SA-WEEEET

Have you seen/heard about/tasted the new Skittles Chocolate Mix? There are S'mores, vanilla, chocolate caramel chocolate pudding and brownie batter Skittles in each 230 cal pack. There is nothing redeemable in them. No protein, no fiber. Main ingredient is Corn syrup = 42 grams of sugar. But they are soooo good. And they do not contain milk.
They are so sweet (or I am so off sugar) that after eating one serving size, my saliva tasted sweet all night. Kid you not. Woke up with sweet tasting spit. You know that has to be some mondo load of sugar.
I'll only use them as a treat for real good behaviour - or hard physical work like shoveling snow.

Snow day

For several days now we have been in a VERY cold weather system. Temperature bitterly cold. Then we got snow. I took this piture with a flash at 7 this morning.

















And this one without the flash. I think I like it best. You can see how much has fallen overnight because the bird feeder was clear last night when I filled it.

















Schools are closed.
City hall and libraries closed. Roads are being plowed. I haven't heard how much snow we have received but I'd say we have had over 20" with another 4" to 8" due today. I thought we had our once-every-seven-years-tough-winter last year.
Just went out to clear the walk. That stuff is soooo heavy only got a small portion done before I had to come inside. Looks like we will be homebound most of the day as the guy who plows the driveway hasn't arrived and we can't get the car out.

Italian

I have just completed nine weeks of Italian language class. I can recognize some words, conjugate no verbs and respond only minimally when spoken to. How do immigrants do it? I really admire them.
My next session begins in January. In the mean time, I am taking my study book with me to Phoenix and practice with Francesca. She tells me that her children have no interest in learning the language. Pity. I would like to have learned from my parent another language. But they were Americans from long ago and had no European language to pass down.
Ciao.

Last month, Uma moved out of her apartment with Donald (a rocky five year relationship), and into a shared apartment with a lady who needs 24 hour supervision. The doctor wanted Uma to have more supervision because of her neglect of her diabetes. I thought things were going well but received a call that they would be moving Uma yet again this month because she was "too loud" for her roommate. I just found out today where she moved. Went over there and am not at all pleased with the situation. She is in a four bedroom apartment with three adult severely disabled men. That's right MEN! I'm afraid I was not very happy in front of the residents there (tho I did try not to show my displeasure, I'm sure some of them picked up on it). I went to the main office (where the case managers hold court) and really vented (in a dignified manner) my displeasure and disapproval of the living situation. After all, a woman living with three men is bad enough but the level of disability was not something Uma should have to live with.
With Thanksgiving tomorrow, and no one in the office until Monday, nothing is going to happen very soon. But on a better note I have the Department of Disabilities Case Manager on my side. She will be meeting with us on Tuesday. (Sparks were in her eyes this morning when she found out.)
Oh, dealing with adult children is nothing compared to dealing with the bureaucracy of those caring for needy adult children.
On a brighter note, I'll be fixing the bird for Uma, Jhary and Ty Don't know if Trai will be here but there will be plenty if he shows up. This year will be a bit more challenging as we are watching our carbs in compliance with Jerry's dietary needs.

I love Sox

I posted some time ago about my earring collection. I have been collecting earrings since I had my ears pierced when in junior high school. They mostly are of sentimental value.
That is what my Sox collection is. It really pains me when a pair must be discarded due to wear.
As I was putting away the Halloween Sox and getting out the Christmas ones I decided to count them. Ready?
Valentines, 5 pair
St. Patrick's, 3 pair
Easter, 3 pair
July 4th, 3 pair
Halloween, 8 pair
Thanksgiving, 1 pair (I really should look for some more as this pair is rather ratty)
Christmas, (don't gasp) 20 pair
Then I categorized the rest (not including nylons)
Cats, 12 pair
Arizona, 2 pair
Hawaii, 2 pair
Red Hat, 3 pair
Monkeys, 4 pair
Black, 2 pair
White, 3 pair
Misc animals (snails, dogs, moose, bear - you get the idea) 12 pair
Misc other 2 pair
Doing the math = 85 pair.
I really love sox. They are functional and people are looking to see what I have on next. So if you are one of my Sox Gifters, don't stop just because I have so many. Some are ready to be retired and I will feel better doing that with a new pair to replace them.

