The BenOsmonds!!
They gots my Mom!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
They are in Baker
Two hours down the road.
So much for driving all night.
Not that I would have, either.
Judy says that already, Mike has turned into a saint, as have I.
He was a better driver and I was a better cook. And we never would have stuck her in the back to ride in a cave all by herself.
UPDATE from the Eastern trek:
Gene evidently has the rare talent for finding every pothole in the road.
Judy could not possibly have ever been a nurse, since I took better care of her working full time than she is taking care of her so far. (Of course, Mom is pretty demanding and over wrought.) What she means is that I would turn her over, prop her up with pillows and the wait for an hour, making minute little changes until she was comfortable or asleep.
UPDATE from the wagon trail:
Judy is hoping that they make Provo by nightfall. Provo is only twelve hours from here by the clock we use. Mom is not happy that she can't see out the windows to see what is going on (my guess is because they are moving too slowly.)
Not a complaint, just an observation.
No wonder it takes Judy so long to get anywhere.
Soldier on.
UPDATE from the wagon trail: Judy's boys turn out to greet Momat Judy's new house. (I'm sure it's not all that bad. I'm just worried because I DON'T KNOW THESE PEOPLE.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Mom's on her way to Utah
Judy got into town about 2, got the apartment emptied out in about 90 minutes and then got Mom checked out of the nursing home and loaded into the RV by 4. Then they were on the road again, back to Utah.
Now when Ben found that this was the plan (at noon), he called Lisi, who called her work and took the day off so she could say goodby. We had NO idea that they were going to leave today. We thought they were going to leave in the morning.
So we got her things packed up and she was able to climb up into the RV and walk down the hallway into the bedroom, although it did just knock her out. She will probably sleep most of the way home and all night long, too.
Once she gets settled, she'll be fine. It's just all this change.
Now when Ben found that this was the plan (at noon), he called Lisi, who called her work and took the day off so she could say goodby. We had NO idea that they were going to leave today. We thought they were going to leave in the morning.
So we got her things packed up and she was able to climb up into the RV and walk down the hallway into the bedroom, although it did just knock her out. She will probably sleep most of the way home and all night long, too.
Once she gets settled, she'll be fine. It's just all this change.
Christmas Parade
We always take the 1924 Dodge Brothers.
We get dressed up; I wear my once a year mink coat and Christmas hat (next year, I'm wearing some opera gloves. my hands got COLD...
We took Christie's kids, who were good as gold and have a standing invitation (Micah asked me if he could come next year...Please, Miss Chloe?, as his little sister poked him in the ribs and whispered "Ask her! I want to come next year!".) It's a big deal here. (6,000 people sitting on the sidewalk this year!) I have a little sleigh heater with a slide out tray with a chunk of soapstone that we heat up in the oven all day so I can rest my cold feet on it during the parade so I don;t get so cold. (it is not only dark, it is chilly, too. Did I mention that?) Some years it is so foggy that you can;t see across the street; this year it was just super dark.And crowded. 6,000 people sitting out in the cold dark night--the only show in town, I guess. Not a lot of vendors out. We were at the very front of the parade (like the first ten minutes) and home by 6:45. We've been way in the back (like entry #295)-I like being in the front better. I don't get so cold. I guess I've mentioned that it gets cold? Not like Canada cold or even Utah cold, but pretty darn cold for here cold. Cold and dark and damp and breezy. I have my coat and scuba diving skins on (sort of a leotard thing you wear under a scuba suit to keep you warm in the COLD water), jeans, a black merino sweater I KNIT MYSELF, socks I KNIT MYSELF and my sheepskin slippers with the toastie toes insert (you snap it open and it heats up for six hours.It's a ski kind of thing. They have them for your pockets, too.)At least we were waiting over in China Alley so I could get a
thermos of tea. I could live on that stuff. We don't do the fake wave..we do the real, look-you-in-the-eye wave..I'm still a kinder teacher at heart. Micah and Mia are first and second graders and waved like crazy people when people in the crowd shouted out their names (they are in soccer and church and what all, so lots of people know them. ) Plus they come from a huge family who didn't We were behind a gymnastics float...the kids would get off and do flips on the street. It was as good as the Olympics!
Friday, November 28, 2008
You just have to laugh when your mother turns into a three year old
When she isn't crying, she's giving orders.
