Sunday, October 12, 2008

Skyler's First Deer

Skyler’s First Deer
Billy the Button Buck

Saturday, October 11, 2008, First Day of the Youth Gun Season:

5:00 - Alarms ring at the Grissom household. Skyler is a little slow movin as any 8 year old would be when they’re not a morning person. After a few minutes her excitement kicks in and she gets up and dressed quickly because she is looking forward to her first day out in the stand.
5:30 - Skyler, Dad and Mom are out the door and driving to the property where Skyler’s stand awaits. The moon is almost full this time of year, but by the time we start the long walk to the stand the moon is gone for the night so it is very, very dark. Skyler grabs mom’s hand and together they follow the shadowy form of dad as he guides their way. Just before they reach Skyler’s stand mom has to separate to go sit in another stand down the way as there is not enough room for 3 in the stand. Many goodwell wishes and hugs before mom watches Dad and Skyler make their way across the creek.
6:00 - Skyler and Dad make it to their stand and quietly wait for the sun to begin lighting the timers around them. As they wait Skyler lays her head on Dad’s shoulder and falls asleep - no doubt dreaming about the deer in her future. After quite a long sleep Skyler wakes up to a now bright woods. There had been no deer yet and the sleeping made the time pass quickly. Dad’s are good for more than rough-housing and piggy-back rides, this one makes a good pillow.
9:30 arrives and Skyler and Dad have not seen one deer. As this is the time we agreed would be a good time to leave and take a break Dad, Mom and Skyler all join up and make their way back home. Skyler is disappointed that she didn’t see any deer but we talk about going back out tonight and how surely tonight the deer will be moving.
After a break at home. . .
4:00 - Skyler, Dad and Mom again make their way out to the timber. This time there is plenty of light and we make our way single-file toward Skyler’s stand. The leaves sound like breaking glass under our feet and we are sure that every deer in the woods hears our approach. Again, mom goes off to her stands and Skyler and Dad go together to theirs. Skyler has a book along and plans on logging lots of minutes for her 3rd grade reading assignments. Once prime time comes Dad is just about to have Skyler put the book down in case a deer should come - when a 4-pointer appears at the edge of the timber. The movement that ensued, with Skyler taking her propped feet off of the railing and putting her book away and Dad trying to help get her rifle ready, was a little too much for this big pronghorn and he makes a quick get-away. Disappointed the two sit to wait some more. Just shortly before dark Skyler nudges Dad and tells him there is a deer coming. He asks her where it is and she is about to point when Dad tells her to stay still and they both look in the direction of this special deer making its way to them. This time they are both ready - everything happens in a fluid motion. Dad quietly hands the .45 caliber muzzleloader to Skyler and tells her to wait for him to get closer. Once he is just short of 10 yards, Dad makes a “bah” sound to stop his walk. Dad says “shoot now Skyler” she squeezes the trigger and a puff of smoke and long bang follow. Skyler immediately asks “did I get her?” and they watch the deer run about 25 yards before it falls to the ground. Skyler is so excited and begins to get down form the stand. Dad tells her to wait so that the deer has a few minutes to expire. Skyler begins singing the Lee and Tiffany song “Life is Good, Life is Fine” and is more excited than Dad has ever seen her. Skyler says that Dad was so happy he looked like a leprauchan who had just drank sour milk. I am not sure what that means but it means something to Skyler. Once they got down from the stand Skyler ran to see her doe. Upon getting to the deer they realize this isn’t a doe, but a button buck. When Skyler finds this out she is even more excited. She had said she wanted to shoot a button buck because their loins taste the best! After a photo session to get some great pictures they make their way up to meet Mom who is on her way down to see what happened. Skyler is yelling through the timber - “run faster Mom!”
She is so excited to show her deer off - it is a beauty! While Paul runs to get the truck Skyler and I start gutting him out. Skyler is so interested in learning all of the names for each organ and how they work. Once Paul gets back we finish getting the rest of the guts out and Paul carries Billy to the truck.
 

