To know somebody....

I didn't realize that I actually knew somebody (unconnected to my sister, that is) who was serving in Iraq. Baghdad, to be precise. Oh, I know my sister's fiancee, and a couple of her exes who are over there. But I mean somebody, unconnected to my sister. I only found out he was over in Iraq, in Baghdad, on Monday. Ironic. DH and I were talking about him. He is the younger brother of DH's best friend. We were just talking about him. Find out today that he died on Monday. His name is James.

Here's the link: http://newsminer.com/2006/09/21/2164/ James is a good soul. He is smart, he is kind, he is funny, and when I knew him he was naive. That's a good thing. In fact, my first memory of him is at our first meeting. I had given birth to my daughter only a couple of weeks before, and DH's best buddy invited us to dinner at his mom's house. Met the family, chatted with Mom, and sat down to eat. There we are, sitting around the table, and Mom asks me how I'm feeding my daughter. I responded that I was breastfeeding her. Mom nodded her approval. As soon as James realized what we were talking about, his face went 12 shades of red in 3 seconds flat. He wasn't more than 15 years old, then. What a subject for a 15 year old boy, huh? *smile* He was a good guy. I'm sorry I didn't know sooner that he was over in Iraq. I'm sorry for his family, for Dh's best friend who is now missing, permanently, his brother. I'm sorry for a 2 year old little boy who will not know his Daddy. Except by stories people tell of his goodness.

The real irony, he is a medic. He didn't die in combat, he died of a heart attack. At 24.

Have a Blessed Day!

A REAL taste of "Over There"....

So as not to get folks in trouble, I won't name names. I'll simply say that my sister has a loved one in Iraq, fighting in the 172nd Stryker Brigade, and this site is dedicated to those men & women, and if you care to go read will give the average american a REAL look at what it's like "Over There" for these troops. http://www.bringhome172nd.org/stryker/

There are commentaries written anonymously by 172nd soldiers stationed in Baghdad, there are commentaries written semi-anonymously by family members who've had honest conversations with our troops about what's going on "Over There". This isn't a song. This is a reality. And our men & women of the 172nd Stryker Brigade are being treated abominably by not only the Iraqi's, but by the American Goverment, and even by fellow soldiers from other brigades & units. It's rediculous, and the truth needs to be brought to light.

Needless to say, I won't respond to negative comments, because I really don't give a rat's-ass about your opinion. (Hey, it's my blog, I can say what I want.) I'm simply posting information for the enlightenment/info of those who care.

Have a Blessed Day!

Banned Books Week Is Coming Up

Here's a poster to support reading banned books. http://www.abffe.com/1stAmendPosters.pdf Along with reading a banned book (or a book that others have attempted to ban) maybe you could hang a copy of this in a house window, or in your cubicle at work, or in the staff lounge..... Whatever you decide, let's show the world that we appreciate the freedom to read what we wish, that we will not let our freedoms be stomped on.

More info here: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm

Just some personal favorites that have been questioned/banned in the past (all can be found at http://www.amazon.com :

*Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
*Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
*The Handmaiden's Tale by Margaret Atwood
*Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
*The Giver by Lois Lowry
*Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel
*A Day No Pigs would Die by Robert Newton Peck
*The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
*Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
*Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
*What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
*Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
*A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
*The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
*Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
*Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
*Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
*How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
*The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
*The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
*In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
*The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (ok, so I didn't enjoy this one, for my own reasons, but I DID read it)
*The Witches by Roald Dahl (also didn't care for this one, but also read it)
*Lord of the Flies by William Golding (another that I've read but didn't particularly enjoy)
*How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (just the thought of eatting worms... *gag*)
*Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (read, but found very sad)

Now, All the books (I believe) can be found on this list: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm Along with MANY more. I encourage EVERYBODY to pick at least one book from the list, and get reading. I have only listed the books, above, that I have myself read, but I'm sure there are loads more fantastic books on that 100-most-frequently challenged list. I need to get ahold of the Aldous Huxley "Brave New World" and any of Toni Morrison's books, and read them. I KNOW they're fantastic, I just haven't gotten around to reading them myself.

So, that is my challenge to anybody who reads this: Do SOMETHING to promote the reading of banned books. Print out that poster & hang it in your living-room window. Read a banned book. Encourage a child you know to read a banned book. Print off a list of banned books & leave it for others to find. Spark the curiousity of somebody else, about a banned book you've read & enjoyed.

Have a Blessed Day.

So.... What have YOU done this weekend?

Well, along with the usual dishes & laundry, making dinner and accidentally breaking the curtain rod in my kitchen window (I'll get to that), I've done quite a bit so far, in my first two days off, of this long weekend.

Yesterday I made cornbread (a piece of which is pictured above), hung my daughter's window-quilt (NO, I did not make this myself, purchased it from Neiman Marcus -I think- 5 or 6 years ago) for the winter, and varnished the hex-sign to hang on the front of my house. Dad brought me that from Lancaster Co. PA a few years back, and it's been gathering dust in my closet before now. DH always insisted he wanted to get the house repainted before I hung it. I'm sick & tired of waiting and finally figured that he was just saying that so that I didn't go and hang this up. Oh freaking well. A couple of small dribbles from the varnish, but otherwise it looks good. And all that is not even including taking Tay to hockey practice, playing with the dogs, starting a box of canned goods (and other essentials) for an emergency, washing windows, finished reading _Alas_Babylon_ (good book, btw), and getting a start on my Samhain exchange gift.

Today I put out most of my autumn decorations, with the exception of a couple that are specifically Samhain/Halloween related. In trying to drape the second of two faux autumn leaf garlands (the first was successfully pinned to my eyelet curtains in my living-room, also pcitured above) atop my kitchen window valance, the bench I was standing on slipped out from under me, dropping me on the sink (not too hard, though I did wind up with my elbow in the dishes soaking in the sink), and I instinctively grabbed for something to keep me from falling, irreperably (sp?) bending the curtian rod. I'd forgotten that DH put some of those felt pads on the bottom of the bench legs, so that it would slide in and out from the table-side more easily. I should have grabbed a couple of rubber gloves from under the sink, and set the bench on them while I climbed. I didn't think about that until AFTER the curtain rod was down. *rolling eyes* I finally just used safety pins over the rod-hooks to hold the garland (instead of simply draping it over , but now I've got to find a new rod for that valance. As it was, I decided the valance could stand a run in the washer with the rest of the laundry I was doing. *sigh* So, now DH will come back from hunting (hopefully with caribou meat for the next year) to find that not only have I gotten a lot done around the house (and still more to do), but to find that I've managed, as usual, to break something as well. *wink*

Last but not least, I had two great reports for Tay on Friday when I went to pick her up from School. Well, actually, one was from her day-care teacher. The woman said Tay is a good girl, very mature & well-spoken. Like conversing with an adult, and she's well behaved. KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER!!!!! The second was Tay's teacher saying that Tay has been paying attention in class, seems to be doing well with her class work and is understanding most of what is taught, and she's keeping up well with the rest of the class in reading. Just.... WOW!!!!!! Now don't get me wrong, I know Tay's a smart girl, I've always told her so, but she's always had such a hard time keeping up in class (gets distracted easily, for one thing), and she's very physical and frequently forgets that there are physical boundaries that must be recognised between herself and others. So, I've frequently listened to Day-care & School teachers expounding on Tay's bad behavior, but have rarely heard anything glowing about Tay, much less twice in one day. (Though my favorite compliment was last year's teacher commenting on what a born actress Tay is, that she makes a GREAT king -the play she was in- and that she's perfectly imperious!!! Also said she picked up on her lines immediately, and adlibbed quite admirably, to enhance the script.) I must say that I was proud of my little girl. She's growing up, and hopefully finally maturing to acceptable levels of behavior for her age. Not to mention keeping up with her reading!!!!! YEAH!!!!! Now, she still doesn't LOVE to read, but at least she IS reading and is doing well enough that the teacher isn't concerned yet. I'm wondering if she'll still be going to her reading tutor, or not, but we'll find out in the next couple of weeks as the semester really gets going.

