Cat Puzzle

Finished it in record time. Thanks Sue. It was great fun.

Boxing Day

Item #1. Sue gave me a puzzle for Christmas with eleven cats dressed up in red hats and other finery. I started it last night and have only completed the bottom two or so rows and some of the sides. Should I finish it soon, I'll take a picture of it and post it.
Item #2. Heard that they now advocate getting an immunization for Shingles. Having never had chicken pox (tho exposed to them when all three kids were growing up), I still opted to get one. Because I have such great insurance the shot cost me nothing (insurance picked it all up) and Jerry only had to pay $28, Medicare picked up the rest. Guess the shots are going for $200 a stab.
Item #3. Went to see "Enchanted" yesterday with Jhary. I want that movie. It is soooo cute.
Item #4. My granddaughter announced her engagement to be married. She is thrilled. The plan is to wait a couple of years before the actual ceremony. We shall see.

The week in reveiw

Why is it, when you look ahead on a week, you don't see how rough it is really going to be? I mean you see Christmas party here, a Minstrels performance there and think, "piece of cake". Then...
Saturday was our Red Hat gathering. No big deal just shoots the middle out of a Saturday. And you have so much fun you don't want to do much else the rest of the day.
Sunday was church and the Soup luncheon we serve to celebrate Jesus' birthday. I had to be there early to help set up and stay after to help clean. Then Sydney needed to be picked up from her father's because the pillows she wanted to make were still in the "yardage purchased but nothing else done" stage. Brought her home, cut out six heart shaped pillows out of that fuzzy stuff that gets all over the place and helped her sew (actually she did the sewing, I just pinned) them together.
Monday I cut out dresses for Jhary and Uma (standing on my feet bending over the dining room table) and then went down to the church to set up for our annual clothing give-a-way to the poor who frequent our Shalom Ministry dinners. Again on my feet, this time for two three hour stretches with only a 30 minute sit time in between.
Tuesday was my regular day for the "Come Sew with Me" group at the church. I had to leave an hour early to attend a performance at a nursing home with the Minstrels. I could not stay standing for the entire show as I am usually able to do.
Wednesday I had a breakfast with the Minstrels to celebrate Christmas. Then spent the rest of the day sewing to finish Jhary's dress. It is beautiful but probably should be let out just a tad in the waist. Uma hasn't been here to try hers on yet and she now tells me she wants a black and red dress (not the green plaid she brought over for me to sew).
Thursday the little girls came over. Sydney wanted to make two quilts for her mother's friends. She had them all cut out - was just a bit off on how to put them together (was making the frame before she had the center done). The quilts are really just lap robes with 9 eight inch squares and two inch sashing. We got them done, tho and her mother was thrilled. (Again, Syd sewed, I pinned). We took them home and then off to Jhary's Christmas party. She looked great in her new dress.
Friday - today - we spent at the Mall with the two other grand kids. Josh wanted shoes for Christmas. (This boy is much too serious. For his birthday he wanted a sweatshirt.) Haili wanted a Build-a-Bear and cloths for it. My feet are tired.
Gosh! It looks like Saturday and Sunday are empty. Don't count on it. I'm sure we will find something to stuff in there.

Doll cloths

As most of you know, I love to make doll dresses. I have several grand daughters and have sewn cloths for their dolls, but not whole wardrobes. Just pieces here and there.
Enter Martha, the girl from Africa who came in September with her family and no toys/dolls at all. While scouring the thrift stores for warm clothing for them (the family) I came across an 18 inch doll in really very good condition. I picked her up for about $6.00 and brought her home for some clean up and a new wardrobe.
I have finished sewing several items but am particularly proud of the snow suit.
I have also let my sewing machine embroidery on some items:

I have spent a lot of time on these little things. Now it is time to start thinking about getting this house ready for Christmas. My tree is still in it's box. The cards are still not purchased. I did make some cookies but they are gone now and I have two more functions to take cookies to. Better get busy.

Mattress

Some years ago, when married to a VERY large man, we went through mattresses quite regularly. Due to his bulk and night sweats, our mattresses broke down, fabric deteriorated, springs popped through, you get the idea. We tried a foam mattress once, it became smushed quite rapidly. Then we purchased a Select Comfort mattress, a glorified air mattress. It worked just fine for both of us as we could adjust the firmness desired to our individual tastes.
Then he died, I moved to this condo, got rid of that king sized bed (cause there was no one to share it with me and purchased and adjustable bed (think hospital type) as I was preparing to be and old lady. Besides it was great for reading in bed, just crank that baby up and read away.
That didn't last long, tho, as Jerry came into my life and all of a sudden we were in need of more sleeping room. I convinced him to get an adjustable bed and we would just strap them together. No amount of strapping would keep those two twin sized mattresses together when the two bodies on top wanted to "get together", shall we say. So, we dumped those and got a Select Comfort. I figured it worked for one guy, it should work for this one too.
We enjoyed that mattress for three plus years until my DH told me that it just wasn't working for him. No matter what number he tried he woke with an achy back, could not sleep through the night. "The mattress must go." I hemmed and hawed. After all, I had talked him into this system and felt responsible. But after sleeping on numerous hotel mattresses in Israel the die was cast. We went out and bought a new mattress. This time the adjustable part of the beds went out too.
We have a regular King sized bed now (with room under for storage boxes). It is luxury. Firm yet soft. I want to stay in bed longer. My hips don't hurt if I lay on one side too long. Jerry is sleeping through the night with no aches and pains.
Why did I resist so long?

Fairies

Here is a cute site.


Give it a try.

You have to click on the title "Faries"

Antuco in Israel

Antuco made friends where ever he went. Here he is with the guard outside the Damascus Gate in Old Jerusalem (Muslim Sector).

These are Soldiers in Bethlehem. They are smiling because the young girls in our group had just taken pictures with them leaving them in a good mood.

This Tourist Police officer could barely keep from laughing at the idea of a monkey wanting his picture. I promised I wouldn't show his superiors.

I liked the costume of this guard. He was inside the Treasury at Petra. Good smile. The most diligent of guards was Gila, our guide. Tough as nails when it came to keeping track of her charges. Borne in the US, she emigrated to Israel as a very young woman and lived on a Kibbutz for a number of years. Now she is a certified guide and very up on her history of the region (both old and new Testament).

Our organizer and leader, Pastor John Delancey. Gentle person with a wealth of knowledge about the region. He has been there several times and is going back in March 08.

Last but certainly not least is our fabulous bus driver, Acrom. He could put that bus in spots I would only dream of getting my Subaru.

