So, any advice for an middle age (oh my gawd) woman with lots of retail management backround and a few years of office duty, on how to get a decent paying federal or state job? How does one find them? Where do you search? I have tried the usual suspects of google and monster and et al. How does one get their foot in the door of a job that she can then have for the next 15-25 years? How?

Well, I now have to be very careful with what I write. I was at my Dad's last night and while I was helping to get his computer working better, I showed him my blogs here. And added this site to his Favorites. So Dad, it was a wonderful meal last night - thank you! What I got besides a wonderful meal was a photo of my Grandfather. My Dad's Dad. He died before I was born, so I never got to meet or hang out with him. My Dad did tell us stories about him. My Grandfather was a Greek man. He came from Greece as a teenager to avoid inscription into the Greek army. He reached Ellis Island in 1912 and was then told they couldn't pronounce his last name. His Greek last name. So he was asked what his middle name was and our family then became the newly American Anthonys. This was okay till you go to research family history and find that because of your last name, you should be English. Um. No. We also have a copy of page from the record books on Ellis Island that had my Granfathers signature and correct spelling of his family name. It is interesting how mangled the pronounciation became after a couple decades over here. There were a few other stories about my Grandad that were shared with us as kids, but not many and I always wanted more. And no pictures that I remember. Now I have a picture. One story that is often shared, as we sit around a table of food with siblings, is that he worked in a restuarant with his Uncles and learned the trade. Over the years he had moved up the scale in the restuarant, from busboy to head chef. And had gotten married. And had a few children. Well, my Granddad did what lots of men did. He fed his family. He would bring food from the restuarant home with him to defray food costs. This was during the depression and yet, my Dad tells us that he had pork chops every Friday night and lamb or even lobster on Sundays. He made it possible for them to have friends in the neighborhood over, to share in small way, through food and wine and music a bit of happiness. My Dad said they as children didn't realize till they were older just what other people were suffering at that time. My Grandfather married a beautiful blonde haired/blue eyed woman. His Greek genes overruled hers and all his children were olive skin and black hair and brown eyes. She was tall, he was short. All my Uncles and Dad are tall. Genetics is fun. My Dad however was overruled by my Moms genes (a blonde/hazel eyed german/scot) and all of my siblings and I were either redheads or blondes. I am the only one with brown eyes. However if you put my brother and my cousin Matt next to each other they look like mirror images of each other - dark and light. The Gene Genie was playing with us. Now last night I got a wonderful gift. My Dad gave me a copy of a photo of my Granddad, with my two uncles and my Dad there with him. My Dad was about 14 in the picture and it was about ten years before my Granddad died. So it was great, everyone was smiling and had tennis rackets and all of the men had ths same ears sticking out and cocky eyebrows. The family resemblence was evident. That was really cool to see. I will try to scan and post the pic later. It was a treasure to see and I am glad my Dad made copies for all of HIS kids!

The first Fall with Mercury - about 7 months old. Another fall. And as old as it is, we still have that green loveseat. He loves to sit in it.

Anyone here watch the 3 stooges as they paint a room? I had that Sunday at my house. My husband and a friend stucco painted two ceilings in my house. Oh my was it fun! I went with them to Home depot and I wandered off to look at something else, found them in the paint aisle looking very confused. You would think it would be simple. Well our friend Hugh, hadn't done this type work in about 5 years. And the stuff he used is not there on the shelf. So they had a 15 minute debate about what to use now. As I walked up a guy in orange asked if he could help me. I took at look at those guys and said "sure, what do I need to stucco a ceiling?", he pulled out some paint designed to do that and I put it in the shopping cart. Hugh said "hey! thats cool" and my hubby said "where did you get that?" and I pointed. They both rushed over to that shelf and read all the stuff on it. We went home with what we needed. Thank you men in orange. Then came the painting of a ceiling of a room that is FILLED with stuff. I mean books, dresser, computer, clothing, desks (2). Hugh said to hang plastic sheets and tape them and they will cover everything. So the fun began. 2 men, 2 rolls of duct tape, some plastic and four walls. I felt I was in a bubble room - plastic everywhere, but it was good, it draped over the important stuff. I decided at this point I had seen enough and went downstairs to start brewing the spaghetti sauce. I like to have it simmer for awhile. I put a LOST dvd on and cut peppers and onions. I listened to the grunts and growls and occasional cuss words thrown out in frustration. I trooped upstairs with drinks and found a very small portion of the ceiling done. Lots of paint all over the plastic. Seems the stucco mixture was too thick. I suggested adding water but they said no. Hugh was slabbing it on his roller with a mixing stick. I chuckled and watched them bump into each other and then watched the hubby run into the bookshelf every time he tried to raise his roller or move his roller or turn sideways with it....and I left. You know how it is when you see two animals on tv and wonder why they keep doing that same thing that the narrator says is not working? that was me...I was wondering. Hubby came down about ten minutes later for a drink of orange soda. He said they solved the thick paint problem. I said "oh?" and he said they added some water and stirred it up, it became more pliable. I didn't say anything about how I suggested earlier. I just nodded and smiled. I was into the Exodus episode of Lost - there is a character that gets blown up. Well, I was sitting there watching the show, knowing that it was coming up. And when it happened, I jumped clear out of my seat. I was still surprised and shocked. Man that is a great show!!! My hubby and Hugh trooped downstairs and said the rooms are done. Hugh then said because of the ceiling drips that may occur, I can't move the plastic. I immediately thought of clothes. And the computer. So I am sitting UNDER the plastic typing this, feeling very much like bubble boy. They actually did a very good job together and we are happy with the results, but it still is funny sometimes how thick headed men can be.

