OK, not to beat a dead horse (just where do saying like that come from anyway?) but this whole bombs-on-planes thing and how to prevent it, is just not working for me. I know the government is trying to come up with ways to detect threats and deal with them, but I don’t think they have hit the right balance yet. I’ve decided to throw in a few ideas of my own.
1. Have everyone on a flight put to sleep before they are loaded onto the plane, and do not wake them up until they are taken off the plane. This policy could cure a lot of problems for the airlines, like having to sit on the tarmac, noisy children, rude passengers, etc… No one would care.
2. Make it a requirement that everyone deposit their family as hostages while in flight and they would not be allowed loose until you have deplaned. Those flights to Europe and Asia are going to be hell on the family too.
3. Have everyone fly naked, and then try not to laugh.
4. Make it mandatory that a passenger must sign a legal waiver to their right to any and all virgins. That should dramatically cut back on the men willing to commit suicide.
5. Issue spare shoes and X-ray vision glasses to all persons entering an airport. If you detect a strange item you can then beat any suspected bomb totting flyers with the shoe when you find them. But you know they would buy the cheapest shoes possible so we will be beating terrorist with those paper thin flip-flops you get with a pedicure.
6. Instead of the same old safety lecture that the attendants give, how about a briefing on the most effective ways to take down a terrorist? That should cause some second thoughts.
7. All passengers should be handcuffed to each other, like a long chain. No one could do anything without it being noticed. It would also make potty breaks interesting.
Well, there are seven solid actions that could be taken to cut back on this kind of lunacy. I’m sure TSA is at this moment gearing up to incorporate them all. So be prepared the next time you fly. Of course, you might want to consider the train or bus as an alternative.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Bombs and security
OK, how do you get a bomb on a plane? I really want to know the answer to this question because I have yet to get on a plane without having to leave something with security.
In my case, the repeat offender is my pocket knife. I carry a tiny Swiss Army knife. It has a nail file, a pair of scissors, a toothpick, a pair of tweezers and a tiny blade. A blade that is two inches long, max. I could stab you all day long with this blade and never cause you serious damage. If a Navy Seal had his choice between this blade and a piece of paper for defense, he’d choose the paper. If I pulled this on someone, the biggest threat would be that they would laugh themselves to death. And yet, I’ve had to leave dozens of these at air ports, and other security stations. I’m beginning to think this is Swiss Army’s diabolically plan to boost sales.
In my case, the repeat offender is my pocket knife. I carry a tiny Swiss Army knife. It has a nail file, a pair of scissors, a toothpick, a pair of tweezers and a tiny blade. A blade that is two inches long, max. I could stab you all day long with this blade and never cause you serious damage. If a Navy Seal had his choice between this blade and a piece of paper for defense, he’d choose the paper. If I pulled this on someone, the biggest threat would be that they would laugh themselves to death. And yet, I’ve had to leave dozens of these at air ports, and other security stations. I’m beginning to think this is Swiss Army’s diabolically plan to boost sales.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Pregnant soldiers and Prince William
Ok, today I read that the Army commander in northern Iraq has issued a no pregnancy order for all soldiers while in his theater of war. Apparently several female soldiers have become pregnant and they, along with the fathers who are also soldiers, have been issued letter of reprimand. Well, there is just all kinds of flak over this!
I personally think the order was pretty much a no-brainer. Getting pregnant in a war zone, when you have the ability to prevent it, should be regulation. I mean, can we say, “Duh!” For one thing I know for a fact that the military medical plan covers birth control. For another, how stupid are you to be having unprotected sex? (Which is just another whole rant I could go on.) I mean really, who goes to war and thinks getting pregnant is a good family plan? OK, obviously they aren’t thinking.
I’m not naive, I know when you put man and women together, in any way, some of them are going to invariably exercise bad judgment or a total lack of judgment, and end up in a physical relationship. But for Pete’s sakes don’t jump all over the one person who had enough presence of mind to anticipate the problem and try to put something in place to deal with it. If I were the one in charge, all the women would be put on mandatory birth control, and the men too, as soon as it becomes available.
And you just know the Muslim extremists are going to be all over this as an example of American immorality. This behavior just leads to worse treatment for woman soldiers who end up as prisoners of war! It also increases concern about the kind of protection women in the population can really expect from an male American soldier. This kind of blatant behavior should be treated in the same vain as putting a fellow soldier in danger.
I’m really disappointed that this commander is backing off of his policy because of pressure. At least he’s opened the door and hopefully the military will consider a real, and comprehensive policy to address this. Maybe they should hire mothers my age to act as chaperones and house mothers. LOL
Also in the realm of the stupid and bizarre, apparently Prince William spent the night out on the mean streets of London as a homeless person to better understand their plight. Not to take away from his wanting to do good, but really, who believes for a moment that his spending a night as a homeless person is anything like the real thing? It’s just ludicrous!
In the article they talked about how it was 24 degrees out, they had to sleep behind trash bins, and that they could have been roughed up by thugs. Oh please!!!!! The photo says it all. The alley looked like it had been scrubbed within an inch of its life, and they have a lot of bedding laying around for some supposedly homeless guys. And I wonder how many body guards were posted in the area? Homeless experience my tookus! As for the 24 degrees, he wears a kilt in Scotland for mercy’s sake, and he’s been military trained, I’m sure it wasn’t too tough to handle.
I love Prince William, but in this instance, I think his handlers have not done a very good job. He should have cleaned out REI and handed all the stuff out to the homeless, that would have been much more helpful to them.
I personally think the order was pretty much a no-brainer. Getting pregnant in a war zone, when you have the ability to prevent it, should be regulation. I mean, can we say, “Duh!” For one thing I know for a fact that the military medical plan covers birth control. For another, how stupid are you to be having unprotected sex? (Which is just another whole rant I could go on.) I mean really, who goes to war and thinks getting pregnant is a good family plan? OK, obviously they aren’t thinking.
I’m not naive, I know when you put man and women together, in any way, some of them are going to invariably exercise bad judgment or a total lack of judgment, and end up in a physical relationship. But for Pete’s sakes don’t jump all over the one person who had enough presence of mind to anticipate the problem and try to put something in place to deal with it. If I were the one in charge, all the women would be put on mandatory birth control, and the men too, as soon as it becomes available.
And you just know the Muslim extremists are going to be all over this as an example of American immorality. This behavior just leads to worse treatment for woman soldiers who end up as prisoners of war! It also increases concern about the kind of protection women in the population can really expect from an male American soldier. This kind of blatant behavior should be treated in the same vain as putting a fellow soldier in danger.
I’m really disappointed that this commander is backing off of his policy because of pressure. At least he’s opened the door and hopefully the military will consider a real, and comprehensive policy to address this. Maybe they should hire mothers my age to act as chaperones and house mothers. LOL
Also in the realm of the stupid and bizarre, apparently Prince William spent the night out on the mean streets of London as a homeless person to better understand their plight. Not to take away from his wanting to do good, but really, who believes for a moment that his spending a night as a homeless person is anything like the real thing? It’s just ludicrous!
In the article they talked about how it was 24 degrees out, they had to sleep behind trash bins, and that they could have been roughed up by thugs. Oh please!!!!! The photo says it all. The alley looked like it had been scrubbed within an inch of its life, and they have a lot of bedding laying around for some supposedly homeless guys. And I wonder how many body guards were posted in the area? Homeless experience my tookus! As for the 24 degrees, he wears a kilt in Scotland for mercy’s sake, and he’s been military trained, I’m sure it wasn’t too tough to handle.
I love Prince William, but in this instance, I think his handlers have not done a very good job. He should have cleaned out REI and handed all the stuff out to the homeless, that would have been much more helpful to them.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Making a difference, and keeping soldiers safe
As you all know I am a supporter of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), a wonderful organizations that is changing the world, and doing it on a shoe string.
As you all also know, I am the mother of two Army solders. When I donate to CAI, I do so with the firm belief that I am taking a positive action that will keep my children safer, as well as other US soldiers.
For the past 15 years I have worked as a community organizer, and outreach specialist for the City of Portland. It has been clear to me from the beginning of our conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq that military force alone will never solve our problems. I feel strongly that self determination and strong, healthy communities are the answer. Thee Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools are books that follow the life of Greg Mortenson and his work in founding and establishing the CAI. They also chronicle the ongoing work they are doing. Their successes reinforce my belief that I have always been right about the power of community.
In 1993 Greg suffered a life changing failure. As a member of a mounteering team set to make the final assault on the summit of K2, he not only failed to reach his goal, he also failed in fulfilling a promise to leave a memento at the summit in honor of his sister who had recently passed away. Broken in spirit and depleted in body, he had to make his way down the mountain on foot with his guide. As he crossed the glacier, he became lost. Later, sick and at the end of his physical limits, he became separated from his guide and wandered into a very small village in northern Pakistan. He didn’t know where he was, or even who he was. For days this village that could barely feed and cloth itself cared for Greg and nursed him back to health.
From this monumental failure and seemingly divine intervention, Greg discovered his true calling, to build schools for girls in the most remote areas imaginable. His beginnings were rough and it took him years before he recognized the calling he had received. Now the CAI is building schools, literacy centers, water treatment systems, and good will all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. In areas where extremist madrasas have been the main source for education for young males of limited resource, and breading ground for Taliban and Al Quida, CAI is making a difference.
Before CAI will build a school the community must agree to several things, 1) that girls will be allowed to attend just as boys are. 2) that the village will donate the land, 3) that the village will be responsible for monitoring the construction. Together the CAI and the village become partners in the project. In the end the village owns the school, and as a community they are responsible for it’s success with support from CAI.
Greg’s books are required reading at the Pentagon and Special Forces training in counter insurgency classes. The U.S. military have been quick to see that bombs will not win a lasting peace, but education might. The militaries of the U.S., Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as local mujahidin leaders have become supporters of the work CAI does because they know how valuable it is.
If you are looking for a great gift to give, consider either Three Cups of Tea, or Stones into Schools, and if you are looking for a worthy organizations to donate to, consider the Central Asia Institute.
As you all also know, I am the mother of two Army solders. When I donate to CAI, I do so with the firm belief that I am taking a positive action that will keep my children safer, as well as other US soldiers.
For the past 15 years I have worked as a community organizer, and outreach specialist for the City of Portland. It has been clear to me from the beginning of our conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq that military force alone will never solve our problems. I feel strongly that self determination and strong, healthy communities are the answer. Thee Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools are books that follow the life of Greg Mortenson and his work in founding and establishing the CAI. They also chronicle the ongoing work they are doing. Their successes reinforce my belief that I have always been right about the power of community.
In 1993 Greg suffered a life changing failure. As a member of a mounteering team set to make the final assault on the summit of K2, he not only failed to reach his goal, he also failed in fulfilling a promise to leave a memento at the summit in honor of his sister who had recently passed away. Broken in spirit and depleted in body, he had to make his way down the mountain on foot with his guide. As he crossed the glacier, he became lost. Later, sick and at the end of his physical limits, he became separated from his guide and wandered into a very small village in northern Pakistan. He didn’t know where he was, or even who he was. For days this village that could barely feed and cloth itself cared for Greg and nursed him back to health.
From this monumental failure and seemingly divine intervention, Greg discovered his true calling, to build schools for girls in the most remote areas imaginable. His beginnings were rough and it took him years before he recognized the calling he had received. Now the CAI is building schools, literacy centers, water treatment systems, and good will all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. In areas where extremist madrasas have been the main source for education for young males of limited resource, and breading ground for Taliban and Al Quida, CAI is making a difference.
Before CAI will build a school the community must agree to several things, 1) that girls will be allowed to attend just as boys are. 2) that the village will donate the land, 3) that the village will be responsible for monitoring the construction. Together the CAI and the village become partners in the project. In the end the village owns the school, and as a community they are responsible for it’s success with support from CAI.
Greg’s books are required reading at the Pentagon and Special Forces training in counter insurgency classes. The U.S. military have been quick to see that bombs will not win a lasting peace, but education might. The militaries of the U.S., Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as local mujahidin leaders have become supporters of the work CAI does because they know how valuable it is.
If you are looking for a great gift to give, consider either Three Cups of Tea, or Stones into Schools, and if you are looking for a worthy organizations to donate to, consider the Central Asia Institute.
Tis the season
This past weekend my sister and I did our annual baking marathon. Three days of cakes, fudge, and assorted goodies we share with our friends, neighbors, co-workers and family. After all the cooking was completed we still had to package it all up and make out card to the more than 30 individuals, families and organizations on our list. It’s quite the job, but very rewarding in the end!
Some of this year’s highlights were the constant battle to keep the dog, kids and cat out from under our feet; a few burned fingers, the mystery of the non-rising cake, and the moment when Rusty (the dog) made off with a cake.
I happy to report that we now have dipping and swirling down to an art, and we’ve added a great new Bundt pan to our inventory of cooking tools. Also, our old hand-me-down antique table with six leaves is still indispensible for laying everything out, and working on. It has to be the best investment my great-great grandmother ever made!
The cutest item rendered from a kitchen this weekend did not come from my kitchen, it came from Jason and Emma’s. They made gingerbread men and women holding hands, to represent themselves. They were as cute and Jason and Emma are, which is to say, too cute for words!
Still on my list of things to do this season, is to get a tree in our park decorated. Me and few other neighbors will randomly choose a tree in our park and hang decorations. The idea is to do it when there are as few people as possible in the park, and to do it as quickly as possible. We want it to seem as if it has just appeared. We always have a great time with this. Last year there was almost two feet of snow on the ground so that was different.
As we all know, I am not a fan of interacting with snow on a personal level. I firmly believe that, as for as I am concerned, snow should be enjoyed through glass. However, many among us hold different views for themselves. All the kids and Matt, are on watch for snow, not that there is any inkling of it in the forecast. Matt has his snowmen already planned out and kids just want to play in it. Matt is planning to build a classic snowman, but with a depressed frown, holding a blow dryer to his head. Last year is was a snowman trying to out swim snow sharks.
As a new treat this winter, I have decided to start a snow sculpture contest for our neighborhood. Since snow is something we can never depend on, there is no way of knowing when the contest can be held. I kind of like that!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
Some of this year’s highlights were the constant battle to keep the dog, kids and cat out from under our feet; a few burned fingers, the mystery of the non-rising cake, and the moment when Rusty (the dog) made off with a cake.
I happy to report that we now have dipping and swirling down to an art, and we’ve added a great new Bundt pan to our inventory of cooking tools. Also, our old hand-me-down antique table with six leaves is still indispensible for laying everything out, and working on. It has to be the best investment my great-great grandmother ever made!
The cutest item rendered from a kitchen this weekend did not come from my kitchen, it came from Jason and Emma’s. They made gingerbread men and women holding hands, to represent themselves. They were as cute and Jason and Emma are, which is to say, too cute for words!
Still on my list of things to do this season, is to get a tree in our park decorated. Me and few other neighbors will randomly choose a tree in our park and hang decorations. The idea is to do it when there are as few people as possible in the park, and to do it as quickly as possible. We want it to seem as if it has just appeared. We always have a great time with this. Last year there was almost two feet of snow on the ground so that was different.
As we all know, I am not a fan of interacting with snow on a personal level. I firmly believe that, as for as I am concerned, snow should be enjoyed through glass. However, many among us hold different views for themselves. All the kids and Matt, are on watch for snow, not that there is any inkling of it in the forecast. Matt has his snowmen already planned out and kids just want to play in it. Matt is planning to build a classic snowman, but with a depressed frown, holding a blow dryer to his head. Last year is was a snowman trying to out swim snow sharks.
As a new treat this winter, I have decided to start a snow sculpture contest for our neighborhood. Since snow is something we can never depend on, there is no way of knowing when the contest can be held. I kind of like that!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
When will home be "home"?
You know I moved to the Pacific Northwest, Portland area, from Houston almost 21 years. That’s a long time! I’ve attended college here, raised my children here, bought two homes, and made incredible friends here. So, why do I still refer to Texas as “home”?
I constantly find myself saying things like, “Back home, we would ….” Do other people who have moved her from other places find themselves making the same kind of statements? Will we ever completely move our hearts as far as we have moved our bodies?
Why isn’t here “home”? What is it my mental make up that keeps me rooted in Texas? Is it me or is it Texas? Is it the memories of youth warring with the adult ones? I just don’t know the answer to these questions, but for some strange reason, even though I’ve lived and worked in four states other than Texas, that is were my mind takes me when it thinks “home”. There is still a part of me that still longs for Texas, but when I go for a visit I always come back to the Pacific Northwest happy that I live here instead of there.
There are many things I miss about Texas, and probably just as many things I’m glad to be separated from, like my two ex-husbands. That’s right I’m just like George Strait, all my exes like in Texas, but I don’t feel like I’m stuck here. I really miss the family I still have there. I also miss the indefinable quality of that pervades life there. The pride in your state, a pride that has the whole state covered in state outlines, and state flags. The sense that if you’re in Texas there’s just no other place anyone would want to be.
I also miss the particular flavor of Texas hospitality. People here hospitable, but Texas has different feel to it’s. I’m every place does, but it’s that Texas flavor I miss.
Although there are things about Texas that horrify me now when I return for visits, like everyone’s complete lack of interest in recycling, the constant boasting about Texas, and cultural divisions that aren’t even questions. I realize that I probably have a good portion of all those traits, but I guess I elect not to see them in myself. Funny how that works.