Happy Day

Yesterday the turkeys returned. If you remember, last year about this time a few wild turkeys came up over the bank of the river and foraged for a couple of days then left. We only saw them a couple of times more. All summer Jerry has been wondering about them. Their Back! with a vengeance. We counted 15 birds. Jerry thought they were all females but I allowed there were several males in the flock. Colors for winter are drab even on males but the males do still have a distinctive feather pattern. Didn't take pictures cause I figured you see one turkey you've pretty much seen them all (besides, I didn't have my camera with me when we drove by them).
Hooray for our new president!!!

gardening

I hired Traivon to come and clean up my garden this weekend (get it ready for winter). He did a great job. Hauled all of the trash to the dumpster, swept the walk and left the bricks that I lay out as a stone path to the faucet artfully arranged:

Pumpkin time

Had the grand girls over a couple of times this week. Thought I'd get a bit of pumpkin carving done while they were here. Mine is on the right, Syndey's is in the middle and Casey's is on the left.
Jerry isn't one for celebrating the "holidays" so this was a good excuse for me to be able to put out a cute decoration or two.

Sunnyside

I followed my quilt to Sunnyside, WA last weekend. The Conference meeting for the United Methodist Women was held there and the quilts from the Spokane area were on display. (We were the only district to have a quilt challenge). I have no idea when the Auction will be but it was nice to see the quilt again and I got the name of a person on the Atlantic Street board.
While in that remote area of the state (southern central Washington - remote) I said while we are this close lets go to MaryHill and see Stone Henge.

















Go to www.legendsofamerica.com/WA-Stonehenge.html to read more about this war memorial. I thought I would be more awe struck but I guess, since it is a reproduction of the original, it just doesn't have the same "spirits" floating around. The Museum at MaryHill was a large castle brought over here by Sam Hill for the Bulgarian Queen (he had a crush on her) but she didn't care for the nothingness of the area (I guess) and gave it to the State for a museum. This area is on the north side of the Columbia River, between Nothing and Not anything. Really! It's two hours from anywhere, in any direction. The bridge across the river is closed for repairs so you have to go a ways even to get to Oregon. The Peacocks were great tho.















There was also a great Blue Heron Sculpture.

Quilt challenge

The United Methodist Women put out a quilt Challenge this year. The quilt had to be no more than 40x40, for a baby or a child. All quilts made could be entered into a Peoples Choice contest and all quilts would be given to needy children. The Top winner quilt would be sold at auction, proceeds going to the Atlantic Street Center in Seattle, WA (a non-profit social service agency supported by the United Methodist Women).
I jumped in with both feet. Had these lovely, bright squares that begged to get out of my sewing room and into something useful.























Then I tried just machine embroidering four Red Work planes on a plain white fabric. Hand embroidered the blue birds and sketched in the clouds. Tried my hand at machine quilting. Glad these were not judged by some one who knows what they are doing.

















Saw a picture in a magazine (the picture was about 2 inches square) and said "I've got to try to copy it. Can't be that hard. Just a log cabin." Well it was really quite fun. I've gotten a lot of positive feed back from it. Click on picture to see the cute chick fabric in the triangles.

















Aaron gave me a Noah's Ark paper piece quilt book several years ago. I could not figure out paper piecing so it sat on the shelf for lo these many years. Then I read a pattern book that explained the process in words I could figure out and here is the finished product. I love this one. I call it my Jungle Quilt. Click on the picture to see the animals more clearly. (The Zebra sort of gets lost in this shot).

















And the winner of the competition? You guessed it. Jungle! I'm so thrilled. I was sort of walking up to accept the award so this shot isn't great.

Hawaiian Hospitality

My Water Aerobics instructor is in Hawaii for the first time ever (and loving it). Before she left I asked my "Starter Husband" (a native of Hawaii who resides on the island) if I could give her his phone number, thinking they could hook up and go to Wendy's for a coke or something. She just called to say she had just returned from a fabulous meal at the Willows (my favorite restaurant on Oahu - Koi swimming under your tables, willows dipping in the water etc.) She raved on and on about the food, atmosphere and S H's charm and generosity. She fully intended to pay but he told her that the place only took Hawaiian dollars (she believed him).
So thanks, Bob, for showing my friends such a wonderful time. See you really aren't the tough guy you portend to be. She said this meal and the visit she had with you was the high light of her visit to Oahu.

Sometimes Laziness is OK

Went out and weeded (or started to clean up) some of the back yard last week. But being the wimp that I am, could only last about 25 minutes before my stamina petered out. Rather than tidy up and tossing the pulled offending weeds, I simply left them where they fell. They have been there all week.
But all is not gloom and doom. The quail love the fact that the previously out of their reach seeds are now at their level.
Laziness rewarded!



