Jerry in Israel

Our trip to Israel was really delightful. I tried to get shots of Jerry enjoying himself. Bus rides were long and cramped. Here he is at the Siq - entrance to Petra. He really enjoyed this part of the trip. Can you see his smile?
The trip to Petra takes us through a long canyon called the Siq.

Once through the Siq Jerry found a bench to sit on and wait until I had finished exploring. That's him sitting on the right end of the bench against the canyon wall. (You could recognise him, right?)

Been there, Done that. Where's my T-shirt?
We had to get on a boat (part of the tour) at the Sea of Galilee. I really wanted to get a "Christmas Card" photo of us there. Don't think this one will do.Honest, folks, he really was enjoying himself.

We have determined that my dear husband is not a traveler. This trip was most difficult for him. The getting there and back is arduous. The climbing in and out of the buses for the numerous stops was trying. So I guess I'll be the world traveler of the family. Not a bad title. And Jerry will stay home and fret that I'm OK and be able to take care of the cats so they are not so lonely.

Pictures

Here I am at Arbel. This is the southern end of the fertile plain of Ginnosar. I believe this was the day after I sprained my ankle so did not go to the farthest lookout point with the group.

Then there was the camel ride in Petra. Notice the red hat. Picked that up in Jerusalem. It is a grand hat. My hair refused to behave the whole trip and my curling iron only worked when it wanted to and only for short periods of time. The camels seem to always have a second beast roped to them. Maybe a youngster learning the ropes. As I was positioning Antuco on my camel after the ride, the second camel became very curious. I told him(?) not to bite Antuco and he looked at me and started to snuffle my face. Really a very sweet camel, soft mussel. Neither one spit or grumbled at me as had been noticed at other camel stops. I had walked down the road way another mile or so past the treasury when I decided I had seen enough and hired the camel to bring me back up. Just as I arrived in the Treasury yard, a large group of tourists stood right in front of Jerry so he didn't get to see my triumphant entrance. That is Jerry, sitting on the end of the bench, with the vest and purple shirt on. I took this from the porch of the Treasury.

We're Home

What a trip. Lots to see in that little country. The bus took us all over Israel; from Tel Aviv to Caesarea to the Northern boarder with Syria down to Jerusalem, into Bethlehem (occupied territory - our guide couldn't go with us only our driver), then down to Egypt and up to Jordan and back into Israel. Check points at every boarder. Guards with guns everywhere (even in the hotels) - they really want to protect those tourist dollars.
Mishaps included: Day 5- dismounted the bus a bit too clumsily and twisting my left ankle. Opted out of the Jordan baptism the next day.
Day 8 - developed a case of food poisoning(?). Up all night with "those" symptoms. Really cleaned things out. Imodium works great. I stayed in the hotel recovering the next day. The tour director suggested I start taking the full spectrum antibiotics we brought so I did. Got the whole seven days into my system (in the allotted seven days) and on Day 16, high above the Atlantic Ocean I broke out in hives, all over my face, chest, back. Hives hurt. Hives itch. Got to the hotel and tried to get some sleep. To no avail. Had Jerry go out and purchase some Benadril. Two doses of that did not touch the hives. By 1:30 in the am I said enough, and we went to the urgent care five miles from the hotel for an epinephrine shot and a scrip for steroids. The doc said I should be fine in about three days.
Got lots of pictures of Antuco with various soldiers. I should have counted cats. (There are lots of them all over the area). When I get the pictures loaded onto the computer I'll post them.

Israel

I'm here. Getting very tired. Sprained my ankle but doing fine now. Taking loads of pictures. Will post more when I get home. (or later)

Happy Turkey Day

I have previously posted pictures of birds that come to our feeder. Sparrows, flickers, quail, hawks, magpies, and starlings have all helped themselves to a quick repast in our back yard. But today tops them all.

We had five hen turkeys (wild ones) make it into our back yard and spend some time foraging in the Virginia Creeper. Now, we have seen wild turkeys in the mountains north of here but this was a first for us. We live two miles from the center of town!

What a treat! Guess they felt safe because I ordered my Thanksgiving bird just today from Eggers.

Musings on hair

Went to the dentist yesterday. On the way to the procedure room, one of the hygienists remarked on the color of my hair. She said she really liked the color of it.
All my young life I hated the color of my hair. I wanted straight black hair. I had wavy red hair. I had one girl friend whose hair was a bit lighter than mine. Guess I identified with her.
For the next 50 years or so I permed it, colored it (wanted a brighter color) and often just let it do it's own thing.
Then as I neared 60 I started looking at my hair color in a different way. It is unique. You can't get this color from a bottle. It has pretty much stayed the same since my Mother clipped my first lock and put it in my baby book. I have some grey coming in now (actually, it looks more blond than grey). I'll probably not turn grey like others my age, rather the red will fade and get lighter (turn yellowish) until it becomes almost white (I'm told it will happen that way, anyway).
In the mean time I'll truely enjoy the color it is now. Just as I've come to appreciate my overall shape and general abilities.
Acceptance, yes. Appreciation, definitely.

October

The weather here turned cold rather fast. We had a lovely warm September then all of a sudden it was October and cold. But the cool-down was not gradual enough to produce the wonderful colors we had last year. I rather thought last year's trees were outstanding as compared to now, so I looked back on my site and sure enough. Those vibrant colors are not showing up this year. Maybe I am a bit early in my observations. I'll see what another couple of weeks bring.

Jerry & I, in preparation for the trip, received our flu and pneumonia shots yesterday. They were doing them for free at the Senior Center and I figured why not? I'm thinking all those hours in the closed ventilation system of the planes, all those little beasties just looking for new hosts, and who knows what we will run into in Israel, right? Yesterday I was fine. Jerry was a bit sore at the shot site. Today I feel like I've been "rode hard and put away wet" as my dad used to say. Meaning that I either am reacting to the shots or am really just tired. I'll relax this afternoon and do some yoga this evening and see what happens.

Maritha

Saturday I was finally able to go shopping with Maritha. It was quite an experience. We first went to Walmart where we picked up some tights, a couple of long sleeved t-shirts and a winter coat. Maritha was quite hesitant and shy about looking and picking out something.
OK, there really wasn't much to choose from anyway. A quick stop at Arby's and off we went to Kmart.
The girl learns quick. She marched right in to the girl's department and started looking at the dresses, pants, and shirts like a seasoned shopper. We found a couple of dresses, some cute jeans, warm snugglies and some snow boots.
When we got home she had to pull everything out of the bags and hold them up for everyone to see. She sure looked happy. I think we did just fine without a common language. Mostly I would sign. She watched my response about sizes and really tried to find the right tags. She picked mostly Pink. I pointed out purple and blue, she went back to pink. Guess she is a girly girl under all those boys cloths she has been wearing.