So, I’m going to try to feel more like a Northwesterner, and less like a Texan in the new year. I’m not sure how successful I will be. I guess I’d better get out and visit the nearest REI and practice.
I constantly find myself saying things like, “Back home, we would ….” Do other people who have moved her from other places find themselves making the same kind of statements? Will we ever completely move our hearts as far as we have moved our bodies?
Why isn’t here “home”? What is it my mental make up that keeps me rooted in Texas? Is it me or is it Texas? Is it the memories of youth warring with the adult ones? I just don’t know the answer to these questions, but for some strange reason, even though I’ve lived and worked in four states other than Texas, that is were my mind takes me when it thinks “home”. There is still a part of me that still longs for Texas, but when I go for a visit I always come back to the Pacific Northwest happy that I live here instead of there.
There are many things I miss about Texas, and probably just as many things I’m glad to be separated from, like my two ex-husbands. That’s right I’m just like George Strait, all my exes like in Texas, but I don’t feel like I’m stuck here. I really miss the family I still have there. I also miss the indefinable quality of that pervades life there. The pride in your state, a pride that has the whole state covered in state outlines, and state flags. The sense that if you’re in Texas there’s just no other place anyone would want to be.
I also miss the particular flavor of Texas hospitality. People here hospitable, but Texas has different feel to it’s. I’m every place does, but it’s that Texas flavor I miss.
Although there are things about Texas that horrify me now when I return for visits, like everyone’s complete lack of interest in recycling, the constant boasting about Texas, and cultural divisions that aren’t even questions. I realize that I probably have a good portion of all those traits, but I guess I elect not to see them in myself. Funny how that works.
So, I’m going to try to feel more like a Northwesterner, and less like a Texan in the new year. I’m not sure how successful I will be. I guess I’d better get out and visit the nearest REI and practice.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Death, horror and the human spirit
Last week every time I turned around I heard another horrific story about death, dying, and on the verge of dying. It reached the point that I was afraid to start a conversation with anyone! It was horrible!
At a holiday party on Saturday everyone was asked to state something they were thankful for. I didn’t have to think for a moment, I’m thankful my family is healthy!! And, I’m praying we all stay that way!!
When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing what a human body and spirit can endure. Not only endure, but come back from. How, as a specie, we seem to be predisposed to overlook, overcome, and move past the most awful things and grow. This isn’t the first time I’ve made this observation, but it still catches at times and humbles me.
As most of you know my son was severely wounded while deployed in Iraq. He lost his left leg and nearly died. At the time, his wounds and rehabilitation was all consuming, but now I hardly ever think about it and I’m always a little surprised when someone asks me how my son is doing. I have to stop a second to remember what they are talking about. He’s great, at least when he isn’t ticking me off.
One of the stories I heard recently was about a family where the wife (44) died unexpectedly, then the husband (44) died of cancer, the cat died of cancer, and father died of a heart attach, all within one week. The mother is left behind and grief stricken as you can imagine, but at some point in the future she and the rest of the family will move past all this, as inconceivable as that seems to them now.
I caught a part of a show over the weekend about the trade in sex slave in the U.S. Not my usual sort of viewing, but as I listened to this one young woman talk about her experiences and the absolute horror and terror she lived through day after day, I kept thinking how can she still be sane, and how does someone get over that? How does she go on to live a normal life? Yet there she was doing just that.
When I worked in North Portland, I met an older gentleman who was always so pleasant and cheerful. You would have thought he had lived a charmed life, and I think he would have told you that he had. I found out later that he was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, the only member of his military team to survive. None of it showed on him.
As humans we are amazing creatures. I wonder what it is in us that allows us to not only survive such awful events, but to grow beyond them. Without this ability I’m sure humans would be long since extinct by now.
At a holiday party on Saturday everyone was asked to state something they were thankful for. I didn’t have to think for a moment, I’m thankful my family is healthy!! And, I’m praying we all stay that way!!
When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing what a human body and spirit can endure. Not only endure, but come back from. How, as a specie, we seem to be predisposed to overlook, overcome, and move past the most awful things and grow. This isn’t the first time I’ve made this observation, but it still catches at times and humbles me.
As most of you know my son was severely wounded while deployed in Iraq. He lost his left leg and nearly died. At the time, his wounds and rehabilitation was all consuming, but now I hardly ever think about it and I’m always a little surprised when someone asks me how my son is doing. I have to stop a second to remember what they are talking about. He’s great, at least when he isn’t ticking me off.
One of the stories I heard recently was about a family where the wife (44) died unexpectedly, then the husband (44) died of cancer, the cat died of cancer, and father died of a heart attach, all within one week. The mother is left behind and grief stricken as you can imagine, but at some point in the future she and the rest of the family will move past all this, as inconceivable as that seems to them now.
I caught a part of a show over the weekend about the trade in sex slave in the U.S. Not my usual sort of viewing, but as I listened to this one young woman talk about her experiences and the absolute horror and terror she lived through day after day, I kept thinking how can she still be sane, and how does someone get over that? How does she go on to live a normal life? Yet there she was doing just that.
When I worked in North Portland, I met an older gentleman who was always so pleasant and cheerful. You would have thought he had lived a charmed life, and I think he would have told you that he had. I found out later that he was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, the only member of his military team to survive. None of it showed on him.
As humans we are amazing creatures. I wonder what it is in us that allows us to not only survive such awful events, but to grow beyond them. Without this ability I’m sure humans would be long since extinct by now.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Stuff, littler stuff, and needing your stuff
Well, Thanksgiving is almost here and for the most part my workload on the job is slowing down a bit. Of course the work required at home is picking up. I guess I shouldn’t complain. My daughter, Kristin, called today to say the movers will be there to pick up their stuff tomorrow. I can’t imagine having to pack-up everything you own and trusting it in the hands of total strangers. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve moved, a lot! But, I never left my stuff with strangers. I’d be a nervous wreck.
Not only are total stranger moving them, but they will not see their stuff for over a month! They will be visiting relatives for the next 30 days. Once they finally land in the same state as their stuff, they will still need to find housing before their stuff can be delivered. I would suffer so much separation anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself.
I remember when I was young, in my teens; I used to daydream about how great it would be to travel the world with a backpack and a bed roll. That so does not sound appealing now! My daydream now is to travel the world by being molecularly transported to locations around the world with my house, shop and garage. Because, I just might need something and it would be so much handier to have everything there. Not to mention I could sleep in my own bed, with my own pillows every night. I’d have my car and all the things I know so well. Not to mention a bathroom handy.
I like that commercial on TV where the girl jumps out of her big jacked-up truck, hits the lock on her keychain, and then hits another button and the whole thing folds itself up until it will fit in her little tiny purse. That is brilliant!! You don’t have to worry about paying for parking, someone hitting it, or it being stolen. And, if you’re at the mall, you don’t have to walk back a mile to get to it, its right there in your purse when you’re ready to go. We need scientists and engineers working on this kind of technology. You know something really useful to everyone!!
Parent of whiney, crying babies could maybe do the same thing, especially when they bring them on plains!!
Not only are total stranger moving them, but they will not see their stuff for over a month! They will be visiting relatives for the next 30 days. Once they finally land in the same state as their stuff, they will still need to find housing before their stuff can be delivered. I would suffer so much separation anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself.
I remember when I was young, in my teens; I used to daydream about how great it would be to travel the world with a backpack and a bed roll. That so does not sound appealing now! My daydream now is to travel the world by being molecularly transported to locations around the world with my house, shop and garage. Because, I just might need something and it would be so much handier to have everything there. Not to mention I could sleep in my own bed, with my own pillows every night. I’d have my car and all the things I know so well. Not to mention a bathroom handy.
I like that commercial on TV where the girl jumps out of her big jacked-up truck, hits the lock on her keychain, and then hits another button and the whole thing folds itself up until it will fit in her little tiny purse. That is brilliant!! You don’t have to worry about paying for parking, someone hitting it, or it being stolen. And, if you’re at the mall, you don’t have to walk back a mile to get to it, its right there in your purse when you’re ready to go. We need scientists and engineers working on this kind of technology. You know something really useful to everyone!!
Parent of whiney, crying babies could maybe do the same thing, especially when they bring them on plains!!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Leafing along in the Northwest
I haven’t written in awhile, and that was brought home to me at a gathering on Wednesday evening where a few people mentioned my lapse. So I’ve decided to take keyboard in hand and log an entry in the ole blog.
Trees have been my life lately, at work and off work. At work I talk to citizens about which tree they want planted in the stormwater facility on their street, whether they want a tree in the facility, how and why we are trimming the trees in their neighborhood, why we are cutting trees, and how lateral sewer connections affect their tree roots. I should be a frick’in arborist! Yesterday afternoon we had our quarterly get together offsite, to do brainstorming. Guess what one of the topics was…that’s right, TREES. To be specific, how to get more people to plant street trees.
At home my interaction with trees is less stressful, it involves watching leaves change color, and observing how they tumble and dance around in the wind. I love fall in the northwest! The color is inspiring, and uplifting to the spirits. There are a few downsides to them though. For one, there is the raking, and two, the slipping and falling when they get wet and begin to decompose. With the amount of rain we get this time of year leaves can be problematic, but I love them anyway.
Speaking of weather, we have officially entered the rainy season, which means we will experience precipitation in one form or another pretty much every day from now until June. This situation is the main reason more sunglasses are sold in the northwest than in any other part of the country. We are all so light deprived that the smallest amount of sun will blind us.
This weather is also the reason that almost everyone keeps multiple pairs of shoes under their desk at work. I personally have a pair of closed clogs, a pair of open clogs, a pair of lace-up leather shoes, and two pairs of boots. You never know what you will need to get through a day. In fact, I need to go shoe shopping for some new commuter shoes that will keep me from tripping on all the leaves. So I’ll leaf you now to embark on other duties. (I know, it’s a real groaner!)
Trees have been my life lately, at work and off work. At work I talk to citizens about which tree they want planted in the stormwater facility on their street, whether they want a tree in the facility, how and why we are trimming the trees in their neighborhood, why we are cutting trees, and how lateral sewer connections affect their tree roots. I should be a frick’in arborist! Yesterday afternoon we had our quarterly get together offsite, to do brainstorming. Guess what one of the topics was…that’s right, TREES. To be specific, how to get more people to plant street trees.
At home my interaction with trees is less stressful, it involves watching leaves change color, and observing how they tumble and dance around in the wind. I love fall in the northwest! The color is inspiring, and uplifting to the spirits. There are a few downsides to them though. For one, there is the raking, and two, the slipping and falling when they get wet and begin to decompose. With the amount of rain we get this time of year leaves can be problematic, but I love them anyway.
Speaking of weather, we have officially entered the rainy season, which means we will experience precipitation in one form or another pretty much every day from now until June. This situation is the main reason more sunglasses are sold in the northwest than in any other part of the country. We are all so light deprived that the smallest amount of sun will blind us.
This weather is also the reason that almost everyone keeps multiple pairs of shoes under their desk at work. I personally have a pair of closed clogs, a pair of open clogs, a pair of lace-up leather shoes, and two pairs of boots. You never know what you will need to get through a day. In fact, I need to go shoe shopping for some new commuter shoes that will keep me from tripping on all the leaves. So I’ll leaf you now to embark on other duties. (I know, it’s a real groaner!)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The greatest gift
The past two weeks I was on vacation. My daughter and granddaughter came for a visit. It was wonderful!! My daughter is such a wonderful spirit and an incredible mother!!
My granddaughter is just too cute for words and one of my very favorite people in the whole world. In fact, she may be my very favorite person in the whole world. She will be two years old tomorrow and everything is new and interesting to her. It was amazing to see the world through her eyes. She felt totally accomplished when she discovered that she could pull a foot stool over to the wall, climb up and turn the lights on and off for herself.
She is going as Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, for Halloween, and he mom still hadn’t been able to find a pair of ruby slipper for the costume. I brought home a pair and while she was sitting next to me I slowly opened the box to expose the shoes. Her eyes got really big and a grin spread across her face as she pointed and, filled with awe, whispered, “shoes.” She then immediately pulled the shoes she was wearing off and starting trying to get the new shoes on.
We wear shoes a pair at a time, but she feels on such restriction. She will wear a shoe from two different pairs at the same time, or will wear two pairs at once, a pair of her own and a pair of her father’s. She refused to be limited by the restrictive norms of society and good taste. She wants it all!
She loves to runs! She’s not trying to get any place in particular or be somewhere on time. She just wants to run for the pleasure of it. To make it even better she likes to chase things or have things chase her. She’s all go and no stop.
She likes pulling vegetables in the garden, blowing on dandelions, loading the dishwasher, feeding the cat, and coloring. There is nothing that doesn’t fascinate her and that she doesn’t want to be a part of. She is a learning machine, eager to soak everything in. While here she learned the Itsy Bitsy Spider song, how to feed chickens, about jack-o-lanterns, how to say a dozen new words, and the names of everyone she came across.
She is the most complete person I have ever known. She lives fully in every moment, and finds joy in it all. What a gift grandchildren are!
My granddaughter is just too cute for words and one of my very favorite people in the whole world. In fact, she may be my very favorite person in the whole world. She will be two years old tomorrow and everything is new and interesting to her. It was amazing to see the world through her eyes. She felt totally accomplished when she discovered that she could pull a foot stool over to the wall, climb up and turn the lights on and off for herself.
She is going as Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, for Halloween, and he mom still hadn’t been able to find a pair of ruby slipper for the costume. I brought home a pair and while she was sitting next to me I slowly opened the box to expose the shoes. Her eyes got really big and a grin spread across her face as she pointed and, filled with awe, whispered, “shoes.” She then immediately pulled the shoes she was wearing off and starting trying to get the new shoes on.
We wear shoes a pair at a time, but she feels on such restriction. She will wear a shoe from two different pairs at the same time, or will wear two pairs at once, a pair of her own and a pair of her father’s. She refused to be limited by the restrictive norms of society and good taste. She wants it all!
She loves to runs! She’s not trying to get any place in particular or be somewhere on time. She just wants to run for the pleasure of it. To make it even better she likes to chase things or have things chase her. She’s all go and no stop.
She likes pulling vegetables in the garden, blowing on dandelions, loading the dishwasher, feeding the cat, and coloring. There is nothing that doesn’t fascinate her and that she doesn’t want to be a part of. She is a learning machine, eager to soak everything in. While here she learned the Itsy Bitsy Spider song, how to feed chickens, about jack-o-lanterns, how to say a dozen new words, and the names of everyone she came across.
She is the most complete person I have ever known. She lives fully in every moment, and finds joy in it all. What a gift grandchildren are!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Personal ads and black holes
The girls my friend Wendy works with have posted a personal ad for her. They gave a very good description of her and what she was looking for in someone she would consider dating: must have a long-term stable employment, must have his own place, and must be between 45 and 52. Wendy, like many women in their 40’s and 50’s looking to date, has a problem finding a man who can keep a job, or a place to live. I can’t tell you how many of my single friends have this problem. We’re so tired of men wanting us to take care of them. It’s not just cleaning and cooking anymore, it’s housing, paying bills and spending money! This is the major contributing factor us still being single. We’ve raised our kids, kicked out our deadbeat husbands. We’re ready for mature relationships with people that can and do take care of themselves. -- I hear all my sisters out there saying, “Amen! and Halleluiah!!”
Often people see a women in her 40’s, or older, who appear to have things well in hand and figures there must be something wrong, or she would be married. Guys figure she’s a real ball-buster or a lesbian, of course. If expecting a grown man to be able to take care of himself is being a ball-buster, then I guess we are.
As for being a lesbian, I’ve often thought how much easier that would be. I know a good number of lesbians, all with good jobs, long-term employment records, and their own places. Unfortunately I just can’t swing that way, I’m just too attracted to men, damn it!
Of course there are probably men out there wondering where are the women that aren’t looking for a man to take care of them. Women who can take care of themselves. Apparently we’re living in parallel universes, or on different plans of reality. And you know what that means……. we are not going to hook up until we all get sucked into a black hole. What are the odds it’ll be the right black hole?
Often people see a women in her 40’s, or older, who appear to have things well in hand and figures there must be something wrong, or she would be married. Guys figure she’s a real ball-buster or a lesbian, of course. If expecting a grown man to be able to take care of himself is being a ball-buster, then I guess we are.
As for being a lesbian, I’ve often thought how much easier that would be. I know a good number of lesbians, all with good jobs, long-term employment records, and their own places. Unfortunately I just can’t swing that way, I’m just too attracted to men, damn it!
Of course there are probably men out there wondering where are the women that aren’t looking for a man to take care of them. Women who can take care of themselves. Apparently we’re living in parallel universes, or on different plans of reality. And you know what that means……. we are not going to hook up until we all get sucked into a black hole. What are the odds it’ll be the right black hole?
Monday, September 28, 2009
Disturbing emails for Mom
I received a couple of very disturbing emails from my mother last week. The first one was titled “Having trouble with squirrels in your bird feeder”. When I opened up the message there were four photos that opened with it. In this series of photos it shows:
Photo #1: a bear in a tree looking at a bird feeder hung on a line between the tree he is in and another.
Photo #2: the bear hanging from the line, headed toward the feeder
Photo #3: the bear at the feeder with his paw on it
Photo #4: the bear has wrapped himself around the feeder and is having lunch.
