So, here is my finished baby gift. That's the hat, mittens (with the ribbon ties) and booties on the right side of the afghan. Not sure how good the colors are, but the afghan is a lavender & white (obviously, the white). Anyway, I'm not going to make it to the baby shower, however. And not because I didn't get the gift done in time. No.... the shower is at 2 pm tomorrow. Sunday. My day with my dad. My last Sunday with my dad until next summer. Next week he & sis & niece will be down in Anchorage for the weekend. The following weekend, I start back to working Sundays. I like that schedual, but it doesn't leave me much time with my dad. Ok, so I guess that's part of the reason I DO like that schedual. Less time with my dad means less time that he has to nag at me. About anything. And lately it hasn't been chuch, it hasn't even been MY health. Instead he's been nagging at me about my husband's health. As if I have any say in the matter.

But no.... between my hubby's beer belly, my hubby's tooth issues (which will be resolved 9 am on Monday morning), and my hubby's new ulcer (thanks to the painkillers he's been on for that tooth)..... My dad is after me about why doesn't hubby lose weight, and get that tooth fixed, and if he'd just get that tooth fixed he wouldn't have the ulcer..... NO SHIT!!! Like DH doesn't know that. And like he isn't adult enough to make those choices for himself. And of course, Dad feels the need to tell me that it's because _I_ have ice-cream in the house so that DD and I can have a serving each weekend, that's the reason DH is overweight. Not the fact that DH is the one choosing to eat said ice-cream (1/2 gallon tubs) in 3 sittings, without saving any for DD & I. I'm not shoveling it down his throat, that's for damn sure. Then of course, there was DH's ambulance ride to the ER this week. That tooth I mentioned??? It's a wisdom tooth that's gotten infected as it comes in. Anyway, he saw a dentist while he was in Valdez on that fishing trip of his a couple of weeks ago, and that dentist told him to get that tooth yanked as soon as he got back to town. Thing is, DH doesn't have a regular dentist, and my dentist doesn't do extractions. So, we'd been discussing who he'd like to go to, and he'd been hemming & hawing about going. As I said, he's an adult, he can make his own choices. Most of the time. Well, Tuesday night that tooth was really bugging him again, so he took 3 advil at about 2 am, woke up at 4:30 in pain again, and I gave him a Tylenol 3 I had left from my surgery. Thanks to that surgery I know that Advil liquid-gels & T3 can be combined, provided you seperate the dosages by a couple of hours. Advil is an Ibuprofrin product, T3 is obviously, tylenol. Any mom should be able to tell you that they can be alternated to bring down a fever or for painkiller, without overdosing on either one. So I did. Gave him a T3, and we both fell asleep. Till about 6 am, when he woke up with a WHOLE different kind of pain. This pain was in his chest, and it was so bad that he was doubled over, writhing in agony on the bed. He was clammy, and nauseous, and lightheaded. No arm or leg pain, so I wasn't sure if it was his heart (he IS 32) but I called for the ambulance based on how much pain he was in, and how it really didn't look like _I_ would be able to get him to the hospital anyway. Sure enough, they got here and suggested he get in, like, now. He went with them, I woke up Tay & dropped her off at my dad's, then ran on into town to the hospital myself. Turns out, all that advil he's been taking for years for this bad tooth, and others, has given him an ulcer. He was directed by the Dr. to take a Nexium every morning for the ulcer (at least until he gets off painkillers altogether), some Clidimycin for the infection (the Valdez dentist had given him basic penicillin, but that wasn't strong enough), and some Percocet for the pain (another Tylenol & codein product). He's been doing better since then, but as I said, he's going in for an emergency extraction on Monday morning. Do ya THINK that's good enough for my dad?!?!?! Guess what, it's not! Nope, according to him I should have nagged DH into seeing a dentist AGES ago. And on top of that, supposedly this scare with the ulcer should be giving DH second thoughts about how big he is, and that he should be losing weight. Now, don't get me wrong, DH is a big guy, but only by about 50 pounds. Not an incredible amount, really, when you figure that 200 lbs is his ideal weight (years of skating means he's mostly muscle, except for that beer belly). But, again, it's ME my dad chooses to nag, about my Dh's weight. Not DH, and not that it's ANY of my dad's business anyway.