And then today a most unexpected visitor.






















Mind you, there are lots of Squirrels in Spokane, just not on this side of a very busy street with no trees to readily hide in on our side. Guess I'll have to get some peanuts for her (him). Won't that make the guy in the unit over me ticked.

One chore complete

I have a delightful earring stand, hand made, that I purchased at the County Fair some years ago. As you can see there are several bars or slats with small slits that easily accommodate pierced earrings. In the middle are pegs on which to hang necklaces and bracelets. The troughs under the bars are handy places to put the odd necklace bob or that pair of earrings you don't want to hang up right yet.
Well, those little troughs get dusty and full of all sorts of earrings, those I've taken off and am too lazy to hang up and those that get knocked off. As I looked at the increasing disarray this spring I thought what a great little project while I'm recovering.


That project didn't happen during "recovery", but I just couldn't handle it any longer. I sat myself down the other day and commenced to get pairs back together again. One would be on this bar and it's mate on another. Quite untidy. Wish this picture showed how great it looks now. The light in the room had changed (long tedious job) and I didn't put the flash on. Anyway, the job is done. But wait, there's more.



















How can I possibly put a nice clean earring rack back on a dresser that looks like this? Answer: No way, No how, No McCain.


















A bit of Endust a lot of reaaranging and changing of the dresser scarf and here you have it. I found that fabric when I was looking for a quick something as placemats for a church dinner. They are rather dark for my dresser but will probably remain there untill the dresser becomes a dissaster area again and I have to get serious about cleaning it off.

Thunder

Great Thunder storm just passed over. We have had some great weather this year. Record snow levels, record no precipitation stretch, late record highs (we usually get record highs in July not the middle of August) and now an air cleaning thunder storm complete with hail and great big rain drops.

I'm thinking that a lot of the readers of this blog probably do not have a blog site. So if you would like to participate in the "Pay it Forward" challenge just let me know and I'll include you. I only have room for three participants and one spot is taken already. Who wants the other two?

Did something to my lower back either at yoga last night or I slept wrong. Anyway, I'm having trouble bending and stretching today. Guess that rules out getting into the garden and tidying up a bit.

Casey went in to get wisdom teeth out this morning. They left the uppers alone for now and took out three lower wisdom teeth. She is recovering on the couch while Jerry is out shopping for soft foods.

Pay it forward

"Elsie Quilts" challenged me to get involved in a Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie Pay it Forward, where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness will continue to pass it on.
Here’s how it works: I will make and send a handmade gift (quilted or something else) to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I will email each person for their mailing address and send the handmade gift when completed.

What YOU have to do in return, then, is Pay it Forward by making the same promise on your blog to 3 different people. Unfortunately, this is only possible for those of who have a blog.

So, who wants to Pay it Forward? Leave me a message.

Where was I?

These past two weeks have flown by. It was Sewing Camp for the two granddaughters and my refugee friend Malita. The grand girls knew the ropes and did quite will on their own. Casey designing bags out of old t-shirts and Sydney completing three sets of Cafe curtains for their cabins before launching into a bag she designed (actually drew a picture of and constructed) then on to a couple of paper pieced pillow tops. Malita, on the other hand.... Attention span of a four year old (she is 12). Figured out the operation of the machine quite readily but was not interested much in making anything until she was pretty much ordered to "get to work". She would bring fabulous African printed yardage and spend the day hemming the raw edges. Then one day she commenced to CUTTING, with a rotary cutter, willy nilly, a lovely piece. I told her that was unacceptable and we salvaged the cut off ends and turned them into a blouse. She was pleased with that. I was hoping her mom could come to the last class so she could get some instruction on the machine but she was called into work.

All in all it was a tiring but very rewarding two weeks. Malita got a brand new sewing machine out of it. The grand girls got their mechanical machines upgraded to electronic ones.

Goldfinch

The birds that regularly come to my bird feeder are sparrows (little brown birds) and an occasional house wren. The sparrows kick the sunflower seeds out of the feeder, which the quail delight in scratching around in. This also causes some of the seeds to be "planted" and the consequently grow into lovely gold sunflowers.

















We have just recently been visited by a pair of Goldfinch. Jerry noticed the first one a couple of days ago. Pretty amazing since he claims to be colorblind and these little birds blend in so beautifully with the golden sunflowers. Today I was glancing out the window and watched as these two birds hopped from sunflower to sunflower snacking away. This is a great show and will definitely make sure they have sunflowers to feed on next year.

