LIFE WITH A SMILE

LETTER TO SANTA

2009-12-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

Santa Baby, put some fabric under the tree, for me.....I've been a really good girl, Santa Baby.... "Sent with Love" would really thrill me.

Something to make a valentine, would really make my spirits shine.

Pretty reds and rosy pinks, would work up really well now, don't you think?

Thanks, Santa, baby...appreciate you thinking of me, you see...

I've been a really good girl, Santa baby....this FQB would really thrill me.

The Fat Quarter Shop is accepting letters to Santa, and promising that Santa may even grant a few wishes. Check out the give-away here, at The Jolly Jabber.

NOTES ON A WEDNESDAY MORNING

2009-10-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I've got one item out of the way...cookbooks for the gals on my list. "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" will be released the end of the month, and I can't wait to get MY hands on it. Her web site is amazing, http://thepioneerwoman.com, and I know the gals who receive this book will be delighted.

And that's it as far as my shopping. We don't have a large gift list, and most of the younger people want gift cards or cash, so our shopping isn't real stressful. But I miss the shopping in a way. We'd go out in the evening, have a nice dinner, and then shop the mall. But I REALLY miss the days when shopping meant you were OUTSIDE, on the streets...going from store to store. You'd pass friends on the sidewalk, everyone bundled up against the crisp, cold night air, and you'd duck into a store just to warm up and find the most wonderful gift. Sadly those days are a thing of the past.

I'd like to have a quilt hanger for Christmas. Maybe two. That's about it. I'd ask for quilt fabric or books, but I have an amazing amount of them already, and truth be told....last night I was cleaning off my sewing room table and found the stack of receipts for my fabric ordering, and in glancing through them I found one for a kit I had totally forgotten I had! It's a beautiful applique pattern called "Tea Rose Garden"...and I haven't the foggiest idea where it is. I searched for about 15 minutes last night and didn't find it. Keep in mind that I have lots of plastic tubs with different fabric collections or kits in each one....all nicely labeled...and I didn't come across this particular one. So today that is my goal...find Tea Rose Garden! And then put my Winter White schnibble together. And start a wall hanging for my friend in SC. Can I get it done by Christmas? Hope so! LOL!

Oh, and I accepted Nicole's challenge to finish something I'd started and quit...known as a UFO in the quilting world, so that means I need to get back to working on that baby quilt. Baby is due next week, I think.

So, that's my day. How's yours going?

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009

2009-10-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

I tried to add this photo further into the post, but it won't let me. So...it's here at the beginning of my post instead of with the quilt show photos. This photo is another from the quilt show that I particularly liked. These pretty little flowers make me happy!

This is a photo of my first schnibble, "Winter White"...finished except for the sandwiching, and binding. You can see where all those flying geese in my last post went! I didn't think the colors were going to work in my home, but after bringing it into the living room, I think it may look nice on the stair wall behind my chair. It will also look nice on the wall here in my office room. The next schnibble pattern, Cindy Lou Who,is on it's way, and I intend to make it in colors that will work for a table topper in my dining room. These are small quilts...I believe this measures 38x38.

These are some photos from the quilt show we attended Saturday. There weren't a lot of really stand-out quilts this year, for some reason. Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. And we forgot to take our camera with us, so unfortunately the photos of the quilts we did like, were taken with our cell phones and don't do them justice. This quilt was from a block-of-the-month called "Vintage Valentine." It's just beautiful. Michael said I should make one like it. I searched the internet, and found a quilt shop that was offering it, but it's very expensive. The 12 small blocks surrounding the center medallion were $30 each, plus shipping...the center medallion was $75, the backing was $55, and the "finishing" kit which included the fabric for the borders and binding, was another $65. So....since they weren't selling just the pattern, I won't be making this quilt. But that is why BOM quilts are so popular...one can more easily afford the $35 per month, rather than paying for a whole quilt kit up front.

This pattern is an old one... "Drunkard's Path." I've not done a lot in curved piecing, but it's on my future "to do" list. (Not this particular pattern, but one with curves.)

This is another quilt from the quilt show. I liked the colors, and the "feathered" star points.

I KNEW IT WAS COMING 9/30/09

2009-09-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

You try to prepare yourself for what you THINK is going to happen, but all that preparation doesn't count for much when the reality actually appears. We know the economy is in bad shape, and we know it's greatly affecting just about everything, but still..... Hubby got the word today (was it the grapevine or official? I think it's in the grapevine stage) that his employer will be shutting down their operations for the year some time in October. I'm sure it will depend on the weather, but since October weather is anything BUT dependable, I'm guessing it will be sooner than later that they will close their doors for the year. This usually happens two weeks before Christmas and lasts until mid-January. I'm betting it's going to last a lot longer this time.

So now we're faced with a lot of time off....but no money to allow us to do anything fun or creative. He'll receive a decent unemployment that should cover all our monthy expenses except food, and we've put money away all year in preparation. It'll be okay. But it won't be fun.

I've got lots of fabric for quilt sewing...beautiful stuff, and lots of patterns to choose from. Books from the library are free. Rides to the beach, or into the forests that surround us, don't cost much in gas. Michael has a whole month of hunting season that he can enjoy. And a boat for fishing. Maybe I can get him to spread some of that red rock around the flower beds, and paint a wall or two....and make some baseboards. Or put up the ceiling tile in my sewing room, and paint or wallpaper the walls.

Lots of projects.....lots of time. Maybe it'll be more fun than I thought!

QUILTING PHOTOS

2009-09-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

These are the block-of-the-month quilt blocks for the Mystery Designer Quilt I am doing. Each month the pattern and fabric for one block arrives. The fabric is the beautiful Moda fabric, "Glace'." I am really liking this quilt so far. The fabric is so pretty, and the blocks are fun. It's nice to have only one a month to work on...you don't feel rushed, and you can take your time making sure everything squares up, all the points are there, and the finished size is a perfect 12.5 inches.

These are the flying geese units for the Winter White Schnibble I am working on. There are36 units, to be framed around a single 4" square....the easy part!

The black, red, and white quilt should be laid out where the squares are "on point". I wasn't aware it was incorrect for this photo, and then my batteries died.....so there you are.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2009

2009-09-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Good morning! It's another beautiful one. Oh, I love these days that are so fall-like. Crisp, sunny....I mean really, who doesn't? What's not to like? Just for the record, even tho the calendar says it's fall, I have not put out my fall decorations or Autumn Walk scented candle. Nope. The ceramic pumpkins, pitcher filled with autumn leaves, and pumpkin wall hanging have to wait until the calendar turns over to October 1. That's the rule.

I have been busy quilting. And reading. It's a wonder my eyes can focus this morning. Yesterday afternoon I made 76---count 'em---76 flying geese units. Made and squared up. The rest of the schnibble challenge should go together quickly...which is the whole point about schnibbles. The finished product will be about 38" square, I believe, so I'm thinking it will make a table topper...or hang on some small wall space.

Sat up til 11:30 to finish "The Castaways." It was okay....I just wanted to be done with it and on to "The Lacemakers of Glenmara."

Michael working again this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful he's getting in some overtime. But since next weekend is the Ocean Shores quilt show, I'm hoping he'll be around....or it will be a hasty trip after church Sunday.

Speaking of church....we're thinking of finding a new one. Last weekend we attended a different one, and really liked the service. Which is our main complaint about our current church. Is that enough to make you seek out a new church? Just because you don't like the way the preacher .... preaches? We love the people...we've been there 11 years. I am their sec/treasurer. Michael is an usher. We fit in, we're so comfortable there, I enjoy my work there and feel the Lord is using me...but spiritually, something is lacking. If you find yourself planning your grocery list during the middle of the sermon, isn't something wrong? Is it with ME? Hmmmm. So we're going to look around...visit a few churches and test the waters. I gave a heads up to our deacon board chair, told him that we were looking, and told him why. I think he was stunned...leaving without saying a whole lot. But when I saw him yesterday, I got the whole spiel of how they don't want to lose me (of course they don't....they'd have to find a whole new person to do what I do...for free). He was stressed....depressed...and said he'd have a talk with the pastor on Monday, not wanting to get him riled up before he had to preach on Sunday. I know the pastor....he will not take kindly to criticism. And why should he be asked to change his methods on my account? The congregation is actually growing...strange to me, but true. I guess we all want different things...and so shouldn't we go seeking what we need? I'm praying about it, of course.

Time for shower...breakfast...and sewing on that schnibble. Have a great day!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

2009-09-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

First day of fall....gorgeous out. Is it really supposed to be 85 today? The furnace did not come on this morning, and it was 65 when we went to bed at 11:30 last night. How one day can be so different from another...

Expecting Sue, my UPS buddy, to be stopping in today with a bundle of fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop. Aster Manor, Mill House Inn, and Rouenneries...some of the delights I can't wait to get my hands on. Tho I'll probably do nothing more than pet them at this point. Fabric so beautiful demands the perfect setting, and so I'll be looking through my patterns to find just the right one.

I've got some Gobble Gobble put away, and should probably be thinking of a quick fall project for that. And of course, it's time to whip up something new for the Christmas holidays...a wall hanging, table runner, something quick.

In two weeks there is a quilt show at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. Lots of lovely quilts will be hanging for display...those by Cleo Merrill are always a favorite. The woman has such an eye for color, and she hand quilts everything, which of course is a trait I admire...and practice myself. I wonder if she has issues with arthritis like I do? I sometimes wonder how much longer I will be able to do that.

Besides beautiful quilts to admire, there are vendors of quilting tools, sewing machines, and fabric. My favorite is the Quilter's Roost, a shop out of Everett. Jodi Grenzner speaks my language, and I love shopping her booth. Owners of shops tend to stock what they love best, and I can always find something (many somethings!) I love at Jodi's. I've shopped online with her for several years, and it's been fun to get to know her in person at this annual event.
It's also a day for lunch out with my hubby, who enjoys this event as much as I do.

READY FOR THE SEASON

2009-09-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

Fall. Tomorrow. I'm ready.

The furnace was running when I got up this morning, and soon it will be the time of a constant fire in the fireplace...the scent of wood smoke in the air, dust all over everything, and lots of little critters running around that come in with the wood. Yes, it has it's drawbacks, but it's lovely heat....and it smells so good!

I've got lots of books requested from the library, and now that I have finished with Farm Town on Face Book, I actually am taking the time to get some reading done. (How sad that a silly, addictive game could take up so much of one's time. And while you expect that of kids, perhaps, it's REALLY sad that a woman of my age would get hooked on something like that. Believe me, it was more of a chore at the end, but coupled with a determination to get to the finish. Which I did.)
Anyway, I have just finished reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." What a fun, interesting, and educational read that was. The book takes place in England (Guernsey on the Channel Islands, to be exact) the year after WWII ends, and the story is told entirely in letters. It was fascinating to learn about life under German occupation as told through the eyes of the villagers, but there is much humor and a good story-line also. And of course there is that beautiful English language...so poetic...so genteel...it's a real shame we don't talk like that any more. I heartily recommend the book.

I've got lots of quilt projects going, and lots of new fabrics on the way. I'm doing a wonderful BOM (Block-of-the-month) in Glace' fabric, and have also joined in "A Year of Schnibbles"....one project a month using a Schnibble pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. What's a schnibble? Technically a scrap of fabric...and these are small projects. Do-able in a weekend, I suppose, if one is dedicated. I also have the black, red, and white quilt to finish...border to put on, and then layer for quilting.

TWICE I have begun and then rejected a quilt I'm making (or not making, as the case may be) for the newest addition to the family. I don't understand it. I'm not sure why this project has been fighting me, and when I figure it out, I will begin again. Maybe.

BLACK AND WHITE

2009-07-18T12:56:00.001-07:00

My black and white project is done. Turned out nice. I think my niece is going to like it.

The black, red, and white quilt is coming along nicely. All the blocks are done, squared up, and ready to put together. I'm worried tho. I did the binding by hand on the pictured item here, and it had my arthritis screaming at me before I was done. How am I ever going to hand-quilt an entire quilt? This could be a problem.

I still haven't started on a new baby quilt, but I have picked out the fabric and pattern. Going to be soooo much better.

TRY, TRY AGAIN

2009-07-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

I am so displeased with the baby quilt I was working on (see previous post), that I am going to start all over and go in a completely different direction. Sigh. It doesn't happen often that I so dislike what I've put together, but when it does, I've learned to just let it go. It doesn't pay to try to fix it. It's just best to go on. And that's that.

On the other hand, the black, white, and red blocks are almost done. Singly, I love them. I told my niece the other day that if I didn't like them put together in the quilt top, Travis and Erica would be getting 31 potholders from me!! I think it will work, and I think they'll appreciate something that's a little outside the box.

