There is a rhubarb thief in Langton, Ontario

Have you ever wanted something so much you could taste it? Well that is how it was with me and the rhubarb pie. I was looking forward all week to having enough rhubarb to make a pie for the weekend.

It was a cool Friday morning and I had all my ingredients and tools assembled on the counter... pastry mat tolling pin mising boweks measureing cups and spoons, sugar, flour, shortening, vinegar, butter, salt.... I was set and ready to go all I needed to do was go walk out back with my trusty kitchen sheers and cut the Rhubarb.... Imagine my surprise when I discovered that someone else had helped themselves to it. Someone got enough Rhubarb off of the plant to make a pie but that someone was not from this house. Yes folks there is a Rhubarb thief in Langton, Ontario and since considering Rhubarb is used to make a CONFECTION I sincerely DOUBT they needed it more than we do and I sincerely hope you figuratively choke on it!

To the Rhubarb thief of Langton Ontario:
Next time you feel the need to steal our rhubarb come inside and get the pastry that I had sitting on the counter at the time and save yourself some work.....
Oh hell, why don't you just wait the extra hour for me to bake the pie and just take that and save yourself all the damn work!

Last night I get this email from an attorney that a someone died and I am next of kin and he needs to snail mail me some paperwork.

It has been a whirl wind couple of days here in the FAT house. It is the kind of week where you try to rob Peter to pay Paul only to find Peter has already been robbed,

THEN DRUM ROLL PLEASE

Last night I get this email from an attorney that a someone died and I am next of kin and he needs to snail mail me some paperwork. He wants to verify my identity and address.....

I know I know you are all laughing but don't be so quick to judge.....

The attorney, Neil is a cousin of my fathers and the woman that died is a cousin to both of us. I had to think about this, Jean is my first cousin 2 generations removed.

BUT Don't go and get all slap happy yet......

I called cousin Neil today....

I am not actually in this will or anything but as a known surviving relative he needs to send me paperwork as an interested party.... *eye roll*

What I believe this translates to is that he spent a whole lot of time searching me down online and is going to bill the estate for it.

I will have to see what he is sending me, he may be the attorney of record here but my daughters Trust Attorney is a friend of the deceased (who incidentally knows where I am and how to contact me) and I will not hesitate to call him if I feel the attorney of record has abused any powers long lost cousin or not.

The good news is.... there were some pictures of my parents amongst the deceased effects and Neil volunteered to burn them to disk for me and will send them with the said paperwork.

And as another mutual cousin would have said...... "That my dear is the scoop on the poop!"

MY V.D. a.k.a. Snow Blow and Flow...

That has been my day. The snow was terrible last night and the roads were drifted over when fb went to work to fill the wood furnace he said he barely made it back. Well he should have left early to plough but didn't.... still I got up at 4am so his decision could not be pinned on me.

Needless to say I went back to bed after he left I was really feeling punk. Well he came home about 10:30am frozen and soaked to the bone. I threw his clothes and coats in the dryer and tried to get him warm. Then having the van I went to get something for lunch lime juice and a loaf of bread but only having $10 and he wanted Fritos there went my lunch *eye roll* so I made him share the Fritos which of course he grumbled.

I noticed a slight leak that I thought was from the roof when I left. While we were eating the Fritos TWO pipes in my ceiling gave way and I was dumping buckets while fb was turning off the water THANK GOD HE CAME HOME COLD!

fatboy then used this opportunity to get me to clean the entire house before calling the landlord.... So I cleaned the house stashed the 3 out of 4 cats and moved the rats from view. fb came home at 4 went and told the Landlord who tried to turn it around on us just like I said he would.... then he came by but fb ended up fixing it or we would still be without water. being 6'8" does have it's advantages he could fix it without a ladder.

They used a combination of fb's tools and the landlords tools and the landlords son came by to defend us. The pipes that burst weren't even in use and the thermostat was wet 8 degrees Celsius above the landlords posted minimum. What a crappy wet day I have glued down rugs in my kitchen I can't even pull up although I was able to pull the mat that got the most of it.

