does she still live here?

its been so long since i posted, it must seem as though im not coming back. i have, however, no intentions of abandoning my post. i have been otherwise occupied over the last few months, preparing my garden for winter, buying christmas gifts to get them mailed early, and contending with an old computer tower that was having an aneurysm. the computer problem was the biggest hindrance to posting, though. it began to click off, and then come right back on again. occasionally at first, and then with more frequency, until it was doing it sometimes 6 or 7 times in a row. this made posting, and listing on our ebay site, impossible.

we now have a new tower, and we purchased a new flat screen monitor a while back, so we are well off now. it was a good time to get a new tower, because the bugs in vista seem to be fixed. it seems fine so far.

right now my son and daughter in law, and my new granddaughter, are sleeping in my living room. we flew them out for thanksgiving, as our christmas gift to them. i havent seen my baby boy since the wedding two years ago, and this is my first time seeing the baby. she is such a good baby too. and looks like her daddy. the girls in my family usually do look like their fathers. the boys in turn look like their mothers. the last time my son was here, he was just about to turn 18, and we lived in a tiny apartment with 3 windows. now we have a house with about 1600 sq ft, and he is 30. seems like no time has gone by, just the same.

i will be posting pictures after the holiday. they will be here today and tomorrow, and fly back early saturday morning. i will tell you all about it then. in the mean time, i will be soaking in every moment.

Technorati Tags: thanksgiving,family,computer problems

ghost in the machine

thats what ive become of late. a ghost. ive been here, silently drifting through, observing others, remaining invisible.

ive had a lot on my plate of late. the co worker that answers the phone first was gone on vacation for two weeks, and we seemed to have two weeks of mondays. then there was booking the flight for my son and daughter in law to come out. those things are a challenge for me, because i dont do them often. the dog recently did her business on the floor, and although the clean up wasnt that hard, i did have to throw out the ugly hall runner that we have used since we moved here. kind of a mixed blessing, because it was functional but ugly, purchased for $15 at a garage sale. the primary purpose then was for bougar to have a rug to walk on, because hard wood was too slippery for her. but it was ugly, and always getting pushed out of place even with those non skid things under it. rugs dont hold under cats with the rips, or dogs who feel they have to guard the house from the mail man. so now i have a bare floor in the hall, which neither of us like much. the wood is pretty, but i like rugs to walk on.

the stress from work was the real weight on my head in all this. nothing bad, just very very busy. so glad the co worker is back.

google Tags: work stress

thanksgiving treat

i have happy news! the beau and i are going to fly my son and his little family out here for thanksgiving. this will be our gift to them for Christmas, albeit early, and a solution to seeing them again. its been two years since i saw them at the wedding. its impossible for us both to go anywhere out of town for more than a day trip, with four cats – always seems to be one with a separate diet – and a needy dog who has serious separation anxiety. i live in a crazy world.

so i will get to see my newest granddaughter in a month and a half or so, and see my son and daughter in law again. they were quite surprised and happy when i asked them if we could fly them out. i will take lots of pictures, of course.

i am putting in some new things in my garden, and will be decorating a little for the seasonal holidays – just for fun.

busy days coming up.

google Tags: thanksgiving, family, fall

bling

i have waited30 years for this. it isnt for the status, as i couldnt care less about prestige. it is for the beauty. having a ring on my finger has always been natural for me. like it belongs there. i have had cheaper ones before, that in the end seemed to truly reflect the relationship that they represented. where are they now? lost, hocked for little return, given away.

this one isnt cheap. and it isnt coming off.

and yes, im bragging a little.

google Tags: diamonds, rings, bling

finally!

 

 

finally a magazine i can sink my teeth into! its nice to see there really are magazines that cater more to my line of interest. and after looking through the latest bazaar, i find gothic isnt anymore bizarre. after looking through the most recent vogue, i feel that gothic is less vague. certainly, the styles might be darker, but they arent any stranger, than the current fashion on the runway or in the ads. but probably more wearable.

of course the beau, who got it for me, had to have it ordered. but hey, if this is available, then maybe gothic living is available too.

speaking of dark, we went to see ‘the dark knight’ friday. it was superb, and the late heath ledger was brilliant in his role as the joker. im sad there wont be another with him in it. reminds me of ‘the crow’, with brandon lee, who also gave an awesome performance, but died way too soon and didnt even get to finish the movie. crap.

i have always been a batman fan. its about the only mainline comic book character that i ever really liked. i like the whole gotham city world. the characters are all regular people, all from this time. the hero, though dark and brooding, is very human. rather than super powers, he uses his mind, his athletic ability, and his money to give him an edge. and his incorruptible morals. the villains are all human as well. though they may have been changed into something more sinister by chemical mishaps, or they may use them as tools of their trade, they too use their twisted intellect and physical abilities to do their deeds. only catwoman borders on the mystical. in short, they are all more on this level than most other comic book characters.

im looking forward to the next one.

im so looking forward to the end of hot weather. tomorrow september begins, and maybe with it the decline of the ‘hot but feels like much hotter’ heat index. sigh. i miss my ocean.

