I didn’t go to work on Thursday. Snoopy tried to scare us to death, and as a result I wound up being awake for nearly 24 hours in a row. There is a TMI warning for this post, as there will much discussing of disgusting canine bodily functions. Well, these bodily functions would be equally as disgusting if they were human. So those of you with weak stomachs, proceed with caution.
Wednesday was interesting in and of itself, without Snoopy’s help (see my weight-loss blog post, which interestingly enough comes with its own TMI warning). I got home around 7pm, fed all the animals, and everything seemed fine.
Then, at about 8:30pm, Snoopy barfed in front of the front door. He went outside and had some runny poop, walked around in a squat for a few minutes, then came up on the front porch and barfed two more times. I felt so bad for him; he was trying to get around the puddles and I was trying to help him, then he slipped and fell in one of the puddles. He completely wigged out and obviously grossed himself out! I managed to get him back in the house and cleaned up. I turned my back for 20 seconds, turned back around and discovered he had suffered massive, projectile, explosive diarrhea. And peed. By the time I cleaned that up, he did it again. I was very concerned about him, and so was everyone else. He kept going to the water dish, hovering his muzzle right over the surface of the water, but not taking a drink. We would sit in the hallway with his head hanging, then wander around, come back to the water dish, not be able to bring himself to drink, then go sit in the hallway and hang his head. He repeated this pattern over and over until he barfed again. I was really concerned about dehydration, especially considering the amount of liquid he was losing with each…erm…discharge, and because of his age – which we figure to be between 12 and 15.
He finally was able to take a few sips of water. By this time, it was way past my bedtime, but Sis had wrapped him in a towel and held him in her lap in the recliner. I went to my room to play a few games on my fabulous Kindle before going to sleep. Sometime around midnight, I got up to use the bathroom one last time before lights out and when I came out, decided to check on Snoopy. I found Les sobbing in the kitchen, begging Snoopy not to die as Snoopy wobbled in circles around the dining room. He could not keep his footing and was very obviously disoriented. He had just pooped all over Sis as well. We decided that this called for medical intervention. We thought there was a 24-hour emergency vet clinic in Centralia, about 25 miles away, but it turns out it is not open 24 hours. We found one in Olympia, about 45 miles away. Sis and I threw on clothes, wrapped Snoopy in a couple of towels, told Les to get his shit together and hit the road. On the way, we noticed that his eyes were constantly flitting from left to right and he was very agitated. He calmed down after about 10 minutes into the car ride.
We got to the clinic and they took him right back (we had called ahead to explain the situation so they were ready for us). They gave him a mild sedative to calm him down, and after about 20 minutes they came to talk to us and get the whole story. By this time, not only were his eyes going from side to side, now his head was wagging from side to side as well. The doctor could not figure out what was going on; I discussed my concern about dehydration, and wondered if he had a blockage or something. I did find something that looked like chewed up, tiny, splintered green things that sure looked and felt like plastic to me. The doctor was concerned that he had gotten into something toxic, but we just don’t have any idea of what it could be. We keep all medications (human and otherwise), chocolate, sugar-free items, etc. all out of their reach, and we could not think of anything in green plastic that he could have gotten into. There were no signs of anything in the house being chewed up or gnawed on. But, like this post title says, he wasn’t named for the Peanuts character; he’s called Snoopy because he can’t keep his big, doxie nose out of stuff.
They did x-rays and did see something in his colon, but it seemed to be moving along just fine with no danger of obstruction. The cost of all of this was great and we wanted to do as much for him as we could; the clinic was very helpful and understanding of this. In the end, we did the x-rays, he received subcutaneous fluids, an anti-nausea shot, a dose of antibiotics (a pill which we did not end up giving him – it was for if we saw blood in his poop or vomit, which never occurred), and the sedative: $477 and change. I paid for half and Sis paid for half; this way we are both mostly screwed instead of just Sis being totally screwed. He is Jim’s dog, but Jim would have just had him put to sleep because Jim is an asshole and won’t even fork out the $18 to have his toenails clipped (no, we cannot do his at home). But that’s another whine for another day.
We got home at 4:45am, right when my alarm clock goes off. I sent a text to my co-worker and told her I wouldn’t be in since I was just now getting home from a vet emergency. Sis kept Snoopy with her and slept with him in the recliner and I went to bed. The sedative wore off about the time she tried to go to sleep, but he stayed with her all morning. I got up around 1pm and was overjoyed to see that he was doing great! His eyes and head had stopped that weird flopping back and forth, and though he was weak, he was walking around just fine. He continued to get stronger throughout the day, and when I came home from work on Friday night, he was even better than his old self. When Luka came in for dinner, Snoopy ran after her into the kitchen – boing boing boing. His eyes were clear and bright and he just couldn’t seem to wag his tail enough. I nearly cried. Tonight he has been frisky, even initiating play with Les by pawing at his hands and nipping him.
Sigh…it was a close call and really scary. I hope he doesn’t do that again. I tried to look up his symptoms on The Google, but couldn’t come up with anything. I don’t know if it was the dehydration that caused those weird neurological symptoms; we still don’t know what he ate – if anything – that would have caused the vomiting and diarrhea.
We are just glad he is his good ‘ol self again.
Oh, and everyone at work was totally cool about my missing work; two of the guys I work with even came into the lab to ask me how Snoopy was doing and were so very happy that he was doing so much better. It made my heart feel happy.
TTFN.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Random Stuff and Things
As promised, here is a picture of my progress on Poppy Puss. Progress has been pretty hit and miss lately; fatigue, depression and a visit from Mom kind of got in the way of my stitching time. My super-duper nice (and very expensive) Ott light fell over during the middle of the night while Mom was here; it looks OK but I need to tighten some bolts and might have to replace the light bulb before I can use it in my room again. We had snow – well, most of it was down in the Portland area – and Sis couldn’t make it in to work so she was home for an entire week! It was weird, felt like she’d been home for a month! So, since the only chair she can sit in comfortably is the recliner in the living room where the only decent floor lamp resides, I wasn’t able to stitch out there. Since I never get to see her, I didn’t want to shut myself up in my bedroom to stitch either. Hopefully now that things are back to normal (or what passes for it in our house) I can get some more stitching done.
Mom brought her two dogs with her – we already have five, what’s two more? For your viewing enjoyment, here is her dog Stanley asleep on Mom’s robe on my bed:
OH, and speaking of stitching, here is a very rare picture of an actual finished project of mine. I am very proud of it as I designed it myself! It’s not a great shot because it is framed and hanging on the wall above a very tall (and cluttered) dresser. I zoomed in on it for the best detail, so the navy bit around the fabric is the mat inside the frame. You can’t tell, but the pink dots inside the diamond border are beads, as are the dark blue and red flowers under the poem. I made the pattern for the design on graph paper with pretty big squares, and the pattern was huge! About 4’ x 3’. I worked on it during my lunch hours at work and my all male co-workers thought I was nuts. I am really happy with how it turned out, and my sister and bro-in-law were very touched by it. The "L" is for Les, the "K" is for Karen, and the "B" is the first letter of their last name.
I like to make things; Sis and I got into making jewelry about 20 years ago. I’m not super accomplished at it, but I really love when something comes together. I have made many bracelets and tons of earrings but didn’t really keep track of them all. Here are a couple that I actually recorded for posterity! I gave the copper one to Sis as a gift; I am pleased as punch when I see her wearing it.
I made a really nice bracelet for Mom a few years ago. I tried to download the picture of it but the computer, Yahoo, and Blogger were not cooperating! I’ll try to post that another time.
Well, that’s about it for the time being. I reviewed another book, so be sure to check out my review page. Blogger has been a right booger about letting me update my lists on the right side of the blog; bear with me until I can get it all fixed up.
Take care and TTFN!
PS – I’m still trying to wade my way through all the blogs from the GYB party; please don’t be upset if you are following me and I’m not following you back yet! I’ll get through everything eventually!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
It’s Been a Winter Weenieland
Howdy everyone, and a great big HOWDY to my new followers! I want to say thank you so much to everyone who is following – each one of you is a warm spot in my heart and I really appreciate your interest. Thanks, too, for all of the kind comments on my last post! I love comments, so please always feel free to say something, even if it’s just Hi.
I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything lately; between migraines, depression days, bad weather and slow internet, I haven’t been able to get up the gumption to get anything posted. I have some pictures to post but the batteries are dead in the camera and I swear there isn’t a single freaking AA battery in the house. Grrrr.
The weather bestowed upon us all here in the Pacific NW (south of Olympia, WA down to Eugene, OR) some lovely (unless you were driving in it) snow. Mom had come home with Sis last week to spend some time with us for what was supposed to be just a few days. They got home Monday night and would have gone back down to Mom’s in Portland on Thursday, but the roads were just not good enough. It wasn’t too bad at our house, but Portland really got walloped. Driving in the Portland metro area is terrible when it snows because the snow is really, really wet. Freezing rain often accompanies, and with all the bridges it can be quite treacherous. Let alone the idiots in their 4WD trucks and SUVs that are under the mistaken impression that having 4WD makes you magically stop better than everyone else. Uh, no. More often than not, they are the ones that wind up upside down in the median.