 

 

 
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Thursday, October 2, 2008

DAY 1 - October 1, 2008
4:30 a.m. - Wake up. Look to see if it is time to go hunting yet. Try to get back to sleep.
4:55 a.m. - Finally just get up before alarm - - can’t lay there any more. Get dressed for huntin - eat Cheerios (only 2 bowls - you don’t want to fill up when you are goin’ to the woods - - never know what might take place) - check online to see what is goin on in the world.
5:40 a.m. - Wake up Paul and give him a kiss good-bye. Jump in the truck and get to the woods.

6:15 a.m. - Make my way to the stand in pitch black darkness (was gonna bring a flashlight since I have never gone to this stand in the dark yet - but forgot it. . .I used it this a.m. while trying to find my hat in our bedroom w/o turning on the light).
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6:15 - 8:50 a.m. - saw two coons, many many squirrels and two deer. The first deer was a small 6 ptr. He was about 50 yards out just eating as he walked. He walked off but then returned about 20 mins. later and went off to my right - again about 50 yards out. Then, just as I decided it was time to leave (8:45) and tied my bow to the rope to lower it from my deer stand, in runs a decent sized doe. I will never know why she ran in as I waited and saw nothing following her.
8:50 a.m. - Out of my tree and walkin’ to the truck.
9:10 a.m. - just got into the truck and am driving home
9:11 a.m. - Quick call to Paul to let him know my huntin’ news.
9:15 a.m. - Call Jan at work to change work day from Thurs to Fri.
9:30 a.m. - Home - change out of huntin’ clothes

9:35 - 10:35 a.m.- Pay bills, List Gameboy on Ebay for Amy at work - eat the rest of my bowls of cereal - had to stop the tummy grumblin.
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10:35 a.m.- To town to run errands. Go to bank to cash checks that have been in my wallet for weeks. To Walgreens to get my free rebate stuff (foundation and cleanser this month). Talk to Ali on phone about tomorrow a.m.
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12:00 p.m. - Home. Fill out and mail in rebate form. Play ball with Shadow.
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12:14 p.m. - Charge phone.
12:15 p.m. - Shower, dress, hair, laundry - eat again. Opened INGDirect savings account (got $25 free!! Yippee). Listening to 104.9 to try and win Metallica tickets. Sort through Skyler’s school papers: recycle some, keep some, put some in to-do pile. Write check for school lunches. Balance checkbook.
2:25 p.m. - Change cat litter - oh boy.
2:30 p.m. Scrub basement stairs - pick up around house.

3:10 p.m. - Throw in a load of laundry.
3:20 p.m. - Try finding recipe for supper.
3:26 p.m. - Begin creating my own blog to put this on.
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3:45 p.m. - Skyler is home!! Skyler wants to wear the new makeup I got for free today. Help Skyler with homework.
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4:00 p.m. - Paul is home!! Get Paul some Dr. Pepper and help him find his facemask for hunting I just washed. Paul went to see if he could get the mole that has been digging in our yard - SUCCESS!! What a great hunter! Shadow got in on the fun too and showed what he can do if a mole ever attacks us.
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4:45 p.m. - Hang load of laundry on the line while Skyler helps me organize some of my paperwork.
5:00 p.m. - Checked out Biggest Loser online with Skyler since she had to go to bed at 8:00 and didn’t get to see who was voted off.
5:10 p.m. - Read this blog with Skyler - she was interested in what it said.
5:15 p.m. - Make supper for me and Skyler.
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5:35 p.m. - Make homemade chocolate chip cookes with Skyler.
While the batches of cookies were baking we went out and checked out the trees behind out house trying to find out how many trees had leaves starting to turn.
Shot my bow in between one of the other batches - all good kill shots - I’m ready to go.
Helped Skyler with her homework some more.
Talked with Skyler about issues at school. Wrote e-mail to teacher about issue and about not being able to help on Friday like I had planned.
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7:20 p.m. - Sky and I took pictures of the beautiful sunset - my camera doesn’t do it justice - but here is one of Skyler’s pictures.

7:25 p.m. - Got dishes in dishwasher and hand wash pots and pans.
8:00 p.m. - Talked on the phone with Megan A. for a while.
8:10 p.m. - Paul is back from hunting - he saw 7 - could have shot one for sure - the other would have been tough and the others were too far out.
8:20 - Played with Paul and Skyler on a fun worksheet.
8:25 - 8:45 p.m. - Getting Skyler to bed - read from Junie B. Jones, prayers, hugs and kisses.
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8:50 - Fold and put away laundry.
9:00 - Out to the garage with Paul to see what he is watching on tv.
9:15 - back in - give food and water to Shadow and Ki - get ready for bed.
That’s it until tomorrow.