We have had Flickers when I have the suet blocks out in the winter, which attract Magpies. A Peregrine Falcon visited one winter. I think he was looking for the mice that were feeding on the scattered bird food. Curiously, the Robins don't come around. Guess they prefer worms. Starlings horn in but can't ride the bird feeder. And Jerry wants to count the turkeys that came into the lawn of the condo even though they didn't make it into our enclosure.

it's a jungle out there

It's been eight weeks since I was last able to do anything in my small garden.
When I left the plants were tidy and orderly. The weeds were under control. The sprinkler system was set (set it and forget it comes to mind). We had a late spring so things were growing at a reduced rate.
Now comes 8 weeks later. Some of my flowers have had their blooming season and now are screaming at me to release the seed pods from their stems. The volunteer sunflowers (from the bird feeder) have taken over. There are some plants under there but they are being choked out.










The clematis is a mass of purple. Great to see them from the other side of the fence. The cheerful yellow of the sunflowers and the exuberant purple of the clematis poking over the top of the plane boring fence.
















My tomato actually has a couple of fruit. But it is so small... I really need to get out there and fertilize. It would probably help the pepper and cucumbers to be fed too.

















One of the two Bat plants I got from a nursery in Bloomington, IL is growing. I think the other one didn't get any water. Hard to monitor that stuff from the patio door.



And there is the lovely deep red day lily. I did have a purple poppy bloom for me but before I could get a picture of it, it faded. I'm letting the seeds do what they do best and maybe next year I'll have more.

July 10

Got the cast off yesterday. All my dreams of being able to "walk" out of the office in my shinny new boot ... didn't happen. I climbed back on my scooter and wheeled my way back to the car. This healing bit is harder than I expected. Things went well, surgically and healing wise, I just underestimated the amount of atrophy that went on in those six weeks.
When the nurse removed my cast I was intrigued with the amount of dead skin. It was like a pealing sunburn without the pain. I love to peal skin. Flakes for a day now. Should be pretty much done. Oh, wait, there are some more loose bits. lol
My first step on my left foot jarred me into reality. Now I can hobble around the apartment with a crutch under my right arm and very carefully shift my weight onto my left leg. It is getting better, don't get me wrong. I am glad I did it and know that I just have to be patient.
On a brighter note, I can sit now with my foot on the floor for longer periods of time. I've started physical therapy on the foot. And I've been cleared to go back to the pool. Yeah!!!

July 3

Only 6 more days in this cast (I hope). Won't know for sure until Dr. takes an x-ray to see how things are healing. I am really getting tired on not being able to walk (I even dream of walking again).
While I have been house bound, well I'm not really. I can go down the one step to our side walk and the one curb step out to the car. I have not been able to maneuver the two steps that go down to my patio, hence my back yard. During these 6 weeks my how the flowers have grown and of course the weeds too. My purple daisy has bloomed and needs to be trimmed. The white daisy is almost finished. The birds have planted several sunflowers which are higher than the fence and blooming (to the delight of the honey bees). 7The clematis is having a great time with wonderful splashes of purple. I have one or two (not sure, there were two this spring) purple poppies. One of them bloomed and before I could get a picture of it, it was gone. I'll let that go to seed and hope for more next year. I put my amaryllis out (after drying it up quite thoroughly) and it is about to burst forth in bloom. Never had before, been able to get one to bloom a second time. What I can see of the cucumber and tomato does not look promising. Maybe they need food.
Happy Fourth. Have a safe weekend. We will be serving hotdogs and hamburgers (not from the grill as we don't have one) for my kids. It's a way for us to get together and the food prep isn't that much of a strain on me.

Massage

I had a massage Tuesday from my yoga guru (who teaches touch/energy healing) and I was wiped out for the rest of the day. Guess I didn't drink enough water. Twas quite pleasant, out on her patio on her massage table, just the sounds of nature, and the colors she conjured up on different parts of my body.... (With my eyes closed I saw colors. Really. Not Tuesday.) While she was massaging my right arm and shoulder I got bright oranges - saffron, gold, yellow. While on my left it was more cool colors like greens, teal and light blue. Then over my brow I saw deep rosy pink. Quite fun actually as I most often only see the royal purple of the God-head. She says the oranges were for my creative side. I didn't ask about the others as I was just enjoying the show.
Today I got the pin taken out of my toe. It felt rather like removing a pierced earring that had sort of got grown in. Then I should only have two more weeks in this cast (depending on how well I have healed). I really am getting achy scooting everywhere. You would be surprised how much energy it takes. You can't just turn around, you have to back and turn, like turning a truck. Oh, well. First Sister says I'll be very happy with the results once everything has healed.

