I thought scorpions were just a astrological sign!

I had the most shocking thing happen the other day. At first it was more terrifying than funny.
This is what I want to share with you....

For those of you that know me, you should know by now that I live in a high desert area. Lots of sagebrush and tumbleweeds. So my biggest concern here is sharing the desert with rattle snakes. I not real fond of snakes, but I give them there space as long as they do the same. Same thing with spiders. I leave them alone while they are outside because that's their domain. Once they cross the threshold, the story changes and they promptly find the underside of my shoe. I think that's fair!

Well this kinda falls under the same category. Here, just let me tell the story.

The weather here lately has been very hot. Triple digit weather! HOT! When it gets hot, I cannot sleep very well at all. I am usually up until way after midnight because I know I will not be able to sleep.
It was a hot day and I wasn't the only one who could not sleep. My daughter, Elizabeth was awake also. She was in her room playing on her computer, which is in the downstairs portion of the house. I was upstairs in my room, also playing on my computer.

It was fast approaching 2AM. I figured I would shower to cool off and try to go to bed. After my shower, I thought I heard a noise. My first thought was the kids, so I checked on them . All was quiet. But I could have sworn I heard a noise. I shrugged it off,since I could not find the source of the noise.

A few minutes later I hear a tapping on my door. I knew it wasn't the kids. They just run in. It was my daughter. There she was,standing there with tears in her eyes and obviously very upset.
She was holding a small trash can from the bathroom. In it was the most horrible creature I have ever seen. Oh I have seen pictures, but that does not even compare to what I was seeing. This is the before picture....



As Elizabeth tried to tell me the story, I just couldn't take my eyes off this creature! It was not only huge, but just as ugly!
While she was on her computer, she heard a noise. Like little animal nails scratching on paper. Her first thought was a mouse. We live on a farm, so mice are pretty common. She got up from her seat and saw that thing in an attack stance, blocking the doorway. The only place of escape,and there that thing stood with its tail curled up over its back. Its little pincher hands were clicking like he was just itching for a good fight! My daughter, who has never ever seen a scorpion in real life, let alone an angry one, was terrified. Apparently, the noise I thought was nothing, was actually her. She was standing on the computer desk screaming.
Since nobody came to her aide, she decided to fight this ugly enormous creature by herself! She quickly scanned the room looking for something that was big enough to battle with. Her first thought was her gun. But thankfully she reasoned that idea away. Next object, a tennis shoe. No way! It must be able to exterminate this thing with one wack!
A tennis shoe! The thing might take it away from her. No, next thing.. a boot! Yes that will work. Oh wait! There are two boots! Better! So she took the one boot and mustered up enough courage to smash it down on top of it. But she did not stop there. She took the other boot and smashed the boot that was on top of the scorpion, just to make sure it was dead. Here is the creature after Elizabeth's attack......




Okay the picture of the scorpion is not as good as seeing it up close. You can't tell , by this picture, but it is pulverized. She smashed it good! It is flat. What the picture does show, is it was huge. I would so freak out, if that had been me. I would probably be still standing on the desk.
I am so proud of her! She did a good job. I hope we don't have any more encounters with the likes of this thing! If we do, she will have to find another boot! I will be standing atop something! Screaming. Yes, I really dislike scorpions. My daughter said she was so scared. It may as well have been a rattle snake. I think I would have been just as scared.

Joy in the simple things

Yes, it has been a while since I blogged anything. It has been a very trying time for me. The fork in the road I was looking at before, became a major interchange! Well I have almost maneuvered through it all. Still got a few humps to iron out.
But that is not what inspired me to write.
The kids are out of school. The weather has been, to say the least, a little unstable. One day it is hot and the next we have thunderstorms. To make plans for outdoor activities has been a little challenging. So my daughter got up the other morning and said she wanted to do something different with the kids. After a lot of ideas and discussion, we all decided to go fishing! My daughter loaded all the poles and gear and got the kids dressed. I packed us a lunch for all of us. Off we went. It was a nice drive. Just on the other side of town,actually. But a far removed little place. It didn't really matter. We knew the kids would probably not catch anything. It was the experience that counted.
I really was really enjoying the drive. I had no real idea where we were going. But it was exciting anyway. We traveled down one long road, tall green grass and little water ways could be seen from the road. It was like a breath of fresh air. As we passed on tall grassy area, my little three year old grand daughter shouts, "look at the big rabbits"! I looked in the direction she was pointing and saw, to my surprise, four deer in the tall grass. And yes they did look like big rabbits, to a three year old. They had long ears and white tails! How cute is that?! I wish I had my camera. That would make a great little addition to a summer scrap book.
We made it to our little fishing hole. It was a quiet little place . There were cattle wandering about and lots of water birds. It was just a little quiet place. We set up camp. My daughter started hooking the worms on the poles for the kids, while I took the kids to the shore to do a little exploring. It was a really good time.
Needless to say, our fishing excursion was cut short by a thunderstorm rolling through, but a lot of stress relief, just the same. And no fish were injured during this trip. As a matter a fact, I think the kids chased all the fish away by throwing rocks in to the water as they had their poles resting on the shore.
I really enjoyed watching them just be kids. We are definitely going to do it more often this summer. Hopefully, I will remember to bring the camera.

