Remarkable

Another of our classmates has been touched by tragedy. Dameon Hollis is in the hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns resulting from a kitchen accident in his home.

Maria, as usual, has her pulse on the former RTV09-07, and has sent a note out letting us know the particulars.

Thank you, and well done, Maria!

What sort of drivel do you suppose she received from one ungrateful cave-dwelling spaz (and the unbalanced harpy connected to it)? That's right...you guessed it. And if you were a member of the class RTV07-09 you saw the response for yourself. I have chosen to ignore those bitter little people.

Dameon, my thoughts and prayers are with you, and I'll be sending you a virtual bouquet of flowers until my first paycheck shows up. My thoughts and best wishes also extend to your family during your recovery.

For such a small, disparate group of people, you wouldn't think 'lightning' would strike twice.

In the words of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (Hill Street Blues): "...let's be careful out there."

Whoosh! There goes March...and in blows April

Well, looks suspiciously as though the month will remain a 'lamb,' but will exit wearing lion's trousers! Not a bad trade off, really...all things considered, we could have had an absolutely dismal 31 days, but the weather has been more than brilliant, and cooperative and anti-winter-like. Our weather prognosticators are telling us we have a chance for a trace of snow over the next 48 hours or so, but other than rain mixed with a trace of snow and some grey skies, this has been a nice segue to spring.

Mom is set to receive some crumby weather over the next two days. The front moving over MI will extend the more dreadful deposits well north of SE MI. Yikes! And she was just beginning to enjoy the receding piles of snow and Lake Superior ice flows, too.

Sorry, Mom.

Birds are out in raucous numbers; some bathing in the fire pit on the back patio, many more scouting out mates and nesting territory. Oh, and all the whistles, chirps and songs that haven't been heard since last fall - I love the noise! Soon the spring peepers will begin their concert, and that's when it begins to truly green up. Patches of lawn are showing green here and there, and lawns that had a final trim just before the temps fell (along with the snow) are looking a bit prettier than my own. Ah well.

Karl is on the mend. Yea! Thirty-three percent of yesterday he spent running to the bathroom due to diarrhea. The other sixty-six percent of his day was either spent lying down and reading or playing a handheld game, or sitting at his PC. But he is definitely improved. His appetite is still on the non-plus side, but this is expected. Soon enough he will be pillaging and plundering the fridge again, so I need to go grocery shopping in a hurry.

Making headway with the photo editing, and I've completed right around 200 edits thus far. Still, hundreds to go, though, and it looks a bit daunting, but that's alright, I am up to the task.

Haven't gotten a call from Brian K or Andrew, yet, regarding the Monday start date for the pilot shoots, but I am sure they are about as scattered as most I've met. Will continue to hang tough and do my own thing until then, so no worries.

I search online through Craigslist for work, but I am less enchanted with that venue more and more. I recently forwarded an illustration job possibility to Brian, to which he responded. Sadly, he is now receiving just reams of bogus junk mail and porn spam. He is upset and I am livid! Craigslist sucks any more, and it has become a free-for-all playground for Cretans and jerks preying on people who are in earnest of finding employment.

On that note, I am going to take my leave from the keyboard - and this desk - and get some banking and shopping done. Hhmmmmm... By this time last Saturday, I was halfway through with having my taxes done (boy! what a day that was). I was hoping to make strides with each passing weekend, and here we are almost into April! Can you believe we are one quarter of the way through the year, already!?

"Whoosh" indeed.

Welcome back!

Well, that last entry seemed all over the place, didn't it? Today, Karl is feeling much improved (thank you for asking), and while he missed his Java class yesterday, he is still working at making up the missing assignments from before. Now, he will have to do a lot of work just to make up for yesterday, too.

As the boys have gotten older, I am surprised at how mom-like I still become when they are sick, and how much they want to be a little less coddled through it all. Brian is the hardest to watch. He fights throwing up, and Karl just rides the wave and makes it look easy. Brian requires a little more attention and TLC, and Karl just 'hangs ten', only really asking for something when he feels a need.

Change is good, right? Change is growth. Change is scary.

Changing subjects...sort of.

