Tagged!!! (reprise)

So, this time it was TurtleHeart that tagged me. And it's the Around the World Tag:


Instruction:

1. Place your link after the list. If you have more than 1 blog, feel free to add them all here!


2. After placing your blog's address/es, you must tag 5 or more bloggers that are not yet in the list, this is to keep the ball rolling.


3. Here is the best part: Make sure to update your list every now and then, by getting the master list here. I'll be updating the master list every day, or as soon as I see a new blog that's been added to the list. ^_^


Links around the world tag (update as of Mar. 19, 2008 8:24PM GMT+8)1 - Momhood Moments 2 - Business Mars 3 - Pinay Mommy Online 4 - OnlineBiz and Resources 5 - A Simple life 6 - moms….. check nyo 7 - Mommy’s Little Corner 8- Princezz 9 - Princess 10 - Random Thoughts 11 - Paradigm 12 - See Me For What You Will 13 - Pamp's Blog Corner 14 - Pampered 15 - HappyHeart 16 - Qtcotzkie and Baby 17 -tragicseven 18 - s.t.a.r.d.u.s.t. 19 -Twinkletoe I 20 - Twinkletoe II 21 - Kaye's Side 22 - out of the box 23 - Just Saying 24 - Tipsy Tips 25 - Different Angles 26 - Delicious Corner 27 - I Care 28 - Blog Blag Blog 29 - Daily List 30 - Life's Journey 31 -Cecil 32 -Ron & Cecil 33 - Frenchcess 34 -Trendy Momma 35 - Cherish 36 -Dha Maldita 37 - Lovin’ Purple 38 - The Notebook 39 - Saranghaeyo 40 - Welcome to my Crib 41 - Hearts Desire 42 - Island Paradise 43 - Texas Life 44 - Long Journey 45 - D' Cooking Mudra 46 - My life 47- Swept Away 48 - Winged Words 49 - Rainier and Katrina 50 - Life! Learn it. Live it. Love it. 51 - Colour Our World 52 - pinkykei 53 - Choc Mint Girl 54 - The Next Chapter 55 - Painted Life 56 - Jannesse 57 - Shopaholic Pat 58 - A Matter of Perspective 59- Ang Therapist 60- Endometriosis & Fertility Resource Page 61- Freebies Australia 62- Abstract Musings 63 - Joey M.D. 64 - The Working Mom 65 - Online Raket 66 - Ang.Lakambini.Org 67 - Listen to the Beat 68 - The Strategist Notebook 69 - Link Addiction 70 - Ardour of the Heart 71 - When Life Becomes a Book 72 - The Malaysian Life 72 - Yogatta.com 74 - What goes under the sun 75 - Roshidan’s Cyber Station 76 - Sasha says 77 - Arts of Physics 78 - And the legend lives 79 - My View, My Life 80 - A Simple Life 81 - Juliana RW 82 - The Callalily Space 83 - Petra Summer in Blue 84 - Confessions of an Army Wife 85 - Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life 86 - http://bless519.bravejournal.com/ 87 - La Place de Cherie 88 - Chez Francine 89 - Le bric a brac de Cherie 89 - Little Peanut 90 - Pea in a Pod 91 - The Creative In Me 92 - Me and Mine 93 - Expressions from the Heart 94 - TeacherJulie 95 - Sweetbites by Bang 96 - Paul, Toni and Lance - Bridging the Distance 97 - Our Growing Family 98 - The Uncensored life of me 99 - My Untamed World 100 - Something Purple, A Detour 101 - Something Purple 102 - Changing Lanes 103 -Blog District 104 - The Chic Shopaholic 105 - Gracie de guzman 106 - The Wifey Diaries 107 - Kelli 108 - Sindi 109 - Mark 110 - Mrs. Nespy 111 - My Kids Mom 112 - Bringing up Salamanders 113 - Turtleheart Cove 114 - Turtleheart Crafts! 115 - Dragonflys Musings



And, I choose to tag



My Mom at Hawaiian Musings (but, as she's gone on vacation to visit my sis in Tucson, she won't see this for a couple days).



Marmite Toasty who lives in Britain somewhere.



Whim at The Babblings of Whimsical N Brainpan.



Robin at The Dreamtime.



The Barefoot Gardner at Barefoot in the Garden.



And last but never least, Connie at Ash Lane Farm.



I hope you all chose to participate!!! And hey Whim.... No odd things about you to post! *grin*


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One thing I've learnt about so far from the "Hungry Years" book I posted about previously was the creation of Co-ops or Unions for the unemployed. The purpose was to give all these unemployed folks a union in which to work together for the betterment of their families and their communities. This was a Hoover-Era activity that was moderately successful in some areas, considerably less so in others, and was solely community based. Unfortunately, these unions or co-ops eventually came to a demise due to the lack of funding outside themselves. It got to the point where folks just didn't have any more that they could pass on to the next guy, and sooner or later they fell apart. But, it's definitely something to keep in mind.



I guess one of the most successful was in the Seattle area, called the "Unemployed Citizen's League". They quickly accounted for between 40,000 and 50,000 members. Over the course of several months, according to this book, the UCL "cut 10,000 cords of firewood, plucked 120,000 pounds of fish from the Puget Sound, and harvested 8 carloads (rail cars, I'm assuming, not vehicular cars) of produce from cooperating farms." All of which they passed among the families of their own members. They also concocted a barter system by which work would be exchanged for things & services such as haircuts, shoe repare and served "as a kind of clearinghouse for exchangeable work and goods". This book also claims that when a family was evicted, other UCL members would get together to move the displaced family BACK into their homes, often so many times that the landlords relented quit wasting their own time trying to evict that family.

The book DOES go on to say that a lot of these co-ops & unions disbanded because of political differences & the simple inability to continue this sort of effort with ever increasing numbers of people to be supported. It appears that a great many of these efforts just got too big to be sustainable for a prolonged period of time. But, at least it appears that at the time, these unions may have alleviated some of the suffering felt by some of the members. It's only a temporary bandage, though, not a cure for the problem.



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One more book that I'm going to suggest, but only partially. I've got a copy of "Alaska's Wild Plants: A guid to Alaska's Edible Harvest". I bought this when I was working at Waldenbooks, when I first started seeing that this may be a necessity some day. I cannot COMPLETELY recommend this book to y'all because I know that I'm the only one who lives IN Alaska. Many of the plants recommended in this book as edible won't be found in other areas of the country. I strongly recommend that you search out a regional guide for your own area. At some point it's going to be an impossibility to continue foraging, because if EVERYBODY does it, NOBODY'S going to get enough to actually survive on, much less live well on. (Like firewood, if EVERYBODY

burns firewood, sooner or later all the trees will be destroyed.)



But, as a stop-gap measure, foraging isn't a bad idea. And hell..... One of our most common weeds is a great source of early spring greens: Dandylions! So, there ARE options. This is just one of them.



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Whim had mentioned in the comments of the last post that she knew of a cookbook with Depression Era recipes. I've actually got one as well. This was published in 1980 by the Grashroots Survival Co. out of Sandpoint Idaho.



The title is "A Grassroots Survival Co. Cookbook of Memories, Remedies & Recipes from the Great Depression: To help get us through our own" by Mark & Buffy Nichols.



This cookbook appears to have some usable recipes, but a suprising amount of them seem to be heavier on the meat than I think is going to be possible this time around.



I'm going to be giving some of these recipes a try over the next couple of months, and I'll post them as I try them.



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Another option for stretching a grocery dollar is here at The Hillbilly Housewife. She's got suggested "$45 Emergency Menu" and "$70 Low Cost Menu" suggestions. They may be somewhat out of date (ie: before groceries hit the prices they're at now) or lower than prices paid in different regions. (Her "$45 emergency menu" WOULD be more like $70 in my area.) These also feed a family of four, so bear that in mind if you've not got that many, or if you've got more.



Creative Homemaking has some articles & recipes for stretching a dollar.



The Federal Citizen Info Center has an online book of recipes for thrifty, healthy meals.



More to be found at Living On A Dime.



The Peak Oil Solutions forum may have some ideas.



A new, personal favorite blog-read: Casaubon's Book.



And, two personal favorites:



Backwoods Home Mag's article archives & forum.



And Mary Jane's Farmgirl Forum. Anywhere you get a bunch of women together exchanging home-making & crafting info, you're BOUND to find $$-saving & yummy recipes.



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I think that pretty well covers it for now.



Have a Blessed Day!

Fun and Funny, a Nostalgic End to St. Patty's Day...

So, yesterday being St. Patty's day, I decided to have some fun & put my hair up in some shamrock printed ribbons I found at the craft store a couple of months back. Not as fancy as Barefoot Gardner's do's, but still fun!

I tried to get a decent picture, but hell.... It seems I don't take decent pictures (either with somebody else holding the camera, or myself!) any more. Go figure.



Well, of course I had to work on St. Patty's day. None of that partying & beer-swigging for me! *grin* That's ok. I'm not a big fan of beer unless you're using it to cook meat or bake bread or some-such. Instead, I was at work till 9:15. This is where the funny & nostalgic part comes in. One of my coworkers mentioned that an upstairs neighbour of hers moved out & promised that she could have one of the dressers they didn't want to take with them. She went into the apartment to retrieve the dresser, and found lots & lots of books left behind as well. As she was looking through the books for some good ones, she found that at least several beloned to the library itself, so she boxed up all the books she could find & brought them over to the library with her, to go through at a more leisurely pace, either for the donations bin or to return to the library's collection.