google Tags: summer, batman, gothic

snagged a meme

1. Attached or Single?  attached 13yrs in december
2. Best Friend?  my beau
3. Cake or Pie?  cheesecake is pie isnt it?
4. Day of Choice?  i like thursday, because tomorrow is friday on thursday
5. Essential item?  my bible 
6. Favorite color?  red
7. Gummy Bears or Worms?  yuck
8. Hometown?  caldwell idaho
9. Indulgence?  cheesecake, ice cream and video games.
10. January or July?  january  very chaotic month for weather
11. Kids?  one son
12. Life’s not complete without?  God
13. Marriage date?  working on one
14. Number of brothers and sisters?  two half siblings, 5 step siblings
15. Oranges or Apples?  orange juice and apple sauce with cottage cheese
16. Phobias?  tight spots
17. Quotes?  ll cor 1:20 and l kings 20:11
18. Reasons to smile?  there are so many
19. Season of Choice?  winter
20. Tag seven people?  probably not
21. Unknown about me?  i taught myself how to drive in a stick shift
22. Vegetables?  i like most
23. Worst habit?  classified information
24. X-ray or Ultrasound?  depends on what youre trying to see
25. Favorite food?  thai
26. Zodiac Sign?  i was born under the sign of the fish, and an aquamarine is my birthstone

google Tags: meme

today, the yard …

tomorrow the world. well … may next weekend …

i finally got into the yard to tend to the plants, pull a few weeds and vines, thin out the ornamental grass that i guess isnt going to take no for an answer. the beau also bought a pair of grass sheers for me, because there are some places you just have to do by hand.

the first thing i did was clip the old buds off the roses. there were a few vines making their way on the outer most bush, and when i went to pull it off, i found aphids. ack!  with all their poison tipped thorns, a rose has no defense against aphids. funny how they were only on the vine and not on the rose bush at all. maybe i got it in time. funny color too. ive never seen yellow aphids. only lime green ones.

i only did the front last evening. the back will take the greater part of the day, so that we will get started on later today. the honey suckle jungle from next door has crept over into my yard. its gone way wild over there, and has become a breeding house for mosquitoes and a sanctuary for rats. thats going to get some attention. the main work for the back will be trimming, pruning, and hedging. i like that kind of work. the little detail trimming is actually much harder.

i am happy to report i have honey bees visiting the spider plant on my front porch, both for the nectar in the blossoms, and the spilled humming bird food from the feeder above it. there are quite a few humming birds too.

yesterday just as we were approaching the last turn to our house from an outing, we were surprised by a peregrine falcon swooping down right in front of the car, seemingly in slow motion, and then gliding up into the trees in the yard of the house on that corner. i saw his eyes, and the feathers on his belly. i wish i could have gotten a picture, but it wasnt to be. still, i have a record of it in my head forever.

i once saw an eagle do the same thing somewhere in nebraska as i traveled back from north carolina with my unborn son. that was a while back.

im so pleased with the unusual temperatures this year. its much cooler than is normal for august and early september. still humid, but bearable. the ragweed isnt as bad as it usually is as a result.

with all this, i still have the pacific northwest in my sights. that will never change.

google Tags: gardening, bees, peragrine falcon

sweet relief

 

the rains have come back, at least for now. they have driven the heat back to hell. i was able to get some work done in the front flower beds, thinning out the wandering jews, pulling weeds and unauthorized vines, and trimming the grass around my hydrangea with a pair of scissors. one of my clematis has blossoms on it, deep reddish purple flowers. the other has buds, and they should be some kind of pink. im hoping to get the last three trees in the ground today. they will go in the back yard. they are all smaller trees, and will provide shade without bothering the power lines. however, i think the power company has plans to bury the lines in town, because one day last month we came home to find orange lines and orange and yellow flags in the back yard. and ive heard talk. that would be a long overdue good thing for here. power lines should never have been in the sky in the first place.

im changing my eating habits. it may be challenging, because i dont like to eat all the time. but apparently thats something i need to do to change my level of fitness. eat more proteins, and eat more often. so i will have to learn to like different things. thats fine. the pay off will be worth it. food isnt that important to me. my biggest challenge wont be having to give anything up, but rather having to eat more. food is really important to the women i work with, though. one who has health challenges went on this diet that is designed around your body type, and it has done wonders for her and her husband. they have seen changes in their weight, and their over all health. she jumped right in and made the changes immediately. but in considering any diet change most of the other women in the office balk at changing what they eat. are people so attached to their food? they get really pissed if a scheduled lunch gets canceled. gawd! its just lunch. half the time i dont even eat lunch, scheduled or otherwise. i rather walk. not that there arent things i enjoy – but i can do without them. so my challenge will be eating enough to kick up my metabolism. but i am going to do it. i want the changes.

so im off to wrap up my week end. two weeks and two days from now i have a vacation coming. august 27 to september 1. every one always asks me where i will be going on my vacation. i like to spend my vacations at home. not that i like it here so much, i just have a house i really like now, and i like spending time here. when i get back to the pacific north west it will be even more so.

i can hardly wait for that …

google Tags: summer, hot weather, rain, gardening, weight loss, fitness, diet

recently

at work, things shift and yet stay the same all he time.

the office manager no longer is acting like she has a peeve with me. she is a moody one, however, and known for her inconsistency. mostly i would say she lets the wind of her emotions move her.  she’s like a mother bear – protective and playful, but grouchy when aggravated. now that i no longer feel the fear that i will be fired without recourse, i am no longer stressed to breaking point. that was the root of it all. some of the things i had been reprimanded for werent even my doing. i am not the only one who makes scheduling mistakes. but since i make 95% of the appointments. my mistakes will be more noticeable.

she is the only truly unstable element in the office. but my feet are grounded firmly on a rock. i chose to stand on the promise stated in isaiah 55:12 

12For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

and i know that i will not be fired. i will leave of my own volition, when i move back to the pacific northwest, where the mountains will greet me, and the trees shall applaud my homecoming.

the matter is therefore settled.

brutal summer

my garden misses me. i have to get out there when its still only around 80º, like before 10am. or earlier. this is the forecast for this week here …

now dont you wish you could live here too?

google Tags: summer, heat, weather