I've got two books waiting for me at the library....the latest John Sandford, and "Water for Elephants." My niece recommended this one. We'll see....doesn't SOUND like my cup of tea, but I'm prepared to be delightfully surprised. She says it's one of her favorite books.

So.....lots of choices on what to do with this bright sunny day. Enjoy, everyone!

QUILTING

2009-06-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of quilting the last few weeks/month. I've completed the top for a baby quilt, for the newest member of our family...due in October. We don't know what we're having and I'm hoping this quilt isn't going to be too feminine. It has lots of 'neutral' colors so I'm sure it will work. It would have been nice to work on something pink and frilly. I guess I can always do that later if it turns out to be an Olivia instead of.........what? I don't know what the boy's name choices are.

This red, black and white quilt will be for Travis and Erica. They are getting married next May, which will give me enough time to put this together and get it quilted. I have had an offer to have it professionally quilted by "a friend of a friend"....but I don't know. I've always hand-quilted all my quilts, and I'm thinking a quilt so special as for a wedding should be hand-quilted. What do you think? Do you think it would matter to the newlyweds?

This one is a mystery. To you, not to me.

I've received lots of new fabric this past month, and have plans to be doing a lot of quilting this summer and into the fall and beyond. One of my projects is a BOM....block of the month. That is when the quilt shop sends you the fabric for one quilt block each month. At the end of a year you have all the blocks needed to put together into a quilt. This is a great way to make a large quilt and spread the cost out over a year. The fabric is from a new line from some designer, but various designers and makers of quilt patterns have each designed one of the blocks going into this quilt. I don't get to know what it looks like until it's all done...so this one is a mystery to me. I do know what the fabric line is, and it's beautiful. Maybe I'll post a photo each month as I get the blocks done.

IT'S JUNE?!

2009-06-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, to say I've been neglectful about writing is putting it mildly. In fact, you've all probably given up even looking for a post. Sorry about that. I haven't felt that I've had anything happening worthy of posting...tho I suppose anything would help to let you know I'm alive and kicking. Well...I'm alive and kicking!

I survived that horrible March month, and my health has actually been getting better and better in the last few months. I am going to credit God for this, and all the prayers that I know are being offered on my behalf. I've really been able to eat a lot of things that I shouldn't, and that's made me happy. It's hard to not eat tomatoes and onions, but lately I've been able to. I've drunk beer...eaten chocolate....salad dressings. I'm a happy camper these days. Thank you, Lord!

So, what have I been up to. Reading. Lots of books in the last few months. Autobiographies, fiction. And I've been quilting a lot lately. Just finished the top to a baby quilt I'm making for the new Caalim baby. I hope it's a girl....I think this quilt may be a bit too feminine for a boy, inspite of the "neutral" colors. We'll see. It's colorful, I'll give it that. I hope Baby will enjoy it.

I've also started a quilt for a newly engaged couple in our family. My nephew and his fiance' are getting married next May, and when I asked them for colors for a quilt, they asked for red, black, and white...with a Spanish theme (because that is Erica's heritage). I found some wonderful black and white fabrics, and a red to tie them together. Spanish? Well.....the designs on the black and white are very scroll-like...maybe even lacy....which makes ME think of a Spanish mantilla and their architecture. Hey....that's the best I can do! I think it's going to be stunning if I do my job right.

Memorial Day we went up to the Lake Quinault Lodge in the rain forest, and hung out. We've been doing that every year now for the past 4-5 years. It was another beautiful weekend weather-wise, and we totally enjoyed it. Relaxed, saw all the sights, hiked a bit, went down to Ruby Beach, and ate way too much. The restaurant had a beef tenderloin with gorgonzola cream sauce that was soooo good, I ate it two nights in a row!! They also had a wonderful po'boy made with marinated shrimp, served on top of slaw with a roasted red pepper sauce. It made for the best sandwich ever! And no, it didn't bother me. We've decided to make the trip up there more often....like after church...just for lunch.

We put in a new lawn in the last few months. Well, Michael did. He put on moss killer, thatched, and plug-aerated. He put on weed and feed, and new grass seed, and watered the heck out of it, because the weather decided to get drier just when we needed it wet. Figures. So, we now have a green lawn, don't see any moss, but the weed and feed did NOTHING to kill the weeds. He'll be applying weed killer this week.

I planted geraniums last night. And some solomon's seal. That's sure a pretty plant. I got it at the garden show....haven't seen it at any of the local stores, like Home Depot or Wal-Mart. Perhaps I should expand my horizons as I'd like to plant more of it.

No one has come and weeded any of the other areas on this place. Yuck. It's a mess. It's always a mess. But I try to keep my little plots weeded.

This weekend we are headed to the winery and Westport with a couple of sisters and their spouses. Will be a fun day. Hoping that this glorious weather holds.

I have been spending a lot of time on Facebook....which hasn't helped my posting here any. While I don't post a lot on there, it's fun to see what the family is doing, especially with those I don't see often. And there are some fun games.
AND....I have a farm. My niece, Becky, got me into farming. I tell you, it is addictive. It sounds crazy, but it's really a lot of fun. I keep after my sisters to start one so we can be "neighbors"....but they are resisting. It can be a real time sink, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

If you aren't already reading http://thepioneerwoman.com then you really need to check it out. Ree is a HOOT, and a wonderful cook. She lives on a large cattle ranch in Oklahoma with her husband, Marlboro Man, and their 4 kids. She will bring a smile to your face, and make you want to head for the kitchen to cook up one of her recipes. She has fabulous give-aways every week....from Kitchenaid mixers, to sugar lemon body lotion. She has a huge readership, and I've yet to win anything, but I won't give up trying. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. Give her a look....you won't be disappointed.

And that's it for now. I'm headed back upstairs to cut more black and white fabric. Yes, I know the sun is shining, and it's a beautiful day outside........but first things first.

MARCH MADNESS

2009-04-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

The month of March was not kind to me. I had issues with my IC right from the start. After a few months of being able to eat just about anything I wanted, as long as I took the Prelief beforehand, all of a sudden I couldn't eat anything. And I mean ANYTHING that contained a potentially hazardous substance. My morning bowl of Cheerios was no longer my friend. Blueberries also caused problems, and they are one of two fruits (pears being the other) that IC patients are supposed to be able to handle. Caramelized onions on a steak sandwich had me confined to the couch for a weekend. And SITTING for any length of time was causing me a lot of pelvic pain. I would work at my church office 2-3 hours on a Friday morning, and spend the weekend on the couch, drinking marshmallow root tea and praying for some ease of symptoms..

Needless to say, I was distraught. Crying. Depressed. Thinking that if this was how the rest of my life was going to be, I would just as soon have it over with. Going out to dinner was a weekly enjoyment....and now it is becoming an impossibility. Cooking has become a chore instead of a pleasure, as my favorite spices aren't allowed, no tomato products, no onions....no JOHNNY'S SEASONING and EVERYTHING needs to be prepared from scratch. Can't handle those preservatives and ascorbic acid that are in almost all foods. I don't remember when I last had chocolate.....or coffee....or spaghetti...or an orange....

Working at my desk, sewing, even riding in a car....all cause pelvic pain. If I exercised, I'd have to give it up (grin)....other than some slow walking or yoga. Sretching is good. I am going to get back on my pilates machine and slowly see if I can get back to doing that.

While I was in the midst of the worst week ever in early March, I got a notice from the courts that I was selected for jury duty for April. I groaned at the mere thought of having to do something like that. It just wasn't possible. Fortunately my urologist agreed with me and sent a letter to the court excusing me permanently from jury service. Permanently. Permanently, because this disease, this condition, is not going to go away. So while I was very pleased that jury duty was not going to be a part of my future, it also put a stamp on the rest of my life.....INVALID.

Want to go out to dinner this Saturday? I don't think so. Hey, want to take a week and drive to Montana? Right. How about going out to the winery and watching them bottle this weekend? Afraid I can't. Going to stay for potluck today? Um, no. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Okay...March is over, and it's now April, and I'm doing better. I'm not sure what set off the downward spiral last month, but I'm trying real hard to avoid a recurrence. I've resigned myself to the food issues, but am struggling with the other things that are causing discomfort. I try to spread my church work over the week so that I'm not there for long periods of time. I may have to take up applique quilting instead of pieced so there's less time at the machine. Still haven't figured out how to handle a road trip, but I'm working on it.

This is all new to me. I'm learning as I go. I apologize for sounding grumpy, and I hope you'll bear with me when I have to say "No" to the simplest requests. I'm working on keeping a good attitude, and trying to be positive, but some days, it's just not gonna happen.

SOFA BLUES

2009-03-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

Our sofa has seen better days. Remember when those large plaids were all the rage? Ours is burgundy, hunter green and cream plaid. A really very nice Pennsylvania House sofa. Old enough that it was a piece of PH furniture made in the USA and worth the price, compared to now, when it is made in China. But, after 15 years, the fabric has worn through on the corners of the seat cushions, and since I am embarrassed to have people see it in such sad state, we went shopping for a new sofa.

I think we've hit every store in town, and one in Olympia, but haven't had a whole lot of success. I'm not a fan of big, overstuffed sofas and chairs, and that is what we're seeing. And the fabrics are cheap and shabby. Of course, this is not a town of high-end stores, so we will probably have to change where we're looking. Still, it is depressing to see the kind of stuff that is on the market today. I suppose they are relatively cheap in price for what you get....some were as low as $700. We got our present sofa for $2,200.....half price....and have enjoyed it a long time.

We've thought about leather, but it's never really been on our radar. It's cold....and don't you stick to it when you're bare legged? I spent a night on a leather couch once, and never got warm because it just didn't "warm up." So I've not considered it in the past, tho we might now. (Maybe it would be just the thing to sleep on on those hot summer nights......)

Hubby suggested we get the old sofa reupholstered. That might be a plan. It's sooooo comfortable, and the perfect size. I just can't imagine how long it would take to get it back, and we'd have very limited seating while we waited. Still....it might be an idea. I wonder if they have loaner sofas while you wait?

STILL ALICE

2009-03-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of reading the last couple of months...Timberland Library's annual read-a-thon with gifts and prizes if you are lucky enough to be drawn (you must read at least 5 books and submit a brief description of each to be considered for the drawing). I consider that I have already won a prize, for I have read, "Still Alice" and am still reeling from the experience.

I hesitated about reading this work of fiction. The subject matter deals with a fifty-one year old woman with early onset Alzheimers. Since my father died with some form of dementia... Mom says it was Alzheimers....and his niece has suffered many years with it, I'm afraid it's in my gene pool, and so reading about someone with this condition was not going to help my outlook any.

But the book blew me away. It's told from Alice's perspective. She is a professor of languages at Harvard....bright, intelligent, active, exercises faithfully, eats well, good family life and an adoring husband...all the things we would hope would stave off this dreaded disease. But it just ain't so. Alice's life falls apart fast, even with the meds she takes, even with planning so carefully for what she knows is going to happen to her...and then forgetting her plans.

Alice's three children are given the option of testing to see if they carry the gene. One declines, two are tested. Of course that had me wondering what I would do. I didn't have to hesitate long. I would not do it. Have not done it. I don't think I'd want to live with the knowledge that my life and memories were going to be taken away from me in such a horrific way. But even without the testing, I know the possibility is real, and I have to stop myself from worrying about it.

This brilliantly written book, by author Lisa Genova, was beautiful, heartbreaking and terrifying at the same time. It contained no hope. I couldn't put it down. And I cried through most of it. It gives such insight into what it must be like to have Alzheimers, that I consider this a "must-read" for everyone.

A GOOD START

2009-01-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

I find myself with nothing on my calendar this week. Oh sure, there's work on Friday, but that's all. No doctor or dentist or hair appointments. No special work to do in the church office. No events planned with friends. I HAVE THE WEEK TO MYSELF, and after the busyness of the holidays, it's nice to have nothing I HAVE to do.

I am working on a new quilt. And I'm going to be making quilt tops for a quilt shop in Everett (http://www.quiltersroost.com/). Jodi will back, bind and quilt them, and send them off to an orphanage in Honduras. Right now I'm in the stage of wondering what fabrics I have that might appeal to children. I'm afraid there's not much in that category....my stash is not permeated with bright happy colors. But, I'll come up with something.

And before I forget.......I WON A PRIZE FROM ONE OF MY FAVORITE WEBSITES. Heather Mulder-Peterson from Anka's Treasures http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/) had a give-away contest and I am one of the two winners. She will be sending me a quilt kit from her newest fabric line, Cottage Charms, AND her newest book, Living Large (patterns requiring fabric with large prints). I am SO EXCITED. I hope it will show up this week. Hurry, Heather!!