I was at work and was watching the WDOT cameras online. There is a camera where I get on I-5 at exit #36, and the next camera to the north is the exit (#68) where I leave I-5 to head for home. No cameras in between. When the snow started falling by the bucketful, my co-worker declared it was time to get out of town. The mill where I work generates a lot of heat, so if there is two inches on the ground on the mill site, there is going to be a minimum of double that in town. The snow fell heavily all the way home, and I didn’t go to work on Friday because I couldn’t get from the house to I-5. I sent a text to my co-worker, and she said she only got to work because her husband drove her, and she recommended staying right where I was. So I did. Unfortunately, I had called out sick (migraine) on Monday, and then didn’t work Friday, so I will get only half a paycheck tomorrow. Ouch. Sis couldn’t go to work at all this weekend, so she is out $500. O.U.C.H. That smarts!
Mom brought her two little dogs with her – Stanley, the Chiweenie and Shadow, the Chihuahua. SO CUTE! They had a grand time playing with everyone else and it was like a rodeo most of the time. Mrs. Weenie, Stanley and Shadow absolutely loved the snow! Did I get pictures? Nope. Hopefully next time.
I took Mom home on Sunday because I have 4WD (but I know how to use it). The roads were just wet but there were cars off the road everywhere. ODOT was requiring all vehicles over 10,000lbs to put on chains, so big rigs were parked every which way trying to get them on before they got into Portland city limits. This made driving rather exciting because I was either dodging the back ends of their trailers that were sticking out into the lanes, or trying to avoid the piles of thrown chains that were lying in the lanes. Getting to the general area where Mom lives wasn't too bad, but trying to get into her mobile home park was treacherous, and getting to her actual trailer was horrible. I had to engage my 4WD to get up the hill; as we were unloading the rig, some guy in a supped up 4WD that had chains on the back wheels tried to get up the hill and busted one of his chains! I spent the night (and risked death to get to my favorite Mexican place there in Milwaukie – Super Burrito Express – for their Super Nachos with Al Pastor. Totally worth the risk.) and drove directly to work from her place Monday morning. The piles of thrown chains had increased to approximately eleventy million, and I believe they were the cause of the flat tire I discovered when I went to leave work that night. I had to wait an hour for the Les Schwab truck to arrive (thankfully I had my lovely Kindle with me and I worked jigsaw puzzles on it while I waited), then stood out in the pouring down rain holding a flashlight for the guy while he changed my tire. Soaking wet and $45 later, I got home at 8:30pm. So. Not. Amused. The rest of this week has gone fine.
I will get on here this weekend and post pictures of my progress with Poppy Puss (yes, there has been some stitching going on over the last few weeks). I really want to get a small project to do at work on my lunch hour, but I’m having trouble finding anything. I’ll just have to keep looking.
To tide you over, here are two pictures of Stanley sleeping on the foldout couch at Mom’s, nice and cozy under the blankets:
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| Sorry about the quality - cell phone pictures! |
TTFN!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Grow Your Blog party
Well, heck. I planned on participating on this year's "Grow Your Blog" party that is being hosted by a very nice person, and I forgot to post my introductory blog! BAD BLOGGER! So, in hopes that I will be forgiven, here is my introductory post:
Hello! My name is Heather, but I go by Big Auntie because I am an Auntie and I am...well, big. I currently live with my sister, her husband, and a friend of theirs along with five small dogs, one large dog, three cats, eleventy billion chickens, five geese and two pigs (in addition, that is, to the previously mentioned brother-in-law and his friend). We live in a very rural community in western Washington state near Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens.
I started blogging several years ago when I lived in Montana, mostly as a way to keep my family and friends informed of what was happening in my life in lieu of a newsletter. I have been told that I have a good style of writing, so I thought it might be a way to grow my skills in that area. It turns out that no one in my family reads the thing (that I know of), but I find it quite cathartic to be able to express myself in a way that is both anonymous and exposing at the same time.
I love to laugh, read, watch movies, do cross stitch, listen to music, snuggle with our dogs, take road trips to nowhere specific, spend time with my sister, read other people's blogs, roam the backroads with my camera, and wander in graveyards. I love pretty much anything having to do with psychology, forensics, and puzzles.
My blog is evolving these days; I have decided to talk more about my interests and post more pictures showing progress on my projects. I have also added a page for reviewing the books I have been reading.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will come back again soon.
TTFN.
Hello! My name is Heather, but I go by Big Auntie because I am an Auntie and I am...well, big. I currently live with my sister, her husband, and a friend of theirs along with five small dogs, one large dog, three cats, eleventy billion chickens, five geese and two pigs (in addition, that is, to the previously mentioned brother-in-law and his friend). We live in a very rural community in western Washington state near Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens.
I started blogging several years ago when I lived in Montana, mostly as a way to keep my family and friends informed of what was happening in my life in lieu of a newsletter. I have been told that I have a good style of writing, so I thought it might be a way to grow my skills in that area. It turns out that no one in my family reads the thing (that I know of), but I find it quite cathartic to be able to express myself in a way that is both anonymous and exposing at the same time.
I love to laugh, read, watch movies, do cross stitch, listen to music, snuggle with our dogs, take road trips to nowhere specific, spend time with my sister, read other people's blogs, roam the backroads with my camera, and wander in graveyards. I love pretty much anything having to do with psychology, forensics, and puzzles.
My blog is evolving these days; I have decided to talk more about my interests and post more pictures showing progress on my projects. I have also added a page for reviewing the books I have been reading.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will come back again soon.
TTFN.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
How I Spent Christmas Day
For my immediate family, Christmas is just another day on the calendar. However, it was a rare occurance of my sister and I having a day off at the same time.
Sissy decided she wanted to run away on a mini-road trip to the beach. Unfortunately, we could not get our collective poop in a group so we decided to take a random road trip - something Sis and I love to do, and Les pretty much just tagged along to get out of the house.
We thought we would head for Layton's Prairie, a local area where Les has old family buried in a local private cemetary somewhere. We thought we would try to find the cemetary and take a few pictures for geneology research. On our way, we saw our old friend, Mt. St. Helens. It was a spectacularly crystal clear day, so we thought we'd head that direction since we would drive right through Layton's Prairie on the way.
If you want to learn more about Mt. St. Helens and her eruption, just give it a Google and there is lots of information about it online. I was able to read the actual US Geological department's report of the eruption and all the interesting information about everything that happened before, during, and after the eruption. It is in our library in the Environmental Department at work. Very, very interesting.
We never found Layton's Prairie, but we think we did find the cemetary. Les says it's not the right one, but when I looked the cemetary up online and printed out the list of everyone that is buried there, we think it is the correct one. We'll have to take another day and drive back out there to check it out.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
TTFN.
Sissy decided she wanted to run away on a mini-road trip to the beach. Unfortunately, we could not get our collective poop in a group so we decided to take a random road trip - something Sis and I love to do, and Les pretty much just tagged along to get out of the house.
We thought we would head for Layton's Prairie, a local area where Les has old family buried in a local private cemetary somewhere. We thought we would try to find the cemetary and take a few pictures for geneology research. On our way, we saw our old friend, Mt. St. Helens. It was a spectacularly crystal clear day, so we thought we'd head that direction since we would drive right through Layton's Prairie on the way.
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| Mt. St. Helens as seen from a small local airport on Jackson Hwy. |
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| A lovely view of Mt. Rainier as well |
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| A few miles closer, and a cloud has formed over the top |
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| A small waterfall across the highway from a pullout spot |
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| The "new" bridge built on Hwy 504 on the way to Johnston's Ridge |
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| Some information about the blast zone at the bridge viewpoint |
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| A blow-up of the blast zone map; we were where the black dot in the white circle is - far left side of the map. The black squiggly line is Hwy 504 |
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| Getting closer; a view from Elk Rock Overlook |
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| Mt. St. Helens, in all her magnificent glory |
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| Les and Sissy pose for a picture with Mt. St. Helens in the background |
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| Looking down into the valley; just a trickle of a river where a huge lake used to be |
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| Looking closer at the crater |
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| The majestic lady at rest |
If you want to learn more about Mt. St. Helens and her eruption, just give it a Google and there is lots of information about it online. I was able to read the actual US Geological department's report of the eruption and all the interesting information about everything that happened before, during, and after the eruption. It is in our library in the Environmental Department at work. Very, very interesting.
We never found Layton's Prairie, but we think we did find the cemetary. Les says it's not the right one, but when I looked the cemetary up online and printed out the list of everyone that is buried there, we think it is the correct one. We'll have to take another day and drive back out there to check it out.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
TTFN.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
A Disappointment Rebuttal Post
This post is an opposite post. It is the opposite of the negative, down-in-the-mouth post where I discussed the many petty disappointments I was encountering a few weeks ago.
Petty disappointment #1 dealt with my (desperate) need of underwear.
My sister (whom we love v much) went to the Sears Outlet store down by Mom's place. I never find anything there that I like, want, or that fits. She found 10 pairs of underwear that fit me! Huzzah! Disappointment rebuttal!
In steps benevolent blog reader Deb. She very kindheartedly gave me a $200 gift card so that I could purchase said Kindle. Kindle has been purchased, is lovingly cared for, and wholeheartedly enjoyed to the maximum of the battery charge every.single.day. I cannot even begin to describe the joy this fabulous little piece of 21st century technology has brought into my life. Disappointment SCHOOLED!!
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| Me, at work, with Kindle. I love it. (Don't know why Blogger is making this picture sideways) |
(I was going to post a picture of me kissing the Kindle in a sweet, I-heart-my-Kindle sort of way, but they all came out a little...uh...creepy. I try really hard to keep the creep factor to a minimum on this blog, so they've all been deleted.)
To top it all off, when I went to pay the storage bill for both my and Sis' storage units - late, again - the owner only charged me a late charge on one of the units instead of both. On purpose. She was so sweet about it!