DAY 2 - October 2, 2008
6:20 a.m. - Uh oh - we overslept. Get up with Paul and Skyler. Get partially dressed. . .Brrrr!! There is ice on the windshields this morning but it is 39 degrees - how does that work?
6:25 a.m. - Make Paul’s toast and English Muffins with butter. He is pacing the floor and about to leave. I tell him his breakfast is almost done so if he wants to get his coat on - breakfast will be ready. His response “It’s not f@+>ing winter.” Ah. . .mornings at the Grissom’s.
6:35 a.m. - Boot foul-mouthed Paul out the door - but not before reminding him of a “gasing” from him in our bed at about 4:00 which left me unable to get to sleep for about a half hour - I’m pretty sure our bodies smell like it since they were baking in the smell under the covers that whole time - nice. There really is no picture for that.
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6:40 a.m. - Start eating my Cheerios - gonna try for just 2 bowls again. Check online, read e-mails, check Ebay items.

7:10 a.m. - Skyler is playing with Kitty Ki on the stairs.
7:15 a.m. - Get ready with Skyler. Brush and floss teeth, brush hair, wash face, put in contacts. Look up a garage sale on mapquest that is in Taylor Ridge today.
7:30 a.m. - We were gonna go out and play catch until bus gets here - but noticed 3 deer in the back yard. Watched them until bus came

7:36 a.m. - Kisses and hugs - Skyler gets on the bus.
7:40 a.m. - I leave for Ali’s house.

7:50 - 9:10 - Hike with Ali and Lilly.
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9:25 - Go to a garage sale with Ali and Lilly - get boots for Sky and get a pan to list on Ebay.
9:30 - On my way to Davenport.
9:40 - Call Megan K to see how her first day out in the deer stand went.

10:00 - At Lad & Richards to get my carrot-orange colored hair back to a normal color. . .so much for saving money by colorin it myself.
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3:00 - Done with hair (whew, that took a while)- return Paul’s call. Get gas in Iowa since it is cheaper there (what is that about?).
3:30 - Finally back home - hair isn’t orange any more - Yippee!! Check through mail - got Skyler’s school pictures back. Look at obituaries in newspaper - recycle everything. Get box of black powder into the house that Fedex dropped off while I was gone
3:45 - Skyler is home!! Talk with Skyler in the back yard for a while before Paul gets home.
4:00 - Paul is home!! He gets dressed and leaves to go hunting for the night.
4:15 - Put burgers on the grill for supper.
4:20 - Return mom’s phone call - “nope, I don’t need a freezer or a washer and dryer from the auction you are at.”
4:30 - Cut tomatoes and toast bread for burgers.
4:40-5:00 - Sky and I eat supper while Skyler watches a cartoon and I check e-mails, Ebay, etc. Return e-mail to Mrs. Zwicker about volunteering next week. Return e-mail to Laura Davis.
5:10 - Pull out backstraps for supper tomorrow night.

5:10 - Clean up from supper - yuck - I hate women’s work!! I really shoulda been a guy!
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5:20 - Clean some old food outta fridge. Sneak some garbage into neighbor’s garbage can. Hey, when you got neighbors who pay for garbage collection - there is no reason for you to pay as well, right?

5:30 - make some indoor smores for me and Sky in the microwave. Mmmmm! Yeah, Paul, I know, my butt cheeks are screaming because they don’t know where they are gonna put it all. I don’t hear it any more - they have screamed so much lately they have become hoarse. Whatever - these things are good!
6:10 - Start making a Perler Beads project with Skyler.
6:15 - Go to the library with Skyler. I was thinking it was Wed, but it is Thurs so they were already closed - bummer. So we went to the park across the road instead.
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After we got cold we went back over to the library and parked in the handicapped space (it is the only spot where there wireless internet is accessible - don’t tell anyone). I was able to upload some pictures.
7:45 - Back home. Work on some homework. Tonight’s was cool. It is about urban sprawl affecting the white-tailed deer.
8:00 - Paul is home - saw 3 deer from stand - nothing big. Saw 4 walking out.
8:10 - put dishes in dishwasher - put a load of clothes in the dryer.
8:20 - Tryin to figure out my blog - man this dial-up is driving me crazy!!
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Seriously - if I see “Please Wait” one more time I may explode!
8:45 - Get Skyler to bed - serve her some milk and read “Dear Dumb Diary” - I love those books.
9:00 - Fold laundry from dryer. Back to this dumb blog thing - seriously - dial up?
9:30 - Talk with Paul and get ready for bed.
Until tomorrow . . .