If you're a fan of the Food Network, I highly recommend their magazine, aptly named "The Food Network Magazine." There are lots of great recipes and articles. I received my second issue yesterday, and pouring through it is one of my indulgences for today.

The 24th is the scheduled date for the play-planning meeting and buffet dinner at Dick and Jeanie's. Yep, we're starting to plan already. Jeanie is busy adding to the script, and I hear she will have us dancing in the aisles. Michael is more sure than ever that he DOES NOT want to be in this play. I think we can talk him into being the stable master tho. Maybe. Not.

Valentine's Day is coming up, and we have reservations at the Westport Winery for their "A Special Evening, A Special Setting, A Special Someone" dinner. Five courses with a wine pairing for each one, take-home chocolate truffles and a rose, for $90 a couple. Now how can you beat that? I don't think we've ever gone out for Valentine's Day....maybe for a burger at the Crow's Nest so I wouldn't have to cook. But this year VD is on a Saturday....and the deal is way too good to pass up. I'm hoping that they aren't serving full glasses of wine, cuz we're both not up to drinking 5 glasses and then driving home. I'm not even supposed to be drinking wine (with my bladder issues), but if I take all the precautionary meds I can get away with SOME.

The winery has been coming up with all sorts of events since they opened. They are fast becoming the main source of entertainment in this sorry little town. I think next weekend is a scrap booking party...with wine tastings, of course. And they have all sorts of cooking "classes"...where you watch and get to eat the food. There's a big bridal fair next month. And they even have grape stompings...you TOO can be like Lucy.

Stomach growling....must be time for breakfast......

THE PLAY

2008-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

After more than a month of sewing dresses, aprons and vests.....after a month of Sunday afternoon play rehearsals....and one on Saturday that made me miss the Light Festival AND a sister's holiday open house....it was show time.

And it snowed. And snowed. Five inches worth. And the temperature plummeted to 25 degrees. And the roads became solid sheets of ice.

And the play had to be cancelled.

I totally enjoyed getting to know the ladies I was working with. There was a real blessing in that.
And there's always next year.

SOOOOO NOT SMILING

2008-12-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

We've all had those phone calls from telemarketers and others, where the person calling barely has a grasp of the English language and you hang up in disgust. Well, I hung up twice early Saturday morning. First, I was angry that they were calling at 7:15 in the morning, and secondly because I couldn't understand anything they said other than "Capital One." Which is my credit card company. I assumed they were trying to get me to use the checks they'd sent for my holiday shopping pleasure, or cash in my bonus points or something, and I wasn't in the mood to chit-chat, even when the 2nd caller managed to get in the word "fraud" before I hung up on her. Well, you know what happens when you ASSUME something.

Since I'd gotten two calls within 15 minutes of each other, I thought maybe I'd go online and log on to my Capital One account and see if they had any urgent messages for me. There it was, in big red letters: Account Restricted. Zero credit available. Code such and such. For more information, call 1-800--------
Which I did immediately. Didn't I receive any phone calls, asked the woman whose English skills were even worse than the two I talked to previously. I told her yes, and that I had hung up on them because I thought they were trying to sell me something, etc. That was soooooo not so.

There had been fraudulent activity on my account the day before. Purchases from Lord and Taylor.....and Napster.....both places I had never been. I tried to get her to explain to me how they had known it wasn't me and what had happened, but basically all I got from her (or understood, anyway) was that information had been entered that did not match my account. She went over all my recent activity, letting me tell her which were legitimate and which ones were not (only the two). She said my account was now closed, I would not be held responsible for the fraudulent charges, and a new card would be in my hands within the following week.

I was stunned. I never visited so-called "disreputable" websites (and hadn't used my card in person in over a year). All the websites were secure, well-known, and so forth. BUT....two weeks ago I opened a Pay-Pal account....thinking it would be easier, and safer....because their purpose is to pay for your purchases out of their site, without each and every store seeing your credit card information. I know it's very popular, and used all over the world. But you can't convince me right now that it didn't have something to do with it. And when I closed my account with them (the credit card on file with them is now no longer good anyway), I told them of my thoughts on the subject.

This morning I thought I would go into annualcreditreport.com and do a quick check there to see if they had any postings that shouldn't be there, and my account there was locked up due to possible fraud activity. They will be happy to send me a report if I send them several pieces of identification, and request one in writing. So at least I know they are aware of the situation, and things are being handled. That was my main concern.

I give huge kudos to Capital One for being so on-the-ball, but gee....it has caused me to totally rethink my online shopping practices. I shop online A LOT. Hubby says that he will take my credit card when it comes and lock it up, so that I can't take the new, unknown number, and start using it. That's probably a good idea.

OOPS

2008-11-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

Did I say my dress was done? Silly me. I have yet to hem it and put in a few hooks and snaps. While hemming is usually an easy and relaxing task for me, think of all that binding that goes on all those quilts, this dress is a nightmare.
A big, slippery, blue nightmare.

Jeanie pinned it up for me last week. Me standing very straight and tall (well, as tall as I could muster), and trying to show off my very best posture. Per her instructions. "Are you SURE you're standing as tall as you can?" Yes, Ma'am. I took off the dress, stuffed it into my grocery bag and brought it home, where it still remains today.

I'm afraid to take it out of the bag. I'm afraid that when I do, the pins will fall out of that slippery blue satiny fabric, and I won't know where to put that hem. The situation wasn't helped in that we didn't shorten the dress BEFORE pinning it up, so 6" of fabric was lying on the ground and got pinned under. I'm not sure that was the best way to do it.

I intend to make it shorter by a wee bit than what she pinned, for if I slump or look down while wearing that dress, the hem is dragging on the floor. She left me no leeway at all. I don't think that's a good idea. I just know I shall fall flat on my face going up or down those stairs to the stage.

The little girls whose dresses need sewing STILL haven't shown up for their fittings, tho 5 of them are SUPPOSED to be at rehearsal tomorrow.

Two weeks.

TICK TOCK

2008-11-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

My dress is done. It fits. I look like a pregnant sausage. But then, we all do (all the ladies in the play, that is). Still, it's a real reality check to take a dress that SHOULD be on Gweneth Paltrow, and make it fit me. Oh my.

I've got the rolls made for Thanksgiving, but haven't even started the Christmas fruitcake. Tomorrow I will make the creamed leeks and the pumpkin pie. And shop for a veggie tray for the FIRST Thanksgiving dinner we go to Thursday.

Friday I will probably start sewing the little girl dresses....there are now 7. But the little darlings have not shown up to have their measurements taken. I say we make a size 10 and if they're too big, tie lots of sashes on them. Sigh. One more thing that is going to put us even farther towards our Dec. 14 play date with lots to be accomplished. And gee, Friday is my day in the office. Huh. I'm getting more behinder as I go!

IT'S WHAT???

2008-11-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

November. Almost December. I cannot believe it. I am still stuck in late September...maybe the beginning of October. Never have I felt so out-of-touch with time, and I hate it because that means I have to rush to get things done and I won't be enjoying it at the leisurely pace I usually relish.

NEVER AGREE TO BE IN A PLAY to help out a friend. Ohmygosh. This has turned into WAY more work than I ever anticipated, and I'm starting to resent it. Sigh. We have been working on regency-era dresses for all the ladies in the play for the last 3 weeks. Today I am working on my bodice...putting on the bias tape that will hold the ribbon that makes a drawstring top for the bodice. Then I must handstitch a decorative ribbon over the stitching for the tape. Fortunately (?) for me I am almost done with my dress, for there are 4 little girl dresses waiting to be sewn. And aprons for the servants in the play. And little satin bags for the ladies to carry, and...oh yes, fans. I've bought fabric, shoes, white hose, long gloves, and a shawl. Yes indeed. Waaaaay more than I anticipated.

But, on a good note....I woke up this morning with perfect hair. Yep. Didn't even need to put a comb to it. It looked as nice as if I'd just come from the hairdresser. Amazing. Even after I plucked off my shower cap it still looked good. I must not have moved at all in my sleep, but gee, there aren't even any flat spots. Usually my short hair is spiked up in all sorts of weird ways, so I don't know what to make of this.

I also made the perfect batch of rolls this morning for our Thanksgiving feast. They are absolutely perfect. The best I've ever made, I think, tho Mamie usually has the last word on that.

Perfect hair. Perfect rolls. Maybe my sewing today will be perfect too.

SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER

2008-10-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Oh, my gosh....I was feeling so invincible. Pain free for days, I had wine with my dinner the other night. And dinner was pizza. I took Prelief with the wine as a precaution. It wasn't enough. Yesterday, late afternoon, and my bladder was in agony. It felt for all the world like I had a bladder infection, but I know it is just my carelessness catching up with me.

Did I mention that when I saw the urologist back in September she confirmed that I did have IC? Interstitial cystitis. A chronic inflamation of the inner lining of the bladder. No cure....but if I don't eat anything with citric acid, caffeine, or oxylates, I should do pretty good. So...no coffee, no tea, no wine or alcohol, no chocolate, no fruits, no tomatoes, and on and on and on. I can have meat, fish, poultry....but don't put anything on them! Fortunately, I don't think my condition is as bad as some, and I AM allowed to take a Uristat or AZO every day to help with any discomfort. But I may have to cancel my membership to the Westport Winery's wine club.

Hey....did you notice that it's fall? That this week has been filled with sunny, crisp mornings? Oh joy! I feel so invigorated! I'm working on quilt projects...doing my pilates...cooking labor-intensive meals...I just come alive this time of year. Too bad it's so short-lived.

Have you started your Christmas shopping? I have one gift bought and that's it. With the economy the way it is....and still not knowing when the final shoe will drop....I think this might be the year to be really cautious with our spending. Michael and I never really go crazy with the shopping for each other anyway, but I think we'll just exchange small gift certificates this year....his for Cabelas, and mine for the Fat Quarter Shop. We all have much more than we NEED anyway...right? Right!

I cleaned out my fabric stash last week, sending two boxes to a church that makes "charity" quilts for various organizations in town. I've always meant to do that myself (make the quilts), but my good intentions often get side-tracked. They were delighted to get all that fabric, and I am delighted at the prospect of getting new fabric to replace it.

I wish someone in my family shared my love of quilting. Sigh. It would be such fun to talk "fabric" and patterns and quilt together. My girlfriend who quilts hasn't done much of it since she took a full-time job. I miss the fun of working on projects together....and the companionship. I'm thinking I should suggest to Rebecca that she learn to quilt. Maybe she'd really take to it, and I'd have someone to pass all my quilt books/fabric/notions to. Good idea.

SMILING A LITTLE BIT

2008-09-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that the older I get, the more time I'm spending in doctor's offices. And I never really feel like there's anything WRONG with me....it just seems that there are more and more check-ups, more testing, more whatever. Maybe it's just that as we get older, we become more proactive with our health, having lost the "I'm invulnerable/immortal" thinking of our youth. Then too, as we get older more and more "stuff" happens....the aging process bringing all sorts of new delights. Delight? Not.

I've had toes and thumbs swell up with arthritis (pseudo-gout, they tell me), and I have a bottle of Naproxen on hand for the next time. The thumb-swelling was preceded by an evening of hand sewing, and it worries me that I may have to give up quilting one of these days....wondering if my hands will give out before my eyesight.

I've also had episodes of stress incontinence....what a joy that is! LOL....but not too hard! And I've had LOTS of bladder aches and pains, and a burning that seems set off by different things I eat. All the symptoms of a UTI but with no infection. I saw a new ob/gyn in my doctor's clinic who has a specialty in the bladders of aging women. He did two tests....a cystoscopy and some kind of stress test to see if I was a candidate for a "bladder lift". In both cases, the tests came back negative.

He told me perhaps I could benefit from some physical therapy. What?? As I sat there looking at him with this "Are you nuts?" look on my face (thinking that therapy was not going to help the UTI-feeling symptoms), he suggested that I get a second opinion from a urologist. Which is what I thought I should have done from the beginning. So, I see one on Tuesday. Please people, hold good thoughts and pray that she will have the right answers to my problem.

Other than that....it's almost officially fall! My favorite time of year. In that I can rejoice.

END OF SUMMER BLUES

2008-08-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year. Summer is on the way out, and fall is fast approaching. Yay. Still, I'm feeling a bit sad today because summer IS just about over...and once again, it has passed with no vacation or short trips or anything that slightly resembles some time away. Somewhere. Anywhere.