She's not paying for physical therapy and she's not DOING any, either. (Yes, she is.)
She is tired, so she is going to rest. (No, she's not. There's a deck. There's a family room. She's going to be part of the damn family, if it kills Judy.)
Good luck with that.
Occupation therapy? Fine motor skills? Phooey! She reads. Turning pages is good enough. (Nope.)
She is too old to monkey with computers. (Not if Judy has her way.)
Good luck with that.
She got on a tear and tried to make me promise a bunch of I don't know what for Ben and for Mike--oh ho! I am too clever for that (been burned before). I can't make promises for other people.
I won't make promises for other people, which just makes her crazy. (She tries crying, sobbing, ugly facing me--none of it works.I am so so stubborn. This is a fight we've have a number of times in the last ten years. It is always the same. Talk to Ben/Lisi/Mike yourself. She doesn't want to because she knows they will say no. She wants to wheedle me, because she thinks I'll say yes for them and then they'll do it. Hasn't worked in ten years. Isn't going to work this weekend.)
Lisi came home last night after working second and third watch, just so she could get some sleep, see Mom and come back home, get more sleep and the go back to to work. She has started leaving clothes here, just in case she decides to stay over.
She's not paying for physical therapy and she's not DOING any, either. (Yes, she is.)
She is tired, so she is going to rest. (No, she's not. There's a deck. There's a family room. She's going to be part of the damn family, if it kills Judy.)
Good luck with that.
Occupation therapy? Fine motor skills? Phooey! She reads. Turning pages is good enough. (Nope.)
She is too old to monkey with computers. (Not if Judy has her way.)
Good luck with that.
She got on a tear and tried to make me promise a bunch of I don't know what for Ben and for Mike--oh ho! I am too clever for that (been burned before). I can't make promises for other people.
I won't make promises for other people, which just makes her crazy. (She tries crying, sobbing, ugly facing me--none of it works.I am so so stubborn. This is a fight we've have a number of times in the last ten years. It is always the same. Talk to Ben/Lisi/Mike yourself. She doesn't want to because she knows they will say no. She wants to wheedle me, because she thinks I'll say yes for them and then they'll do it. Hasn't worked in ten years. Isn't going to work this weekend.)
Lisi came home last night after working second and third watch, just so she could get some sleep, see Mom and come back home, get more sleep and the go back to to work. She has started leaving clothes here, just in case she decides to stay over.
Adventurers in UHaul
1. We need a 16 foot covered trailer.
2. All that is available is a SIX foot covered trailer.
3. Once again, Judy waited until the very last minute to make the arrangements and blamed it on "that little town you live in". My town is plenty big enough for me, thank you very much.
So what we are going to do is pick out what Mom has to have, put it in this little trailer and then store everything else. Won't make Mom happy, but nothing will.
I had this good idea this morning ---postpone this trip/have me move everything into a storage unit/come out next week.
That won't work because Judy has already made arrangements to borrow this RV. (If she was borrowing it from ME a week wouldn't make any difference, so she can't possibly be borrowing it from people she really knows.) Plus this RV doesn't have running water OR a working bathroom, so this should be a cheery little trip.
THEN I mentioned that we'd be out in a month and I thought she was going to have a a complete meltdown. Was I planing on staying with her? (Was she CRAZY? I wouldn't stay with her if there was a nuclear holocaust and her house was the only house that had bread, water and a working toilet.)
I stayed at her house ten years ago and if Mom wasn't living there, that would have been the last time I ever bothered to knock on her door. When Mom dies, that will be the last time I ever go to her house. When Judy dies, I bet you a bag of nickles no one calls me unless they need money.
To say that we have differing philosophies is putting it gently.
She married Felon Boy.
I not only think OJ did it, I have to boycott Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, Angelina Jolie AND Brad Pitt. God help me if I find out that John Lennon and Paul McCartney were pedophiles. I'll have to stick my fingers in my ears for the rest of my life.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
No Drama and No Guilt
That's my sister's department these days and I feel sorry for her because she sounds like she is on the edge....and I should know, because I've been living there for the last eight years.
Mom is still in the acute care home and hating every minute of it. I'm going into work at 0300 every morning---that is 3am as in 3 dark thirty because I don't have a classroom (not since my class decided they were going to rape and dismember me)
I have a desk job and a non-contact one at that. I write lessons, run them off, mail them out, correct them and keep track of work---all easily done in the dark, as long as custody knows I'm back there, locked up in the warehouse, with my alarm.