Ah well, always must have a little bad with the good (the curtain rod, among all the other things I've accomplished this weekend). So.... You can see _I_ have been busy, what have YOU done this weekend? This coming week will be a short one for me, just Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, before I have Friday & Saturday off again, and then I start into my winter schedual of working Sunday through Thursday. YEAH!!!!!

Have a Blessed Day!

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!

Idiots.....

Gotta love the idiots in this world, and the jerks. Definitely the jerks. This was going to be only about the guy across the street who woke me up at 7 am this morning, running his big old deisel truck for a good 15 minutes or so (probably more, but after 15 minutes I woke up enough to shut my window). The temp did not get below 50 deg. F. last night, and here this guy is at 7 am this morning, wasting fuel by letting his big old, company vehical, deisel truck run for what felt like forever. Can you say FUEL WASTAGE?!?!?! I mean, I know it's a company vehical and HE doesn't have to pay for the fuel, but for crying out loud, the rest of us have to lay there listening to the thing run, or shut our windows and try to sleep in a sweltering room. Then again, he doesn't care about that, either.... They keep their windows shut and turn on the air conditioner in their house. The only time I have EVER run my air conditioner (except for a yearly 10 minute check to be sure it works), is one day this summer when the smoke was so thick it was making us choke. Tay's got asthma, and Puck looked miserable when I went to check on him first thing, so I brought him inside, closed all the windows, turned on the air conditioner (it was about 75 deg. outside, which is HOT for those of us in the Fairbanks area), and let the air purifier in the living room clear out the house for the 2+ hours till we had to leave for work & daycare. That is the ONLY time I've used my air conditioner for it's intended purpose. It uses too much electricity/fuel to be using it otherwise.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, the guy across the street is actually a pretty nice guy, but he evidently has NO clue, or doesn't give a rat's ass, about how his fuel usage affects the rest of us. Not just on an auditory level, but on an environmental level as well. Even my husband, who normally just gripes that he doesn't have a co. vehical that he can use, instead of paying for his own fuel, was saying that he couldn't believe neighbour-guy could be so stupid as to be running that thing in this temp.

Anyway, onto my other gripe for the day. My baby-sister's fiancee was due back from "over there" in 6 or 7 days. They were going to get married, and he was going to move her bragart, whiny self, and her daughter with him out to Michigan this winter. They were evidently going to arrive out there to promptly take over the family business, build my sis her Dream House, fill it with all brand new furniture so that she wouldn't have to suffer used furniture like the rest of us pathetic folks, and enroll my niece in ONLY the best of the best of Michigonian pre-schools where my niece's obvious genious would smoke that of her class-mates. *rolling eyes* Sorry, I've only had to suffer my sister's diva-like ideas and opinions every Sunday for the last couple of years. And, love her like I do, my niece is turning into as much of a spoiled, snotty, diva as my sister is. It REALLY is intolerable in a 4 year old. I'm sorry, Sis, it's NOT cute when your daughter first refuses to give her aunt a kiss, then cries when I decide that's fine and have to head home, only to be told that I MUST wait for the little diva to deign to give me a kiss. I don't need a kiss that bad. It's NOT funny when she sits there trying to color on Tay's pictures. It's NOT hilarious when she decides to ride her tricycle on Dad's new laminate floor. And I'm NOT horribly mean simply because I step in and force her to stop being a destructive brat. She's cute, but she's a brat! Get a clue and discipline her!!!

Ok.... So, this isn't ACTUALLY to my sis, as I doubt (hope!) she'll never read this. Instead.... It's about how my Sis's fiancee won't be back in 7 days to marry her and carry her off to her "Custom Built Dream Home in Michigan". Instead, it's about the fact that the military decided, after telling everybody for weeks that his Brigade would be home on Aug. 2nd or 3rd, that they want to keep these guys over there for another 2 months, definitely. Possibly up to 4 more months. Nevermind the fact that this means my sis WON'T be getting married and moving quite as soon as I'd hoped, it also means that my Potential-Future-Bro-in-Law, and MANY, MANY MORE husbands/fathers/sons/fiancees/wives/daughters/mothers face at least 2 more, and up to 4 more months of physical endangerment in a part of the world that is increasingly anti-American. Not that they don't have some reasons for their anti-american sentiment. There have definitely been things that have been done wrong. But, for those who are just over there doing their jobs, who'd wanted to come back to their fiancees, to their sons and wives (the father of one of my daughter's teammates was due back at the same time as my sis's fiancee), to their fathers & mothers..... These folks just want to come home. That's all my sis's fiancee can talk about, is coming home to his girls, and getting out, and going home to HIS family and helping out with the family biz. So many of them signed up for a typical 4 year tour, and are being stretched to 5, 6, 7 years, or more. So many of them signed up to defend their country, and are being sent off under that assumption, while here at home we're losing rights every day, while our troops are losing their lives in another country who doesn't seem to care about those rights that much, either. I'm sure there are are citizens "over there" who want what they see in America, but want it in their own country. I'm sorry. That's not something OUR soldiers really can do much about. It's not a foreign fighting force coming in and giving it to you, that is going to make your country like America. It's a mindset. It's a being willing to die for YOUR rights, being willing to fight for YOUR rights. The American Revolution didn't happen because we waited around for France to come help us out. We got out there and we kicked ass ourselves. We WERE THE CHANGE WE WANTED TO SEE!

And honestly, it's that lack of mindset that's causing so many Americans to lose OUR OWN rights here at home. Women's rights, voting rights, privacy rights, parenting rights, religious rights...... They're all being infringed upon EVERY DARN DAY, here in America. And, as OUR troops are over there trying to give THOSE citizens rights, we're losing the same rights here at home at an astonishing rate. Because Americans don't give a RAT'S ASS! Most Americans seem to sit back and say "well, it doesn't hurt ME" so why should I care?!?! Or, others, like my Dad, say "GOOD, I'm GLAD that right is being revoked because THAT kind of person doesn't deserve rights anyway, or at least not ALL rights." My husband is one of the first kind. It doesn't phase my husband in the least that if I were to get accidentally pregnant, before long I won't have the option to choose whether or not to keep that child. It'd be forced upon me because I'm "just a woman" and I don't have the right to control my own body and make my own decisions. My husband is a homophobe who doesn't believe that everybody has the right to love who they wish. He likes seeing that right denied those citizens. And, Ironically, when I pointed out that it's a quick step from denying gay citizens of the right to love each other, to the RR denying hetero citizens the right to view legal (ie: not child) porn...... DH made the comment "that's fine, if they outlaw it, I'll just stop looking". It's not about "just stop looking" its about "if you WANT to look, you shouldn't have to worry about somebody else's moral compass". Well, except MINE, maybe, but he married me, after all. But, there's that mindset again of "what do I care, they're not after me." Pretty soon it becomes "well, it's just this one little 'right' and it wasn't even that important to me." GRRRRRRRRRR Some of us damn well appreciate ALL our rights, and don't want to see ANY of them infringed upon, esp. by those we call PUBLIC servants!!!!