Friday

Every day gets better. Three more weeks in this cast.
DH has passed his kidney stone and is regaining his strength.
I am driving (DH does not like to drive and I do not like to not be in control of the car.) This morning we went to the grocery store (first time in three weeks - we really needed to do this) and I got to ride around in the little electric cart. I can see the problems of wheelchair bound in a grocery store. Everything was out of my reach. (Well, not everything but you get the idea). DH dutifully fetched when I pointed. He even got out and pumped gas - something that I am usually assigned since I do all the driving.
I have finished two UFO's (baby quilts for church event) and have another one on the way. Can only sit at the machine for short periods every day then have to get the foot elevated. Like I said above, only three more weeks.

Promotion ceremonies

On Thursday, Casey's school held their 6th grade promotion ceremony. There were 52 students promoted to Junior Hi. Each student was presented with a certificate of promotion and some other goodies. When they processed out they took a rose from a vase and went into the audience to present it to a person who they wanted to honor (insert mother or father here).

Carrie and Dave brought her a lovely bouquet of roses. That evening we went to the Olive Garden for dinner.












Friday was the ceremony for the students at Stevens school. Malita and Fiston are my special friends from that school (Malita is in yellow). Their ceremony was much more low key. Kids were not all decked out. No special awards for academic prowess. These two refugees looked lost most of the time.
Needless to say, my foot did not like being dragged out for such long expanses of time. I spent all of Saturday on the couch, feeling like my foot was about to explode inside the cast (well actually only the toes, which are really not in the cast at all.)

cast change

This is a picture of my left foot before the surgery. Quite a bunnion bump and a hammer toe.
This is what it looked like when the soft cast came off. Blue pin still in for another two weeks. The stitches came out and xrays showed good alignment. I got a new purple (of course) fiberglass cast. I'll be in it for another four weeks. No walking, climbing stairs etc. BORING


It was so good to get outside. The sun was actually shining for a while. Now it is back to cloudy and cold. Did you see that we had snow in June in the Paloose? And an all time cold of 36 the other night. 36 in June? Now it is only up to 59 in the middle of the day. I suppose when summer gets here we will be sweltering and bitching about how hot it is.

Stamina

Seems I am getting better. I can at least have my foot down for longer periods of time without it swelling up. Took the ace bandage off last night (just to have a look). My this cast really is soft. Only hard part is on the sole of my foot and up the leg. The whole top of the foot is just covered with cotton. My, my. Put the bandage back on a bit more snugly than it was before and had to readjust this morning, much to Jerry's dismay.
Get the soft cast off on Wednesday and the fiberglass one put on. Sure hope it has a walking foot (or the promise of one in the near future). I'm getting sick of laying about on the couch.
On a brighter note, my yoga guru came over yesterday and gave me a "touch for healing" seated massage. It felt sooooo good. She is the greatest.
Aaron, I don't have one.

catching on

Looking back at previous posts, I found I had no one commenting. Bummer. Then I looked at the Moderate Comments tab and found lots of people had commented. Yipee. Looked around in settings and turned that switch off that made me look somewhere else for comments before they could be seen on my blog. If a bad one comes up, I'll just delete it. I think that is more effective. And I'll get to see who pays attention to me easier.

Booring

Day 8. I do not make a very good invalid. I see things around here that need to be done (dusting, bed made, plants to be watered etc.) and can't do them. I get up off the couch to go pee and them scoot back to the couch, exhausted. There is NOTHING on TV. If I try to listen to my ipod for very long it puts me to sleep.
The foot doesn't hurt, I just have no stamina but if I leave it lower than my heart, it starts to swell up - then it hurts. I would love to scoot into my sewing room, but fear I would have no energy to do much in there. Besides, where do I put my foot?
On a brighter note, I just finished listening to "Walk in My Shoes" by Alwin Evans. What a great read. It is about a refugee family from Afghanistan and their trials relocating in Australia. It should be on your short list of books to read this summer. I kept seeing our Burundi family in it. We have so much here and all these people want is a safe place to live and get on with their lives.