Now you all know me and this whole thing just begs a few questions: What kind of line are they using to hold this feeder, and where can you get it? Who was the fool standing there taking the photos? What the hell was in that feeder? Will the birds or squirrels ever use the feeder again? Is this bear sharing the location with other bears? One morning will the owners wake up to find multiple bears on the line? And will they still be taking pictures?
The second email was Halloween themed. It was of a, I suppose sumo wrestler, sitting bear bottomed on a stool with his big butt cheeks painted like a jack-o-lantern. Now, again, this just begs some questions: Who looked at a butt and thought jack-o-lantern? Who would think they wanted their butt painted orange with a jack face? And, why would that person allow it to be photographed? What kind of person takes pleasure in painting another person’s butt like a jack-o-lantern? And, last but not least, are they going to display this jack-o-lantern on Halloween and where are they going to stick the candle?
Photo #1: a bear in a tree looking at a bird feeder hung on a line between the tree he is in and another.
Photo #2: the bear hanging from the line, headed toward the feeder
Photo #3: the bear at the feeder with his paw on it
Photo #4: the bear has wrapped himself around the feeder and is having lunch.
Now you all know me and this whole thing just begs a few questions: What kind of line are they using to hold this feeder, and where can you get it? Who was the fool standing there taking the photos? What the hell was in that feeder? Will the birds or squirrels ever use the feeder again? Is this bear sharing the location with other bears? One morning will the owners wake up to find multiple bears on the line? And will they still be taking pictures?
The second email was Halloween themed. It was of a, I suppose sumo wrestler, sitting bear bottomed on a stool with his big butt cheeks painted like a jack-o-lantern. Now, again, this just begs some questions: Who looked at a butt and thought jack-o-lantern? Who would think they wanted their butt painted orange with a jack face? And, why would that person allow it to be photographed? What kind of person takes pleasure in painting another person’s butt like a jack-o-lantern? And, last but not least, are they going to display this jack-o-lantern on Halloween and where are they going to stick the candle?
Champagne Divorces?
Mom called the other day to see I was home, which I was. She wanted me to turn on the TV and watch a commercial for Champagne Divorces. I couldn’t believe it. This woman comes on and tells everyone that if you’re ready for a divorce you should talk to her ex-husband the divorce lawyer. She goes on to talk about how caring and gentle he is.
WHAT?!
If he’s such a great guy why are they divorced? Usually when you recommend someone’s services it because you’ve used them yourself. While I’m sure she’s used some of his services (wink, wink) did she really use him as her divorce lawyer? Seems unlikely.
Obviously he’s a very good lawyer; he has his ex-wife doing his commercials. Can there be any doubt that he has some real skills at negotiating a settlement? Not only can’t she tell the world what a crappy husband he was, she has to go on TV and recommend him!
What’s up with the name? Champagne Divorces? And why isn’t Robin Leach doing the commercials? I’m just not sure what kind of message is name sends. Obviously champagne is good for celebrating, but it’s usually for something life affirming like the beginning of a marriage, the start of a business, the launching of a ship. It just seems that divorce calls for something different. Rot Gut Divorces I could understand, or Crying In Your Beer Divorces, maybe even I’ll Never Drink Again Divorces, but Champagne?
If we have Champagne Divorce, you can bet that Caviar Prenups are not too far behind.
WHAT?!
If he’s such a great guy why are they divorced? Usually when you recommend someone’s services it because you’ve used them yourself. While I’m sure she’s used some of his services (wink, wink) did she really use him as her divorce lawyer? Seems unlikely.
Obviously he’s a very good lawyer; he has his ex-wife doing his commercials. Can there be any doubt that he has some real skills at negotiating a settlement? Not only can’t she tell the world what a crappy husband he was, she has to go on TV and recommend him!
What’s up with the name? Champagne Divorces? And why isn’t Robin Leach doing the commercials? I’m just not sure what kind of message is name sends. Obviously champagne is good for celebrating, but it’s usually for something life affirming like the beginning of a marriage, the start of a business, the launching of a ship. It just seems that divorce calls for something different. Rot Gut Divorces I could understand, or Crying In Your Beer Divorces, maybe even I’ll Never Drink Again Divorces, but Champagne?
If we have Champagne Divorce, you can bet that Caviar Prenups are not too far behind.
Quilt, shoes, pickles and a hatchet kick
It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to write. Big goings-on in my life. I’m preparing for a visit from my daughter and granddaughter. I can’t wait for them to get here!! The quilt is coming along, I’ve finished the top and now need to get it quilted and finished off.
Have been shopping for winter clothes for Boo (my granddaughter, Michelle). I have found some really cute and good quality things. And, a lot of fun shoes since she is really fascinated by foot wear at the moment. I sent her some crazy, big house shoes that are shaped like frogs. They’re for adults but thought for a buck she could have some fun with them. Apparently she loves them and has discovered that they will make a rip-it sound. I had no idea they would do that when I bought them. My best find so far has been a set of six pairs of Disney princess slippers, and cowgirl boots with pink cut outs.
This weekend I found one of those big plastic play structures with a little slide. All the pieces slide into place, it’s like a giant Tinker Toy set. We took it apart, scrubbed it down and put it up in the backyard. It didn’t go back together quite as easily as it came apart, but luckily Matt was there and could give it something called a “hatchet” kick and that did the trick. Can’t wait to see the yard ape having fun on it!!
My daughter received the last box I sent, which had a bunch of stuff for Boo and two jars of homemade pickles for Kristin and her husband. Now you know she’s pregnant because she served Polish dill pickle for lunch with potato chips and PB&J sandwiches. LOL
Have been shopping for winter clothes for Boo (my granddaughter, Michelle). I have found some really cute and good quality things. And, a lot of fun shoes since she is really fascinated by foot wear at the moment. I sent her some crazy, big house shoes that are shaped like frogs. They’re for adults but thought for a buck she could have some fun with them. Apparently she loves them and has discovered that they will make a rip-it sound. I had no idea they would do that when I bought them. My best find so far has been a set of six pairs of Disney princess slippers, and cowgirl boots with pink cut outs.
This weekend I found one of those big plastic play structures with a little slide. All the pieces slide into place, it’s like a giant Tinker Toy set. We took it apart, scrubbed it down and put it up in the backyard. It didn’t go back together quite as easily as it came apart, but luckily Matt was there and could give it something called a “hatchet” kick and that did the trick. Can’t wait to see the yard ape having fun on it!!
My daughter received the last box I sent, which had a bunch of stuff for Boo and two jars of homemade pickles for Kristin and her husband. Now you know she’s pregnant because she served Polish dill pickle for lunch with potato chips and PB&J sandwiches. LOL
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Time for me and the cat
My cat is feeling very neglected lately. I’ve worked late three nights straight. I barely have time to throw some cat food in her dish and fill here water bowl.
While I’m sitting on the couch watching T.V., the time I would usually be unwinding from the day and petting her, I’m now working on The Quilt. You know the one I started two years ago and that I’m now actually getting somewhere on? So, my cat is feeling really deprived of attention. The situation is made even harder because she won’t let anyone else touch her. There are scads of people who would love to cuddle with her and pet her, but she’s having none of that mess! Bless her heart.
In the mornings I usually give her a little petting while I’m putting on my socks. This morning she was so needy it was really kind of pathetic. I noticed that she had a sore between her shoulder blades so I put some antibiotic crème on it, and of course she didn’t care for that. She’s acting all mistreated and put upon. You would think I’ve committee animal abuse!
This evening I should get home at my regular time. YEAH!! There is a lot of housework I need to get caught up on, like changing out the litter box. But, I will be able to open the back door and let her roam around in the yard, which she loves, at least as long as I’m out there with her. That’s OK, I need to work on the garden, refill the bird feeder, pot some plants and any number of other things. Shit, I’m tired just thinking about it all!
Maybe this evening I can even find some time to just sit and give her a good petting. Now if only I could find someone to do the same for me. Or better yet, someone to change the litter box. I crack myself up!!!
While I’m sitting on the couch watching T.V., the time I would usually be unwinding from the day and petting her, I’m now working on The Quilt. You know the one I started two years ago and that I’m now actually getting somewhere on? So, my cat is feeling really deprived of attention. The situation is made even harder because she won’t let anyone else touch her. There are scads of people who would love to cuddle with her and pet her, but she’s having none of that mess! Bless her heart.
In the mornings I usually give her a little petting while I’m putting on my socks. This morning she was so needy it was really kind of pathetic. I noticed that she had a sore between her shoulder blades so I put some antibiotic crème on it, and of course she didn’t care for that. She’s acting all mistreated and put upon. You would think I’ve committee animal abuse!
This evening I should get home at my regular time. YEAH!! There is a lot of housework I need to get caught up on, like changing out the litter box. But, I will be able to open the back door and let her roam around in the yard, which she loves, at least as long as I’m out there with her. That’s OK, I need to work on the garden, refill the bird feeder, pot some plants and any number of other things. Shit, I’m tired just thinking about it all!
Maybe this evening I can even find some time to just sit and give her a good petting. Now if only I could find someone to do the same for me. Or better yet, someone to change the litter box. I crack myself up!!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Expedia is a piece of SH**!!!
Okay, today is a rant day, so be warned.
Expedia is a piece of SH**!!!
Over the weekend I used their site to purchase airline tickets from Honolulu to Portland and back. Leaving Hawaii on Oct 10 and returning Oct 25. Big production, lots of excitement to get the dates just right.
I go in today to send the itinerary to my daughter and low and behold the return date is Oct 20. Obviously I called Expedia (that piece of SH**) and explain that there has been a mistake. So sorry, so sad, fork over $150.00. After two levels of supervisors and more then an hour and a half later, even after they admit I chose Oct 10 and Oct 25, so sorry, so sad, fork over $150.00. Their excuse? It’s not our fine it’s the airline’s. Yeah, but who’s system screwed up? So sorry, so sad, fork over $150.00.
Here is what I’ve learned:
---Don’t us Expedia (that piece of SH**!!) because they have a flaw in their system that they refuse to be responsible for
---Check your email confirmation as soon as you get it and call immediately, no matter how many tickets you’ve purchased in the past that have always been correct. (Still not sure this would have help, but just putting the company line out there. Those SH**s!!)
---Expedia is a piece of SH**!!!!!!
Expedia is a piece of SH**!!!
Over the weekend I used their site to purchase airline tickets from Honolulu to Portland and back. Leaving Hawaii on Oct 10 and returning Oct 25. Big production, lots of excitement to get the dates just right.
I go in today to send the itinerary to my daughter and low and behold the return date is Oct 20. Obviously I called Expedia (that piece of SH**) and explain that there has been a mistake. So sorry, so sad, fork over $150.00. After two levels of supervisors and more then an hour and a half later, even after they admit I chose Oct 10 and Oct 25, so sorry, so sad, fork over $150.00. Their excuse? It’s not our fine it’s the airline’s. Yeah, but who’s system screwed up? So sorry, so sad, fork over $150.00.
Here is what I’ve learned:
---Don’t us Expedia (that piece of SH**!!) because they have a flaw in their system that they refuse to be responsible for
---Check your email confirmation as soon as you get it and call immediately, no matter how many tickets you’ve purchased in the past that have always been correct. (Still not sure this would have help, but just putting the company line out there. Those SH**s!!)
---Expedia is a piece of SH**!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Woes and wonders
As anyone who follows my blog knows, I have a real love/hate relationship with the weather. It’s a big factor on my overall general mood at any given time. In a lot of respects I’m like a cat. I don’t want to be wet, I don’t get how anyone could enjoy snow or ice except through glass, and the dog days of summer are NOT my cup of tea.
The last few days we have entered the first phase of the coat – no coat season. This is when the temps are cool enough in the morning to need a coat, but by 9:00 you’re looking to shed the coat and some clothes. Of course the problem is in the afternoon when you have to lug all your coat and clothes to the bus stop, and try not to look like a bag lady. I live in fear that someone is going to offer me a handout.
This is also the hack and hack some more season. This season is much longer and will in fact last until next summer. It starts with the nasty nose that all of a sudden needs to be blown every hour on the hour, then progressed to a much more frequent schedule. Your snot are long and stingy and could in fact be used as an industrial adhesive. Then comes that nasty little congestion in the back of your throat that causes you to do that cough and spit thing that is sooo attractive. You’re basically in a state of constant Kleenex readiness. You may leave home without a coat, but you always have Kleenex!
There are some things that balance this pesky season. For instance, we have already had a few mornings when the fog gathers in the low areas and depressions of the landscape to give the world a mystic flavor. This morning we had an incredible sky show of velvety purples and neon oranges, that lightened to a perfect Tequila Sunrise. Soon the leaves will be turning in mass, giving us a colorful landscape with wood smoke scenting the air, its enough to make Hallmark envious.
I guess Mother Nature really does know her business. To distract us from our blowing, hacking and shivering woos, she gives us a show we can’t take our eyes off of.
The last few days we have entered the first phase of the coat – no coat season. This is when the temps are cool enough in the morning to need a coat, but by 9:00 you’re looking to shed the coat and some clothes. Of course the problem is in the afternoon when you have to lug all your coat and clothes to the bus stop, and try not to look like a bag lady. I live in fear that someone is going to offer me a handout.
This is also the hack and hack some more season. This season is much longer and will in fact last until next summer. It starts with the nasty nose that all of a sudden needs to be blown every hour on the hour, then progressed to a much more frequent schedule. Your snot are long and stingy and could in fact be used as an industrial adhesive. Then comes that nasty little congestion in the back of your throat that causes you to do that cough and spit thing that is sooo attractive. You’re basically in a state of constant Kleenex readiness. You may leave home without a coat, but you always have Kleenex!
There are some things that balance this pesky season. For instance, we have already had a few mornings when the fog gathers in the low areas and depressions of the landscape to give the world a mystic flavor. This morning we had an incredible sky show of velvety purples and neon oranges, that lightened to a perfect Tequila Sunrise. Soon the leaves will be turning in mass, giving us a colorful landscape with wood smoke scenting the air, its enough to make Hallmark envious.
I guess Mother Nature really does know her business. To distract us from our blowing, hacking and shivering woos, she gives us a show we can’t take our eyes off of.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A quilt's tale
About two years ago I started a quilt for my granddaughter. Because she was a girl, which we had been really hoping for since girls are so rare in our family, and because she was being born in Hawaii, I planned a Hawaiian quilt. On my first trip there, while my daughter was pregnant, I purchased a book of traditional designs, and some great Hawaiian print fabrics.
Once I got home I poured over my book and chose designs: an octopus, a turtle, a pineapple and various flowers. I worked the copier hard getting them copied at just the right size. I realized the turtle wouldn’t work for what I had planned and ended up having to come up with my own design. I got the fabric fused, then pinned the designs and cut them out.
At this point I realized I needed to develop my appliqué sewing skills. Up to this point in my life I have only used a very old straight stitch Singer sewing machine from the 1930’s. I found a new machine with a lot of bells and whistles, and an appliqué stitch at a garage sale that worked, but now I needed to learn how to use it. That has been a bit daunting. Since my granddaughter has been living in Hawaii, where it is always in the 80’s I haven’t felt a big need to get this little project finished. Of course now that her family is moving to northern Kansas in December, I’m felling the need to get this done. Not to mention that with the new baby due in March, I’ll need to get a second one planned and completed as well. The pressure!!
So, this weekend I took up the quilt project again. Now I have to tell you that I usually find things like sewing, operating machines, and being creative come pretty easy for me. So it’s been a frustrating weekend trying to get the hang of a satin stitch with a sewing machine. In my youth, when my eyes were superior, I had a great hand for this and didn’t need no stinking machine! Now the eyes are not so good and I really need the machine, but even more I need to figure out a technique that will work for me. Sad to say, I’m not quite there yet. In fact, I’ve had to place the quilt pieces in room separate from the sewing machine because I’m afraid all the cussing will somehow leave bad karma on the finished quilt if it’s too near. It would be a bad thing if my sweet little granddaughter started cussing like a sailor for no apparent reason. Worse, I might get blamed!
Tonight is will start basting the designs onto the squares, and maybe by the weekend I will have progressed the point where I feel my skill level is good enough to actually apply the sewing machine needle the pieces. Hopefully the blue haze around my house will be less then expected and thing will go smoothly. Wish me luck!!
Once I got home I poured over my book and chose designs: an octopus, a turtle, a pineapple and various flowers. I worked the copier hard getting them copied at just the right size. I realized the turtle wouldn’t work for what I had planned and ended up having to come up with my own design. I got the fabric fused, then pinned the designs and cut them out.
At this point I realized I needed to develop my appliqué sewing skills. Up to this point in my life I have only used a very old straight stitch Singer sewing machine from the 1930’s. I found a new machine with a lot of bells and whistles, and an appliqué stitch at a garage sale that worked, but now I needed to learn how to use it. That has been a bit daunting. Since my granddaughter has been living in Hawaii, where it is always in the 80’s I haven’t felt a big need to get this little project finished. Of course now that her family is moving to northern Kansas in December, I’m felling the need to get this done. Not to mention that with the new baby due in March, I’ll need to get a second one planned and completed as well. The pressure!!