Oh, and FYI, for ALL Alaskans. Sen. Murkowski may claim to be pro-choice, but her vote in the recent bill proposed by Sen. Frist was FOR the injunction against non-guardian help of minors seeking abortions. IE: SHE helped pass a bill to say that if any adult (other than a legal guardian) helps a minor seek an abortion, they can and will be prosecuted to the full of the law. That means ALL adults, even grandparents, older siblings, school councelors, Dr's, etc. That's NOT pro-choice. And FWIW, Sen. Stevens made the same vote. They are BOTH anti-choice, when it really comes down to it. Don't be fooled.

Anyway, I've been on here ranting for nearly an hour now. I've gotta get off and get something to eat before I head to work.

Have a Blessed Day!

My Little-Miss-Blue-Eyes got a haircut!

Just had to share. She's got her usual forced smile.... Since she hit 2 I've been unable to get a decent, posed picture of her without this forced, fake smile of hers..... Even her school pictures look forced. But gosh does that haircut look cute. I had a similar cut as a child, and didn't look anywhere near as good with it as my kiddo does. As a matter of fact, I went to a Christian school, and I got called "Carl" quite frequently, while sporting this style. The real irony is that I had a classmate named Carl who's parents had failed to get his hair cut in quite a while, and he sported a longer style and the name "Carla" at the same time I was sporting a short hair cut and the moniker "Carl". We were a rather unhappy pair, that semester.

Anyway, the hubby got tired of her stopping @ practice every 10 minutes and having to have him brush her hair out of her face, then putting her hockey helmet back on, so that she could see to play. One can only play hockey well when one can see well!!!!! ;) She is, at this point, most nervous over what her best friend will think. *wry smile* I guess she has hit that age where it doesn't matter if Mom & Dad like it, if your friends think you look like a doof.

We also had an adolescent moment over the weekend where it was decided that it's time for her to start wearing deodorant. She was sitting on the couch with her arms over her head, and the smell coming off those armpits was definitely not a smell one generally wants to be very close to. But, thankfully, that is the ONLY adolescent mile-stone Tay has reached quite yet. At not-quite-nine years old..... I'm not quite ready for her to BE adolescent yet. LOL She's still my baby (and always will be) and I get worried when I see that a lot of her friends are already into make-up and boys at 9 and 10 years old. Even 18 years ago when I was her age, a girl was still more worried about barbies and baby-dolls at that age, than make-up and boys. But it certainly doesn't help when the popular tv shows for girls of her age, are about girls 5 and 6 years older than she is: Lizzie McGuire and That's So Raven.... To name just 2. Please!!!!! I'm about ready to just turn off the TV and tell her she's not allowed to watch any thing. All the shows, any more, are only about what looks good, who looks good, and how to look good. (And I DID sit down and watch a couple of episodes each of "That's So Raven", "Lizzie McGuire", "Suite Life of Zach & Cody", and "Hannah Montana", and I didn't find anything redeaming about them. Lizzie McGuire was about the best, but even that show left a lot to be desired.) I want my daughter to have a brain, to be a caring individual, and to not give a rat's butt if her best friend doesn't look like a fashion plate 24/7. But that's not what's popular, of course, and it seems that TV has experienced a set back where displaying girls with brains is concerned. As I said, I'm about ready to just turn it off or tell her she's only allowed to watch PBS.

Well.... Off to work. Have a Blessed Day!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy.....

Hope everybody had a great 4th!!!! Actually spent some non-painful time around my SIL. Since she had her 2 boys, she's spent so much of the time being freakishly mean and angry at the world, and spends a lot of the time taking that anger out on Tay and myself. It got to the point where I'd send Tay outside whenever SIL was around (or drag her inside with me if SIL was outside) the inlaws at the same time we were, and I'd burry my nose in a book and ignore her. Well, anyway, evidently their father (SIL's on-again, off-again currently-ex) took them up to his parents cabin for the weekend, giving the SIL some time alone, and it really seemed to help. She's still as self centered as ever, but in a much more fun way..... Like she was before she had her kids. She and Tay spent a couple of hours trying to one-up each other with standing on their heads, walking on their hands, and trying to do cartwheels. And SIL and MIL were joking around and making me laugh (which still kinda hurts). It's amazing to realize that when she's not letting life stress her out severely, or high as a kite on crack, she can still manage to be a fairly decent person to be around. Unfortunately, past experience has taught me not to expect it to last, and to be wary that the next time we see her she'll probably be rude, and hurtful, acting like an oversize toddler who's not getting her way. Ah, well.... It's nice while it lasts. And it does help me see some good in her, to remember for the dry spells in between.

Anyway, got to go back to work, finally, on Wed. Then Thursday was cut short due to the power being out thanks to a major thunder & lightning storm the night before blowing the transformer that provides the electricity for the library. I only got 3 of my regular 6 hours in on Thursday. And Friday is only a 4 hour day for me, anyway. So, it was a nice, short week in which to start back to work. Tomorrow (Monday) I'll start back to my regular schedual. I've got 2 percaset saved for Monday and Tuesday nights if I need them. *grin*

Other than that it's been the usual busyness. I've got a scarf finished that I need to take a picture of. It's one I started on thick bamboo knitting needles, but only got a bit done before I got bored with it. Finally took it apart and restarted it on my Knifty Knitter. Took me all of 2 days, that way. Anyway, whenever I get around to replacing the batteries in my camera (I know, should be easily done, but I don't know where DH stashed the spare batteries), I'll get a pic. of it. Tay looked at it and asked how many scarves I need. LOL I told her that this is only my..... I don't know, 7th or 8th scarf. But then, not all of my scarves are knitted (or crocheted), some of them are fabric, a few of them are purely for appearances, and all but 3 are purchased. I figure that's not bad. And scarves are are so easy to accessorize with, esp. in winter when one needs something around one's neck to keep warm with anyway.

Well, gotta go change before heading up to Tay's hockey practice. I did finally get myself a seat cushion crocheted, as well. Those bleachers are metal and D*MN cold!!!!!! And hard. They keep the building set at about 40 degrees, year 'round. I don't like the feel of cold, hard bleachers under my fat, white butt, while I sit and watch my child skate. *wink*

Have a blessed day!

Some pictures to show off.....

Well, just thought I'd show off a couple of pictures. The first is Tay in her goalie gear at practice last Sunday. She now owns all the necessary pads, proper skates & helmet, etc to play goalie. And she's good! Would you believe she's not even 9 yet?!?!?! Look at the size of that kid!!!!! LOL

Anyway, the second pic is not so great (WHY won't my blog show my improved pics?!?!? I trim them and adjust the color, and my blog keeps showing the origional versions), but it's a pic of the flowers I was sent/brought while I was in hospital this past wekk. The 3 yellow roses are from the inlaws. The big bouquet with the pink rose & balloon in the back is from my mom. The single carnation & babies breath is from DH & DD. The white basket of carnations & orchids is from my Sis, her fiance & my niece. And the miniature roses in the front (very hard to see, but you can kinda make it out there on the left) is from my dad. Hoping to have DH take those to Hawk's Farm & Garden and get them repotted for me, so I can keep them permanantly in my living room. And find out how to take care of them. Because I haven't a clue. LOL The yellow pot of pansies toward the back left of the pic is actually a pot of fakes I put together for myself last spring when I was working at Ben Franklin Crafts. LOL I love all my pretty flowers, but honestly I do prefer fakes because they NEVER fade & die. A little dusting, and the fakes always look spiffy & and in full bloom. Ah, well.