Lisi drops by before she starts her shift and then drops by during her lunch hour. I drop by on my way home at noon and again when Ben gets off work.
I've made arrangements (if Judy can get a 16 foot U-Haul rented via the internet) to have it loaded tomorrow while she and Gene drive down from Provo.
It's a 12 hour trip (Well for me. It takes longer for Judy. Always has.)
Not sure when they are leaving. They are parking in my driveway and I'm having the crew park the U-haul in front of my house so they can drive it off with Mom on Sunday.
Judy is beside herself. All of these plans have been in place for years but I don't think she ever thought they would ever actually happen. The house she was living in wouldn't accommodate Mom (tiny with stairs and a teeny bathroom), so they are moving to another house they own in SLC, which won't be ready until Friday.
They will only be living there a short while, while the house they are building in Park City is
being finished. I don't envy her three moves with Mom in tow one bit, Mom being as crazy as she is. (Mom had this great idea-load her in the U-haul in her bed with a cell phone. Forget the fact that she is deaf and can;t hear on a cell phone. She thought that was a good idea. Judy is renting an RV.)
Today, the plans changed hourly until I was as snippy and short as I could be. First it was this way. Then she talked to Judy and it was something else. Then she talked to me and it was totally opposite. If I hadn't had Ben with me, I would have thought maybe I was the crazy one.
She is positive that Judy has to handle all the last minute business herself in person--not so. The address change--fill out the forms and mail them in. Done it a million times. Moving money from one account to another? Simple as writing out a check, filling out a deposit slip and putting it in another bank. Not a big eal at all. The big deal is the way she has her power of attorney worded--it is fine if she is dead, but worthless if she is alive unless she is incompetent, which she would have to be dead before she would agree to being. Makes everything impossible to handle.
With Joe, it was exactly opposite. he thought he had everything taken care of but what he had only worked as long as he was alive. Once he was dead, he had nothing put into place. It pays to have more than one lawyer look at your trust/will/plans. Not all of the attorneys graduate at the tops of the class.
Judy is in for the same very long and contrary road I've been on.
It won't be any fun.
Mom is still in the acute care home and hating every minute of it. I'm going into work at 0300 every morning---that is 3am as in 3 dark thirty because I don't have a classroom (not since my class decided they were going to rape and dismember me)
I have a desk job and a non-contact one at that. I write lessons, run them off, mail them out, correct them and keep track of work---all easily done in the dark, as long as custody knows I'm back there, locked up in the warehouse, with my alarm.
Lisi drops by before she starts her shift and then drops by during her lunch hour. I drop by on my way home at noon and again when Ben gets off work.
I've made arrangements (if Judy can get a 16 foot U-Haul rented via the internet) to have it loaded tomorrow while she and Gene drive down from Provo.
It's a 12 hour trip (Well for me. It takes longer for Judy. Always has.)
Not sure when they are leaving. They are parking in my driveway and I'm having the crew park the U-haul in front of my house so they can drive it off with Mom on Sunday.
Judy is beside herself. All of these plans have been in place for years but I don't think she ever thought they would ever actually happen. The house she was living in wouldn't accommodate Mom (tiny with stairs and a teeny bathroom), so they are moving to another house they own in SLC, which won't be ready until Friday.
They will only be living there a short while, while the house they are building in Park City is
being finished. I don't envy her three moves with Mom in tow one bit, Mom being as crazy as she is. (Mom had this great idea-load her in the U-haul in her bed with a cell phone. Forget the fact that she is deaf and can;t hear on a cell phone. She thought that was a good idea. Judy is renting an RV.)Today, the plans changed hourly until I was as snippy and short as I could be. First it was this way. Then she talked to Judy and it was something else. Then she talked to me and it was totally opposite. If I hadn't had Ben with me, I would have thought maybe I was the crazy one.
She is positive that Judy has to handle all the last minute business herself in person--not so. The address change--fill out the forms and mail them in. Done it a million times. Moving money from one account to another? Simple as writing out a check, filling out a deposit slip and putting it in another bank. Not a big eal at all. The big deal is the way she has her power of attorney worded--it is fine if she is dead, but worthless if she is alive unless she is incompetent, which she would have to be dead before she would agree to being. Makes everything impossible to handle.