It's my own fault. All I need is a plan, and more still, a willingness to spend the money and go somewhere. I don't know what I'm saving it for. I'm sure it stems from once being widowed so young, and not knowing what the future would hold. And then when I did marry again(the most wonderful man created!), money was something we didn't have a lot of. It was always tight, and we were always putting monies away for the "down season" that could last 3-4 months...or longer...when you worked in the woods. I always tried to keep our budget to where we could exist on unemployment, with maybe just a few hundred borrowed from savings each month, to make ends meet. And once he went back to work, it meant saving again for the next winter's down time. Not much left to play with.

Now he has this wonderful job, and while I'd like to think it will last, as is, until he retires, it's in the back of my mind that it could all change at any moment. I KNOW it can. Been there, done that. And so letting go to spend monies on something as frivolous as a vacation....or a new kitchen floor...is hard for me. I wish it were different.

BLURRY-EYED

2008-08-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

All those books I've had come in from the library have me reading like crazy. I have managed to read 750 pages of "Pillars of the Earth" in the last four days. Three hundred pages to go. Five more books await....all due back within 2-3 weeks. My eyes hurt.

HEAVEN

2008-08-07T12:57:00.002-07:00

I've had lots of books on waitlist at the library. In the last week, 7 of them have come in...including the huge "Pillars of the Earth." I also have a stack of new fabric I'm anxious to cut into (waiting for the pseudogout to leave my hand).

Books and fabric....it doesn't get any better than this! Bliss.

WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

2008-08-07T12:57:00.001-07:00

When you're young, you never, ever think that you are going to be old. But the days and months and years go by, and one day you wake up and .....YOU'RE OLD. Okay. That day has come. On Sunday I will be 60, and I'm ready to admit that I am no longer young. I hesitated when I turned 50, but now there is no denying that I am over the hill. Headed down the slope to those wonderful golden years. What a scary thought.

I've asked my aging aunties several times in the past if they felt their age, and they would reply, "Physically...yes. But mentally, we feel 35." And that is exactly how I am feeling. 35. So, what kind of a joke is that? I guess we have to be mentally young or we could never cope with the physical things that are happening to us. But it really seems unfair to have a mind so willing, and a body so weak.

I have a happy, joyful attitude, and I expect it will carry me through the next 10 years, at least, with a young spirit. I hate to think that I will end up shriveled and crotchety, sitting in my rocker and trying to thread a needle so I can quilt something (something that will undoubtedly have large, crooked stitches, cuz who in the heck can see to do it even NOW?) and not having a lot of contact with the outside world.

I think that's the key. Keeping people....good people....around you. I am blessed with the greatest husband in the world, AND the greatest family. I've got a few good friends, too, and a wonderful church family. All these things will help, I'm sure, to keep me active and involved and sharing the love. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Sharing the love. Giving of ourselves. Keeps your spirit healthy and happy even if the body starts to fail.

So....happy birthday to me! Hope to see you at the party!

MUDDLED MEANDERINGS

2008-06-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wow. I am surprised that it has been almost two months since I last posted. Well, maybe I'm not that surprised. I haven't felt any inspiration, life is rather dull, and when I sat down to write...not a word would come forth. Today I am making myself talk. Even if it's just about the weather.

Which, by the way, is terrible. Even I, a lover of cooler temperatures and dark winter days, is distressed by the spring we are having. Or aren't having. Take your pick. It is cold, it is windy, it is drizzling. I have given up on trying to keep warm with sweatpants and sweaters, and have started fires in the fireplace to heat the house. In June!! If this keeps up, we will be out of our winter wood before winter gets here. Oh, I'm sure it will end at some point, and my biggest fear is that summer will appear with a vengeance, and I will be sweltering in my un-airconditioned house for three months straight.

So, what do I do on a day like today when my mood matches the weather, and while I need to clean, I need the inspiration of a bright, sunny day?? Why, cook, of course. (Tho I do have a meeting with an accountant/tax advisor this afternoon on some work stuff). This morning I am putting together a pot of spaghetti and making a lemon cake. And I debated about the lemon cake. It's terrible how when one is overweight, and one KNOWS they are overweight, they can still rationalize making dessert. The one I used was the sad, sad look on hubby's face when the lemon cake I made last week went to the Union Gospel Mission (our church provides their meal every 5th Friday). This cake is awesome. If you are a lemon-lover, you would be making this often. It is much easier than lemon pie, and satisfies just as well. So, thank Norma for the recipe....and here it is:

Norma's Lemon Cake

In a 9x13 pan mix together:

l lemon cake mix
1 small box lemon jello (I wouldn't recommend the sugar-free kind)
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. oil
4 eggs

Just blend together with a fork, and pop into a 350 degree oven (F), and bake for 30-33 minutes...til lightly brown on top.

While it's baking, mix together 2 c. of sifted powdered sugar, a few tablespoons of milk and lemon juice. Enough of the wet ingredients to get a thin frosting that will pour/spread. I add enough lemon juice to get the amount of tang I like...it's your choice.

When the cake comes out of the oven and is still hot, poke holes in the surface all over with a fork, and pour/spread the lemon frosting over. Try to wait til it cools before you eat it. It is incredibly moist and very lemony.

This ugly weather is certainly well-loved by the weeds. Oh, my goodness. It is a jungle around here. I hate yard work. Michael does too, but if I glare at him long enough or stand at the window and sigh loudly, he will go out and mow the lawn. A week later he may take out the weed-eater and tackle the weeds. Now, I could probably do that part...except it's a really big Stihl gas-powered thing, with shoulder straps, and a protective helmet, etc. that weighs about 15 lbs. or more. I have enough body aches without weed-eating. (See, I'm really good at rationalizing.)
Anyway, last night I took out our budget book and crunched some numbers just to see if we could afford a lawn maintenance co. Maybe just through the summer. It would take the pressure off hubby, and we'd both be happier people. But there's gas to pay for....and the car payment for the hybrid that uses waaaay less gas, but still needs to be paid for. At the moment we aren't saving all that much in the swap from truck to hybrid...maybe $25 a month. Once it's paid for....woo hoo! But that's several years away. So, with the cost of everything going up, where do you fit in the price of a gardener? I think we can do it...if they don't charge TOO much. But if it's only for 5 months...what the hey. We actually have a friend in Wesport who does that kind of work...and up here...so we'll be giving him a call. Maybe he'll give us a break....he still owes us a gunny sack full of dungeness crab for our wedding! (He was working the crab boats at the time.)

Can you say, "Amen and hallelujah!" Jeanie just called to say she'd been on the phone with a tax advocate from the IRS and the mess with the pastor's taxes from 2004 has been RESOLVED!! Without the meeting we were having this afternoon. Now, this isn't the first time we thought things were okay....we've had high hopes and celebrations before, only to be crushed when more letters came, and differing information from different IRS people said we were still in trouble. Crazy. It was a simple mistake....the tax advocate she talked to today said it was obvious looking at the orignal tax form that we had made a mistake, and knew what it was, and why it had happened. But the IRS couldn't just say, 'hey, this is wrong...would you like to correct it?" In fact, Jeanie corrected it on her own, but they couldn't deal with that....they had to pursue punishing us first. With the amount we said we owed...had the error been uncorrected...plus penalties, and interest. They were ready to levy the church accounts to get their money. Supposedly, this is all taken care of now. I hope so. Jeanie plans to retire at the end of this year, and I am supposed to be taking over. Well.....not unless they PAY someone to do their taxes. It's not gonna be me. The unpaid, uneducated VOLUNTEER help that does their books and secretarial work.

So....now I can concentrate on putting my spaghetti sauce together (a doctored-up version based on Paul Newman's Cabernet Marinara....delicious!). So good, and so easy. I cook some good hamburger, drain, add a small can of tomato paste, onions, celery, garlic, some brown sugar (I like my sauce on the sweet side) and some water or wine as it cooks. I'll add a little parmesan cheese at the end. It's very good. I have a bottle of Gabbiano 2004 Chianti Classico Reserva....I'll let you know how it was. This is a bottle we picked up at Costco....I'll probably love it and it will never be there again! I was going to open a bottle of the Westport Wineries "Jetty Cat Red", but it said it was so special it needed to be shared with good friends on a great occasion. So, someone come down and we'll open it.

And if you're in the neighborhood tonight, come on down for dinner. We'll eat about 6:30.

NEW WINE

2008-04-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had breakfast at the new Westport Winery and Vineyard By-the-Sea. Well, okay....we didn't really have breakfast there, but we did do some wine tasting. And it was before noon.

The new winery opened last weekend, and offers 14 different wines. While they are currently getting their grapes from other Washington areas, the soil is tilled and ready to plant their own grapes this year. They told us that their location is quite similar to planting areas in Germany, and they have high hopes for producing their own grapes, even with all the rain we get.

Like a lot of wines these days, their labels are works of art. All center around a beach theme, and the wines have interesting names like, "Surfer's Last Syrah," and "Charterboat Chick's Cabernet Sauvignon". These two bottles have labels with the owner's parents on them....his father was an accomplished surfer in Maui in his youth, and his pic graces the syrah. Mom worked on a charterboat for years, and she is on the Cabernet.

Their most expensive wine, at $55, is "Shiver Me Timbers Riesling Ice Wine" and is available only to wine club members. To join the club one agrees to purchase two bottles of wine, 4 times a year. You then get 20% off your wine, and free tastings for 4 of your friends, 3 times a year. Of course we signed up. Michael will be wanting two bottles of the "A Little Wild Blackberry Riesling"....which I found too sweet for my taste, and both of us liked a white Merlot called "Compass Rose"...another that's available only to wine club members. We sampled about 6 of them, and I found them rather unsophisticated, lacking the subtleties and complex flavors that you find in good wines. These are more "in your face" with some of the flavors just too sweet...too chocolaty (Red Sky at Night, a dessert wine). I'm hoping there will be enough comments made to them that they might try to be a bit more subtle with future batches.

They have a lovely little building, with an event room that seats 90. They are also going to have an outdoor pavilion tent this summer. They sell the usual gift shop items, and some cheeses and salamis.

So, if you find yourself on the way to Westport, make a point of stopping in. It's always a good thing to support a new business, and this time there is wine involved!

SPRING

2008-04-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's spring. While it hasn't felt like it much around here, the calendar says it's so. And my spirit feels it. It's been a long, hard winter in so many ways, and I am ready for spring. We are all in need of the rebirth. The renewal. The hope that is spring.

HEARTBREAK

2008-02-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

There are certain things in life that always happen to other people....not to you or your family. Up until this week, that held true. But on Tuesday, one of our littlest family members, 14-month-old Emma Joy, went to be with Jesus. As I write this, we still don't know "for sure" what happened, but she had been ill with the flu.

It doesn't matter what happened, the reality is that she is no longer with us. A hole of such huge proportion has been ripped into our family, and there's no way it can ever be mended. Our hearts are broken. And I know that if I can feel so badly about my little great-niece, the agonies her parents are going through are unimaginable. Right now there is no comfort, and the deep sadness will last for a long, long, long, long time. While it's good that she is with the Lord, I know we needed her more than He did. Who can begin to understand such things?

Please be praying for our family, and especially for her parents, Kelly and Steve.

FOGGY THOUGHTS ON A FRIDAY MORNING

2008-02-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

Whoever said Sheryl Crow could sing? There's the most horrendous screeching coming from my TV this morning.

I'm on a rush to get to the church this morning....get the bulletin out, and the new budget proposal into everyone's mail slot. I worked 3 hours on this LAST Friday....2.5 hours Wednesday night, 3 hours yesterday, and more to do today. They keep changing things. Teri says I should be paid. I'm thinking maybe she's right. This "volunteer to do the bulletin" has mushroomed to where I am the heir-apparent to the treasurer/secretary job at the end of 2008. If I didn't love the work so much, I would probably complain.

I apologize for not posting anything lately. I look at the keyboard and find absolutely nothing to say. Maybe it's cause lately there are just figures dancing in my brain, instead of words.

BRING ON 2008

2007-12-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

Can a phone call at 5:30 in the morning be a good thing? Not too often. And not in this case. I was roused from slumber to learn that a deer had chosen to commit suicide on the front of Michael's truck. Off I went to meet him at the Elma Rest Area, where we finished making all the necessary calls...police, insurance, tow. Got wonderful service from our ins. co., tho we had to wait over an hour for the tow....which was coming from 45 miles away (when there were tow companies in Elma not 5 miles away).

We are now wondering if his '98 Toyota...with 230,000 miles on it...might be considered "totalled". Hope not. This has been a really great truck. We ARE looking into getting something that gets even better mileage, so let's hope this works out for the best.