So, yesterday was spent cleaning, watching Karl, cleaning, moving stuff, checking in on Karl, editing photographs in preparation for the family project I want to get done for Gram's birthday, keeping after AT&T about our internet access troubles, and helping Karl get his PC into his room (and a desk to put it on, and the wiring, etc). Turns out the idiot electricians didn't connect Karl's lines to the network for the rest of the house - how do they do (or NOT do) that?!?!!! [Insert extreme amount of expletives here] I am not surprised, but I am not happy, and there is no recourse after all of this time. To be able to get Karl access, we will have to invest in a wireless set-up for him. Jeez!

This is just one of the projects for today. I will also keep working on cutting the original scans into usable individual photos for the edit. [Insert Boris Karloff-inspired scream here] Last night, when I called it quits for the day, I had amassed just under one hundred individual pics from the mass of gang scans - but I finished 2 of 24 files - so YEA me! This is going to be time-consuming, but I truly believe I would have killed the scanner if I had scanned each photo individually for storage/use. Anyway, it keeps me going with something to work on besides just skimming for job postings and sending out resumes and feelers. This is giving me some sense of accomplishment, and once I order the Adobe tool I need, I will be in business. Baby steps, baby.

Monday, I will be meeting with Andrew (director/producer) and Brian K (producer/whatever) to discuss first shoot schedule and shot ideas for the TV pilot, and hopefully have real work within the week! They are using a legit post prod house in the D for the editing, so this looks like it stands a chance. Wahoo!

Next week will also be the last week for the BQT production for the year. No more sound tech unless I get a boom gig on a production. I will be keeping you up to date.

Karl is on the far left, next to Owen Benjamin!

As for the movie - All's Faire In Love - the release time is now slated for fall. Can't give the exact date (I promised), but it is looking like a movie! Have been working remotely tracking down and providing names to the producers and Scott Marshall (the director) since the early part of the month, but it looks like they are through with those requests, and I am putting away the papers and files (AGAIN) I collected throughout the production, just to get the mess out of the house. Apparently the casting bimbo I worked with has been remiss in passing on the info I was giving her, and the Executive Producer's assistant suggested to the CA crew that I could fill in the holes, since I was with the extras and BG all the time and handled all of the skins (except for two days worth). Cynthia (afore named bimbo) has yet to work with them and is not fulfilling her duties as a producer, it seems. Also, she has been removing my name from the IMDB listing every time I place it out there. What a dweeb!

That's OK, she can't remove it from the film credits! HA! I am sort of flattered she seems threatened by sharing the billing...she is a back-stabber and a throw-someone-under-the-bus-sort-of-person. I learned a lot working with her - mostly how to watch your back and be prepared. That industry is harsh!

Anywho...I am going to get moving, the day is getting away from me, and I have a lot to do.

Before I go, let me just say "Hello, Evelyn"...I didn't see you slip in the door. I have a registered reader - holy cow! Psst! Mostly it's just sheepish friends and relatives who read my missives in darkened rooms. You are a brave soul to come out and admit it! ;^) Thanks for the interest, and I hope I make it worth your while! You will find my glass is almost always half full - and if I could find the doggone bottle, I will fill the sucker! Glad to have you riding the magic carpet with us once in a while.

OK everyone, play nice and be happy.

Uh oh, Karl is pukey

I began penning this entry (because if I had said: "I began fingering this...", [Pssst, meaning "typing"] nobody would have been able to get past the first line) and Karl was already in the throes of his bug or viral thing. While his bouts and trips to the bathroom are infrequent - thankfully - it hasn't yet come to an end.

I heard suspicious noises and hurried out of the library only to find Karl quickly entering the bathroom in a frantic state.

He began tossing his dinner around 2:30 a.m., and I would never have known that had Brian not come to me to inform me that his little brother was wretching like a fiend.

As I began to climb out of bed, Brian told me Karl was actually back in bed himself, and that he would let me know if any other activity happened. Now, normally, I would have been up the stairs like a shot and hovering and fussing, but Bud seemed confident - and eager - to assume the mantle of Vomit Monitor, so I let him. Although, as any mom knows, you don't easily let go of those reins and fall asleep knowing something is amiss under your roof. So I lie there, in the dark, thinking about not thinking about it. A complete waste of non-sleep time. How do you not worry?