Musings on money

All my life I have felt like I have been scrimping along. When I started earning my own money babysitting, I would record every cent in a little accounting book - earned and spent. I could tell you what I bought or where it went. This habit carried from 5th grade through nursing school.
My first husband took charge of finances and had a good head for dealing with a growing family and small income. We did OK. No impulse shopping, no running up the credit cards. We would go on vacations IF we had saved up the money for it. Good, solid financial planning.
However, I felt like I didn't have "my own money" so I opened a savings account (behind his back) for my "pin" money. Why did women feel like they had to do that in those days? I wanted to feel like I could make a purchase without having to ask for money.
We split, and I had a terrible time getting a Shell Gas, JC Penny's, Liberty House or, Sears credit card in my name because all of our credit was in his name. My, how times have changed.
Husband number two dumped all financial responsibilities on me. He gave me his checks, I had to figure out how to pay the bills. He was good at running up the credit cards, I was diligent in paying them off. Because of this, we had no savings to use for vacations or planned out big purchases. I used training from my early life to work out finances in this union. I was in charge of all monies, but still felt financially poor because it was my responsibility to make ends meet.
Enter husband number three. He came into my life with a sound financial background, pays the bills, makes sure I want for nothing. But I can't break old habits. I shop for bargains, even in the grocery store I find it hard to purchase say, bell peppers at $1.00 each when I know I can get them for $.25 at the little outdoor produce shed down the road from us.
Why this musing? As I was doing my morning ablutions I was reflecting on how I always used to dream about having enough money to dump everything in my closet and buy all new. I can, financially, do that now. But, I can't. It would not be a good use of time or money. I pick up a shirt or blouse now and then. Don't feel guilty if I wear it a couple of times and it just doesn't do so I give it away. I don't think I could be happier if I had a LOT of money. Having some left over in my checking account at the end of the month makes me smile with gratitude for blessings uncounted.
I am glad I had the times of lean. It makes these times of plenty all the more sweet.

Test Results

The PA called today with a glowing report. Basically, my heart is in great shape and the Cardiologist does not anticipate any cardiac incidents in the foreseeable future. So, I'm happy.
Etienne family update: Got on line and looked up what the two elementary school aged kids would need for school. Then Jerry & I filled the list. Took the supplies over today. Jean Marie will have a book bag waiting for him at school with some supplies in it already, we just filled in the blanks. Maritha's bag weighs a ton. She was sooooo happy when I told her these were HER supplies and the boys couldn't have any. They had to take everything out of the bag (6 pks of paper, 6 folders, 10 spiral notebooks, crayons, colored markers, pencils, colored pencils, glue, scissors etc.) and then put them all back.
I told the older boys I would get them a back pack each and see what supplies they need.
It is great to see what they are learning already. Words like hi, hello, Thank You!, numbers etc. Even the Papa is picking up words.
The neighbors have really opened their arms to this family. There is a boy (frosh at G-Prep) living two houses down. He is over quite a bit just talking and getting the kids used to English. There seem to be a few other refugee families in the area because a man from Rwanda came by today - he recognised the World Relief worker as she was taking the kids to the park and wanted to say Hi to the parents. And some women that were at the school meeting I attended last week came by to visit.
Wanted to get to the garden today to harvest the tomatoes before it freezes (yes, that ugly word is creeping into the weather forecast already). Didn't make it. Sewing class tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday? Who knows. At least I have brought my houseplants in.

Yes, I'm still alive.

I have never been so "Up tight" about a test before in my life. I arrived at the Cardiologists 15 minutes early and the took me right in. Hardly had time to unwind the cord on my i-pod. The nurse gave me a quick rundown on what to expect and told me to put on that little gown with the ties in the front. She stuck at least 10 patches to my chest and hooked me up to the EKG leads. Another nurse came in and started the IV. I was shaking. NEVER have I been that nervous. Hind sight... There was nothing to be nervous about. They ran a base line read from the leads and took them off. Next a guy comes in carrying a lead box with a lead encased syringe containing radio active stuff that he injects into my IV. Then I was laid out on a the X-ray table and for the next 15 minutes the machine commenced taking pictures. Whoops! My liver got in the way and I had to have them retaken. First I was lead back out to the dressing room to drink some apple juice and eat some peanut butter crackers. Time to dig out the i-pod and chill. I kept it going when I climbed back on the table. This 15 minutes went by much more smoothly. And the pictures were better. Then they hooked me back up and put me on the tread mill. I had to get my heart rate up to 160 - And tell them when I only had 2 minutes left in me. How does that happen. Anyway, when I hit the 160 beats mark, I said enough (and had to go two more minutes). They pumped more radio active stuff in while I was still walking, stopped the machine and had me sit and rest for 15 minutes, then back on the X-ray table for 15 minutes more of pictures.
Thanks. Those look good. We'll give these to the doctor and he'll write up a report and send it to your doctor in three or four days. Next week I'll get a call from my doctor saying every thing is fine and I'll be OK until .... whenever.
The fact that I don't smoke, don't have a family history of heart problems, have decent cholesterol, and get daily exercise all contribute to a good prognosis. I'll keep you posted.

???

Went in to the Dr. this morn to have a check on this acid reflux that's been bothering me of late. He ran an EKG and found a slow heart rate and a funny thing going on on the T (what, line? bar?). Anyway, I'm off to the Tread Mill EKG Thursday morning. Running on a Tread Mill for two hours shall surely put me under.
More later.

Hooray for me!

Started line dancing on Monday. Two left feet? Let's say that my left foot doesn't know what my right foot has done so it doesn't follow well. But it is fun.
Got to the lazy point this summer. Munching a lot. Couldn't get those jeans zipped. Back to weight watchers. Problem is they have this neat charm thingy I'd love to earn but you have to loose 10% of your body weight to get it. 10% of my body weight is more than my goal. My scale says I've lost 10 pounds (those same 10 I put on this summer) - theirs says only 4. Why is that? Both scales were synced when I started. Oh well. It's all weight gone (for a while - wait, that's defeatist).
Entered items for the grand girls and myself in the fair. As expected Casey (the one who likes to "do" sewing) came away with a lot of Red ribbons (needs improvement) and Sydney (who likes to "learn" sewing) got mostly Blue (first place). Surprisingly (or not) mine all got Blue and two of them got Purple. I took pictures but can't find them right now. I'll post them when I do.
Off now to a Red Hat meeting then to a Lay Speaker Training in Coeur d'Alene. Never a dull moment.