Sis has been having fits with her mortgage company lately. It's a long story, so I'll just give you the short version. After approximately eleventy-billion tries, she finally got some payment arrangements made for a missed payment that the mortgage company could actually remember making, and then Sis messed it up because she thought the payment was due on the 20th. Guess what? 15th. All of the other times, the mortgage company was to blame; this time, it was her fault. She felt so horrible about it, but she put her big girl panties on and called. She got a very nice lady with an actual brain (not one of those steampunk ones with the metal wind up key sticking out of it) who worked out a deal that not only makes the payments LESS than they were, but also the payments are now due on the 24th instead (which I have put on my Outlook calendar so I can remind her!).
Yeah, SCREW YOU DISAPPOINTMENT!!
Erm...yes. So, there you have it. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
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To all of my blog readers - thanks for reading my blog. You may have noticed a few new tabs across the top; unfortunately, as of this posting, they are mainly empty right now. But that will change.
Whether you celebrate the holidays or whether they are just another uneventful day on the calendar for you, please take care and be safe. The holiday seasons seem to bring out the best in many, but the stupidity in many others. Watch out for drunk drivers (and for Pete's sake, don't be one!) and people that are willing to shoot you for that last sleeping bag with legs. Have a good time, eat some great food, spend time with people you love, and survive to do it all again next year.
TTFN.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Wonderfulness of Strangers
I have something wonderful and completely unexpected to share.
Back on Dec. 5th, I received an email from Deb, one of my blog readers. In part, it read:
"I was just checking to make sure this email was still valid. I'd like to send you an Amazon gift card via email to help towards your Kindle Wish, and want to make sure you get it.[...] Life's full of disappointments sometimes, isn't it? But it's full of wonderful surprises too:-) Hang in there!"
Isn't that sweet? I responded that my email was, indeed, still valid, and thanked her for her offer of a gift card. She sent me a box a books a few years ago, but other than a few traded emails, we don't know each other; neither have we met. I was very touched that A) she reads my blog, and 2) she would be so kind as to offer help in my quest to aquire a Kindle.
Later that day I received the email from Amazon that Deb had sent me a gift card.
A $200 gift card.
Yeah. If you heard a weird noise around 1pm Pacific Time on the 5th, that was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.
Thank you again, Deb. I ordered that Kindle and it should be here on Friday! I hope this inspires someone, anyone, to do something kind for a stranger (or even a not-so-stranger). This generous act of kindness made me feel hugged, appreciated, gobsmacked, thrilled, choked up, and just plain down-on-my-knees grateful. I told everyone at work and at home about it, and everyone that heard was just as stunned as I. I will think of you every time I use it, Deb! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!
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Whew. Hard to top that, eh? Well, here are a few more things that are going on around the homestead.
This is Cheddar, our newest addition:
He is a cat my mother has been feeding for about two years now at her tiny mobile home. It's going to be a very cold winter out here in the Pacific NW, and mom volunteered us to take him in. He is feral (as far as we know) but will let me pet him a little. In this picture, he is hiding behind a bookcase at the end of the hallway. He is currently living behind our washer and dryer (he's eating and using the litter box though, apparently when no one is looking).
And here is Gigi in a little dress my sister bought (god, don't ask). Doesn't she look adorable in it? Mom and Sis have made some simple coats for the boys, but the girls don't really have anything to help them stay warm when it gets chilly in the house. Gigi doesn't really need too much since she has a pretty thick coat, but Sis could not resist this set. There is a little grey and white polka-dotted shirt that goes with it, but Mrs. Weenie wears that (I couldn't get a decent picture of her in it).
She has those great Michelle Obama arms, doesn't she?
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As for my cross stitch, I still haven't gotten anything done. It's killing me. My fingers itch to stitch!
I found these cross stitch pattern books in our library system. I may have to purchase the Star Trek one - it's pretty cool! I found a few small patterns scattered in the other books that I may have to try.
Well, that's it for now. I will post pictures of my new Kindle when it arrives (whoo hoo!), and will hopefully have more pictures of Cheddar to show.
TTFN!
Back on Dec. 5th, I received an email from Deb, one of my blog readers. In part, it read:
"I was just checking to make sure this email was still valid. I'd like to send you an Amazon gift card via email to help towards your Kindle Wish, and want to make sure you get it.[...] Life's full of disappointments sometimes, isn't it? But it's full of wonderful surprises too:-) Hang in there!"
Isn't that sweet? I responded that my email was, indeed, still valid, and thanked her for her offer of a gift card. She sent me a box a books a few years ago, but other than a few traded emails, we don't know each other; neither have we met. I was very touched that A) she reads my blog, and 2) she would be so kind as to offer help in my quest to aquire a Kindle.
Later that day I received the email from Amazon that Deb had sent me a gift card.
A $200 gift card.
Yeah. If you heard a weird noise around 1pm Pacific Time on the 5th, that was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.
Thank you again, Deb. I ordered that Kindle and it should be here on Friday! I hope this inspires someone, anyone, to do something kind for a stranger (or even a not-so-stranger). This generous act of kindness made me feel hugged, appreciated, gobsmacked, thrilled, choked up, and just plain down-on-my-knees grateful. I told everyone at work and at home about it, and everyone that heard was just as stunned as I. I will think of you every time I use it, Deb! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!
************************************************
Whew. Hard to top that, eh? Well, here are a few more things that are going on around the homestead.
This is Cheddar, our newest addition:
He is a cat my mother has been feeding for about two years now at her tiny mobile home. It's going to be a very cold winter out here in the Pacific NW, and mom volunteered us to take him in. He is feral (as far as we know) but will let me pet him a little. In this picture, he is hiding behind a bookcase at the end of the hallway. He is currently living behind our washer and dryer (he's eating and using the litter box though, apparently when no one is looking).
And here is Gigi in a little dress my sister bought (god, don't ask). Doesn't she look adorable in it? Mom and Sis have made some simple coats for the boys, but the girls don't really have anything to help them stay warm when it gets chilly in the house. Gigi doesn't really need too much since she has a pretty thick coat, but Sis could not resist this set. There is a little grey and white polka-dotted shirt that goes with it, but Mrs. Weenie wears that (I couldn't get a decent picture of her in it).
She has those great Michelle Obama arms, doesn't she?
*************************************************
As for my cross stitch, I still haven't gotten anything done. It's killing me. My fingers itch to stitch!
I found these cross stitch pattern books in our library system. I may have to purchase the Star Trek one - it's pretty cool! I found a few small patterns scattered in the other books that I may have to try.
Well, that's it for now. I will post pictures of my new Kindle when it arrives (whoo hoo!), and will hopefully have more pictures of Cheddar to show.
TTFN!
Sunday, December 1, 2013
A Few Petty Disappointments
Today’s post is long and on the negative side, so there’s your warning.
I swear that there is some sort of cosmic alarm out there in the universe that sounds whenever I am about to finally have something, no matter how small, go my way. This week, and especially yesterday, is a prime example.
I need new underwear.
Yes, I said it, it’s out there, deal with it.
All of my underwear is a minimum of six years old and they are all falling apart. And you know what? Underwear is freaking expensive! Especially when your lower body parts are humungous like mine. I FINALLY managed to scrape up the moolah for new undercrackers and got them ordered. They came in last Thursday – not Thanksgiving Day Thursday, but the Thursday before that. Now, we have a PO box because a few years back some little gang of buttheads with nothing better to do with their time (like, oh…getting a JOB) went around stealing mail out of the mailboxes on our road. Sis and Les was targeted, so no more mailbox. Our local post office is only open Monday-Friday from 9am-4:30pm. I work Monday-Friday 7 or 8am-4 or 5pm. They are not open at all anymore on Saturdays. So, I cannot get to the post office to pick up packages that are too big to fit in our PO box. I checked the PO box on Thursday night to see if they were able to squish it in there, and it wasn’t there. I grabbed the mail that was there, hoping on Monday that they would then squish it in there. How big could the bundle be? It is five pairs of underpants in a soft envelope. I know they are big, put it’s not like they are tarp sized. I asked Sissy to pick them up for me on her way home from Portland. She said she would. She didn’t. She was home all day on Tuesday-Thursday, so I asked her everyday if she would PLEASE pick them up for me. She said she would. She didn’t.
I worked on turkey day and Sis and Mom convinced me to drive down to Mom’s after work, spend the night, then go back home on Friday evening since I had that day off. I did, and on Friday Mom and I had a nice time going to the Fabric Depot (where I bought some awesome fabric to make her a tote bag – more on that later) and the new Goodwill store by her house. I didn’t get to go to the cross stitch shop downtown because there was a parade and the Portland Christmas Tree lighting ceremony all right there nearby. No thank you. I had a brain storm and called our local post office and asked the gal there if the package with my unders in it could be stuffed in our box. She said YEP and I was all smiles. I could now pick them up anytime on my way home. And I did. I was so excited to get the package open (I’m a cheap date and easy to please, obviously). I pulled out a pair, and you probably could have put two of me in these enormous, awe-inspiring, colossal underpants. Jeezzy creezzy. So, those will have to go back. No new underwear.
Disappointment number one.