If bad things come in threes....I hope this is the end of it. Our shop broken into and chainsaws stolen in November.....then the storm and resulting damages....and now his truck. Enough already.

SMILING HELPS

2007-12-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

The weekend of Dec. 2 proved to be rather interesting around here. The winds began to blow about noon that Sunday, and they continued until Tuesday morning. They say we had 13-16 inches of rain in that period, but I'm not sure any of it hit the ground around here....the high winds were sending it in another direction. I went blissfully to sleep Sunday night, hearing the wind (which at times sounded like a freight train), but not really concerned. Little did I know that winds reaching category 3 hurricane-speed were tearing through the west part of our county.

We awoke Monday morning to a totally different landscape. The first thing I noticed when opening the living room drapes, was that the last of our major pine trees (60') had gone sideways into the power pole servicing our area, snapping off the top 20 feet. The tree and the top of the pole were dangling in the wires over the 4-lane highway bordering our property. It didn't matter....there was no traffic at all. We found out later that you couldn't get in or out of Aberdeen....and Central Park, where we live....because of so many similar situations repeating itself up and down the highway. We were kind of surprised...but not alarmed. We didn't yet know the full extent of the damage. We thought, "Well...it's gonna be late tonight before we get power." We have a fireplace with an insert, so we weren't cold. And fortunately (if one can call anything fortunate about these kinds of storms), it's usually warmer than normal when they occur. We were okay....just inconvenienced.

I dug out the battery-powered radio, and could find no local station. An Olympia station provided most of our news, and it was through them that we learned there was no getting in or out. We learned there were slides covering the highway in the 45 miles between here and Olympia too. We were beginning to be concerned. Power might be out longer than we expected, and we had two freezers full of food that needed to be protected.

Tuesday morning we were off to Olympia to get generators. Mind you, there were none left in Grays Harbor County, and we only found one in Olympia because the Cabela's store was so new, folks weren't thinking of them as a source of portable power. We had to divert around the slide area at Summit Lake, but got through with no problems. There were a great many semi-trucks lined up that apparently hadn't heard about the slide, and were too big to take the detour. We noticed several long flatbed trucks loaded with power poles, and we kept our fingers crossed that they would find a way through. Anyway, we got the last generator in Cabelas...and borrowed another from my brother-in-law (thanks, Randy!). And we got a hot meal too...our first in days! (Thanks, Sarah!) We were able to get power to our place, and to my father-in-law. And so we settled in for the wait.

Late Tuesday afternoon power crews began arriving. Up until then it was just too windy for them to begin working. It was with real joy that we welcomed a team of "pud people" to the front of our house....where they stayed until the following Saturday. Let's give a shout out to Michels Power.....thanks guys! You worked 24/7 to get our area of the world up and running. And thanks to my brother-in-law, Al....I'm sure it was he who got us a phone by Wednesday...when a whole lot of other people didn't have one until that weekend.

We had water....but you couldn't drink it without boiling it. And since it was a hassle to heat up the barbecue to boil water, we drank bottled. Wed. night they drilled a hole through our water line (drilling a hole for the new power pole), and without phones to most of our area, no one could get ahold of the water dept. to turn it off. We didn't know this until early (4 a.m) Thursday morning, when Michael got up for work. His first day back to work, and we had a lake in our front yard. He madly began digging trenches through our yard to divert the water to the driveway....instead of going under the house. We still have the trenches, but the water is gone. Our front lawn was rather sad to begin with....now it's even more interesting. It was Monday before we got a new water-line in, and Tuesday they gave us the go-ahead to drink it. Fortunately for us, we have a creek running through the property, so we were able to bring in buckets of water to flush the toilet during the time we had no water at all.

By Wednesday Sunny 102.1 was back on the air....with donated gas for their generators. Rhys Davis's show in the morning was a bright spot in our day. We were constantly updated with what was going on in around us....when a grocery store would open, who was giving away free ice or water...what restaurants were open for business. With most of the county blacked out, there were no gas stations....no grocery stores....no restaurants. People were making gas-runs to Olympia. Michael brought home drinking water from work. It was interesting to say the least. The spokeswoman for the PUD gave updates several times a day, and it was then we realized that we weren't getting power for another 5 or more days. The governor had declared our county a disaster, so FEMA was coming in with help in the form of generators, and checks for food and shelter. We knew lots of people that had parts of their roofs missing. My girlfriend lost her car to a tree....but she was wanting a new one anyway...fortunately! There was some flooding in east county, and millions and millions of board feet of timber now lay on the ground.

And because we had no power for the week, we missed all the TV coverage on our neighbors to the southeast in Lewis County, who were in much worse shape than us, with horrible flooding. I-5 was closed for days. Even parts of Olympia were flooded, with water up to the roofs of cars only a few blocks from the shopping mall. It was amazing.

But, here we are....one week after life returned to normal....getting ready for Christmas. It will take us awhile to get this mess cleaned up, but no real damage done to our place. Other people fared a LOT worse. And look at the rest of the COUNTRY....those ice storms in Oklahoma (off all places) and other parts of the midwest....all that snow in New England. And it's not even winter yet. Help.

THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF

2007-11-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

"Welcome to Cabela's....and thank you. Thank you for your part in making this store a reality!" We were greeted by half a dozen or more smiling employees, shaking our hands, thanking us for building their store, and asking what part we played in the process. They accompanied us through the entrance, asking where we'd like to go first, and pointing the way to the different areas of the store.....camping, fishing, marine, home, and of course, archery, hunting, and "camo." Needless to say, my husband is in 7th heaven. Is there a higher one than that? If so, he's there.

It was "Contractor" night...a chance for those who'd built the building to go in and shop, at a discount, with their families before the store opened to the general public this weekend. The parking lot was full, and parts of the store were really crowded, but it was really an enjoyable experience. No where have we ever encountered such smiling, helpful employees. They were out en masse and were more than eager to answer your questions, find the product you were after, and quickly made dozens of trips to the cashier center to see what kind of discount was being offered on different items. They certainly earned their money last night, and I can only wonder if they will still be smiling by the time Christmas is over! (Of course, my family knows that whoever has Michael's name for Christmas, they need look no further than the check-out counter at Cabela's...where the gift cards are...for his gift.)

We spent three hours in the store, and if we'd been able to get into the restaurant there, we'd have stayed til they closed. As it was, the place was packed to the rafters with hungry shoppers, and so we went elsewhere. We will be back, tho, for the restaurant serves wild game, and I'm told they have lots of varieties to try. There is also chicken and hot dogs for the not so adventurous.

Needless to say, I don't need to do any (more) Christmas shopping for my hubby this year. He's done it all himself....hurrah! But I'll probably sneak a new sweater in. What's Christmas without a new sweater?

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK ALOT LIKE.....

2007-11-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today was "open house" at all the little gift shops in town. A holiday mood prevails, and my friend Laurie and I traditionally make the rounds of these shops each year on this special weekend, and end with lunch and conversation.

We began our adventure this year at Country Tyme. It's a really special place any time of year, but for the holidays all sorts of special treats abound. Every nook and cranny is stuffed with the things that women delight in....beautiful fabrics, scents, pottery creations, foodstuffs, jewelry, the whimsical and the downright gorgeous. And the place smells divine! I can always tell when my husband has shopped there for a treat for me, because the package smells like their shop! This is the kind of store where you'd love to work....but would never take home a paycheck because you'd spend it before you got it.

I made a variety of purchases here today. A gorgeous green polyester "silk" table runner, embroidered with satin ribbons in the shape of a Christmas tree at each end, and a wreath in the center with ribbon roses and beading. It is so lovely...and at 20% off (everything in the store!) a mere $24.
I also picked up a taffeta velvet-lined drawstring bag...embroidered with flowers. The inside has individual pockets for jewelry. It's beautiful....and again, only a mere $12. I have a thing for fabrics (avid quilter that I am), and these are both beautiful.

I picked up 6 new folk-art angels for the dining room tree, some tiny sterling silver and coral earrings for Rebecca, and a stir-fry cookbook. I also picked up a ceramic travel mug with a picture of a frazzeled housewife and a saying that read "I'm a complex woman with many moods.....and they all require chocolate!" So true. I added that to my pile at the counter, but Laurie snatched it away and said she had intended that to be my Christmas gift, and insisted on paying for it. I got to take it home now, tho. :-)

From there we popped in next door to the liquor store where I purchased a bottle of rum for the fruitcakes I make. My brother-in-law said last year that we needed a new tradition of my bringing fruitcake to every Thanksgiving dinner now (as I did last year), so that means I need to get baking.

The Kitchen Links store was crammed with women....I think they were there for the food! In the entryway to their store was a table set up with several different dips and crackers, chocolate truffles and cookies, a pot full of cocktail meatballs, and platters of wrap sandwiches. We elbowed our way around the shop and found lots of things we'd like to have, but the prices were a little high...as usual. I did buy a pasta bowl set....but only because I really liked the big bowl that was on display, not knowing that it came with four individual pasta bowls. It was big, yellow and red...tomatoes, I think, on a yellow background. It will look great on my dining room table. I can't imagine ever making enough pasta to fill it, but it's really pretty.

Next door was the Country Closet, and they had their usual array of decorative items...none of which looked "fresh"....the same old thing from past years. They did have some new candles...beautifully made. The brown ones looked like leather, they were gorgeous.

Across the street to the town's quilt shop. In and out. The place is pathetic. I don't know what keeps them in business. I have to order my fabrics from online shops.

We had an amazing lunch at Casa Mia....tortellini in a butter cream sauce...and the other half in tomato....a wonderful big bowl of French onion soup (oh, man!)...and it also came with salad (cheese and olives on romaine) and bread. For $6.50! I ignored the salad and bread, and concentrated on the soup.

It was a lovely afternoon. It's not often that Laurie and I get time to spend together, so this was a real treat. Once again we vow to do this more often. In fact, we will do it in two weeks when the holiday fairs at the other end of the county happen. The big show at the pavillion at the fairgrounds, open house at Blackberry Hollow and P, B & J's.....now THERE'S a fun shop. Amazing stuff at amazing prices. And lunch at Saginaws...exceptional food. And a martini bar!

It's official. I'm in the mood. Let the holidays begin!

P.S. Got a call this evening from the Country Closet. I am a winner of a $25 gift certificate. Now I can go back and buy the ivory-colored pedestal cake plate I was carrying around...but changed my mind about. Yay.

WHERE'S NATE WHEN YOU NEED HIM?

2007-10-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

I am never so aware of my lack of interior decorating skills as when I pick out paint colors. No matter how much I study those paint chips I always, ALWAYS, get it wrong. (Well, not always. I insisted on Martha Stewart Bee Balm Red for my office space, and I LOVE IT.)

My dining room had three shades of yellow on it before I found the right one. And even then I made the mistake of painting the ceiling the same color, when it should have been a lighter shade. Some day when I'm feeling brave I'll change it. My bathroom paint was in shades of gray to match the tub, etc. but in that room with so little natural light, the paint looks blue. I hate blue. Our bedroom is a disgusting shade of "antique green" that has a blue tint, and the carpet is a tweed of lighter greens and browns. I let Michael pick that out. I hate it too. The two don't go together at all.

Obviously carpet and I don't do well either. I ripped out the last one we put in, and put in another, and in the past year I have seriously come to not like it either. It's in the living room, and that's the room I'm currently trying to paint. I'm on my third paint color....tested on the small wall the stairs are on...and I hate it. Oh, it is SOOOO wrong.

I am just not cut out for this. It's ovioulsy not in my genes. I'd had the job over to my hubby, but he's not interested....tho he does (USUALLY) make better choices than I do. He stands back and lets me do my thing, and then comes to the rescue with a suggestion that usually works out better than my original plan.

Sometimes I think I'm expecting too much from a little can of color. I would love to have the entire room magically transformed, and paint is not up to the task. The needs of this old house go deeper than any can of paint can fix, and what we really need is discipline....to dig in and get to fixing and finishing all the undone projects around here.

VULNERABLE

2007-10-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our church was robbed. In the middle of morning service, thieves came in and stole all the monies from the giving boxes in the hallways. Those of us who had checks stolen were advised to close the accounts and open new ones. We went through that process...getting new checks, canceling auto debits from ins. companies and the like, applying for new ATM/debit cards. That was two weeks ago, and our new materials just arrived today.

I was thinking we had things under control when our pastor mentioned that the sheriff had mentioned that we might be vulnerable to robberies since the thieves had our names and addresses, and knew where we were on Sunday mornings. I needed to hear that like a hole in the head.

