Critter Gitter

We have a critter in our attic. An unidentified critter - could be a raccoon or a possum or maybe a squirrel - but it's definitely up there because we hear it scratching around, and it has left some critter poop around in the attic. (I suspect it is a possum because we've had to get a possum out of our attic before - oh the critter stories I could tell!)

So we borrowed Bubba's Dad's trap - affectionately called the Critter Gitter. Bubba's Dad had a squirrel problem a few years back and trapped quite a few of them in his Critter Gitter, so we know it is an effective means of ridding our attic of critters. Brave Hubby set it all up this weekend, leaving a trail of dog food right into the trap, with a pile of dog food and a cinnamon roll at the back. Last night we checked it, and apparently we have a clever critter on our hands - he ate all the dog food all the way into the cage, up to the thing he has to step on to shut the door - but then backed out and left the rest, including the cinnamon roll! It's like he knew it was a trap! So we re-baited and will try again. In the meantime I hope he doesn't come crashing thru the ceiling and land in my bed with me - THAT would be bad.

Idol Gives Back

I cried my eyes out while watching American Idol tonight. No, not because my favorite contestant went home - in fact, no one went home tonight! Tonight was a special fund-raising event called Idol Gives Back, where they raised money for impoverished children in the USA and in Africa. It was quite the star-studded two-hour event, but the images they showed of the children in Africa who are orphaned by AIDS, some dying of AIDS or malaria themselves - children and families in Africa AND in our own United States who have NOTHING, who cannot read, who live in squalor and do not have enough to eat - it broke my heart. At times I couldn't bear to watch anymore. But I couldn't bear not to. Was this the emotional response they were going for? Absolutely. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. But I hope everyone else that was watching did, too. We all know there are horrible conditions in this world, but to see them in front of your eyes that way - well, maybe we all need that kind of awareness every now and then. If that's what it takes to get people to open up their hearts and help (yes, that also means opening up their wallets), then it's a good thing. Millions of dollars were raised tonight to help these children. Will it save them all? No. But if you can help save ONE LIFE, then it is so worth it. While some have criticized American Idol for jumping on the philanthropy bandwagon, I applaud them. They have made a difference in this world, not just by giving us pop stars - but by giving people hope.

It's about time!

Last night on American Idol, Sanjaya finally went home. Even if you don't watch the show, you have surely heard the media hype over this strange 17-year-old with the wild hairstyles who over-stayed his welcome on the show. From an article on MSNBC:

Sanjaya Malakar had more admirers, or “admirers,” than would ordinarily surround someone of his caliber in a competition like this one. Some liked his personality, his constantly changing hairstyle, or the fact that he was an underdog. Some were rooting for him because they thought it would be funny to have a lesser talent win the whole thing. And some probably just liked the way he sang.

Whatever the motivation, the story of Sanjaya has eclipsed everything else in the “Idol” universe over the past month. He’s been mentioned on just about every entertainment program in the country, from talk-show television to satellite radio to the blogosphere. At 17, he’s a lock to have a shot at a career in entertainment if he wants it, since his name recognition alone will make him among the most sought-after TV guest stars over the next few months.

But this week he was so bad that it was almost as if he was trying to sing badly. America finally had enough. He's outta there.

So we're down to the Top Six - I'm sticking with my original prediction that Melinda will win it all, but I'm also rooting for Blake and Jordin. However it turns out, they have all launched music careers from the show. Which reminds me, I think I'll go buy Chris Daughtry's CD today....

I'm in love.

Today I officially met my new nephew, Drew Bear - the precious son of Bubba and Katie Lady. I have to say I am THE proudest aunt in the world! It has been so long since I have held a baby in my arms, smelled his sweet neck, and pressed my cheek to the top of his fuzzy head. I can't have any more babies of my own, but the baby of my brother is the next best thing! As my kids told me tonight, I "hogged the baby"! I just didn't want to let go of him! He loves me, too - we talked - he smiled and cooed at me - even laughed when I said things particularly funny. I told him all the fun things we would do together when he gets a little older. It's gonna be great. When he got tired I soothed him to sleep, and he took a nap lying on my chest. He is my new love.

Yeah, what Ken said.

So they fired Don Imus. While I agree that what he said was very ugly, I'm not sure he should have been fired (I think the 2-week suspension would have been enough). A letter in the Houston Chronicle expressed very well the way I feel about it.....

If the Rev. Al Sharpton is so offended by remarks made regarding some young black women by Don Imus, why isn't Sharpton out campaigning against rappers? On any given day, you can find a rapper referring to young black women in terms even worse than what Imus called them. Why doesn't Sharpton campaign against this violence against women? Why isn't he sticking his face in front of a TV camera, calling for them to lose their recording contracts and be punished?
Or is it only white people who are not allowed to make these kinds of remarks? Isn't that rather racist? If it is wrong for Imus to demean young black women, then it should be just as wrong for rappers to do it, as well. Where's Sharpton's fairness?
KEN DAVIS Houston

I don't want to come off as racist, because I'm not. But the guy's got a point!

Family Roots

It has been about 9 months or so since my grandmother passed away. Years before she died she started divvying up her things amongst the family members - most of it given away when she moved from her house to an apartment, a little more when she moved to an assisted-living facility, a little more when she went into the nursing home. I received the things that meant the most to me - her spoons collected from all her vacation destinations, the twin spindle beds that Bubba and I would sleep in when we went to visit her, the gumdrop tree she would always put out at Christmas, her Blue Danube dishes. Last weekend my parents took a visit to see my aunt - Dad's sister - and they took some time to sort thru more of Maw Maw's things (she never threw anything away!). It was mostly knick-knacks, old letters, and some great old pictures. To me they brought the most precious treasure of all -the family geneology, and memories hand-written by Maw Maw of her childhood and young adult life. I have pored over all of these papers for hours tonight. I am fascinated. From me, it is seven generations back that my family was in Ireland. I learned that from Ireland the family mostly settled in Mississippi and Tennessee before coming to Texas. There are fascinating stories within all these papers, and the OCD in me is coming out, wanting to organize it all and document everything in an orderly fashion. I want to do more research. It's a project I look forward to getting into!

But the most precious stories are the ones such as these, written in my grandmother's hand....

"I remember one time that Papa sent Jane and Clarice (Maw Maw's sisters) to bring some cows home to milk. They let me go along. Papa had told us not to ride the cows, but I am sure I begged to ride so they put me on one. We were going down the lane when the cow saw an open gate and bolted through the gate and I fell off. I was afraid Papa was going to whip me so I made a big deal of hurting and crying. I got by with it that time."

Happy Easter

Maundy Thursday

Bubba's Dad has a bit of a scheduling conflict tomorrow - his Baptist Sunday school class is having a special Maundy Thursday communion at one of the members' houses. It's also the meeting of the Keg of the Month Club that he's been enjoying the past few months. Oh, what to do?

I told him he should go to the Keg of the Month Club, leave a little early, and show up at his Sunday school class with beer on his breath, slurring, "Is it Maundy, or is it Thursday??"

Opening Day!

Baseball is back, and our Houston Astros played the Pittsburg Pirates tonight at Minute Maid Park. Unfortunately, they lost the opener - gotta do something about Lidge!! But that's OK - we've got the whole season ahead of us! Bring out the peanuts and Cracker Jacks - it's gonna be a great year!