I have also been trying – unsuccessfully – to save up for a Kindle Fire. I have one languishing on my Amazon wish list; since this was the biggest shopping weekend of the year, I thought I would look around to see if they were on QVC or HSN, because they offer the ability to make payments. While I was working on Thursday I went online and discovered that QVC had them on sale, with free shipping, and you could make six payments of about $55 each. Now that I could swing! I was really excited but hesitant (as usual) because I wanted to be sure I could actually swing it. The offer was good through Saturday, so I decided to sleep on it. I couldn’t access the Internet on Friday because I was down at Mom’s, so I got online as soon as I got up Saturday. The deal was gone. Oh, the one I wanted was still available, but no free shipping, and now only five payments. I was bummed that it wasn’t as good of a deal, but I decided to go for it anyway. I got halfway through the purchasing process, when I got an error message saying that I would need to call customer service to complete the transaction. So I called their automated ordering number. Turns out they are all sold out and are on a waitlist status. That meant that IF they got stock in again within the next 45 days, they would ship it to me and then bill me when it shipped. Well, that won’t work for me. The way my budget is set up and how I get paid, I have to be able to know exactly when that bill was going to go through. CRAP. No Kindle for me.
Disappointment number 2.
We have a storm rolling in that is dumping tons of rain and the temperatures will be dropping below freezing for our highs for the next several days, and as a result we will probably get snow and lots of ice. Les discovered that the covers we had for the outside water faucets and for the house vents are all missing, so he needed to go to Home Depot to get more. He could drive himself, but he won’t; plus, he has no money (Sis needs the bank card with her in order to deposit her paycheck and buy groceries down in Oregon). So, I volunteered to take him and help him shop (and obviously purchase) these items. Before we left, we tracked down Jim and asked him to please go get a few bales of straw for the animals, so we could be sure they would be warm and dry during the storm. Surprise, surprise, Jim is broke and didn’t have any money even though he just got his check less than a week ago. He can’t afford the $15 for the straw. So I told him I would pay for them if he would please use his shiny brand-new pickup truck to go pick them up for me (oh yes, did I not mention the new truck? And the new 33 ft trailer he bought? And the fact that he contributes zilch to our house that he uses like a free hotel? No? Well, consider it mentioned now).
Disappointment number 3.
We went to Home Depot and got two small bags of Styrofoam covers. $45 smackeroos.
Disappointment number 4.
I was hungry and so was Les, so we stopped by Carl’s Jr. on the way home. He just wanted a small cheeseburger, and I ordered my favorite Western Bacon Cheeseburger, the kind with BBQ sauce and onion rings on it. Couldn’t wait to get that burger home and inhale it!
We got home, I gave Les his burger and he started eating, but the dogs were hounding me for dinner so I took a half hour and got all the animals fed before I ate. I knew that my burger would be pretty much cold by now but it would still be awesome. I got something to drink and some chips, sat down in the recliner to watch some Sons of Anarchy with Les, unwrapped my burger and found…his cold, slightly soggy, small cheeseburger. Now, Les knew as soon as he unwrapped the burger I handed him that it wasn’t his. The onion rings and bacon would have clued him in before he even took one bite. But did he say anything? Nope. Just chowed down on it without a word.
Disappointment number 5.
Now, I know these are petty things to be disappointed about. I own that. I tried really hard to just let them all slide, even the Kindle thing. I figure there will probably be even better sales the closer we get to Xmas, or even after, but I’ve waited so long for one. And to be disappointed over a hamburger is silly, but when you stack all of these things together, it just makes me kind of...sad.
**WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH** THIS IS AN ALERT OF THE “THINGS ARE GOING HEATHER’S WAY” SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. SHE IS ABOUT TO FINALLY HAVE ONE OR TWO THINGS GO HER WAY, AND IF THIS HAPPENS THE EARTH WILL CRASH INTO THE SUN, AND THAT’S NO GOOD FOR ANYBODY. COSMIC INTERFERANCE TO COMMENSE IN THREE…TWO…ONE…
Although, I did buy some lottery tickets on Saturday. Maybe I should check those out…
** WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH** THIS IS AN ALERT OF THE “THINGS ARE GOING HEATHER’S WAY” SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL…
TTFN.
I swear that there is some sort of cosmic alarm out there in the universe that sounds whenever I am about to finally have something, no matter how small, go my way. This week, and especially yesterday, is a prime example.
I need new underwear.
Yes, I said it, it’s out there, deal with it.
All of my underwear is a minimum of six years old and they are all falling apart. And you know what? Underwear is freaking expensive! Especially when your lower body parts are humungous like mine. I FINALLY managed to scrape up the moolah for new undercrackers and got them ordered. They came in last Thursday – not Thanksgiving Day Thursday, but the Thursday before that. Now, we have a PO box because a few years back some little gang of buttheads with nothing better to do with their time (like, oh…getting a JOB) went around stealing mail out of the mailboxes on our road. Sis and Les was targeted, so no more mailbox. Our local post office is only open Monday-Friday from 9am-4:30pm. I work Monday-Friday 7 or 8am-4 or 5pm. They are not open at all anymore on Saturdays. So, I cannot get to the post office to pick up packages that are too big to fit in our PO box. I checked the PO box on Thursday night to see if they were able to squish it in there, and it wasn’t there. I grabbed the mail that was there, hoping on Monday that they would then squish it in there. How big could the bundle be? It is five pairs of underpants in a soft envelope. I know they are big, put it’s not like they are tarp sized. I asked Sissy to pick them up for me on her way home from Portland. She said she would. She didn’t. She was home all day on Tuesday-Thursday, so I asked her everyday if she would PLEASE pick them up for me. She said she would. She didn’t.
I worked on turkey day and Sis and Mom convinced me to drive down to Mom’s after work, spend the night, then go back home on Friday evening since I had that day off. I did, and on Friday Mom and I had a nice time going to the Fabric Depot (where I bought some awesome fabric to make her a tote bag – more on that later) and the new Goodwill store by her house. I didn’t get to go to the cross stitch shop downtown because there was a parade and the Portland Christmas Tree lighting ceremony all right there nearby. No thank you. I had a brain storm and called our local post office and asked the gal there if the package with my unders in it could be stuffed in our box. She said YEP and I was all smiles. I could now pick them up anytime on my way home. And I did. I was so excited to get the package open (I’m a cheap date and easy to please, obviously). I pulled out a pair, and you probably could have put two of me in these enormous, awe-inspiring, colossal underpants. Jeezzy creezzy. So, those will have to go back. No new underwear.
Disappointment number one.
I have also been trying – unsuccessfully – to save up for a Kindle Fire. I have one languishing on my Amazon wish list; since this was the biggest shopping weekend of the year, I thought I would look around to see if they were on QVC or HSN, because they offer the ability to make payments. While I was working on Thursday I went online and discovered that QVC had them on sale, with free shipping, and you could make six payments of about $55 each. Now that I could swing! I was really excited but hesitant (as usual) because I wanted to be sure I could actually swing it. The offer was good through Saturday, so I decided to sleep on it. I couldn’t access the Internet on Friday because I was down at Mom’s, so I got online as soon as I got up Saturday. The deal was gone. Oh, the one I wanted was still available, but no free shipping, and now only five payments. I was bummed that it wasn’t as good of a deal, but I decided to go for it anyway. I got halfway through the purchasing process, when I got an error message saying that I would need to call customer service to complete the transaction. So I called their automated ordering number. Turns out they are all sold out and are on a waitlist status. That meant that IF they got stock in again within the next 45 days, they would ship it to me and then bill me when it shipped. Well, that won’t work for me. The way my budget is set up and how I get paid, I have to be able to know exactly when that bill was going to go through. CRAP. No Kindle for me.
Disappointment number 2.
We have a storm rolling in that is dumping tons of rain and the temperatures will be dropping below freezing for our highs for the next several days, and as a result we will probably get snow and lots of ice. Les discovered that the covers we had for the outside water faucets and for the house vents are all missing, so he needed to go to Home Depot to get more. He could drive himself, but he won’t; plus, he has no money (Sis needs the bank card with her in order to deposit her paycheck and buy groceries down in Oregon). So, I volunteered to take him and help him shop (and obviously purchase) these items. Before we left, we tracked down Jim and asked him to please go get a few bales of straw for the animals, so we could be sure they would be warm and dry during the storm. Surprise, surprise, Jim is broke and didn’t have any money even though he just got his check less than a week ago. He can’t afford the $15 for the straw. So I told him I would pay for them if he would please use his shiny brand-new pickup truck to go pick them up for me (oh yes, did I not mention the new truck? And the new 33 ft trailer he bought? And the fact that he contributes zilch to our house that he uses like a free hotel? No? Well, consider it mentioned now).
Disappointment number 3.
We went to Home Depot and got two small bags of Styrofoam covers. $45 smackeroos.
Disappointment number 4.
I was hungry and so was Les, so we stopped by Carl’s Jr. on the way home. He just wanted a small cheeseburger, and I ordered my favorite Western Bacon Cheeseburger, the kind with BBQ sauce and onion rings on it. Couldn’t wait to get that burger home and inhale it!
We got home, I gave Les his burger and he started eating, but the dogs were hounding me for dinner so I took a half hour and got all the animals fed before I ate. I knew that my burger would be pretty much cold by now but it would still be awesome. I got something to drink and some chips, sat down in the recliner to watch some Sons of Anarchy with Les, unwrapped my burger and found…his cold, slightly soggy, small cheeseburger. Now, Les knew as soon as he unwrapped the burger I handed him that it wasn’t his. The onion rings and bacon would have clued him in before he even took one bite. But did he say anything? Nope. Just chowed down on it without a word.
Disappointment number 5.
Now, I know these are petty things to be disappointed about. I own that. I tried really hard to just let them all slide, even the Kindle thing. I figure there will probably be even better sales the closer we get to Xmas, or even after, but I’ve waited so long for one. And to be disappointed over a hamburger is silly, but when you stack all of these things together, it just makes me kind of...sad.
**WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH** THIS IS AN ALERT OF THE “THINGS ARE GOING HEATHER’S WAY” SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. SHE IS ABOUT TO FINALLY HAVE ONE OR TWO THINGS GO HER WAY, AND IF THIS HAPPENS THE EARTH WILL CRASH INTO THE SUN, AND THAT’S NO GOOD FOR ANYBODY. COSMIC INTERFERANCE TO COMMENSE IN THREE…TWO…ONE…
Although, I did buy some lottery tickets on Saturday. Maybe I should check those out…
** WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH** THIS IS AN ALERT OF THE “THINGS ARE GOING HEATHER’S WAY” SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL…
TTFN.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Let's Talk About Books, Baby
If you haven’t noticed, or just in case I haven’t mentioned it enough, I love to read. I cannot sit still without distractions for more than two minutes before I start looking around for something – anything – to read. Want to make the drive-thru lane at Taco Bell move faster? Whip out a book! This also works with those pesky red lights; nothing makes a light change from red to green faster than finding your spot in the book you’re reading.
Where do you find your next book? When I had the money to buy my books at brick & mortar stores, I would wander the sections that interested me, looking at titles and covers. It’s how I chose a lot of my books; something would catch my eye, I’d read the synopsis, and if it sounded good, I bought it. I still do this, but now it’s at the library. The problem is that our library is about the size of a 7-11, so there’s not as much to choose from.
In swoops my saving grace – a freebie magazine that the library hands out called, “Book Page”. It features the newest releases in all kinds of genres: fiction and non-fiction, young adult, children’s, cooking, audio, romance, mystery, etc. There are author interviews, my favorite one being in the children’s books section where the author gives his answers in pictures. I LURVE this little magazine and after snatching it up I dutifully study it cover to cover, turning down the corners of pages and marking books that I am interested in. Then I go to my library’s website and search for those books. At times I have had 20+ books on hold, waiting for them to arrive; one time I had six books come in all at once! YIKES! If they are really new and other people have holds on them, you can’t renew them. I had a bunch of overdue fines that month! If your library doesn’t have this little gem, you can check it out online at bookpage.com.
Here are the books from the October issue that I am going to check out:
This House is Haunted by John Boyne
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Identical by Scott Turow
Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas
One Summer by Bill Bryson (a rare non-fiction choice for me)
I recently finished The Cuckoo’s calling by Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling. I never read any of the Harry Potter books, but I did read her other book, The Casual Vacancy, a while back. I liked this book a lot, and I hope she writes a couple more as sequels. I enjoyed the way she has an eye for detail, and I liked the characters.
I also put a bunch of different cross stitch books on hold – I can’t wait for those to come in! Here they are:
All Our Yesterdays: 33 Charming Designs From Bygone Days by Faye Whittaker
Art Nouveau Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet
The Art of William Morris in Cross Stitch: Over 40 Projects Inspired by the Design Master by Barbara Hammet
Oriental Cross Stitch by Debbie Minton
Star Trek Cross Stitch: Explore Strange New Worlds of Crafting by John Lohman
Twisted Stitches: 30 Corrupt Cross Stitch and Embroidery Designs by Phil Davison
What are you reading these days?
I plan on going to Portland tomorrow to visit a cross stitch store I found online – very, very excited about this. I also want to visit the Fabric Depot to look for fabrics for some purses I’d like to try my hand at. It is THE most awesome fabric store around, and this is coming from someone who knows pretty much zilch about sewing. I’ll let you know how it went.
TTFN.
Where do you find your next book? When I had the money to buy my books at brick & mortar stores, I would wander the sections that interested me, looking at titles and covers. It’s how I chose a lot of my books; something would catch my eye, I’d read the synopsis, and if it sounded good, I bought it. I still do this, but now it’s at the library. The problem is that our library is about the size of a 7-11, so there’s not as much to choose from.
In swoops my saving grace – a freebie magazine that the library hands out called, “Book Page”. It features the newest releases in all kinds of genres: fiction and non-fiction, young adult, children’s, cooking, audio, romance, mystery, etc. There are author interviews, my favorite one being in the children’s books section where the author gives his answers in pictures. I LURVE this little magazine and after snatching it up I dutifully study it cover to cover, turning down the corners of pages and marking books that I am interested in. Then I go to my library’s website and search for those books. At times I have had 20+ books on hold, waiting for them to arrive; one time I had six books come in all at once! YIKES! If they are really new and other people have holds on them, you can’t renew them. I had a bunch of overdue fines that month! If your library doesn’t have this little gem, you can check it out online at bookpage.com.
Here are the books from the October issue that I am going to check out:
This House is Haunted by John Boyne
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Identical by Scott Turow
Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas
One Summer by Bill Bryson (a rare non-fiction choice for me)
I recently finished The Cuckoo’s calling by Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling. I never read any of the Harry Potter books, but I did read her other book, The Casual Vacancy, a while back. I liked this book a lot, and I hope she writes a couple more as sequels. I enjoyed the way she has an eye for detail, and I liked the characters.
I also put a bunch of different cross stitch books on hold – I can’t wait for those to come in! Here they are:
All Our Yesterdays: 33 Charming Designs From Bygone Days by Faye Whittaker
Art Nouveau Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet
The Art of William Morris in Cross Stitch: Over 40 Projects Inspired by the Design Master by Barbara Hammet
Oriental Cross Stitch by Debbie Minton
Star Trek Cross Stitch: Explore Strange New Worlds of Crafting by John Lohman
Twisted Stitches: 30 Corrupt Cross Stitch and Embroidery Designs by Phil Davison
What are you reading these days?
I plan on going to Portland tomorrow to visit a cross stitch store I found online – very, very excited about this. I also want to visit the Fabric Depot to look for fabrics for some purses I’d like to try my hand at. It is THE most awesome fabric store around, and this is coming from someone who knows pretty much zilch about sewing. I’ll let you know how it went.
TTFN.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
WIP pics - finally!
Well, whatever problems Blogger was having with my computer, they seem to have finally called a truce. Now I can finally share my cross stitch progress pictures! Yay!
My current project is a HAED pattern called Poppy Puss. I started it sometime in late 2011 and was pretty happy with my progress. However - and here I am blaming poor vision and horrible lighting to work by - I discovered that I had made so many mistakes that I could not really continue comfortably. I'm willing to let the odd counting mistake go, but the amount I had was really going to make things difficult to make things work out in the end. So I got rid of my contact lenses and discovered that I could see much better up close without any help at all, and bought myself a really good Ott lamp. Then I ripped out all of my progress, and with some tips that I picked up from some other blogs, I started over.
Here is where I was when I decided to rip it all out:
I'm sure you can imagine my angst at spending an entire day pulling out all of those stitches. But, I felt it had to be done, so there you are. I started over and this time used a water-soluable ink pen to mark the grid on the fabric. I was really amazed at how much that helps! Here is my progress to date:
If you look closely, you can still see the shadow of the other stitches I pulled out. They should be erased by either the new stitches, or the final washing once the project is completed. Cross your fingers for me!
My other project is a Country Sampler. Here is my progress so far on that one:
You may recall that I have mentioned that my bedroom is actually a storage room with a bed in it? It makes it very difficult to stitch in that environment. I cannot sit on the bed and stitch because it makes my back ache; I can't sit in the living room and stitch because I can't keep the dogs off my lap; the dining room is also out because the lighting is horrible, and that Ott lamp weighs too much to carry around the house. I got sick of it one day and decided to find a niche in my room somewhere; and here it is:
It's not pretty, but there is a window behind the chair that lets in some nice natural light, and combined with the Ott light, I see quite well!
Well, despite the truce, it has taken me bloody ages to do this post. I was going to talk about books, but I think I will do that post tomorrow since there won't be any pictures in it to mess with.
Take care!
TTFN
Monday, November 4, 2013
Down but not completely out
Well, so much for the blogging everyday thing. I caught the dreaded crud Les was infesting around the house, and I still have a cough that is capable of making me pee my pants at any given time. The slightest physical activity, like…oh, blinking, makes me cough. Thinking about blinking makes me cough. I am really, really tired of it.
So, I didn’t get any sewing done over the last few weeks. In fact, I haven’t gotten much of anything done over the last few weeks! I did finish Omens; it was not the kind of story I thought it was going to be, but I did enjoy it. And it left you hanging, so now I have to read the next book as well. I didn’t finish the John Le Carre book; I just find his style of writing to be kind of hard to get into, and can be a little hard to follow at times. Maybe it was because I was sick; I dunno. I also read Dr. Sleep, Stephen King’s newest. This was a follow up to The Shining, and followed the little boy – Daniel – into his adulthood. It was good, I enjoyed it. My experience (many times) is that his novels start out well, get either really weirdly out there or really off center and preachy in the middle, then either ends with a great twist or with a bit of an irritating fizzle (as in Under The Dome). This was pretty consistent all the way through, though the end didn’t have as big of a climax as I was expecting. Still gets two thumbs up from me.
I have now started a book by a new author to me: Sleep with the Lights On by Maggie Shayne. It appears that most of her books have been in the vampire/paranormal type genre, but this more of a detective/horror series. The follow up, Wake to Darkness, won’t be released until December, but I already have it on hold at the library.