I was able to heat up Tofu Italian Casserole from last night for an easy dinner but having missed LUNCH I am still hungry. IF I wasn't trying to be good I would bake some cookies. If I wasn't so tired I might give in and do it.... I had better not make any coffee....LOL

Confession time: I ended up with about 1/3 cup of semi sweet chips and some hard sourdough Bavarian Pretzels I had stashed when fatboy went to fill the furnace at 10:30pm

They are glued to the floor I can't pull them I have beem putting towels over them and walking on them then washing the towels.

My friend Cyberpawz said: "Make sure have those rugs replaced, mold and mildew is bad for humans, it's deadly to rats and pets in general."

To which I replied: My landlord needs to rent me a dryer but he is a cheap ass bastard so it isn't going to happen. I had to explain that we needed to wait a few days to put back the ceiling tiles or the insulation would mold. Fatboy is going to do it for him but he didn't even bring enough tiles so not only is he a cheap ass bastard.... but he CAN'T COUNT either!

How we went from Ruby Red Slippers to Red High Heels. Many of us have been in the "Ruby Red Slipper group" at one time or another but because we left at different times not everyone knows how we grew into our Red High Heels. Last summer I found myself co-managing a group with several fine ladies and a "wizard" suffering from narcissism. Several of the members and management of the "Ruby Red Slipper" group of had very serious things going on, a tragic accident in the family, a battle with cancer, battles with severe depression and anxiety, a spouse with bi-polar disorder refusing medication, a recent widow and more. There was a reason each and every member of the "Ruby Red Slipper" group sought out a support group. As time went on more and more attention was focused upon the problems of the narcissistic wizard and the wizards search for a new castle in another land. One day while looking for new and better backgrounds and websets to make the "Ruby Red Slipper group" a better place I clicked a magical link placed at the bottom of the page by none other than the wizard, this link took me to the other side of the rainbow to a very special group - THE PSP CLIQUE. I didn't know what this special place was until I joined and then I found out it was ran by none other than our very own Shamaness. When I was accepted I noticed the wizard was a member there as well but as soon as I posted a friendly hello I noticed the wizard vanished in a cloud of dust. As the magic wizard dust faded away I knew our relationship was forever changed and that my days in the "Ruby Red Slipper group" were numbered. The thing with the "Ruby Red Slipper group" is that the wizard feels she owns everything and everyone and if you leave you have to leave your friends and all the support there, both given and received behind. That is a policy I never agreed with and a policy that kept me from accepting the management position that was offered to me for over a year. I knew it was over, I also wanted to maintain contacts so two days later I used the group management settings to email a very respectful announcement of resignation quoting Ecclesiastes 3 and offering my contact information for anyone interested. I tried to send this though the system three times and three times it did not go through I took this as a sign from God that I was to see this thing through to the end. God does not bring us to it if he will not bring us though it. So I waited, and continued my management duties. Several times I sat down to write a letter of questioning the concept of ministry letter to the wizard but I felt led to avoid all confrontation, so this letter was never finished or sent. Two weeks later another manager and I logged on to find an announcement that we had been removed from management. (emails followed but we discovered this online first) I didn't comment but the other manager confronted this unprofessional tactic and resigned. I didn't comment or resign as I was still feeling led to see this all though to the end. I made sure there was absolutely NO confrontation and that I said nothing questionable. Anyone that knows me knows that although I know how to vent, "act up" and "cut a fuss" I also can put on a very professional hat and walk the narrow line. It didn't matter several of my straight up narrow line posts were removed, and I was put on MODERATION. Unless someone was sitting online when all of this happened they had only one story to listen to, the one that the wizard was spinning. The intent was to silence me not censor me but the wizard forgot to share that with her one remaining manager so when the wizard returned she discovered about 30 of my TOTALLY APPROPRIATE posts were approved. there was a Christian music thread and my final "Ruby Red Slipper group" post was the lyrics to Casting Crowns IF WE ARE THE BODY. It's crowded in worship today As she slips in Trying to fade into the faces The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know Farther than they know CHORUS But if we are the Body Why aren't His arms reaching Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching And if we are the Body Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way There is a way A traveller is far away from home He sheds his coat And quietly sinks into the back row The weight of their judgemental glances tells him that his chances Are better out on the road CHORUS But if we are the Body Why aren't His arms reaching Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching And if we are the Body Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way Jesus paid much too high a price For us to pick and choose who should come And we are the Body of Christ Chorus (2x) If we are the body Why aren't His arms reaching Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching And if we are the body Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way Jesus is the way I was BANNED. If I had to be banned for a post.... heck yea I'll stand on that one! Within a couple of hours the "Ruby Red Slipper group" was closed, claiming that after 6 years the stress of putting the group in the hands of the two ladies that were putting their all into it making all it could be was too much for the wizard to handle blah blah blab.... All just a wizard tale as the group reopened 48 hours later to only those who would never question the power of the wizard. This was a pattern that the wizard has done thrice before. For many of us the Ruby Red Slipper story would end there..... ...but there was so much mess to clean up, There were women left locked on the outside, needing support, crying, some hurt by the only thing they thought they could trust in years. When a wizard uses labels such as support and or ministry in their description members are led to trust in ways they might not otherwise. Although not the wizard, I was left to answer for all she had done and to try and heal the wounds she inflected. Shortly after I received word that the "Ruby Red Slipper group" was gone my phone rang. It was a call of great distress from one who had all of her trust in a group that was gone, this woman called from a full blown anxiety attack, She was curled up on the floor when she saw my number on her bulletin board and called, She was crying and said I had to help her to pull it together before her husband got home in an hour, or he would shut off her internet for sure. In the course of the conversation I explained that it was not the wizard or the "Ruby Red Slippers" that were her support but the MEMBERS themselves and at that point I knew I had to pack up our toys and move to a new sandbox. I had the group up and running later that night, Mama right by my side helping every step of the way. The Shamaness was there too and very helpful as well, after taking her usual three days in bed with a headache and hives to recover from the whole ordeal. We took some time to re-group and heal before opening to the public. Now God's Big Sandbox is a top group gaining members each week never locked and we walk proud and strong just like Kellie Pickler in her Red High Heels!