I was helping her with the last box last night after everybody else left at 6 pm (there are only 8 of us that work past 6 pm on Mondays, my coworker CM and myself, MeB and Judy (reference), DP the security guy and Joe the computer guy, and GK and Steve were the night's circ assistant's). Anyway, CM was on the desk for the first shift of the night, so I was pawing through the books deciding to put in the sale bin, the donation bin, or toss, and I came across 3 old yearbooks from one of the other High Schools in the area. They were 1997, 1998, and 1999. I realized what a chance I had with that 1997 yearbook. I knew a couple of folks that went to West, and in fact the first guy I kissed went to West & should have graduated that year! *grin* Oooooh, what a chance to see what kinda doofy pic he took for his senior pic. And, Yep, it was a doofy one!

So, this is a slightly-fuzzy pic of the guy I shared my first kiss with. (Yes, Mom, I DID kiss a guy before DH, and NO, actually, John wasn't my FIRST boyfriend, OR my first date.) ROFL I can't get over that stupid propeller-topped beanie on his head! I knew he was a bit of a clown & joker when I met him and on the one occasion we went out AFTER we first met, but I didn't think the guy would wear a propeller-topped hat in his Sr. pic. *sigh*

The irony is, my first boyfriend (a class-mate & friend through school), my first date (another guy met at a different party than the one I met John at, prior to meeting John), AND my hubby are/were all very serious guys. In fact, this is part of the reason I didn't give my first boyfriend more of a chance, he was too serious. And too shy to make a move to even hold my hand. (Or, maybe he was just too scared that I'd crack him over the head with a book if he tried anything. Either way, we never even held hands in the 5 days we were "going together" in 9th grade.) The other reasons I didn't give my first boyfriend more of a chance were A) my dad had forbidden me to date before I got to 16, and B) I honestly didn't feel I was ready for a relationship at the point that Dustin asked me to be his girlfriend. I felt it was kind of rediculous to pretend to be boyfriend & girlfriend and only ever see each other at school & never go do things together, and not even be able to introduce the guy to one's parents. Anyway, so I told Dustin that I just wasn't ready. *shrug* Part of me wonders, though, what might have happened with him if I'd given him more of a chance. (And, if not then, at least later, because I found out later that he never stopped holding out hope that we'd get back together, at least while in HS.)

Then there was Denton. Denton was the other guy met at a party (a birthday party) that I snuck out for a date with. He preceeded John (in the above pic) by at least 6 months. I was only 15 when I went out on that date with Denton. He was sweet, and serious, and somewhat shorter than any other guy I've ever been attracted to. And, after our date he asked for a hug. I would have liked to see more of Denton as well, but Dad caught on that SOMETHING was going on, and I wound up grounded for a month. (I don't think Dad ever knew for certain that I'd gone on a date, but he knew SOMETHING was up.) Anyway, I didn't dare call Denton after that, and he never tried calling me, either.

Then came John. I met him at another friend's birthday party. (I was still only 15.) It was a co-ed party, with a girl's-only sleep-over afterwards. Just before all the guys had to be kicked out, I was saying bye to John & giving him my number & he asked if he could kiss me. *grin* I said yes. Ooooooh, sweet first kisses! Not a whole lot to say about John except that he was funny and charming and obviously a bit of a clown. We called each other every couple of days for about a week & a half, then met up once at the skating rink just up the road from my dad's house. That was the last time I talked to John. He wouldn't return my phonecalls after that. I was peeved for a couple of days, went to TaeKwonDo one night & kicked the crap out of one of the wall-mounted pads, and got over him. (Though, a part of me wonders now if his parents saw something happening that they weren't thrilled about. His dad was a preacher at a church in town.)

And, lastly came the man who is now my hubby. Another serious guy. We met while working at the fair. Mom had persuaded me to take a job working for one of the food companies at the fair during the summer between my Jr. & Senior years of HS. I was 17. Two friends from school were also working for the same food-service company that had a half-dozen booths around the fair-grounds, and they knew I was kinda crushing on this guy who was working at the ride right next to my food booth. I was selling pizza, he was operating the gravetron. My friend Bo pointed me out to him one day and told him I was crushing on him. (Or, was it Adrienne??? I don't recall for sure, now.) By the end of the fair, we were hanging out during our breaks and I'd given him my number and he said he'd call me when he got back to town after the Palmer fair. (He was following the fair down to Palmer to continue working for one more 2-week period before coming back to NP for the winter & finding a steadier job.) It took him a couple of months to call, he lost my number & finally found it where it'd fallen behind his sterio at his parents house. (Whom he was living with until we got our first apartment, 4 months after we married and 6 months after DD was born.)

It's funny because I didn't think DH was such a serious guy, when I met him. I didn't want to be with a serious guy. My dad was (and, frequently still IS) too serious for me, and I wanted to find a guy who could lighten up a bit. I thought I'd found that with the guy who is now my hubby. *wry smile* Then again, he seems to lighten up, but frequently at the wrong moments as far as I'm concerned. In so many other ways, it strikes me as true that a girl often marries a guy who's a lot like her dad.

(Which, once again makes me wonder what life would be like with Dustin, who's even MORE like my dad than DH is, even down to spending 10 years of his life in the Air Force as a mechanic. And now working for the Feds as an Air Safety inspector. But, I think Dustin is much too conservative for me, these days. I think I've become too liberal for him, even if we were willing to disrupt our families for each other. Which, we're both smart enough to know would be a very stupid move, though I once again consider Dustin a friend and enjoy email-chats with him every few days or so.)

Anyway.... That picture above has prompted a lot of nostalgia, and some wistful thinking. (I kinda wish Dustin HAD kissed me back when, at least then I'd know.) I kinda wish I knew whatever happened to Denton, and where John's at now. It's all rather funny to think about now. But, I did tell DH that he's got NOTHING to worry about, me wishing I was with John still..... Maybe he was charming & funny, but I don't think I'd do well trying to settle with a clown who wears a propeller-beanie for his senior pic. *grin*

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On completely unrelated news.... The temp has dropped again. *sigh* It was 0 deg. when I let the dogs out at 7:50 this morning. And the wind is blowing to such a degree that last night's predictions were of wind-chill-related temps down to -40 for today.

On the other hand, at least the sun feels warm!!! Standing at the window with my face towards the sun, you can feel a bit of it's heat. And we're just a couple of days (literally, on Thursday!) from Spring Equinox when we'll start seeing more sunlight than night.

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I've been slowly making my way through my seed catalogs, trying to figure out what I want to grow this summer. I'm hoping to be able to get all my seed from one company, but it doesn't look like I'll get to do that. I'm also kind of thinking that maybe I should order more than I need now, so if I don't have the $$ next year, at least I'll have SOME seed set aside. Gina, can you tell me if that's wise???? I know that some seed doesn't save (potatoes, being one that comes to mind), but I thought I'd heard that it's easy to save extra dry-seed for subsequent years if it's put in an air-tight container like a jar with a fitted lid. So, if I don't use all my chard seed, can I do that & have some for next year????

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Gina had also asked that I post some books giving the history of the Great Depression. I've started reading up on this era, hoping to gain a little wisdom from the experiences gone through by those who lived it. (And, more & more I wish I'd been old enough to ask appropriate questions of my Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop when they were of an age to still answer those questions with accuracy. As it was, by the time I was stumbling through some semi-formed questions to ask, they were to the point where they either couldn't or wouldn't remember any real detail to pass on to me.)

So, here's my list.

American Girl's "Kit" books. (Light reading, geared towards girls, but shows how families & communities worked together & helped each other through a very tough time. Just don't plan on gleaning much, if any, new information from this series of books. It wasn't written for that purpose if you're over the age of 12.)

_Women of Valor: The Struggle Against the Great Depression as told in their own life stories_ by Bernard Sternsher (This book doesn't really go into detail of how the average person survived the era, it's actually a lot of exerpts from the memoirs of a lot of prominent women of the era, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Francis Perkins (the first woman to serve on a presidential cabinet, under FDR), and Dorothy Day. A good read. Just not a lot of info there.

_The Hungry Years: a Narrative History of the Great Depression in America_ by T. H. Watkins (This is the book I'm currently reading, but as I'm only in the first chapter, I don't have a lot to say on it yet. The prologue, though, gave some good info on the reasoning behind the stock-market crash of 1929, and how the depression started. It was scary-interesting to see the parallels with the stock-market goings on of this past 10 years, without taking into consideration the current realities of Peak Oil and Climate shift, of course. I'll have to get back to ya when I finish this book, which could be quite a while seeing as it's at least as thick as that last Harry Potter novel, and reading a heck of a lot more slowly.)

_Daily life in the United States, 1920-1939 : decades of promise and pain_ by David E. Kyvig (I haven't even checked this one out yet, I simply looked it up in our collection. Looks like it may be interesting.)

_Down & out in the Great Depression : letters from the "forgotten man"_ edited by Robert S. McElvaine. (More the story of the hobos that traveled the US during this era. Not exactly the info I am really looking for, but may provide something of interest. Of course I haven't actually checked this one out yet, either.)

_Since yesterday : the 1930's in America, September 3, 1929-September 3, 1939_ Frederick Lewis Allen. (Haven't checked this one out, either. This at least appears to be a first-hand relation of that decade by somebody who actually lived it. I hope it's not dry reading.)

_The worst hard time : the untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl_ Timothy Egan. (Another that I haven't checked out yet. The last of the books I've found, as yet, to read RE: the depression.)

I'd LIKE to find some first-hand memoirs written specifically by middle-class women who attempted to keep their homes & families together in this era. I KNOW there were folks who did keep it together, even if just barely. (I know, because I know that both Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop were 14/15 at the beginning of this era, and I know that their homelife seemed to be pretty steady, if maybe spartan.)

