IT'S JUNE?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.