina said ML would have loved it. Green.
• She died in her sleep Monday morning the 22nd. She was heavily medicated to relieve her pain, so this was blessing.
• We now have the chore of disposing of her 2 storage lockers of books and other crap we moved from her condo in Chicago. Most of that stuff is books. Boxes and boxes of books.
• There was no notifications in Illinois or New Mexico. We really saw no reason since most of her friends are already gone.
• The only thing left for Nina to do is get grave markers for the crew. Did I forget to mention that Nina also brought the cremains of Armand, Shirley, Richard, and Anita for internment in the family plot? I guess I did.

*Most of our generation 50+ was HOME SCHOOLED in so many ways.*

*1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .*
*”If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside, I just finished cleaning.”*

*2. My mother taught me RELIGION.*
*”You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”*

*3. My father taught me about TIME TRAVEL.*
*”If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”*

*4. My father taught me LOGIC.*
*” Because I said so, that’s why.”*

*5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .*
*”If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”*

*6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.*
*”Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”*

*7. My father taught me IRONY.*
*”Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”*

*8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .*
*”Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”*

*9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.*
*”Just you look at that dirt on the back of your neck?”*

*10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.*
*”You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”*

*11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.*
*”This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”*

*12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.*
*”If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times, don’t exaggerate!”*

*13. My father taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.*
*”I brought you into this world, and I can take you out…”*

*14. My mother taught me about*
*BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION .”Stop acting like your father!”*

*15. My mother taught me about ENVY.*
*”There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t
have wonderful parents like you do.”*

*16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.*
*”Just wait until we get home.”*

*17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.*
*”You are going to get it from your father when he gets home!”*

*18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.*
*”If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way.”*

*19. My mother taught me ESP.*
*”Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”*

*20. My father taught me HUMOR.*
*”When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”*

*21. My mother taught me*
*HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .”If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”*

*22. My mother taught me GENETICS.*
*”You’re just like your father.”*

*23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.*
*”Shut that door behind you, do you think you were born in a barn?”*

*24. My mother taught me WISDOM.*
*”When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.*

*25. My father taught me about JUSTICE .*
*”One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you !”*

I just finished repairing the parking lot. The rain did quite a bit of damage. I may need to buy another load of base course to get me through the summer and fall.

Over the years I’ve put an average of 2 loads of gravel in my lot per year @ $600/load for 21 years. If you wish to know what I’ve spent on my lot, do the math yourself. It’s probably enough to have paved the stupid thing had I done that in the first place.

Very close lightning and the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. Whiskey is shitting bricks and I think he’s cowering on our bed.

Where did “piss poor” come from ?
We older people need to learn something new every day,
just to keep the grey matter tuned up.

Where did “Piss Poor” come from? Interesting History.
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot
And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery…
if you had to do this to survive you were “Piss Poor”.
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn’t even afford
to buy a pot, they “didn’t have a pot to piss in” and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500’s
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,
And they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the nice clean water, followed by all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies, and by then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water!”

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.
It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.
When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.
This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying, “Dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until,
when you opened the door, It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren’t you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot.
They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: “Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold,
peas porridge in the pot nine days old”.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.
It was a sign of wealth that a man could, “bring home the bacon.”
They would cut off a little to share with guests
And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.
Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes,
so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom; “of holding a wake”.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, “saved by the bell” or was “considered a dead ringer”. And that’s the truth.

• Wow, this new pope is really screwing with Catholic traditions! He just said that in some cases divorce is morally necessary. I have to say that I never expected to hear that from a sitting pope. I bet the college of cardinals are spitting mad.
• Last night I put the latest newsletter for our HOG Chapter to bed. I sent it out to some members to proof read and I usually send it out shortly after the director gives his OK. Because of the distractions that MaryLou and business brought to us this month I spent less time dealing with the newsletter than normal. It’s done and I’m going to start on the August edition this weekend.
• I have a Lodger’s Tax Board meeting this afternoon. We only have 2 applicants so it should be a short meeting. I have no idea home much money we’ll have to award, but I’m telling you that both parties will only get a portion of what they’ve requested.
• Once again, Erin leaves us today.

EDIT

I was asked to put down a neighbor’s dog. She was 20 years old and suffering from a stroke and was paralyzed. Poor old girl was in great pain and was crying just lying still. I hate doing this but the suffering bothers me more. She’s at peace.

Last night the entire family went out to dinner for the first time in ages. In attendance was Andy & Debra, Tori & Erin with Michael, Nina and myself.

The Rest of the Day

• Got new tires. Duran broke the key to my locking lug nuts. They ruined the lug nuts getting them off. What a pain in the ass.
• My phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
• I received a notice of inspection from the storage tank inspector which means paperwork! I hate this.
• We ran out of propane. Lucky for us there was a new company looking to service us and they came out. Nina had to have her eggs raw for breakfast.
• While at dinner, John ran out of singles. Tori told him to make do with pennies.