It's bad enough that my dad has nagged me since I was 5 about how much I am like his older sister, and how I was bound to wind up diabetic just like she was (she was Juv. onset). I never DID become diabetic. (Not even going to go into him naming me after his sis & mom in hopes that I WOULD be just like them, and his telling me constantly about how he did so in order that he'd always have a part of them near him, even after they died.) Not Juv. onset, not Gest. Diabetic, and not Type 2 (not yet, anyway). But still, my dad goes on and on about how I'm just like her and therefore I'll end up diabetic JUST LIKE HER. Forget the fact that I'm at least 10 years past the point of being able to end up diabetic "JUST LIKE HER". An adult cannot wind up with Juv. onset diabetis. Forget the fact that Gest. Diabetis (even if I HAD been) is NOT "just like" Juv. Onset diabetis. But nope, because in his mind I'm "just like" my aunt, I get a constant nagging about how I've got to be careful of my weight otherwise I'll wind up diabetic "just like" my aunt. She died 10 years ago, btw. And, as an adult I'm NOTHING like her. I take much better care of my health than she ever did (even as a nurse, she took horrible care of herself, was in and out of the hospital herself for diabetic comas & issues). I'm skinnier than she was as a mother of a 9 year old (she packed on the weight shortly after my cousin was born). And I'm a lot healthier cook than she was (very little veggies in her meals, very high on the fattening factor). But nope.... I'm JUST LIKE my Aunt Lynn was. And now I'm getting nagged about how _I_ should have control over NOT just my weight, NOT just my daughter's weight (another skater with more muscle than fat, but a "genetic" beer belly that runs in my DH's family), but also my husband's weight. And not by a Dr...... Oh no, it's not a medical professional doing the nagging, but my father. A mechanic. Who has never been diabetic. Who has a bare understanding of a well-balanced meal (well, certainly a better understanding than his sister, my mom, or my baby sister, but still....). Who thinks the only way to be a healthy weight is to walk 5 or more miles a day, and to eat a very strict diet of whatever-the-heck is recommended at the moment. Of course, HE doesn't eat that way, or exercise that way. He delights in serving salads with lots of dressing, fried foods, and creamy potatoes at meals. But, nope, it's ALL my fault that DD & DH are overweight, as am I. I admit it. We are. I'm working on it. It's not easy, but I do try. I do make sure we have fruits & veggies in the house and served at meals. But my will power only goes so far. I can only ensure what I myself eat, at all hours of all the days of our lives. As I said, I'm getting nagged for DH's weight now, and it's REALLY, REALLY getting tiring. I'm sick & tired of being my dad's nag-magnet. 27 years is a long, long time to put up with somebody nagging at one.

Did I say that I'm GREATLY looking forward to working on Sundays again?!?!? Any questions why?!?!?! *wink* If there still are questions, see the post a few weeks back about my sister, and my rant just now about my dad, and any posts about how terribly busy our Sundays usually are (during the summer). That should explain why I like working on Sundays. SOOOO much less BS to put up with.

Anyway, on to why I won't be going to the baby shower tomorrow. Along with lunch with Dad, we've got a b-day party, right around the block from my dad, at 4 pm. It's the 5th birthday of DH's best-buddy's daughter. Then at 5 pm, we've got to leave THERE for hockey. Then, after hockey (leave town around 7:30 after hockey to head home), we'll swing by the other friend's house to drop off the baby gift.

But, in the end, that's all probably just justification for why I am truly not going to the baby shower. The mommy-to-be-again's mother is the owner of a local strip joint. That is where the baby shower is being held. Sunday, at 2, at a strip joint. Of course I know that the strippers will not be there in their professional capacity. But I'm sorry, I'm just not comfortable with going into a strip joint. And I'm certainly not interested in going into a strip joint where children will be, and acting like there is nothing even remotely odd about children being exposed to women stripping & dancing for the objectification of men. Just can't do it. Just can't pretend like I approve. Anyway, like I said, I've got plenty of excuses for not going. Very valid excuses. So, we'll swing back by the other friend's house on our way back out of town. And considering we've got to swing back by my dad's and pick up my car (both friends live in adjacent neighbourhoods to my dad's) before heading home for the night.

And thinking I'd better take out something quick & easy to make for dinner tomorrow night, as it will be rather late, on a school night, before we get home. *sigh*

Anyway, it's now 8:56, and I still need to find a recipe for Red Snapper, so I can make dinner. Took me till 8 to get that dang baby gift done. And of course this post has taken quite a bit. But I'm hungry now, so I'll sign off.