I suppose that is why people drink. No clues = no worries.

Anyhow, Karl had no other trips to the bathroom last night, and up until right around 8:30 this morning, he was episode free (with the exception of heave-ho number one). So, now, he's pretty regular, having to hit the head every two to three hours. Poor kid. Still, that's better than it could be, right?

I divide my time between sitting with him and checking to see if there are any requests for ice chips, water, Pedialyte, etc., and doing some house work or sending out resumes.

Brian is getting ready to leave for class, and he is armed with information about/for Karl's tutor, letting her know K won't be in today.

2:45p.m.

Hobbes has taken it upon herself to be the medicine cat, sleeping with Karl, or just putting up with the groaning and movement. She is quite the trooper (although, I suspect she began with ulterior motives. Karl loves a good breeze in his face when he feels ill, and has opened the window above his bed for fresh air - she sticks her nose out for a snootful every once in a while, too).

4:17p.m.

Karl is less tortured with getting sick, now, but it all seems to be moving 'south' and concerning him in other ways. While he still feels slightly nauseated, we are sort of happy that the throwing up is over and that he is now hungry. I made jello cups this morning, and he is having the first helping. Let's see how it goes.

I trust everyone is well, and that all your loved ones are in tiptop shape. Enjoy the day.

Scarey sh*t

Brian is becoming restless and wants a change in his life. Can't say that I blame him.

He wants to take the first step - the big step - but is afraid. Of course he is - it's scary sh*t, man.

I wish I could be back there again (early twenties)...I would have had more faith in myself and trusted my urges to explore and follow the curiousity I am allowing myself now. I would have been great - having found my niche early on, and I would be so much further ahead. I wouldn't have allowed my need to know what a relationship was until I was ready, instead of trying to fabricate one from hope and lack of previous experience. It stood in my way.

I stood in my own way.

(And now, later in life,) Starting over would have been a choice and not what it ultimately was.

I definitely would have done it so much differently. Oh yeah...different, different, different.

Grandma asked me that very thing about a year and a half ago. What would I do if I could go back? Would I change anything?

The question took me by surprise, and I am not sure why. Could have been the person asking. Could have been that I never gave any thought to the possibility of someone her age having that sort of introspection or regret - or desire.(?)

I think when [I] see someone from her generation, that age...someone who has seen a lot of the later portion of the industrial revolution, women earning the right to vote, the great depression, prohibition, the beginning and end of so many world wars and major military conflicts, the great marches for freedom and equality of the negro society, someone who has witnessed the advent of travel into space and the start of the "space race", and lived through the regimes of seventeen of the nation's presidents, not to mention the miracles and gains of medical science...I cannot help but wonder what she thinks when she turns on the news each day. What could it possibly take to shock or surprise her any more?

For her to ask me what I would do again if I could have a do-over.

So I asked her, "What would you do? What changes would you make to your own life; how would you alter your history?" Her answer set me to wondering what I would do, and I can't begin to tell you the thoughts whirling through my head.

Scary sh*t, man.

So, Brian, my little bird...fly! Spread your wings and dare to be scared. Prepare to feel frightened and elated. Deeply underwhelmed and hugely gratified. Fail. Succeed. Baby steps until you can find room to run. Peek behind doors and peer in darkened windows. Search for opportunities or make your own. Know the heights and depths of each of these things...but try.

Scary, scary sh*t, man.

Well...today was certainly a day

One I could have done without; yet, one that I am glad to be done with. Grateful, in fact, to be rid of it (nearly). A few more moments and it will be a memory.

Yesterday was hectic, harried, horrible. Not the sort of day I usually associate with the first day of spring. By late, late in the afternoon, I was at my wit's ends and simply fried. Tears were the result of a culmination of mishaps and misdeeds. Bad decisions made months ago finally found their way home (thanks to rows of neatly laid breadcrumbs), where they then knocked on my door, invited themselves inside, clamoured up my pant leg and bit me squarely on the ass.

Add to that the changes to well-established plans and the burden of no work on the gloomy MI horizon, and I was looking for a dark corner to curl up in.