DAY 3 - Friday, October 3, 2008
2:00 a.m. - Skyler is tapping on my arm - she had a bad dream. We take potty breaks then I tuck her back into bed, reassure her and give her more hugs and kisses. Back to bed for me too.
5:10 - Alarm goes off - I reset it.
5:40 - Alarm goes off again - time to get up. Shower, makeup, dressed, hair.
6:10 a.m. - I wake Paul up.
6:15 a.m. - Paul gets up and asks “how’s my breakfast comin?”
6:15 a.m. - I start Paul’s breakfast - just toast with butter today - allthe muffins are gone.
6:20 a.m. - I pack Paul’s lunch for the day (leftover burgers from last night, carrots, pretzels and grapefruit segments) and start packing lunches for me and Sky.
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6:30 a.m. - Kisses and hugs - Paul is out the door.
6:30 a.m. - I make Skyler and my breakfast (Sugar Puffs for her, Cheerios for me, again).
6:35 a.m. - while eating I also work on lunches for me and Sky.
This is starting to sound more like a food diary and less like a “day in the life of.” Maybe we eat too much. Check e-mails again, check news online.
7:00 - Sky and I finish getting ready - get all her homework together and gather her supplies for the day - pack her school bag.
 
7:15 - Sky and I brush teeth, I put in contacts (nice to be able to see for the day).
 
 

7:35 - Bus comes, hugs and kisses and Skyler is off for the day - Bye bud!
7:36 - Back in the house I make the bed - tidy up a little and call Bonnie to see if she has any of my Mary Kay lotion to bring to work as I am out. She doesn’t so I order some online.
7:55 - I am off to work.
8:15 - 3:10 - At work.
 
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3:35 - Back home - quickly go through mail and newspaper and recycle what I can. Get hunting clothes together, shower and get ready to go hunt.
4:30 - Leave house to go hunt - wow was I slow gettin ready!
4:45 - Arrive at hunting ground.
4:55 - In stand. End up seeing several squirrels, one coon and 6 deer (2 bucks, 1 of which looked like a shooter). None of the deer came quite close enough - but still a great night! This is a picture of some cool green shale-type growths on the limb of my tree.
 
DAY FOUR - Saturday, October 4, 2008
6:35 a.m. - Alarm goes off for Paul. I lay there thinking I might actually sleep in and get up at 6:45 purely out of guilt.
6:45 - 7:30 a.m. spend quality time with Paul while Skyler is still asleep - Once you have children you cherish these short moments. . .We had 3 deer in the back yard again - they wandered around quite a while. This picture I took is actually 2 of the deer walking by our bow target and checking him out.
 
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7:30 a.m. - Skyler is up for the day - excited to watch cartoons (remember we only have like 4 channels - so tv time isn't very exciting unless it is Saturday or Biggest Loser is on)
7:40 - Paul goes mole hunting in the backyard again - no luck this time.
7:45 - Paul leaves to pour concrete with Jayme.
7:45 - 8:30 - I think I have finally figured out this weird blog thing - I finally got pictures to post that aren't the size of a computer screen and aren't cut in half - Yeah!! Do some recycling - time to take that to the recycling center.
 
8:45 - Get dishes in the dishwasher
9:00 - Finally get Skyler to eat some cereal - Sugar Puffs again. Then she has pop tarts after that.
9:30-9:45 - Start making my own Homemade Vanilla Extract to give away as gifts for Christmas (and maybe to sell some).
 


9:45 - 10:15 - gather, work on and wrap Little Laramie’s birthday present for his party tomorrow.
 