So today I am trying to do what I can to safeguard some items....I can stash the better jewelry, credit cards, a bit of cash...but in reality, it seems kind of futile. I know the "pros" can think of any place "I" can. I can lock up pertinent personal information in a filing cabinet...but is it really break-in proof? We have a small fire-safe lock box, and that could be carried away. Where do I put all the boxes of financial records, payroll records, investment records that won't fit into the "locked" filing cabinet? If someone wanted to steal one's identity, it wouldn't be too hard. How does one lock up and protect one's life?

I don't like feeling vulnerable, but I'm not going to worry about it too much. What happens, happens, and if so, you deal with the mess it will create and start over. This has been a wake up call. It certainly has me thinking of things we can change....and we'll be doing a few things differently.

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

2007-10-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been holding off on expressing my joy that it is finally FALL because, frankly, it's been more like a Northwest winter out there. But today....today is FALL.

Was it in the 30's when you got up this morning? I don't know what it was when Michael left at 5, but when I crawled out from the down comforter this morning it was a chilly 35. There was a low-lying fog, and the sun was trying to break through. Ahhhhhh.....everything a fall morning should be.

I love this season. I love the darkening days, the warmth of a fireplace, the fact that there's less running around and "making hay while the sun shines." I can put away my sleeveless clothes and hide myself in warm, comfy sweaters. I'm ready to gather-in, find some new quilt projects and good books. Bring out my heavier winter meal fare, and try out some new soup recipes. Think about the holidays. Get those fruitcakes ready for Thanksgiving.

The maples in my yard are turning a gorgeous shade of red. There is snow in the mountains. A fuzzy catepillar was climbing my front door yesterday. (I don't want to talk about the spiders that are hanging EVERYWHERE.) The northern hemisphere is getting ready for rest. Ah, bliss.......

IT'S A BIRD....IT'S A PLANE.....

2007-10-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Google tells me today that this is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik. Fifty years ago Russia launched this tiny satellite into the sky, and millions of Americans gazed into the night heavens hoping for a glimpse. I can remember well standing out on the front lawn with my Dad, looking and looking until we finally spotted it. What an amazing thing it was! This man-made object floating around in earth's orbit. We looked at it many nights, and as a 9-year-old I remember it as an exciting, happy thing. Now I wonder what my parents were really thinking.

The fact that Russia was the first in space was definitely not an occasion for celebration during the years of the Cold War between our two countries. Rather, it was something to be feared, for it opened the door for attack from space. What an idea! I had no inkling of the tensions created by this little satellite...not something we discussed around the dinner table.

But, as a young student of the American school system, I was very aware of the dangers of the Cold War. It was in grade school that we learned to "duck and cover" and for goodness sake, don't look at the light during an atomic blast! We also had a drill that involved our getting to a "safe house" within 10 minutes of the school. My grandparents lived within that range, so on drill day, we would race out the back door of the school, across the sports field, and then the three blocks to their house. These same grandparents would move in 1962 from the city out to our neighborhood in the country, and would build a new home that included a built-in "fall-out" shelter room. We were very much aware that this other country wanted to blow us off the map. I don't remember now if I ever had nightmares about it, but it was very much a part of our lives.

Still, I don't recall Sputnik ever being anything other than a really cool thing....and an opportunity to share some fun time with my Dad.

HOW CURVACEOUS!

2007-09-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

My favorite 12-year-old called me this morning on the way to her soccer game in Tumwater...."Kathy! I saw the Curves sign going up in Montesano!"

We have been keeping a watchful eye out since the rumor started that a Curves would be opening in this little town. Since it's growing by leaps and bounds (the town, that is), it apparently has now been deemed Curves-worthy. HIP, HIP, HOORAH!

I have belonged to Curves in the past. Went for a year and a half until my exercise partner disappeared to Australia for three months, and then I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer...both things adding up to my stopping and not returning. The only thing that returned was the weight and inches that I'd lost. I could have gone back at any time, but I didn't. Another detriment was that it was in downtown Aberdeen, and I'm never in Aberdeen. All my errands are to Montesano. I said if they ever opened one there, I'd be in line on opening day.

It is opening one block east of the post office I frequent, one block west of my bank drive-in, around the corner from my library, one block north of where we get gas, and right next door to Oishi Teriyaki and Subway. The only way it could be better is if there were a fabric store in the same block.

So, once again I will become an exercise junkie. My doctor will be pleased. She says I need to walk....just walk! I'm thinking I will park several blocks from this Curves and get my walk in coming and going.

I can hardly wait.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

2007-09-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last night my husband flew in this itty bitty plane with a friend of his who’d recently gotten his pilot’s license. I was nervous about the whole thing.

The plane was old, with lots of re-built parts. But of course, it was in fine flying condition. Right? And so what if Wayne had only recently gotten his license. He’s taken lots of people up flying, and everyone said he did a fine job. Uh huh.

So I hugged my hubby tight, kissed him hard, told him I loved him, and sent him out the door, wondering if the supper we’d just finished was our last meal together. Okay, so maybe that thought was a little morbid, but hey….I told you I was nervous about the whole thing.

After he’d left I found myself thinking these thoughts: No matter how tightly I hugged him, or how hard I kissed him, or how many times I told him I loved him…..if he didn’t come back, it wouldn’t have been enough. There’s no way it COULD have been. Nothing we do ahead of time could prepare us for the reality of losing someone we love.

He came home in one piece….had a great time….got a little air sick though, and I’m hoping that will discourage him from going again!

A DAY AT THE BEACH

2007-09-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

We went out to the beach this weekend. There is a new housing development going in at Pacific Beach, and the ads for the properties show such nice homes, we wanted to check it out. The development is called “Seabrook” … and it’s not just an area of homes, it’s a whole town. Houses, parks, shops, promenades, an amphitheater…you name it, this place will have it. It’s in the early development stages, so there wasn’t too much to see right now.

The houses are beautiful. Cedar shingled, for beautiful weathering, with paint trims in Federal blue, hunter green, old barn red. Balconies on most….crows nests on some. These homes could easily fit right in at Cape Cod or Nantucket. Gorgeous. I picked my favorite immediately, and when I went online to look at their houses for sale, found it was listed at $899,000. And it’s not even 3000 sf. Whoa. I was surprised to see little 770 sf homes listed at over $400,000. (This really IS like the east coast!) What’s interesting is these homes are not on the beach. They are across the road, and at a level that doesn’t allow you to see the ocean because of the trees on the other side of the highway unless you have a crows nest at the top of your home. The houses have no property other than what they are sitting on, and I don’t think they are more than 5-6 feet apart. Seems a tad expensive to me. But they say they are selling a living experience…not just a house. There are houses and cottages for rent (nightly to monthly), and those rates seemed reasonable.

From there we drove down to Ocean Shores. We were rewarded with lots of sunshine, crowds of people enjoying the first day of the Labor Day Weekend, and what appeared to be a brown pelican migration. The skies were filled with them…different groups in different parts of the ocean along the south jetty. In the horizon you could see V-formations of them approaching….bird, after bird, after bird. Perhaps there was something special in the water that day, some tasty morsel of a favorite fish or vertebrate that had their attention. Whatever the reason, they were fascinating to watch, and I don’t recall ever seeing them in such numbers.

As close as we are to the ocean (20-25 miles), we rarely go there. We are not “ocean” people. I don’t care for the sand between my toes, am not entranced by the repetitious pounding of the waves, and the smell of fresh salt air does nothing for my mood or disposition. The one exception to this would probably be a beach on Maui or something like that. I am very fond of the tropical islands we’ve visited. But other than that……

I’d rather be on a mountain. I could stand on a mountain, raise my face to the heavens, and swear that I can hear the voice of God. As some people can sit for hours watching the ocean waves, I can lose myself in a vista of mountaintops. My soul feels free, and at peace. Complete serenity. The scent of fir and pine is the sweetest odor on earth, and the birdsong is music to my ears.

I dream about a home where I can walk out my front door, sit on the covered wrap-around porch, and look out at a forested valley, bordered by mountains. That would be heaven-on-earth to me. I certainly don’t have that now…but it doesn’t hurt to dream.

DEAR DIARY

2007-08-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

#73 Dear Diary

July 15, 1988

Dear Diary.......It's been almost three months since the diagnosis that spun my world. What seemed like a "simple" gallbladder attack back in April, was in reality stomach cancer. Things have been so crazy since then that I haven't had time to write. We have been thrust into a world of hospitals, doctors, needles, and drugs. Of feeling sick almost all the time. The good days are few and far between. And I am so tired.

Our first doctor washed his hands of us....said that surgery or chemo wouldn't do any good. How does he know this? He has done nothing more than biopsy a metastasized lump in B's neck. I know that the fact the cancer has moved from point A to point B is not a good thing. Still....it seems cruel to have all your hopes dashed to the floor in one quick sentence. This doctor is a brilliant surgeon, but his lack of tact and cold bedside manner are well known. B tells him...SCREAMS at him...that we will find another doctor. He is not going to just give up. Th doctor replies, "Well.....good luck to you, buddy."

We find another surgeon who is willing to operate. To cut B open and see just what's going on. So on a lovely day in May we head up to St. Peter's. There is a large group of us....B's family, and our pastor and his wife. The surgery was going to be a long process, and they encouraged us to go get some lunch while we waited. We went to Wendy's and kept the talk light and upbeat.

We had just gotten back to the waiting room when Dr. H appeared. He had the saddest, tenderest look on his face as he approached me. I'm sorry, he said. The cancer is through all his organs. There was nothing I could do for him. Maybe chemotherapy can help.

I just stared at him in disbelief, and then slowly walked to the ladies' room. I stumbled inside and collapsed against the wall. Sinking to the floor, I began sobbing. My sister-in-law was right behind me, and together we sat on that cold, hard bathroom floor, crying as tho the world had ended. I know lots of women went in and out, but no one said anything....after all, this was a hospital, and tears can be pretty common.

B was moved into the hospice unit, and chemotherapy began. For two weeks drugs were pumped into his system. I drove from Aberdeen to Olympia every day to sit by his side. It must have been adrenaline that kept me going, for I was exhausted....mentally and physically. Lots of friends came to visit while he was there, and the guys from the archery shop brought in their VCR and some hunting tapes for him to watch in his hospital room. Their visits cheered him greatly.

Because B has hypogammaglobulinemia, he is uninsurable. We have no medical insurance that is going to cover ANY of these expenses. The hopsital was wonderful about it. They gave us forms for Medicaid, and told us that what the state wouldn't pay for, they would wipe off their books. I was so grateful....I cried again.

After he came home from the hopsital, he continued getting chemo from our local hopsital. This was a several hour ordeal, and he was placed in a hospital room for the treatment. I had always been terrified of needles, and couldn't bear to see them stuck in anyone. It has now become so common that I don't even turn my head. To pass the time of his treatments, I am crocheting. My first afghan. The nurses tell me I am doing a great job.

Last week we were told that the chemo wasn't working. In fact, his tumors had doubled in size. I guess we can't be in denial any more.

I am busy during the day. Friends are in and out a lot. One of his family members is here every day. It irks me that his family sits back and expects to be waited on with coffee and food...as if I don't have enough to worry about. Fortunately, my church family has been awesome. They come by regularly with foods they hope will whet his appetite. He doesn't want to eat. His body is shutting down. So, it gives me something to feed the visitors.

I don't know if I sleep. My mind goes constantly. I think I feel guilty that he is dying. I prayed so often to be taken out of this abusive marriage. Well, God has answered my prayer, but not in the way I ever expected. So, part of me is sad....part of me feels guilty....and part of me is relieved. Oh, that sounds so horrid! What kind of person am I to feel even a bit of relief that he is not going to be around any more? That I am going to be free of the verbal, mental, and physical abuse he has handed out for the past 14 years? I must be some kind of monster to feel any kind of gratefulness. He has asked me to forgive him. And of course, I do.

What will my life be like with him gone? I'll turn 40 next month, and soon I'll be a widow. I haven't worked in years, other than to help run the well drilling business we own. And I'll be left with the responsibility of that, and dealing with his son, who thinks that the business should be handed over to HIM...not me.

But I can't deal with any of that now. I'm so tired. And I'm so scared.

BOATS OF THUNDER

2007-08-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's hydroplane Sunday in the Pacific Northwest. Those jet boats are tearing up Lake Washington under picture-perfect blue skies. The Blue Angels came out and did a "half-time" show...always awesome to watch. My sister, Teri, is at Safeco watching the Sox and the Mariners, and I'm wondering if she can see the Angels from outside the stadium. You could watch them perform from the old King Dome.