I'm also trying to find books on Russian/Soviet life from the last 40 or 50 years. This area interests me, seeing as how they've weathered some pretty spartan times as well, AND the fact that the climate in much of Russia is similar to the climate in Alaska in many ways. Reading and learning how folks have used their Dacha properties to grow sufficent food to suppliment their meager, government-provided diets seems like it'd be good information to have.

Thus far I have just two books that look like they may hold information of interest:

_Postmarked Moscow: An American Ambassador's Wife Looks at Life in Russia Today_ by Lydia Kirk (Wife to the Ambassador to the USSR 1949-1952. Any information in this book is almost 60 years old. This is one I was fortunate to find in the booksale bin, so I've got it in my possession to peruse at my leisure.)

_Fifty Russian Winters: An American Woman's Life in the Soviet Union_ by Margaret Wettlin. (This one was first published in 1992. Somewhat newer info, and as it covers 50 years, it may well contain something usable for the current situation. Also a booksale bin find to be perused at my my leisure.)

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Ok. That's all I've got for today. (As if that wasn't enough?!?! *grin*)

Have a Blessed Day!

LOVE This Joke My Sister Sent.....

And, I figure quite a few of my blogger buddies will, as well. (Gina, I'm thinking of you in particular here!)

A U.S. Department of Agriculture representative stopped at a farm and talked with an old farmer. He told the farmer, 'I need to inspect your farm.' The old farmer said, 'OK, but don't go in that field over yonder.'The Agriculture representative said, 'Mister, I have the authority of the United States Government with me. See this card? The card means I am allowed to go WHEREVER I WISH on any agricultural land. No questions asked or answered. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?'

The old farmer nodded politely and went about his farm chores. Later, the old farmer heard loud screams and saw the Agriculture Rep run ning for the fence and close behind was the farmer's huge-horned prize bull. The bull was gaining on the Agriculture Rep with every step. The Rep was clearly terrified, so the old farmer immediately threw down his tools, ran to the fence and shouted out.....

'Your card! Your card! Show him your card!'

*grin* I hope that brings a Saturday Smile to all my friends!

Thanks for the support re the gardening plans.

Peter, I'll show that to the hubby!!! Maybe with 2 of those type bins in the back yard, we can keep from planting potatoes in the front yard. (Though, I think I'd still plant something else edible in the same bed. Just more a question of what, if we don't plant pototoes there.)

Barb, we have a short growing season in terms of the number of days, but a long growing season in terms of the amount of sunlight. Seeing as the days gradually get longer till the Summer solstice, at which point the sun doesn't set at all for almost a week, before beginning to gradually decrease in the amount of daylight we get, our veggies get a LOT of sun, over a rather short amount of time. This results in some gigantic cabbages & pumpkins & such for fair show-offs. *grin* However, it also means that you can almost SEE the growth taking place with things like lettuce & my sugar-snaps. *smile* However, I'm still rather new to gardening, so I don't know how well things will turn out. All I can hope is that I can grow enough to help provide my family with food.

Have a Blessed Day!

Not In MY Front Yard, he says....

So, I decided that along with the sugar-snaps, rhubarb, and chives I already have along the south side the house, and the big pots of tomatoes & cucumbers I'm going to put there as well. AND the small 2 step planter bed that I'm going to plant in with Swiss Chard & zucchini out back by the shed, on the south side, I want to plant potatoes. I've never planted potatoes before, so I'm currently working on a couple of loaves of sourdough wheat bread, one of which is going to be taken next door to my neighbours J&T in hopefull exchange for J's experience with growing veggies, esp. the questioning I'm hoping to put to him regarding his potato patch last summer.

Anyway, I decided that the potato patch will go in along the front of my house, instead of the lupines & delphiniums that I didn't get to grow last year. And I told DH as much last night.

As I'd guessed, his response was "You're not planting VEGETABLES in MY front yard!!!!"

I told him that it's MY front yard too, and besides, for now it's only the flower-bed on ONE side of the front door that I have plans for. He said "Not in the FRONT of the house!!!! I don't want folks seeing us grow VEGETABLES out there!"

My response was along the lines of how high groceries are getting to cost, and I think this could help us reduce the amount we need to buy at the store, and if HE wants to go hungry because we can't afford groceries, FINE, but I'm not going to see DD and I go hungry because he doesn't want veggies grown out front. I told him that I'm seriously thinking about plowing up a patch in the front yard, and planting in a whole (small-ish) veggie garden, but for now I'm focusing on the potato patch & the couple of new beds out back of the house. I ALSO reminded him that not only can he NOT eat grass like a cow, but it's also a drain on our cash-flow through the fuel needed for mowing it, AND the water needed to keep it watered!!!! If I'm going to use the water, I at LEAST want it to be used in producing something that'll feed us!

He kinda scowled, but he didn't argue with that logic. *grin*

Now to keep after him until he helps me get those beds and the compost bins built.

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As I said, I'm getting to spend a day at home baking & being a home body. It feels SOOOO good!

It started this morning with waking up at 9:30, without the assistance of my alarm clock. After using the bathroom & taking the dogs out, DD called her best friend and I set about teaching them how to make a "Dutch Puff" pancake, which we three shared, topped with mixed berries (frozen from the grocery store) and powdered sugar. It was rather fun, teaching the two of them to make this pancake. M. had never used a electric mixer before, but she's better at cracking eggs than DD is. What WAS NOT fun, however, was cleaning up the mess after DD. She showered my counter with flour, and got mashed mixed berries on my clean kitchen table. *sigh* Then, of course, she & M. took off to M's house, leaving me to do dishes & clean up the kitchen. I DID have a talk with her about that, and told her that the same goes for the mess she's made this week with making her own lunches, then leaving the messes for me to clean up when I got home from work. I told her that if she doesn't start cleaning up after herself (REALLY cleaning up, not a half-assed job), then she'll be limited to sandwiches all summer.

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After the pancake-making, I started in on my sourdough bread. Unfortunately I'd found that once again I set too much sourdough & it overflowed during the night. *sigh* I had JUST barely enough sourdough to get 2 loaves AND a bit to produce more starter. So, now I've got 2 loaves of Sourdough Wheat with Honey bread rising in the oven.

Tonight I'm making meatloaf & Colcannon for supper, and DH and DD will be going to the Ice Dogs game, leaving me to a peaceful evening on my own again. *grin* I LOVE it when they do that!!!

I've also gotten 1 load of laundry done, another ready to go in. And one load of dishes unloaded and a second loaded & run, and need to unload that while I wait for the bread to rise, so I can reload it AGAIN. *sigh* It seems all I ever do some days is dishes, dishes, and more dishes.

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Tomorrow Dad's coming over for supper and we're having that Ham, finally. (OH SHOOT!!!! I just realized that I'd planned on making mashed potatoes with the ham, but we're having Colcannon with the meatloaf tonight. CRAP! That means I've either got to go with a different side tomorrow, or a different side tonight. I can't serve mashed potatoes two days in a row!)

And, I'm doing my grocery shopping for the week tomorrow, instead of today. DH took my car to work so that he wouldn't have to drive his truck, thereby saving fuel. So, I've got no way to get to the store today. *shrug* That's fine. I'm happy to have a day now & again where I just don't do anything, and I have a reason to say that I can't.

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I filled up my car again yesterday, and actually had it down to only 2/10ths of a gallon of fuel in the tank when I filled it. I put 380.7 miles on the car before I had to fill up again. That means that I got 25.72 miles per gallon this past time. *grin* I am SOOOO loving this! My car gets some kick-butt fuel milage, for winter!!! I can hardly wait to see what it gets this coming summer!!!! (On the down side, it took $47 to fill 'er up! YIKES! Glad I got a car with better milage when I did!)

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It seems to be the season for putting our yearly "To Do" list on one's blog, so here are my household plans for the summer:

• New front door & frame, possibly back door as well.
• Plant my sugar-snaps.
• build a compost bin
• build a planting bed beside the shed & plant in Swiss Chard & Zucchini
• plant potatoes in one of the "flower beds" in front.
• Plant more pretty flowers in the other flower bed.
• Get my clothes line tree set up in the back yard.
• DH wants to put laminate flooring in the livingroom and all 3 bedrooms.
• Continue to work on getting DH to go along with a bigger veggie garden in front of my house.
• Get at least 2 water-barrels set up under the downspouts around the house. Preferably 3.
• Plant each of my two big half-barrels planted & set along the south of the house, one with tomatoes, one with cucumbers, and "tented" with clear drop-cloth for make-shift green-houses.
• Continue reading as much as I can on how folks handled the Depression in the 30's, as well as books on canning & preserving, gardening, thrift, and cooking & baking from scratch with base foods such as beans & potatoes & such.

I think that pretty well covers it. At least for now, that's all I can remember. I'd LIKE to get a crab apple or two put in, but that's kind of besides the point, when it comes to planting veggies. Rather more important to have a garden of veggies than a tree that CAN provide crab-apples for jelly. Oh, and I'd like to secretly plant in some wild-roses for the rosehips (and the roses themselves!) but that's also something that'll have to come later. Neither of these two things are something I'm going to figure on doing this summer. But, the above list is what I REALLY must do this summer.

Ok. That pretty well covers it for today, I believe.

Have a Blessed Day!

Tagged!

Well, I've been tagged twice now. First by Whim, with THIS:


Thank You Whim!!!! *snort* I've never been told that somebody "less than 3"s my blog. *wink*

I'm supposed to pass this on to 7 of my favorite bloggers..... I'd love to pass it on to Whim again, but I know, I know, I should spread the love instead of ONLY giving it back to those who gave it to me. SO, 7 MORE of my favorite bloggers.....