Have a Blessed Day.

Pictures of my "kids"....

LOL I can't seem to figure out how this darn thing "orders" my pictures. The face on of Jenny (the white one) should have been up first, then the pic of Tay in her "First-day-of-third-grade" outfit, then the two pictures of Puck, followed by the side-shot of Jenny. *shaking head* Ah, well. Anyway, these are pictures of my 3 "kids".

We've had Jenny since she was a 9 week old puppy. Origionally we were told by the pound that she is an American Eskimo dog. She's not. Definitely some Samoyed in there, but possibly German Shephard or Akita as well. I mean, otherwise she'd have the long hair like a Samoyed, but she actually feels quite a bit like an Akita, for the feel of her fur.

Puck was another Pound Puppy, brought home just this past April. He's already between 4 and 6 years old. He's a good dog, but rather rambunctious. And he's got a horrible tendency to paw people, but won't let us trim his claws. Therefore nasty scratches are common in our house. And he growls if he at all thinks his treats, food, etc are in danger of being taken.

Tay, of course, is just into third grade, and she found out yesterday (after months of stressing) that she likes her teacher (we didn't know anything about this woman but her last name) and that she's got a couple of friends in her class. (She's been afraid that she wouldn't have any friends, as all her "best friends" are in the classroom of the admittedly "favorite" 3rd grade teacher. But, looks like she's happy now. She came home from school giggling about how she and 3 of her friends (2 old friends, and a "new girl") all sat at one table yesterday and it was "a girl table!" ;) Gotta love it.

Anyway, that's all the pictures for now. Gotta get cracking on that damn baby afghan, as DH informed me that he's been clued in that the baby-shower is this weekend. I've only got the afghan 1/2 done. *sigh* I guess that means cranking out at least 2 rows a day, for the next couple of days. And I've still got to make a wash-cloth, mitts, and booties. Though, if I run out of time I may nix the washcloth. I hate finding out that somebody's having a baby, JUST before that somebody has that baby. ;) Makes it awfully hard to get that gift completed.

Have a Blessed Day!

Just some pictures from the past week.....

Well, thought I'd share some pictures of what's gone on in the past week. The fairy "tattoo" pic is Tay's first tattoo. Obviously, considering she's 8, it's an airbrush tat. It's also on her fore-arm, since I know that's not obvious in the pic.

The top two pics are DH and Tay at the Daryl Worley concert we went to on Tuesday evening. Fantastic!!!!! The guy can carry a tune even in person!!!! Doesn't sound any different than he does on the radio, really, but you get to see how much fun he has, as well!!! I had to chuckle, though. Tay has been asking for 3 years now when SHE could go to a concert, and I kept putting it off, and putting it off, because I've had my qualms about spending 45$ on a child for a concert I wasn't sure she'd enjoy anyway. Now, she LOVES country music. She plays it all the time in her room, and you quite often hear her singing along and see her dancing to it, in private. I'm glad that her first concert was a 12$ ticket (and on top of that, my Dad treated us!), at the fair. She said she was kinda bored. And she looked it. And I'm certainly glad I didn't spend BIG money just for her to be bored. Oh, and Daryl Worley is 6'7" tall!!!! I mean, DAYAM!!!! Why couldn't I have a couple of those inches. I mean, I'm sure he wouldn't miss 2 or 3 inches. It sure wouldn't hurt me to stand 2 or 3 inches taller than I am, and him to stand 2 or 3 inches shorter. *sigh* Pity it doesn't work like that, huh?!?!

Anyway, the pic of the crochet-work is my WIP right now. Just found out that some friends of ours are having their fourth child. Well, her 4th, anyway, his second. All four are girls, beautiful, well behaved little girls. So, I'm making my typical gift of a baby-afghan, hat, thumbless-mitts, booties, and a cotton washcloth. I've got less than a month to whip this gift out. This is what I accomplished yesterday. And once I get this made, I've got to start on a gift for our Samhain exchange on Country Pagan Decor (yahoo group). I don't know what I'm making for that, yet. First year we did this exchange I made a Filet Crochet Owl wall-hanging. Last year's project was a spider-web doily. I'd like to do something with pumpkins this year (and not little orange balls with a little brown stem sticking out the top). I'm just not sure WHAT yet.

Anyway, gotta head to Dad's for Sunday dinner. Then it's on to hockey practice, as usual.