I was so disappointed in myself this weekend. My bedroom is a complete sty that looks like a tornado hit it. I am famously terrible at being tidy, and to add to that, it is one way my depression manifests its self. So, I mapped out my entire weekend hour by hour to be sure I worked on cleaning and also my sewing. I overslept both mornings and only got a handful of things done. But, you can see my nightstand for the first time in about eight months, so there is a small amount of smug patting of one’s back going on. I joined a website called cross-stitching.com (most members seem to be in the UK, South Africa, and Australia) because there are absolutely zero groups to join locally. I’m still trying to get pictures of my work onto my blog, and will keep trying.
Well, that’s it for now. Hopefully will have more to talk about next time.
TTFN.
So, I didn’t get any sewing done over the last few weeks. In fact, I haven’t gotten much of anything done over the last few weeks! I did finish Omens; it was not the kind of story I thought it was going to be, but I did enjoy it. And it left you hanging, so now I have to read the next book as well. I didn’t finish the John Le Carre book; I just find his style of writing to be kind of hard to get into, and can be a little hard to follow at times. Maybe it was because I was sick; I dunno. I also read Dr. Sleep, Stephen King’s newest. This was a follow up to The Shining, and followed the little boy – Daniel – into his adulthood. It was good, I enjoyed it. My experience (many times) is that his novels start out well, get either really weirdly out there or really off center and preachy in the middle, then either ends with a great twist or with a bit of an irritating fizzle (as in Under The Dome). This was pretty consistent all the way through, though the end didn’t have as big of a climax as I was expecting. Still gets two thumbs up from me.
I have now started a book by a new author to me: Sleep with the Lights On by Maggie Shayne. It appears that most of her books have been in the vampire/paranormal type genre, but this more of a detective/horror series. The follow up, Wake to Darkness, won’t be released until December, but I already have it on hold at the library.
I was so disappointed in myself this weekend. My bedroom is a complete sty that looks like a tornado hit it. I am famously terrible at being tidy, and to add to that, it is one way my depression manifests its self. So, I mapped out my entire weekend hour by hour to be sure I worked on cleaning and also my sewing. I overslept both mornings and only got a handful of things done. But, you can see my nightstand for the first time in about eight months, so there is a small amount of smug patting of one’s back going on. I joined a website called cross-stitching.com (most members seem to be in the UK, South Africa, and Australia) because there are absolutely zero groups to join locally. I’m still trying to get pictures of my work onto my blog, and will keep trying.
Well, that’s it for now. Hopefully will have more to talk about next time.
TTFN.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Fall(ing) Down and Embracing Failure
Oprah Winfrey said, "So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground." Do you embrace failure?
Here is the definition of the word “embrace”:
Verb:
1. hold (someone) closely in one's arms, esp. as a sign of affection.
Synonyms: hug, take/hold in one's arms, hold, cuddle, clasp to one's bosom, clasp, squeeze, clutch.
2. accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.
Synonyms: welcome, welcome with open arms, accept, take up, take to one's heart, adopt.
So in a word, no. I do not embrace failure.
Do I own my own failures? Yes.
Am I afraid to fail? Yes. And no. And sometimes.
Is it OK to fail? Yes.
I have let the fear of failure hold me back in life. I admit that, but I don’t embrace it. I have zero affection for failure. I do not accept it willingly, and I sure as hell don’t accept it enthusiastically. I have tried my best to learn from it, and I have enthusiastically attempted to not repeat it.
I think Oprah was trying to say that failure can give one a different perspective on things. Failure is not always a horrible thing. Thomas Edison was credited with saying, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” This way of thinking is much healthier than “I’ve failed, so I’ll quit.” And since good ol’ Tommy boy didn’t actually invent most of what he is credited with inventing, you can bet he was paying attention to other’s failures and pounced on them when they either decided they enjoyed snorting sod, or just took a little too long to get back up.
But it’s true; sometimes laying on the ground, letting the ants crawl on you and smelling the dirt can help you see what you’ve been missing – or what you were just at the wrong angle to see. “Ah HA! My driveline is broken, and that is why I plowed into that tree. I am not a bad driver after all. Hey, dude, don’t step on that – that’s my spleen.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, I had to take poor Snoopy into the vet on Saturday. On Thursday I went to rub his ears and he yipped. I felt so bad! After that, I noticed he seemed continuously puzzled about things. Then I realized it’s because he has his head tipped to the right. And he was digging in his right ear. So I made the appointment and took him in to our beloved vet’s office; seriously, the best vet I have ever made acquaintance with. Sure enough, double ear infection. $145 later and I'm out the door with a wash to go in both ears, a liquid medication for both ears, and an oral antibiotic. That poor dog, every time he’d make eye contact with me, he ran. I was afraid that he would hate me forever! But Monday night he got up on the couch and snuggled up to me, falling asleep on my leg for about two hours. And he still greets me at the gate when I get home from work, bless his little pea-picken’ heart. Because, you know, I feed him.
Les has a bad cold, and I’m trying to keep my distance from him. I have had a sore tonsil for about a week and a half, and I’m trying to stave off any crud that could be coming in my direction. I don’t get paid sick days, so I try to call out sick very sparingly. However, I refuse to be “that guy” who comes to work because they can’t afford to stay home, then infects every person they work with. Hopefully, if I have to succumb and stay home, it will be a Friday or a Monday. ‘Cause we just got AmazonPrime, and they have soooooooooooooo many things I want to watch!!!
TTFN.
Here is the definition of the word “embrace”:
Verb:
1. hold (someone) closely in one's arms, esp. as a sign of affection.
Synonyms: hug, take/hold in one's arms, hold, cuddle, clasp to one's bosom, clasp, squeeze, clutch.
2. accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.
Synonyms: welcome, welcome with open arms, accept, take up, take to one's heart, adopt.
So in a word, no. I do not embrace failure.
Do I own my own failures? Yes.
Am I afraid to fail? Yes. And no. And sometimes.
Is it OK to fail? Yes.
I have let the fear of failure hold me back in life. I admit that, but I don’t embrace it. I have zero affection for failure. I do not accept it willingly, and I sure as hell don’t accept it enthusiastically. I have tried my best to learn from it, and I have enthusiastically attempted to not repeat it.
I think Oprah was trying to say that failure can give one a different perspective on things. Failure is not always a horrible thing. Thomas Edison was credited with saying, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” This way of thinking is much healthier than “I’ve failed, so I’ll quit.” And since good ol’ Tommy boy didn’t actually invent most of what he is credited with inventing, you can bet he was paying attention to other’s failures and pounced on them when they either decided they enjoyed snorting sod, or just took a little too long to get back up.
But it’s true; sometimes laying on the ground, letting the ants crawl on you and smelling the dirt can help you see what you’ve been missing – or what you were just at the wrong angle to see. “Ah HA! My driveline is broken, and that is why I plowed into that tree. I am not a bad driver after all. Hey, dude, don’t step on that – that’s my spleen.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, I had to take poor Snoopy into the vet on Saturday. On Thursday I went to rub his ears and he yipped. I felt so bad! After that, I noticed he seemed continuously puzzled about things. Then I realized it’s because he has his head tipped to the right. And he was digging in his right ear. So I made the appointment and took him in to our beloved vet’s office; seriously, the best vet I have ever made acquaintance with. Sure enough, double ear infection. $145 later and I'm out the door with a wash to go in both ears, a liquid medication for both ears, and an oral antibiotic. That poor dog, every time he’d make eye contact with me, he ran. I was afraid that he would hate me forever! But Monday night he got up on the couch and snuggled up to me, falling asleep on my leg for about two hours. And he still greets me at the gate when I get home from work, bless his little pea-picken’ heart. Because, you know, I feed him.
Les has a bad cold, and I’m trying to keep my distance from him. I have had a sore tonsil for about a week and a half, and I’m trying to stave off any crud that could be coming in my direction. I don’t get paid sick days, so I try to call out sick very sparingly. However, I refuse to be “that guy” who comes to work because they can’t afford to stay home, then infects every person they work with. Hopefully, if I have to succumb and stay home, it will be a Friday or a Monday. ‘Cause we just got AmazonPrime, and they have soooooooooooooo many things I want to watch!!!
TTFN.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The First Person I Fell For
Today's question is: tell us about the first person you "fell" for.
He was my first real boyfriend. We met when we were both in the 6th grade; we were the same religion and met where we worshipped - although to be perfectly honest, I don't remember how old we were when I actually noticed him. 13? 14? We officially began dating when we were 16.
Everytime I saw him, my heart tingled and I had butterflies in my stomach. I soon learned which of my dresses he liked best, and I always wore my highest heels around him. We had the same sense of humor, and we were both in the marching band, although we went to rival high schools. He's wicked smart and even though we were the same age, he graduated two years ahead of me. That was great because then he started helping with the colorguard so he was able to go on band trips with me. There was quite a bit of lip-locking going on, but we never went any further than that. Even when we really, really wanted to.
We had planned to get married, but things don't always go as planned. He married someone else - I won't go into any of that, it's the past and water under the bridge -just suffice it to say it shattered me. I found him on Facebook many years ago, and we keep in contact that way; he apologized to me for how things ended. I accepted.
And you know - truthfully?
He married the right person.
They have been happily married for more than 25 years; they have done missionary work in Samoa. It makes me happy that he is happy.
Now, if someone would please send Johnny Dep my way, I'd appreciate it.
TIA.
He was my first real boyfriend. We met when we were both in the 6th grade; we were the same religion and met where we worshipped - although to be perfectly honest, I don't remember how old we were when I actually noticed him. 13? 14? We officially began dating when we were 16.