Ah, what a nice way to start a weekend. Went out last night and shot pool with a cute non husband guy. Got to pretend to flirt a little and then come home, safe and sound. Then, it was the sleeping in this morning that was really nice. Don't you love to sleep in a little? Now, of course, for someone that gets up early every morning to take care of the Dals and the husband, one day is fun. And sleeping in meant till 9:30am...not noon or anything like that. I do remember back when I was a kid, I had that inclination to sleep in. My Mom was one of those that was up at the crack of dawn, and would wake us all up. So what if it was Saturday. So what. Get up and clean the room, get up and eat something, get up and get outside. She would kill me by vacuuming the upstairs at 7am Saturday morning. Was that fair? No, but my other siblings didn't seem to mind...it was just me that wanted to be the lazy one. When I hit college and had the freedom to choose sleeping in or not it was more fun. I would sleep in one weekend and then the next I would be out in the early morning taking pictures of the dew on the grass and such. The early morning is a wonderful world and you can see all kinds of neat things. The creatures that carouse in the morning are different then those at noon or in the evening. There is a wonderful fresh feeling in the air in the morning. A feeling of newness. I will not berate the walks in the late afternoon to watch the sun set and the warmth that is in evening time. A good day deserves a nice evening stroll to relax and breathe deep the feeling of acomplishment for the days work. And a thank you to the higher ups that have allowed you to live another wonderful day. Whomever they are in your faith. Thank them. My later years in life see me waking early much more and not able to sleep late because of that. Even when I have the chance to - I can't. My body is regulated to the getting up and getting moving idea. So, sleeping late is 9am. Now if I can find some Count Dracula cereal I wil be all set. Oh boy!!!

Okay, warning here, this is not a pretty blog rant today. In fact it will get a bit gruesome at times. My cat gets the gold star this week. He has caught three mice, three different days, and left them for us in the middle of the kitchen. Of course these are little tiny baby mice that are out in search of the Mom or Dad we caught in the traps last week. I mean, I am not sure if these guys even had their eyes open yet....but they are closed now. We live in the city of Baltimore and have a rodent problem outside. Rats. City Rats are bad and Baltimore city rats are the worst. It is a new thing for me to learn about because I am for the most part a country gal. Raised in a small town in rural America. I was not aware that when you fill up the 'rat hole' that is in your fence, you fill it up with steel wool pads and broken glass and mix that into the cement so that way the rats have to eat thru that to tear up their insides...before they get inside. They chew thru cement no problem, the rest is just to slow them down a bit. All of our animals are very good at catching the rodents that wander into the yard and house. We have Figaro our tuxedo cat getting the smaller ones inside and we have Tigger our tripod Dal getting them outside. She is awesome at cracking the baltimore city rats neck. And she keeps a vigilent look out at the perimeter of the fence in the evening. Watching the goings on in our alley - sometimes it is like a party there - a rat party, I mean. I sure wish the city would do more about this problem, but alot of it falls on people that don't know how to put their trash in trash containers and not just at the end of the alley in a bag. Why do people have no brains? Tigger has caught three rats in the three years we have been here. Not a lot you say, but more then some dogs in their life. My other dog Mercury is a coach potato and doesn't move fast enough. Tigger has great eyes,nose and determination. And as soon as the noise of the hunt occurred we were outside to take the filthy animal from our darling gal. She cracked its neck brillantly. And got a treat that night from Daddy. It is a never ending battle against them. The mice population is going down fast though....