I'm getting better

Here you are. A picture of my toe with a metal rod sticking out of the end. It only hurts if I bump it or if I leave it lower than my heart for any length of time. The great toe is now on straight and is not overlapping the second toe like it was last week. I can hardly wait until July when I can see the fruits of Dr's labors

Five years

Anniversaries -- a time to reflect on the time spent with a friend/family member. And so it is with Jerry & myself. Five years ago we went on our first date. How many guys do you know that can recall your first date? For that matter, what did you do on your first date with you present spouse?
Five years ago we went to the Outback Steak House. This has become "our" place. He had steak, I had salmon. So, tonight we followed tradition and he had steak and I had salmon. I dressed up five years ago. Tonight I was in jeans and a T shirt. I guess I should explain that our real first date is the 23rd of May and today is only the 22nd. But I have an evening class on the 23rd so we were going to celebrate on the 24th. Changed our minds at four o'clock today while we were babysitting.
Another tradition of this week is Jerry getting three bird of paradise for me. He brought me 3 bird of paradise five years ago on the 21st of May. So every year he orders the same -- "Tradition".
This guy is not one for surprising me with flowers or gifts. Is at a loss what to get me for birthday or Christmas. Doesn't make much of any other holiday but does like celebrate the anniversary of our first date. Even our wedding anniversary doesn't' get much attention. That's fine with me. I love it that he wants to celebrate May 23rd as the beginning of the rest of our lives.
He says these have been the best five years of his life. I will have to agree that these last five years have been great. Our arguments have been few (we counted up three), our understanding of eachother has been enourmous. Our love for eachother is growing stronger with each passing day.
Five down, pleanty more to go.

Bloomsday

Sunday was Spokane's big race. It is the largest timed race (in the world). There were 47,000 racers and tons of people manning the water stations. Five of the Scarlett O'Hatties doned red boa covered hats (Chicken Hats) and passed out water (one of our ladies left before this picture was taken). We arrived at the watering station (at mile 4) at 7 in the morning filled water cups, danced in the street, started passing out water at 9 ish and contunued through the noon hour. By 12:30 most of the strollers had passed so we cleaned up the street, picked up our tee shirts (our gift from the Bloomsday association) and hobbled home on very tired legs and feet. I even got a sunburn on my right under forearm from holding it outstreached with a cup of water on it.
Sue didn't rest. She went home and worked more hours in her new yard planting, hoeing digging, cultivating etc. I went home and tried to crash but was too achy. I made up for it today.

Women Speak Sunday

The women of the United Methodist church long ago complained that their voice was never heard (what with men in the pulpit exclusively) and they were "given" the last Sunday in April to conduct the worship service. I, as the leader of our local women's group, was in charge of the service today. I must say that was a very tough task. For three months I fussed and fumed over which hymns to sing, which scriptures to read, who would read them and I had to either find a speaker or do it myself. I chose do do it myself (next year I will find someone). My speech was short but, I think, meaningful. And now I am exhausted. That adrenaline is wicked stuff. Jerry's daughter is here for Bloomsday and agreed to sing a solo for us. She is really great.
Tonight it is out for dinner to celebrate 1. Dave (Carrie's significant other) taking first place in his body building competition yesterday; 2. The successful end of Women Speek Sunday and 3. Spring finally arriving.

Polly

I have a great cat. This morning she caught her second bird. Mind you this is not a great feat for a normal, outside cat. But Polly is basically an inside cat. She goes outside only when I am with her - well, that's not really true. Since she has not demonstrated any interest or ability to jump higher than onto the sofa, I feel she can be trusted outside for short periods of time on her own.
Anyway, her first catch was when we lived upstairs and she had gone out on the deck for a bit of fresh air. Soon she came in with a little bird in her mouth. I made her release the bird, which promptly flew (much to the delight of the other two cats) helter skelter through my apartment. I finally cornered it and was able to release it unharmed into it's own environment. That was probably in the spring of 2000 making her about 20 months old. She was more agile then.
This morning - 8 years after the first catch - she came in with another little brown bird. And again I cornered it and released it outside. This time the poor little bird just sat in my hand like it was in shock. Took it a minute or two to wake up and fly off. What a cat.
More good news - Brian has purchased a Shipping World store in Sun City. This is his first day and he has quite a learning curve ahead of him but I am sure he will make a go of it. Now he is not in danger of getting laid off due to the whim of the boss.

Siding

The original shake shingles (circa 1973) on my condo, had been repainted and patched to the point that it was no longer cost effective to do it again. So we voted to have vinyl shake siding installed. They started this morning.
That is my unit on the bottom floor.