Many of us have been in the "Ruby Red Slipper group" at one time or another but because we left at different times not everyone knows how we grew into our Red High Heels.

Last summer I found myself co-managing a group with several fine ladies and a "wizard" suffering from narcissism. Several of the members and management of the "Ruby Red Slipper" group of had very serious things going on, a tragic accident in the family, a battle with cancer, battles with severe depression and anxiety, a spouse with bi-polar disorder refusing medication, a recent widow and more. There was a reason each and every member of the "Ruby Red Slipper" group sought out a support group. As time went on more and more attention was focused upon the problems of the narcissistic wizard and the wizards search for a new castle in another land.

One day while looking for new and better backgrounds and websets to make the "Ruby Red Slipper group" a better place I clicked a magical link placed at the bottom of the page by none other than the wizard, this link took me to the other side of the rainbow to a very special group - THE PSP CLIQUE. I didn't know what this special place was until I joined and then I found out it was ran by none other than our very own Shamaness. When I was accepted I noticed the wizard was a member there as well but as soon as I posted a friendly hello I noticed the wizard vanished in a cloud of dust. As the magic wizard dust faded away I knew our relationship was forever changed and that my days in the "Ruby Red Slipper group" were numbered.

The thing with the "Ruby Red Slipper group" is that the wizard feels she owns everything and everyone and if you leave you have to leave your friends and all the support there, both given and received behind. That is a policy I never agreed with and a policy that kept me from accepting the management position that was offered to me for over a year.

I knew it was over, I also wanted to maintain contacts so two days later I used the group management settings to email a very respectful announcement of resignation quoting Ecclesiastes 3 and offering my contact information for anyone interested. I tried to send this though the system three times and three times it did not go through I took this as a sign from God that I was to see this thing through to the end. God does not bring us to it if he will not bring us though it. So I waited, and continued my management duties. Several times I sat down to write a letter of questioning the concept of ministry letter to the wizard but I felt led to avoid all confrontation, so this letter was never finished or sent.