We are now official members of Sam's Club. With an I.D. card and everything. With a picture on it that could be almost any other human female in the universe and even some of the men. But we went in to Sam's Club (similiar to B.J.'s but owned by Walmart) and the first time we went shopping there we spent over $150.00 - 72 rolls of toilet paper and 400 plastic cups and a jar of hot pepper slices that is so big it won't fit in my fridge and a box of cans of peas. And other things. Oh boy. It was fun!! But being a frugal b*tch, I wouldn't do that again. I wouldn't go in without specifics of exactly what I was buying. You see, you get in there and get swayed as you walk down the big aisle. An air hockey game, (where you put it who knows...but you can buy one!) Fake potted plants, a DVD player for just $30. and a huge flat screen tv for just $1200. and as you walk along you forget what your real mission was. To get Paper towels and dog food. I went in today with just that in mind. Paper towels and dog food and bottled water. Only thing things. We did good today, we came out with only 8 items. Five extras is not bad. Really. We added vitamin C, 3 shirts and a Jim Croce CD. Not too bad considering all the bells and whistles that was in there making us sway this way and that. Heck, we looked at microwaves, but didn't like the selection. We looked at cereal and decided two of us couldn't eat that much before the mice got to it. And that is the big problem with the warehouse stores...and us. There is only two of us. And two dogs and a cat, but only two of us to eat the food that is bought. It makes it more difficult to consume the boxes of cereal or frozen food or large jar of sliced hot peppers....with only two eating. They are a great place for large families or medium families or any family. But for just a couple, we will probably stick to the paperware and pet food. And, I guess, an occasional CD or DVD or possibly electronic item. But it is fun to bring home a bag of dogfood and know I won't have to lug it around for a couple/few weeks.

Its a wet Saturday afternoon. A perfect day for putting a long movie on and cleaning up inside. Of course, I am not doing that, I am reading blogs and posts and avoiding the work in any possible way. My dear Husband is an excellent housecleaner. If I put on "Spartacus" or "Greatest Story Ever Told" or "Cleopatra"...or any sword and sandals type movie, he is golden. He has the wire in our house set up so that we can play something in one player and it will go to all the Tv's in the house. He is a wiring genius. So this allows him to watch his movie (that he has seen a hundred times) and not miss a minute. And still get laundry gathered, dishes done and rugs vacuumed. Yes, he is a special guy. Well, it is that kind of day. Raining really really hard and the dogs have no desire to go out. They are very happy on the couch watching Daddy jump around and do things as Mommy tries to find things to do upstairs. And stay out of his way. Its Wet outside.

I was talking to my Dad the other night and caused him to have some flashbacks of a younger Dad. I mean a time when he was younger and a Dad. See I am now a Commuter. I mean not just in the car, but on a train. I work near DC and live in Baltimore so the MARC train is a great ride for me. But until my accident which has left me not able to drive for a couple months, I had until then sneered at train riders. You know, from my car. On 95south as I sat in traffic. Now I am loving it. I don't have to worry about traffic jams or accidents. I don't have to pay a fortune for gas. I can watch the leaves on the trees as they change color and relax in the seat. I love the fact that I can read. Oh yeah. Its great. Now I did this commuting before and it was in Boston. On the world famous 'T' line. I road that in and out of Boston every day and it was no fun. Scrunched up with people, crowded and smelly and noisy. Nope. No reading there, no watching the trees sail by. Just fighting for a seat and watching the pregnant woman have to stand because no men would give her a spot or standing so close to a guy that you face is in his chest and trying to look nonchalant about it. Or even worse, when you are sitting and he stands and its crowded, his crotch is in your face and you both have to look nonchalant. Oh boy! But back to my Dad. See my Dad in his younger days rode the subway and then train from NYC to Englewood NJ where we had a house. I was just a wee tot so I don't remember much of the home there. It was a ride he took every day for nigh on 12 years. My Mom would pick him up at the station at night and drop him off in the morning. He regaled us with tales of the commute when I told him I was commuting. Much in the manner of all Dads, he said "you don't know what real commuting is my child, when I was your age, I had to commute to and from work in the cold and harsh winters of a NY winter and in my barefeet" or something like that. He told me how he was stuck in NYC with my Mom one weekend. They took the train into the city and went to a show, and to visit with friends and then there was a black out -the Great Blackout of 1965 - and nine months later was my little brother! Oh boy!! But Dad did say something interesting. Its not the destination, its the ride that is important. I thought that was a great motto and I will be remembering it for awhile. Thanks Dad!

Here are two pics I found of my Dals, Mercury and Tigger - these pics are from the first moments we met them. One look at Mercurys face and tell me, WHO would have the strength to resist.... And Tigger. This is pic taken from the vets office, before we saw him. Her damaged leg is DUCT taped up - that was her gift from her previous owners - it three layers of duct tape we had to cut off of her damaged leg. And then the vet found that her leg was too far gone to save and amputated. Argh. It still makes me angry to think, not only did these people have a pet, but they had kids too. The good news is, Tigger is MUCH happier and at 6 yrs old, the tripod action doesn't slow her down one bit. Just look at the pic in the previous blog of her running the park with the other Dals. Not slowed at all!