With Joe, it was exactly opposite. he thought he had everything taken care of but what he had only worked as long as he was alive. Once he was dead, he had nothing put into place. It pays to have more than one lawyer look at your trust/will/plans. Not all of the attorneys graduate at the tops of the class.
Judy is in for the same very long and contrary road I've been on.
It won't be any fun.
Movie Time...or TV time, whichever
I've been plopped in front of the tv, knitting.
Guess the line, let me know and I'll give you credit here. It's a little heavy on the cop thing.
Well, WE'RE a little heavy on the cop thing. When we're driving together, I'll call shotgun and Lisi'll call nine millimeter (cop humor. We laugh our asses off.) We both have cuff keys on our keychains.
1. "They'll dress you like a flannel sock!" (I laughed myself silly over this one. My only hint is that I don't watch anything on real TV.)
2."I apologize to the people of Los Angeles. My behavior has been improper and I accept the consequences. I ask my fellow Angelinos for their patience and understanding. Life here can be difficult for me. After all, I am the only one of my kind. During my incarceration, I will be participating in alcohol and anger management treatment. You deserve better from me. I can be better. I will be better." (I thought this was such a romantic movie..almost as romantic as the first Terminator.) HANCOCK/NOVEL (Did you like it? I thought it was so off the wall quirky and sweet. And the shove it up your ass--OMG! so literal)
3. "My father taught me one thing above all others; to be sure. And I am. Matt Chambers, Miami is your last stop. If God is in the details and if I believed in God, he’s in this room with me. I just wish he had brought an extension cord.""
5."And one and two and three and four and your hands should be light like a birdie on a branch. And one and two and three and four and Wat doesn't lead he follows like a girl."A KNIGHT'S TALE/NOVEL (One of my favorites. So sweet and quirky. Like Jocelyn would really last with living with the pigs; sweet sentiment but unlikely. Even for Heath. She could quit him in a red hot minute.)
6. "Our dad was a cop, you're a cop, I work for the cops... for us, this is brother-sister stuff.
7."Good cop and bad cop have left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop."
8. "Who are you? What are you?" T
9."I could lie to you. But I have far too much respect for you as a person."
10."It's almost as though there's a sign that says 'Give us your tired and poor.' "
11. "Don't look at me, I just know stuff."
12."What's your favorite kind of torture?"
Guess the line, let me know and I'll give you credit here. It's a little heavy on the cop thing.
Well, WE'RE a little heavy on the cop thing. When we're driving together, I'll call shotgun and Lisi'll call nine millimeter (cop humor. We laugh our asses off.) We both have cuff keys on our keychains.
1. "They'll dress you like a flannel sock!" (I laughed myself silly over this one. My only hint is that I don't watch anything on real TV.)
2."I apologize to the people of Los Angeles. My behavior has been improper and I accept the consequences. I ask my fellow Angelinos for their patience and understanding. Life here can be difficult for me. After all, I am the only one of my kind. During my incarceration, I will be participating in alcohol and anger management treatment. You deserve better from me. I can be better. I will be better." (I thought this was such a romantic movie..almost as romantic as the first Terminator.) HANCOCK/NOVEL (Did you like it? I thought it was so off the wall quirky and sweet. And the shove it up your ass--OMG! so literal)
3. "My father taught me one thing above all others; to be sure. And I am. Matt Chambers, Miami is your last stop. If God is in the details and if I believed in God, he’s in this room with me. I just wish he had brought an extension cord.""
5."And one and two and three and four and your hands should be light like a birdie on a branch. And one and two and three and four and Wat doesn't lead he follows like a girl."A KNIGHT'S TALE/NOVEL (One of my favorites. So sweet and quirky. Like Jocelyn would really last with living with the pigs; sweet sentiment but unlikely. Even for Heath. She could quit him in a red hot minute.)
6. "Our dad was a cop, you're a cop, I work for the cops... for us, this is brother-sister stuff.
7."Good cop and bad cop have left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop."
8. "Who are you? What are you?" T
9."I could lie to you. But I have far too much respect for you as a person."
10."It's almost as though there's a sign that says 'Give us your tired and poor.' "
11. "Don't look at me, I just know stuff."
12."What's your favorite kind of torture?"
What do you believe? What works in your life?