By the end of the day they had just finished in the front of one unit. Fronts of five upper units, the backs of the six upper units and the ends of the building to go.
Jerry allows that the cats should be quiet tonight as the noise has kept them awake all day. I just notice the dust.

Crazy weather day

All morning we had snow. As I was coming home from church there were great, large, fluffy flakes.




Still snowing as I went in to watch a play at 2 PM. Came out of the theatre with streets drying, puddles here and there, very little snow built up. What can you expect with 45 degrees?


March came in like a lamb and is really going out like a lion.

dinner

While living in Hawaii when the kids were little, our family socialized often with Ike & Dot. When funds were short, we would pool our pantries and potluck some pretty fantastic meals. One in particular was Corned Beef & cabbage that Dot would whip up with a moment's notice. I thought I could remember what she did so tried it tonight. Disaster. It was tasteless. So, if anyone out there has a tasty way of fixing this dish please let me know. Husband left the table and fixed himself a bowl of oatmeal. I feel so bad for him.
We must have had 3 inches of snow last night. With 40 degrees today it didn't last long. Spring where are you?

Turkey Friday

For the past several months (since November actually) we have been on the lookout for the turkeys that came foraging in our back yard. On a daily basis we are looking out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. Nothing. A lady at the democratic caucus told me that her neighbor was feeding them through the winter, so we breathed a sigh but still watched and waited.
Today, as I was about to turn into our driveway, I spied what I thought might be a lone hen trying to cross the road some two blocks away. I did a quick straighten up and cautiously drove down Pettet drive. She of course, being skiddish around traffic, scooted back into the brush. I passed the area I thought I had seen her disappear at and turned back around. Sure enough, there she was. Sure made Jerry's day. We are glad to see the wild life has survived the harsh winter here and glad it is only a turkey and not a moose.

Touch is here

I'm having fun with my new touch. All the work I did to put my contacts and calendar on my PC so it could sync with my iPod Classic do not seem to be carried forward to the Touch. I'll have to read some more or ask the Geek who is coming tomorrow to assist Jerry with his new Mac. In the mean time all my songs and books are on my Touch. I have wiped the Classic clean and am loading one of Jerry's Bibles on as we speak. He is really trying to enter the 21st century.

Spring?

Must be getting close to spring. Saw our first Marmot out sunning itself yesterday.

Tomorrow Fed Ex should be delivering my new iPod Touch. I can hardly wait.

Busy week

As you can see from the previous post, it took me one week to finally post what happened last Sunday. This week has flown by. I remarked at my Monday evening meeting that I needed to go back to work just so I could have some down time. But I guess I needn't complain - the alternative to being busy is being sick or dead.

On Thursday the Minstrels (the small group of singers I'm in) went to a local nursing facility to sing for our director who is recovering from pace maker implant and diabetic regulation problems. He looked so frail. It broke my heart. He didn't have any energy and was wiping his eyes frequently. About half way through the concert we asked him if he had a song he wanted us to sing and he started calling them out, directing and singing with us. My tears were flowing steadily. Have you ever tried to hit a high F while crying? Can't be done. I was down for the rest of the day. Woke this morning feeling hung over. We all hope he can come back and lead the group but after seeing him yesterday I have my doubts.

Sydney is on a swim team. We went to see her meet tonight. She came in first in the backstroke event. She is the best on her team (that is not saying a lot) in her age group. I think she only joined the team because two of her friends were on the team. Hope she keeps up with swimming. She is quite a little competitor.

Three sisters

When was the last time all three of us were in the same place, all gussied up, with cameras available? Just so happened at Sara's wedding last Sunday.

The wedding was delightful. Small, family only. Just enough tradition to be very memorable. The bride was lovely and the groom was handsome. What more do you want?

Chiropractic exam

Having continuing problems with my back. I mostly attribute it to stress like sewing, or hunching over the computer. I try to be back healty by staying active, doing water aerobics and yoga. But I thought I'd give Chiropractics a try to see if the kinks in my upper back could be worked out.
The exam consisted of several spinal x-rays. The results were quite interesting. The best one being that the film of my neck showed the C3&4 and C5&6 are fused together. When/How that happened is a mystery. But there is nothing to do about that now since I have not lost any function in my hands.

Paula Poundstone

Went to see Paula Poundstone on Friday. She is one funny lady.

The event was held at the Fox theatre (now named The Martin Woldson Theater). This poor building was once the "best" theatre in town. It slowly went down hill and was divided into a multiplex. I never went there when it was in such a state. The owners were going to turn it into a parking lot until the money in town (with a lot of little people's money) purchased it, refurbished it and now it is the home of the Symphony. It is really lovely.