Garage Sale-ing

I so wanted to take Martha (the 11 year old girl) out shopping today for a dress to wear to church. But I got nixed by the World Relief people. First of all I had not gone through the background check required for all drivers and companions. Downloaded the forms, filled them out, and delivered them on Friday afternoon. Then they do not want individual members of the family going on outings without all the rest of the family for a while. I am not about to drive the van with a family of 8 who do not speak English.
So, what to do? We went Garage Sale-ing. Jerry says he had never done that before. How can that be? I got the morning paper out and took down the addresses of 8 sales that said "kids cloths" and "toys". I bought two night gowns, a toy fire truck and some rubber stamps at the first stop. All the others were a wash. I next stopped at the NW Christian Thrift store and found some dresses for Martha. Then had to stop at Office Depot to get some stamp pads for the rubber stamps, a ream of copy paper (for drawing and stamping) and a package of colored markers. Oh, I found an 18 " doll which I'll give to Martha later (after she has been cleaned up) and some maracas which the boys loved.
Took the lot to them and was received so warmly. Martha broke into the biggest smile when she realized that I had brought things just for her, things she would not have to share with her brothers. It will be fun to see which dress (if any of the ones I brought) she will be wearing tomorrow.
It is so fun to see who ends up with what. I take something out of a bag and expect JeanMarie (age 5) to want it, Erike (age 14) latches on to it. Or I thought the rubber stamps would be of interest to Martha or Erike and Raphael (age 17) shows more interest (I think I saw him drawing yesterday).
As we were leaving Jerry told me to swing by the grocery store. Then he proceeded to purchase a watermelon and a dozen large muffins which we then delivered back to the house. By that time there were two car loads of people there. Their friends from the refugee camp who had arrived last month and one of the companion families.
Tomorrow should be organized chaos at church - or not. I do want to see about getting into the coat reserve to see if anything will be of interest to them.

Day Two

Two days of eating regularly and sleeping have really improved the demeanue of the Burundi family. Mom and Dad (Maryana and Mashimango) are always smiling when I pop in. The kids stop playing in Phil's back yard and come running to greet me. Today I took over two "play in the dirt" type trucks for the little boys (Eritie and JeanMarie) and a large red wagon. All six kids had to have a turn at playing with them. Just warms the heart watching their innocence.
Yesterday I played a card game (9 up) with Erike, Raphael and Martha. Using signs I was able to get most of the concepts of the game over to them. They can count in English and could determine (very accurately) their own scores.
I rushed out last night and scoured Value Village for sweat cloths for all of them (coming from the tropics to September in Spokane can be a bit of a shock to the system - they were cold.) Then went to Fred Meyer and spent almost as much just on socks for all. (Haven't even delved into underwear needs). Maryana was wearing a Muumuu today (I didn't give her that) so now I know what to be on the lookout for for her. When I went up today, JeanMarie was wearing the jacket I had picked out for Martha. Go figure.
This is such a brave family. There are other families from the same refugee camp here in Spokane already who have been visiting, much to everyone's delight.
I am told that they will be worshiping with us on Sunday. I can't wait to hear them sing a song to us.

Burundi Family Arrives

Off the plane came today a family of eight refugees from Burundi looking very tired and dazed.

Here they are getting introduced to their interpreter (in the short sleeves - back to the camera). They are all in identical grey sweatshirts.

Imagine setting out from the middle of Africa one day and landing the next in Spokane.

Mom and dad with five boys and one girl. Such a close family. I think that is the girl next to the white fist. The family resemblance is so great I could only tell which was the girl by the sandals she was wearing.

The two youngest boys delighted in the toys I brought for them. They were quietly occupied while the adults waited for the baggage.

I think this boy is the 15 years old. He looked drained. Bet they will all sleep tonight.

Carpets

Called a company, recommended by a neighbor, to come in and clean my carpets. Today was the day. In walks the most "Fiddler on the Roof" typically Jewish man in Spokane. Jerry immediately started a conversation with him. He was very intelligent, articulate, interesting to listen to. Of all things, to be in my living room listening to a Jewish Rabbi. His views of Judaism, the Palestinian thing, the history I have been reading, all makes one stop and ponder. If the Jews are the "chosen people" who are the "chosen people" of the New Testament? I thought Christians were. Many more ideas were thrown into the air and are slowly settling in my consciousness.
We definitely need to have him in for coffee just to listen to him again.
P.S. His son did an excellent job with the carpets.

Holy Land

Our tour guide has sent us literature to read (I haven't done so yet), suggested books to read (Jerry has read all and more), and I have taken a summer missions class on Israel and Palestine which only caused me much mental distress as I did not pay attention, growing up, as this history was unfolding. Now I am in catch up mode. The "Israel/Palestine" book from the study made me mad at the Israelis. I read "Queen Nor" and became angry at the interfering Europeans. I am now reading "Daughter of Persia" and "Exodus". At least "Exodus", even though a novel, seems to be filling in a lot of the blanks and pulling the pieces together. I'm only 1/3 of the way through.
CNN aired a three part series on "Warriors of God" this week. Did anyone else watch it? The first night was about the Jews. Very good, informative. The second was about Islam. Also good. Explained the reasoning behind martyrdom. I was out for the third one on Christianity. Jerry watched it and was not impressed.

Happy Valentines Day

Last February Jerry gave me a gardenia plant for Valentines. It was loaded with buds and I thought for sure one would open up. They just kept falling off. I changed rooms. They just kept falling off. I put it outside in a shady corner of my patio. And Presto! I have blossoms. Thanks, Jerry. I have never been able to get a gardenia to bloom before. Now to try to keep it alive over the winter.

Birds

Last fall I put out a bird feeder. We attracted birds all winter. This summer I have continued to fill the feeder and enjoy watching mainly sparrows feed every day. Some counts have been 40 individuals at one seating. Chattering, flitting, eating.
The cats enjoy watching them too. TJ, my athletic cat, is not allowed outside unless I'm with her and so watches from the window. (I'm afraid she will hop the fence and try to play chicken with a car and loose.)
Polly, on the other hand, does not leap well, being of the heaver set, so is allowed out at will. This morning she went out when seemingly no birds were around. Wrong. We watched as she jumped (into the fence) after an unsuspecting ground feeding bird and missed. But, wonders of wonders, came out of the bush with a different bird in her mouth. She brought it to the back door (expecting to be allowed to play with it in the house?). I allowed that was not going to happen and told her to release the poor little thing. She did and the bird flew off to tell his flock. She is back outside - waiting,,,, (cue the "Jaws" music.)