Everytime I saw him, my heart tingled and I had butterflies in my stomach. I soon learned which of my dresses he liked best, and I always wore my highest heels around him. We had the same sense of humor, and we were both in the marching band, although we went to rival high schools. He's wicked smart and even though we were the same age, he graduated two years ahead of me. That was great because then he started helping with the colorguard so he was able to go on band trips with me. There was quite a bit of lip-locking going on, but we never went any further than that. Even when we really, really wanted to.
We had planned to get married, but things don't always go as planned. He married someone else - I won't go into any of that, it's the past and water under the bridge -just suffice it to say it shattered me. I found him on Facebook many years ago, and we keep in contact that way; he apologized to me for how things ended. I accepted.
And you know - truthfully?
He married the right person.
They have been happily married for more than 25 years; they have done missionary work in Samoa. It makes me happy that he is happy.
Now, if someone would please send Johnny Dep my way, I'd appreciate it.
TIA.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Today's subject: love.
Today's NaBloPoMo question is: Tell us about falling in love: what does it feel like?
I think that I can honestly say: I don’t have a freaking clue.I have only been in love twice. Once when I was 17, and later in my mid-20’s.
Sometimes I think that those ages are too young to really know what love is. I know that there are those who marry their high school sweet heart right out of high school and stay married for 80 years, but I think those lucky people are the exceptions to the rule. I think that the love I felt was more like infatuation rather than true love. I think that is what most of it is at that age.
In my case, the love that was felt was pretty much one-sided (my side). My first love didn’t start out that way, but it did end that way. The second time it was all just me.
I haven’t had the love experience since. It’s been a mighty long dry spell.
I dunno. It’s a sore subject for me. I’d very much like to be in love; two-way love, reciprocated love.
Siggghhhhh………
Friday, October 11, 2013
The Great Fall Pie Question: Apple or Pumpkin?
That is today’s NaBloPoMo question in a nutshell. To be honest, my answer is BOTH! (Did I mention the weight loss blog with zero weight loss blogged? Juuuuust checking.)
I love a really deep, moist, juicy apple pie with either the double crust or lattice work on top. But I detest, protest, and despise a double-crusted deep dish apple pie that is nothing but four inches of air between the apple filling and the underside of that upper-crust. There is a restaurant out here that shall remain unnamed that does that and I cry a POX on their house! A POX I TELL YOU! There is just something so evil about displaying a pie that is 4 inches tall, then revealing that the filling is about ½ inch thick and the rest is air. In complete contrast, I have a recipe somewhere for Four & Twenty Blackbirds’s Caramel Apple Pie; layer after layer after layer after layer of sweet, juicy apples bubbling away in a caramel sauce…….
Sorry. I went away there for a moment…what were we talking about?
Ah, yes, pie. You can find Four & Twenty Blackbirds’s website here, or if you are in Brooklyn you can visit them at:
439 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215
Corner of 8th street and 3rd Avenue
Park Slope / Gowanus
(718) 499 2917
I have never been there, myself, but I watched a story about them on the Food Network a couple of years ago, and I swear I could smell the pie through the TV. If you go to their site, click on the PIES tab and check out the flavors they offer. This season, in addition to the Salted Caramel Apple, they have an Apple Pear Rose and a Salty Honey Custard. Oooooooh man, it’s a good thing I don’t live out there. I’d be in pie heaven!
Now, about pumpkin pie. Love, love, love, LOVE me some good ol’ punkin’ pie. Especially cold for breakfast! I actually prefer my pumpkin pie either chilled or room temperature; not so keen on it hot out of the oven for some reason. I adore the humungous pumpkin pies you can get a Costco around Thanksgiving. I am not too proud to admit to eating those directly out of the tin with a spoon. (Did I mention the weight loss blog? Yes? Just double checking.) I remember the one time my dad tried to trick me into eating Sweet Potato Pie; have I mentioned on here how my hate for sweet potatoes burns as intensely as ten thousand suns? To say that I hate them is an understatement; kind of like saying the Pacific Ocean is a damp puddle. Anyway, I saw right through that. And even though he died over 30 years ago, I still haven’t forgiven him for it.
Wow. So…yeah. That’s my opinion about pie.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I finished Inferno today at lunchtime. It was a really good read; would probably make a good movie. I hope they don’t make a movie though, because they already screwed up the last two, and three would just be – I dunno – sad. Omens will now be my work-lunchtime book, and I started the newest book by John Le Carré - A Delicate Truth - last night.
Hopefully I will get some work done on Poppy Puss this weekend, and maybe if I hold my mouth just right, Blogger will actually let me post some pictures of it. AND maybe my new pattern – Ra Ra and the Grasshopper – will arrive as well.
Well, I guess that’s it for now.
TTFN.
I love a really deep, moist, juicy apple pie with either the double crust or lattice work on top. But I detest, protest, and despise a double-crusted deep dish apple pie that is nothing but four inches of air between the apple filling and the underside of that upper-crust. There is a restaurant out here that shall remain unnamed that does that and I cry a POX on their house! A POX I TELL YOU! There is just something so evil about displaying a pie that is 4 inches tall, then revealing that the filling is about ½ inch thick and the rest is air. In complete contrast, I have a recipe somewhere for Four & Twenty Blackbirds’s Caramel Apple Pie; layer after layer after layer after layer of sweet, juicy apples bubbling away in a caramel sauce…….
Sorry. I went away there for a moment…what were we talking about?
Ah, yes, pie. You can find Four & Twenty Blackbirds’s website here, or if you are in Brooklyn you can visit them at:
439 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215
Corner of 8th street and 3rd Avenue
Park Slope / Gowanus
(718) 499 2917
I have never been there, myself, but I watched a story about them on the Food Network a couple of years ago, and I swear I could smell the pie through the TV. If you go to their site, click on the PIES tab and check out the flavors they offer. This season, in addition to the Salted Caramel Apple, they have an Apple Pear Rose and a Salty Honey Custard. Oooooooh man, it’s a good thing I don’t live out there. I’d be in pie heaven!
Now, about pumpkin pie. Love, love, love, LOVE me some good ol’ punkin’ pie. Especially cold for breakfast! I actually prefer my pumpkin pie either chilled or room temperature; not so keen on it hot out of the oven for some reason. I adore the humungous pumpkin pies you can get a Costco around Thanksgiving. I am not too proud to admit to eating those directly out of the tin with a spoon. (Did I mention the weight loss blog? Yes? Just double checking.) I remember the one time my dad tried to trick me into eating Sweet Potato Pie; have I mentioned on here how my hate for sweet potatoes burns as intensely as ten thousand suns? To say that I hate them is an understatement; kind of like saying the Pacific Ocean is a damp puddle. Anyway, I saw right through that. And even though he died over 30 years ago, I still haven’t forgiven him for it.
Wow. So…yeah. That’s my opinion about pie.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I finished Inferno today at lunchtime. It was a really good read; would probably make a good movie. I hope they don’t make a movie though, because they already screwed up the last two, and three would just be – I dunno – sad. Omens will now be my work-lunchtime book, and I started the newest book by John Le Carré - A Delicate Truth - last night.
Hopefully I will get some work done on Poppy Puss this weekend, and maybe if I hold my mouth just right, Blogger will actually let me post some pictures of it. AND maybe my new pattern – Ra Ra and the Grasshopper – will arrive as well.
Well, I guess that’s it for now.
TTFN.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
To Jump, Or Not To Jump, Into What is the Question
Today’s NaBloPoMo question is: Which is better to jump in: a leaf pile or a puddle?
I had to think about that one. I would have to choose the puddle, mostly for ridiculous reasons.
I love the youthful idea of being outside in a super cute pair of Wellies, jumping around in puddles like a hyperactive Mexican jumping bean. I’m not afraid to get a little wet; I won’t melt. Unless it’s cold, then I HATE to be wet. But I’m getting off the subject.
I had to think about that one. I would have to choose the puddle, mostly for ridiculous reasons.
I love the youthful idea of being outside in a super cute pair of Wellies, jumping around in puddles like a hyperactive Mexican jumping bean. I’m not afraid to get a little wet; I won’t melt. Unless it’s cold, then I HATE to be wet. But I’m getting off the subject.
The only drawback to jumping into a puddle is when it’s not a puddle, but a four foot deep hole, abandoned well, mineshaft, or similar. That would totally harsh my buzz.
As for leaf piles, they seem all fun and soft and everything, until someone either jumps out of one and makes you soil yourself; piles the leaves up around a fire hydrant and you expose your brain by cracking open your noggin; or you gleefully jump in and make leaf angels, only to discover that you are now covered with slugs. Or dog poop.
Ew.
Don’t ask me how I know about these things; sometimes one’s childhood is just too depressing to talk about.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Just a quick note
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit - Blogger has decided to bestow upon me a window of opportunity to post a few pictures and edit a few things on my side bar!
Woo hoo!
So please scroll down a few posts and see where I have added a few pictures, and please to be introduced to our doggies that have been added to the side bar on the right. I'll add pictures of our cats, Teddy and Miss Muffin at the next available opportunity.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
Woo hoo!
So please scroll down a few posts and see where I have added a few pictures, and please to be introduced to our doggies that have been added to the side bar on the right. I'll add pictures of our cats, Teddy and Miss Muffin at the next available opportunity.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
The Sounds of Autumn
Today’s NaBloPoMo question is:
Which sound is more satisfying for you: crunching leaves underfoot or bubble wrap popping?
I would have to go with the sound of crunching leaves underfoot. I’m not sure I can put into words the exact reason why, but I’ll try.