10:20 - Work on some scrap booking with Skyler. She was a little worried about this picture cuz “I don’t have any pants on mom!” But I was discreet with the angle for her.
 
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10:45 - Get front closet cleaned out and put all of our hunting stuff in there so that it isn’t scattered all over the house any more. When you got 3 hunters in the house - even just our clothes for warm weather take up a lot of space. It will be tough when we actually get all our coats and co veralls out - I don’t think it will all fit.
 

11:00 - Go collect “colorful” leaves for a school project (ummm - we don’t have any colorful leaves here - I hope her teacher likes green and brown).
 

 


11:40 - Ok - we actually found a few leaves that could be called colorful!! Yeah! Put the leaves in newspaper to press them.
11:50 - Pick up a little downstairs - oh my - I need to spend a rainy day down there doin nothing but cleanin’ - too nice out today though.
 

12:00 - What should we have for lunch Skyler? Mmmm - frozen pizza - maybe this will be my lunch and supper - probably not much chance of that.

12:20-12:45 - Ate pizza with Skyler, talked for a little bit to my dad on the telephone, unloaded part of the dishwasher.
12:45 - Played Simon Says outside with Skyler
12:55 - Paul is home. This is a monumental moment. He went to CVS and bought Jack Daniels - no - that is obviously not the monumental moment. He also went to Meatheads and bought breaded pork tenderloins - translation - PIG MEAT. This is the absolutely FIRST time in all his years on earth that the boy has bought pig meat!! I am so freakin EXCITED!! I LOVE pig meat! 10 for $10.00 - I can’t wait for supper. I wish I hadn’t eaten the pizza!! We are gonna do some fine dinin tonight. Plus Gina Corano is fighting on one of our 4 channels tonight - what a night! It may be the absolute best night we have had in months!!
1:11 - I am grillin one of the pig meats for Paul right now - he couldn’t wait (even though he already ate one at the place where he was pourin concrete. . .the kid must be hungry).
Did another load of camo laundry (non-scent soap again)
Trimmed our yard and our neighbors yard since he can’t get around very well right now. Our yard alone takes like 20 minutes to trim because of all our gardens, trees, etc. But I am an anal trimmer. I figure, if you aren’t going to trim, you might as well not bother mowing because it is going to look like crap. I even used to use scissors to trim when I was young and at mom and dad’s house cuz I didn’t know how to run the trimmer (apparently neither did anybody else) : - ) Anyway - the yard looks great now (Paul did the ride mower).
 
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Sat on the LP Tank with Skyler and read some spooky Halloween stories.
Shower and get ready to go huntin again tonight.
Made my half-mile walk to my deer stand I hadn’t hunted yet this year. Ended up seeing 6 deer - two of which I could have easily shot - however, they were fawns. It kept getting darker and they just continued to feed under my stand so I finally got my camera out to see how the flash would affect them (figured I had to scare them to leave at this point anyway) and they never even stopped feeding when the flash went off. Actually after I took a couple of pictures, one of them plopped down to take a nap - 10 yards from my stand. The pictures I got weren’t very good as I could see when I was taking the pictues to see if I actually was focused on them - but they finally ran off when my foot touched the ground. All-in-all a fun night.
7:50 - Got home and Paul had cooked the pig meat! How sweet. So I ate and we watched the fights on CBS. Finally got to bed about 10:45 or 11:00.
DAY 5 - Sunday, October 5, 2008.
6:00 a.m. Wake up cuz I can’t sleep anymore. Quietly sneak out of bed and get ready for the day.
6:30 - Get some breakfast (yep, Cheerios 2 plus some? bowls) and check online (wanna get some Luminoks and see if Season 3 of Lee & Tiffany is available yet).
6:50 - Paul gets up. Make him some toast with butter. Spend some more quality time with Paul this a.m. while Skyler is still asleep.
7:30 - Skyler gets up.
7:50 - Paul leaves cuz he is moving his sister Jess to another apartment. Sky and I are staying home since we don’t want all of us to miss Lil’ Laramie’s birthday party today. I quickly sift through Sunday paper and cut out any coupons I might be needing. Recycle everything else.
General morning stuff - food and water to Shadow and Ki. Load and run dishwasher. Get a load of clothes goin in the washer. Go dump a bunch of apples back in our timber to keep those deer comin (yep, I know - it is illegal to feed the deer. . .)
Downloaded and forwarded Jake Fuhr’s deer picture from last night to Travis for the deer contest.