1. What you put out comes back all the time, no matter what. (Ugly, kind, charitable..it all comes back...usually engraved on your face)
2. You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script. Still working on this one.
3. Whatever someone did to you in the past has no power over the present. Only you give it power. This one, too
4. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. (There are felons who are truly bad men. Then there are felons who made a bad mistake. You need to know the difference.)
5. Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you. (Knitting is good for this.)
6. What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe.
7. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. Even "thank you" for a sunrise will do.
8. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.
9. Failure is a signpost to turn you in another direction. (Lace is not for me.)
10. If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.
11. Trust your instincts. Your gut doesn't lie.
12. Love yourself and then learn to extend that love to others. It won;t hurt to look at a name tag and thank the checkers by name or thank the bagger or the waitress. it is such a little thing. Wave to the guy on the corner with the sign selling cell phones. he's not invisible.
13. Let passion drive your profession.
14. Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus.
15. Love doesn't hurt. It feels really good. It feels just like sitting with your babies in the sun. Hold on to that.
16. Every day brings a chance to start over. (That's why I like Monday's. Haven;t had a true chance to screw up yet.)
17. Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. And it will never stop.
18. Doubt means don't. Don't move. Don't answer. Don't rush forward.
19. When you don't know what to do, get still. The answer will come.
20. Trouble don't last always. You'll get past it.
2. You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script. Still working on this one.
3. Whatever someone did to you in the past has no power over the present. Only you give it power. This one, too
4. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. (There are felons who are truly bad men. Then there are felons who made a bad mistake. You need to know the difference.)
5. Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you. (Knitting is good for this.)
6. What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe.
7. If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that will be enough. Even "thank you" for a sunrise will do.
8. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.
9. Failure is a signpost to turn you in another direction. (Lace is not for me.)
10. If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.
11. Trust your instincts. Your gut doesn't lie.
12. Love yourself and then learn to extend that love to others. It won;t hurt to look at a name tag and thank the checkers by name or thank the bagger or the waitress. it is such a little thing. Wave to the guy on the corner with the sign selling cell phones. he's not invisible.
13. Let passion drive your profession.
14. Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus.
15. Love doesn't hurt. It feels really good. It feels just like sitting with your babies in the sun. Hold on to that.
16. Every day brings a chance to start over. (That's why I like Monday's. Haven;t had a true chance to screw up yet.)
17. Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. And it will never stop.
18. Doubt means don't. Don't move. Don't answer. Don't rush forward.
19. When you don't know what to do, get still. The answer will come.
20. Trouble don't last always. You'll get past it.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thank you Harlot, for the kick in the arse
By many standards, I am not a wealthy woman.
I have a great job that will employ me forever, but I am still a working woman; I trot off to work at 0'dark thirty and watch the sun come up on my drive to work.
It is not a thankless job-I get to watch the seasons change; the crops grow and the harvests. I see the jets net the sky with their con trails. I work with some pretty funny characters, so I am endlessly amused all day long.
There has never been a day that I went hungry or wondered where I would put my kids to bed. I pick and choose what I'm going to wear in the morning from my overstuffed walk in closet and at least once a week I toss out food that went bad before we could eat it. I order out Chinese maybe once a week because I'm "too tired" to cook-and that's an easy $50 out the window.
I have never wanted for anything more than "more" of what I already have. I am... to most of the people in the world,obscenely wealthy...
Today, I wrapped up "good" loaves of bread (as opposed to the cheap stuff), wrapped them in handmade aprons, tucked a letter in the pocket and dropped them off at the women's shelter,
along with some starter cash--because I've been there and really? It was little of nothing to me. I had the fabric in my stash and I had the week off. What else was I going to do with my time?
It meant I couldn't get my nails and hair done this week. Imagine, that was the price I paid.
Next week, I'm, "giving" up a silly handbag that I don't need so I can send some goats to Boliva.
I'm skipping a pedicure so I can send some girls some KOTEX for a year so they can go to school AND sending some women a flock of chickens and two ducks. For the price of a pedicure.
Obscene.
And in my family,we live well into our 90's. I have many more years to do good. makes up for all the evil I've done in my life.
Thanks, Steph.
Me Me Me ME (in bold)
Things I've Done (In Bold) Thanks,Inky (http://inkyknits.blogspot.com/)
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
4. Visited Hawaii!
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland - Still remember "E" Tickets.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea--I thought the Minnow would be lost
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked. With Marji. As a teenager. In the middle of the night. IN UTAH.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping--even after I lost my battle with gravity.