So, this weekend I took up the quilt project again. Now I have to tell you that I usually find things like sewing, operating machines, and being creative come pretty easy for me. So it’s been a frustrating weekend trying to get the hang of a satin stitch with a sewing machine. In my youth, when my eyes were superior, I had a great hand for this and didn’t need no stinking machine! Now the eyes are not so good and I really need the machine, but even more I need to figure out a technique that will work for me. Sad to say, I’m not quite there yet. In fact, I’ve had to place the quilt pieces in room separate from the sewing machine because I’m afraid all the cussing will somehow leave bad karma on the finished quilt if it’s too near. It would be a bad thing if my sweet little granddaughter started cussing like a sailor for no apparent reason. Worse, I might get blamed!
Tonight is will start basting the designs onto the squares, and maybe by the weekend I will have progressed the point where I feel my skill level is good enough to actually apply the sewing machine needle the pieces. Hopefully the blue haze around my house will be less then expected and thing will go smoothly. Wish me luck!!
Observations from the waiting room
Last week my sister, aunt and I spent a good deal of time in the waiting room while my mother had shoulder surgery (try saying that three time fast!). When you’re sitting around you have time to notice things, especially me, because that’s what I do. How else would I have anything to say here?
So, I happen to notice that there was a variety of reading material available to us, including magazines, health pamphlets, announcements posted on the walls and novels. Novels? That’s right about 20 of them, and we’re not talking the condensed Reader’s Digest versions. We’re talking full blown, 300 pagers, no pictures! Fist of all it takes time to get through a book that size, even for me. I know it feels like forever when you’re sitting in a waiting room, but really!
I also noticed that there were about 10 puzzles. The smallest one was 350 pieces, one or two where 500 pieces but the rest were 1000 pieces. Really? A 1000 pieces? It take me a week to put one of those together, with help! Also I’d like to point out that while they had 10 puzzles, they only had one table. That could be the cause of a nasty puzzlers’ dispute, causing even more need for surgeries.
You know what I didn’t see that would have been some what appropriate? An Operation game!
So, I happen to notice that there was a variety of reading material available to us, including magazines, health pamphlets, announcements posted on the walls and novels. Novels? That’s right about 20 of them, and we’re not talking the condensed Reader’s Digest versions. We’re talking full blown, 300 pagers, no pictures! Fist of all it takes time to get through a book that size, even for me. I know it feels like forever when you’re sitting in a waiting room, but really!
I also noticed that there were about 10 puzzles. The smallest one was 350 pieces, one or two where 500 pieces but the rest were 1000 pieces. Really? A 1000 pieces? It take me a week to put one of those together, with help! Also I’d like to point out that while they had 10 puzzles, they only had one table. That could be the cause of a nasty puzzlers’ dispute, causing even more need for surgeries.
You know what I didn’t see that would have been some what appropriate? An Operation game!
Monday, August 31, 2009
"SALE" + arrow = successful garage sale
Friday I went with my sister garage saleing? Saling? We went to a bunch of garage sales!
We had good luck. I found a lot of winter clothes for the grandbaby in excellent shape, and found some other great items as well: A Fiesta Ware pitcher for $4, a box of comic books for $10, a garden pitch fork (or maybe I’ll use it as part of a Halloween costume) for $3, a wrought iron plant hanger for $3, and some artwork for what else, $3. It was a really good day for garage sales.
That is until you’re trying to track them down. What is wrong with people? There were a huge number of signs with miles of text and no arrow! All a good, no great, sign needs to say is say “SALE” and have an arrow pointing the way. A big, well defined arrow, not an anorexic little thing that you have to be standing over to make out. You need a nice beefy one with a fat pointy end. How hard is this?
Also, if you’re going to use big poster board, cut it into quarters, the big pieces are too big and the corners end up flopping over and covering your miles of text, and any arrow you might have on there. Neon colors are a good idea you can see them from a long way off. Use BLACK markers, because who can read yellow? The key to a successful garage sale is to know your customer. We’re older, blinders and we don’t have the same quick responses we had when we were younger. We like big, bold, simple, and well placed signs with ARROWS!!!!!!!!!! We’re too blind to read the address, and we’ve lost too many brain cells to remember it for more than a block anyway.
We had good luck. I found a lot of winter clothes for the grandbaby in excellent shape, and found some other great items as well: A Fiesta Ware pitcher for $4, a box of comic books for $10, a garden pitch fork (or maybe I’ll use it as part of a Halloween costume) for $3, a wrought iron plant hanger for $3, and some artwork for what else, $3. It was a really good day for garage sales.
That is until you’re trying to track them down. What is wrong with people? There were a huge number of signs with miles of text and no arrow! All a good, no great, sign needs to say is say “SALE” and have an arrow pointing the way. A big, well defined arrow, not an anorexic little thing that you have to be standing over to make out. You need a nice beefy one with a fat pointy end. How hard is this?
Also, if you’re going to use big poster board, cut it into quarters, the big pieces are too big and the corners end up flopping over and covering your miles of text, and any arrow you might have on there. Neon colors are a good idea you can see them from a long way off. Use BLACK markers, because who can read yellow? The key to a successful garage sale is to know your customer. We’re older, blinders and we don’t have the same quick responses we had when we were younger. We like big, bold, simple, and well placed signs with ARROWS!!!!!!!!!! We’re too blind to read the address, and we’ve lost too many brain cells to remember it for more than a block anyway.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Spam/junk mail and women
I have just preformed my after task of checking my junk mail. Today there were 26, which is about average. I’ve got to tell you, I always feel like I need to go take a shower after dealing with this little chore. Honestly, I really try not to read any more of the message title then is necessary to figure out if it is spam or something real. I mean really, does anyone ever open an email titled, “You big give great pleasure” or “Nude pic Angela Jolie pregnant”? It’s a sick world out there, and if you don’t believe that, just read the titles on your junk mail.
Let’s hope we aren’t being judged, as a society, by this. If so, I’m afraid the universe has a giant finger heading for the destruct button.
But really, who would open any of this spam? As a woman I can tell you without a doubt that I do not want to grow my penis by 3 inches, receive Viagra at an 80% discount without a prescription, or re-grow my hair. Have you noticed how there aren’t that many catchy spam titles out there for woman? I can think of a few that would get my attention, of course not enough for me to open them, but at least I’d feel I had been considered.
-- Free maid service for 1 year
-- Pampered spa retreat for your input
-- Free removal of unwanted hair
-- Shoes that look as good as they feel
-- New boob support without a bra
-- Remote volume control for people
-- Force field that keeps dirt out of your house
-- Star Trek replicators now available, they really work!
-- Hunky heterosexual men that don’t watch sports, drink beer, belch or fart, and are looking for older, full figured women
Of course as a woman, I know none of this exists, but wouldn’t it be nice!!
Let’s hope we aren’t being judged, as a society, by this. If so, I’m afraid the universe has a giant finger heading for the destruct button.
But really, who would open any of this spam? As a woman I can tell you without a doubt that I do not want to grow my penis by 3 inches, receive Viagra at an 80% discount without a prescription, or re-grow my hair. Have you noticed how there aren’t that many catchy spam titles out there for woman? I can think of a few that would get my attention, of course not enough for me to open them, but at least I’d feel I had been considered.
-- Free maid service for 1 year
-- Pampered spa retreat for your input
-- Free removal of unwanted hair
-- Shoes that look as good as they feel
-- New boob support without a bra
-- Remote volume control for people
-- Force field that keeps dirt out of your house
-- Star Trek replicators now available, they really work!
-- Hunky heterosexual men that don’t watch sports, drink beer, belch or fart, and are looking for older, full figured women
Of course as a woman, I know none of this exists, but wouldn’t it be nice!!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Determining sex
We had a baby shower today at work, and I was part of the organizing committee. As a part of my duties I picked up a few decorations. Boy, have times changed!! When I was having babies, back in the 80’s, it was extremely unusual to know the sex of the baby before it was born. This was first generation ultrasound so you could barely tell it was a baby when they took a peek. To find out the sex they had to have that thing that I can’t spell (not even well enough for Spell Check to get), the thing where they stick a needle through your belly button and extract fluid. This usually meant you were having some major league problems with your pregnancy to begin with. Not a fun time for anyone.
Your other option for determining the sex was the local witch doctor, or countless grandmas and aunts. Their methods involved all manner objects being suspended over your belly, from a sewing needle, to a pencil, or a lock of the father’s hair. The sex was pronounced depending on weather the object moved up and down or side to side, or rotated in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner. There was also the “What are you craving test”, salty items for boys and sweet items for girls. And, of course if you were carrying the baby high it was a boy, while girls you carried low. Or was it the other way around? There were a million ways to tell if your were having a boy or girl.
The most telling factor about all this homespun knowledge and wisdom is that when you went to buy shower decorations, they were all in unisex color schemes. You would have had to look really hard for pink or blue. In fact you would pretty much have had to make your own or special order them. Now days it’s the complete opposite, almost all the shower decorations are either pink, or blue, and unisex colors are a bit more hard to find. They’re still out there, but not in the same kind of variety.
I can’t imagine not wanting to know the sex. I hear people talk about not wanting to know, but 9 times out of 10 they end up asking. They always say the same thing, “I want to be surprised.” I figure you can have your surprise now or later, it’s not like you knew at the moment of conception what you were creating. Of course that day is probably not far off. I wonder how they will do it. Will there be some pill or gel you use that will block all the boy sperm so you get a girl, or all the girl sperm so you get a boy? It would kind of be like the club houses we built as a kid and put up the “No boys allowed!!” signs. Now there’s a packaging concept!
Your other option for determining the sex was the local witch doctor, or countless grandmas and aunts. Their methods involved all manner objects being suspended over your belly, from a sewing needle, to a pencil, or a lock of the father’s hair. The sex was pronounced depending on weather the object moved up and down or side to side, or rotated in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner. There was also the “What are you craving test”, salty items for boys and sweet items for girls. And, of course if you were carrying the baby high it was a boy, while girls you carried low. Or was it the other way around? There were a million ways to tell if your were having a boy or girl.
The most telling factor about all this homespun knowledge and wisdom is that when you went to buy shower decorations, they were all in unisex color schemes. You would have had to look really hard for pink or blue. In fact you would pretty much have had to make your own or special order them. Now days it’s the complete opposite, almost all the shower decorations are either pink, or blue, and unisex colors are a bit more hard to find. They’re still out there, but not in the same kind of variety.
I can’t imagine not wanting to know the sex. I hear people talk about not wanting to know, but 9 times out of 10 they end up asking. They always say the same thing, “I want to be surprised.” I figure you can have your surprise now or later, it’s not like you knew at the moment of conception what you were creating. Of course that day is probably not far off. I wonder how they will do it. Will there be some pill or gel you use that will block all the boy sperm so you get a girl, or all the girl sperm so you get a boy? It would kind of be like the club houses we built as a kid and put up the “No boys allowed!!” signs. Now there’s a packaging concept!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Bestest buds and bubbling flesh
How do you know if a friend is true? Yesterday I had a run in with a frying pan full of hot grease. I was running on a small amount of sleep and three weeks filled with a lot of work. I was trying to stay up until at least 9:00 so I wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep. I was pretty much running on nerves alone.
I decided to make a fried egg sandwich for dinner. Just as I was getting ready to break the egg into the skillet, a giant bubble of grease popped and went all over my fingers. I’m screaming, but I have to put down the egg before I can dash to the sink and run cold water over my poor abused digits. I’ve been burned before, hell I ran the grill and fryers at Jack-in-the-Box in high school. I know from pain! On so many levels.
So last night I was sitting around, without an egg sandwich, with my scalding fingers in a bowl of ice water. Every time I took them out for longer than 10 seconds they would get to burning so bad I had to submerge them again. I was really stressed too, because I couldn’t miss work. The next day I have a public meeting I’m in charge of, and is the culmination of more than 2 years work. I have to be there! So what was I going to do?
I’ll tell you what I did, I called my bestest buds. Debbi showed up with gauze and burn ointment and then went to the drug store to talk to the pharmacist and bring home more burn cream and Tylenol 3 with codeine. She got the Tylenol from her house not the pharmacist. She even rounded me up a super supply of ice. She sat with me while I was being pitiful and made me laugh.
I managed to get some good sleep thanks to the Tylenol. Also the original burn cream, which was a natural product, seemed to give me the most relief. Who knew? It so seldom works out that way.
Even though my fingers are covered in bubbling flesh today, they are working well and there is little pain. Of course its really, really ugly, and I’m living in terror of knocking it against something.
So the moral of this story is that a bestest buddy will come to your aid, stay by your side, make you laugh, and even call you the next day to check on you. Not to mention give you something good to blog about.
Love you Debbi!!!!!!!!
I decided to make a fried egg sandwich for dinner. Just as I was getting ready to break the egg into the skillet, a giant bubble of grease popped and went all over my fingers. I’m screaming, but I have to put down the egg before I can dash to the sink and run cold water over my poor abused digits. I’ve been burned before, hell I ran the grill and fryers at Jack-in-the-Box in high school. I know from pain! On so many levels.
So last night I was sitting around, without an egg sandwich, with my scalding fingers in a bowl of ice water. Every time I took them out for longer than 10 seconds they would get to burning so bad I had to submerge them again. I was really stressed too, because I couldn’t miss work. The next day I have a public meeting I’m in charge of, and is the culmination of more than 2 years work. I have to be there! So what was I going to do?
I’ll tell you what I did, I called my bestest buds. Debbi showed up with gauze and burn ointment and then went to the drug store to talk to the pharmacist and bring home more burn cream and Tylenol 3 with codeine. She got the Tylenol from her house not the pharmacist. She even rounded me up a super supply of ice. She sat with me while I was being pitiful and made me laugh.
I managed to get some good sleep thanks to the Tylenol. Also the original burn cream, which was a natural product, seemed to give me the most relief. Who knew? It so seldom works out that way.
Even though my fingers are covered in bubbling flesh today, they are working well and there is little pain. Of course its really, really ugly, and I’m living in terror of knocking it against something.
So the moral of this story is that a bestest buddy will come to your aid, stay by your side, make you laugh, and even call you the next day to check on you. Not to mention give you something good to blog about.
Love you Debbi!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Pickle day
Yesterday was Pickle Day in my neighborhood. The first batch of pickles I made was July 18. I make polish dill pickles, with fresh dill, garlic and peppers. This first time I got about 8 quarts put up, and gave them all out to neighbors with instructions to wait a month before opening and to put them in the refrigerator the day before. Putting them in the frig makes them crispy. It cracked me up to hear that several neighbors had actually marked their calendars.
Years ago when my kids were very young, teenage girls used to love to baby sit for me. Not because my children were so well behaved. These girls wouldn’t let me pay them with money, they would only baby sit if I paid them in pickles. I make great pickles, what can I say?
Now, here’s the kickers…I don’t eat pickles. I’ve never cared for them. When I was an adolescent it was all the rage to go to the movies and buy one of those big dill pickles to eat while you watched the movie. I remember buying one and trying to eat it. Thinking I could convince myself that I really did like them. It was such a bummer because not only did I find out that I really, really didn’t like pickles, no matter how much I tried to, I was also out my snack money. Like I said bummer. I’m a popcorn girl!
Years ago when my kids were very young, teenage girls used to love to baby sit for me. Not because my children were so well behaved. These girls wouldn’t let me pay them with money, they would only baby sit if I paid them in pickles. I make great pickles, what can I say?
Now, here’s the kickers…I don’t eat pickles. I’ve never cared for them. When I was an adolescent it was all the rage to go to the movies and buy one of those big dill pickles to eat while you watched the movie. I remember buying one and trying to eat it. Thinking I could convince myself that I really did like them. It was such a bummer because not only did I find out that I really, really didn’t like pickles, no matter how much I tried to, I was also out my snack money. Like I said bummer. I’m a popcorn girl!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Old men, bah!!
Old men with nothing to do are the bane of my existence. These are the calls I most dread at work. This morning an old guy with little to occupy him called wanting to know about the project we are getting ready do on his street. In and of itself, this not such an unrealistic thing to want to know.
Of course he starts out asking about the schedule and then he wants to know exactly what we will be doing and exactly where, and then he wants to debate the virtues of dry wells verses the use of perf pipe. Let me tell you, he doesn’t know much, but I’m nice and don’t point that out.
He then wants to go off on costs and how the city is wasting money. How the ground there infiltrates just fine, how the old dry well is just fine, and how the last time anyone did work on his street they cut the phone line and they didn’t have phone service for a day and then they were on a party line for a week. He also has to tell me all about the developer who extended his street, and the other dry well on the other street and the neighbor who wants to buy his boat, and the other neighbor who can’t control his kids, and a partridges in a pear tree. Like I don’t have anything better or more pressing to do than take a drive through his random thoughts and opinions. He should get his own blog!
Of course he starts out asking about the schedule and then he wants to know exactly what we will be doing and exactly where, and then he wants to debate the virtues of dry wells verses the use of perf pipe. Let me tell you, he doesn’t know much, but I’m nice and don’t point that out.
He then wants to go off on costs and how the city is wasting money. How the ground there infiltrates just fine, how the old dry well is just fine, and how the last time anyone did work on his street they cut the phone line and they didn’t have phone service for a day and then they were on a party line for a week. He also has to tell me all about the developer who extended his street, and the other dry well on the other street and the neighbor who wants to buy his boat, and the other neighbor who can’t control his kids, and a partridges in a pear tree. Like I don’t have anything better or more pressing to do than take a drive through his random thoughts and opinions. He should get his own blog!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Cheney, a bus driver, and the DMV
It’s been a strange morning. First of all, on the radio while I was getting ready for work, I hear that Cheney is writing his memoirs. I wanted to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head. I really don’t want to know what goes on in that man’s head. What he lets out is frightening enough.