Have a Blessed Day!

Our "Home-Grown" supper.....

As a bunch of you, I know, are really into the home-grown/locally-grown food movement, I've been looking at your blogs and seeing the lovely meals you're producing from what is locally produced in your areas. Unfortunately, it seems most of my meals have, at most, one item on the plate that is locally produced/grown/raised/caught. Tonight I had two: the salmon is a red, caught by my husband (or FIL or hubby's best buddy, we're not ENTIRELY sure) a couple of weeks ago, down on the Klutina. The lettuce in the salad was from my FIL's garden (it's in FIL's back yard, and he does most of the watering and weeding because he lives there, though DH and I did most of the planting). The pasta came from a box (sorry, as far as I know, the only "starch" produced in Alaska are Yukon Gold potatoes), and the tomatoes and avacados came from a grocery store. As did the croutons, the salad dressings used, the seasonings on the salmon, and the milk, garlic and olive-oil in the pasta. So, this wasn't a primarily home-grown meal, but at this point in my life, it's the best I can do.

I think I've come to the conclusion that at this point in my life it's maybe not so much about how much is produced local to me, but is it as healthy as I can make it. Am I using what IS available to me (at a price I can afford), while still getting plenty of veggies and fruits. Going lighter on the starches than I have in the past, and heavier on the veggies. This is going to mean, ESPECIALLY during the winter, using a lot of mass-produced and frozen veggies. Or veggies that have been shipped great distances. But in Alaska, ANY distance is a great distance. We're over 350 miles away from the only other "big town" in Alaska: Anchorage. Even Delta Jct, the local "bread-basket" is about 100 miles away. The MatSu valley is almost as far away from me as Anchorage, and that is the true "bread-basket" of Alaska. And even the salmon, halibut, shark, caribou, and moose we eat is not something that is usually found less than 50 miles away. The halibut, shark and most of our salmon come from Valdez: farther away than Anchorage. The Caribou and moose, as a rule, come from at least 75 miles away. For those of you who are looking at maps, think from Fairbanks, half-way to Prudhoe Bay. That's a good 300+- miles, as well, for caribou. It's as "local" to Alaska as you can get, and it's still not "local" in the sense that so many in the "states" talk about. Just to give you some idea of distances in Alaska, that's all.

I know it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted.... It's been either too busy here for me to find the time, or I've not had anything to really show off or talk about. And I didn't want the next post to be a rant. Crafting wise it's starting to look like a very busy next couple of months as I've got to make a baby-afghan, hat, mits & booties for a friend who's about to have her 4th daughter (her older 3 all have something made by me); and I've got a Samhain exchange I'm taking part in. I've no idea what to make for the Samhain exchange. Really. I should. The two "requirements" (not that we're that strict, really) are that it be a decoration for the house (preferably) and that it be hand-made (preferably). I know I could get away with something bought, or something to wear (or both), but I prefer to make something for my exchange partner's home, with Samhain as the theme. Now I'm just wracking my brain as to WHAT. The first year's project was a filet-crochet owl wall-hanging. Last year's was a spider-web doily. I'd like to do something with a pumpkin, this year, but am at a loss what. Most of the crocheted pumpkins I've seen are little crocheted orange balls with a brown crocheted stem. Kinda thinking something a little more... elaborate than that. Ah well..... I'll figure it out. I always do.

Anyway, this is the Sunday I go to church with my Dad, so I've gotta go ahead and sign off. After lunch at my dad's DH, DD, and I will be going to the fair!!!!! Yippee!!!!! Some seriously yummy food to eat, lots of seriously lovely goodies offered up for my purchasing pleasure, and a definite Once-A-Year event. With tickets being 8$ per adult ($5 per child), each "meal" being about 10$, and lots of expensive shtuff to buy.... The average person can only AFFORD one visit a year. Unless, of course, you're like my sister who has a Military fiancee sending her rent money, then spending her own money on season tickets so she and my niece can go EVERY night after work. But, most of us have more responsibilities than that. So we only get to go once (maybe twice) in a year. We're going to go twice this year, actually.... Tuesday is the Daryl Worley concert. This'll be Tay's first concert, and I've got to remember to take my camera so I can get pictures of her enjoying the music. ;-) So, we're scraping up the money for tickets to that. But that'll be it, on Tuesday. Tonight's when we go and browse. Ok, really signing off now.

Have a Blessed Day!