27. Run a Marathon--Bay to Breakers and Pioneer Day in SLC-talk about a killer!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (does the one in Vegas count? Guess not.)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Every day of my life. Makes the day worth it.)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors (Stood in the very house)
35. Seen an Amish community--Yep, spent several summers right near Lancaster, PA
36. Taught myself 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 (Of course, I sound more like Cameron Diaz in "My Best Friend's Wedding"-pretty terrible)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my 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 (I love it more than I can say)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater--set up the lounge chairs in the bed of the pickup
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business---had a coffee shop/catering business for a while; a daycare business for a while. I like a steady paycheck
58. Taken a martial arts class. Wanna see my six broken ribs?
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason. Today, in fact
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving. Hang gliding, too.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar
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 in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle-they are ALL speeding as far as I'm concerned
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person--nothing beats sunrise
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
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--Yep, a few people.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
4. Visited Hawaii!
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland - Still remember "E" Tickets.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea--I thought the Minnow would be lost
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked. With Marji. As a teenager. In the middle of the night. IN UTAH.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping--even after I lost my battle with gravity.
27. Run a Marathon--Bay to Breakers and Pioneer Day in SLC-talk about a killer!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (does the one in Vegas count? Guess not.)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Every day of my life. Makes the day worth it.)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors (Stood in the very house)
35. Seen an Amish community--Yep, spent several summers right near Lancaster, PA
36. Taught myself 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 (Of course, I sound more like Cameron Diaz in "My Best Friend's Wedding"-pretty terrible)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my 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 (I love it more than I can say)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater--set up the lounge chairs in the bed of the pickup
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business---had a coffee shop/catering business for a while; a daycare business for a while. I like a steady paycheck
58. Taken a martial arts class. Wanna see my six broken ribs?
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason. Today, in fact
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving. Hang gliding, too.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar
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 in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle-they are ALL speeding as far as I'm concerned
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person--nothing beats sunrise
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
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--Yep, a few people.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant
Mom's Thanksgiving....early so we could all get together
Mom is in an acute care nursing home until she leaves for Provo on Sunday, so we fixed our usual huge Thansgiving dinner, packed it all up in the gazillion picnic baskets (leaving what I usually keep in them in heaps on the carpet) and dragged it all over to the ursing home. We took the good china, silver and crystal because..well, it's the way we do things. . Lots of photos of us on the patio, though. I'm still not in control of this posting of multiple photos.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The one where I make some progress on the house
- Tupperware cupboard-everthing has a lid TaaDaa!
- Rearranged all my casseroles in size order (I have enough to open my own soup kitchen)
- Rearranged my dish cupboard (my everyday dishes, my Thanks giving dishes, my Christmas dishes, my blue willow dishes and my pastel dishes..I entertain a lot and go to A LOT of yard sales)
- Rearranged all the drawers in the kitchen. There is only so many gadgets a person needs. I had too many. Now someone can go to the Salvation Army and think they have struck gold.
- Tidied up my linen closet. Tossed out the ratty towels -sent to the shop. Saved the best of the ratty ones to cover the windscreens of the cars (we cover the cars ar night so they don't ice up.) I got new lavendar stones from here http://www.marrhaven.com/soaps.html#stones \
The one about the dogs
Yes, I am Tank.I can do anything she says I can.
I am King.
Cock of the walk, except she had them whacked off and left me with a micro chip.
Rocket and Full Metal Jacket got their shots today.Jacket is scheduled to "get fixed", get his microchip and tattoo next week.
Rocket has a dental appointment, too. (Teeth cleaning! No dog in my life has every had a dental appointment.
I must be getting old and senile.) She has a heart murmur. She weighs ALMOST 3 pounds.That little jaunt was almost $400. I pre-paid all the other stuff so Lisi could do the drop-off and pick ups next week when I'm at work. Easier
that way.
(Tank still lives with me until Ben can afford the final 2 sides of the fence around his house. The people next door have pit bulls. In our law enforcement experience, only people on parole or hoping to be on parole have pit bulls.)
