I Did It!!!

Found where to click to reinstall my calendar, contacts and GAMES!!! I am one happy camper.

Woops

Took an iPod class last night. The information sent out before the class specifically said "bring an empty iPod". So DH & I dutifully wiped out our iPods and put them back to factory default. Got to the class, told the instructor we were all set with empty machines and he said "WHY did you do that?". Duh, 'cause we read the pre-class instructions and that is what they said to do.
No problem, right? iTunes saved everything when it made the back up... please tell me that's true...
Well... not quite. When we got home I fired up iTunes and synced my pod. Got all my songs and books back on. What I didn't get (immediately) was Internet and email. Got that figured out but wait, there's more. Where are my contacts? Where is my calendar? Where are my GAMES?!!
I figure I have to do something with Microsoft Outlook to get the contacts and the calendar back. If I can't figure it out in the morning I'll call tech support.
But my GAMES!!! I downloaded just a few freebies - Sudoku, solitaire, peg jump and a word game. Now I have to figure out where they are on iTunes so I can load them again. I know I can do this because last night I wanted to order one of them and the "Great Computer in the Sky" said I already had that one. So they are out there somewhere.
Aren't computers fun?

March already

I have had a very busy last two weeks and now my body is rebelling by allowing a cold virus to take over my head.
Two weeks ago we drove to Seattle on Sunday afternoon. Took the grand girls on a little "Field Trip". Toured the Pacific Science Museum (saw Lucy the 3.2 million year old fossil and lovely butterflies) then drove home on Tuesday. Not a bad trip.
Wednesday is my Sewing day at the Church. Then on Thursday and Friday I had meetings concerning Uma (but that's a different story).
Left Friday at noon to go to the Puyallup Sewing Expo. (Luckily I didn't have to drive this time.) This Expo is held in two exhibit halls on the fair grounds in Puyallup (just south of Seattle). Four hundred vendors, three hundred siminars, in depth workshops and free style shows. Much too much to see in two days but the body (read feet and legs) can only take so much. After just two days we wearily drove home Sunday night.
Monday morning Jerry went in to get his gall bladder removed. The 11 o'clock surgery didn't start until after 2 in the afternoon. He stayed overnight. Came home Tuesday and is doing just fine. No pain. We went grocery shopping in fact on Tuesday. What a guy.
So I'm off today to facilitate the sewing room at church. I am getting more of the downtown people coming in now. It is wonderful to see how appreciative they are for the opportunity to repair a backpack or put together a jeans quilt.
Italian has gone by the wayside for this month. I'll start again in April. Ciao.

February 16

After a long, cold, dreary winter we are today experiencing SUN. I know it won't last but it is nice to see.
Gosh, has it been a month since my last post. Yup.
So what has happened here?
Went to see Twilight with Sydney. (It ended the same as the first time I saw it.)
Had my Mammogram. Everything is normal.
Went to a BD party for a girl friend at a Fondue place. Great. I'm lactose intolerant and I go to a fondue place. The atmosphere was great and the company was great and they brought me a salad.
Went to PF Changs for my birthday. Lovely setting but the food is very much like the Panda - only three times more expensive.
Saw a play called Cowgirls. Really well done and very funny. (What do you get when the cow jumps over a barbed wire fence? -- Udder disaster. lol)
Jerry is homeschooling his granddaughter, Casey. That takes up a lot of his day to day living. I'm pretty much not into it (except when I find a workbook I think she might get something out of).
Went to try on Jeans today. What a joke. As I've aged my seat area has changed (right ladies?). And the manufacturers seem to think that we all like to wear our pants around our pubic bone. I, for one, want pants to cover my buns and reach my waist. After trying on a dozen or so pants/jeans I finally found two pair of jeans and a pair of casual pants that meet my requirements. Jerry picked out a couple of tops for me - surprise, surprise. I actually like them and they fit.
New store in town called WinCo. Groceries at low prices. Checked it out today and will probably go back - don't know that I'll make that long trip out there just for odds and ends but it would be worth it on a monthly basis. Tho probably at 7 am would be better because at noon today it was quite crowded.
Lastly I started a Facebook account. Hmm. Why did I do that? Just to see what all the hype was about, I guess.

Duke

After many years of faithful companionship, Duke went to be with God. Yes, I believe all dogs go to heaven. Duke put in many years of patient play with a housefull of humans and a couple of smarty dog companions. His later years were spent letting his grand little person climb all over him and laying in the warm Phoenix sun. You will be missed, Duke.

Finally downloaded my camera

As you know we went to AZ for the Christmas holidays. We took Jhary so she could see her Brian DaDa. She was in her element when Brian was home.

















Part of the fun was seeing my First Great Grand daughter. She loves to cook. Making pancakes here. And rolling out some gingerbread cookies. And drawing pictures with me. Such a sweety.


















At the end of the visit I wanted to make sure I had a picture of everyone (too many to post). Christopher got up, found out what I was asking of him and went back to his room. Hmm, I thought. Thats the end of him today. But shortly he came out of his room wearing his new suit jacket and tie... just for a picture with his grandma. Tears in my eyes, Oh My.

100 things

On another blog I found this list of 100 things to do before you die.

