This Just Stinks!!!!!!!!

Okay, so this is seriously such a funny story that I really felt I should share with y'all. So Cleo went hunting last weekend (opening weekend) and apparently he got into a bunch of chiggers. For those of you who have never had them, they're miserable to say the least. Anyhow, he probably has at least 100-150 bites all over his body. The only body part that seems to have been spared is his face. He was itching so bad that he had scabs and even bruises because he rubbed so hard. We read on the internet about them and it said that the more you itch, the worse they get because apparently they burrow in further or something like that and the poison gets in deeper. He had been using calamine lotion (left over from my poison ivy/oak episode!) but was still itching desperately. He was at work the other day and was talking to a lady who has lived here all her life and she told him about this lotion called SARNA, said it was the best thing ever for chiggers, poison oak, etc. and to go get some at the drugstore. So he stops at the drugstore on his way home from work--plops down $12 and buys the lotion. He's so excited to get home and shower and put this on thinking "this is gonna make me feel so much better". Well he got home, showered and had me come into the bathroom to get the lotion to all the spots he couldn't see or reach. Well, let me just tell you that as soon as I squirted the lotion onto my hands, I about gagged. It is loaded with campho and menthol and smells so antiseptic. You know, the smell that you always thought was bad perfume on the little old ladies, well it's not--I'm quite sure it's this lotion!! Apparently it's supposed to be really good for dry skin as well and that's probably why this lady knew so much about it. We were laughing so hard when I was rubbing it on him and I was calling him Ethel because now he smelled just like a little old lady. Well, the next morning I had to strip the bed and wash everything because I just couldn't get rid of the smell. I then took Febreze and sprayed everything that I couldn't throw in the washer. Our bedroom seriously smelled like an old folks home. But the funniest part of it all is that it didn't even work as good as the calamine lotion, so not only did he waste $12, but we both had to endure that horrible smell all night long.

Redneck Is as Redneck Does...

Okay, so I was kinda "bribed" into doing this blog entry---you know who you are, HAHA :) Anyhow, here's a little background info. Last weekend I was on the phone to Sara and I told her how her Dad had set up a table in the backyard, put his crossbow on it and was sighting it in. As I was telling her this story and I was spying on him from the side of the house (with the camera) we were laughing so hard I thought I would wet myself. We both just thought it was too funny how "redneck" he has become and it was just one of those "you had to be there" moments. Anyhow, as I watched him shoot his crossbow, I thought to myself that it kinda looked like fun and so the next day I decided to ask him to teach me how to shoot it. The thing was seriously heavy and kinda hard to steady as you are standing, but after some practice shots I decided to stand, see if I could steady it and take aim. To my surprise (and Cleos' I'm sure!) I hit the target!! It was such a rush and I did it again and again. Each time, I hit the target even if not always in the center and I could see that Cleo was kinda proud that his wife was actually shooting a crossbow. I don't foresee myself ever actually hunting or killing any living thing but it was sure a lot of fun. Cleo was sighting in the crossbow at 10, 20 and 30 yards in the backyard.

Cleo has given my the nickname of "Annie Oakley"

This was my first shot!!!!!!!!!!! Pretty impressive, huh??

Cleo also taught me, a couple weeks ago, to shoot a gun. It was only a pellet gun but after I got the hang of holding the pistol and steadying it, I was able to hit that target as well. Guns have always been one of my 2 biggest fears and as I said in one of my previous blogs, I want to tackle those fears. Now, if any of you have any ideas on how to conquer the fear of snakes, please pass that info along to me.

So this is how the "Georgia Rednecks" kill time on the weekends. It may not be a glamorous life, but it's our life and we sure have a lot of fun living it!!! And to answer your question Sara, Dads' next journey won't be sheep hearding, but he has mentioned a couple goats!!!!!

You Might be a Redneck if.....

You might be a redneck if you wear suspenders instead of a belt to hold up your trousers!!! Don't you just love the look on him?

We took this Labor Day literally and "labored" in the yard once again. Cleo and I went to LaGrange on Friday afternoon and picked up a chipper. He got busy that evening and started to chip up some of the trees he had cut down earlier this summer. I did help a little by dragging some of the limbs closer to the chipper for him. On Saturday, I "labored" thru the heat and went to an arts/crafts festival with a friend of mine while Cleo stayed home and finished the chipping. I thought it was a completely fair trade, especially when he told me that he had found another copperhead snake (could've been the same one from the "painting" incident) at the bottom of one of the wood piles along with a box turtle. The turtle took off for the woods as soon as he was uncovered, but the snake just kinda sat there, so needless to say, he was beheaded and put thru the chipper---I know, gross, huh? I was really glad I missed that whole thing. On Sunday morning, we started spreading the wood chips around the shed area. We finished it up this morning and it really looks pretty good. It's fun to see a project from start to finish.

This is the wood pile where the turltle and snake were found!!

This was my contribution to the project.

We went over to some friends house yesterday afternoon/evening for a bbq. They just moved here from south Florida (Cleo used to work with him at Kiewit). They have a pool in their backyard, but we just watched the kids swim. Their were 2 other couples there as well so we had lots of conversation and PLENTY of food as well. I really feel like I've done nothing but eat all summer! We are just going to spend the rest of today relaxing and then it's back to work for Cleo tomorrow after he was off most of last week due to the rains from Tropical Storm Fay. It rained for almost 6 days straight and they had 6 inches of rain on his job, so there really wasn't anything his crews could do. I hope each of you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.