Then, today dawned and I spent several hours in line and with an accountant to get my taxes done. Holy cow! (I was never more glad to be number one in my life!) With that there was good news and not so good news, but it wasn't as dreadful as it could have been, so while I am relieved to be done with the dirty deed, I am still overwhelmed by what has yet to be done.

Could stand to win the lottery - not a super huge pot, but a modest amount could really go a long way to make reparations and ease woeful thoughts.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with a producer and his partner, and I am being invited to join a documentary project and a pilot project - although what my role(s) will be remains to be revealed. All should be discussed tomorrow, and I pray that either one of these will pay, and be something worth putting on the old resume.

Here's wishing you a good Sunday.

Tomorrow is officially SPRING!

It's just about time to take the packets of forced cold seeds out of the fridge and get all of the little darlings in some soil! Remember, I put a bunch into the fridge several weeks ago to fake the whole hibernation/germination thing? Sure you do.

This weekend, or into next week, I will take the packets out and begin the process - and the weather is looking good, too!!!!

Still have a tremendous amount of work to do prepping the beds for the plants, but there is enough time to do both. Just making myself get outside and beginning is the thing. The task for that end of it is daunting, though, because of my lackluster attempts last year. [Wagging the finger of shame in my own face]

And the yard is overrun by thistles, so maybe today or tomorrow I will spread some weed killer, and then buy some NEW weed-n-feed and cast that in another week. Hopefully it will have some good effects.

Think happy thoughts, I need all the help and positivity I can get - and a job!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The second episode of my lovely Canadian boyfriend's show was on last night, and man...is he fun to watch! Merry Christmas to me!

Other than that, I have nothing.

Oh, and yes, I have three boyfriends, and one pseudo BF. They are all creatures you wouldn't normally find on your friendly neighborhood grocery shelf...unless you had a really good grocer with a keen eye and a fantastic budget, but they are nutritious, delicious, and (probably) don't taste just like chicken.

Ah, but who cares!? If I want chicken I'll go see the colonel.

I may end up having to move my original BF to "pseudo" status, and move the current PBF to the major league.

Pity. I luvs me original BF to death, but he is married, and all I can permit myself are lusting privileges anyhow (thank you, Jimmy Carter).

Watch Castle, Monday nights @ 10pm on ABC!!

Quick update on the spring cleaning/purging: The library is now nearly 100% useable as a quiet area and editing room, and free of most of the cumulative debris. Still need to get the last of the trim up and do some spot mending and painting, but for the most part it's looking good! Also need to get a few more shelves made for the bookshelves - never were enough of those to go around, and every shelf is at maximum capacity now because of the initial shortage.

The living room, however, took a major hit when I began in earnest to clean the library, so I have to make myself divide my time between the two rooms and put away / throw away / give away the things of consequence or no consequence and just get it done!

All the while I think about the sewing I want to do, and the clothes I need to make. Aargh! That just makes it harder. [Sniff] I need a job outside the house.

Oh, and the post production team for All's Faire In Love has been calling quite regularly - it began with a couple of errant calls from Cynthia about names for the credits, and now has blossomed to almost daily calls or emails from LV (Cynthia has gone AWOL and never passed along the info I sent) for a lot of the same info and an additional odd list of names, ie; "Two Lesbians," "Knife sharpening guy," etc. I kid you not. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Enjoy your time, no matter what you are doing.

Better and better

How do I know it's spring? When do I consider it really spring?

Well, I think my notification comes in the form of the mourning doves who nest in the backyard. When they arrive...it's spring, no matter what the calendar says.

Robins are fun to watch, and they are everybody else's signpost, but not for me.

Robins are cute, but blase'. Ordinary. Run-of-the-mill. Comical to watch, I admit, but nothing earth-rocking.

And for the last few mornings, there has been a rather ambitious, but overly curious - and rather rambunctious - blue jay banging his beak on my east-facing wall. Somewhere around Karl's bedroom window, this jay has somehow figured he is going to dig his way to fame, fortune and an unbelievable jackpot in bugs by banging on my home. My pink brick home!

He may be perched and banging on the pergola that sits very near the wall, but man! If that noise is being transmitted through the wall...even with the space in between, then that big bad jay is a-knocking like the big bad wolf on steroids! I believe this is one of the jays that hatched and learned to fly two summers ago in our backyard (this may be the reason he is so comfortable and fearless, even with our very visible movements in close proximity). That was a summer event that I won't ever forget. I learned a lot about jays that year, too. But...