DAY 6 - Monday, October 6, 2008
6:15 - Get up with Paul and Skyler to get ready for the day.
6:30 - Hugs and kisses and Paul is out the door for work.
Eat some Cheerios and oatmeal while checking online e-mails, etc. Got ready to go for the day.
7:35 - Skyler’s bus is here - hugs and kisses and she is out the door as well. Packed up item that sold on e-bay to take to post office today. Listed several items on Ebay. Have lots of errands to run today. Quickly make some stew in my camo slow cooker for supper tonight.
 


9:25 - I pack up the car with recycling, camera and computer - I am off.
First to Jill Craver’s to drop off her jars I got at an auction (thanks to LaDanna) Got lots of green peppers from Jill!! Yeah! Got to chat a little - something about a $500 mole. . .enough said. Went on to post office and delivered my package (I overcharged the buyer so made a little extra : -) Then on to the library - got lots of pictures uploaded to Walgreens and made a calendar for a Christmas gift (they were on sale today 33% off).
 

Picked up a book I ordered through the library for Paul and I to read called “The First Rebel” which includes the biography of Colonel James Smith who was captured by Indians and kept a journal through captivity - - is that kinda what I am doing here??!! Most of his journaling is from 1755-1759. Can’t wait to read it! Then on to dump my recycling in Milan. When dumping get a call from dad - they need directions to get to VFC where I told them we get our bird seed. Since I will be running right by there I meet them at Maid Rite and have them follow me. Once mom and dad are taken care of it is off to Target to pick up my online picture I ordered. Wait in photo line WAY too long - then I am off to Walmart. Get some camo stuff to give Skyler Friday night (the night before her first deer hunt) and lots of odds and ends before getting my cart filled with groceries. Seriously - where do these people in Walmart come from? I could walk through here for a haunted house and be just as scared. . .wow!
Finally get back home - unpack my loaded-down car and eat some early supper - venison stew, yum-o, even though it is hot today. I get to go hunting tonight (Paul called and said it is my turn - again - I don’t know how this is workin’ but I’ll take all the huntin time I can get - however I did hesitate a little since it is 76 degrees - my chances of seeing a big buck are pretty diminished, but like Paul says - I have a much better chance of getting a big buck if I go to the stand than if I don’t - good point. So off to the shower I go again.


 

Here I am ready to go out to my stand.

Get to my stand at 4:20 - Have about 2 hours and 40 minutes till time to get down. As soon as I reach my stand I see that it will be a killin' night - killin' mosquitos. Oh my goodness - they are everywhere. My body becomes a cemetary for misguided mosquitos determined to suck my blood. Well - I don't know if it is because I was swatting all night - but I saw about 10 squirrels, 10,898 mosquitos, 9,500 no-see-ums (they were killed too) and no deer. This is the first night I have been skunked this season so I can't complain. Was still a good night.
Get home about 7:45 and help Skyler with some homework and get both Paul and Skyler some supper. Do some picking up and get my huntin clothes put away. Time to get Skyler to bed - read some more Dear Dumb Diary, prayers, hugs and kisses and lights out.
After she goes to sleep I run out to the garage to see what Paul is doin - he is watching Prison Break but there are only like 2 minutes left so I don't bother sitting down - I always miss that show while getting Skyler to bed. While he watches a little more tv I clean up from supper, do the dishes, give food and water to the animals, put some laundry away, sort through recycling and get ready for bed. Get to sleep at about 10:30. Until tomorrow - whew - only one more day of this!! :-)