In case you haven't stumbled onto Tana French
yet, do. I'm in the middle of The Likeness and I read In the Woods and I'm liking them both. Nice and dark and interesting. Good reads, both.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Going Postal
I need to quit getting the mail. If I just stopped faithfully going out there every day and opening up that little dungeon of doom and gloom, I would be a much happier woman.
I usually dash out there because
1) I have clothes on and
2) just in case I bounced a check, I want to keep it to my own self.
Love letters and bounced check notices are very private things, don't you think?
Today in the mail I had the following:
My Smooshy order (this was the bright spot)
One jury summons for the week of, YES WAY, 12/22 (oh, ack) I bet i can get out of that because I don;t want to go. I'll call Becky and ask to go when I'm actually at work. And then maybe I'll get a big honky murder case that goes on for like 18 months. That sounds good. Team Becky.
One bill for $190.76 for a car repair.
One bill for $235.22 for vet bills. Yes, I did take in all three dogs.
No fewer than five desperate pleas for MONEY from assorted charities who are all “feeling the pinch” and who have clients who “need us now more than ever.” One of them was Victory outreach. ENOUGH SAID.
The newspaper thinks it is going to be hitting me up for $20a month every four weeks, which would make the Sentinal"worth" $260 a year, which is well, no, I don’t think so., even with dancing girls. (What are they smoking down there ?) There is NOTHING going on in Hanford that is worth $20 in a YEAR. There is nothing going on in FRESNO that is worth $20 in a year.
Home owners insurance renewal forms.
Oh look. Holt Lumber wants some money. So does Loewe's, Home Depot, Target, Amazon and Chevron.
Gottschalks, however, who hooked up with China, wants to up my limit. I'm boycotting them. They can keep their limit.
Notice from my personal banking account informing me that,AS OF RIGHT NOW they are going to be putting the required hold on my deposited state check. No more giving me cash because they gave me the check a day early. Yeah, I knew that and all…but still.
Is it National Poke Chloe With A Stick Day today, and nobody told me? I mean, I would have dressed nicer if I’d only known…
Chase has a change in terms…lessee…soooooo, if I were to use their card and have a balance, I’d pay 20.9% interest on it? Memo to me: Tell Chase to go chase their own tails…ha ha ha…
Oh, looky here! It looks like money....from a district I worked at a long time ago! Yesss! Yesss! Could come at a better time!........except I can;t get at it for anothe r ten years so why did they bother to even send it to me?
Holy moley.
That’s it.
No more mail. I mean it! I am never going out to that stupid box again. It’s nothing but trouble, and I’m sick of it.
From this day forth…no more mail.
I'll just go out and check for those little square love notes from the back and then split.
No news is good news.
I usually dash out there because
1) I have clothes on and
2) just in case I bounced a check, I want to keep it to my own self.
Love letters and bounced check notices are very private things, don't you think?
Today in the mail I had the following:
My Smooshy order (this was the bright spot)
One jury summons for the week of, YES WAY, 12/22 (oh, ack) I bet i can get out of that because I don;t want to go. I'll call Becky and ask to go when I'm actually at work. And then maybe I'll get a big honky murder case that goes on for like 18 months. That sounds good. Team Becky.
One bill for $190.76 for a car repair.
One bill for $235.22 for vet bills. Yes, I did take in all three dogs.
No fewer than five desperate pleas for MONEY from assorted charities who are all “feeling the pinch” and who have clients who “need us now more than ever.” One of them was Victory outreach. ENOUGH SAID.
The newspaper thinks it is going to be hitting me up for $20
Home owners insurance renewal forms.
Oh look. Holt Lumber wants some money. So does Loewe's, Home Depot, Target, Amazon and Chevron.
Gottschalks, however, who hooked up with China, wants to up my limit. I'm boycotting them. They can keep their limit.
Notice from my personal banking account informing me that,AS OF RIGHT NOW they are going to be putting the required hold on my deposited state check. No more giving me cash because they gave me the check a day early. Yeah, I knew that and all…but still.
Is it National Poke Chloe With A Stick Day today, and nobody told me? I mean, I would have dressed nicer if I’d only known…
Chase has a change in terms…lessee…soooooo, if I were to use their card and have a balance, I’d pay 20.9% interest on it? Memo to me: Tell Chase to go chase their own tails…ha ha ha…
Oh, looky here! It looks like money....from a district I worked at a long time ago! Yesss! Yesss! Could come at a better time!........except I can;t get at it for anothe r ten years so why did they bother to even send it to me?