In bold are the things I’ve done — all without a list reminding me to do them. I see I’ve done 63 of the 100. That’s pretty impressive, especially when I think about the other things I’ve done that are not on this list – Like Walk on the top of the Amazon Rain Forest; Ate a guinea pig; Been to Machu Picchu; Been to Angkor Wat; Seen the Killing Fields; boated on the Mekong River.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does orchestra count?)
4. Visited Hawaii (lived there too)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (I climbed on a mountain)
9. Held a praying mantis (and an Australian walking stick and a poison dart frog)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (and don’t plan to either)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (Let’s see, I’m on Oahu (in the middle of the ocean) and the storm is pretty awesome. Does that count?)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (How about the top of Macchu Picchu? It’s higher than Liberty)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (don’t intend to either)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (just on Lake Coeur d’Alene)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I’ve been to Israel – some ancestor thing going on there).
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (a safari is on my wish list)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (not a big one for me)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (how about the prison in Phenom Penh?)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (Fried Perch eggs in an egg batter count?)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards at the Memorial for the Unknown Soldier (Original list had in London. The Unknow Soldier one was more meaningful to me).
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (alas, only from the air)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I haven’t been inside, but I’ve seen it from the gate outside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury!
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Dead Sea (the original list had The Great Salt Lake but the Dead Sea is saltier)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

I’d like to add joining the Peace Corps is something I vaguely consider whenever I think that I’m not doing anything honorable with my life. Also the list did not contain Voluteering in a classroom (which I’ve done). That could probably go on a list like this. I would also like to take a balloon ride.
Of all these things I don't think breaking a bone, having chickenpox or being involved in a lawsuit is something I would want to "try" to do before I die.
How would you do?

Happy New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Here in is my Christmas synopsis for the year 2008.
What have I done with my life this year, you might ask. Well even if you didn’t, I’m going to tell you.
Last January we went to Phoenix to visit Brian’s family. Only stayed 5 nights. That was adequate. Came back to snow – schools were closed for a week. Also started volunteering in a local 6th grade classroom. It was a most rewarding experience. I don’t think the teacher knew exactly what to do with me (hers is a room of not very involved parents and I was not a parent to any of those in the room). I latched onto the two refugee children in the class and worked a bit with math and English. What can you do with only three hours every Friday morning?
Through the spring I kept busy with committees, Red Hat Chapter, Sewing Club yadda, yadda, yadda. Then at the end May I went in and had my bunion removed. That was fun…. No weight bearing on my foot for six weeks. Recovery went well. I couldn’t sit at the sewing machine for any length of time (the foot would swell and throb), so I sat on the couch with my laptop and watched episodes of various PBS sewing programs. And listened to books on tape. And read books. And tried some hand sewing. And was in general lazy. The foot is all healed up now but I could not stand on my feet for more than 45 minutes without the left foot hurting, the arch aching and my whole body screaming at me to sit down. Went back to the doc and he suggested orthotics. While wearing them I am able to walk more but will probably always be aware of the stiffness in the foot.
In October Jerry was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, so we have been learning about diet and exercise with a whole new slant. My allergy to milk and the naturopath’s telling me to stay away from sugar (in its many forms) has been good, so now we just have to watch the carb intake (in all its forms). Getting older is sure a learning experience.
Brian’s wife would like to go back to Italy to visit her family. She thought September of 2009 but with the economy …. With that in mind, I started taking Italian classes because I want to go with her. Quite interesting but it really makes my brain hurt after a two hour session.
December brought Robin and her family to Spokane for the snow. They got it. Spokane had record levels of snow in December (I’m sure you’ve seen the figures). Robin was able to visit with her aunts and cousins, take the kids sledding every day, get introduced to Jerry’s kids and see my apartment. I accuse her kids of praying for all this snow – told her yesterday she could have them stop asking for it now.
And to escape the hassle of Christmas gatherings that don’t go well (that was the idea anyway) we decided in August to head south to Phoenix for Christmas. Well the gatherings happened before Christmas and were rather pleasant. The stay Phoenix was nice but too long (Christmas day through New Years Day). Brian had to work most of the time so was unavailable. He bought a Shipping store and has to man the shop nearly every day. He is struggling to make ends meet. My heart goes out to him. Wish I could afford to live down there (snowbird style) so I could give him a break. Guess you never stop being a parent either.
Didn’t visit with Aaron this year. His wife is in nurses training now so I didn’t want to descend on her and knock her studies out of whack. Maybe in 2009.
The adopted kids are fine. Jhary is doing well in her program and her job. We took her with us to Phoenix, mainly because she hadn’t seen Brian’s kids for some time and was still envisioning them as little kids (they are all grown up now). Uma has had to move into a program with 24 hour care because she is not taking care of her Type 2 Diabetes and needs more supervision. This is making it hard on here because she cannot live with her husband. Job opportunities for her are slim. Traivon now has three children without benefit of marriage (or a job). I feel sorry for the kids. Tyrone is dealing with Bi-polar syndrome so he too is not working. My, I sure picked a group, didn’t I? Well, maybe 2009 will show improvements in their situations.
There is always hope that the New Year will bring better situations for everyone. I am certainly praying for that. As I age I see how things get bad and then they get better. You just have to have the stamina to wait things out.
Hope your kids and grand kids are all faring well and that you all are in good health and are not wanting. Good health to you. Thanks for staying a friend throughout these long years.

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.