I'm picky

Casey bought fabric for a long sleeved tee shirt with a hood. Changed her mind. Cut the fabric into strips and alternated the black and white. I was ok with that. She took the project home and finished it. White zigzagged stitchs on black material, puckers, rolled over edges sewn with two or three lines of stitching. Not well done. Certainly not something she would have worn to school. The teacher raved about it. It was so artsy. Hog wash. She needs to learn to sew a garment correctly then she can do the artsy stuff and it will be quality. I took it appart and had her do it over again. This time with a zipper and fabric eased into eachother so there were no puckers. The teacher refused to help her from then on with this project because it was clearly not Casey's dress anymore, it was grandma's. MMMMM.
Am I wrong to want the girls to know how to put out quality items and not slip-shod stuff that will end up in the garbage the minute they get home? Sydney is more meticulous and does quality work. Casey is the "Fast Food" generation kid who wants it done quickly and to heck how it looks as long as it is finished.
No class until Tuesday. I have a meeting on Tuesday so the girls will be on their own without grandma hoovering over them. Wonder what they will come up with.

Sewing Camp

Boyd Walker, my favorite sewing machine store, is holding a "Kids Camp" this week and next. We have the grand girls enrolled. Cost of the camp includes 8 days of sewing instruction and the participants get to keep the machine they are working on (a Pfaff 1134? - a $300 machine). Anyway, yesterday was the first day. Grandma packed up fabric, patterns, pins, thread, scissors etc. and her machine and spent the day cutting out fabric and sewing. Came home and all I wanted to do was sit in the chair with my feet up.

Happenings

Got our vote-by-mail documents yesterday. We have a pathetic slate of local government hopefuls. It's always fun to put "Edna Farkwart" in the sign-in blank. What the heck, she might be as good as what we have anyway.
Tyrone is hyped. He got a ballot He's coming over this morning to "research" the candidates on line. He, with his drug muddled brain, has even been on jury duty. This ladies and gentlemen .... (Brian could go on about that).
Tomorrow is the last of the summer theatre offerings in Coeur d'Alene. A group of us from the pool bought summer season tickets and carpool over. After we go out to dinner. A great way to try new and different food offerings in our area. Tomorrow will be Chef in the Woods. Supposed to be a good one.
Uma brought her broken rice cooker (the big one) over yesterday. Guess she wanted me to fix it or take it in for repairs. I told her to toss it. She wants a new one. I told her to use her small one. Oh, yeah. She forgot she had a small one. Why she needs a family sized rice cooker when she is the only one that eats rice in her house. -- She is still looking for a job.
Speaking of jobs, Jhary starts her new job tomorrow. It is a dumb, no brainer (?) - she has to load sodas into vending machines. How they can figure out a pay for that is beyond me. She needs the "group employment" thing so is rather limited as to what she can/wants to do. Yard work and janitorial are out.
Haven't heard from Traivon for a month. Guess I'll have to take his mail to him and see what's going on.
Next week Casey and Sydney start Sewing Camp. Four days a week, six hours a day. At the end of the two weeks they get to keep the sewing machine. All for a little over $300 each. Not too shabby. I'll be tagging along just because it will give me a concentrated time to sew. We purchased fabric and patterns Thursday. I've washed and pressed same and will be putting together the odds and ends I think we will need. I'll be working on some of my Hidden Pocket patterns - vest, blouse, pants - preparation for our trip in November.

School of Missions

Spent four days at Issaquah in the School of Missions last week. This year we studied how music is/was affected/affective in the mission of the church (how missionaries of old would try to bring Christianity to the Heathen" using European style and wiping out the cultural songs). Now there is an actual study course you can take at college level on Ethnomusicology. That would be quite interesting if you were really into music.
The other course was on Israel-Palestine. Now I've got to admit, I was not "up" on what has been happening in the Holy Land. With the "giving" of land to the Jews after WWII through the 7 day war, I was all for the Jews - getting back the Promised Land, fulfillment of scripture, yada, yada, yada. Recently I read "Queen Noor" and heard how this land was given (taken from the Jordanians). This study told how the people living in Palestine were driven out and displaced (still are). Present day Israel was not just some vast area on uninhabited land waiting for its' "people" to return. There were people who had lived there for generations who all of a sudden were told to leave without any say or compensation for their land or goods. This is not fair. I can understand why there has been tension. And the US government is behind Israel and refuses to acknowledge Palestine even exists.
And then there is the issue of the WALL. Israel has constructed a 30' high wall supposedly along the "green line" (the border between Israel and Palestine). This wall of separation was to keep the Palestinian terrorists out of Israel. (Sound familiar?) Well, the wall is encroaching ever more into the Palestinian territory, taking olive groves, farmland, water sources and separating farmers from their lands, family units from each other. Checkpoints along the wall are manned by Israeli soldiers who determine if or if not you can cross from one side to the other. The oppressed Jews are now the oppressors. Not very fair in my mind.
So now I come to the "American Wall". This fantastic barrier that is supposed to keep the Mexicans out of the US. Guess what? Just as the US supported the Israeli government financially to build their wall of separation, so is the Israeli government going to support us. We are hiring their expertise. Can you believe that? Israel is going to build the wall for us. No bull. This wall is not going to help matters. Only make them worse. Did we learn nothing from the Berlin Wall? Even the Great Wall of China didn't keep out the invaders for ever.
I know now where Brian gets his passion. I just have mine down deeper - he brings is to the surface and lets it boil over more often.
Peace.

Oh, Yeah. I finished Harry Potter. It was great. It ended as it should. Very just.

HARRY POTTER

Got my birthday present yesterday. Aaron ordered the seventh Harry Potter book for me for my birthday, so I missed going to the parties, sob (like I would have been one of the crazies who stayed up till midnight only read all night long just to be the first to finish). lol The UPS man delivered it about 3pm and I dropped everything (well, I had "done" everything with my nervous energy - cleaning the fridge and behind, mopping floors, changing the sheets, doing up the wash, you get the idea) and started to read. I'm a slow reader. Got through chapter four and had to stop to fix dinner thinking that Hagrid died from a fall off his motor cycle (he doesn't wear a helmet). Chapter five he was only knocked out. Whew.
Today no Sunday paper was delivered. I think the paper deliver person misread the vacation hold. I stopped the paper beginning tomorrow. Oh, well. So I'm reading at the breakfast table. Off to church then a 'sew in" from 2-6 so my afternoon is non-reading time.
Monday we leave for a mission study in Issaquah. Jerry asked if I was going to take the book with me. Of course. I know that Sydney (the 9 year old) and Jessica (in Tel Aviv) will have finished the book during the week so I have to plug on or I'll not be able to enter into the conversations.