Two weeks later another manager and I logged on to find an announcement that we had been removed from management. (emails followed but we discovered this online first) I didn't comment but the other manager confronted this unprofessional tactic and resigned. I didn't comment or resign as I was still feeling led to see this all though to the end. I made sure there was absolutely NO confrontation and that I said nothing questionable. Anyone that knows me knows that although I know how to vent, "act up" and "cut a fuss" I also can put on a very professional hat and walk the narrow line. It didn't matter several of my straight up narrow line posts were removed, and I was put on MODERATION. Unless someone was sitting online when all of this happened they had only one story to listen to, the one that the wizard was spinning.

The intent was to silence me not censor me but the wizard forgot to share that with her one remaining manager so when the wizard returned she discovered about 30 of my TOTALLY APPROPRIATE posts were approved. there was a Christian music thread and my final "Ruby Red Slipper group" post was the lyrics to Casting Crowns IF WE ARE THE BODY.

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveller is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgemental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way

I was BANNED.

If I had to be banned for a post.... heck yea I'll stand on that one!

Within a couple of hours the "Ruby Red Slipper group" was closed, claiming that after 6 years the stress of putting the group in the hands of the two ladies that were putting their all into it making all it could be was too much for the wizard to handle blah blah blab.... All just a wizard tale as the group reopened 48 hours later to only those who would never question the power of the wizard. This was a pattern that the wizard has done thrice before.

For many of us the Ruby Red Slipper story would end there.....

...but there was so much mess to clean up, There were women left locked on the outside, needing support, crying, some hurt by the only thing they thought they could trust in years. When a wizard uses labels such as support and or ministry in their description members are led to trust in ways they might not otherwise. Although not the wizard, I was left to answer for all she had done and to try and heal the wounds she inflected. Shortly after I received word that the "Ruby Red Slipper group" was gone my phone rang. It was a call of great distress from one who had all of her trust in a group that was gone, this woman called from a full blown anxiety attack, She was curled up on the floor when she saw my number on her bulletin board and called, She was crying and said I had to help her to pull it together before her husband got home in an hour, or he would shut off her internet for sure. In the course of the conversation I explained that it was not the wizard or the "Ruby Red Slippers" that were her support but the MEMBERS themselves and at that point I knew I had to pack up our toys and move to a new sandbox. I had the group up and running later that night, Mama right by my side helping every step of the way. The Shamaness was there too and very helpful as well, after taking her usual three days in bed with a headache and hives to recover from the whole ordeal. We took some time to re-group and heal before opening to the public.

Now God's Big Sandbox is a top group gaining members each week never locked and we walk proud and strong just like Kellie Pickler in her Red High Heels!

A diamond in the rough

HER STORY: She was picked up in a cucumber patch this summer by a family of five migrant workers when she wandered up to the cucumber picker on the farm. The workers are not taking her back to Mexico. She is EXTREMELY people friendly and playful (but plays rough) and was very terrified of my three cats. This has improved over the 6 days she has been here. No one is friends but they are tolerant of each other for the most part. They are now all eating from the same dishes and using the same shitter. She understands both German and English She is a real sweety, she is used to children ranging from 10 on up. Since getting here she has shown no interest in the outdoors and she has been happy eating dry cat food (Whiskas). But I think they fed her everything as she steals peanut butter sandwiches and watermelon. She is a lap cat with great markings and medium length hair. My husband insisted we re-home her A.S.A.P. but when I found her a good home he refused to part with her, Claiming SABRINA will love her.

CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW:

Miss me? Heck.... even I missed me!

Where I have been....

I was targeted for an attack in an online ministry I was helping to run and ended up on the outside looking in.... God as my witness I did none of the things I was banned for.....LOL she banned me for foolish quarrelling and I ignored each and every FOOLISH email she sent. There were NO argument or quarrels...LOL unless she was arguing with herself.....