So, there you are. Something not so depressing as yesterday's post.

Have a Blessed Day!

Been a very, very interesting week....

Well, surgery on Tuesday morning didn't go QUITE as expected. I was going to go in for a standard tubal ligation done laparoscopically (one small incision through my belly button, another small one lower down on my abdomen, neither larger than a 1/2 inch). I came out having been cut open as if for a c-section, but instead of taking a baby out of me, the Dr. removed a cyst the size of a cantelope from one of my ovaries, and the ovary itself. Rather than going home Tuesday afternoon, I spent Tuesday night and Wednesday till 5 pm in hospital. Rather than baking bread yesterday and taking my daughter to the library today (was going to walk over), I'm sitting around in my pajamas, still incredibly sore, taking forever to even get up from a sitting position, sleeping horribly because I must sleep on my back and wake up twice a night for pain meds. My larger incision site appears some what angry-red and a bit bloody today, which worries me, though the small one in my belly-button is healing nicely. I don't want to have to go back to the dr. to have my larger site looked over again. That would suck. And my belly is so badly bruised from the actual surgery that it hurts to even clean or dry my incision. *sigh* Of course, all these details are SOOOOO much more than anybody wanted to hear, I'm sure. Oh freaking well. You don't want to hear the details (and I am leaving out SOOOOO much, really) then don't read my blog!

Other than my physical details, it's been windy as hell the last couple of days, and today it's rather smoky, as well. So, I'm cooped up in the house, unable to move comfortably, certainly unable to drive anywhere (the muscles that were cut are the same that would be used for pressing the brakes & gas pedals in my car, besides the fact that I'm on narcotics for pain-relief), and it's hot in here, and I'm wearing my pajamas for like the third day in a row. *sigh* Tay and one of her friends are in the livingroom playing a stock-car video game on DH's x-box, so I can't even go veg and watch a movie right now. I don't really feel like crocheting, either. And no matter where I'm sitting, or how, I just can't seem to get comfortable. The computer chair here in the computer room is the MOST comfortable chair in the house (it won't recline so much that it hurts my stomach to sit up, and has excellent back support), but it's still got a fairly hard (not nicely padded) seat. So it gets hard on the bum after a couple of hours.

And no, there was no indication at all that I had this massive cyst inside me until the Dr. had me opened up on the operating table. He said it's a good thing he removed it now, though, as I probably would have been back in a year or so for an emergency removal if it had been left in. Rupturing was mentioned. I'm glad he took it out now, but it just PISSES ME OFF that I even developed this damn thing in the first place. That this had to happen and go and screw up my plans and my life. I'm now taking at least 2 weeks off work, instead of the 1 week origionally planned. Because muscles were cut (though, in such a way that they will be able to knit themselves back together with time), it's going to take a lot longer to recover than if I'd just had the 2 small button-hole incisions that had been origionally schedualed. I HATE being an invalid. I HATE being unable to do for myself. My husband had been great about taking over chores around the house (like there's any choice in the matter, really) and about helping me physically ("spotting" me as I climb in and out of the shower, helping clean my incision site, helping me out of bed if I'm having a hard time), but I still hate needing the help. I'm realizing that I'm NOT a good patient. I don't like needing to be helped. I'm only 27 and I darn well should be able to do things like get in and out of bed, dishes and laundry, and climb in and out of the shower all by myself, thank you VERY much!!!!

Oh, and the nasty looks I got at the grocery store the other night after being released from hospital. We'd stopped to pick up my pain meds (percaset & Ibuprofrin 800 mg), and some easily digestable foods for me (yogurt, light pasta & chicken tv dinners, grapes & applesauce). Well, knowing that I wouldn't be able to walk around the grocery store for the whole time, even though I WAS on 2 percaset & the ibuprofrin, I took the only motorized cart that was available to use (the other had been out of order for 2 days already at that point, and the clerks didn't know WHEN it would be back in commission). Here I was, drugged nicely, trying hard NOT to kill anybody with my little motorized cart, getting nasty glares from all the other healthy people because I was apparently a perfectly fit (at least by all appearances while I was sitting) young-ish woman, driving horribly, and hogging a motorized cart that is only for old people with canes, evidently. The few people that saw me stand and stagger immediately looked contrite; but most people didn't see me stand and stagger, holding my belly, and glared at me as DH walked from one end of the store to the other and back (dropped off the prescriptions at the pharmacy, made our way up and down the necessary aisles to the produce section, paid for our groceries then went back for the meds), along side me. Maybe a wheel-chair would have been a better choice. At least a wheelchair must come from the Dr's office, and I could have sat there holding my belly and groaning, instead of pathetically operating the cart in a stop&go manner all over the store.

Anyway, so that's been my kicker of a week. I see the Dr. again on Monday (providing I don't have to go see him this evening or tomorrow about a bleeding, possibly infected, incision site) for my follow-up, but it will still be at least 1 more week after that before I'm allowed to go back to work. Pray I don't get so annoyed with my situation that I start swearing uncontrolably at strangers and passing dogs. Like I need anymore strangers glaring at me because I look like an incredibly lazy housewife.... Add swearing at said strangers to the list, and I'd probably get CPS called on me for being such a reprobate. *wry smile*

Have a Blessed Day.

A bit of craftiness from this past week....

Well, I certainly didn't get MUCH made done this week, but here's the one bit of craftiness I did get done. The oldest daughter of the woman who babysits MY daughter turned 8 on Sunday, last. So I figured I'd better get a little gift together for her. I keep a few girly gifts stashed in my closet for unexpected party-gift necessities. So, I tossed in 2 little "toy-doll" craft kits, a cloth hankie, a tube of lip-gloss, and made a little draw-string purse to put it all in. Told the girl it's so that she's got something to take her necessesities to church on Sundays (big into church, that family). But a girl's gotta have a way to carry the basics, nonetheless.

Didn't get any baking done this weekend. I actually started to get the ingredients for Challah out, then realized that I've got SO many bread-products in the house at this point, I'd be better off holding off for a few more days, and finishing up what we already have in the house. Otherwise I'll lose something to moldiness, and I don't like it when that happens. So, I'm off from Tuesday through Sunday of this next week for my surgery anyway, hopefully I'll get some Challah made Thursday or Friday, since the only other thing I'm going to have going on with any certainty is Tay's baseball-game on Thursday night (if I'm feeling up to it). But that leaves me the rest of the week to bum around the house and be a total hermit if I'd like. *grin* I like!!!