Getting back to the mourning doves. They are here once more. A very cute couple, too. I call them Pinky and Freckle, and they are busily checking out the digs. If you will recall, we had a nesting pair on the top of the pergola post under Karl's window last summer, but crows (or a nervous parent) knocked one of the eggs from the nest, and after the second egg hatched maybe ten days later, that chick was found dead on the ground below within a week. Hard to say what happened, but it was not an ideal place to put a nest, to say the least. Hopefully, this couple will not repeat that tragedy.

Yesterday I went out to gather the newspaper and heard the sound of a woodpecker nearby. I looked almost directly overhead, and sure as shootin' there he was! I love this time of year, so many old friends show up!

This spring thing just keeps getting better and better. Get outside and enjoy it why don't ya!

It's that time of the season

My Gram is now the last member of her generation. 97 and still kicking it, she has begun to feel her age. Being the last of a generation must feel a little odd, daunting...surreal...mortal...ominous. Something I can't begin to imagine.

As a little girl it seemed like there was a l-o-o-o-ng line of Schaffers/Schafers to go through, and that I would never be 'that old', you know? Now, I am in that place where I remember Gram (age-wise) in my mind's eye, and my mother was my son's age - more or less - and my brothers and I were young. She seemed terribly old to me then, my grandnother, but that was life. Youth goggles I will call it; like 'beer goggles,' but healthier for you.

As we've all aged, I have become evermore conscious of myself becoming the elder one and closer to 90. Is it like this for everyone?

Uncle Joe passed away in his sleep Wednesday morning, quietly...peacefully (one day short of the day my grandad passed away in 1991). His family has been gathering since last weekend, saying their goodbyes and putting him in the right frame of mind for going. His wife of 70+ years went ahead of him in November. Mabel was also in her 90's, but before she passed away the two of them would drive around visiting relatives and friends as though they were 70-something!

Funny, but unless I look at photographs, I don't remember Joe and Mabel looking any different than the time I saw them at a family reunion 15 years ago. I have seen them since, of course, but they still looked the same.

Youth goggles.

This has got to be disheartening for Gram and I wonder how this will effect her, ultimately. Uncle Paul took her to see Joe on Saturday to say her goodbyes; I wonder if they spoke of Grandpa at all. Joe and Gramp were brothers, and I seem to recollect them always smiling or laughing when they would get together and chew the fat. There were many visits to 1109 when so many of the eldest generation was there, that a huge collection of wandering, Euchre-playing Schaffers seemed like the most natural thing in the world, but I always felt lost unless my cousins were there, too.

Over the last two decades the remaining brothers of both Gram and Gramp have dwindled quickly, but since I never really knew them as well as my own aunts and uncles, I didn't quite feel it like I am with this one death.

Odd.

Rest in peace, Uncle Joe, and give Aunt Mabel a squeeze for me. Tell Gramp I miss him dearly.

Monkey wrenches and twisted blessings

I took the ever-adorable dog-cat to the vet this morning, and she began yeowling from the moment we stepped off the front porch. By the time she felt raindrops tapping her on the forehead she was frantic. The walk to the car was swift but not uneventful.

She didn't even wait for the car door to close and the ignition to fire up before her mournful tune resounded.

Like a small bassette hound, she wailed all the way to the vet's office on Highland Road in Waterford. Poor dear.

This is a clip from her last trip to the vet - her sound is awesome.

Because she followed her morning routine to the letter, she was completely empty when the doctor checked her bladder. The one thing they needed from Cleo was a urine sample to check for the dreaded struvite crystals, and a way to squeeze and locate the stone (to check it's size). The hope is that the special dissolution diet she's been on for the past two months would have helped to dissolve it completely, or at least significantly.

I ended up walking out of the vet's office without my pup - she remained behind so that the people could do what needed to be done. Waiting for her bladder to fill would be a while, so they are keeping her until all tests are done.