Like so many group owners online, this one, "A" is a nothing but vindictive jealous control freak who chose to tear apart my friends in a way to get at me. If "A" wanted me gone for those made up paranoid delusions she had in her head, she could have just BANNED ME and I would have been gone, I would have been content to just stay on the rat boards and in the PSP group I had found and just play with the tags. Tags like the banner at the bottom of the page..... I have found I like making tags. But no, she had to pull yet another of her stupid dramatic closings, leaving folks stuck with their mouths hanging wide open... She did the same thing when I was homeless and living in that barn only I was still on the inside that time.

The worse case, was a member she whom she had promised there would always be a HSH , this is a member that had credited HSH with SAVING HER LIFE, a member who suffers from PTSD, a member from Canada who because "A" is too cheap to make a 3-way call, this was a member had my phone number as I had made the 3 way call to her... After she saw the HSH is closing it's doors after 6 years this woman was on the floor in a fetal position when she looked up and say my number on her bulletin board and called me screaming "How can she do this? She is a Ministry she can't just close her doors!" and that she had to gain control in the next 45 min or her husband would pull the plug in the Internet. Needless to say I did talk her down (with the help of her meds) Her husband was a little late that night.... He was surprising her with a new computer.... Can you imagine his reaction had he come home with a brand new computer to find his wife on the floor in a fill blown anxiety attack over pain she had suffered online? I don't even want to think about THAT. (Not to mention my husband who had never witnessed me in full crisis consoler mode, he was even a good boy and did not make one smart alek remark while I was on the phone) SHE is the reason I am now running a MSN group called Gods Big Sandbox, because she needed a safe place on the net to regain her trust, and she needed it immediately . She is doing much better now. PTL. Splits don't always go the way the splitter planned... Including myself I have ALL THREE of the HSH managers, leaving A to run her group alone.

As a matter of fact her kids and grandkids are in Ontario she and her husband are flew in from NEWFOUNDLAND and fatboy and I are had supper with them on Tuesday.


Right now our goal is to maintain our front page activity listing so we can get more members and each of us will then have to post less to stay there. We should be top 5 but there is a glitch in the system that is keeping us mid-page. When this is cleared up we will be placing about where HSH is in the listings so the other members will have the CHOICE to follow us. There is no being in 2 groups with "A" she is just too threatened by that. I ask no one to choose I am just an available choice. We will get them all in time (well the ones we want anyway). When we top her in the ranks she will complain to everyone and that will make them come check us out...LOL LOL LOL It is a Christian based group but it is really more about having fun I an trying to keep the things that might put folks "off" on threads they can choose not to look at. We had a retired (cuups) minister Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans join us the other day so it is bound to be a fun group.

Come give us a lookie-loo.... LOL if you decide to join in the fun there I have a shovel waiting for you!

one potato, two potato, three potato...

So the FATman comes home early yesterday due to the storms driving him out of the fields. He was starving and I am not accustomed to feeding him supper at the mid afternoon hour of 3:15pm.

You would never know that each morning I send this man off for the day with 4 sandwiches (2 meat, cheese and veggie wraps and 2 peanut butter and whatever else is handy sandwiches on whole or cracked wheat bread) 125gm (about 4 oz) of chips and at least three pieces of fruit. FATman comes in and hits the lunch meat, then grabs the peanut butter, honey and bread makes several sandwiches. That not being enough to fill him, he microwaves a package of hot dogs eating 9/12 on bread with the trimmings. The jokes that he does not need dinner fell upon deaf ears so a couple of hours later I made him 2 half pound burgers with cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce, mayo and catsup (and yes I fed him first as the Forman only holds 2 super burgs) 2 baked potatoes with chives and sour cream.................................................

My point and I DO have one, IS the man that complains when we don't have sour cream suddenly complains that he only likes his baked potatoes with butter and salt. So I repossessed potato #2 and gave him one of mine with just butter and salt which he didn't eat either..... So there MUST be a bottom to the PIT SOMEWHERE...

GOD FORBID he just be full....

Oh and BTW the two thin slices onions on the half pound hamburgers made him sick... because he sure DIDN'T EAT TOO MUCH! Well whatever... he slept it off. It's "funny" how his clothes keep shrinking *eye roll* even being washed in cold water and being hung to dry...