Anyway, this is our "church week" with my Dad, so I'd better get off and go get dressed and ready to go. *rolling eyes* For those who don't know, my Dad totally believes I should be in church every Sunday morning, along with my daughter, and should be sending her to Awanas (kinda a kid's one-evening-a-week bible camp, thing) every Wednesday. Most of the year I'm able to point out how busy we are (I work on Sundays during the winter; Tay's often got hockey-practice on Sunday mornings during the winter) to stop his nagging. Well, since my summer hours include me having Sundays off (we close on Sundays from Memorial through Labor days), I don't have much excuse. Tay, as well, has decided that she LIKES going to church with my MIL (who's church I totally can't stand, so superficial and banal), so I've been able to tell my Dad that for the summer, Tay will go with MIL every other week, while I wait for her to come home so we can meet up at Dad's for lunch. On the alternating weeks, Tay and I will come to his church so that we're "in church" where he thinks we belong, then over to Dad's for lunch. Keeps him from nagging at all. Anyway, as I said, this is our week to go to church with my dad.

Have a Blessed week. Hopefully I'll be back on Thursday or so with an update as to how surgery went.

Crafting done, but not by me....

Nope, this crafting was done by DH. (And why the heck isn't my blog showing the cropped & modified picture?!?!?!) That shelf, to be precise. I'd picked it up at Michael's Crafts over a year ago, to be painted white and hung in Tay's room, to hold her in-season jackets & caps, and to put some of her knickknacks on top of. (Instead of where they were crowded on the top shelf of her bookshelf.) Anyway, Tay didn't want white, or yellow, as the rest of her room is. She wanted blue. Brilliant, bright blue. And DH agreed with her. And that's what he's spent the last week & a half painting it. And I must admit, it didn't turn out half bad. I actually kinda like the blue. And it holds her baseball caps, and her shawl so nicely.

As for me, I haven't done any crafting at all this week. I don't know where the time goes, but it seems I don't have any time to do much of anything. I suppose it could be 3 nights of baseball (2 games and a practice) every week, after work. And my one night a week I work till 9:15. And Sunday's aren't a restful day (as I mentioned last week). So that leaves my half-work-day on Friday afternoons, and Saturdays. Nope, not a lot of time for crafting, anymore.

Today, my plans are to get off here soon (it's already 1:55 pm), get a couple of loaves of Amish Friendship Bread made (not sure of the flavor choice, yet), and veg & watch TV and maybe read a bit, and crochet a bit. I've got an afghan for a friend I really need to get busting on. I've had it in the works for like 8 months now. 'Bout time to actually get a sh*tload more done on it. I've got like 1/5 of it complete. Need to move past that. And I've got another project for a friend that I'd started, but never gotten very far on. It's a filet crochet owl wall-hanging. It's like 1/10th done. And I've got a sunny yellow shawl I started knitting for my self a couple of years ago that is about 1/2 done. And my "doily" jacket that is about 1/3 done. And, and, and, and...... LOL Need to stop with all the other projects, and just crochet, and knit, and crochet some more.

I saw the anaesthesiology coordinator on Wed. to discuss my wishes for anaesthetic for my surgery. I made it clear that I have nasty panic attacks related to a fear of needles, and horrid, roll-around veins (easy to find in the palpating, but roll away from the needles). Combined, they make IV's and blood-tests very hard on me. Physically & mentally. (It has never taken less than 2 tries to get a line (or a draw) on me. It took 6 (yes, that is SIX) tries to get a line on me when I was in labor with Tay. I could have gone through labor itself 3 or 4 more times, for the horridness of getting that line in.) I told the coordinator that I do best when I'm allowed 10 to 15 minutes of nitrous oxide gas before an iv is attempted. Honestly, after about 10 minutes of the laughing gas, they could probably cut off my hand as a souvineer for all I care. LOL Unfortunately, the coordinator said that while she will make my wishes & needs known to the nursing staff & anaesthesiologist on duty the day of my surgery, she can't guarantee that there won't be any arguement with me. I told her I'm not afraid of arguement, I won that arguement last time I had surgery. I just want to save time & head-ache, if possible. I figure that the odds are better in my favor if I've already discussed my needs with the coordinator before hand, that the nurses and aneasthesiologist will be more likely to accomidate me without a waste of time & breath on my part (or the Dr's part, as it'll push back the surgery time, for as long as it takes for me to win my arguement). So, we'll see. I've 10 days now before I have surgery. Then I have a blissful 4 days off work, six days of telling the rest of the world (read: DH, DD, anybody else who wants me to do stuff for them) they can F-off and let me relax, then back to work & life hopefully refreshed, and definitely unable to ever get pregnant again. *grin* Loving the thought.

Well, time to get off and make that bread.

Have a Blessed day.

Busy, busy, busy

So, those are the same windows from last week, but they now have NICE new, white eyelet curtains. I found the fabric on Friday, at Joann's for 4.99 a yard. Bought 4 yards. Sewed them up yesterday. But, along with sewing curtains yesterday, I made a big old breakfast, only to have DH run out of the house without eatting. He went to my dad's and brought back an outside kennel for our outside dog. My dad's dog doesn't need it (he's well behaved and old enough to know better) so Dad gave it to us. Anyway, DH got back from picking that up and set it up, and came in the house to find me sewing and DD wanting to play on the computer, but not being able because we can't seem to get a flash player to upload. I think DH inadvertently erased the driver when he was trying to get rid of viruses. I think our computer needs a seriously good debugging. It's 5 years old now, and I know we've got a couple of trojans hiding out, but DH and I don't know how to get rid of them. So, a very good debugging is certainly in order. And we can't afford a new computer anyway, so debugging it'll have to be. Well, anyway, after realizing that he wouldn't be able to fix the computer himself (I'm going to ask one of the computer guys @ work if they do any freelance, or can recommend somebody), and helping me get my curtains hung, DH decided that we'd better run into town. He'd finally decided we needed a new computer chair, when he saw that the only thing holding the back to the seat was the fabric of the chair. The back was broken to the point that it was in a permanant reclining position. NOT comfortable. So, off to OfficeMax. Then over to Fred Meyer's to pick up some other necessaries: a new toilet seat for DD's bathroom; a couple of hooks to put alongside the livingroom window so I can pull the curtains back; some cabinet-hanging supplies (I've got a curio cabinet that I want hung above my dresser, in my room, so I can get some of my knick-knacks off my bookshelves); and some advil. DH thinks I live on advil. I don't, but working around lots of kids, like I do at the library, means I get a fair share of headaches. So, I need advil. And the bigger the bottle, the better. Anyway, it was 8 pm by the time we got home. I still wound up having to hem a shirt of Scott's (actually, a part of the arm seam had been missed in production, and I needed to close the hole so he could wear it to work). Threw some chimichangas & taquitos in the oven for Tay and I, and started pulling seams on a skirt of mine (I need to take in the waist, a bit, and I'm not happy with the bottom hem, so I'm redoing it). DH put together our new computer chair, we tried to hang my curio cabinet (but found out we need new brackets on the back of the cabinet so that it fits the stud-spacing on the walls in our room), and finally called it quits about 10:30. Those pictures above, were taken at 11 pm. Gotta love Alaskan summers. Light all night. But, that would explain why I'm not sleeping as much as I need to. It's so light out that I don't feel like I can quit (reading, sewing, crocheting, watching TV, websurfing) until I'm literally about to drop.