I need to chill

We have been attending the adult class in this year's VBS, Walking the Bible. Very interesting PBS offering in three easy to watch sessions. The churches combined this year to put on the VBS for the kids; splitting duties (song leaders, story tellers, snack preparers, and local) between the churches - one night per church. Since our church has no children, there was really no participation on the children's level, but we were still responsible for providing snacks last night. No committee formed, only a pastor who inquired, after the Monday night session, if I knew anything about what was being planned. That should have clued me in to the fact that "nothing" had been planned. I let it slide Tuesday, and on Wednesday called a couple of the other adult participants to see if they knew anything about it. I'm getting a bit panicky now, as the other churches have put on quite a spread and I know that these things take a bit of planning and shopping and work. I opt to dash off to the store and get some juice and a couple of melons hoping that others will bring some crackers or something. My mood darkens as the day progresses (helped by the duties of driving grandchildren to and from summer programs, shopping trips, and lunch). We arrive at the church with time to spare and find that the pastor has purchased and arranged on plates figs, dates, grapes and cherries; made hummus; put out bowls of crackers (two different kinds) and is only lacking napkins. I add my offering of melon and place the juice in the fridge to stay cool. I really need to learn how to read that man. Or he really needs to learn how to communicate with me.



Today Casey spent the
afternoon in the dentist
chair getting braces. She is thrilled.

Simply Divine

As you know, I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance about two years ago. Since that time I have eaten NO ice cream, cheese, cream cheese, pudding, cottage cheese, cheese burgers, cheese cake, pumpkin pie made with milk (or any other great dessert made with milk or milk product). I have adjusted. I eat more fruit for my sweet tooth, but in the summer time truly miss ice cream.
Joy of joys. Rice Dream makes fake ice cream as does a company called Good Karma that puts out a product called Organic Rice Divine. I'm in heaven. Ate a pint of the Rice Divine last night. Wasn't too impressed with the Rice Dream product.

happy fourth

Yesterday was Traivon's 29th birthday.

Amazing he has made it this far. lol

His party was at the home of his Fiance`s Aunt. Lots of young people there. We didn't stay long.



"Little Trai" is quite a chunk. Definitely not underfed.







Trai is a natural with the boy.

Hoopfest

Here we go. Another Hoopfest in beautiful downtown Spokane. This is the largest 3 on 3 street basketball event in the nation.






Jhary ever the competitor loves the sport and does quite will. Given the ball and with no giants towering over her she has a pretty good eye.


She can be a bit bossy as you can see, but she knows where people need to be.






They lost two games on Saturday so did not move on to the Sunday games.

I WON !!

Sent out a ballot to all the condo residents requesting "permission" to lay out a drip watering system, remember? The votes are in 10 residents are on my side. The two who were against me are the dude who complained in the first place and his good buddy who doesn't vote but lets "dude" vote for him.

Tomorrow I will call the installer and reschedule.

Jhary's last day at her job was a week ago Friday. She is getting very bored. Time to start looking for another job. I doubt she will get one as good as the one she left.

Uma may get a job at Sacred Heart Hospital in the kitchen. She will interview some time this week. If she doesn't get this one the job developer says she will develop one for her. It would be great if she could get some extra cash and have something meaningful to do.

Took Tyrone out for dinner for his birthday. The meds he is on help his ability to sort things out but he still has a great imagination and confuses reality with fantasy - and they have caused weight gain. Too bad. He was such an athlete and so much fun. Maybe he will improve to the point of being able to hold down a job of some sort. Way in the future.

Busy week upcoming. I like those. It keeps me off the streets.

Ugly Swim suit

Truly ugly suits on such gorgeous bathing beauties.

Got that off my chest

The ladies in the pool where I do my water aerobics decided to celebrate the end of spring with an "Ugly Swim Suit" contest today. The only rules were 1. you must wear two suits (so we could tell who was entered in the contest) and 2. one suit must be worn inside out. Most of the suits were really thin and faded. A couple of them had linings that were in tatters. Mine wasn't in that bad of shape (yet) so I took a clue from a dress I saw in a thrift shop (Did I tell you about this dress? Floor length, lined, beautiful workmanship with floor length lined coat to match out of 3" squares of double knit. My reaction when I saw it was "Why?").
In the stash at the church were tons of 1.5" squares of double knit. I stitched those puppies together four to six across and made a pass from the neck line in the front to the back neck line. I secured it at front and back neck and at the leg openings with a quick slip stitch and then secured the rest with really ugly buttons. I will take a picture of it later (it is on display now) and post it as an edit. Have no idea if I won but it was fun doing it and very uncomfortable to wear over my good swim suit.

Complaints

I've been very successful wearing my Complaint Free World bracelet since June 5th on the same wrist. That's 21 days. That is a "habit broken".
THEN - I decide to install a little sprinkling system (the Drip watering kind that runs off a hose connection) in my back yard to keep my plants watered while we take off for a day or two. Called around, got a guy to come out and take a look. Easy job, he said he'd run over to the store and pick up the stuff he needs and would be back in an hour. On the way to his truck my upstairs neighbor stops him and asks what he is doing here. I then get a knock on my door with a very intimidated service person and an overly irate neighbor. Seems he thinks I need Condo residents to vote on whether or not I can attach a drip system to my hose bib. *&^%$
It is just like a hose. It is portable. It is removable. It is not an in the ground, dig trenches with a large back hoe type of installation. AND it saves on water. What the...... So I called the president of the association - she's on my side. I looked up the condo declarations and found the item that says (I think) that I should be able to do this. But just to be on the safe side (and since Mr. Congeniality insisted) I typed up a ballot and asked the residents to weigh in on the subject. Had to cancel the installation. Will certainly be able to call him back and have him continue with it but I really have been in a Complaining space all day because of it.
I don't care. The bracelet comes off today anyway.

Complaint Free World

Oprah had some dude (the Rev. Will Bowen complaintfree@ccunitykc.org ) on talking about how he introduced an idea to his congregation. He claims that most complaining is from habit and that any habit can be broken in thirty days. He passed out purple bracelets to his congregation with the instructions - put it on either wrist. When you complain, switch wrists. When the bracelet stays on one wrist for 30 days consider yourself "complaint free".
Well, I emailed him and got a bag full of bracelets. I'm passing them out to any takers. (mainly in my circles). I've been wearing mine for a week. The first two days it switched quite a bit but it now has been on one wrist for 5 days. Jerry says that he does not consider me a complainer anyway, so this should be an easy exercise.