12:32pm

The boys left for classes awhile ago, and we've made plans for them to retrieve Cleo from the office on their way home from OCC if it happens that she can come home after I leave to drive to Metro. I am picking up a friend from the airport late in the afternoon, but the drive down is not straight forward, nor is it without delays on certain roadways (darn Orange barrel Season in MI, anyway!). The plane lands during rush hour, so traffic coming home will be horrendous! LOL Nothing is ever as easy as it seems. :^P

Little brother just phoned to say he thinks he will have Brian's truck repaired by this afternoon, and when can we come down to retrieve it"...this afternoon"!?!?! Just one more monkey with a wrench.

So, I am going to finish the breakfast dishes, fold a bit of laundry and head south. I will stop in on Gram on the way to Metro - mom left some things there for me to retrieve, so I can visit for a short while before moving on. May be a way to salvage this turkey, yet. Just need to think about it a bit.

Hope your day is as smooth as glass, and that your pond has no ripples.

Wet

Why is it that rain never falls in the areas where it is most needed? Take, for example, California. Aren't they always in critical need of water? Forever in a drought, or near-drought state?

I vote we send them these rain masses and storms we have currently...not to mention the ones headed this way. After yesterday, and with the snow piles yet to melt (although they are significantly less, now), I think we are about watered out. We have all the water we can use - after all, we are the Great Lakes state.

All of those in favor, raise your hand. Or, raise a mitten!

Truck update

Andy phoned around noon yesterday to say he was scrubbing the deliver-the-truck-to-him-and-he-will-bring-Brian-home-mission for the day. No explanation, just no resolution...as is normal with the little brother.

His new plan: we drive the vehicle down to his place on Saturday (today), and then go from there. Don't even get me started on his half-ass attempt to load the truck on a mini tow-behind trailer Thursday evening. Besides the whole he-began-everything-too-late-in-the-day-to-begin-with (because something else stupid happened on the way to the forum), suffice to say that some strap or connector came loose or broke and allowed the towed truck to become lodged over the trailer in such a way that the wheels had to be removed from the trailer (in the dark - on a busy roadway), and the towed truck then removed carefully and driven back home after hours of goofing and whatever, prior to getting the truck loaded on the trailer in the first place.

OMGosh!

Further truck update: Finally got the beast down to Andy's neck of wherever it is he lives, and it was not the most direct trip. With no room in the driveway, and virtually no parking left on the street, he thinks he will simply drive it back and forth to one of his storage facilities to work on. Hopefully, the deed will be accomplished in short order (he figures by Tuesday - ha! Brian's poor jeep remained parked over the ditch in our front yard for three weeks before Andy ever decided to return one of our calls and admit he couldn't finish/fix its troubles), and the return will have to be worked out. Between Brian's work and school schedule (and shuttling Karl to his classes and tutoring sessions) it will be interesting, to say the least.

Fingers crossed, expletives on hold, happy thoughts all around.

It's gonna be a bumpy ride

I got home about an hour ago, and I was met at the door by three hungry girls.

Swarming, circling like sharks...it was frightening.

As I made my way across the living room floor they bolted and swirled, bolted and swirled. They were checking to see if I was following and/or heading to the fridge, then on to the plate where they eat. It was really comical and comforting, and oddly surreal.

It was early, but it was late, and it didn't matter to them that I had just come in from the trip to Metro, nor that I hadn't been home for the past three hours. All they knew was that their stomach alarms were clanging loud and hard, and they wanted food - NOW!

Currently, Cleo is lying across my lap, cleaning her feet and legs, and purring happily cuz tummy is full. Her special diet food is all but gone, and I have added another item to the already full list of things to do...get another two or three cans of sd food for "the patient." Her next check up for the bladder stone is Tuesday morning, but her one open can of food won't last til then, so we'll have to make a trip to Waterford (Highland Road) specially for the can of dissolution food. For a barn cat she is pretty doggone high maintenance! Ugh.

And today is trash day, tah dah! Another chance to see how much we can get into a big builder sack and to the curb without breaking. Those trash guys are somewhat amused by our heavy bags - or, at least, I am. I am certain they try to figure out what is in those heavy bags, but it will end soon. The cleansing is almost over, and the need to try and get the most out of the 12 bag limit will be a thing of the past.