Jenny, our samoyed-mix mutt, got herself REALLY high (top notch, in fact) on my Shit-list on Friday night. I had (yes, HAD) 4 stuffed animals on the corner of my bed. 4 special stuffed animals. 3 bunnies, and a kitten. I got home Friday after work to drop off my work things, then head out to play bunco, and I found that Jenny had taken 2 of my stuffed animals (my kitten, and a bunny Tay gave me a couple of years ago) into the livingroom for mauling. The kitten did not survive. The bunny hadn't yet suffered the indignities of that dog's mouth, but was saved in the knick of time, it seems. Another bunny (easter gift from my mom 5 years ago; the woman knows I STILL love my easter bunnies) had died a sad death, on my bed, before Jenny removed herself from the scene of the initial assault for a much slower death for the other 2 stuffed animals. So, only 2 were harmed, a third was threatened, and my bed was made a mess of. I don't know WHAT got into her head, as she's got plenty of things of her own to gnaw on (rawhide & bones, and a rubber squeeky bone, not stuffed animals). But, she spent Friday night, and most of Saturday getting glares and name-calling from me. NOT one of my favorite people at that point in time. I've since started talking to her again, but I did threaten that if she ever so much as LOOKS at another stuffed animal again, I'll knock her so hard she won't remember her name. And, she's back to being confined to her kennel while we're not home. I no longer feel horrible about stuffing her into that large dog-box for 6 hours. She had a week of freedom (if you'll remember, we only decided that she was probably completely house-safe a week ago Saturday), and all she did was climb on the couch and maul innocent stuffed animals. I won't make that mistake again. At least not until she's so old that she can only gum things, and her hips are so disjointed that she can't climb on furniture. Then I suppose I can allow her to spend the day non-confined again. As you can tell, she's still not completely off my shit-list.

It's been a busy couple of weeks. My work schedual changed to my summer hours, so I'm now working Mondays through Fridays, instead of Sunday through Thursday. I actually prefer the Sun. - Thurs. schedual. Sundays, here at home, are so hectic, where as at work they're quiet & peaceful. When I'm not working on Sundays, Dad tends to nag me to go to church with him, constantly going on and on about how Tay and I NEED to be in church, how it's necessary for, in order to be good people or some-such. *rolling eyes* Yep, because hypocrisy & warmongering makes one a "good" person. Then, after church (or, at least after lunch over at Dad's house after he gets home from chuch) it's back home to get Tay dressed for hockey practice. Her summer practices are 45 minutes from home, at 6 pm. We've got to head out at 5 so that we can get there in plenty of time to get her geared up and skates on. 1 hour spent at the rink, then back out to NP. Hopefully just home for dinner, though I have a feeling FIL will want us to stop by. Then back to bed to start the week over again. It really, really makes me wonder..... WHEN THE HECK is DH going to go on a fishing trip!?!?!?! Two weekends in a row now, I'd planned a nice quiet day of staying at home doing nothing that required leaving the house, except to go check the mail, and 2 weekends in a row now, DH has kept me busy, running, running running. I WANT my freaking weekend!!!!!! I feel like I work all week, just to get 1 day off to run like crazy some more (Sundays don't qualify as a day off, seeing how busy I am, EVERY freaking Sunday). I sure as heck hope he doesn't expect me to be this freaking busy while I'm off for my surgery. 'Cause he can kiss my fat, white @$$ if that's his plan. I even got the curtains sewn already so I don't even have to do that while I've got my week off from work. (Oh, and just to explain why I feel this is unfair, DH gets to sit around till 4 pm today and watch his races -while Tay & I are at church, then we head over to my dad's for lunch- and not do anything more strenuous than page through the newspaper. I don't get that, at all, this weekend. I didn't get that, at all, last weekend. I probably won't get that, at all, next weekend, either.)

Had rather a downer day at work this past week. Our senior page had taken off for 3 weeks of vacation and headed down to visit her family in another part of the state. While they were down there for Memorial Day weekend, her youngest grandson went out for a day of airboating with his best friend's family. The best friend's dad & another airboater were both running the same river, heading towards each other in opposite directions, and took a curve at the same time, and collided. (Typical gear for air-boat drivers is a good sturdy pair of earphones, or ear plugs. They're noisy, so you've got to wear ear protection. Both drivers were, and couldn't hear the other airboat coming in the opposite direction.) The grandson of my coworker, and the best friend's dad were both killed, violently, in the accident. The grandson was only 9. My coworker is 75 and we all realize how hard this is going to hit her, as she was always bragging about those kids, and her family is her life. Just days before, here in town, we had a riverboat started taking on water, capsized and 2 people aboard were killed when they were trapped underneath the boat: a young woman, and her 2 year old daughter. All were wearing life preservers, but these 2 people were not able to make it out from underneath the boat, and drowned. It's so sad when we hear about accidents like this, that while a part of you wonders what kind of stupid behavior these people were engaging in, you also realize that they weren't taking part any extraordinarily stupid actions, that sometimes accidents are just accidents. But that doesn't stop the mourning for these young ones who have gone so early in their lives. As I said, rather a downer at work this week.

Well, my blog was funking up earlier today, so I didn't get to post this morning. So, I've already been to church, lunch at Dad's and now I'm home, for a little bit, before we head to hockey. I just have to add (this paragraph wasn't an origional part of my post), WE HAD SNOW today!!!! Nope, no pics. I didn't take my camera with me. Didn't expect I'd need to. The high for today's forcast was 50 deg. F, and the predicted low is 25 deg. F. Well, I didn't think that'd include SNOW. But, sure enough, while Dad's out back on his patio today grilling steaks & corn-on-the-cob, it's snowing. Big, white, fluffy flakes of snow. And it's cold as hell & windy!!!!! NOT fun!!!! And yes, I'm writing this on June 4th, 2006, for all you non-believers who may think that a part of an old blog-entry somehow made it onto today's blog-entry. Hello Alaska!!!! I guess it's fair to mention that in Tucson where my sister lives, they have temps of 104 deg. F today. She made the comment today that it'd be great to take OUR current temps, and average them with HER current temps. and both places would be just about perfect. Let's see (getting the calculator) that'd be 104 + 45 divided by 2 = 74.5 deg. F. Yep, that'd be just about perfect. I could handle a day of 74.5 deg. F. Very much so. Last Sunday our high got to 83, and today it's actually only gotten to 45. 40 degrees difference. How sucky is that?!?!?!

Now to get changed into something warm and go sit in a freezing cold ice rink, and watch my daughter skate for an hour. May have to walk laps around the rink, just to keep warm, today. LOL Have a blessed day!!

Clean Windows

What a differnce clean windows & no valances makes in a room. I tried to lighten the first picture up, so that the items around the window could be seen in something other than shadow, but for some reason my blog won't post modified pictures, so this is what I get to show off.

Anyway, so much for NOT doing anything but be lazy yesterday. DH got in a cleaning mood, which doesn't happen often, but he's scary when he gets going. Anyway, he first decided to vacuum, then decided to move the furniture & vacuum, then decided to move ALL the furniture, take down the window valances, clean the windows, and vacuum. Then he decided that the living room wasn't enough, the computer room had to be done as well. Suffice it to say, spring cleaning was done yesterday. Kinda late in the season, I know, but as Alaskans we've got to wait till any mud & moisture on the lawn is dried enough to move things outside while we clean. Kinda makes for an early-summer cleaning instead of a "spring cleaning". So, back to the story. I'd been bugging DH to let me replace those nasty, heavy, dark gray & brown & black valances (came with the house, it's a modular & the stylists for modular homes have SUCKY interior decorating sense) that we've had for the 6 years we've lived here. He finally agreed a couple of weeks ago to let me make some curtains, but even so he's been hemming & hawing about my doing it, insisting he didn't see what my issue was with those valances. (I'm sorry now I didn't get a picture of them before we tossed them). Well, as he was tipping them up yesterday to bare the windows, all sorts of dust & sand from living on a dirt road for 5 years came tumbling out, and as they were tucked up he realized HOW MUCH more sunlight comes into the room without those heavy, dark things. So he took them off and said how much better it looks without curtains at all. I told him, though, that my plan is to get white eyelet fabric and make just two long simple panels (won't even have to hem the selvedges, just the top & bottom) for those windows. They'll let in plenty of sunshine still, but will be a bit of privacy as well. He said he thinks that'll be ok, esp. when I commented on how I've always wanted a little cottage with white curtains blowing in the windows. *grin* So he said that on my next paycheck I should run over to Joann's, pick up the fabric, and while I'm out of work recovering from my surgery I can sew them up. LOL Like it'll take me that long..... Silly man. So 4 yards of white eyelet, and 2 decorative drawer pulls, it is (for the curtain tiebacks on the sides).