Finally...sleep

I finally got some sleep this weekend. What a relief. Its a combination of the heat and the stesses that I have been encountering lately. The thunderstorms rolled in this weekend and cooled off the night air a little bit, just enough, that I was able to get more than a couple hours of sleep. It was good. I enjoyed it, I think. I must have, because I didn't wake up till morning.

Insomnia

I really think my lack of sleep is starting to affect my whole thought process. Ugg, I feel so bad. Hopefully, tonight I will actually stay asleep. My theory is that since tonight is not as warm as it has been, and the fact that I am exhausted, I should be able to get some decent sleep. I hope that holds true, because the migraines are starting up and that is always a drag. So Good Night world, at least I hope so.

I can't sleep

It's 1:44 am and I can't sleep. The bad thing is I have to get the kids up for school at 6:30am. I am so not looking forward to that hour. I know how my system works...I won't get to sleep until 4:30 maybe 5:00,just to have to wake up an hour or so later. Yeah, its gonna be a long day. I really am regretting drinking that nice glass of iced coffee around noon today. I can't believe how sensitive I have become to caffeine. And it was so good too! Darn, guess I will go back to lying down in my dark room trying to get some rest. It's now 1:53...ugghh! Have a great day!

Here I am again with another fork in the road!

Haven't had much to say over the last month...but I sure do love to read other blogs! My goodness, there are a lot of good writers out there.
I am going to try to be more diligent in writing.
My life has taken another turn. You would think at 50+ years, my life would be more stable. But alas, it is still evolving daily. More forks in the road than in my silverware drawer! Ha!
So as I face all the changes that are taking place, I will use this as my outlet to find a positive angle to it all. Between reading my Bible and looking at my thoughts in writing, I may make sense of it all yet.
I did find an old friend whom I lost contact with almost 25 years ago. Now that was exciting and fun! We got to share a lot of memories from our past. It was a good thing. And we promised each other that we won't lose each others numbers again.
I am going to have a lot of free time in the near future, it should be easier to find a means of income.
Spring is in full swing, and so is little league and t-ball.
I still am working on shedding my winter weight before the summer heat arrives.
I love sitting on my front porch, watching and listening to the beauty of life. I love the sounds of the different birds, the cows mooing back and forth at each other, the tractors tilling their fields, I could go on and on. I love the absence of the sound of traffic, people , and the hustle of the city. It is so tranquil here, I can't imagine ever going back to the city life.
So now that I have revitalized my thoughts and gotten back into the writing saddle, so to speak, I will now go have some coffee and sit a bit and take mental notes for my next blog. I love it here.

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter to all! It was a nice day here. The sky was so blue with wisps of clouds passing over occasionally. It was great spending time with God this morning as the sun rose above the horizon. It was beautiful to talk to Him as the meadow larks sang in the background. And watching the sun come up...while imagining how it must have been when Mary went to the tomb of Jesus.. Breathtaking.
We had a great family meal and had a good time together. I hope your family had a joyful day, also.
I haven't had a chance to blog lately. The kids seem to be taking turns getting sick. I had one with pneumonia and another with strep throat. But thanks to antibiotics, everyone is getting better.
Oh yes, and then we had the parent teacher conferences. Everyone is doing really well in school. Yeah!
This Saturday was the ever so chaotic, Opening Ceremonies for T-ball and whatever the next group up is. I can't remember what their group is called, but they are all about 7-9 years old. That was an all day ordeal. Kids had a blast and thankfully the wind didn't start until later in the afternoon. Now it is time to start hopping! Four games a week till June. But my grandmother told me, keep the kids busy so they don't have time to get in trouble. So I guess this will be a good thing for myself and the grand-kids.
I am still just so glad that spring is here. The fields around us have started to grow green alfalfa or corn and the trees are budding. It is so pretty. Life is waking up, all around us. The Robins and other lovely birds are every where. The chipmunks have come out from hibernation. The canals are full,flowing with water. I am enjoying it. Taking it all in with every breath, every glance. I know what is next. I am not looking forward to it, but it is inevitable. Yes folks, that's right. The heat. It's coming! Yes, its suppose to rain some more in the next few days. April showers bring May flowers. But the heat, it's coming. I dread it. So I will enjoy every day under the seventy degree mark. I know these days are numbered for now. And while I enjoy the days of spring, I will try to get rid of these extra winter pounds. The thought of suffering from the heat will be my inspiration.
Happy Easter and Happy Spring !