On another vein, Robin sent me her pattern for grocery shopping bags (http://quiltantics.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html) and I have whipped out 33 bags and have sold 13 of them. I am not keeping any of the money since I am making them for our church bazaar. Sure would like to get most of them sold before the November Bazaar because as I was looking through the "Bazaar Stuff" on Thursday, I saw a whole lot of things that I have sewn that has not been purchased. Would hate to have these bags join that lot. (that is not a complaint only an observation.)

What phase of the moon is this?

Yesterday I attended a scheduled meeting for Uma's team. Problem? Uma didn't show. Six people waited in her apartment for an hour for her. Seems she had been there just 5 minutes before I arrived but was upset about one of their friends, talked to the manager about it and he told her to take a walk to cool off. She did. Didn't come back until 10 minutes after the meeting disassembled. We rescheduled for two weeks out. These meetings are State mandated and a royal.....
Jerry & I went out to dinner (I was too mad at her to cook).
When we got home his daughter called and said "Why is Jhary in Sacred Heart ER?" Dang if I know. She was brought in by the police. She wasn't talking. I talked to her on the phone and figured out it had something to do with dinner plans. I called her residence. Mind you, she had been at Sacred Heart for at least 30 minutes probably more and I, as the legal guardian, had not been called by her care providers. The only reason I had found out is because Carrie, working her one day at the hospital, recognised her and called me. I tried to be calm and rational and found out that indeed Jhary had flipped out when she was told there was not enough staff to take her out for Chinese. Their solution to the problem was to call the police and ship her off to the hospital without any staff/explanation. Oh, staff was going to call me in a little while. I asked her to please call the hospital and fill the nurse in on what went on.
Jerry & I took off for the hospital. Half an hour later the nurse comes in and says she had just received a call from Jhary's staff person. (The time lags here are numbingly long). The nurse told the care giver that they really need a different solution to clients outbursts than sending them to the ER. AMEN! We took Jhary from the hospital to get a bite to eat (not Chinese) and them home. She apologized to staff (one accepted graciously, the other acted like a petulant 8 year old and kept complaining about how she was treated by Jhary in this whole event. If she doesn't want to deal with developmentally delayed people and their occasional melt downs she should get out of the business.)
To top off this child centered afternoon/evening, Bob Jr. called. He is back in town. Bought a house on 32nd and Ray. Wants to know how the kids are doing. Wants to be all lovey and "family". Gag me with a spoon. I really do not have any interest in firing up a relationship with him. I'm happy with the people I have in my life and don't really need his problems. I'll tell the kids he is here and let them go from there.
Got my "Complaint Free America" bracelets in the mail. Will hand them out to my women's group this month. Does the above post qualify as a complaint? Guess I had better change arms.

And another thing

Yesterday I went to a sewing demonstration about travel cloths and hidden pockets in the garments presented by the American Sewers Guild. http://asg.org/) The speaker was hawking her pattern making company. She makes and sells patterns with multiple hidden pockets (http://www.saf-t-pockets.com/). Each pattern is multi sized. I bought 4. Have no idea when I'll get around to making them - hopefully before Israel.
Joined the guild. I have no idea what I will be doing in this group. Seems they are just getting going in this area. They were organizing the Spokane Chapter and needed 15 people to join so they could send in the paperwork. They talked about monthly neighborhood gatherings where women got together and discussed what they were sewing etc., sounded like Robin's Quilting Guild (I tried to join a quilting guild here in Spokane but my inquiries were never returned).

June already

My how the time flies.
Did the colonoscopy thing. Jerry had to deliver girls to school at the very time I was due to be examined. They wouldn't start on me until he showed up (as my designated driver) no matter how much I told them that he would be there for me when he finished. Almost had to cancel. That would have been a bummer since I had gone through the liquids only thing and the clinically induced diarrhea. Everything worked out OK. He arrived after my appointment time but they took me back anyway, (because they had had a cancellation), they did their thing and I checked out just fine. I didn't remember a thing from the injection of the third drug to a nurse saying "wake up, Leonna. Keep your eyes open". And then Jerry was escorting me out of the office. I evidently dressed myself and signed my discharge papers (I have a copy of that with my signature on it). I am truly boggled at that - not remembering anything. Came home and slept for about four more hours. Couldn't go to yoga, drug myself through dinner (at Wendy's) and begged off on going up to Carrie's that evening. Next morning I was bright eyed and bushy tailed and off to swimming as usual.

My baby ginkgo trees are not faring well. First we had a hail storm that beat on them then the direct sun that is scorching them and then my neglectfulness about keeping them moist. If they make it through the summer .... The one from last year is doing great.

All my planting is done. Want to get a drip system installed so we can leave for a couple of days if desired and come back to healthy plants.

Nothing much

Such a hectic week - something happening every day last week. Then this weekend ... nothing. We did go out to Jason's for dinner on Friday, only because Tracy wanted me to look over her will and power of attorney. Seems Jerry told her I had legal experience - I don't call being a bookkeeper in a law office "legal experience". Anyway, she filled in the blanks on "wills.com" or some such and it all looked fine to me. Actually, the intent is there and since they don't have any great holdings they should be fine.

Sunday was the same old, same old. My dear pastor came to me 10 minutes before the service and wanted me to be the liturgist - and by the way, could I also help serve communion. I really should dress better every Sunday.

Last Wednesday was our last Project Joy practice for the summer. We start again in September. Sunday was the last Sunday school for the summer. I really don't want to lead another session but who knows how I'll feel in September. Tuesday will be the last Sewing Club session until September. Jerry is excited... he gets his wife back.

This Wednesday I go in for a colonoscopy. That means no food tomorrow, only liquids that you can read through. Had one nine years ago. Guess it's time to get another one. Better than fishing your poop out of the stool and spreading it on a slide. Yuck!

With the new Harry Potter book coming out in July I decided to start at book one and read straight through so I could get everything in order. Just finished book 4. Two more in 6 weeks. I think I'll make it. In the mean time other reading is going down the tubes.
Our trip to the Holy Land brings many documents/brochures/booklets/study guides that I need to be getting to. After Harry in July.

Birthday for Uma

Today is Uma's birthday. She is anywhere from 34 to 40+ . We don't know. My place is so small that I can only have one or two kids here at a time. So I have invited all four adopted kids to dinner at Perkin's. Uma would have like to go to a Chinese place (the Shogun especially) but her husband and mine don't care for rice so I figured Perkin's would suit every one's appetite. Hope both boys can make it. Tyrone said he would walk down. Traivon's fiancee said they would be there too. We shall see.