So, the living room got an overhaul. We got rid of the dog kennel. We're going to try letting Jenny stay loose in the house during the day while we're at work. I'm kinda nervous, but DH didn't throw the kennel away yet, just stashed it in the shed in the back yard for now. Just in case. Ohhhh, I love the look of those windows without the valances.

The computer room (which is still cluttered, so I'm not showing it off) got a going over, as well. DH cleared out all the clutter & went through our storage chest (big rubbermade "toychest" kind) and closet, and tossed & weeded. He was kinda wishing we could have a garage sale & get rid of some of it that way, but realized that we don't have enough junk to have a garage sale. I've been pretty ruthless about going through our items on a regular basis (about once a year) and weeding outgrown clothes, unused toys & books (ok, not so good on the books), knick-knacks that aren't appreciated, etc, and sending them to Salvation Army, or having him take them to the spot at the dump where good quality, but unwanted goods are left, free for the taking. And freecycle is also fabulous for that. Anyway, not enough junk for a garage sale. Not entirely a bad thing, I think. But I suggested that he go ahead and hang all his racing & sports memorabilia (huge Earnhardt Jr., Packers, and Red Wings fan) in the computer room. So it's mostly decorated in his stuff now, with an Earnhardt Jr. throw tacked up on the wall, surrounded by his collectors cars (matchbox style, but collectors editions of cars driven by his favorite nascar drivers), with his "Nascar Racing Fans Parking Only" and "Packer Fan Parking Only" signs hanging on another wall, a third contains a poster of several drivers that I found for him, the fourth has a pic. of Earnhardt Sr., a Jr. callander, and his Nascar Cup Series clock. So, he was rather thrilled that I suggested turning the computer room into his sports memorabilia room, and even suggested hanging shelves for his books on Brett Favre, Earnhardt & Nascar Drivers, and his larger size model cars. LOL Tay was even insisting that he REALLY must get some Red Wings memorabilia in here, as well. He doesn't have any Red Wings "art" to hang on the walls, yet. He finally gets his own sporty space, and he's much happier, now to let me do what I want with the rest of the house. He was actually talking about painting the kitchen and the master bedroom, as well as my living room curtains.

By the time we finally got things put back together, and had dinner last night, it was about 10 (well, we took a break at 8 for dinner, then had to finish cleaning up our "mess"). We sat down and watched "The Sandlot 2", which was pretty darn cute. I remember loving "The Sandlot" as a girl, and I think "The Sandlot 2" was almost as cute as the first one. Finally finished that and got Tay to bed at about 12:30 (it's memorial day weekend, she can afford to stay up a bit late), and Scott headed to the dump with all our trash & cast-offs. Then we headed to bed, finally. What a day.

On a side note, I never did get my sourdough fry bread made yesterday. But I must have some pretty kick-ass sourdough, because I added a half-cup flour & a half-cup water yesterday morning, and last night while watching the movie, it overflowed twice (I've only got about 2 cups of the stuff in a huge pickle jar), and a third time after I'd gone to bed. Fortunately, after cleaning up the first two messes, I wizened up and put a plate under the jar, and covered it with a clean towel. So all I've got to do now is clean off the sides of the jar, and put the plate in the dishwasher. LOL No more cleaning off the stove. I'm not going to get a chance to do anything with the sourdough today either. Gotta head over to my dad's for lunch here in a couple of minutes. The Tay's got her first summer hockey practice this evening. Then back to Dad's to drop her off, as she and Dad are going on the Alaska Railroad to Denali Park for a 2 day trip. They leave at 8 am tomorrow (Monday) morning, and they'll be back sometime Tuesday afternoon. This is the second year for Tay, and the third year for Dad, and they both really enjoy trains & the ride, and the chance to spend some time together. And Scott & I sure can't say we don't like the chance for an evening to ourselves, either. LOL So maybe tomorrow I'll get to do something with my sourdough. LOL

Have a Blessed Day!

Now that's a birthday party......

Went to a coworker/friend's Croning, last night. That was a fun birthday party. Much more than the birthday parties I remember from childhood. Mom used to try her darndest, I'll give her that. But I'm not a big party person. I hated the "who can pop their balloon first" game, and with the guests all being neighbourhood kids I didn't get along with anyway...... Naw, never been a party person. I'd rather have dinner out at a nice (incredible food) resteraunt with family (and maybe a couple of good friends), get dessert (creme brulee is my favorite birthday dessert, forget cake!), and a couple of well-thought-out gifts from loved ones.

Anyway, so my coworker turned 50, and threw herself a b-day party up at the Four Winds Foundation (a zen-ish, Alaskan-style, lodge-retreat & pagan-style "school"). A couple of her friends run the 4 Winds Foundation & teach classes there, and G. decided to have her party there. And there were only 8 of us, total. 20 people had been invited, only 8 showed up. We sat around for a bit playing the "postcard game": diving with postcards. We'd ask a question pertinent to our lives, and pick up to 4 post cards to clue us in to what the answer was to our question. My mom would appreciate that 1 of my questions was "What is in store for me this summer?" and the answering card was this perfect crescent deserted island that belongs to the Hawaiian islands. Evidently it's a fantastic snorkeling destination. Close to Molokai, I think. Anyway, when it became apparent that nobody else was coming, we had supper, which consisted of a kick-ass greens/avacado/purple cabbage/cucumber salad, tossed with fresh-squeezed lemon then "Green Goddess" dressing. Fabulous. And we had artisian rye bread spread with cheese. And home-made Ginger beer. Which I didn't like, to tell you the truth. Me and my unsophisticated tastes found it MUCH too malty. Very heavy. Maybe good in a meatloaf, but not something I could take more than a couple of sips of. UGH!!!!! LOL The birthday cake was a kick-butt carrot cake, made by another one of G's friends.

After dinner and some talk about movies & favorite strong actresses & hot actors, and some feminist talk & laughter about life & womanhood, we did the croning ceremony. We blessed a poppet that had been picked to represent G. Then we blessed her Red Hat. Then she had us pick out some pins (the sort with sassy feminist or pagan sayings) to decorate her hat with. And she opened the couple of gifts that folks had bought. Then I and 3 of my coworkers had to take off, because the other 3 had to work this morning. But, it wound up being a bunch of women, sitting around on the floor, and at the table eatting, laughing, sharing stories & just gabbing. What fun!!!!!! I want a birthday party like that!!!!! Without guys, without kids. DH and DD can take me out to dinner, but a birthday party with just a couple of close girlfriends sitting around & gabbing and having a blast & good food together. That's what a birthday party should be like.