I may even see if they will take the little Charlie Brown Xmas tree, too. Poor little thing has become our perennial joke...but no more!

So the week from purgatory is almost over, and all I can picture are chickens without heads running in all directions! [Cluck!!]

But what a beautiful Friday it will be - temps stating in the low fifties and rising from there! Yea!! Maria told me that her trees are budding already, so I need to remember and check to see where mine are at while I am out and about in the yard. I can see the poppies and other perennials in the front bed are greening and making an early attempt at growth for this season, and this makes my heart race. I have a lot of cleaning to do out there; but what I really want is to build up the back of the bed (against the wall of the house) and get a sheet of heavy plastic down under about 12" (or more) of new soil before re-establishing many of the plants already doing well there. I also have a Jackmanii Clemetis that needs to move to a better location, and I need to spot each and every last tulip in the bed, too, so they can be moved out.

It's gonna be a bumpy ride in the beds this year.

But for now, I am heading to my pillow for a nap - I am tired and could use a few winks before continuing with the rest of my day. Once I hear the boys moving upstairs we will head out to tackle the trash removal. They're gonna love it! HA!

I hope you get outside to enjoy the delightful day ahead. Sixty-four degrees! What are you waiting for? I'll see you under the apple tree.

What a day, what a week, what a life!

I had a really nice conversation with my friend, Maria, yesterday. She kept me company while I waited for Karl at OCC. It's true, the campus was all but closed this week because of mid-winter break (which is odd, since winter ends on the 20th of March), but parts of it remained up and running for the benefit of students needing tutoring and for those folks getting a jump on enrolling for summer I and II courses, confabs with counselors, etc.

So, THANK YOU, MARIA!

Karl has been involving himself more and more lately in social situations, which is a tremendous thing! Thanks to Brian, he goes once a week to an Anime/game-playing/chatting sort of gathering in the student union, and interacts fairly well. It's really quite an improvement for him. Over time, he may learn to be more independent and outward bound in social environments...a good people skill that many (all) Autism-struck people need but never fully get (too many of them, at any rate). Brian opened the door, grabbed his brother by the hand a couple of times and dragged him through. Now, Karl looks forward to the time, and we will need to find a way to incorporate it into our schedules when the new semester begins!

Anyhow, Maria called to catch up and we had a good chat about a lot of subjects, but after about an hour I had to cut it short so that I could preserve my phone's battery for the ride home (note to self: GET NEW BATTERY). I meant to call her back after dinner, but sat down to read the (Sunday) newspaper - once I plugged the phone into its recharger - and I never called.

In fact, by the time I was half way through the paper I was nodding off, and I ended up falling asleep on the sofa! I woke up and went to bed somewhere during Craig Ferguson, and had a pretty good rest after that.

Sorry, Maria, I will call you tonight or tomorrow! Between the changes to the normal routine this week, and trying to get things in order for other changes, and around activities to come over the next couple weeks, I have been running like a Tasmanian Devil and dropping like a narcoleptic every day.

In fact, I will be in the car tomorrow morning at this time to drive a friend to Metro, then I have other things to scoot to. Crazy, crazy! For now I need to get on the road headed for Dearborn. We are beginning late today because of the Director's scheduling conflict, but it still takes the same amount of time to set up, run sound checks, tape, etc. This is the next to last taping session of the BQT, and I need to get some answers about next week's talent show and my part in it while I am with the woman running the show.

My mom is driving down from Marquette do stay with Gram, and she plans on being in town around 4pm or so. Plans right now are to see them over the weekend some time. My brother is supposed to be picking up Brian's truck today around whatever o'clock, to fix the power steering issue (he was supposed to do it yesterday), so we will see how that all plays out. Karl still needs a haircut and I have managed to lose the coupon from our usual place 3 times, now. May have to take him and get the darn haircut at full price. Serves me right for not hog-tying him two weeks ago and doing it when I had the silly coupon in my purse! :^)

Thank goodness a week is only seven days long, eh?

In like a lamb

Sunny but cold today. So very cold. Bitterly cold, in fact, but I believe I can see the light at the end of this tunnel.

There's a promise from the weatherpeople that things will improve for the end/rest of the week - but possibly dip again over the weekend. Hey, as long as it doesn't dip lower than the upper thirties, I will be a happy camper. ;^)

Happy, happy, happy.