DAY 7 - Tuesday, October 7 2008
3:45 a.m. - Skyler is tapping on me - another bad dream. This time she doesn’t want to go back to bed so she crawls in our bed in between Paul and I. Finally at 5:00 I make her go back to her own bed since neither her or I were getting any sleep (too crowded). Once I get her back to bed I realize I hear our indoor cat crying outdoors. She has been outside all night - not a normal occurrence. So I get up to let Kitty Ki in the house and Shadow sneaks out. I let him take a potty break and as soon as he is done he runs off like a shot out of a bullet to go chase some unknown creature. I yell at Shadow and mutter all the terrible things I want to do to him at that moment, I close the door leaving him outside, and I go back to bed. I finally start to fall asleep and I hear Shadow scratching at the door wanting back in. Yeah right - too bad - I am not getting up for him (but it also makes me unable to fall back to sleep). Grrrr - I don’t like missing out on sleep.
5:45 a.m. - Alarm rings so I gotta get up and get ready for work. Do my morning stuff getting ready.
6:10 a.m. I make my first attempt at waking Paul up.
6:15 a.m. - Attempt number 2 at waking Paul up - he shrugs his shoulders.
6:20 a.m. - Last and final attempt at waking Paul up. He slowly starts movin‘.
I start the internet up for Paul so he can do his daily checking of the sports. I also make his toast with butter. I get his lunch together.
6:30 a.m. - Paul wakes Skyler up by shaking her alarm we forgot to set last night so that it sounds like it is ringing and running around the room with it. She is not impressed - but she is awake - kind of.
Paul takes his lunch and is off for work.
Skyler and I are on our own to finish our morning routine.
I eat my Cheerios for breakfast while checking e-mails, etc., do some picking up and help Skyler some more this morning with some more homework (wow - there is a lot of homework in 3rd grade!) One part of her homework is that she has to write each of her 20 spelling words with her right hand and then again with her left hand - a little odd - but a fun way to get the kids to write their words out an extra time. She also has to make a sentence (5 words or more) for each of her 20 spelling words and she has to write the definition of each of her 20 spelling words. She also has to read at least 20 minutes a night as well as any math, English or other homework. Whew - I don’t want to be a kid again!
Went to work until 3:10 - lots of typing, phone calls, online court filings, etc. Get home and sort through mail again (got my Walgreens rebate check in the mail - Yippee $30 some dollars) and recycle what we don’t need. Get changed into more comfy clothes, get Skyler off the bus. She wants to have an afternoon snack (pudding) and watch a little tv. Martha Speaks is one of her favorites on PBS. I get supper started. Paul is home about 4:00. He wants me to check the radar to see what the weather is going to do. Looks like rain - but not too terrible so he goes huntin (lucky duck - but I guess it is his turn). Feels like an awesome deer night (by the way - my mosquito bites were itching somthin fierce today!) I finish up supper, taco salads tonight, while I hand wash some dishes and throw a load of laundry in. Sky and I eat our supper together while she talks about a silly song she was singing to her friends at school. I also explain to her about the meeting we are going to tonight and that she can bring her homework and a book to read since it will be pretty boring. Clean up from supper.
Sky and I leave to go to Eye Surgeons Associates meeting (one person who attends will win a free Lasik eye surgery, the only reason I am going).
Get home and say hello to Paul. Nope - I didn’t win the eye surgery. . .there were a lot of people there - but it was interesting to hear about it. When I win the lottery - I will probably have the procedure done.
Help Skyler with some MORE homework. It is past time for Sky to get to bed (9:00) - prayers, hugs, kisses and itching medicine for her mosquito bites and she is off to sleep. I go out to the garage to see what Paul is watching on tv and I sit for a few minutes to see the McCain/Obama town hall meeting - frustrating to watch so switch over to a PBS special about the Los Lonely Boys who sing “Heaven.” Pretty interesting actually. Get in the house and get ready for bed (when in bed I start reading the book about James Smith - great so far). Asleep by about 10:30.
So that is it for my week. . .nothing particularly moving or exciting happened - just a normal week. The rest of the week we have a few items to look forward to: Wednesday Skyler gets off school early and is going to her friend Fran’s house until 3:30 when we are all goin to the library where the kids get to paint ceramics with the Painted Elephant. Friday I get to help out at Skyler’s school, Friday night we are planning a special family evening for “the night before Skyler’s first deer season” and then Saturday and Sunday it is off to the woods with all of us to see if Skyler can get her first deer. In addition to that - this weekend is Fort Obie Rendezvous in Colona which we will try to run to in between sitting in the stands (especially if Sky gets a deer right away Sat a.m.). So hopefully there will also be a deer butchering event for Skyler this weekend. Phew - a busy weekend ahead. Signing off for now - Little Grissom.












By:Ginger.