Apparently he is whining that Bush stopped listening to him during their second administration and started caving to liberal political groups. I’m very sure that what Cheney considers liberal most of us would still consider conservative, because anything we would consider liberal he just dismisses as a crazy bunch of idiots. I personally consider his kind of conservatives a scary bunch of crazies, but hey, that’s American politics. It takes all kinds of crazies to make he run. It may not be getting anywhere but its running.
We had a very interesting bus driver this morning. He welcomed us on board, gave us the time and weather, a traffic report, and an estimated time of arrival. Wow! If that wasn’t enough, he didn’t slam on the brakes, sending us all grabbing for support and having to readjust our seating, even once. The temperature wasn’t too hot or too cold. He apologized for being later than his estimated time of arrival, and he lowered the bus for all stops. This guy deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. It everyone did their jobs so well, the world would certainly be a much better place! I could kick myself for not getting his name, so I could write C-Tran a letter.
As my bus crossed the river and entered the heart of downtown Portland, I noticed an older model Saab with an interesting license plate: CRASH-B. It made me wonder about a lot of things. Like why anyone would want a license plate with the word “crash” on it. Isn’t that like welcoming doom? Also, what happened to CRASH-A? Is it in a scrap yard some where, or at home in the driveway quivering in fear of the road, knowing its days are numbered?
I also wondered what the DMV was thinking when they issued this plate. I know they have people that act as moral sensors who approve all vanity plates. While CRASH is certainly not typically thought of as a word with 4-letter connotations, I would think that the DMV would have concerns with promoting this particular concept, especially on the road. Hey, that just me, it may be crazy talk but I’m just putting it out there. Someone needs to ask the questions.
Apparently he is whining that Bush stopped listening to him during their second administration and started caving to liberal political groups. I’m very sure that what Cheney considers liberal most of us would still consider conservative, because anything we would consider liberal he just dismisses as a crazy bunch of idiots. I personally consider his kind of conservatives a scary bunch of crazies, but hey, that’s American politics. It takes all kinds of crazies to make he run. It may not be getting anywhere but its running.
We had a very interesting bus driver this morning. He welcomed us on board, gave us the time and weather, a traffic report, and an estimated time of arrival. Wow! If that wasn’t enough, he didn’t slam on the brakes, sending us all grabbing for support and having to readjust our seating, even once. The temperature wasn’t too hot or too cold. He apologized for being later than his estimated time of arrival, and he lowered the bus for all stops. This guy deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. It everyone did their jobs so well, the world would certainly be a much better place! I could kick myself for not getting his name, so I could write C-Tran a letter.
As my bus crossed the river and entered the heart of downtown Portland, I noticed an older model Saab with an interesting license plate: CRASH-B. It made me wonder about a lot of things. Like why anyone would want a license plate with the word “crash” on it. Isn’t that like welcoming doom? Also, what happened to CRASH-A? Is it in a scrap yard some where, or at home in the driveway quivering in fear of the road, knowing its days are numbered?
I also wondered what the DMV was thinking when they issued this plate. I know they have people that act as moral sensors who approve all vanity plates. While CRASH is certainly not typically thought of as a word with 4-letter connotations, I would think that the DMV would have concerns with promoting this particular concept, especially on the road. Hey, that just me, it may be crazy talk but I’m just putting it out there. Someone needs to ask the questions.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Shock and awe
Matt came back from three weeks training in Idaho with the Guard. While he was gone they moved him to a new unit and made him a squad leader, or something like that. I never get it completely right. He seems to be enjoying the new position, and once he gets through some kind of leadership training, again I can’t keep all the alphabet soup straight, he will be promoted to E-6. For me E-6 means he is a second level sergeant, also known as a Staff Sergeant. I know this is important to Matt because at this level he can become a trainer, which he really enjoys.
While on this training with his new privates and specialists, he was putting them through their paces. They are getting used to him and he is learning about them. At one point they are running a drill where they are simulating building searches. Matt has all his soldiers stacked up the way he wants them and they’re ready to go. Matt step up and kick in the door with his left leg and oops…. He forgot the liner on his prosthetic that morning. The door bangs open and Matt’s leg goes flying through the opening to land in the middle of the room. While Matt’s arms are pin-wheeling to keep his balance, all his soldiers are frozen place. They can’t believe they’ve seen what they just seen. Their sargeant’s leg is laying in the middle of the room. Apparently Matt hadn’t mentioned to any of them that his leg had special powers. The fun you can have with limbs.
While on this training with his new privates and specialists, he was putting them through their paces. They are getting used to him and he is learning about them. At one point they are running a drill where they are simulating building searches. Matt has all his soldiers stacked up the way he wants them and they’re ready to go. Matt step up and kick in the door with his left leg and oops…. He forgot the liner on his prosthetic that morning. The door bangs open and Matt’s leg goes flying through the opening to land in the middle of the room. While Matt’s arms are pin-wheeling to keep his balance, all his soldiers are frozen place. They can’t believe they’ve seen what they just seen. Their sargeant’s leg is laying in the middle of the room. Apparently Matt hadn’t mentioned to any of them that his leg had special powers. The fun you can have with limbs.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Resting on the weekend
This was a very pleasant weekend. I didn’t have anything that I had to do. I worked in the garden; I put up pickles and tomatoes, and have my sister, my friend Wendy and their kids over for dinner Saturday. We ended up with some extra kids, but we usually do, no bug deal.
After dinner Danna, Wendy and I played some dominoes while the kids ran around outside and played. There were 4 girls and 2 boys from 10 years old to 14. As is the usual case, the boys and girls seem to group themselves together and then proceed to pick at each other. The girls decided they needed a force field and ended up sitting in Wendy’s car while the boys made faces in the window and blew bubbles at the car. I can’t explain it, I just report it.
Of course the girls had to whine and complain about being bothered by the boys so we told the boys to get away from the car and leave the girls alone. Their answer to this was to move a couple of feet away and continue to make faces and blow bubbles. Again, I can’t explain it.
Eventually the girls got tired of sitting in the car and decided to go play in the field behind my house, and they let the boys go too. Before too long they are running in out showing us what they’ve found and reporting each others words and actions. Alright, they were tattling.
Oh yeah, did I mention that Rusty, my sisters big red dog is there too? Running around chasing the kids and generally being in the big middle of everything. One of Rusty’s favorite things is to run out one door, go all the way around the house and in the other door. It’s enough to make you dizzy. Saturday he was doing is typically circuit around the through the house, and all of a sudden there’s another dog with him. A brown and white dog we have never seen before. A really friendly guy who was really enjoying Rusty and the kids. After about 20 or so loops through the house and some wrestling on the front lawn he disappeared as quickly as he arrived. I think I will call him the Lone Ranger.
I guess it’s just another day in an everyday life.
P.S. I won at domineos!! Hey me!!
After dinner Danna, Wendy and I played some dominoes while the kids ran around outside and played. There were 4 girls and 2 boys from 10 years old to 14. As is the usual case, the boys and girls seem to group themselves together and then proceed to pick at each other. The girls decided they needed a force field and ended up sitting in Wendy’s car while the boys made faces in the window and blew bubbles at the car. I can’t explain it, I just report it.
Of course the girls had to whine and complain about being bothered by the boys so we told the boys to get away from the car and leave the girls alone. Their answer to this was to move a couple of feet away and continue to make faces and blow bubbles. Again, I can’t explain it.
Eventually the girls got tired of sitting in the car and decided to go play in the field behind my house, and they let the boys go too. Before too long they are running in out showing us what they’ve found and reporting each others words and actions. Alright, they were tattling.
Oh yeah, did I mention that Rusty, my sisters big red dog is there too? Running around chasing the kids and generally being in the big middle of everything. One of Rusty’s favorite things is to run out one door, go all the way around the house and in the other door. It’s enough to make you dizzy. Saturday he was doing is typically circuit around the through the house, and all of a sudden there’s another dog with him. A brown and white dog we have never seen before. A really friendly guy who was really enjoying Rusty and the kids. After about 20 or so loops through the house and some wrestling on the front lawn he disappeared as quickly as he arrived. I think I will call him the Lone Ranger.
I guess it’s just another day in an everyday life.
P.S. I won at domineos!! Hey me!!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Stencils, spray paint, gator board and teamwork
Today has been an interesting metal exercise. Our program would like to advertise some structures that will be coming to neighborhoods soon, stormwater facilities, aka: green streets. So we have run through several ideas, starting with yard signs. The first yard sign is nice and glossy and will be used for a special event, but it costs $200. To mark all locations we need something very cheap since we’re looking at about 200 sites, so I start off thinking little Corex (corrugated plastic) signs. That would be much cheaper and they could be reused, at least the ones we get back. Of course, there is the storage issue, we have no place to store them when not in use, and I would have to track where they have been posted. Too much work, I don’t have that kind of time!!
Then a co-worker has the great idea that we use a stencil. (I’ve told you before I work with geniuses.) So now the discussion is, do we use a simple stencil sheet we can lay on the road and give a quick shot of paint to, or do we look at a larger, foldable stencil that would allow us, or the survey crews, to mark the actual outline of a facility? The first version of the big foldable idea had it made out of hinged plywood. I pointed out that would be too heavy and large for easy use or storage. The next suggestion was to use gator board instead of plywood.
(Our discussion on this topic has been via email. I love email, at least when it’s not spam.)
Gator board? I’d never heard of if so I turned to my pod mates and asked if they know what it is. Stephen thought it was the mesh you use to mount tile. He’s been tiling his two bathrooms for the last couple of weekends so he can be excused the thought. David popped up and asked if that is when you try to waterboard an alligator. I’m not sure what David has been doing in his off days, and maybe I don’t want to ask.
It turns out that Gator Board is a brand name for a foam core type product. (I also love Goggle!) It’s more durable then foam core. I’m still thinking we need something thin and pliable, like maybe something you can roll up and put a rubber band around when you’re not using it.
The second issue we’re faced with is spray paint. It’s basically nasty stuff for the environment and since we are an environmental bureau we should try not to harm it anymore. So I did what else? A Goggle search for eco friendly spray paint. Boy were there a lot of people who have posted questions about the availability of such a product, but not very many products. I found one brand that carries low VOV latex spray paint. It’s still aerosol though. I’ve sent the info to the team we’ll see what they think. Our only other alternative is an electric paint sprayer, not very handy. The paint companies need to busy on this idea!!
I love this whole process. We start with a very simple idea: get our future facilities marked. In a matter of a few emails shared between about six people we are moving toward something that will be better than anything just one of us could have come up with. I love good teamwork!
Then a co-worker has the great idea that we use a stencil. (I’ve told you before I work with geniuses.) So now the discussion is, do we use a simple stencil sheet we can lay on the road and give a quick shot of paint to, or do we look at a larger, foldable stencil that would allow us, or the survey crews, to mark the actual outline of a facility? The first version of the big foldable idea had it made out of hinged plywood. I pointed out that would be too heavy and large for easy use or storage. The next suggestion was to use gator board instead of plywood.
(Our discussion on this topic has been via email. I love email, at least when it’s not spam.)
Gator board? I’d never heard of if so I turned to my pod mates and asked if they know what it is. Stephen thought it was the mesh you use to mount tile. He’s been tiling his two bathrooms for the last couple of weekends so he can be excused the thought. David popped up and asked if that is when you try to waterboard an alligator. I’m not sure what David has been doing in his off days, and maybe I don’t want to ask.
It turns out that Gator Board is a brand name for a foam core type product. (I also love Goggle!) It’s more durable then foam core. I’m still thinking we need something thin and pliable, like maybe something you can roll up and put a rubber band around when you’re not using it.
The second issue we’re faced with is spray paint. It’s basically nasty stuff for the environment and since we are an environmental bureau we should try not to harm it anymore. So I did what else? A Goggle search for eco friendly spray paint. Boy were there a lot of people who have posted questions about the availability of such a product, but not very many products. I found one brand that carries low VOV latex spray paint. It’s still aerosol though. I’ve sent the info to the team we’ll see what they think. Our only other alternative is an electric paint sprayer, not very handy. The paint companies need to busy on this idea!!
I love this whole process. We start with a very simple idea: get our future facilities marked. In a matter of a few emails shared between about six people we are moving toward something that will be better than anything just one of us could have come up with. I love good teamwork!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Fun with tanks and horses
This is a very busy week at work. I am working extremely late two nights, putting in 13 hour days. Yesterday was one, and today is another. Last night I attended a National Night Out neighborhood party where I manned a table with information on a project we are proposing for a major stretch of road in the area. It was actually quite a nice party with a good band, people dancing, kids having fun, plenty of food, and attractions to keep everyone engaged.
The attractions included groups and organizations with tables set up to make information available, like mine. I noticed that the tables giving away something, anything, had the largest numbers of visitors. It didn’t matter if it was a pin you could clip onto your shirt, a bumper sticker, blow-up beach ball or a fabric shopping bag, people just love to get something for free.
Other attractions involved the mobile precinct from the police bureau, a tank from the FBI, and fire engines. The most popular, by far, were the horses of the police’s mounted patrol. I use to work closely with the commander at Central Precinct, who commanded that unit. He always said if he had a dollar for every time someone petted one of the horses, he would never have a funding problem. They really are great horses!
Every time I looked over at the FBI tank the same little boy was hanging out the top hatch with a big grin on his face and having the time of his life. If possession is 9/10 of the law, that child now owns a tank. “Mom, look what I brought home!”
Tonight I’ll be working late with a community action committee for an upcoming, very large and high profile project. I’m pretty sure there will be no band, no ice cream, no horses and no excited kids. Few of will be having any fun at all.
The attractions included groups and organizations with tables set up to make information available, like mine. I noticed that the tables giving away something, anything, had the largest numbers of visitors. It didn’t matter if it was a pin you could clip onto your shirt, a bumper sticker, blow-up beach ball or a fabric shopping bag, people just love to get something for free.
Other attractions involved the mobile precinct from the police bureau, a tank from the FBI, and fire engines. The most popular, by far, were the horses of the police’s mounted patrol. I use to work closely with the commander at Central Precinct, who commanded that unit. He always said if he had a dollar for every time someone petted one of the horses, he would never have a funding problem. They really are great horses!
Every time I looked over at the FBI tank the same little boy was hanging out the top hatch with a big grin on his face and having the time of his life. If possession is 9/10 of the law, that child now owns a tank. “Mom, look what I brought home!”
Tonight I’ll be working late with a community action committee for an upcoming, very large and high profile project. I’m pretty sure there will be no band, no ice cream, no horses and no excited kids. Few of will be having any fun at all.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Amazing response
Friday my sister and I went to visit our mother, who lives about 45 minutes from us. Most of the trip is along I-5. Going was no problem and we had a lovely visit.
On the way home, at about the half way mark, the truck him front of me swerved from the middle lane into the left hand lane. As the view cleared I see a big twisted chunk red metal in my lane, and a motorcyclist lying motionless between me and it. Luckily I wasn’t follow very close and had plenty of room to stop, and the vehicle behind me was a fair distance back. (How often does that happen?)
I get stopped and set my flashers, so no one can run over this guy. Immediately several people with some emergency response experience stop and start to render aid. Everyone is on the phone calling it in. I’m directing traffic trying to keep vehicles moving past the site and another guy is up the road waving all the traffic over the far left lane. At this point the highway is down to a single lane.
One woman stops and gives us every thing in her emergency kit. Most people move through at a good pace and everyone up the line makes way for the police and EMTs as they arrive. All in all it was an amazing, unrehearsed performance done in unison by complete strangers, all for the benefit of a guy lying helpless in the middle of the road.
I’ve thought about this a lot over the weekend. This was such an amazing event, not because something dramatic and life threatening happened, but because so many people took immediate action on behalf of someone they didn’t know, in a situation they didn’t have any responsibility for, and none of them ever questioned why they did it. What an outstanding example of all that is right with our country, and the human race!
Too often we get really cynical about the human condition, you all know I’ve certainly suffered from that, but actually there is a lot with us. We need to take the time to see it and acknowledge it.
I think about the motorcyclist, laying there in the road, unable to move, but aware of his surrounding. How terrifying that must have been, to know you’re down, in the middle of the highway. I’m sure he expected to be run over.
I wonder what happened to him and if he’s going to be alright. We didn’t stay. As soon as the EMTs and enough police showed up take over my traffic duties, and Danna’s schlepping duties, we left. We hadn’t seen the accident happen, and we would have just been in the way at that point. So we have no idea where he was taken, or what the on-site assessment of his condition was. We just hope he is doing well, where ever he is.
If you have moment please send out a prayer, or some positive thoughts for him.
On the way home, at about the half way mark, the truck him front of me swerved from the middle lane into the left hand lane. As the view cleared I see a big twisted chunk red metal in my lane, and a motorcyclist lying motionless between me and it. Luckily I wasn’t follow very close and had plenty of room to stop, and the vehicle behind me was a fair distance back. (How often does that happen?)
I get stopped and set my flashers, so no one can run over this guy. Immediately several people with some emergency response experience stop and start to render aid. Everyone is on the phone calling it in. I’m directing traffic trying to keep vehicles moving past the site and another guy is up the road waving all the traffic over the far left lane. At this point the highway is down to a single lane.
