Where the F@*% is Boland?

Calf Fry 2007 has come and gone. For the most part is was a fun time. I missed Pat, sorry PFG, and CCRW, again sorry, but what I did see was truly spectacular.

More on what I missed… Seems that Thursday night after I left some chick picked a fight with Jo and well, Jo ended it. Then Friday night some chick deliberately poured beer on Jo’s head, twice. Well, that did NOT go over well. From what I hear Security was called and psycho chick minded her manners after that. Saturday night Jo truly was a “Rock Star” literally, many drunks were high fiving her because they had witnessed the bar brawl from the previous night. The good news is that a couple of the impressed males were actually cute – as Missy would say. =)

Now to what I witnessed: Saturday began very well. We had a drink, then ate our share of testicles and drank some more. Johnny Cooper began the day. Sorry no pics of him, he is all of 12 and for a white boy, he had a nice afro, not to mention the 1970’s style sunglasses that were two sizes too big and his grandpa, dad and two great uncles were on stage as his band. The kid can sing though and actually made an old Barbara Mandrel song rock. Keep your eyes on him, once he reaches puberty he might be something. Then No Justice took the stage. I’ve liked them the other two or three times I’ve seen them. They are good musicians and really pretty too! Next came Kevin Fowler, I always forget that I really like Fowler. He is very country, very funny, and ROCKS.

Ok, so the night has been fun, we’ve drank our share of Stillwater 3.2 water. We’ve been primed for the main attraction, the crowd is going wild, I’ve had to pee for at least an hour but afraid to lose my spot – so I sucked it up and took it like a true Boland fan. Then Boland is introduced, the crowd is going wild – a man that looks like Boland comes on stage. Something odd – he has this, uhm smile (I use that term loosely) on his face. I thought “Oh he is happy to be home” turns out, he really tried to smile all the way thru his set. It was so very painful to watch. If you closed your eyes you knew you were in the presence of the man, but when you opened your eyes again, well that alien was on stage. It seemed as though Jo and I were the only people there that noticed this. Classic Boland comes out on stage, sings his songs, smokes his cigarettes and the only movement is to go get a drink of beer or take a shot of jager being offered by a fan. Where the hell did this dancing around, smiling, really creepy guy come from? All the way home I was perplexed over it. Perhaps his new label is having him try new things, or perhaps it was the rehab. My money is on the wife. Marriage is a really bad thing and this is proof. He had no cigarette and no beer. There is nothing on http://www.thestragglers.com/ site to indicate any of these changes. His music is still the BEST, he still sounds the same, so I encourage you to buy The Bourbon Legend if you haven't yet. And if he is in your neighborhood, please go see the Ghost haunting the honky-tonk's because he really is doing it the way Hank did. You will be well met indeed. I’ll have to take a leave of absence and begin following him around to get to the bottom of this.

But first I’m going to eat lunch, and read some more of Lisey’s Story.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye…

Calf Fry Night 1

The first night of the Calf Fry was fun. I had totally underestimated my ability to sleep during the day. After working practically all night Wednesday, I arrived at my very quiet apartment around 11:30am on Thursday. The plan was to sleep until about 6pm then head out to Stillwater. Well, I absolutely could not sleep. So by the time I arrived at the party, my body was already beginning to rebel. I found the gang at front center, where I knew to look. There was an empty place right by the fence and I asked the really tall girl if it was "reserved" she said yes her sister and friend had gone to get beer. I told her I would move when they returned, and she was shocked when I was true to my word. So shocked in fact that she made room for me next to her! And then when Jo came back from her visit with Pat, my new friend was about to kick Jo's ass because she mistook the Green Glow friendliness for something more like me being harrassed by a tall blonde. Should I say that we were very well met?

Reckless Kelly rocked, of course. Then I found myself alone with, well not one of my favorite people and realized I really had to pee. By the time I made it to the bathroom, for some reason I don't think they had the mile long row of port-a-john's this year, I was about to pass out. So I made my way to the parking lot and then back to Tulsa. Slept for 2 hours, if you don't include the naps on the turnpike, then back at the station and ready to roll by 2:15am.