Robin: What a wise, sweet woman she is!

Connie: Another wise, sweet woman! And a VERY crafty one!

Turtleheart: because she could USE some love, right about now!!! What with another nasty cold so close after the last. (And besides, she's an all-around great person anyway!)

Princess Banter: She doesn't post often, lately, but when she does there's a lot of wisdom in what she says. And she's so young, too!!! I thought wisdom was only for the elders!!! Not so, as Princess B. proves!

Tori: Dear, Sweet Tori!!! She shows such love to the world, all while learning how to live her life to the fullest with recent blindness. And she lives in Wales, which sounds like it'd be such a great place to visit!

Barefoot Gardner: Well, this almost goes without saying, these days!!! She & I seem to find some pretty funky things we have in common. Things like loving Fraggle Rock & old cartoon-movie tunes. ("The Last Unicorn" anybody?!?!) And the fact that she sometimes plays with her younger daughter's toys even when her younger daughter isn't around. (I did until DD outgrew them to the point where it was embarassing to still have them around, anyway.)

Last but not least:

Slip! Slip is a recent retiree and looking forward to spending his time working on his farms, getting "back to the land" as it were. He seems kinda depressed lately, so stop in & give him some love.

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Next, Barefoot Gardner herself tagged me with a Meme. Here we go....

Rules, because everything has them:
1. Link to the person that tagged you. (See above)
2. Post the rules on your blog. (Right here)
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (Check it out below)
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (More checkin' it out below)
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. (Will do as soon as I figure out 6 people).

So.... Six non-important things about me??? Ok. I'll try.

1) As a teen I wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up. I'd still love to go on a dig in some far-off exotic place some day (and esp. to be a part in a big discovery) but this is no longer my life's dream, which I guess means that it's not very important.

2) I don't like pink. I won't wear it unless it's a kinda dusty, heathered sort of pink, and even then I won't wear it often. Pink & pastels just don't look very good on me. Earth tones are more my thing. Between that & being short & squat, I kinda think I'd make a good hobbit. Except for the curly hair (mine's long & straight) and hairy feet (thank the GODS I don't have hairy feet)!

3) I'm the shortest in my family. I'm the oldest child, and the shortest. My Mom is 5'5", my Dad is 5'8 or 9", my Middle sis is 5'6", and my baby sis is 5'2". And I'm exactly 5 feet tall. It's kinda made for some funny comments like my middle sis saying "No, you're not BIGGER than I am, you're just OLDER!" And me commenting back with "I may have to look up AT you, but that doesn't mean I have to look up TO you!" *grin*

4) My new favorite quote is from a book I read recently, _Luxury Fever: Why Money fails to satisfy in an Era of Excess_. The quote is something like "Mothers regard sleep with the same intensity that a starving person regards food." It was in reference to how we work harder & harder, longer & longer days, just to provide monetary things, and yet in many ways this does damage to ourselves & our families in less tangible ways, such as mom's (esp. moms) lacking in sleep. But, no matter what the background, the statement is true! And it quite appropriately sums up exactly how I feel most days.

5) I'm a hoarder by nature. Maybe its related to how often it seems my dad sent me to bed without dinner as a kid, but I hoard. Only, now it's not necessarily food, but crafting supplies like yarn & fabric.

6) I've always wanted to live by the ocean, and near a lighthouse (though, not necessarily IN a lighthouse-keeper's house). I love lighthouses. I've got pictures & knick-knacks of lighthouses all over my house. But, I also love the look of english cottswald style cottages. I guess I want my house to LOOK like a cottswald style cottage, but be beach-front (or close to) and within close sight of a lighthouse. *grin*

Ok. Are those random enough??? Non-important enough??? I hope so.

I'm supposed to tag 6 people now.

I'll tag: PeppyLady, Whim, Heb, Greg, TurtleHeart, and Heather.

Another post to come soon regarding my gardening hopes & plans, and a conversation with DH last night.

Have a Blessed Day!

Yeah!!! Pictures Finally!

So, these first two are pictures of my shrank, now in my computer room (and already topped with some of our larger, heavier items, including DD's "out" bag). This picture gives some idea of it's width, though the following picture is more color-true.



Again, here it is, not quite showing off the sheer size of this thing as well, but certainly showing the blond color of the wood, better. That light-colored trim around the windows is currently being sanded down, and I'm repainting it a wedge-wood blue. (That's Puck curled up there on the floor below the shrank in this pic.


And last but not least, I didn't want to brag about this until I could show it as well. This is DD's spelling test from 2 weeks ago now. We just got it back on Friday & saw how well she'd done the previous week. We were thrilled!!!! This is (at most) only the 3rd time she's ever gotten a perfect score on her spelling test! And the fact that the teacher noted her handwriting is improving.... YEAH!!! We just hope that she continues to improve her penmanship.

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Let's see, other than that..... I talked to my boss yesterday and she actually gave me positive feedback along with the negative. (That's a first!) She DID say that I'm punctual, I'm reliable, I rarely call in late or sick unless it's an emergency, I'm thorough, I'm friendly, and I'm well aquainted with the computer systems. However, I read too much while checking in books. (I did point out that some, though admittedly not all, of that is thoroughly checking for torn or cut pages, which I have found a lot more frequently than some of my less-thorough coworkers.) And talking too much, though she said that she recognizes this isn't solely MY problem, but it seems to be running issue, and she can understand how hard it is to get sucked in even when one attempts to stay out of the conversations. Her recommendation was to spend as little time in the work-room as possible, thereby minimizing the time spent around others conversing. Ok. I can appreciate that, though it still seems to me sometimes that she'd rather we not talk at all, even when it IS work related. (And even we pages sometimes need to blow off a bit of steam in a rant about a patron. That's just working life.) She said my speed with shelving & pick-up is questionable, but that she HAS noticed how thoroughly I straighten while shelving & pick-up. So, that's something.

(And, on top of that, I had end-of-night pick-up last night & wound up not completing the 'up&down the aisles' part again due to the fact that 1/2 way through my cart was overloaded with 127 LARGE books (a lot of bible reference books & pet-related books, as well as a good number of art books). She actually laughed when I presented my cart to her as my reason for being unable to complete pick-up. Said that it would be ok as long as I made sure to get the mags put away. I responded that I would be completing that as soon as I counted & tallied this cart-full of books.)

Last but not least, she said that I need to take more initiative in my job. I asked her what type things might I take initiative with, as it often seems that our job is so narrow that to take initiative could (would) be stepping across boundaries. She said simply bringing to her notice (or KO's or our other boss's notice) ideas for a better way to do things would be taking initiative. Such as how it was brought up by LG that dividing up the 5 pm pick-up could make it easier on the person who has end-of-night pick-up, and how it was suggested we divy it up. I pointed out to my boss that it was CM and I (during Friday evening pick-ups in the summer), and DB, ME, and I (during our one Sunday afternoon pick-up) that realized these aspects of pick-up and pointed them out to LG in the first place. Evidently LG took the credit for coming up with the idea to divide the library sections up, herself. *shaking head* Why am I NOT suprised?!?!

Ok. So points have been made, and I understand. There is still a part of me though that wonders if any of my good points were passed on to Ingrid, or was it only the bad???? And why were they discussing my personal work-related issues anyway, when all that should have been passed on was the simple acknowledgement of my employment there, and whether or not my boss would re-hire me???? If she answered that she did not feel me rehireable, was it her volunteering information beyond that???? Or was it Ingrid pressing for reasons my boss would not rehire me???? Either way, lines were crossed & I'm not entirely sure what to do about that.

**********

Other than all this, the weather has been staying beautiful. We've had a lot of sunshine & warmth. It's been fabulous. Unfortunately I've also been working while it's been so sunny. *wry smile* But even just walking from my car in to work, or taking the dogs out for a potty-break, it's nice to be able to stand there & soak up the warm sunshine.

Ok. I think that pretty well covers it for now.

Have a Blessed Day!

GAH! Blogger is NOT Cooperating!

Well, I was TRYING to post some pictures to share this morning, but Blogger just isn't cooperating. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to share them.

Some of the pictures I'd taken yesterday didn't turn out at all anyway, but I can still tell you of their subject.

DH and DD went to another Ice Dog's game last night, and at about 10:15 the dogs told me it was time for another potty break, so I took them out back, sent them to their kennel, then looked up at the sky as I usually do when I'm outside. Not a heck of a lot else in the back yard to look at, this time of year, so a couple of moments checking out the night sky is a nice break for me.

Well, shock of shocks, the Aurora Borealis was out & VIBRANT! A brilliant green ribbon whisping, shimmering, shuddering across the night sky. It you've ever watched Rhythmic Gymnastics, the way the ribbons flutter on the batons when the girls are doing their dance routines..... The movement of the Aurora is similar to that, it seems, on a good night. It curls around itself, it snakes & shimmies..... Just incredible.

So, once I got the dogs back inside, I headed out the FRONT door to see what else was visible from the front of the house. At the same time, ironically, my neighbour across the street D, was coming out with her camera, and 2 houses down, K. was out on her front step taking in the spectacle as well. K. had never seen the Aurora before. D. and I were in agreement that it's been years since we've seen it so vibrant & active, esp. given the warmth of the night. (We were all 3 out after 10 with only light jackets or sweatshirts on.) D. said that she'd stepped out onto HER back deck for some fresh air after her movie ended (she was having a child & hubby free evening as well) and saw that the Aurora had some incredible pinks in it. But, by the time she ran in, grabbed her camera, and ran back out the front door, the pink had gone. I didn't see the pink at all, as the eastern sky is largely unviewable from my back yard, and that's where the pink had been very briefly. *sigh* Oh well.

