Facie’s Ramblings

I have missed this blog, if only a bit. There have been at least a half dozen times that I wanted to write a post. Mostly they were rants, including some customer service issues, and a few were about life events. But when you are away from blogging for only a few weeks, how many things could you have missed about me? Not too many! I had my kid's birthday party at the Animal Rescue League's Wildlife Center. I like a party where you can give back, which is what we did. The girls made cat toys and bird feeders, and I made a monetary donation as well as bought a bunch of needed supplies. Everyone seemed to have a great time (one mom told me the next week that her daughter said that was the best birthday party she had ever been to). And considering this was Jordan's first friend party and probably her last for quite some time, I am glad it went well, my over-planning and running out of time notwithstanding. As you might have guessed, my kid had a birthday. She is nine. How c...

Ever since J was a toddler, we (or at least I) have been taking her to the Pittsburgh Zoo. Once or twice, we went when it was free (thank you, RAD). Mostly, we would go with the Pittsburgh chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association. And the past two years, J and I went during the week when the Penn State College of Education sponsored a day at the Zoo, most recently last week. I love our zoo! I cannot say that enough. I could spend all day there, but unfortunately, we seem to end up going on days when it is near or over 90 degrees. Still, I have never had anything less than a great time there. As creatures of habit, we always start out clockwise with the tigers and leopards. When it is hot, those guys and gals aren't too exciting, so we tend to see them (if they are not hidden) and quickly move on. I like to spend a few minutes looking at the flamingos because they are so pretty.  I am not too enthralled with the rhino, but I still manage to get a pic for good mea...

If you have ever read That's Church, you know that Ginny over there hates pigeons. Hate is not a strong enough word, actually. Me? I never had much of an opinion either way regarding those birds. Until today. According to several people, one of whom works for Duquesne Light, this morning a pigeon ran into an electrical wire in my neighborhood and caused a power surge (which also caused said pigeon's wings to go up in flames), our second in just over eight months. (By second, I am referring to second power surge, not second occurrence of burning pigeon wings.) According to a recording, Duquesne Light first said there was an equipment malfunction. Just before the power came back on about 2.5 hours later, the reason changed to an animal. Regardless, we lost a computer, two cable (FiOS) boxes, a TV, a radio/CD/cassette player (hey, I still play cassettes sometimes), and about eight light bulbs. I am hoping since our AC works, the furnace will too (that was our big l...