Needless to say - I slept from around 1pm - 9pm and then back asleep by 10:30 and didn't wake until around 7 this morning! I did miss Night 2 of the Calf Fry - sorry Cross Canadian!

Something else to note, Thursday morning Nannie finally decided to go to the doctor to check out her horrible cough that I've been railing her about for over a week. Turns out she is close to having pneumonia. The aggravating thing is that instead of calling someone that lives within a few minutes of her, she called and left me a message. So after talking to her, I immediately called Patty. Please keep her in your conversations with you higher power.

Long Days and Pleasant Nights to ye...

May Book Begins

Day 1 of the 20 Counties in 20 Days road show went well. It was very chilly and at one point rainy. The crew was pleased with the breakfast, thank heavens. Lol The other news is that I now get to be a part of that crew for the whole month.

The big story is Toby and Millie’s visit to Aunt Patty and Uncle Jimmy’s. They had not been in Aunt Patty’s car 5 minutes when she received her first spanking. It wasn’t her fault that Aunt Patty left her neckbrace in the back window – and Millie felt the need to chew on it. They are having fun playing outside and keeping tabs on the bird.

Pat Green is at the Calf Fry tonight. Pictures will be here tomorrow!

Long days and Pleasant nights…

Porn is backing up on the Internet...

I am never disappointed by Dr. Gregory House. Last night we learned that "porn doesn't download itself" and if your best friend is dating the woman you want, well you need to go condo shopping.

I would give you a Lisey update, but last night my new eyes were killing me and I took them out. I was going to read using the old faithful glasses, except my eyes didn't want that either. So the puppies and I watched House and then whatever was on the History channel.

Anywho, it was thankfully a dreamless night. I didn't move until Millie began her whimpering that she needed to pee!

Long days and Pleasant nights to ye.

The Week in Advance

This is going to be a very quick blog, just to keep all of you (lol) informed and let you know that I am still alive and kicking.

First, the week is going to be full. The May Book begins Thursday. This is the month that sets all our sales guidelines. Very important. We are embarking on a month long tour of the viewing area in an actual RV! Sean is letting me go on the first 2 just to help out where needed. Woo Hoo.

This weekend is the Calf Fry. I am 2 sizes smaller than I was the day I turned 41, tanned and ready to party! Also, Saturday night I'll be center stage, boot touching close to Boland...right Jo?

Now I'm off to continue following Lisey's story. When I last left her she had just arrived at her older, nutty sister's house to find two of her sisters covered in blood, at the hand of the older nutty sister. I'm sure it will get crazier, gorier, and absolutely terrifying by the end of the story. This is King, afterall...

Long day and pleasant nights to ye

Blessings

A week like this makes me stop and think and count all my blessings. It’s only Wednesday and already the week seems to be sooo long.

Monday was the next to last radiation treatment on Nannie. I had the privilege of having lunch with her, Patty and Jimmy. It isn’t every 41 year-old person that can say she had lunch with her Grandmother, and they weren’t at a nursing home. I am blessed to still have my Nannie. She still lives on the farm in the home she’s had since, oh I think the year I was born. Her mind is sharper than mine and her health is pretty damn good for someone that has been around 85 years.

Then the shooting at the college in Virginia happened. Of course the first thing I did was call Nicole. Then after I found out the second person killed was a resident assistant trying to protect a resident, and the building where the worse part of the shootings took place was an Engineering building, well, I almost sat down and cried.

I am blessed to have a wonderful, strong-willed, intelligent daughter that is a perfect fit as a Resident Assistant. Another blessing is that her soul mate is equally, if not more intelligent and an Engineering student that actually attends those 8am classes. So naturally my mind goes to the “what-if it were OU” mode.

Then, yesterday, OU is placed on full lock-down because a person was seen carrying a suspicious object. Ryan was in class when this happened – early morning class – he called Nicole and suggested (you don’t “tell” Nicole anything) that she stay in her room. Another Blessing – Ryan. Fortunately, it was only an umbrella; everyone is on pins and needles right now.