I'm sorry I couldn't get any pictures of the awesome-ness of last night's night sky to share with y'all. I took about 15, hoping just ONE would show up somewhat, but in loading them onto my computer this morning, not a single one showed anything but blackness. I told DH, when he got home, that I want a new digital camera. Not today or tomorrow, but soon. My digital is 10 years old and was given to me by mom shortly after DD was born. It's definitely time to replace it. *grin*

**********

One thought that crossed my mind, as I stood there watching the Aurora, was how some ancestral mythologies have refered to the Aurora as the "Spirit Lights" or similar names. Indicating their beliefs that the spirits travel on these lights and other similar thoughts. The thought that struck me last night, as I watched the vividness of these dancing lights, is that this was a very appropriate night for them to be so brilliant.

Janis died at approx. 4:30 Hawaii time, yesterday. My Mom had flown over to Kaui earlier in the day, and she & Janis' Mom were with Janis when she passed. Mom & Janis' mom had spent the day talking to Janis, keeping her company, and playing her soothing classical & hawaiian music to ease her passing. Mom said she was pretty well completely incoherant. Evidently the morphine drip she was on for her pain was so strong as to keep her pretty unconscious, and Mom or Janis' Mom would push the drip button every 15 minutes to keep Janis from pain. Considering the circumstances, though, it sounds like they attempted to make Janis' passing as peaceful & caring as they possibly could.

Janis' daughter, Sarah, unfortunately was not feeling emotionally able to be there with her mom in Janis' final couple of hours. Understandably, she wsa having such a hard time watching her mom die, that she didn't feel like she could stay in the room, so she left the room & asked them to inform her when Janis was gone. I can understand her feelings, but I hope the decision to NOT be there doesn't haunt her later.

**********

Well, my recipes for dinner last night turned out well. I had DH look through my recipe box and try to find something new that looked appealing. This is what he pulled out:

Favorite Pork Chops

2 cups soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
6 bone-in pork loin chops, 1-1/2 inch thick (mine were only 1 inch)
(I also added about 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes to the marinade.)

Sauce:
3/4 cup ketchup
2/3 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
1-1/2 tsp ground mustard (I used a stone-ground mustard.)

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring soy sauce, water, brown sugar and molasses to a boil. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Pour into a large resealable plastic bag; add pork chops. Seal bag & refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours. (I wound up abandoning this approach as the pork-chop bones poked holes in the bag. So I simply poured it all into a 13x9x2" baking dish & covered with foil, periodically flipping the chops over in the marinade.)

Drain & discard marinade. Place pork chops in a greased 13x9x2" baking dish. (I greased my broiler pan, instead, and placed them on that, as I don't particularly care to cook meat in all it's fat & juices all the time. Thus, I was unable to cover as in the next step.) Cover and bake at 350 deg. F. for 30 minutes. Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over chops. (I ladled a good 1/4 over each chop then spread it over, after the initial 30 minutes in the oven.) Bake, uncovered, another 30 minutes longer, or until meat juices run clear. (My meat, being thinner cuts, only took about 15 minutes longer.) Yield: 6 servings.

We all 4 (Dh, DD, Dad and I) LOVED this recipe!!! A DEFINITE keeper!

Vinegar Noodles (for 2 servings, for 10 servings multiply by 5, as I did)

1 cup uncooked spiral (rotini) noodles
1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion (a sweet onion would be good here)
6 Tbsp sugar (please, don't use more than 4 Tbsp per cup of noodles!!!! Too sweet otherwise!)
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar, though the recipe didn't call for a specific kind.)
3/4 Tbsp prepared mustard (I used Dijon style.)
3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes (dill would be good, as an alternative)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic salt (though, seeing how much regular salt goes in, I simply used garlic powder and am glad I did!)

Cook Noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Place in bowl; add cucumber and onion. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar with tight-fitting lid; shake well. Pour over noodle mixture and toss to coat. Cover & refridgerate at least 1 hour. Yield: 2 servings.

After making this once, I would definitely HALVE the dressing mixture. As it is written, there is far too much liquid for the amount of noodles. And, as I said, I would not use more than 4 Tbsp of sugar per cup of noodles, in comparisson to their recommended 6 Tbsp. Even that was almost TOO sweet. (And I have a definite sweet tooth, so that's saying something!) But, otherwise a GREAT recipe as well, that goes well with things like the barbequed pork-chops I made.

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I was going to post some pics of my Shrank, which we did get moved into the computer room last night. It's huge! I guess it's never struck me how danged big this piece of furniture is, when it was out in Dad's garage. But, put it here in our small house and it's enormous!!! DH doesn't want me putting anything in it quite yet, though, as the shelves inside need to have the old contact paper scraped off before we go filling it with anything. DD's "out" hockey bag fits nicely on top, but her goalie bag certainly will not. It's going to be interesting having 2 tall pieces of furniture in this room now. That gives us a lot more shelving room, and floor space that we've never had in here before. Jenny is glad to have her kennel moved back into "her bedroom". *grin*

Maybe tomorrow I'll get to share the couple of pics I'd taken.

Although, if you could keep my dad in your prayers. He and DH were offloading the top half of the Shrank from Dh's truck, and Dad went to jump out of the back of the truck, his feet hit the ground and slid out from under him, and Dad went down hard on his back. Dad said he's feeling ok this morning, a bit tender but certainly able to move about & not too bad. And he said he's going to make an appt. to see his Chiropractor tomorrow or Tuesday for an adjustment, but nonetheless..... Dad's not a YOUNG guy (will turn 60 next year), and he's already got extensive back problems. So, prayers that this doesn't permanently worsen his existing problems...... Thanks!

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And, last but not least, some info I got via email from a friend this morning. Snopes AND the FBI verify this, so it's a valid warning:

JURY DUTY SCAM
This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below) Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity w as just stolen.The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma , Illinois , and Colorado . This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.Check it out here:

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm

And here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

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I think that pretty well covers it for today. Thanks again for the prayers & positive thoughts for Janis & her family & friends. Thanks again for the positive reinforcement regarding my denial of that job.

Have a Blessed Day!

Back Online Already!

So, we got rid of the old computer desk, and the new one is basically set up, though it's looking pretty bare right now. We've got the monitor, printer, phone, camera, tower, and DSL box on (or in, or arround) the desk, but nothing else. The really nice thing is that this gives us some space further up the wall to put collectables or office materials. So, instead of spreading out, we've spread UP. Love that!



Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll get the shrank (Mom said she thinks it's spelled with an "a" instead of an "e" as I've been spelling it) in here, and once I get that wiped out & down (dust & grime from "living" in the garage at Dad's for 20+ years), I'm really looking forward to filling it with my crafting supplies, my fabric, and my fancy dishware that I inherited from Mom-mom (Dad's mom, dec.). It's going to be so nice to have some real storage space in this house. If there's one thing about this place that we've ALWAYS had a grumble about, it's the complete lack of space. There are VERY FEW closets at all, just the one in our bedroom (the only truly full-size closet) and the small (man-sized) closets in the computer room & DD's room. There's a floor to almost-ceiling cabinet outside DD's bedroom & bathroom which has always been used more as a craft cabinet for DD & myself. (Primarily for me, now, though it's only the bottom 1/3rd that's really got my crafting supplies in it. DD never bothers to put her towels away anyway, just leaves them in her clean-clothes basket till she needs a clean towel.)



I think the dogs will be happy to see all this change ended, as well. As it stands now, Jenny's kennel is in the kitchen, and Puck has been hiding out on DH's side of the bed, when he's in the house at all.



We've managed to keep him from being destructive the last couple of days by putting him in the outside (BIG) kennel during the day. And it's been nice enough that he's enjoying the time out there. So, as yet Puck is still a part of our family.



**********

I did NOT talk to my boss yesterday. I saw here only briefly & in passing until almost 6 pm last night. She was working a split shift & was in to collect time-sheets then was off again, then in at 5 pm (at which point I was out doing our 5pm pick-up routine, tidying up for the person who'll have end-of-the-night pickup at 8 pm), so I thankfully didn't really have to cross paths or converse with her until I was almost ready to be off anyway. And when I did see that she was in, I made a point of staying very busy, finishing up a couple of carts that were partially put-away but needed completing.



I think it's a good thing to wait till Monday to talk to her. That'll give me a chance to organize my thoughts & cool my temper before I confront her about her review of me to Ingrid and what she thinks I need to improve upon. (And that's not maturity??? If I was an immature brat I'd have heading right in there yesterday throwing a temper tantrum!!!)



I DID talk to Georgine, and she didn't say anything about any conversation with Betsy that Ingrid may have had. Georgine said she felt I did a good job on the interview, and I showed definite promise, I just need "more". She felt (and I agreed that I'd already come to the same conclusion) that two of my 3 book choices were great for small intimate story-groups, but NOT for a large crowd as is often present at the story-hour. At which point she seemed impressed that I jumped ahead & said that yes, I was aware when picking them that only "Hurray for Spring" actually had graphics vivid enough to be seen at a distance, but with only 24 hours to pick, there weren't a whole lot of options from what is already a small availability at our library (Easter-related story-books).



She did seem to think that I've shown some initiative in attempting to get experience that I don't already have, but said I definitely need to be stronger in my knowledge & abilities regarding reference type work. This is KIND OF a catch-22, seeing as you can only TRULY gain the experience by doing such work. But, she agreed that my plan to ask the head reference librarian for some instruction on using the library's resources (esp. the databases) is a good one.