One woman stops and gives us every thing in her emergency kit. Most people move through at a good pace and everyone up the line makes way for the police and EMTs as they arrive. All in all it was an amazing, unrehearsed performance done in unison by complete strangers, all for the benefit of a guy lying helpless in the middle of the road.
I’ve thought about this a lot over the weekend. This was such an amazing event, not because something dramatic and life threatening happened, but because so many people took immediate action on behalf of someone they didn’t know, in a situation they didn’t have any responsibility for, and none of them ever questioned why they did it. What an outstanding example of all that is right with our country, and the human race!
Too often we get really cynical about the human condition, you all know I’ve certainly suffered from that, but actually there is a lot with us. We need to take the time to see it and acknowledge it.
I think about the motorcyclist, laying there in the road, unable to move, but aware of his surrounding. How terrifying that must have been, to know you’re down, in the middle of the highway. I’m sure he expected to be run over.
I wonder what happened to him and if he’s going to be alright. We didn’t stay. As soon as the EMTs and enough police showed up take over my traffic duties, and Danna’s schlepping duties, we left. We hadn’t seen the accident happen, and we would have just been in the way at that point. So we have no idea where he was taken, or what the on-site assessment of his condition was. We just hope he is doing well, where ever he is.
If you have moment please send out a prayer, or some positive thoughts for him.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Fun with horse rings
In Portland, as you drive or walk down a street, you are likely to see metal rings attached to the curb. They aren’t everywhere, but there are enough that if you look for them you will certainly find one. They puzzled me at first, but then someone explained that they were a holdover from the days of horses. This is where people used to tie off their horses. That was just so cool, that there were still some around. In fact, it is written into the city’s building code that if one is removed for any reason, it must be replaced. So all construction projects in the city are pretty careful with them.
The neighbors in Portland being the slightly off center folks that they are, will often use the rings to tie up their My Little Ponies, or other toy ponies. Then there are those that use them to tie up other items like flying saucers, dinosaurs, monsters, whatever. It’s a fun thing to keep your eyes open for.
I currently have a capitol improvement project getting ready to start construction, and I’ve had several neighbors, with horse rings at their curbs, call because they are worried about their rings. One of the neighbors happens to have horses tied to her rings, so I suggested she put them out to pasture for the construction phase. We talked about how she could build a diorama out of a shoe box with a meadow and mountains. We agreed that her horses might not like the curb so much after a year in the meadow.
Today I had another neighbor worried about his rings. I assured him we would be careful and that any rings removed would be replace. I also cautioned him that if he had horses tied up he might want to pasture them as well. He said they only tied up a Mustang occasionally. I pointed out that Mustangs can be a bit high strung at times, and that Pintos were a little easier going.
I love neighbors with a sense of humor!!
The neighbors in Portland being the slightly off center folks that they are, will often use the rings to tie up their My Little Ponies, or other toy ponies. Then there are those that use them to tie up other items like flying saucers, dinosaurs, monsters, whatever. It’s a fun thing to keep your eyes open for.
I currently have a capitol improvement project getting ready to start construction, and I’ve had several neighbors, with horse rings at their curbs, call because they are worried about their rings. One of the neighbors happens to have horses tied to her rings, so I suggested she put them out to pasture for the construction phase. We talked about how she could build a diorama out of a shoe box with a meadow and mountains. We agreed that her horses might not like the curb so much after a year in the meadow.
Today I had another neighbor worried about his rings. I assured him we would be careful and that any rings removed would be replace. I also cautioned him that if he had horses tied up he might want to pasture them as well. He said they only tied up a Mustang occasionally. I pointed out that Mustangs can be a bit high strung at times, and that Pintos were a little easier going.
I love neighbors with a sense of humor!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Temps, photos, the web
I just checked the weather site and it’s currently 102 degrees in Portland, and 100 in Vancouver. Yesterday it also reached 100. After work I went home, measured my windows, and set out to buy an air conditions. The store clerks actually laughed at me! They had sold out early in the day. The best any of them could offer me was another fan, and there were precious few of those. I’m pretty sure they’re all gone by now. My bedroom is like a wind tunnel at this point. It does wonder for the wrinkles but not too much for the temperatures.
Today I saw a video about an Army Calvary Scout that took some unbelievable photos while deployed in Afghanistan, or the A-stan. While the photos are compelling, I found this soldier to be even more so. He’s a good looking and healthy young man, just as you would expect, but like so many of them that come back, especially those that have been in the middle of combat, there is something in his eyes. He has eyes that are deep and knowing, but also guarded. You can tell they have seen a lot, but you can also tell that you would have to work hard to gain enough trust for him to really tell you about those experiences. How could you ever understand what it was like stand in his shoes? Luckily he took his camera and he knows how to use it. You can go to YouTube and search Jeremiah Ridgeway, Photos from the Front Line, or copy and paste this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onp9WlIiKBw Sorry I couldn’t provide a better link.
I love YouTube! At work there is this whole paranoid thing about posting to YouTube and the question of how ethical it is to send someone off site for information. A lot of municipalities feel this way, but I say why try to reinvent the wheel and maintain it? YouTube is there, they obviously know what they’re doing and everyone goes there first to find stuff. The other day I was ready to make my first ever pesto and I was doing a web search for recipes, and I thought I’d go to YouTube and see if there was a video. There’s just nothing like seeing it done to understand how to do something. Abracadabra! There were several videos. In less than 3 minutes I knew exactly how to make pesto from a video. Instance gratification is wonderful!
Take phone books. People are all the time trying to leave phone books on my door step. I try to catch them and tell them I don’t want one. I still come home and find books left there. I mean really who uses a phone book anymore. It’s obsolete technology, and is dated almost as soon as you get it. If I need a number, I go to Dex Online, or do a web search. Why would I want another thing in my house that never gets used? It also aggravates me that paper is being wasted in printing those books. Is my green showing?
Just checked the temps again, 104 in Portland and 106 in Vancouver. That’s hotter than Austin, Texas!!
Today I saw a video about an Army Calvary Scout that took some unbelievable photos while deployed in Afghanistan, or the A-stan. While the photos are compelling, I found this soldier to be even more so. He’s a good looking and healthy young man, just as you would expect, but like so many of them that come back, especially those that have been in the middle of combat, there is something in his eyes. He has eyes that are deep and knowing, but also guarded. You can tell they have seen a lot, but you can also tell that you would have to work hard to gain enough trust for him to really tell you about those experiences. How could you ever understand what it was like stand in his shoes? Luckily he took his camera and he knows how to use it. You can go to YouTube and search Jeremiah Ridgeway, Photos from the Front Line, or copy and paste this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onp9WlIiKBw Sorry I couldn’t provide a better link.
I love YouTube! At work there is this whole paranoid thing about posting to YouTube and the question of how ethical it is to send someone off site for information. A lot of municipalities feel this way, but I say why try to reinvent the wheel and maintain it? YouTube is there, they obviously know what they’re doing and everyone goes there first to find stuff. The other day I was ready to make my first ever pesto and I was doing a web search for recipes, and I thought I’d go to YouTube and see if there was a video. There’s just nothing like seeing it done to understand how to do something. Abracadabra! There were several videos. In less than 3 minutes I knew exactly how to make pesto from a video. Instance gratification is wonderful!
Take phone books. People are all the time trying to leave phone books on my door step. I try to catch them and tell them I don’t want one. I still come home and find books left there. I mean really who uses a phone book anymore. It’s obsolete technology, and is dated almost as soon as you get it. If I need a number, I go to Dex Online, or do a web search. Why would I want another thing in my house that never gets used? It also aggravates me that paper is being wasted in printing those books. Is my green showing?
Just checked the temps again, 104 in Portland and 106 in Vancouver. That’s hotter than Austin, Texas!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Hot weather, gardens and the crazy cat lady
Today is really hot, especially for the Pacific Northwest, and the next few days will be even hotter. We’re into triple digits. Now, having grown-up in Houston and living there for 30 years I know about the heat and humidity. Getting out of all that was one of the major benefits to moving!!
Alas, I have become a weather wimp, because I’ve decided that on the way home today I will be stopping and buying an air conditioner. I can’t believe I’ve sunk to this level, but I really need to get some sleep! Last night was a nightmare of sweat, twisted sheets and tossing and turning. I had two big fans blowing on me and all the windows opened and it was still oppressive.
The weather is good for the garden and I’ve been putting up pickles like a mad person. I’m also hauling in stuff to work to give away. In fact everywhere I go anymore I’m carrying around a bag of something, cucumbers, peppers, beans, basil, and soon tomatoes. The corn has developed long tassels and the ears are filling out nicely.
That’s right we’re picking tomatoes now!! I can’t wait to start canning what my grandma called tomato soup. It was really a lot of tomatoes and whatever else was going, like corn, beans, okra, peas, and potatoes. Just whatever you had a lot of.
We had our neighborhood picnic Saturday, which was a lot of work, but also a lot of work. I was so happy when it was done. Me and my peeps landed at Debbi’s house for adult beverages and unwinding. As usual we had a great time together, and we even made some pesto, with our fresh spinach-basil! I feel so cosmopolitan!!!
Debbi has had a surprising development in her household. For her daughter’s birthday they adopted a cute cuddly kitten from the Humane Society and named him Pepper. About a month after they brought him home, he disappeared. Emily has insisted from day one that Pepper would come home to her, but when a month passed and there were no signs of him, they took Emily back to adopt another kitten. Well, the kittens were so cute that they ended up bringing home two, Tink and Sprite.
Two weeks later, guess who shows up? That’s right Pepper. He had grown so much that Debbi wasn’t sure it was him even though Emily was certain. Debbi took him down and had his chip checked. So, Pepper is back home with a much expanded family. We are teasing Debbi, telling her she is has now become the crazy cat woman of the neighborhood. We’ll have to be careful opening the door for fear that cats will start pouring out.
During our winding down evening we were playing Granny Dice and three of us were holding kittens in our laps. Wendy was being silly taking to the kitten she was holding trying to keep it from climbing onto the table, which Debbi doesn’t allow. She told the kitten, “No you can’t get up there your grandma Debbi doesn’t like that.”
Before we knew what had happen, Wendy was being pelted by dice. Apparently Debbi doesn’t see herself as a grandma.
Alas, I have become a weather wimp, because I’ve decided that on the way home today I will be stopping and buying an air conditioner. I can’t believe I’ve sunk to this level, but I really need to get some sleep! Last night was a nightmare of sweat, twisted sheets and tossing and turning. I had two big fans blowing on me and all the windows opened and it was still oppressive.
The weather is good for the garden and I’ve been putting up pickles like a mad person. I’m also hauling in stuff to work to give away. In fact everywhere I go anymore I’m carrying around a bag of something, cucumbers, peppers, beans, basil, and soon tomatoes. The corn has developed long tassels and the ears are filling out nicely.
That’s right we’re picking tomatoes now!! I can’t wait to start canning what my grandma called tomato soup. It was really a lot of tomatoes and whatever else was going, like corn, beans, okra, peas, and potatoes. Just whatever you had a lot of.
We had our neighborhood picnic Saturday, which was a lot of work, but also a lot of work. I was so happy when it was done. Me and my peeps landed at Debbi’s house for adult beverages and unwinding. As usual we had a great time together, and we even made some pesto, with our fresh spinach-basil! I feel so cosmopolitan!!!
Debbi has had a surprising development in her household. For her daughter’s birthday they adopted a cute cuddly kitten from the Humane Society and named him Pepper. About a month after they brought him home, he disappeared. Emily has insisted from day one that Pepper would come home to her, but when a month passed and there were no signs of him, they took Emily back to adopt another kitten. Well, the kittens were so cute that they ended up bringing home two, Tink and Sprite.
Two weeks later, guess who shows up? That’s right Pepper. He had grown so much that Debbi wasn’t sure it was him even though Emily was certain. Debbi took him down and had his chip checked. So, Pepper is back home with a much expanded family. We are teasing Debbi, telling her she is has now become the crazy cat woman of the neighborhood. We’ll have to be careful opening the door for fear that cats will start pouring out.
During our winding down evening we were playing Granny Dice and three of us were holding kittens in our laps. Wendy was being silly taking to the kitten she was holding trying to keep it from climbing onto the table, which Debbi doesn’t allow. She told the kitten, “No you can’t get up there your grandma Debbi doesn’t like that.”
Before we knew what had happen, Wendy was being pelted by dice. Apparently Debbi doesn’t see herself as a grandma.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Crime call #2
Years ago while I was still a crime prevention specialist, I received a call from a man who was looking for a particular officer who had helped him in the past. I explained that the officer wasn’t available, and in fact had retired about six months before. The man became really upset insisting that only this officer could help him. After talking to him for a while and assuring him that I would do everything I could to help, he told me that the officer had been coming out once a year to help him fix his home security.
Well, that sounded a little off because officers don’t usually get that involved in home security issues. Mostly they will offer some general advice. Anything more in depth they would refer citizens to a crime prevention specialist. So, of course I told this citizen that home security was one of fields of expertise and assured him I could help.
That was when he hit me with the big question, “So, you have some of that special foil too?”
I’m thinking oh no here we go again. “Hum, what foil are you talking about exactly?”
“You know that UFO foil!” he explained.
“Aaaa, UFO foil?”
“Yeah! About 3 years ago he came to my house and I explained how those UFO’s kept hanging around over my house and making my brain buzz.”
“Really!?” I mean what else could I say? At some point you have to strap yourself in and ride it out.
“Yeah, he walked around the house with me and looked at all my windows. He realized right away what was wrong.”
“And, what was that?”
“I was using the wrong kind of foil on my windows. He left and came back later with the right stuff and helped me cover my windows. It was great! The buzzing stopped right away. He came by every year with some more foil and helped me recover the windows.”
“Oh, that foil! Yeah, I know what he used.”
“REALLY?!!” He was excited and relieved.
“Sure, you have to go get Reynolds Heavy Duty foil. Don’t get the regular stuff, it’s too thin, you need the thicker heavy duty roll.”
----Crime call #1 was posted March 26, 2009---
Well, that sounded a little off because officers don’t usually get that involved in home security issues. Mostly they will offer some general advice. Anything more in depth they would refer citizens to a crime prevention specialist. So, of course I told this citizen that home security was one of fields of expertise and assured him I could help.
That was when he hit me with the big question, “So, you have some of that special foil too?”
I’m thinking oh no here we go again. “Hum, what foil are you talking about exactly?”
“You know that UFO foil!” he explained.
“Aaaa, UFO foil?”
“Yeah! About 3 years ago he came to my house and I explained how those UFO’s kept hanging around over my house and making my brain buzz.”
“Really!?” I mean what else could I say? At some point you have to strap yourself in and ride it out.
“Yeah, he walked around the house with me and looked at all my windows. He realized right away what was wrong.”
“And, what was that?”
“I was using the wrong kind of foil on my windows. He left and came back later with the right stuff and helped me cover my windows. It was great! The buzzing stopped right away. He came by every year with some more foil and helped me recover the windows.”
“Oh, that foil! Yeah, I know what he used.”
“REALLY?!!” He was excited and relieved.
“Sure, you have to go get Reynolds Heavy Duty foil. Don’t get the regular stuff, it’s too thin, you need the thicker heavy duty roll.”
----Crime call #1 was posted March 26, 2009---
Spinach, basal and basil
The garden is going like gang busters (what the heck does that mean anyway?). The corn has grown well above the 6 foot fence I share with my neighbor, the broccoli has spread out to the point that it is over shadowing the cabbage and the beans. Our cucumbers are producing like a house-a-fire (yet another strange saying). I put up three quarts of pickles this weekend. I haven’t made pickles in 25 years!!! All the tomato plants are covered with fruit; in fact we have already picked a few ripe ones. And the pumpkin plant is huge, massive, gargantuan!!
One of our greatest successes is our spinach. We bought a little six-pack of tiny starters and they have really taken off. The problem is that it turns out that it isn’t really spinach. It took a while to figure out that what we really have is boat load of basil! It reminded me the scene in Secondhand Lions when it dawns on them that their massive garden is actually filled with nothing but corn. Like them, we’ve decided to just go with it. In fact, this morning I brought a bunch of little baggies filled with fresh basil into work, left them in the kitchen and sent out an email to let anyone know it was there for the taking. I went to a meeting and when I came back, it was all gone. Yippee!!
I’ve also collected several good pesto recipes from co-workers. I’m really excited to try them out. I love pesto and had forgotten it was made with basil.
This whole incident has also improved my spelling. When I sent the email out I said “basal” because that is what spell check gave me. It didn’t look right but neither did anything else I could think of. A few people have sent me emails with the correct spelling and at least one person left me a post-it note. Gees, it’s not like they didn’t know what I was talking about! They obviously didn’t think I was hawking poison in a baggie.
One of our greatest successes is our spinach. We bought a little six-pack of tiny starters and they have really taken off. The problem is that it turns out that it isn’t really spinach. It took a while to figure out that what we really have is boat load of basil! It reminded me the scene in Secondhand Lions when it dawns on them that their massive garden is actually filled with nothing but corn. Like them, we’ve decided to just go with it. In fact, this morning I brought a bunch of little baggies filled with fresh basil into work, left them in the kitchen and sent out an email to let anyone know it was there for the taking. I went to a meeting and when I came back, it was all gone. Yippee!!
I’ve also collected several good pesto recipes from co-workers. I’m really excited to try them out. I love pesto and had forgotten it was made with basil.