Last evening Nannie called me, she was a bit upset. She had an eye appointment today in Tulsa that she had already rescheduled once or twice and there was no one to take her. She apologized for calling me, however, I have told her time and again that she can always call me. What else is vacation time for? Anyway, I had another blessing, more valuable time with my Nannie. We had a wonderful time. Even had lunch at the Cracker Barrel.

Wonder what blessings tomorrow will bring…

I'm No Republican... but...

Ok, so Jo sent me an email that I barely even looked at other than to see that at the end it said something like contact your elected officials, here's what you should say... Since it came from Jo, I figured I had better do it or I would most definately be hearing about it for at least the rest of my life. So, I did it and received an automated response, or so I thought. We were semi-impressed. For those of you who haven't seen it, I actually have a letter written to me and signed by then President Bill Clinton, helps to be persistent in your correspondence. Anywho, tonight when I opened my email, to my astonishment, I actually had a reply from Congressman Sullivan talking about the issue I sent. WOW! So here it is...

April 18, 2007
Ms. Tammie Kolker
7251 South 92nd East Avenue, Apartment 8
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74133
Dear Tammie,
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding the decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) regarding the determination of rates and terms for webcasting. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

On March 2, 2007 the CRB, a federal agency created by the United States Congress, was tasked with updating royalty compensation rates for music performers which expired at the end of 2005. These updated and subsequently increased royalty fees are to be paid by Internet Radio stations for streaming music during the years 2006-2010. The CRB's three-judge panel, created to set digital music royalty rates, decided to increase the rates retroactive to 2006 for companies that stream music over the Internet. The increase will apply to small and large broadcasters alike, as well as Internet simulcasts of traditional over-the-air radio stations.

Currently, Internet broadcasters must pay royalties for the use of a song to music publishing organizations like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Media, Inc. (BMI) for the public performance rights to the song itself. Additionally, they must also pay royalties that compensate the performers of the music. However, traditional over-the-air broadcasters are only required to pay for the performance rights to a song. They are not required to pay royalties to performers. The CRB's decision to raise the music performer compensation royalties, which only Internet broadcasters must pay, is creating what some perceive as an unfair imbalance in an environment where the ultimate goal should be an ability for Americans to have fair access to music, while allowing those with legitimate intellectual property rights just compensation.

As a result of this decision, parity in radio rates has come in to focus and been addressed in Congressional hearings regarding the direction of the future of radio. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I too am a proponent of innovation and share your belief that we should accelerate technological advancement in a fair and balanced manner. As issues regarding the future of radio come before me, I will keep your thoughts in mind and continue to fight for technological progress, innovation, and fairness.It is an honor to serve you in Washington. If you would like more information on this issue, or would like to share your thoughts with me via e-mail, you may visit my website at sullivan.house.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me again should you have further concerns on federal legislation or programs.

Spring Fever

Woo Hoo! Spring is back. After spending almost all day Saturday on the couch under a blankie cuddling with two adorable dachshunds… Sunday we had to make up for it. So while mommie wash, folded and put up clothes; cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the living, bed and bathrooms; bleached counters – you get the picture, the babies took in the sun. Ok, gotta get more stuff done…

Bad Breath Banishers - for dogs

I'm going to try this for Toby. If you've met Toby, you understand. I'll let you know the results...

2 cups brown rice flour
1 Tablespoon activated charcoal (find this at drugstores, not the briquets!)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2/3 cup low fat milk
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Combine flour and charcoal. Add all the other ingredients. Drop teaspoonfuls on oiled sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake 15-20 minutes. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Dog Food Recipe courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com

Dear Dogs and Cats...

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years, canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough! To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Usually come when called
5. Never drive your car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Easter is for Family

This was a good weekend. The babies and I trekked down to Norman. We had fun. Nicole has a fish tank under her tv. Millie spent most of our visit trying to catch a fish. She scratched, licked, bit and barked and never managed to catch one.


