Out of the mop bucket and into the frying pan

What an interesting thought process this is. I have been given an idea, and my mind is going through spins and whirls trying to figure all the intricate details.

A client has asked me if I know someone who would be willing to come in a couple times a week and put together a few days worth of dinners at a time for him and his wife. Which has lead me to the first thought: Well, sure, I can do that! Followed closely by: I'm working 35 hours a week and I can't add in any more hours, besides after I clean all day, I'm dirty and sweaty and I don't want to cook until after I have a shower. Then: How could I turn my cleaning business into a cooking business, make the same or better money, and have more satisfaction in my working day than I have now?

WELL....there's the rub right there in a nutshell.
1)HOW to get away from cleaning, that would mean selling my client list and my supplies to a very very very good cleaning person who would be as reliable and contientous and hard-working as I am.
2) HOW to go to a person's house - use their supplies and food and put together a few days worth of dishes in bakable or micro-wavable dishware. This would need to take into consideraton their dietary needs, taste, and ability to work an oven or microwave.
3) HOW to make as much or more money than I am now, and keep from turning the 'mop shoulder' I'm experiencing now into the 'repetative motion disorder' of constant cutting and washing and prepping of food products...
Hmmmmmmmmm she says... what a thinker this is.
From my management accounting classes I learned the cost/benefit ratio approach to any given situation, so I'm going to lay all that out on paper for my thought process to continue. (I have changed the title to benefits/bullshit analysis).
Any input from fellow bloggers would certainly be appreciated, because I know some of you are going to think outside the pan and help me put thoughts into the plan that I might miss on my own. Thanks in advance!!

What the HECK was that noise???

Well, guess what?? There are living, breathing rattle snakes in Washington!!

Yesterday Chris and I were taking a couple-hour hike out in the desert lakes area around Quincy, we left the house about 7PM, and we both knew it would be getting dark before we got back to the truck. The hike to the lake and back is about 5 miles, so no huge deal, the trails are pretty flat and very well marked, and there's really no way to get lost as all the trails eventually lead back to the parking area. The area to the sides of the trails are mostly sagebrush and open ground to the canyon walls all around. It's really beautiful out there.

So - after we rested and drank some water and listened to the bull-frogs in the lake, we started back, we were treated to a seranade by the canyon group of coyotes and as we got about half way back I heard this horrible noise over to my right. I looked down just quick enough to see a rattler coiling and ringing that rattle like it was the last thing on earth this creature was going to get to do!!! I did the girl thing and skipped to the left and ahead out of the strike zone.

Well, that's about as scared as I can recall being in my 44 1/2 years on this earth. The snake appeared very very very large because it was coiling and rattling like that. I don't remember ever having that much adrenaline pumped into me in such a short time. I felt giddy and childish and held Chris's hand almost the whole way back to the truck. He asked me more than once to slow down and take deep breaths. He thought he saw ten more snakes on the way back, but they were all shadows on the path from rocks or roots. Of course he did his best to ally my fears by telling me that the first snake bite is usually a dry one, and normally they hit the ankles because that's the closest area to them (and since we had on our hiking boots we were probably pretty safe). He said it only feels like a razor cut...thanks Chris....yer a peachy helpful guy all the time.

So - in case anyone out there was wondering, yes, there are rattlers in Washington, I can attest to it personally. There were times over the years I thought I heard a rattler, but now I know for sure those were probably June bugs or something else, because it is a very distinct sound that you hear when its a rattler warning you to stay the hell away. Whew....I was glad to get back to the truck and climb inside out of reach!!

A correction, and taking further steps to find family

Well, I heard from my cousin Scott. He says Aunt Claudia told him that my dad's ex wife left HIM and took away the boys. He never saw them again, and never knew what happened to them. I didn't realize it was that way, I thought he left them... my mistake.
Realizing though what a violent horrible drunk he could be, maybe it's not hard to understand that she left and took her kids away for safety and sanity sake.
Meanwhile, I've gotten some good SOLID suggestions from Barkingloud on tracking down my family members, if they're alive and have listed information. He suggests that I go on live-map and list each name that I have and write all the addresses down, send a generic type letter to each one, hoping to find a relation, which I'm going to do.
My cousin also reminded me that my Aunt Claudia didn't speak to her mother (my 92 year old Gram) for over 13 years over a fight they had. It took the death of my grandfather and the two of them standing over the grave facing eachother to finally come to terms. After all that time they went back to speaking to eachother as though not time were lost at all.
I asked him to tell Auntie that I wasn't talking about them, or their home or their habits, and ask them to forgive me, just as Jesus says - forgive those that wrong you. We'll see if that flies. I'm not holding my breath. As long as I get to keep my cousin, I guess I'll have to be happy with that. I'd sure like to send her that Ben Harper DVD though, I know she'd enjoy the music on it. I'd also like to know if the CD's I left her work or if they went in the trash. Scott told me that she tossed the letters I sent to her, and likely took me off her incoming E-mail list so she's not getting any e-mails from me. Nice to know I'm in her junk pile.... nice.
Meanwhile, we're going to be taking a trip over the mountain soon to see my brother and his wife and meet the grandson. They haven't seen Fay since she was about a year old, so we'll take the kiddo along to meet her great uncle and second cousin. Can't wait to get over there and see him since his surgery. Bone spurs in his spine were removed...wow, huh?
Take care all and God Bless!!