This whole incident has also improved my spelling. When I sent the email out I said “basal” because that is what spell check gave me. It didn’t look right but neither did anything else I could think of. A few people have sent me emails with the correct spelling and at least one person left me a post-it note. Gees, it’s not like they didn’t know what I was talking about! They obviously didn’t think I was hawking poison in a baggie.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Let me off the plane
The other day, on the bus, I was talking to one of the other regular riders. We’re both from Texas and we really enjoy visiting with one another. That day I was telling her about the 5 hour and 7 hour layover for flights from Portland to Kansas City. We got to talking about plane flights in general. During the conversation she laughed and made the comment about flight time and layover time is added onto the 5 hours you will have to wait on the tarmac to just take off from an airport. If you figure that I will have to take off from two different airports that could add another 10 hours to my traveling time.
We laughed but you know it’s always a real possibility, which is a really sad comment on the airline industry. I’ve already made up my mind that if I’m going to be stuck on the tarmac waiting for a flight to take off, I’m just ringing the attendant over and telling them to call the FBI out to meet me at the door, because I’ll be getting ready to throw a hissy fit. I’m not about to wait for the toilets to fill up, the air conditioner to be turned off, and the drinks to be consumed. The older I get the less I tolerate confined spaces, small bathrooms, people with attitudes (read attendants here) and asinine policies.
The truth is that the airlines should have a special file on me concerning this issue. Think about it, I can be a bit out spoken (Ok, you can take the laugher down a notch!), and I do know how to make a scene. (Really do need to quite laughing so hard) Really, they don’t want to leave me in the population of passengers. I’m a community organizer, that has to represent their worst nightmares!
We laughed but you know it’s always a real possibility, which is a really sad comment on the airline industry. I’ve already made up my mind that if I’m going to be stuck on the tarmac waiting for a flight to take off, I’m just ringing the attendant over and telling them to call the FBI out to meet me at the door, because I’ll be getting ready to throw a hissy fit. I’m not about to wait for the toilets to fill up, the air conditioner to be turned off, and the drinks to be consumed. The older I get the less I tolerate confined spaces, small bathrooms, people with attitudes (read attendants here) and asinine policies.
The truth is that the airlines should have a special file on me concerning this issue. Think about it, I can be a bit out spoken (Ok, you can take the laugher down a notch!), and I do know how to make a scene. (Really do need to quite laughing so hard) Really, they don’t want to leave me in the population of passengers. I’m a community organizer, that has to represent their worst nightmares!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The panty line conspiracy
The fashion industry has spent decades perpetrating a conspiracy on the women of the world, and it all involves panties. In the 60’s we all wore briefs, granted some were more frilly than others and they came in various colors and some even had the days of the week on them. We might have worried about getting caught in an accident without clean ones on, but one of the things we never gave a thought to were panty lines. That didn’t come until the 70’s and hip-hugger, high cut leg panties were introduced. Then the 80’s brought us the bikini panties and more angst about panty lines. So the answer to all our worries was the thong, which is really just a new name for a G-string, all which boils down to butt floss, and no panty lines.
Now instead of the hated panty lines, we have to live with the peeping thong. You know that instance when you realize that all essence of class has been wiped form the younger generation, as a girl bends over and above her jeans you see her thong and her butt crack. Of course this is in perfect harmony with her date’s outfit. His jeans have been belted around his knees so that he can barely walk and his boxer cover butt is right there for all the world to see. He’s obviously not worried about boxer lines.
Now instead of the hated panty lines, we have to live with the peeping thong. You know that instance when you realize that all essence of class has been wiped form the younger generation, as a girl bends over and above her jeans you see her thong and her butt crack. Of course this is in perfect harmony with her date’s outfit. His jeans have been belted around his knees so that he can barely walk and his boxer cover butt is right there for all the world to see. He’s obviously not worried about boxer lines.
Camping update
Thought it was time for an update on Debbi’s Great Camping Adventure. LOL The most important point to report is….she survived!! It’s also significant to report that she and Jerad, as a couple, survived as well.
The morning they returned I spoke to Jerad first, I asked if there were pictures, and how it went. He said one of the relatives had taken video. I told him I knew people that might pay handsomely for copies. Here are some highlights:
The morning they returned I spoke to Jerad first, I asked if there were pictures, and how it went. He said one of the relatives had taken video. I told him I knew people that might pay handsomely for copies. Here are some highlights:
- Six people and the dog were all stung by bees.
- Emily, who is easy going and usually ready to go along with most anything, was in the car at the crack of dawn buckled in and ready to leave for home.
- Debbi drove an hour and a half to the restroom. I asked if she did that every time and she said only once. I asked what she did the rest of the time, and she said she only went once! She claims to have gone 6 days before without use of the facilities when someone sighted a rattle snake. If that statement came from anyone else I’d have to call “Bullshit” but with Debbi I have to admit that I believe it.
- Not only where there no modern facilities, Debbi was also horrified by their consumption of beer and fatty foods. In her campaign to Not Go, she restricted herself to cheese.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Post Office pains
Holy crap, Bat Fans, what day is it!? Where has this week gone? I’ve spent a good portion of it in Mail Hell, working on an extremely complicated mailing at work. Thank God someone was paying me to figure it out and get it done, because if not that thing would still be laying around.
What is it with the Post Office? No wonder they’re running out of money. They have not made an effort to bring their processes up-to-date with current technology, or only marginally so. For instance, when I mail a package to my soldier, I send it military priority mail (good price) but it involves filling out a long customs form by hand. There are 5 carbine copies so you have to make sure you write firmly enough to go through, or the clerk will make you rewrite it at the post office. At which point you lose your place in line or everyone behind you stares daggers at you.
It’s true that you can fill our the form on the computer, but you must then print 5 pages to make up for all the carbons. Imagine if you are mailing just three boxes, that’s 15 sheets of paper. Also, because it’s going outside the country you have to physically take it to the post office to mail it. What’s that about? I thought we were concerned with dangerous items coming in, not going out.
For a certified letter, which is what I have been sending my time on for the past two day, you have to address the envelope, address the tear off sheet, address the return card twice, transfer a sticker from the tear off sheet to the return card, and check at least one box. Oh yeah, and for all your hard work you will pay over $5 to mail it. How crazy is that? On top all this, I also had to include a mail merged letter, site specific map, project flyer, two pamphlets and a self-addressed postage paid envelop. I’m telling you the diagram on the instruction would have look like one those drawing where it takes a thousand senseless steps to get for point A to point B. I was trapped in a Rube Goldberg drawing!
I had to go to the post office to pick some more certified letter materials. I asked for a set of 100, they only had 150 sets so all they would give me was 10 sets. They needed to save some in case other customers needed them. What’s the deal with that? Isn’t the point in printing them to get them used? It’s not like I wasn’t going to use them, I really needed them! It wasn’t like I was trying to horde them so other people couldn’t get any. What if no one else came in for certified mailing materials, they miss the opportunity to have them go to a good home. And really if I need a 100 than 10 just isn’t going to do it. For a moment I had flash back to my times with Sprint Customer Service. (As vile an organization that ever existed and the ultimate oxymoron.)
I used to have to do bulk mailings at another job, and let me tell you there are a thousand ways to get those wrong, and a lot of it depends on who is manning the counter when you take it in. I used to cruise the parking lot peeking into the windows to see if it was even worth going in. One clerk in particular you just couldn’t please! She would always have you at one of the tables making changes, or send you away completely. Who your clerk is, is a big factor in determining how successful and painful your visit is. The truth is you’re not getting out of the Post Office without some pain involved. It’s a wonder that its only been postal worker shooting up the place.
What is it with the Post Office? No wonder they’re running out of money. They have not made an effort to bring their processes up-to-date with current technology, or only marginally so. For instance, when I mail a package to my soldier, I send it military priority mail (good price) but it involves filling out a long customs form by hand. There are 5 carbine copies so you have to make sure you write firmly enough to go through, or the clerk will make you rewrite it at the post office. At which point you lose your place in line or everyone behind you stares daggers at you.
It’s true that you can fill our the form on the computer, but you must then print 5 pages to make up for all the carbons. Imagine if you are mailing just three boxes, that’s 15 sheets of paper. Also, because it’s going outside the country you have to physically take it to the post office to mail it. What’s that about? I thought we were concerned with dangerous items coming in, not going out.
For a certified letter, which is what I have been sending my time on for the past two day, you have to address the envelope, address the tear off sheet, address the return card twice, transfer a sticker from the tear off sheet to the return card, and check at least one box. Oh yeah, and for all your hard work you will pay over $5 to mail it. How crazy is that? On top all this, I also had to include a mail merged letter, site specific map, project flyer, two pamphlets and a self-addressed postage paid envelop. I’m telling you the diagram on the instruction would have look like one those drawing where it takes a thousand senseless steps to get for point A to point B. I was trapped in a Rube Goldberg drawing!
I had to go to the post office to pick some more certified letter materials. I asked for a set of 100, they only had 150 sets so all they would give me was 10 sets. They needed to save some in case other customers needed them. What’s the deal with that? Isn’t the point in printing them to get them used? It’s not like I wasn’t going to use them, I really needed them! It wasn’t like I was trying to horde them so other people couldn’t get any. What if no one else came in for certified mailing materials, they miss the opportunity to have them go to a good home. And really if I need a 100 than 10 just isn’t going to do it. For a moment I had flash back to my times with Sprint Customer Service. (As vile an organization that ever existed and the ultimate oxymoron.)
I used to have to do bulk mailings at another job, and let me tell you there are a thousand ways to get those wrong, and a lot of it depends on who is manning the counter when you take it in. I used to cruise the parking lot peeking into the windows to see if it was even worth going in. One clerk in particular you just couldn’t please! She would always have you at one of the tables making changes, or send you away completely. Who your clerk is, is a big factor in determining how successful and painful your visit is. The truth is you’re not getting out of the Post Office without some pain involved. It’s a wonder that its only been postal worker shooting up the place.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Grandbabies, long distances, and the yenta gene
I got the best picture of my grandbaby the other day. It was taken on the beach in Hawaii and she is buried in the sand. While that in itself would be an adorable photo, it’s the look on her face that just sell the whole thing. It screams, “It’s good to be me!” It is now officially my favorite picture of her.
Physically she is so much like her mother at that age that it will be hard to tell their pictures about later, but Boo has a different kind of energy about her. Kristin was a studier, and in her pictures she is almost always looking head on at the camera and is very aware of the fact that her picture is being taken and she is focused on that. Kristin was good a sitting still or posing. Boo is a constant motion machine, and we have almost no pictures of her where she is interested in taking a good picture. She’s all about whatever she’s doing, and she is constantly doing something. Getting her to look into the camera for more than a half a second is a Herculean task. I wonder if her dad was that way when he was her age. I need to do some note checking with the grandparent-in-laws.
Of course, it would be nice if Kristin could come home more often, or if Kenny came from here, that way they wouldn’t have to divide their time between the Georgia, Washington and Texas. It’s tough on everyone. It would be great to meet Kenny’s family and see them with Kristin and Boo.
So, in the end I’m kind of stuck between regret that they have to live so far, pride that they are so independent, happy that they are getting to experience different places, understanding that they have to try to fit us all in, and wishing that whoever is going to invent the Star Trek transporter would get a flipping move on!!
Meanwhile, in my ongoing hope that I will eventually have grandchildren from my other child, Matt, I try to keep on the look for any indication that he is at least seeing a particular girl on a steady basis. He never talks about a girl unless he adds that they are so and so’s girlfriend, they are 40 something years old and just a friend, they’re married and have children, or some other disclaimer so I don’t get my hopes up that he might be serious about someone. He knows that I know, that would be the first baby step to grandchildren. Really I just want him to find someone to be happy with, even if they don’t produce any grandchildren. But, grandchildren would be nice. With Matt I have the biggest hope of having grandchildren near me.
On the 4th of July Matt came riding his scooter past the house while all of us were setting off fireworks in the street (yes, another white trash moment in my life) with a girl on the back. Not too long later he came around again with her. Well, me, Danna, Wendy and Mark are all wondering if Matt has a girl. We’re getting a little excited about the possibility. Except for Mark, he’s just curious and isn’t affected with the Yenta gene that we women are. So the next day Matt’s comes by the house and I try to ask casually who the girl was. He laughs and asks which one. Apparently there was a different girl each time. One was Ali’s girlfriend and the other was “just a friend.” Damn it!! I think he’s baiting me now.
Physically she is so much like her mother at that age that it will be hard to tell their pictures about later, but Boo has a different kind of energy about her. Kristin was a studier, and in her pictures she is almost always looking head on at the camera and is very aware of the fact that her picture is being taken and she is focused on that. Kristin was good a sitting still or posing. Boo is a constant motion machine, and we have almost no pictures of her where she is interested in taking a good picture. She’s all about whatever she’s doing, and she is constantly doing something. Getting her to look into the camera for more than a half a second is a Herculean task. I wonder if her dad was that way when he was her age. I need to do some note checking with the grandparent-in-laws.
Of course, it would be nice if Kristin could come home more often, or if Kenny came from here, that way they wouldn’t have to divide their time between the Georgia, Washington and Texas. It’s tough on everyone. It would be great to meet Kenny’s family and see them with Kristin and Boo.
So, in the end I’m kind of stuck between regret that they have to live so far, pride that they are so independent, happy that they are getting to experience different places, understanding that they have to try to fit us all in, and wishing that whoever is going to invent the Star Trek transporter would get a flipping move on!!
Meanwhile, in my ongoing hope that I will eventually have grandchildren from my other child, Matt, I try to keep on the look for any indication that he is at least seeing a particular girl on a steady basis. He never talks about a girl unless he adds that they are so and so’s girlfriend, they are 40 something years old and just a friend, they’re married and have children, or some other disclaimer so I don’t get my hopes up that he might be serious about someone. He knows that I know, that would be the first baby step to grandchildren. Really I just want him to find someone to be happy with, even if they don’t produce any grandchildren. But, grandchildren would be nice. With Matt I have the biggest hope of having grandchildren near me.
On the 4th of July Matt came riding his scooter past the house while all of us were setting off fireworks in the street (yes, another white trash moment in my life) with a girl on the back. Not too long later he came around again with her. Well, me, Danna, Wendy and Mark are all wondering if Matt has a girl. We’re getting a little excited about the possibility. Except for Mark, he’s just curious and isn’t affected with the Yenta gene that we women are. So the next day Matt’s comes by the house and I try to ask casually who the girl was. He laughs and asks which one. Apparently there was a different girl each time. One was Ali’s girlfriend and the other was “just a friend.” Damn it!! I think he’s baiting me now.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Debbi - comfort = hell for somebody
Yesterday my good friend Debbi, and my next door neighbor Jerad, came over to borrow my 10x10 canopy for their camping trip this weekend. This is a trip Jerad takes every year with his family, but it will be Debbi’s first time. Every year they camp at the same place, it’s a pretty rustic place with no restrooms or camping amenities at all.
Frankly, I can’t wait for Jerad’s photos. Debbi’s idea of roughing it is having to give herself a pedicure, and even then she will have every pampering product known to womankind to finish it off. Debbi is a material girl, and most of her materials need electricity to run, and she needs adaptors that accommodate multiple plugs. In short, I’d pay good money to watch her “rough it” for even a day. Longer than that would just be cruel.
Given Debbi’s love of electricity, plumbing and overall general comfort, we have been speculating on how long she will last, and/or what excuse she will come up with to come home early or move into the nearest hotel.
What the hell was Jerad thinking? He’s been dating her for two years he should know by now that she can make him pay dearly for something like this.
Yeah, these picture ought to be something.
Frankly, I can’t wait for Jerad’s photos. Debbi’s idea of roughing it is having to give herself a pedicure, and even then she will have every pampering product known to womankind to finish it off. Debbi is a material girl, and most of her materials need electricity to run, and she needs adaptors that accommodate multiple plugs. In short, I’d pay good money to watch her “rough it” for even a day. Longer than that would just be cruel.
Given Debbi’s love of electricity, plumbing and overall general comfort, we have been speculating on how long she will last, and/or what excuse she will come up with to come home early or move into the nearest hotel.
What the hell was Jerad thinking? He’s been dating her for two years he should know by now that she can make him pay dearly for something like this.
Yeah, these picture ought to be something.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Getting there from here
The daughter, Kristin, has informed me that they will likely be heading to Ft Riley, Kansas at the end of the year. Understandably I’ve been lobbying for Ft Lewis, here in Washington, but Ft Riley should be a better commute to visit. When I asked why they chose Kansas, she said because it was central to all the grandparents and didn’t overly favor one over another. Well, at least they will be closer.
I don’t know about you but 5 hours confined in a plane over nothing but ocean is wearing on my nerves. Not to mention the whole trying to avoid going to the restroom on a plane thing. Which is one of life’s truly torturous, and mentally scaring experiences, second only to wedging your backend into those tiny seats between two people you don’t know and have no desire to get to know. Basically commercial flight is just one big pain that the pharmaceutical companies have invented a cure or treatment for yet.
So the other day I did a Goggle search on Ft Riley and found that it is in the big middle of nowhere. Actually, it might be about 3 miles beyond nowhere. We’re talking 200 miles from Kansas City, and 100 miles from Topeka, no airport!! Still I figured I could fly into Kansas City and do a puddle hopper, or rent a car. So I do a quick check on air fare and schedules. I’m floored! It’s more expensive! I have my choice; I can do a 7 hour layover in Denver, or a 5 hour layover in Denver. I’d be on layover longer than it takes to fly to Hawaii!! Oddly enough, the layovers on the return flights were only an hour. Can anyone explain that?!