The crunching of leaves underfoot brings to my mind a feeling of youth and freedom. I guess at some point when I was a kid, I ran headlong along a trail through the trees, kicking leaves and crunching them underfoot as I went.
The sound of bubble wrap popping kinda makes me nuts.
Now, don’t get me wrong on the subject of popping bubble wrap! Sis and I have often thought that we could be zillionaires by opening our own “counseling” practice, wherein patients simply rolled around or stomped on big sheets of bubble wrap. And that’s it. No talking, no reading, no special “growing” or “learning” exercises, no medication of any kind; just yards and yards of bubble wrap to pop however the patient saw fit. $150 an hour. I’d just get some really, really good noise cancelling headphones. Hell, if Dr. Oz can make it rich by doing what he does…Oprah? You out there, girl?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nothing else new to report; still reading the same book, haven’t been able to work on Poppy Puss this week yet.
You know what I really want to do? Open an Etsy store, or sell some things at a local store here in our super-dinky indent on the highway. I want to make money from my cross stitch somehow, and not by selling my patterns and stash!
I love to make jewelry, greeting cards, etc. I’m not fabulous, but I think I do pretty well. My niece has an Etsy store (please do check it out here), and she is not necessarily getting rich or anything, but really enjoys it.
Does anyone out there make an income this way? Any pointers for a newb like me? Feel free to email me if you don’t want to leak your secrets in the comments section. I’d really appreciate any suggestions you may have. TIA!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why oh why do all the Powerball winners live east of the Mississippi? I don’t even have to win the whole pot! I’ll gladly share it!
Hello?? Powerball gods, are you listening?
{crickets} {more crickets} {lone wolf howling}
Damn.
TTFN.
Which sound is more satisfying for you: crunching leaves underfoot or bubble wrap popping?
I would have to go with the sound of crunching leaves underfoot. I’m not sure I can put into words the exact reason why, but I’ll try.
The crunching of leaves underfoot brings to my mind a feeling of youth and freedom. I guess at some point when I was a kid, I ran headlong along a trail through the trees, kicking leaves and crunching them underfoot as I went.
The sound of bubble wrap popping kinda makes me nuts.
Now, don’t get me wrong on the subject of popping bubble wrap! Sis and I have often thought that we could be zillionaires by opening our own “counseling” practice, wherein patients simply rolled around or stomped on big sheets of bubble wrap. And that’s it. No talking, no reading, no special “growing” or “learning” exercises, no medication of any kind; just yards and yards of bubble wrap to pop however the patient saw fit. $150 an hour. I’d just get some really, really good noise cancelling headphones. Hell, if Dr. Oz can make it rich by doing what he does…Oprah? You out there, girl?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nothing else new to report; still reading the same book, haven’t been able to work on Poppy Puss this week yet.
You know what I really want to do? Open an Etsy store, or sell some things at a local store here in our super-dinky indent on the highway. I want to make money from my cross stitch somehow, and not by selling my patterns and stash!
I love to make jewelry, greeting cards, etc. I’m not fabulous, but I think I do pretty well. My niece has an Etsy store (please do check it out here), and she is not necessarily getting rich or anything, but really enjoys it.
Does anyone out there make an income this way? Any pointers for a newb like me? Feel free to email me if you don’t want to leak your secrets in the comments section. I’d really appreciate any suggestions you may have. TIA!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why oh why do all the Powerball winners live east of the Mississippi? I don’t even have to win the whole pot! I’ll gladly share it!
Hello?? Powerball gods, are you listening?
{crickets} {more crickets} {lone wolf howling}
Damn.
TTFN.
Monday, October 7, 2013
What kind of apple would you be?
So, how was your weekend? It was bee-you-tee-ful out here! Gorgeous blue skies with a few clouds, windy as heck, hot in the sun. Mrs. Weenie and Gigi did some serious sun worshipping by lying in the grass and offering up their tummies for baking. After all the rain during the week, this sumptuous break was good for everyone. Les worked out back on Sunday in the raised planting beds and managed to completely clear one of them of all the overgrown weeds. He will probably sleep for three days straight making up for that, but he felt really good about it.
Still reading Inferno; can’t put it down. Still haven’t read anymore of Omen yet. I’m about half-way through Inferno; took it with me on my Saturday errands and read it while having lunch at a favorite mom-and-pop diner. We love this little diner, but I’m glad Sis and Les weren’t with me this time; I was a bit disappointed in them.
There was a new-to-me waitress working there, and she seemed to be pretty on the ball. Keep in mind, this is a very small establishment with only one or two waitresses (one is the owner) and one cook/busboy. I noticed one customer had been trying to get her attention for several minutes. Finally, he just got up and walked over to the coffee machine – that got her attention! As she looked over, he hollered, “Do you mind if I just go ahead and help myself to a refill?” She just shrugged and said, “Sure.”
Then, when she came to take my order, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and asked if I could get sautéed mushrooms on it. Sure – no problem. When the burger came, it had sautéed onions, not mushrooms. I checked the bill she had slapped down on the table when she delivered my plate, and sure enough – she had written it down wrong. After getting down towards the bottom of my fries, I found a hair on the plate (which I doubt had anything to do with the waitress, but ewwwww…). Finally, I decided that I would like to have a piece of their awesome pie. It took me almost 15 minutes to finally get her attention. She was a master at the eye-contact avoidance and hand-wave ignoring. I should have done what the coffee-refill guy did and just holler to get her attention, but that’s just not me. I would have complained to the owner, but she had left by the time I put in my initial order, and I figured complaining to this gal would not do any good. When I went up to the front counter to pay my bill, she had her resume and a job application out on the counter.
That kind of explained everything.
Other than that, it was a pleasant weekend. I got most of my laundry done (why, WHY do I wait until I am out of underwear and socks to do laundry? Why?) and got to work on Poppy Puss some more. Still can’t post pictures. Still working on a solution.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, today’s question from NaBloPoMo* is:
If you were an apple, which type of apple (Granny Smith, Gala, Red Delicious, etc) would you be and why?
These types of questions are so weird. But, I guess I would be a Honey Crisp. This is my favorite variety, and the name says it all. Very crisp, like a Granny Smith, but so sweet, unlike a Granny Smith. Very little pucker factor here, and lots of apple-y flavor. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Granny Smith apple pie, but I’ll go with HC for snacking any time. Unfortunately they are seasonal and not available everywhere. I don’t really know if I could say why I would want to be this type of apple. I guess I could say that I am normally a very sweet person; but if you aren’t careful, you could experience the crisper side of my personality.
Which, I suppose, is a very lame way of saying that I am a nice person pretty much all the time, unless you piss me off. Then heaven help you.
TTFN.
*It's so funny; I keep wanting to call this Nostromo. I guess the ship from the original Alien movie has settled deep into my subconscious mind. Should I be concerned?
Still reading Inferno; can’t put it down. Still haven’t read anymore of Omen yet. I’m about half-way through Inferno; took it with me on my Saturday errands and read it while having lunch at a favorite mom-and-pop diner. We love this little diner, but I’m glad Sis and Les weren’t with me this time; I was a bit disappointed in them.
There was a new-to-me waitress working there, and she seemed to be pretty on the ball. Keep in mind, this is a very small establishment with only one or two waitresses (one is the owner) and one cook/busboy. I noticed one customer had been trying to get her attention for several minutes. Finally, he just got up and walked over to the coffee machine – that got her attention! As she looked over, he hollered, “Do you mind if I just go ahead and help myself to a refill?” She just shrugged and said, “Sure.”
Then, when she came to take my order, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and asked if I could get sautéed mushrooms on it. Sure – no problem. When the burger came, it had sautéed onions, not mushrooms. I checked the bill she had slapped down on the table when she delivered my plate, and sure enough – she had written it down wrong. After getting down towards the bottom of my fries, I found a hair on the plate (which I doubt had anything to do with the waitress, but ewwwww…). Finally, I decided that I would like to have a piece of their awesome pie. It took me almost 15 minutes to finally get her attention. She was a master at the eye-contact avoidance and hand-wave ignoring. I should have done what the coffee-refill guy did and just holler to get her attention, but that’s just not me. I would have complained to the owner, but she had left by the time I put in my initial order, and I figured complaining to this gal would not do any good. When I went up to the front counter to pay my bill, she had her resume and a job application out on the counter.
That kind of explained everything.
Other than that, it was a pleasant weekend. I got most of my laundry done (why, WHY do I wait until I am out of underwear and socks to do laundry? Why?) and got to work on Poppy Puss some more. Still can’t post pictures. Still working on a solution.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, today’s question from NaBloPoMo* is:
If you were an apple, which type of apple (Granny Smith, Gala, Red Delicious, etc) would you be and why?
These types of questions are so weird. But, I guess I would be a Honey Crisp. This is my favorite variety, and the name says it all. Very crisp, like a Granny Smith, but so sweet, unlike a Granny Smith. Very little pucker factor here, and lots of apple-y flavor. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Granny Smith apple pie, but I’ll go with HC for snacking any time. Unfortunately they are seasonal and not available everywhere. I don’t really know if I could say why I would want to be this type of apple. I guess I could say that I am normally a very sweet person; but if you aren’t careful, you could experience the crisper side of my personality.
Which, I suppose, is a very lame way of saying that I am a nice person pretty much all the time, unless you piss me off. Then heaven help you.
TTFN.
*It's so funny; I keep wanting to call this Nostromo. I guess the ship from the original Alien movie has settled deep into my subconscious mind. Should I be concerned?
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