*****

When I got to the school this morning, the Librarian there asked if I'd heard back yet, and I did tell her what had happened. And I did tell her as well what Ingrid said about her conversation with my boss. Though, trying to keep my own personal feelings at bay, I didn't go into what I don't like about my boss, simply said that I've always had the feeling she doesn't care for me much, and I feel like we knock heads a bit, and my perspective is that it has been primarily my shelving style that has ticked her off the most. I even admit (yes, I do!) that I talk to much. (Gee.... Me??? Talk to much???? NEVER!!! *rolling eyes*) Of course, the school librarian echoed my feelings that when you work around other people, of COURSE you're going to talk to them!!!!



Mrs. L. was astonished to hear that it was judged that I don't take the initiative & find solutions to problems at work, when I certainly took the initiative to get a volunteer position to assist in helping me obtain a higher position in my day-job. (Her exact words were very close to "well, you certainly took the initiative to become a volunteer here to gain experience, if that's not proof of you taking initiative, I don't know what is!!!!") She also pointed out all the things that she appreciates about me such as my timeliness, my willingness to learn & to perform any task she puts before me, my helpfullness when approached by a teacher or a student, and the fact that I come in & jump right into a job, not waiting around for her to give me one. THANK YOU!!!!! (I damned near hugged her for pretty well telling me that she thinks I'm a lovely employee to have around. *watery smile*) I did tell her that should there ever be anything she believes I need to work on, do more of, or do less of, to let me know because I am well open to constructive criticism, and that I certainly wouldn't expect her to be less than truthful about issues that she sees.



Mrs. L. also said that if I would like, in the last quarter she could have me do the story-time for one of the third-grade classes that comes in on the Fridays I volunteer. *nervous smile* I said ok, if she felt that it would be acceptable & wouldn't get her into trouble for having a parent volunteer do work that may be more strictly librarian. (I would get in LOADS of trouble if I tried to do such at Noel Wien or NPB. It doesn't seem the school has any such problem with a parent volunteer reading to a class of kids, providing the book is age appropriate.) So, it looks like I will be getting some story-time experience through my volunteer time, now, as well. I'll let you know further, so y'all can keep me in your thoughts & prayers. I used to hyperventelate & nearly pass out during speaches in HS. This aspect is truly the one that I'm most nervous about. I can handle talking in front of a couple folks, or a group of friends. A whole bunch of folks (even of the younger set) makes me rather nervous. (Not that I'd let on about this to Ingrid or Georgine, of course!!!! *wink*)



*****

Mom talked to somebody she knows who works in a Human Resources type position, and that person said that she believes my boss may well have been less-than-lawful in telling Ingrid specifics about my job performance. Mom's friend said that my boss's statements to Ingrid should have been simply whether or not she'd hire me again, not discussing my job performance. My feeling is that I'm not too worried about my job performance being discussed, but please be honest with me YOURSELF, before you go saying bad stuff about me to prospective employers. Esp. when you KNOW I didn't have you down as a professional reference.



(And for that matter, I don't feel it was completely above board for Ingrid to disregard 2 of my 3 professional references, refering to only her past experience with me, and to presume to use somebody I didn't put down, instead of 2 other folks who already were aware that they would probably be called in regards to my performance. The fact that she completely disregarded any experience I gained in retail, and my experience in a library that involves children's services quite closely...... Just doesn't feel completely above board to me.)



**********



On a spiritual note.... I know I don't mention too often my spiritual practices. Sometimes because I'm not comfortable discussing them with other folks because I'm nervous of how I'll be percieved. Primarily, though, because there are a great many details & ideas that I just haven't yet worked through in my own mind.



But, one thing I do when I start to feel extremely stressed & conflicted is to get out my Goddess Guidance Oracle cards and do a reading. It has been helpful in the past to bring out things I hadn't thought of and to break through some of the conflicting mental conversations I have with myself.



Yesterday, after another rough night thinking so much about how badly it hurt, hearing my work ethics & my character called into question, I knew I needed some guidance & wisdom, and where else better to seek it than from the divine. So, that's just what I did. I took a shower & literally cleansed myself of the mental grime & anger that I'd been feeling for the last several days, then I lit a candle, had a couple of moments of prayer, and sat down on the bed with my Goddess Guidance cards with the intention of seeking wisdom & strength regarding the turmoil I was in now following my discussion with Ingrid. It was actually quite an astonishing "reading". It brought up the larger issue that I've been feeling, that I needed to get this job NOW to help to ensure our family's financial stability against the coming recession/depression.



The first card I drew was Artemis: The Guardian. Her message is "You are Safe and Spiritually Protected. Your Future is safe & secure. Your needs are now, and will continue to be, met. This reminded me that I'm NOT alone, that I DO have divine protection & wisdom.



The second card was Lakshmi: A Bright Future. Her message is to stop worrying, everything will be fine. I will be protected & provided for. Hold positive thoughts & intensions. Once again, I'm safe, I've got a bright future, and stop worrying over everything.



The third (and final card) was Eireen: Peace. Her message is "There is no need to worry as everything is working out beautifully. Give your cares & worries to Heaven. Pray & Meditate & engage in peace-enhancing activities.



I don't think this solid message of "Don't worry" doesn't mean not to prepare for a recession, but stop letting that worry rule my life. START seeing the good in every day. Start seeing the sun rises (when I'm up that early) and sunsets every day (or, as often as the sky is not ACTUALLY too cloudy to see). To enjoy things without being so concerned for the future. I have the Divine backing me up, giving me strength, wisdom, guidance, peace and protection. With THAT, there is NO storm that cannot be weathered, there are NO words that can stop me permanently, there is no person who can stand in my way indefinitely. If I give the divine a chance to show her Peace through me, to work for my benefit, and to guard my interests, there is NOTHING I cannot accomplish, and with grace & wisdom & a lighter heart in the doing.


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The weather this past week has been simply beautiful!!!! The temps have been above 30 almost constantly. It's dipped down to about 10 above at night, but during the day it quickly warms to 35 and warmer. Today it was actually in the high 40's and the snow has been melting rapidly. There are many areas where the top inch is slush. (This, of course, is why I've been able to leave Puck outside during the day.)



Supposedly we may get some snow tonight, but I'll believe it when I see it. However, if we do, it's going to make the already-a-bit-slick roads even more slick. Then again, it IS still March, and it is not unusual to get snow even into the beginning of May. My last year working out here at NPB, we had our last snow-fall on May first, but by May 18th the temperature was hitting the 80's and all the snow had melted except for the odd dirt-covered pile that had been plowed to the edge of parking lots. (Those are often still present even into late June & early July.)



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So, I think that about covers it for tonight. I may or may not be on much at all tomorrow. It kind of depends on how long it takes in getting that shrank moved over here & in place & cleaned up. I'd like to get it set in place & cleaned immediately so I can promptly get it filled with my yarn & fabric & dish set.



Also, I'm now not sure WHAT I'm making for supper tomorrow night. I know Dad is still coming over, but I forgot to see about bringing the ham in until this morning. Suffice it to say, it was frozen so completely solid that after my grocery shopping trip, I put it BACK outside in the cooler & figured I'd have to find another plan for dinner tomorrow. I just wish I knew what!

EDITED TO ADD: Please be praying for my mom's friend Janis & Janis' boyfriend Tom, Daughter Sarah, and Mom & Brother (and Bro's family) as well as my Mom & Janis' other friends. Janis has been fighting Multiple Myeloma for about a year now, since she was first diagnosed (and that after a long fight to find the correct diagnosis) and from what Mom has passed on from her own conversation just a bit ago, with Tom, it appears that Janis' fight has come to an end. Janis is quickly approaching her last moments in this life. She's ending her life on Kaui, after being removed to a hospital there when it became apparent that she would be unable to complete the tour around Hawaii that was the one task on her "Bucket List" that she & her Mom hoped to complete together before Janis' time ran out. This was a trip that Janis had planned to take with her hubby several years back, only to have to cancel due to her husband's diagnosis & death from cancer. Now Janis completed all but the very last leg of the trip before succumbing herself to cancer. Please pray for her peace, and for peace & comfort for those who know & love her, and for those who will miss her greatly when she is from this life.

Have a Blessed Day!

Won't be on tomorrow....

Just wanted to let everybody know that it'll probably be a day or two before I'm back online. We've got somebody who said they'll come get our computer desk tomorrow, which means that until the new one is put together & the computer set up on it (and the room re-arranged yet again), I won't be able to get online.

Just don't want anybody worrying about me when I'm not around for a couple of days.

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I went to talk to one of the women who interviewed me, tonight. She said I did very well on the interview, and that it came down to a number of small points where my friend/coworker showed better than I did. One of them being that I hadn't put my present boss down as a professional reference. However, Ingrid said that she elected to use current supervisors as one of the references and so she called my current boss. Ingrid advised me to talk to my current boss about the less-than-glowing report my boss gave Ingrid. She (Ingrid) didn't go into a lot of detail, but suggested that based on my boss's review, I'm not mature enough, don't take enough initiative, and I talk too much to really work well at this job at this point in time. Said that my work ethic was somewhat questionable.

*sigh* Suffice it to say, I need to go in and talk to my boss & see what I can do to better her opinion of me. I'm not too hopeful on that account. I think it's going to come down to accepting what I feel is a lack of professional respect on her part for myself & my coworkers, and shut-up & kiss ass. However, I'm not an ass-kisser. It's not who I am. As for taking initiative, the couple of times I've tried, I've either been reminded that this is not my job (ie: helping folks out in the stacks); this is not the thing I'm supposed to be doing at the moment (pitch hitting where help is needed on a moment-to-moment basis); or my other coworker, LG, jumps in and coopts the job to be done & makes it look like she's the one doing all the work. My current job has less opportunity for taking the initiative than did the job I did while out here at NPB previously.