Holy moley.
That’s it.
No more mail. I mean it! I am never going out to that stupid box again. It’s nothing but trouble, and I’m sick of it.
From this day forth…no more mail.
I'll just go out and check for those little square love notes from the back and then split.
No news is good news.
Men are Idiots.
It is 6:40 in the morning and I have just gotten back from the grocery story. I ran out of almost $50 worth of cleaning things, which only proves to me that, in fact, I DO clean. I have me a little list for the week and here is today's little bunch of chores
- Make bed
- Clear off night stand
- Laundry-all of it, washed, folded,hung and PUT away (piling it on the kitchen table doesn't count
- Bathrooms-all five-CLEAN like for surgery. Boiling water and bleach
- Kitchen table-Scrub. Oil. Runner,. Centerpiece.
- Counters. Clear and bleached.
- Sinks. Likewise
- Floors. Ditto
- Vaccum.
- Downstairs-dust and oil
- Laundry room and pantry
- Stairs-vac and scrub banister. Scrub and Oil wood.
- Leave bathroom counter EMPTY. Clear out drawers.
- Meeting at 1300 at the nursing home with Mom
He wanted to go to Arizona to see his folks. I'D LIKE TO GO TOO, except I have my hands full here. AND HE NEVER MENTIONED IT TO ME.
We are entered in the Christmas Parade on Friday. Again, he never mentioned it to me.
I came home on Friday and told him that the OCE had offered me overtime for "all" of December and January (I only work 10 days in December (he immediately got sulky whe I told him I'd be working until 10 at night...because who would fix him dinner?) In fact, last night, we went to be after devouring a carton of ice cream and he said he sure hoped he didn;t wake up hungry in the night because
WE HADN'T HAD DINNER. Obviously, famine was snapping at our heels. The end of the world was fast approaching.
WE HAD SNACKED ALL DAY. WE HAD ICE CREAM. BUT I HADN'T ACTUALLY FIXED HIM DINNER. No matter that he was less than ten feet from the kitchen all day long. no matter that he could have ASKED for something at any moment. AND NO MATTER THAT I AM NOT A FUCKING MIND READER.
He just wanted to go to bed all sulky and ill used.
So I let him.
Went to sleep and slept the sleep of the just because I did no wrong. I have xx chromosomes.
I can DO no wrong.
So I am spending my vacation cleaning the house. Because being busy all day is the ONLY revenge.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Great Christmas Site for girlie girls
And not super expensive, either. I love the Perfumed Court. I like to try lots of scents and heres a place that has lots of them. Lots. The prices are reasonable and the shipping is quick. You get little glass vials to try out (they last for two or three wearings). If you love it
, you can order more.
It's a dandy way to find something special. Me, I like single note floral-roses, gardenia, violet and they have lots to chose from.
They have a gaggle of lots more sophisticated scents, as well...but I like something simple and sweet.
My new project..enroute from the Loopy Ewe with photos under control
I'm going to start this
because I have one skein of this
SMOOSHYthat Marji gave me. I'm going to make a serious attempt to knit at lunch (as in TAKE a lunch. Jaqui is good at coming in and sitting down. I am not...which might explain why I am no good after 1300.)
I'm not crazy about that ooky brown. Or that pea green. And I'm picking SMOOSHY because it has the most color choices.
So here are my colors..so far. The photos are in no particular order because I can't make them behave.
Visual Purple (Really purple)Into The Mystic (sort of a purple and blue)
Deep Sea Flower (sort of blue and teal and turquoise) Beach Fog (turquoise with orange and purple bits),
Giant Peach (peach),
Lunar Dazzle (turquoise-y with flecks of purple and green),
Pansy Go Lightly (purple-y and blue-y with green), Summer Sky (Tampa Bay blue),
Yarn A Go Go (greeny bits
This is an Elizabeth Zimmerman "Baby Surprise" Jacket and I might use it for this
Smooshy collection. I love the origami way the pattern works out and I love working a Zimmerman pattern. It is always just so clever. It's not like I don't have
plenty of
yarn. This one is the surprise before it is seamed up. Looks like a mess of knitting, doesn"t it? I love the little mitered corners and I think it would look realy nice with all the Smooshy colors, especially once I ruled out that ooky gold and icky green.
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