So, I thought I’d check Amtrak, 3 days there and 3 days back. Apparently you can’t get to Kansas from here in any reasonable timeframe.
My sister suggested that I contact the Army and see about a high altitude drop. I’m not sure how that would work on the return trip. I remember in the movie The Green Berets they hooked a guy up to a big balloon, had a plane flew over, grabbed the line, and swung him up at high speed. I could probably do the drop, but that kind of return just isn’t going to work for me.
Oddly enough I don’t mind military transport. Granted it’s a completely no-frills kind of ride, you don’t even have conventional seats. The seats are really just butt hammocks hug along the sides. It’s cold, really, really loud, and the windows are too high and small for a view. The trick is to get on bundled up in layers, bring something you can drape over your head and get yourself comfy in the hammock and go to sleep. You wouldn’t think sleeping would be possible with the loud engines, but it’s like having a big fan going at a really high speed, A LOT of white noise. You sleep like a baby. You can also read and if something is funny, you can laugh out loud and no one will mind, because they can’t hear you. You’ll just look like on of those strange people that talk to themselves.
I don’t know about you but 5 hours confined in a plane over nothing but ocean is wearing on my nerves. Not to mention the whole trying to avoid going to the restroom on a plane thing. Which is one of life’s truly torturous, and mentally scaring experiences, second only to wedging your backend into those tiny seats between two people you don’t know and have no desire to get to know. Basically commercial flight is just one big pain that the pharmaceutical companies have invented a cure or treatment for yet.
So the other day I did a Goggle search on Ft Riley and found that it is in the big middle of nowhere. Actually, it might be about 3 miles beyond nowhere. We’re talking 200 miles from Kansas City, and 100 miles from Topeka, no airport!! Still I figured I could fly into Kansas City and do a puddle hopper, or rent a car. So I do a quick check on air fare and schedules. I’m floored! It’s more expensive! I have my choice; I can do a 7 hour layover in Denver, or a 5 hour layover in Denver. I’d be on layover longer than it takes to fly to Hawaii!! Oddly enough, the layovers on the return flights were only an hour. Can anyone explain that?!
So, I thought I’d check Amtrak, 3 days there and 3 days back. Apparently you can’t get to Kansas from here in any reasonable timeframe.
My sister suggested that I contact the Army and see about a high altitude drop. I’m not sure how that would work on the return trip. I remember in the movie The Green Berets they hooked a guy up to a big balloon, had a plane flew over, grabbed the line, and swung him up at high speed. I could probably do the drop, but that kind of return just isn’t going to work for me.
Oddly enough I don’t mind military transport. Granted it’s a completely no-frills kind of ride, you don’t even have conventional seats. The seats are really just butt hammocks hug along the sides. It’s cold, really, really loud, and the windows are too high and small for a view. The trick is to get on bundled up in layers, bring something you can drape over your head and get yourself comfy in the hammock and go to sleep. You wouldn’t think sleeping would be possible with the loud engines, but it’s like having a big fan going at a really high speed, A LOT of white noise. You sleep like a baby. You can also read and if something is funny, you can laugh out loud and no one will mind, because they can’t hear you. You’ll just look like on of those strange people that talk to themselves.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Vacation, cats, mysterious men, and the Reaper
Vacation is over, bummer! It was really hard getting up and heading in to work this morning, but we do what we must to keep the cat feed and house over her head. I mean really we all work for either our pet or our children. That may be a redundant statement on some days. Oh yeah, and one of the email in my inbox informed me that one of our city commissioners is proposing a halt of all merit raises for at least the next year. Wonderful! How will I ever afford the diamond studded collar for Fluffy?
Loved having my brother and his family here for a visit!!! We don’t get to see them nearly enough. The time always seems too short, but at the end we’re all worn out.
I read three comics daily: 9 Chickweed Lane, Non Sequitur, and Rose is Rose. I know a weird kind of mix, but it works for me. In Non Sequitur today was especially great.
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/nonsequitur
What a great observation!! Men are not mysterious at all. Of course I’d propose that women aren’t all that mysterious either, you can read our projections just as well as men’s. The problem is that men refuse to learn to read them. Every other woman in the world knows what’s going with one look. So the problem isn’t projection, it’s illiteracy in men. It couldn’t possibly be our fault!
It looks like the Reaper has made a mad dash through the celebrity and semi-celebrity ranks: David Carridine, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, the Pitch Man, Ed McMahon, and Bernie Madoff. Granted Bernie is still alive and kicking, but he won’t be seeing the light of day for a good long while. It’s crazy out there.
Loved having my brother and his family here for a visit!!! We don’t get to see them nearly enough. The time always seems too short, but at the end we’re all worn out.
I read three comics daily: 9 Chickweed Lane, Non Sequitur, and Rose is Rose. I know a weird kind of mix, but it works for me. In Non Sequitur today was especially great.
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/nonsequitur
What a great observation!! Men are not mysterious at all. Of course I’d propose that women aren’t all that mysterious either, you can read our projections just as well as men’s. The problem is that men refuse to learn to read them. Every other woman in the world knows what’s going with one look. So the problem isn’t projection, it’s illiteracy in men. It couldn’t possibly be our fault!
It looks like the Reaper has made a mad dash through the celebrity and semi-celebrity ranks: David Carridine, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, the Pitch Man, Ed McMahon, and Bernie Madoff. Granted Bernie is still alive and kicking, but he won’t be seeing the light of day for a good long while. It’s crazy out there.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The World, vacations and room to roam
I came to work today and looked out my window and found a huge cruise ship docked at the river’s edge. Being in a city with an active river front it’s not uncommon to see fairly good sized boats and ships at dock. In fact, last week we had Navy and Coast Guard ships here for our Rose Festival. This ship, The World, dwarfs them all. This is a super deluxe condo community for the high seas. Check it out at http://www.aboardtheworld.com/ Yeah, how would you like to look out your window and see that? I’d rather be looking out over my deluxe seagoing condo balcony at the Portland skyline. I’m not stupid!!
Well, I guess I’d enjoy it for awhile but eventually I’d get tired of it. In fact, it probably wouldn’t take that long. Cruises seem like a wonderful idea, and if you’re with the right people and on the right water for a reasonable length of time, it probably is great. But, I have to honest with myself and after two week on Oahu, that island got to feeling really small to me. I think I’m too much of a westerner to appreciate small spaces for long. Let’s face it, it’s a little hard to get in the car and go tooling around a ship. I guess The World would not be big enough for me. LOL
My favorite vacation ever was when Kristin (my daughter) graduated high school and we took a driving vacation. We started by driving down the Oregon coast on Highway 101 until it connected with Highway 1. We followed it all the way to San Francisco. We saw the redwoods, Banded Dunes, elk herds sitting right on she shoulder of the road, small towns, roadside parks, and cheesy tourist traps. We had a great time!!
After San Fran we went to see Hearst’s Castle, Yosemite, Crater Lake and about a billion acres of land and sky. It was a vacation of open possibilities. We could just take off in any direction we wanted and see what interested us. We were limited only by our imaginations and our wallets. The second being the most limiting factor.
Of course, my wallet would be a real limiting factor to cruising on The World as well.
Well, I guess I’d enjoy it for awhile but eventually I’d get tired of it. In fact, it probably wouldn’t take that long. Cruises seem like a wonderful idea, and if you’re with the right people and on the right water for a reasonable length of time, it probably is great. But, I have to honest with myself and after two week on Oahu, that island got to feeling really small to me. I think I’m too much of a westerner to appreciate small spaces for long. Let’s face it, it’s a little hard to get in the car and go tooling around a ship. I guess The World would not be big enough for me. LOL
My favorite vacation ever was when Kristin (my daughter) graduated high school and we took a driving vacation. We started by driving down the Oregon coast on Highway 101 until it connected with Highway 1. We followed it all the way to San Francisco. We saw the redwoods, Banded Dunes, elk herds sitting right on she shoulder of the road, small towns, roadside parks, and cheesy tourist traps. We had a great time!!
After San Fran we went to see Hearst’s Castle, Yosemite, Crater Lake and about a billion acres of land and sky. It was a vacation of open possibilities. We could just take off in any direction we wanted and see what interested us. We were limited only by our imaginations and our wallets. The second being the most limiting factor.
Of course, my wallet would be a real limiting factor to cruising on The World as well.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Laughing with the Pres
I just watched the video where Steven Colbert has his hair buzzed off by the commanding general in Iraq. I guess if you’re going to get your hair cut it’s good to have the General do it.
What was just as funny was the President chiming in saying he had overheard Colbert saying it would take more than a general’s orders to cut his hair. The President promptly commanded the general to cut Colbert’s hair. Colbert asked if the President’s spy satellites were that good, to which the President responded, “No, my ears are that big.” Which received a big laugh by all the soldiers. They also enjoyed watching Colbert getting buzzed by the General.
A few days ago the President was in Egypt at the Great Pyramid at Giza getting a tour. At one point the President points out a carving on the wall and remarks on how it looks just like him. It was a head that was round on top, pointed at the chin, with big ears on the side. I love that he has such a great sense of humor about himself! At last least the world is laughing with our president and not at him. That’s a step up!
What was just as funny was the President chiming in saying he had overheard Colbert saying it would take more than a general’s orders to cut his hair. The President promptly commanded the general to cut Colbert’s hair. Colbert asked if the President’s spy satellites were that good, to which the President responded, “No, my ears are that big.” Which received a big laugh by all the soldiers. They also enjoyed watching Colbert getting buzzed by the General.
A few days ago the President was in Egypt at the Great Pyramid at Giza getting a tour. At one point the President points out a carving on the wall and remarks on how it looks just like him. It was a head that was round on top, pointed at the chin, with big ears on the side. I love that he has such a great sense of humor about himself! At last least the world is laughing with our president and not at him. That’s a step up!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Weedeating mystic
Last evening I got out and weedeated the yard. (That sentence just sounds so wrong!) I really enjoy this for some strange reason I can’t explain. I don’t even mind when the string doesn’t feed and I have to pop the spool off and fix it. There is something about weedeating that fulfills the human need for both destruction and order. At the same time I to mow down any weeds and grass that meet with my displeasure for being where I don’t want them, I’m also bringing order and definition to my yard and garden. There really is something mystically about the whole experience.
I have to do this work (or meditation if you will) either in the morning before I take a shower, or in the afternoon when I’m sure I won’t be going out again. At the end of the process, I’m covered in weed guts and pieces. It must be something like a warrior returning from battle covered in gore, except without the blood, smell, and disgusting factor. Once I’m through I can wash it all off and either get dressed for the day, or for bed which ever I feel like.
I have to do this work (or meditation if you will) either in the morning before I take a shower, or in the afternoon when I’m sure I won’t be going out again. At the end of the process, I’m covered in weed guts and pieces. It must be something like a warrior returning from battle covered in gore, except without the blood, smell, and disgusting factor. Once I’m through I can wash it all off and either get dressed for the day, or for bed which ever I feel like.
Friday, June 5, 2009
The garden, a mullet and balance
This morning I went out the garden to see how it did through the storm, it did just fine. While there I picked our first handful of peas! I also did some weeding pulling. When we built our raised beds we made them 5 ft wide and place them against the concrete base of the fence. This seemed like a very good idea, that is until we discovered that you can’t reach the back half of the garden. We had to put in some stepping stones, this kind of negates the advantages of raised beds, which is that you don’t have to bend over completely to weed and work with the plants. Not being the most nimble person, I keep my weeding and working to the perimeter and my more agile sister works the back portion. Danna has been down in her back this week so I’ve been the one doing all the weeding this week. This has left our garden neat and trimmed in the front and on the side, and bushy and wild in the back. In short, we have a garden with a mullet.
Today Danna and I were out doing some errands, which we finished up around noon. Just in time to grab some lunch. At first we thought about grabbing something a Wendy’s on the way home but them remembered a couple of friends telling us about a great new place called the Pita Pit and decided to stop there. It had been raining and the place was packed with people. We walked in excited about trying a new place. No sooner had we stepped through the door and I went down on the floor, slipping from my wet shoes. That’s me, the personification of grace and dignity in all that I do! I was really embarrassed and it didn’t help that the whole incident was witnessed by about 50 people and that the manager kept asking if I was alright.
I’m happy to report that the food was excellent and that we will be going back again. As we left I mentioned to Danna that it was a good thing I didn’t kill myself before I had a chance to try it out. Danna said, “Yeah, that would have been the pits.” You know how I love a pun!
I dropped Danna off at her house and helped her carry in her grocery and slipped and fell again! I’m too old for this crap! I went home, carried my groceries to the front door, placed them just inside the door, took off my shoes and carried them to the kitchen, put them away, took 3 Advil and took a nap. I’ll be fitted for my tutu and ballet slippers soon.
Today Danna and I were out doing some errands, which we finished up around noon. Just in time to grab some lunch. At first we thought about grabbing something a Wendy’s on the way home but them remembered a couple of friends telling us about a great new place called the Pita Pit and decided to stop there. It had been raining and the place was packed with people. We walked in excited about trying a new place. No sooner had we stepped through the door and I went down on the floor, slipping from my wet shoes. That’s me, the personification of grace and dignity in all that I do! I was really embarrassed and it didn’t help that the whole incident was witnessed by about 50 people and that the manager kept asking if I was alright.
I’m happy to report that the food was excellent and that we will be going back again. As we left I mentioned to Danna that it was a good thing I didn’t kill myself before I had a chance to try it out. Danna said, “Yeah, that would have been the pits.” You know how I love a pun!
I dropped Danna off at her house and helped her carry in her grocery and slipped and fell again! I’m too old for this crap! I went home, carried my groceries to the front door, placed them just inside the door, took off my shoes and carried them to the kitchen, put them away, took 3 Advil and took a nap. I’ll be fitted for my tutu and ballet slippers soon.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tired, Blazing Saddles & a poor woman's Med cruise
Today is Thursday, but it’s like a Friday for me because I’m off tomorrow. Of course I will be working; it just won’t be the kind of work I get paid for. My list of errands is getting longer and longer.
This has been a quick and busy week, so much going on at work and at home. I had Walking Buddies Monday after work, a recital to attend Tuesday night, Wednesday evening I helped my son make a flyer for an event he is organizing, and tonight is the neighborhood meeting. The days and evenings have been full this week!
I felt so bad about not getting a box together for my adopted soldier that I went online and order him a cooling scarf and a sand scarf from the Soldiers’ Angels Store, and a gift box from Hickory Farms. He’ll love it but I feel like I took the easy way out, which I did. There won’t be a personal touch to either box, other than the notes. Of course being so busy I’m not sure I could have put much personal touch into anything.
My three closest friends, My Peeps, have all had equally hard weeks. I know they’re tired as well. In honor of us needing a break to just relax, I sent them an email with a link to YouTube for Madeline Kane’s performance in Blazing Saddles, as Lily von Stuchpp singing “I’m Tired” and inviting them to my patio tomorrow evening. We can let the kids run wild in the field, let them roast hot dogs and marshmallows, while we sit and watch and sip our adult beverages. This is as close as we’re going to get to our ultimate goal of a Mediterranean cruise anytime soon.
Last weekend I bought a big wooden spool at a garage sale to make a yard table. I decide to leave it as is for awhile and let the kids play on it. I remember when we were kids we had two 55-gallon barrels. We had a lot of fun with those things. We taught ourselves to barrel walk, had races and barrel fights. We also used them as construction material to build our forts, and of course we used them for drums. I anticipate that my wooden spool will ignite similar ideas in the kids. When they get tired of it there will still be time to turn it into a yard table.
This has been a quick and busy week, so much going on at work and at home. I had Walking Buddies Monday after work, a recital to attend Tuesday night, Wednesday evening I helped my son make a flyer for an event he is organizing, and tonight is the neighborhood meeting. The days and evenings have been full this week!
I felt so bad about not getting a box together for my adopted soldier that I went online and order him a cooling scarf and a sand scarf from the Soldiers’ Angels Store, and a gift box from Hickory Farms. He’ll love it but I feel like I took the easy way out, which I did. There won’t be a personal touch to either box, other than the notes. Of course being so busy I’m not sure I could have put much personal touch into anything.
My three closest friends, My Peeps, have all had equally hard weeks. I know they’re tired as well. In honor of us needing a break to just relax, I sent them an email with a link to YouTube for Madeline Kane’s performance in Blazing Saddles, as Lily von Stuchpp singing “I’m Tired” and inviting them to my patio tomorrow evening. We can let the kids run wild in the field, let them roast hot dogs and marshmallows, while we sit and watch and sip our adult beverages. This is as close as we’re going to get to our ultimate goal of a Mediterranean cruise anytime soon.
Last weekend I bought a big wooden spool at a garage sale to make a yard table. I decide to leave it as is for awhile and let the kids play on it. I remember when we were kids we had two 55-gallon barrels. We had a lot of fun with those things. We taught ourselves to barrel walk, had races and barrel fights. We also used them as construction material to build our forts, and of course we used them for drums. I anticipate that my wooden spool will ignite similar ideas in the kids. When they get tired of it there will still be time to turn it into a yard table.
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