The Sea Fair boat races were a big deal in our household when I was a kid. (ANY sporting event could be a big deal as far as Dad was concerned.) But back in the 60's, we would combine forces on that race-day Sunday with our neighbors down the street, and have us a bit of a party. Dad and Fred would hunker down in front of the TV, beer in hand, to talk and watch the boats. The amazing Bill Muncey in the Miss Thriftway, Run Musson at the helm of the Miss Bardahl ("Bardahl did it again"), the Slo-Mo boats, the Miss Maverick, Miss Wahoo, and later, the Miss Madison and the Miss Budweiser. The Gold Cup Race was a HUGE deal, and boats came from all over.

In the kitchen, Mom and Aurelia would be putting on a taco feed of mass proportions. There were 14 of us in the two families, and tacos are not the easiest thing to prepare for a crowd. But Aurelia was from El Paso, and tacos were a family specialty. I'm sure we did a lot of waiting in line for our turn for another taco once the initial serving had been received. And as if the frying of hamburger, chopping of tomatoes, grating of cheese, and shredding of lettuce wasn't enough, not to mention frying the taco shells (that's the way we did it back then) they also made chili rellenos. Oh, yum. Well....I'm not sure I liked those back then, but I sure do now.

And while all that TV watching and cooking was going on, we kids were outside playing. Nine girls, and my lone brother. Something called "No bears are out tonight" and "kick the can" were two favorite games. It was a great time. It was summer...the weather was grand...school was just around the corner but we weren't thinking of that yet.

So today when the races came on, I felt a bit nostalgic. It always reminds me of a special time in my "childhood." And if that wasn't enough, who's busy announcing these races today but Pat O'Day...DJ to all us teens in the 60's...and 70's. KJR, Seattle...Chanel 95. Ah yes. He was our constant companion in the days when transistor radios were a brand new thing, and we could take our music with us without benefit of electricity. He brought us Elvis (well, later Elvis), the Beach Boys, and of course, the Beatles and the rest of the British invasion. He was so funny, even the adults listened to him. And what's amazing is, his voice sounds exactly the same as he did 40 years ago. Exactly!

Well, I'm sure it's about time for the final heat....gotta run!

THAT 70'S SHOW

2007-08-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Remember the TV show, "The Courtship of Eddie's Father"? That adorable child with a single dad, and the wonderful Japanese housekeeper, whose name I can't recall. In one episode she relates to Eddie a haiku....one that has stuck in my brain from that moment on.

"From time to time while
gazing at the moon
clouds will come to give us rest."

I like it. I like thinking on it. I think it holds an important message for us all.

Well, today while I was out soaking up some rays, that haiku popped into my head. And I immediately made my own version:

"From time to time while
soaking up some rays
breezes come to cool me off."

It was cooler today, what with the winds and a cloud or two. But I'm still working on getting some Vitamin D. I hear that in our area, it will be the liquid variety by the weekend. :-(

SUNNY SIDE UP

2007-07-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, let me say once more that I don't like summer. I don't like the heat. But in spite of that, articles I've been reading have prompted me to put my dislikes aside, and encouraged me to soak up a bit of sun. These articles are telling us that Americans have become so cautious about getting any sun (loading up on sunscreen, or...like me....just staying out of it) that our bodies are lacking in Vitamin D. "Experts" are now recommending that we get 10-15 minutes of pure, unadulterated sunlight on our bodies 3-4 times a week. So, motivated my wanting better health...and more likely because I think my arms would look better in sleeveless clothing if they had a little color on them...I purchased a lawn chair this past weekend.

Today was a beautiful day to begin getting some rays. The temperature gauge read 72, and there was a light breeze blowing. Even tho it is noon, and a bad time to be sunning, it's not that hot yet. I made myself a cup of cranberry tea, and put on some pjs....shorts and a tank top. I'm hoping that if the Fedex guy pulls into my driveway while I'm out there, he won't KNOW that they are pjs. I have shorts somewhere. Somewhere.

I set up the chair, hoping that it won't collapse while I'm climbing onto it. Mind you, this is not some lovely wooden chaise with big thick padded pillows....we're talking plastic weavings on a metal frame. Cheap. I manage to get situated, stretch out, cup of tea balanced on my stomach. Ahhhhh. Ya know, the sun actually feels kinda good. I can't remember the last time I purposely laid out in the sun. Probably on a trip to Hawaii. It's hot, but not too hot, and I think I can easily manage 10 minutes of this.

I finish my tea and go inside to get a glass of ice water. I am surprised to see that 15 minutes have passed. Why, I haven't even broken a sweat. Even tho my 15 minutes of required time has elapsed, I've got to give some time to the backside of me, or...should I get some color....I would be forced to let folks only see the darker "front" of me...not the pasty white "back" of me.

Fifteen minutes later I have finished exposing my backside. I must say, all in all, it was a rather pleasant experience. Perhaps doing something healthy won't be so painful after all. (Unless, of course, I experience a sunburn.) I can hear at least two of my sisters laughing...they are the ones who LOVE the sun....LOVE the heat....the two who think I am nuts for not glorying in it the way they do. I will never get to that stage, but for now I'm willing to give getting a few rays a chance.

ON HAVING CHILDREN

2007-07-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

The gals on The View this morning were talking about having/not having children. Apparently more and more people are deciding not to have kids these days, and the general consensus is that these people are more "selfish" than those who have chosen to have kids.

If you don't already know it, I don't have children. I helped raise two teenage boys with my previous husband, tho I use the term "raised" rather generally. These boys were allowed to raise themselves, with no input allowed from me, as daddy didn't ever want them to choose to live with mom instead of him. Discipline was handed out on rare occasions, when the act screamed for parental intervention, but most of the time nothing they did was bad enough for corrective measures to be taken (in their father's opinion). The oldest of these boys is now 45, and still behaving like a spoiled teenager. The other is 42, and the total opposite of his brother. He is an excellent example for someone becoming a fine, responsible adult, in spite of the people who brought him up.

I have never felt the urge to become a mom. Never. I don't know why. It's not something I can remember ever wanting to do. I had lots of baby dolls, and played with them constantly. It just didn't translate into adult life. I don't THINK I'm particularly selfish. I don't spend lots of monies on toys for myself, or traveling....both suggestions as reasons not to have children. I see myself now as feeling like a grandparent....it's wonderful to be around the kiddies for a bit, but great to send them home with the folks.

I absolutely adore my favorite 12-year-old, and she has tugged at my heart strings in ways that must somewhat mimic what a mother feels for her child.....tho I'm sure on a much lesser scale. Don't want to offend any moms out there! But I love her....I care about what happens to her...and being around her is one of my greatest joys. She is this amazing person and I love watching her evolve into the person she's meant to be. So, I guess I'm not totally without a maternal feeling or two.

Maybe if I'd met Michael first, and we'd married when we were young, we'd have kids. I'm sure of it. A houseful probably. So there you go. I just didn't meet the right man at the right time. And how fortunate for me that I don't miss having children, and neither does he.

MY SMILE IS MELTING

2007-07-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is finally here. Much as I hoped it wouldn't, it has shown up. With a vengeance. I live in Washington State. On the coast. That is supposed to assure me summers of breezy indifference...sometimes warm, lots of cool, pleasant nearly always. Fog in the early mornings. Fog in the evenings to cool down a too-hot day. Well, I'm praying for that evening fog right now. It is 10:30 in the morning, and the temperature is at 82. This is NOT supposed to happen here. I don't have air conditioning. We're not supposed to need anything like that living where I live. But if this "global warming" continues, we will seriously have to consider doing something about it. Like moving to Alaska.

I am not a fan of summer....most of you know that about me. But I will admit to one thing I enjoy that's only available in summer: Summer fruit. Oh, the delights of rainier and Bing cherries! There are tubs of them in my house right now, and we don't even mind the cost for this once-a-year treat. Also on my counter is a honeydew melon....the fragrance wafting through the entire house. At no other time of year can you get them RIPE enough to offer up this aroma. We are also enjoying cantaloupe, chilled from the fridge, cut into tasty little nuggets of goodness. Haven't been brave enough to try a watermelon yet....they don't offer up a telltale scent of ripeness like the other melons, and so we'll hold off a bit before buying one.

Soon the blueberries will be ripe. Nothing like gathering a bowlful for breakfast each morning, to eat plain or on top of your Fiber One. They are SO GOOD....and so good for you (just ask Cole). We have three pretty good sized plants, and three baby ones that the deer (for some reason or another) have left alone this growing season. We are thinking of putting our weedy garden space into blueberry plants, but would like to acquire larger ones instead of this gallon-sized version that takes years to produce enough fruit to notice.

Hey...I detect a breeze outside. That's a good sign. Maybe it won't get to the 95 degrees that they are threatening us with today.

One can hope.

P.S. At 3:00...it's 95 out. I got a new dress delivered by mail. I had to let it cool off before I could try it on....the fabric was HOT! Poor mailman!

CAUTION: SENTIMENTAL BLATHERING BELOW

2007-07-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday Scribblings prompt for this week: Slippery

What is more slippery than time? Last weekend we celebrated my brother's birthday. 53 years ago he was born....I can remember it like it was yesterday. Mostly because I was sent to stay with the O'Leary's during Mom's "confinement", and was given firecrackers to play with (I was not quite 6), and had to sleep in a bed with spiders (I was told they wouldn't hurt me). Naturally I am terrified of them to this day.

My one and only auntie was at the party. Looking more like my mom, her sister, than ever. She is the only aunt I have left. She will be 86 next month. Soon she will slip away, as my mother did nearly 4 (!!!) years ago. One can't help but wonder where the years have gone when I can glance from my auntie, the oldest member of our family....to my great-nephew Ethan who, at not quite 4 mos., is the youngest member of our tribe.

I can remember when I was the age of my nieces, and the family would be gathered at the grandparents' for Father's Day or Christmas. My Mom and aunts would be in the kitchen, and there would be talking and laughter, and I longed to be a part of that group, that female gathering...but their conversation would always stop...or change... when I entered the room. I was not included....too young....even in my 20's.

Now my sisters and I are that group, and I wonder if their daughters have any desire to join us in our kitchen gatherings....to share the laughter and the secrets. I think they must, for they hang with us for a bit. I wonder if they know how much joy we get from their company? I wonder if they know how important they are to us, and how much we love them.?

I hope I have enough time left to share real moments with the "great" nephews and nieces. Little Ethan, Garrett, and Emma won't remember that auntie tickled their tummies or bounced them on her knee. Cole, at 2 1/2, won't remember that his auntie taught him to say "antioxidants" at this party while he was stuffing his face with blueberries. And Zack won't recall how his auntie laughed at his antics and admired how smart he is.

Is it a sign of old age that my reveries are about times with my family? That being with them and enjoying our bond and each other's company is one of the biggest joys of my life? We've all heard the saying that when you reach the end of your life, you won't regret that you didn't spend more hours/time working, etc., but instead, will wish for more time with your family and loved ones. Well, before all my time slips away, I hope I have many more years...and many more memories...with this family that I love so much.

SENTIMENTAL OLE ME

2007-06-28T12:32:00.001-07:00

I'm cleaning out drawers today....mostly because they won't shut.

When I got to the jewelry section, I found a double strand of big "plastic" pearls my Mom had given me for my 16th birthday. It was the era of Jackie Kennedy, and those type of pearls were popular. I'm sure I wore them then....and I haven't since.

This isn't the first time I've tried to toss them out. I always change my mind and keep them. I put them back this time too.

Why is it so hard to get rid of our stuff?

LITTLE JARS ALL IN A ROW

2007-06-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

My siblings and I grew up on some of the most fertile soil known in Thurston County. Our five acres contained not only various species of evergreens, but also lilac trees, peach trees, transparent apples, the best Gravenstein apples in the world, and Italian plum trees. They all produced an amazing bounty every year, with friends and family reaping the benefits of our prolific fruit trees. The peach trees no longer exist, but when we were young, there were boxes of golden fruit. We kids liked playing with the sticky balls of amber-colored sap that would appear on the trunk and branches. We must have had hotter summers then, for you would be hard pressed to find a peach tree anywhere in Thurston Co. these days.

The ditches that bordered our front lawn were filled with little wild blackberries....those special ones so highly prized...and on summer afternoons we'd take our bowls out to collect a snack, and sprinkle them with sugar.