And then today is kinda drizzly & sunny by turns. A great "stay at home" day. Not going garage-saling today. Might make up a batch of Navajo Fry bread (sourdough style) later. But just being lazy today. Of course Tay's going nuts because it's drizzly, and all her friends are busy for the weekend. Ah well.... That child needs to learn to kick back & chill. LOL

Have a Blessed Weekend!!!!!

Chit Chat

It's been a busy, busy week here so far. Started off the week by meeting the surgeon who's going to do my tubal next month, and schedualing the surgery itself. Tuesday Tay had a dental cleaning & found out she's got her first two cavities. But they're just tiny ones barely starting to show up, so the dentist said pain killer won't be necessary, and she's got this mini-sand-blaster that can be used instead of a drill, on minor cavities if they're caught early enough. And plastic fillings. Not those metal ones. So, that's all fairly good news, right?!?!

I was SOOOO happy to see Taylor Hicks win AI last night!!! Katharine McPhee is ok, but she really didn't seem to grow at all. Her last performances were really safe. I couldn't believe on Tuesday night how she redid two songs that had been real successes for her, without attempting to find a new song that might be as big as success. Taylor took risks all the way through, sometimes looked a bit of a dork, but always had fun and kicked @$$ on stage. Scott & I had picked Chris & Taylor as finalists right from the start, but after seeing Chris & Elliot get booted off when they did, I'm rather convinced that the show IS fixed, towards the end. Not necessarily as to EXACTLY who wins, but that the votes are scewed as to allow only certain types, for the year, into the finals. Once it appears, in the last 5 or 6 episodes, that a certain type is going to make it to the finals, the producers look back at the past finalists and say "oh, we just had a rocker in the top 2 last year, we can't allow Chris to get there this year". And as for Elliot & Taylor, I really think that it did come down to the two of them for votes, but I don't believe in any way that Katharine was a real threat. That the threat, in fact, was that Elliot & Taylor both have this bluesy, jazzy vibe, and 2 contestants so close in nature couldn't be allowed to compete in the finals. So, they booted the one with the slightly lower number of votes: Elliot. God, does that guy have an incredible attitude, or what!?!?!? Toward the end, Scott & I added Elliot to our list of who we'd like to see in the finals: Chris, Taylor, and Elliot. But back to the fixing of votes; I really think that had Kelly Pickler been "good enough" to make it to the top 5 or 6, she wouldn't have made it any further due to Carrie winning last year. Can't have 2 country crooners winning (or in the finals) 2 years in a row. I think that Mandisa and Paris were booted (or would have been booted, in Mandisa's case) for similar reasons, because Fantasia was winner 2 years ago. If voting was COMPLETELY left up to the public, and the same group of people are watching year after year, then we would have similar winners year after year, and the Producers of the show just don't seem to want that to happen. So ultimately they take a lot of the votes & scew them, to give the finals more "pop". Anyway, that's my theory. There's no other way to explain why Paris & Chris were booted, but Katharine wasn't.

The grass is finally growing nicely in the front yard, but unfortunately only in the hydroseeded area. We've got grass growing in the non-hydroseeded area, but not much at all. It's still mostly dead brown grass from last year, with clumps of green popping up here and there. The weather has been fantastic, though. Monday was drizzly, but Tuesday and yesterday were sunny and warm, and actually hit about 75. Had a patron in at work asking me the other day what the weather is like in the summer. This is his first summer here, and he didn't believe me when I said that YES, it does get up to the 90's during the summer. Not constantly (hopefully!), but 85 to 95 is certainly not UNheard of here, in the summer. Kinda odd when you consider that -45 to -55 is not UNheard of here in the winter, that's like a potential (somewhat likely) 140 degrees difference, from January to July. Wierd. Hopefully we'll get a bit of a drizzly night here again tonight or tomorrow (though the forcast doesn't look like it, really). That's the nicest way to spend summer, 2 or 3 days of nice, a day of drizzle, 2 or 3 days of nice, a great evening shower. And so on. Keeps the ground moist, without ruining nice summery days for the kids.

Not been doing much crafting as my shoulder's been bugging the heck out of me. I need to get Scott to give me another shoulder rub. I hadn't intended to crochet at all for a week after the last shoulder rub he gave me last Thursday, but one of my coworkers was attempting to start a crocheted square for a baby afghan, and what had started out as a 20 stitch-long square, was turning out to be a pretty perfect triangle. She didn't realize she was decreasing both beginning and ending of the row. So Tuesday I stuck around after work for a bit and helped her start her square over. It was kinda hard explaining to her, though. The way she holds her tension in her left hand, with her yarn woven in and out of all of her fingers, her general looseness of stitch, and the hard time she was having finding the correct angle to form the new stitch on her base chain....... *shaking head* Thank Goddess that little baby-afghan squares are good for this kind of learning. On the other hand, she's got some BEAUTIFUL little squares she's knit, some with ribbing, some with unique stitchery, and I can't figure out HOW she manages that. I knit continental style (it's easier for me, as the yarn tension is held in a very similar manner to crocheting), but just barely manage to make a knit-stitch scarf. And I can increase thanks to Carol Duval's episode about knit dishcloths, but I can't decrease. So all I've made is scarves and a shawl, with a second shawl on the circulars now. This same coworker has offered to teach me how to purl, and hopefully I'll learn how to do ribbing, as I'd love a ribbed scarf for winter. My middle sis made a beautiful one in this lovely raspberry & cream verigated. I'd love to try it in a cream & green color scheme.

Not much more chit-chat for today. I've gotta go get my roast thrown together with the veggies in the slow cooker, and finish my breakfast before I head out for work.

Have a Blessed Day!

And so it begins......

Well, see that little teapot for one on the top shelf there, that's my first garage sale find of the year. 1 buck, never been used, and just the cutest paint job. I didn't know what I'd do with it, until I walked in the door, but I knew that at 1 dollar, I wanted it. This is my "bookshelf" in my living room, above my rocking chair, and I've been looking for something to place on top of this little stack of books. As you can tell, from the bottom shelf here, I'm also a collector of lighthouses. LOVE lighthouses. My main collection lines the tops of my kitchen cabinets, but these three candleholders hold a spot of honor, next to my daughter's picture, on this shelf. The Matryoshka dolls represent my Great-grandmother Ruth, my Grandma Naomi, my Mom Kris, Myself, and my Daugher Tay.

I really need to get the rest of my living room cleaned up so I can get a couple of good pics taken, and posted. We've done some redecorating in the past year, with a new entertainment center, new furniture arrangements, new artwork & souvineers to display. Maybe now that school has ended for the year I'll be able to get rid of all the school papers and junk mail, only to have only half of it reappear the following day. It's been a never ending battle, for 3 years now, with the school papers. Ever 2 or 3 days a new pile of papers comes home, and I'm stuck as for how long to hold onto it for. LOL During the summer it's so much easier not to have that dilema.

Just a note, this is only one of my 3 bookshelves, most of my enormous collection of books resides in my bedroom, on my ceiling height & 5-food long bookshelf, though my crafting books do reside on the very bottom of the 6-foot tall bookshelf I've got pictured above. But mostly it's 3 shelves in between of a mish-mash of collectables: lighthouses, a bowl of crystals & my Matryoshkas, race cars & wolves for DH, and one or two owl figurines.

Have a Blessed Day.