Evidently, rather than blogging on here tomorrow (seeing as how I won't have the computer anyway) I'll be going in early to talk to my boss, AND to talk to Georgine, the other potential-boss who interviewed me.

I just wish I could sit there & face my boss & not feel like I'm prostituting myself & my ethics to please my boss. But, on the other hand, if I want this job at NPB, evidently that's exactly what I've got to do. I HATE the thought, though, of kissing ass, even for a job I want so badly. Makes me sick, folks who behave like that.

(And, I've taken the initiative to learn computer programs that will help me in this position!!!!! I've taken initiative by looking for volunteer work at the elem. school to gain experience!!!! There were a couple of occasions when I DID work out at NPB where I broached the subject of me performing a job, and once given permission, I jumped right on it!!! HOW can it appear that I don't take the initiative?!?!?!)

Then there's the feeling that my boss may be sitting there laughing to herself about how she's screwed me out of a job that I want, because of whatever it is SHE doesn't like about me. And here she'd been ooooooh so sympathetic the other day when I said I needed the day off. Should've known it was too good to be true, her actually acting human toward me. *sigh*

Wish me luck, as I try to keep from acting even more immature tomorrow than I've already been accused of being.

With all that said, Ingrid did say that she could see me in that position some day, providing I improve my work ethic & mature quite a bit. *sigh* Which leaves me feeling like she doesn't think I'll be ready in time for this fall when Miss Vicki retires.

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In other news..... It looks like we're going to have to take Puck back to the pound. DD came home from school today & found that once again Puck had dug all the food from his food bowl, into his water bowl, then dumped the water bowl onto the carpet (food & all), THEN proceeded to pull the carpeting up from under the cover-strip that seperates the living-room carpet from the kitchen linoleum. He'd also pulled all the trash out of the computer room trash bin (which, thankfully, wasn't full and didn't really have anything but paper in it), but he shredded everything in it, all over the computer room. *sigh*

I like him, I really do. He's a sweet dog. But he's obviously a very troubled dog, and even when we're exercising him & allowing for his idiocyncrasies, he's destructive. And he's tearing the house apart. We already need to replace carpetting on both sides of DD's bedroom door, AND our bedroom door, and now between the kitchen & living room. We've had to replace the bottom half of DD's bedroom window, and STILL need to replace the screen, because he torn the screen up & tried to break through the window itself...... We just cannot keep this dog who's sweet but so very troubled & destructive. (And, I cannot put him outside during the day because the last time I did he climbed out of his kennel and went walk-about.) *sigh*

I hate to give up on him, esp. knowing that he's likely to get put to sleep if we take him back to the pound, but I don't know what else to do. DH is all for putting a bullet through Puck's head. (Short of an emergency injury that requires immediate relief for major injury and no vet close enough to come do the job, I couldn't do that to a pet. Certainly not for this.)

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Anyway.... Just feeling (emotionally) like crap right now. Peeved, and annoyed, and hurt, and sad, and angry. And REALLY FREAKING TIRED because I haven't been sleeping worth a crap since I came down with this damned cold.

So, I guess I'll see y'all in a couple of days.

Have a Blessed Rest of the Week!

I didn't get it.

I just got the phone call I've been waiting for, but not from the person I was hoping to hear from. I didn't get an offer call from Sally, I got a information call from Renee. At least Renee sounded sorry (hell, SAID she was sorry) to inform me that I didn't get the job. It was offered (and accepted) by my coworker, PW. I like PW. She's a great person. But dangit! I've had my heart set on this damned job for 6 years, and I've done everything I can to obtain experience for this job, with the time & opportunities I have.

I'm going to give myself a couple of days to stop blubbering over the decision, then I'm going to approach both Ingrid (the head librarian out here at NPB) and Georgine (her boss, in town at Noel Wien) and ask them both what I could have done differently, how I could improve for the next opportunity.

BUT GODS!!!!! I want that damned job sooooo badly. And yes. I'm crying. And no, I don't want to stop crying. I want to call in sick to work, curl up in bed, and have a nice long pity-party, fueled by loads of ice-cream & chocolate. But, being a Monday(the day we're shortest staffed at work), as I'm not TRULY sick and I took a week off work a couple of weeks back, I'm going to go to work today, and just try to GET through the day.

Anyway.

Have a Blessed Day.

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EDITED TO ADD:

After talking with my boss, she agreed that taking the day to have a private pity-party with plenty of ice-cream & crying sounds like just the thing she'd do to in the same sitch, so that's what's going on. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home & got a half-gal. of Caramel Caribou, and a pint each of B&J's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. And a bag of sweet maui onion chips. And I'm letting myself cry as I feel the urge. And I'm hoping the head-ache that comes along with crying jags doesn't continue to get worse or I WILL start self-medicating with my Tylenol 3 and the couple of teeny-tiny bottles of hard liquer I've got stashed in the fridge & freezer.

(A tiny bottle of Tequila Rose that's really good on Vanilla icecream, which was why I got it. A tiny bottle of tiny bourbon, to try to grasp why my middle sis loves the stuff so much. A tiny bottle of Jack Daniels that Dad had bought for some recipe but never used. And a tiny bottle of whiskey that ALSO came from Dad's house. Between the 4, I'm sure I could drown some sorrows & dull some pain. *wink*)

THANK YOU for the love & sympathy. I know there's nothing really anybody can say to make matters better, but just knowing that my friends care enough to sympathize does help as much as any such thing can. I'm already making plans for how I'm going to better my odds for next time.

And there WILL be a next time. One of the "librarians", Miss Vicki, is going to be retiring in the fall, after this next Summer Reading Program. I HAD hoped for the chance to learn from her. But, as that's not possible now, I'll do everything I can to better my chances of getting her job when she retires & heads to Hawaii. I've already got some ideas, and in a couple of days when I'm not feeling so raw about this, I'm going to talk to the two women who interviewed me (would have been my bosses, if I'd gotten the position) and ask them what I may have messed up on, what I can do better on next time, and what I should work on in the meantime.

Today, though, is Pity Party Day. Who's gonna come join me for some Icecream???? *wink*

Blessings!

Good Food & Girl Talk!

What a blast those "farmgirl get-togethers" those are!!!! I didn't leave my friend Mary's house till almost 1 this morning. DH was somewhat bummed because by the time I got home that meant all I wanted to do was go to bed, IN pyjamas, without any nookie taking place first. *sigh* But, it was LOADS of fun. We all bring something edible to share, and sit around gabbing, and sharing, and talking, and crocheting.....

But, it was even MORE fun after the last of the ladies that I didn't go to school with, left. That left Mary, another former-classmate/friend Bonita, and myself sitting around talking & gabbing till into the wee hours of the morning. And I found myself FINALLY talking a bit about my spiritual path, what little I can really verbally nail it down to, at this point. I'm not comfortable talking about my path with many folks here in town, because I'm honestly just not ready for word to get back to my Dad that I don't consider myself a Christian, and haven't for several years. Mary was similarly worried that the fact that most (though not all) of the women at the get-together are Christian might upset the couple of us that aren't. Evidently one woman that I haven't met yet is a through&through Athiest, and Mary was afraid that this woman may stop coming to the get-togethers because she's not comfortable being around Christians, or even that things may get said at one of the get-togethers that hurt a lot of feelings & leave a lot of people not wanting to come. And truthfully, I can understand this concern of Mary's. Mary Jane Butters makes it very clear on her forum that a "farmgirl" isn't to be excluded or made to feel uncomfortable because she happens to be of a different spiritual path (or, without spiritual path at all). She points out that being a Farmgirl is inclusive of ANYBODY who feels the pull toward some of the "old ways" like community, and gardening/farming, handicrafting, and baking/cooking from scratch. And I think that's an entirely fantastic goal, to try to open our worlds up enough that we can share our similarities & work towards a great ag-based community in our own communities, WITHOUT letting our spiritual paths get in the way of our friendships. And while our spiritual path (or, our morals for those without spiritual path) should be a part of our lives, it shouldn't stop us from forming friendships & community with those who's moral/spiritual path is slightly different from our own. Even if our friendship or fellowship with this person must be kept to more stringent boundaries because of moral issues between 2 people that cannot be bridged, there should still be a willingness & ability to fellowship peacefully in subjects that aren't spiritually based. (Cooking, knitting, gardening, and raising livestock are all activities that can be done & appreciated without letting spiritual & moral issues get in the way.)

Anyway, It was a great time. April's get together will be at another "Farmgirl's" house: "Burleyville". *grin* I look forward to getting together with this group of ladies again. It's nice to have friends in town. I haven't had real friends here in town in a very, very long time. And I've NEVER had friends that I could really calmly talk about & discuss spiritual viewpoints with, and that I didn't hide from, from the get-go. I love being able to talk spiritual viewpoings with folks, when we can do it calmly & without attacking or shoving our own viewpoints down each other's throats. Whether or not you come away agreeing with everything the other folks have said, it's still possible to learn so much. And it's amazing how similar our paths are, when broken down to the nitty-gritty & the morals they impose upon our lives.

It's amazing & fantastic to see my Christian friends realize that my spiritual walk may not be based around the Biblical God, but it still directs me to do my best for the world & it's inhabitants (all of them!); be responsible for my actions; not be a jerk & a hypocrit; and just all around be a good person. It's funny because I hear so many, many people say that Christianity is not based in works. Admittedly it's not BASED in works. But the works of one's hands are a manifestation of the thoughts in one's mind & the feelings in one's heart. And that's the same whether you're a Christian, a Pagan, a Hindu, a Buddist, or an Athiest. And I think that when it comes down to it, no matter which word our spiritual compass is pointing at, our moral compasses SHOULD all be pointing firmly at "love your neighbour" and "make the world a better place when you leave it". That, really, is the basic.