We have moved (or seem to be moving) in a very positive direction in the weather outlook. Soon we will be able to get outside and fertilize and put down weed inhibitor. Then, the mowing will commence. Opening windows and airing out the winter air and doldrums will be on the schedule, too. Gardening and watching things grow (or hanging in a hammock) will be high on the list. Maybe even attempting to grill a meal outdoors early on.

Who knows!

The production update: I went to work (day number 2) on the InZer0: Fragile Wings project on Monday, and there was a lot of little stuff - busy work - to do. Some important bits, but by-and-large they are looking for an office person to help get things tidied up. As the weather gets warmer and allows for the pick-up shots to be filmed, I will be in on that...and what a cool thing to add to the credits! But for now, it is pretty much the same old industry standard: 'hurry up and wait'...no getting around it.

I was supposed to get started on Friday, but the producer remembered she had something else going on and couldn't finnagle the Friday date, so it was put off until this week. I spent the afternoon sending out rejection notes (there's got to be a better name for those), assembling scripts, updating a large spreadsheet, etc. It was OK, about what I expected, and the drive was the worst part about it.

This is going to be a rough beginning as I have had plans on the books for Friday, March 13, to help Sacred Heart with its yearly talent show - doing...what else? Sound tech and floor coordination. So I won't be able to be at the production office for much of what would be my shift, and the time is shortened for this coming Friday as there were other plans on Connie's calendar for the early part of the afternoon.

It's like a teeter-totter some days.

I continue to look for full time employment, and shuttling the boys back and forth to school, tutoring, work...

My spring cleaning began in spurts about a month ago, and now that we have trash pick-up on Fridays, it's been fun seeing how many bags I can amass (limit is 12). I've made a lot of head-way, and gotten things out of boxes and onto shelves, or just plain out to the street, etc. I even began sorting all of the photographs of the boys into appropriate categories and storing them properly. I will finish fixing (then painting) the divits in the walls and the corner of the alcove in the library, and I have plans to finish installing the needed shelves inside the alcove to finish the workspace and put the PC equipment and how-to books away!

Busy, busy, busy.

The hard part is not getting sidetracked. Argh!

The wisteria I transplanted last month has taken off with a vengence, and was doing well until the girls discovered it was chewable. I now have to guard it until I can get it outside! :^) Cleo is the most enamoured of the poor plant, and she will constantly try to sneak bites out of it if I do not pay attention. The leggy plant has overgrown its support and I fear giving it anything else to cling to (lean on). The more 'familiar' it becomes with something other than the post and guy wires that are in place for it to grow on for the next 30 years, means a possibility of damage when I try to unwrap it and move it to its permanent home.

Another 20 degrees and I can think about taking the lovely plant outdoors and getting it in the ground.

Come on, little lamb, stick around, please. And bring some friends!

Welcome to March!

Wahoo!

See, didn't I tell you it would be a fast month? And here we are in March, already.

Remember that perfectly shaped month of February? Four weeks beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday...no more and no less than 28 days. Because it did begin on a Sunday, and because it was exactly four weeks, we will end up having another Friday the thirteenth. Are you ready for that? Watch out for those black cats in your neighborhood and stay away from paths with ladders.

Will it happen again in 2009, you wonder. Yes! in fact, it will occur once more in November. The chances of three Friday the 13ths in one year is about once in 11 or so years. Cool, huh? So if you're into that whole Friday the 13th scene, you'll have a short wait for the next one.

February is one of those months that I think about as a 'don't blink' month. You know the kind. Sort of like driving through an extremely small town: "Don't blink, or you'll miss it." Well, I was blinking, baby. You better believe I was blinking.

As for March, well, what a busy bunch of days. A transitional month in many ways. For example:

• Daylight Savings Time begins on the 8th.
• We celebrate Purim and St. Patrick's Day, and
• The first day of Spring happens on the 20th!

What's not to love?

Plus - it seems as though we are in for a lamb entrance for the better portion of the first week.

Oh! and my favorite part of all...my boyfriend's new show begins on the 9th on ABC. Mmmmm...Canadian Meat!

Welcome to March!