Well, we had a lovely dinner. Traivon did not show up. I'll have to speak to that boy. Maybe his fiancee did not pass the word. I'll find out.

Was going to take me camera so I could post pictures but didn't so can't.

Today is Red Hat day. We are going to the Garland district to have lunch at the Milk Bottle and snoop in the shops.

Have my garden 1/2 way cleaned up and planted. So many little projects I'd like to do (did I say that?) in there. Thought I'd never ever want to work in the yard as long as I lived. Surprise, Surprise! When things get established I'll post some pictures.

RIP

Marvelous Marvin the Magnificent Mouse catcher passed away over night. He was so cool, he chose the plastic chair mat under the computer to breath his last breath. He loved to sun with Polly and T. J. He taught Polly how to climb the Christmas tree. He gave much love and nearly wore the skin off my forehead with his raspy tongue.His presents in this place is already missed by his people and his fellow felines.

Bloomsday

Sunday, May 5 was the 31st running of Bloomsday, the world's largest individually timed run. 44,000 people signed up. 39,000 finished. I handed out water to over 200 of them. Jessica ran (she was one of the 200 I handed water to). The "Finisher" shirt has a great design this year. I have found, however that the volunteer shirts usually are better. This year they are a tie. I was so tired after standing for five hours that I took naps all afternoon and went to bed at 8 PM.

Jessica sang a great "Hansel" in "Hansel & Gretel" last Friday. Here she is with Gretel taking their bows.

After the show all the Grandkids had to get their picture taken with the star. Clockwise with Jessica at the top is: Chelsie, Josh, and Hailey, Sydney and Casey. Behind Casey is Traci, mother to the three on the right. The kids loved it and each delivered a rose to Jessica after the show (during bows).

Ah, Spring

Spring has sprung. Today we enjoyed a lovely 65 degrees, gentle breeze, blue skies & sun. I was so thrilled I went out and purchased some plants - daisy, columbine, tomato, strawberries. A little ahead of myself because I haven't cleaned up from last year and I need to have a rose bush and a tree removed before I put anything in the ground. Want to get three day lilies to put in front of those ugly gas meters but the shop I was at today only had yellow. I know there are other colors so I'll continue to look. And of course there are the petunias yet to be bought. It will all happen this month.

Korea: What do you know? I emailed the leader of the tour that I wanted out and low and behold he called and the leader of the group going from Seattle called. Both wanted me to reconsider. There is too much water under the bridge now for that. I'll probably have to write the $500 deposit off as a contribution to the Korean missions.

Korea

Well, I've decided not to join the group going to Korea in the middle of May. I have no ticket, no itinerary, no idea of anything that would have made me believe that this trip was really happening so I emailed (will snail mail too) the leader of the group expressing my disappointment with his disorganization and requesting a refund of my deposit. (Think he took it and ran?)

Jerry's daughter's significant other is a body builder. Well, actually he really likes to go to the gym to work out and was talked in to "bulking up" for the local competion. The meet was today. We went and watched the morning preliminaries. He looked gooood. The finals are tonight but they are sold out.

The ladies compete too. UGH! There is one section of girls who prance around in pornographic two piece suits. Then there are the women who take testosterone and bulk up tooooo much. In my opinion, body building is not for women. Good health and good muscle tone is fine, but flat chests, no curves, and bulky muscles are not very feminine.
What say you?

Baby Ginkgos

A lady in Portland, Oregon announced that she had successfully germinated some Ginkgo seeds she had gathered last fall and asked if anyone wanted any. I jumped on the opportunity and replied to the affirmative. She promptly sent six seeds which I dutifully placed on a very (too) damp paper towel in a plastic bag. Two weeks later I took my little nursery to our monthly Bonsai club meeting and two other ladies begged to take a seed or two home to try to grow a Ginkgo tree. So I was down to three seeds that didn't show any promise of germinating. I transferred the seeds (a bit larger than a cherry pit) to a smaller bag with dampened paper towel (sprayed the towel with a weak solution of bleach to inhibit mold growth - which had been noticed in the larger bag) and waited.
Glory of Glories! Seed #1 started sending out a feeler. The other two were cracked but were much slower in sending out a feeler.
As you can see by the pictures, Seed #1 has a lovely stalk with two cute little leaves on top. Seeds #2 & 3 have their little root sinking into the sand and a small stem coming up. Seed #3 is too close to the pot and her little leaf stem is smashed against the pot. I can't move her because the root is in the sand and I don't want to slow growth down (yet).


Thank you, Lady in Portland. I'll keep you posted as to their progress.

Check Up

Got the results from my annual physical. I'm in great health. My Cholesterol (total) is 177. HDL - 53; LDL - 102; Triglycerides - 108. All this because I have cut out dairy in my diet.
(Last year my numbers were Cholesteral (total) 190; HDL 57; LDL 115; and Triglycerides - 90.)
Can we have a "Way to go"?

Driving

After the fender bender (?) of last month, Jerry & I decided to sign up for the AARP driver refresher course. It started today. Most of the info I learned at 16 is still valid except for the "do not tap your brakes if someone is following too closely". Seems to do so now could lead to a ticket because it is viewed as and "aggresive" move. What????? I'm getting sniffed in the tailpipe by some jerk and I can't signal him to back off? The laws that protect the criminal are insane.

I'm Back

Went to Phoenix last week for some R&R. This being retired sure wears you out. Volunteering a couple of times a week and exercising daily and, and, and...

Brian has boasts that his eldest has moved out and is now on her own. However, as you can see, the granddaughter still makes it over to visit quite frequently. He enjoys just sitting and holding her as she sleeps.

I took a tutu down for her first birthday. She looks so cute.

She is a doll. Very sweet disposition. And such a looker. Those big brown eyes and ready smile.

Can you just see an attitude coming? Her mom is just great with her. Good luck Jessica. You are the greatest.

Brian & Francesca are doing well. Thinking of remodeling the kitchen. Adding on to the back of the house. Converting the empty bedroom to a computer room. Redoing the backyard fence. All this takes time. They are being cautious and going one step at a time.

The truck Francesca found on Craig's list is awesome. You need a ladder to get into it but it is tricked out with GPS, tinted windows, leather seats, satelite radio etc,... All there before she bought it. They did get new tires all around but now she feels safe driving on the freeway. Get out of the way ... here she comes.

Brian's Harley is noisy but nice. Very smooth ride. Comfortable "Bitch" seat. Wish I could learn how to drive it. (But Jerry, having laid his bike down, refuses to go near another bike.)