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In other news, I still haven't gotten my voice back completely. I can talk properly, though my voice is a lot huskier & grittier than it was prior to this cold. But, I can't sing at all now. And I don't mean I can't carry a tune in a bucket, I mean that when I try to sing, raspy sounds are all that come out. On the drive home, I tried to sing along with one of my favorite (sappy, cheesy, girly) songs, and I just about wound up crying because I couldn't. It just wasn't there. I MISS singing!!!! It's been a month since I was last able to sing. I miss singing. And I hope this illness hasn't done permanent damage to my singing voice. I could handle having a raspier, grittier speaking voice, but not to completely do without a singing voice.

Have a Blessed Day, Tomorrow!

Some Hockey Talk, just for Slip....

*grin* Well, Slip was right, I DIDN'T mention hockey once in the last post. So I will in this post.

DD's team played against Healy today for the last time. We were short 3 of our girls, who are in Calif. with their older siblings for a tournament. DD was in the goal net. We lost 2-1. That is the narrowest margin we've lost by yet, with Healy at full-strength. DD was thrilled that she's bettered her game against Healy, and wasn't much upset that her team lost, yet again. The coach, once again, gave her Kudos for such a great game played & said that he's going to have to spot another weak-point in her game, as she blocked all but 2 of the many, many shots taken on her today. And one of those two goals was made after the initial shot AND 3 rebound shots! It took 4 rapid-fire shots by Healy to get it through DD's defenses. FANTASTIC!

We've got one scrimmage against the 12U IceBreakers later this month, and then the team's end-of-season party, and as far as we know now, that will finish up the '07/'08 Hockey season. (It's possible, though not very likely at this point, that we may wind up with one or two more little pick-up games added in this month.)

DH, DD and I are all, admittedly, looking forward to this hockey season being over. We're all kind of tired of hockey at the moment (playing & parenting, not watching necessarily).

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We DID NOT move the shrenk in from my Dad's yet. We got the computer room rearranged the way we'd origionally planned, and found out that the computer desk was too big by over a foot, to fit on that wall. It completely covered the only furnace-vent in this room. So, we did some MORE creative rearranging, but found out this morning that the shrenk is 10 inches longer than we thought, and will not fit on the other wall (where we were GOING to put the computer desk). DANG IT! So..... after talking about it, we realized that the only way we'll be able to fit the shrenk in this room and have ANY room for actually moving around, is to get a smaller computer desk.

I feel kind of bad about shelling out the money for a new desk when the one we've got is sturdy & in rather good shape yet. But DH said not to worry about it as I've wanted to inherit that shrenk for as long as I can remember, and since I want it that badly, we'll make the rest work. *grin* I LOVE HIM! I know I don't say it often enough, but it's true!!! He'd rather spend some $$ to make sure that I get the piece of furniture I want, than see me miss out on something I've always wanted to have in my house.

Of course, we found a computer desk that we'd like, and that is actually well within our price range (and is sturdy, and looks nice, if a bit more modern than I totally care for), but wouldn't you know it.... The store is out of stock on that piece. So they're having it shipped up from Anchorage. It should be in Friday or Saturday, and providing we don't find something we like even better, we can go get it at that point. Which means we won't get the shrenk moved in her today, or even probably NEXT Saturday, but the following Saturday.

So.... Connie, it's going to be a couple of weeks before I get a picture of the piece taken to share with you. (And, even when I do, it's in need of some TLC before it really looks good again, but at least it'll be mine to lavish with TLC as I find time & cash.)

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The wind picked up so much that DH's carport is just barely still standing. He doesn't even want us parking our vehicals in them for the moment. *sigh* The lady that lives across the street & two houses down wound up losing her carport yesterday. Even though the thing was weighted down with cement blocks around the legs, the whole thing took off at some point yesterday evening & landed in a tree on the other side of the next house down past that. *shaking head* Ours, fortunately, hasn't taken off THAT completely.

The wind-speed estimates are about 50 mph, though, last I heard. Origionally they were predicting a die-down around 6 pm THIS evening, but now that's been pushed back till at LEAST tomorrow evening. The temp WITH wind-chill???? Back to between -30 and -40. *shudder* Our front door blew open THREE TIMES last night, and once so far today. *shaking head*

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Barefoot Gardner, I did call Human Resources yesterday.... That's how I know that I won't have firm news till Monday, now, at the soonest. *smile* Yeah, it's making me a bit antzy this weekend, not knowing.

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I'm going over to a friend's house tonight for a few hours. I don't know how many of my online friends have heard of Mary Jane Butter's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook, but she's also got a Farmgirl Forum, and fans of her book & members of her forum are welcome to start their own little hometown Farmgirl chapters. Well, a class-mate of mine from HS started one for Fairbanks & NP, and when I found out about it I asked if I could come. Of course, last month was the first time my schedual has contrived to allow for this, but it was a good bit of fun. Mary's going to try to have a get-together on the first Saturday of every month, at her house for now. And it's just us ladies, no kiddos (except Mary's youngest, who's the only kiddo around who's too young at this point to be sent off with Dad or grandparent or babysitter), no hubbies. We bring something yummy to eat. A handi-craft project to work on; and gab!!!!

DH is going to take the kiddo & go look at Fred Meyer's and W@!^^@rt to see if they can find a computer desk BEFORE next Friday. Then they're going to go Glow-Putt for a couple of hours, and find something to eat without me. Fine by me!

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We filled up my car (complete fill-up) for the first time today. It gets right about 24 miles to the gallon. Which is about 5 mpg than my buick was getting. FANTASTIC!!!! I wish it was still higher, of course, but hey..... Take what you can get. On the other hand, it was $40 to fill it up, still. Fuel has gone up 10 cents since I last filled up, so it's now at $3.15. *shaking head*

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I couldn't help but express my frustration to the sterio last night when I heard a report that our illustrious president was shocked to find out that economists are predicting that fuel prices will rise to $4/gal. this summer. And his supposed arguement that we couldn't POSSIBLY be entering a recession, "this isn't a recession, it's just a slow-down". *shaking head* WHY THE F*** did I vote for this idiot the first time around???? (Yes, I freely admit I made the mistake of voting for him the first time. I didn't make that mistake twice, though.)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.... If you haven't started stocking up on necessities, large & small, already..... START NOW! Canned goods, candles, matches, crafting materials if you're so inclined, get yourself some open pollinated seeds & get yourself some gardening space this summer (even if it IS only a couple of containers on a patio or in a window)...... Seriously, don't wait any longer!!!!

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I got into a conversation regarding the same yesterday, while at the craft store. I'd stopped in to buy a bit more crafting supplies (some yarn, some sewing accessories, and wound up with some fabric as well), and started talking to another former class-mate/co-worker (from when I worked at the craft-store as well). She said that she's started stocking up on groceries, and is going to get her Mom to teach her some gardening skills this summer, and that she's really wanting to learn how to knit & crochet but needs to find somebody to teach her. She said she's becoming rather nervous about the direction our economy & goverment are headed, and even beyond the economy, how physically dangerous things could get in OUR region of the USA if the government doesn't find a way to calm the brewing arguements about arctic right-of-ways & resources. Hell, I even heard a comment (a snarky, not-very-nice-one) by a local radio personality yesterday that Canada is starting to question the US's boundaries in the Arctic. Between my friend's comments and the radio-show-host's comments, it struck me just how precarious a situation Alaskans COULD be in!!!! And realistically, not only do we have to worry about a cross-fire between the USA & Canada, but even more so about the USA & Russia!!!

(The show-host's comment revolved around what he felt was the stupidity of Canada to think that they could take on a country as mighty as the US, militarily. Something about the Canadian Air Force consists on a hand-full of Cesna's. The guy's a $$$$ing idiot. We need all the allies we can get, right now, esp. when they're of the caliber of Canada!)

On top of that, I overheard an ironically funny (ie: it was funny hearing how PUBLIC such concerns are getting to be, not the conversation itself) between two guys at the grocery store. One guy (mid 40's) was commenting on how much it hurts fill up his car-tank these days, and how he's trying to find ways to cut down on his driving time. The older guy (in his 60's, I'd guess) said how much this reminds him of the stories his parents used to tell about the depression & WW2, and how he's started stocking up on things he thinks he may need in the near future, and how things are only going to get worse. He advised the younger guy to seriously start working toward the same, as well. And THEN the older guy went on to talk about how blind our goverment is being to the problems brewing for us. I mean, I was listening to this as I looked at a gallon of milk that's now costing me about $3.50 a pop. All I could think of is "and our president says WHAT?!?!?" I can't help but feeling that the guy must've gotten his diploma from a cracker-jack box, when your 60+ year old Baby Boomer is talking to a 40+ year old guy in the grocery store about the same things a couple of late 20-somethings (myself & my friend) were talking about in the craft store. WE can see the writing on the wall, and the goverment can't?!?!?!!

Not likely. The goverment WON'T!!!!! They don't want to admit to the fact that we're tied to the tracks & the big-black-train Depression is barreling down on them, out of control & the engineer jumped off a few miles back.........

A part of me thinks about all this and wonders when I became a conspiracy theorist and a believer in apocolyptal problems. The other part of me realizes that to believe anything less is to be blind, deaf and stupid!

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*sigh* Enough trouble talk for now. I've gotta get heading over to Mary's house.

Have a Blessed Day!