My father grew an amazing garden, and was into organic gardening years and years before it was ever popular. His garden was a showplace...not a weed in sight. Summer evenings after supper he could always be found out in the garden....hoeing rows of green beans, cabbages, squash, onions, and potatoes. There were carrots, beets, cauliflower, corn and broccoli. You name it, he grew it. And BIG. The size of the produce was amazing. Some of his cabbages could be cut up and given to four different families. There were also strawberries and rows of raspberries. On Saturday mornings, when the raspberries were ripe, we'd go out and pick them, and Mom would take us in to Grandpa's grocery store, and he'd buy our berries for 5 cents a pint. Dad also grew rhubarb, and we loved breaking off a stick, dipping the end in a bowl of sugar, and munching away.

Needless to say, with a family of 7, Mom did a lot of canning. Every August there would be weeks of washing jars, cleaning fruit, cutting and packing, and making syrup. Of course canning season always hit during the hottest time of the year, so the kitchen was a hot, steamy, muggy place to be. Green beans and peaches found themselves put into jars, while corn and applesauce were packed in paper cartons made for the purpose, and put into the freezer. Cucumbers were made into pickles...dill and bread 'n butter. Beets were canned...plain and pickled. And there were jars and jars of jam. All these pretty jars were sent out to shelves in "the fruit room."

Ah, now that was a place. Tucked into a corner of the (extremely messy, crowded, and cobwebby) garage (which was more like storage and a work space for Dad), dark and cold, was the fruit room. An enclosed room, with shelves along two of the walls (I think)...and bins for the potatoes, onions, and squash. I always thought it was kind of a scary place, for we'd be sent out in the dark of a winter evening to get a jar of this or that for supper, and you had to stumble through the cluttered, unlit garage area (I know there were spiders everywhere just waiting to attack), go into the fruit room (creaaakkkk) and find the chain hanging from the ceiling that would turn on the dim little bulb by which you'd find the jar you were looking for....and hopefully no spiders.

I always looked forward to the time when I would be able to do the canning for my family. Aside from my mother's wonderful example, I thought it rather romantic to be able to set aside in store, food for my family. Tho I know there is nothing romantic about slaving in a hot, steamy kitchen all day....I was enamored with a passage in my favorite book, "Little Women" , where Meg, as a young wife, decided to surprise her husband with pretty little pots of jam. She buys the pots, the fruit, makes the jam...and after a hot, sweaty afternoon, hubby returns home to find his wife in tears because the jam won't jell. Sniff. I wanted to make jam for my husband. I thought it would show him how much I loved him.

One year I canned everything that I could get my hands on. Even crabapples. Salmon. Tuna. Pickled green beans. I must have been insane. I made jam from anything and everything. Have you ever had fireweed jelly? Well, it's wonderful. It involves picking an awful lot of fireweed blossoms, but it's quite delicious, and is this wonderful shade of ruby pink. I haven't made that in years. We also decided to make fruited vodka...peaches covered with vodka and sugar and I'm not sure what else, in a glass bottle for a month or more. I don't remember what we did with the vodka, but the peaches were a tremendous hit with my husband's family.

Nowadays I do can peaches and pears, and I make a little jam. This past weekend I made strawberry. The strawberries from Spooner's this year are AMAZING. Big, red, and the sweetest flavor I've ever tasted. I guess our cool, dry weather agrees with them. I will do raspberry jam when they are in season, but that's it. I've given up my romantic notions of putting food aside for my family, and am taking the easy way out. The shelves of my local grocer.

SMILE.....I'M NOT THAT WEIRD

2007-06-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

The Sunday Scribblings prompt for this week: Eccentricity.
Wikkipedia defines eccentricity as odd or unusual behavior, as opposed to being normal. I'm not sure I have any eccentric behaviors. Well....not many. Let's see.

I have to have my rug vacuumed in one direction....it drives me crazy otherwise. But Michael says that's normal. I USED to insist on vacuuming before bed...I couldn't rest easy if my floors looked "messed up." Now THAT might be eccentric. But I no longer do that.

The last thing I have to do before getting in bed is....pee. If I pee, and then head to the kitchen for water, or close the dining room blinds, I have to go back and pee again. Even if it's only been 2 minutes. It has to be the last...very last...thing I do. So okay...that's odd. I guess.

I'm thinking, but I'm not coming up with anything. I asked Michael, but he says I'm the most normal person he's ever met. Hmmm. I'm reading that as "boring." Maybe I should work on that. I think a little eccentricity would be nice.

I wonder if I'm just too close to the subject to be objective. After all, we are often blind to our own "faults"...and maybe some of you out there could give me a long list of my weird behaviors. If so, please share!

MAKE MINE SPICY

2007-06-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

The "Sunday Scribblings" prompt for this week is "Spicy." In other words, what comes to mind when you hear that word.

The first...in fact, the only, image I see is of a beautiful Spanish flamenco dancer. Her skirts are twirling as she dances, and she is smiling coyly over her shoulder at some handsome male bystander. She is beautiful, desirable, and she knows she has this man in the palm of her hand. She is self-assured...confident...bold...unafraid to say what she thinks or feels. She can conquer the world if she wants to. Because of her confidence, everything she tries is a success. She doesn't know what it is to fail.

And wow....where did that come from? What an interesting response. Hmmmm....I'm thinking maybe I would like to be this woman.
Anyone out there teach flamenco?

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

2007-06-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Over at The Brave, Strauss was discussing the abundance of Alex's at a birthday party her son attended. It reminded me of when my stepson, Daren, first entered high school. There were three Daren's in his homeroom, and the teacher tried hard to give the boys other names to keep them distinguished from each other. Our Daren Wayne became "Duke"....after John Wayne's nickname....and it's a name that has stuck with him to this day. I think family members are the only ones who still call him Daren...he's Duke to the rest of the world, and he likes it.
Modern-day moms today seem to go overboard in finding names for their children as different as their imaginations can dream up. I know one family that boasts the names "Piper","Aspen", "Chase", "Hunter" and "Racer" (her sister had a baby at the same time and named him "Rally", so they'd have "rally racer"). Now, some of those names aren't all that bad, but they're not that common. Which I guess was what they were going for. At least they aren't as odd as, say, "Kanatanisha" or seeing "Lois" spelled as "Lowus". I tell ya, these names are out there. Do these parents ever think how this name will sound on an ADULT?

I'm not crazy about my name. I would have preferred to be a Katherine instead of a Kathleen, and would like to have been called Kate instead of Kathy. Kathy just seems so....uninteresting. My Dad called me Katina. That had a little more pizazz, but he was the only one to use it.

But when my Dad would dance me around the living room, singing Perry Como's "Kathy-O"....or "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"...I truly loved my name. And I love those memories even more.

ARE MY EYES SMILING?

2007-06-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Okay....it appears that my volunteering to do the weekly church bulletin, has taken on a life of it's own. It almost immediately morphed into taking over the responsiblities of the treasurer too. Yes, I have a talent for numbers. Bank statements don't scare me. I understand debits and credits, but double-entry bookkeeping is still a little hazy. I know how to deposit monies, and I can certainly write checks (I'm very good at spending money). I can't use an adding machine without looking, but maybe that will change. And using an accounting software program is a totally new thing. I'm old-school, paper and pencil. But that's all I know. Is it too late to teach this old dog some new tricks? I hope not. Apparently my church doesn't think so. (But then, they are just eager for someone to take over the job who isn't ready yet a retirement home.)

The deacons tell me that they are glad to have me on board, and that they will find lots of things for me to do. Pastor would like me to re-vamp the church directory, and says the church's constitution needs some work. His wife thinks a monthly calendar of activities would be nice to include with the bulletin the first of a new month. (I agree on that...we used to do it.)

So it sounds to me like "would you volunteer to do the weekly bulletin?" has turned into a real live secretary/treasurer position. I guess that's what I get for volunteering. And NO ONE has said anything about this being a PAID position. I'm not sure I want to be paid. When you're getting paid, it implies a certain responsiblity to the position. If I'm volunteering, I should be freer with the hours I spend there...and when....and should be free to say no to something that just doesn't fit my schedule. (If you know me well, you will know that it's almost impossible for me to say "no.") So if they ever offer money, I'll have to think that over.

I'm actually kind of excited about it all. It's the kind of work I did for years....both in State employment, and when we ran a business from our home. I'm just a little rusty. But it's wonderful to have something to do! To actually have a purpose to the day other than doing laundry, shopping, cleaning, and fixing supper. I think I'm going to like it. And so I'm smiling.

SHE LOVES YOU, YEAH YEAH YEAH

2007-06-06T10:05:00.001-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned Paul McCartney and his new CD (I'm so old...I always want to write "album" instead. Smile.). Today I just want to talk about Paul, and the rest of the Beatles.

I was a fan. A HUGE fan. I know some of you out there weren't even born until after the Beatles had broken up, and so you probably don't understand the LARGENESS of what it was like to be a Beatles' fan. I don't believe any group since then has inspired the kind of fanatic following that they had. Maybe I'm wrong. You can let me know.

Teen magazines were very popular then (I'm talking 1964 and following), and if their photo was on the cover, I owned the magazine. I had a scrapbook of photos....a big, thick one. Filled to the brim. I also owned a Paul McCartney bobblehead doll. He was my favorite. Swoon...... My best friend, Sylvia, loved George. She still has his bobblehead. I don't have mine. I don't have anything. My large scrapbook disappeared from the crawlspace in my bedroom when I moved out. I'm not sure what happened to it....assumed that Dad tossed it. Maybe one of my siblings has it????? Hmmmm.....Wouldn't that be a joy! I still have their first 4 record albums. Covers worn, vinyl scratched...but every once in awhile I'll dig them out and give them a spin. Relive some memories.

I remember their coming to America....can see the photo of them on the steps of that airplane as plain as if it were yesterday. And the Ed Sullivan Show appearance! Oh, not in our home!! My father refused to watch, and so my Mom took me (and probably my sisters) down the road to my grandparents home, so I could watch....and cry....and kick my feet as I lay on the living room rug. Yes, it's true. My Mom said she understood....that in her day, she'd felt the same way about Frank Sinatra. From comments my father made later, it became clear that he TOO had watched Ed Sullivan....tho of course, he had nothing good to say about it.

Can you believe how I felt when I got tickets to see them in person for my 18th birthday? My then-boyfriend, Mike, got them for me. Seattle Colliseum. August 25, 1966. The tickets were $6.00!!! He and I went, Sylvia and Rick, Sheryl,and Lora. Sylvia has photos of us....hair done, pretty summer dresses...like going to the prom! But then, girls always wore dresses "back then." And, we WERE going to the Big City. Olympia was much smaller then, and more "countrified."

The concert was amazing, of course. I took photos....pasted them into that missing scrapbook, so they are gone forever (Sylvia has some). I can remember the dark concert hall, them spotlighted on the stage, and the music totally drowned out by screaming fans that did not let up the entire night. Well...maybe during the ballads. It was incredible. A magical night, for sure.

And now, 41 years later, John and George are gone. Ringo is hiding out somewhere, and Paul still makes music. I find him more handsome than ever. I love the age that shows on his face, and the youthful spirit that still shines through. I suppose one has to be old one's self to appreciate that!

Paul turns 65 June 18......Happy Birthday, and thanks for the memories!

MEMORY ALMOST FULL

2007-06-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just saw an ad for a new Paul McCartney CD...."Memory Almost Full." Doesn't that title make you smile?

Think about it....a memory all filled up with.....memories. How amazing is our brain. To think that something you can hold in your hand could contain all the memories of a lifetime. A LIFETIME. Sure, we may not remember all of them....not easily. But aren't you constantly surprised at how a photograph...a scent...a conversation....can bring to life memories that you'd "forgotten"? Without warning, something from the past is as clear and remembered as if it were yesterday. Called from it's little section of a brain cell to the forefront of one's "memory."

I often think about having Alzheimer's. I guess my father had it...happening late in his life. I wonder if it will happen to me. What it will do to my memories. It's so sad to think that so many of the memories I take such joy in, would be gone from me. From what I understand, long-ago memories may be more easily recalled than something current. So while I might remember my first date, I may not remember my husband's face. Since I won't remember, I guess it will be harder for him. What a disgusting disease!!

I don't dwell on it. What will happen, will happen. I'm not interested in having my brain scanned to see if the potential is there. I don't want to know. They "say" they may be close to finding a cure. I hope so.

A NEW DAY....A NEW PAGE

2007-06-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Okay....so.... in a fit of frustration at my boring old blog, I hit the Delete button, and off it went. Gone forever. I actually felt bereft! And cursed myself for not saving some of the things I'd written. Aarghhh!

I had no intention of doing this again, but here I am. I honestly fell asleep last night thinking of all SORTS of things to write about (none of which will probably see the light of day), and so I am inspired to begin again....with a smile.