The crazed world of Hazel-land

So the other night, I'm hanging out over at Ria's with the kids while she and Tim are out celebrating his birthday and admiring all the cute stuffed animals that Miss Emme has.... wondering if getting crazed-dog Hazel a larger stuffed animal would serve as a companion for her and calm her down some.... So I found a cute nice sized Easter Bunny I've had in storage and take it out for her to get acquainted with.... well when I came back downstairs after being up on the computer for awhile, this is what I found.... a triumphant little beast, proud of what she'd accomplished in a matter of minutes. That my friends is called "conquer and destroy" in the world of Hazel-land. Keep all other pets and small children away - - Hazel-land is a dangerous place.

Chesney... up close....

So we worked our first stint as "security" at the FargoDome last Sat nite when Kenny Chesney was in town. I pretty much knew what to expect, but Richie never having been to any kind of concert before,was one nervous rookie! After our "briefing" meeting with supervisors, we were off to our assigned areas. Being new, I figured we'd end up in the nose bleed section somewhere helping those with "beverage issues" up and down the stairs. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find we were put right on the floor... and not just anywhere....but right in what they call "the mix"...where the sound system folks run the show! Richie was about 20 feet away from me against the outer rail of the area and I was put at the entry... and told "listen, don't move even 2 ft. away from this entry... you have to make sure that absolutely no one gets in and out of here other than Kenny's sound/light people". OK, so I figure this will be an easy job.... what they didn't tell me was that short, skinny, little Mr. Kenny starts his show from that area.... I thought something might be up when a bunch of hunky bouncer type guys were prowling around me... and then several black equipment boxes got pushed in... next thing I know the lights go dim... and a large cable with a black metal aerial chair with a curtain around it gets lowered right next to me... and out from the table behind me pops KENNY!!!! two feet away! they strap him into that aerial chair and I hear him telling them to make sure it's secure all while I've got bunches of screaming girls charging at me to get inside the gate!! I remember spreading my arms out and telling them to "get back" while my supervisor came running over to help me. I look at RIchie down the rail and he's just standing there in awe with those silly looking earplugs he had in! flourescent green ones I might add ... sticking out like pencil stubs!!! He also had a great job of the night... one of Kenny's stage hands who looked just like Bob Dylan came up to him and said he needed help finding some women to take up to the sand bar area... the place RIA WAS LUCKY enough to get into right next to the stage.... He told RIchie his mission was to help him find tall, skinny, gorgeous women with their boobs hanging out.... cuz that's what Kenny likes to look down at from stage...... hummmmmm...... no wonder Richie had a smile on his face all night long... after the show when I asked him why that stage hand kept coming up to him with blue sand bar wristbands he explained this all to me.... so I took the plunge and asked him.... "did you find any for him then?" to which Richie proudly responded "Yup I found at least two of 'em".... I had to laugh..... over 14,000 people there... most of them young, attractive girls fitting this description and he could only find two of them.... guess I'm the lucky one huh?

Aaaahhhh.... Living at the Zoo

WIth all the rain, Richard's had plenty of "off" days from pouring cement and filled his time with working on the flowers. Was nice to return to the traditional red geraniums this year. But after seeing Ria's gorgeous planters, I think she should come and do mine every year :-)

I found this lovely little duck family outside my townhouse door on Friday morning when I was taking Hazel for her 6:30 am walk... if it isn't turtles at the lake outside my door, it's duckies

in town!.

WHAT THE ???????

I was lucky enough yesterday to have the day free to spend on my new project.... getting the summer cabin set-up. It was a very interesting day. Made me realize once again, what a rookie Rpchie is at just about any kind of life other than "working 24/7". The guy is just a human SPONGE for information. Luckliy, the man we rent from is what I've come to realize as "Art Jr."..... he keeps the little resort as close to perfection as possible.... He's got a spray for this, a potion for that, and a tonic for just about anything else you'd need! He loves to talk to anyone who will listen, and once he gets Richie's attention, I'm a free woman for the next few hours! Yesterday afternoon, Richie sat near the water with Art Jr. learning all about where the walleyes are biting on Lida (he's promised to take Richie for his first ever fishing trip next weekend, and Richie spent the better part of this morning trying to buy a life jacket ... something he said he'd never own as he was never going in a boat again) He then learned about what those sticky circle things are on trees (after he put his hand up against one) thus getting the Art Jr's. version of " army worms are what eat the leaves off the trees so you wrap them with this sticky stuff so they die....after which he learned why the dragonflys are out at the lake (mosquitoes have now hatched so the dragonflys are there to eat them!) After Art Jr. teaches Richie about all of these things, Richie then comes to me and starts trying to educate me on such things..... It's a hoot! Anyway, he missed out on the most exciting part of the day! Richie left at 3:30 to head back to town with Miss Hazel (who's having a horrific time adjusting to "lake life" and other dogs on the resort) I spent the rest of the afternoon refreshing the bedroom and windows with a fresh coat of white paint. When I came outside the cabin about 8pm THIS is what I nearly stepped on right near the back steps! O M G !@ ! I thought I left those back at Stony Bar when we moved away in 1985!!!!! What's up with snappers laying their eggs right by MY cabin! and there was not only one of these creatures out last night... there were two others over on the side of the cabin! Where was my Art Jr. THEN with all his potions, lotions and "fixers"... ? ? After I let out a sufficient amount of screams from the surprise... I decided I might as well take a pic or two so Richie could see our the houseguests he missed by leaving early.

she must be a TEENAGER...

so it was Fargo Forum night last week at the RedHawks game with complimentary tickets and hot dog meals so we grabbed the grandkids and ran to the game..... it was brrrrrrrr... COLD! as you can see, it didn't stop the kids from wanting a snowcone....

anyway, this is us at the game.....

AND THIS PIC IS KATELYN AT THE GAME .......

and as you can see from this picture, Katelyn and her friend sat a few seats away from old granny and gramps and the rest of her family..... hummmm.....

guess at age 14, that's to be expected :-)

Woof Woof for Jake!!

This is Miss Hazel glued to the TV watching her new favorite show....The Bachelorette. Since we've finally gotten some new living room chairs, she's thinking watching TV is pretty dang fun! She knows Richie's asleep so she sneaks up on the chair without getting in trouble, and starts to dig for the blankie so I'll come wrap her up with it. Let's hope Jillian has a brain and picks Hazel's favorite so far..... that stud-muffin Jake. All's she and I can say is "woof-woof" ! !

She's all yours Katelyn ....

Katelyn told me the other day it was time to update my blog.... my response? Why? I have absolutely nothing to blog about that would be of any interest to anyone. So just in case anyone still checks this blog, I thought I'd let you know not much has changed in our disaster of trying to parent this animal we chose. Since warmer weather arrived, Miss Hazel has decided it's much more fun to go "take care of her business" over in the long weeds of the field near our house. Being relieved of course that she finally "gets it" that she "does that over there" I have been happy to oblige her and head on over every time we take her out. THat all changed earlier this week though.... see that little creature laying on the cement? Yup, that's what Miss Hazel came out of the weeds with in her mouth... ISHTA!! My little princess puppy with a very dead silvery, shiner of a minnow sticking out her front teeth.... I had to put my freshly manicured fingernails deep inside and touch that sucker to get it out! Now if that had been a dead mouse........