Toby relished in his time with his sissie. He napped next to her and they even played with his new orange chew toy. He even “claimed” her bathtub no more than ten minutes after we arrived. Other than that they were both on their best behavior. =)

I was experiencing a rare allergy attack and took some sinus and cold stuff to help me sleep. Nicole couldn’t get me to move, so she spent the night with a friend. The babies and I woke up around 8am. Went out to potty and managed to lock ourselves out of the building. We had no phone, no keys (not even to my car) and I was wearing pj’s with only a light jacket. What a dilemma. So, upon finding the predicament, we found a piece of sidewalk to sit on and waited. Fortunately, Nicole came home only a few minutes later.

Easter service was nice. St. Luke’s at OU is a small church, which was a nice change of pace. The priest was wonderful. The songs were nice, it was a totally pleasant time. I might only be thinking it was so nice because I was finally at holy communion with my wonderful daughter, but then maybe not. Then we had lunch and the babies and I made the journey home. I’ll have pics as soon as Nicole gets them to me.

Millie has been asleep almost since we left Moore. She only woke up long enough to eat dinner – then she had to potty, otherwise she has been under a blankie, sound asleep.

The only other notable occurrence over the weekend was my visitation from Pat Green. That’s right, I said Pat Green. I’ve been pondering whether to go to all 3 days of the Testicle Festival or just Saturday. Well, last night, Pat Green came to me in a dream, and we discussed my thoughts. He assured me that by going to see him in concert and enjoying myself, I will not be considered un-loyal to JB. And if I go see him and stay the night with the gang, I can always go on over to Enid and do some family time Friday, then come back for Boland on Saturday.

You know what this means? I HAVE to go see PFG now. After all, he did take time to visit my dreams.

Long nights, pleasant days to ye…

The Gunslinger Born

I was married to a comic book collector for 10 years and never understood the NEED to have comic books on at least a monthly basis and most of the time, a weekly basis. I never understood the addiction and the strength that addiction has over ones soul. That is I never understood the addiction until approximately 3 weeks ago. Upon reading the first Dark Tower edition released by Marvel Comics, I seriously couldn’t wait until the next one came out. I had actually placed the books back in their plastic covers and placed them in a place where no harm would come to them. Then I caught myself doing the strangest thing, I would take the books out and just look at them. Just hold them and absorb the whole “Kingness” of them. Do ya kennit?

The realization of my addiction hit tonight. I found out earlier in the day that our supplier had delivered the latest volume. If I did not go fetch my copy tonight, it would be a week before I could get it. So what do I do? Of course I rush home from work, walk and feed the dachsies, feed myself and drive off to Claremore. It wasn’t just any drive. I had to drive in a weird April Snow storm. I calmly waited outside a movie theater where the transaction was to take place, in the freezing snow. I have never felt more like a junkie in my life. And yet, I am confident that this won’t be the last time I go to extremes for my SK fix.

Go Your Course In Peace...

KITT Being Auctioned

Who's with me, let's buy KITT! My jaw fell to the floor when I saw this on the headlines. As most of you girls my age, I was glued to the TV once a week to watch David Hasselhoff (pre baywatch) and KITT go on many capers. I always wanted a car that would talk to me, and it wasn't in my head.

So, the sale price is only $149,995. I have $2.00 to start the whole thing. I'm sure we can have the full amount sometime before the end of the day.

New Friends are Fun

The weekend was filled with adventure and fun. Saturday we cleaned house and washed and folded clothes. Then for fun we planted flowers. Aunt Patty stopped by. She had a new aunt with her. Millie loved Aunt Wanda and Uncle Bud. However, she did whine when Uncle Jimmy ignored her.


Sunday was even more fun. We went over to Angie and Cocoa’s house. Carole was there too. The six of us went for a walk to the park and then back. Then Millie and Angie ran and ran and ran like a couple of wild dogs. The best part is that Angie and Cocoa asked us to visit again. Hope you enjoy the pics of everyone, if you look close Millie is telling Carole a secret in one of the pics.

We were also finally able to listen to the MP3 player outside without having the earphones in. I’m sure you know who we were listening to. =)