Looking for unmet family members

Once upon a time, my 17-year old father was married to a young girl. Chuck and Patricia had three boys in quick succession: Chuck, Jr., Ron, and Mark Howard. This started sometime around 1952. Not long after the 3rd son was born, my dad abandoned Patricia and the three little boys who are my older half brothers. Chuck met my mother, Geri in 1958 in Ely, Nevada. They married in 1959 and had me in 1962. My other half brothers, Brian and Rick were living with my mom in Ely, the product of her short marriage to David Walker from Mulvane, Kansas. She was 19 and met David in New York City when she was on leave as a member of the Women's Army Corp.

It wasn't till I was in my teens that I learned that I had older half brothers, Chuck Ron and Mark. Whenever the subject was brought up with my dad, he became vague and sometimes pissed off that he was asked about his past.

After my dad passed away in 2004, I asked his mother if she could tell me anything about my half brothers, if she knew anything at all. Well, being as she's in her 90's now, I can understand how things that happened 50 years ago would cease to hold importance in her mind. No, she doesn't remember anything anymore - not their birthdays, the maiden name of their mother, nothing. I asked my aunt the same question, all she can remember - being that she was only a young girl then, is that Dad told her that she wouldn't be seeing her nephews anymore, and that was the end of the subject.

I got some kind help from Ron Franscell, blogger of fame @ underthenews.blogspot.com. He got me a phone number in Longmont Colorado for Charles D. Howard. Well, I called Chuck Howard of Longmont, and he's not my older half brother, he's nearly the age of my late dad, sorry wrong family. A few days ago I tried a Google search, came up with another Charles D. Howard, turns out after an e-mail back and forth that it's the same CD Howard from Longmont. Oh well. Meanwhile, Mr. Howard is going to forward what info I have to his brother-in-law who is doing geneology on the Howard family, he might be able to help locate my half brothers. I have done some sleuthing on my own. I tried the marriage license bureau in Denver, Colorado. Since Dad was a kid there, I figured he and Patricia would marry there, but there's no license listed in 1952. I've checked for information on the Mormon birth/death certificate website, but without more information to go on, it's a real hunt in the hay. I'll keep hunting however, I hope to find them before I'm too old to enjoy knowing them.

In the meanwhile, do any of you know Chuck, Ron and Mark? Not necessarily Howards, might have changed last names after being adopted by another husband of Patricia's? I'd sure like to know if they're out there somewhere, and would like them to know that they have a younger sister. I considered writing to Maury, but that TV reality stuff is just more than I really want to deal with.

I'm hoping with prayer and patience somewhere in the world my relatives will surface. The sad part will be explaining to them how their father never talked about them, never tried to find them, or searched for them in all the time I knew him. I never understood that, but I never really questioned him about it. He wasn't the questioning type.

Hope Grammie is enjoying the rain and Claudia is enjoying health and her Caroline. Ron is home from the Yukon, if you check his blog I'd be you'll enjoy the story of the Sourtoe Expedition. Take care.

Paging Ms. Naive... are you IN?

Have you ever played "Next Blog"? Well the other night Chris was sleeping and I was bored, and had read and commented on all twelve blogs on my favorite list, so I hit the Next Blog button up there. WELL HOWDY!! I got into Destiny and her pet Chance's blog. I thought NEATO a new pet blog, see what's happening in Destiny and Chance's world. Well, guess I should have figured SOMETHING was odd when Destiny talked about buying Chance an easel and paints, and talked about going out for a picnic and some painting on a beautiful cliff overlooking some natural area that's oh so pretty with pictures of a nice looking guy painting, and he's left-handed too! (obviously not a dog or a cat painting).
Next Chance is talking about his Mistress, and I thought OH NEAT, another talking pet. (See, on Gattina's blog sometimes one of the people talks like its their cat commenting, so I figured that's what's up here)... Right up to the picture of the same good looking guy - Chance- in makeup and a dress, then HE went into some REALLY REALLY graphic conversation about their sex life. OHHH MY GOSH, I was RED in the face, embarrassed even. NO, I didn't stop reading, heck, I was shocked and amazed, but I had to know if I was reading what I thought I was reading or if I was really just missing the point. Turns out, NOPE, I wasn't missing the point, this is some kinky situation between a dominant woman and her domestic sex-pet, Chance. ewwwwwwwwww. Even the comments were odd, but guess if you're into tying up and degrading your "pet" this is the place to go.
Please don't get me wrong, I've been around a couple of blocks in my lifetime, but never the S&M block, it just never seemed like love to me to be shackled, blindfolded and beaten, but heck, some people are just too kinked. There's lots of fun and amazing stuff in Next Blog land, betcha Miss Ann wouldn't go there, not even with two DooBees at her side!