On the way in to town Paula saw a sign saying "Inland Northwest". She mused that we need to be reminded where we live. lots of laghs (Lol). She talked to a lady in the audience who is a union rep here in Spokane but has a secretary in Auburn, WA. See, we can't even unify in Washington state, how can we hope to unify the nation? Lol. Viagra - Lol. Kids - Lol. Memory - Lol. Just thinking about her routine yesterday got me grinning. What a wonderful gift she has.

Her book was being sold before the show, so I bought one. Proceeds from this sale go to the Spokane Library.


After her two hour stand up performance she came out into the lobby and signed my copy (as well as the copies of lots of other people). She was most gracious and bantered with the people as she was signing. All in all a very fun evening.

Caucus day

Went to the democratic caucus for my district today. Lest you fear I am becoming political, don't. Both Republican and Democratic caucuses were held today. Here in WA we spend $$$ sending out ballots to every registered voter. We all know that when you get a mail in ballot you mark it and send it back before the "Election Day", right? And those votes means something, right? Not in Washington.
If you marked Republican on your ballot, 50% of the delegates chosen today will be voting at the next level using the Feb 19th results. Today 50% of the delegates will be assigned by the caucus vote. (Hmm Seems to me that if I were a Republican, I could vote twice - once in the primary, once in the caucus.)
The Democrats on the other hand will choose all their delegates and assign the candidates today. The primary means nothing. My ballot is just going to get tossed after they see that I voted Democratis. That's why I went to the caucus today.
So why the ??? do we taxpayers need to spend all that money on a Primary? Because the legistature says it is more fair. What????
By the by. The 10 delegates from our precinct will be divided 4 for Hillary and 6 for Obama (Yeah).

My Wonderful Subaru

Last night, in order to avoid the slow down on 29th, I took a side street that would get me to SE Blvd. It was HORRID. But my little Subaru made it to the queue at SE Blvd. and we waited ...... The first car trying to get out needed two strong backs (not mine) to get going. Next up was a Suburban. He had trouble negotiating the slippery, rutty corner - fish tailed all over the place. Then a small Ford decided not even to try and turned around. It's passenger advised me of the conditions of the street and urged me to turn around also. I said, "Well, let's see how a Subaru handles it" and promptly "walked" my little car right up the incline and around the corner like there was no problem. Yeah! Subaru!!!
Then, we get down to the street in front of Office Depot. I see the light is red a half block away from the corner and start to apply the brakes. The street is a sheet of bumpy ice. The brakes do that clackity thing but slow the car to a stop right at the corner. I didn't even enter the intersection. What a car!.

Snow Day

We have been slammed by Old Man Winter. It started snowing Saturday around noon and didn't stop until Sunday at 4 pm. Today is a "snow day" for all the schools in the area. The sky is a beautiful blue. The streets are getting plowed (some of the parking lots are horrid). Tomorrow we will get another small storm, Wednesday would be a quiet day and then Thursday another big one with a projected 12 more inches. I have a quilt to work on so I'm happy.
We have had nearly 50" of snow this season. 13.5" fell within the last 24 hours. Beat the record set in 1956(?). check out krem.com for pictures etc.
Started Jessica's quilt. Have two blocks finished. I think I only have 25 to 30 (lol) more to go. I'll have to look that up.
Stayed in all day yesterday. Didn't go to church, didn't go to sewing group. Didn't go shopping for food. Uma, however, was out and about on the bus.
Today was Swimming (only 4 of our group of 15 showed up), Line Dancing was canceled, as was a meeting at Uma's to discuss her moving into an assisted living (24 hour tenant support) facility without Donald. This should be interesting.
Got some groceries purchased today in anticipation of the coming week. Hope I can get to sewing class tomorrow.

January 17th already?

Been keeping busy, but with what? Once the Christmas break was over the feet hit the floor running. Swimming, Sewing class, Singing, Line Dancing, Volunteering in Malita's classroom on Friday's, UMW meetings, church etc. etc. etc. Well it keeps me out of the bars as my Mother used to say.
Off to AZ tomorrow for the weekend. Maybe I'll get to go to one of the fabric stores down there and have sensory overload.

It's finally happened

The holidays were tough on my wardrobe. All my jeans seem to have shrunk in the waist. So I sucombed to the ultimate of growing older -- I purchased jeans with an elastisized waist. I must face facts. I'm turning into an old lady.
Happy New Year!