Oh-bit: Farewell, Davy Jones

The proverbial 'barrel full of monkeys' is one "Monkee" shy of a full load now.

Just read the online news that Davy Jones, one of four members of the '60s pop band "The Monkees", died at his Florida home earlier today, at the age of 66.

Truth be told, my crush always centered on Mike - he was my 'fave' - but nobody ever seemed to rattle off those Monkees without naming Davy first.

Davy, Mike, Micky, and Peter. Sort of like John, Paul, George, and Ringo, just much less British, and not as musically gifted. No matter though, my first 'boy band' will always and ever be The Monkees.

Listening to Monkees tunes will never be (exactly) the same from this point on.

[wistful sigh]

Rest in peace, Davy.

OK. [drum roll] So long, February

Maybe the reason people find February such an arduous month is due to the fact that it follows January. Not much redeeming value for either, save for the odd holidays (banker's and otherwise) giving folks additional days away from work, and kids (MORE) time off from school.

I mean, really.....how much time DO you need not working after two proximal eating celebrations (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and a night of complete debauchery (New Year's eve)? I mean....come on.

At any rate, Jan and Feb are two cold, grey, snowy (or wet), white (or muddy brown - depending upon your geographic location), daylight-starved, sun-deprived months.

I've said it before and I will say it the rest of my life: don't blame February on our yearly march through time. It's a placeholder, just like April or August...it just happens to be located early in the year, among the colder and bleaker months, that's all.

It gives you Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, MLK day, Mardi Gras and 'fat Tuesday,' and "mid-winter break"?

C'mon! Your spring break (an almost legitimate period of time off) is right around the freaking corner! Can't you wait?

Oh, what's the use.

See you next year, February. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Oh, well....why not (not really a question)

That isn't wrong, that headline.

You see, it's more a statement of...what? Fact?

No. Not fact.

Resignation?

No, I don't feel as though I am giving up or giving in.

It's just that I noticed a several days ago a trend had begun (sort of) with the titles of the blog, and since we're at the end of the month I thought it would be amusing to carry it on to the conclusion of February.

Oh, yes I did. ;)

Had a haircut within the last three weeks or so, and it is the best cut I have had in years.

YEARS, I tell you! She took off four inches (yes, I had let it grow out, but I do not wear long hair well).

My biggest fear is that the next person to cut my hair will muck it up seriously; and if I weren't so hideous in front of a camera, I would take a couple of photos so as to show whomever stands ready to shear it next the exact way I need/want it done.

The boys are slow getting up this morning. It's now just after nine, and Bud has work to get up for, but since he shut off his alarm I have heard no further movement or noise from that end of the house. Guess it's time to prod a bit. Perhaps a little Karl-prodding wouldn't be a bad thing, either.

Oh, now...where's that sharp stick?

There have been no online sales for some time, and I could really use it right now. Many of my listings are either hard to find, out-of-print (OOP) books, or have more than one book included in the purchase. I will be adding new titles to the listings over the weekend, so if you've looked in once before please know there will be many more to choose from soon. If you are interested in a particular author, illustrator or title, ask...I may have it (I have thousands), and I can let you know quickly enough if it is available.

If you know of anyone who would like to buy a children's book (or three, or five - or more), please send them my way. Thanks!http://shops.half.ebay.com/funnyladyinred_W0QQ_trksidZp2919QQmZbooks

Well, there is still a lot of studying to do - a whole other chapter to re-read and gets notes from - and to memorize - so I will bid you 'adios' for the time being.

Oh, my, what have I gotten myself into? (Now, that was a question.)

Oh, for Heaven's sake!!!

This confounded waiting to find out whether my art piece has been accepted into a particular fine arts show is murder!

How can they possibly expect me to wait another month to get word that it's finally won, too?

Oh, it looks like they're serious

Obviously, this young couple is more serious than most about buying the little HUD home across the street.

What makes me think so?

They've brought a handyman and a list with them to meet the realtor.

Wait! What's this? Another young couple has pulled into the driveway!

Oh, dear, I was afraid the property would go to someone who would rent it out to ne'er-do-wells, or who would repair and 'flip it.' Seeing the first young couple had given me hope, but unless couple number two are friends (who will be helping with the repairs and such), it looks as though these two sets of young-uns are flipping together.

Guess we'll find out within a month (or two). If the "for sale" sign stays in the window, the house is still on the market. Otherwise, we'll have to wait and see what BobandCarolandTedandAlice have in mind for this little unwanted nugget. There are two more on the block.

Oh, the voyeurism of it all.

Oh, crap!

In high style, I managed to somehow overlook the portion at the back of the text book for the HUC class (we always have two chapters to read/review/cram, AND the additional units within another chapter at the back of the book as a review of the first class they had to pass in order to get into the HUC class - I will have this stuff in my first class many weeks from now), so when it came time for our weekly test, I became, oh...what's the word? Um, uh...incontinent.

[mocking laughter]

No, happily, I did not wet myself, but while the rest of the class reviewed with our instructor, I began to try committing some of what I missed to memory.

Oh, Mylanta! How did I make such a huge blunder? I dunno, but there it was.

As it turned out, I managed to get all but two of those questions correct on the test, so I am alright with my grade thus far. Only now, I have just that much more to catch up on and cram into my head for the coming mid-term exam. It's weeks in the offing, but those are going to be frantic weeks.

Oh, holy night!

Oh, brother!

Oh, fer-crying-out........

Oh, my goodness

We are getting snow, but not in the way the prognosticators were hyping it. And quite frankly, with the lack of 'winter' we've experienced this winter, I am quite alright with this whole messy weekend.

I will, of course, have 'mommy worry syndrome' when Bud heads in to work on icy highways and back roads tomorrow, but until then...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Cleo seems out of sorts today, and it is oddly enough coinciding with Brian's latest kidney stone.

He began to see blood in his stream and experience the pain in his side yesterday, which heralds a new kidney stone. From this point it can be a few quick days or a week to ten days before it passes. Typically, his time frame runs about five to seven days from start to finish. I will keep you posted on this story.

Karl is well and helping out around the house - sometimes reluctantly (oh, who am I kidding? It's mostly accomplished with reluctance and mooing). But he had a measure of pride mid-week in stripping down his bed, washing the entire lot, flipping and turning the mattress, then re-making it with fresh laundry. He was very pleased upon crawling into bed that night!

Score!

Earlier in the week he nearly single handedly made dinner for us all, and that was another coup. I will take them where I can get them.

Spent this morning sorting through the online bookstore listings, pulling things that have too much 'competition' (from other sellers) and bundling two and three books into bonus listings. Sadly, this means people will actually have to read the descriptions to see they get quite a good deal for their money, but I truly wonder who reads anything any more. Most folks just go into an online sight looking at the prices, and not realizing that I sometimes sell two or three books with one title. [forehead smacking]

A seller is very limited in the way things can be listed, and therefore drawing attention to the bonuses is difficult unless the buyers read (the descriptions)!

I guess we'll see if the work and restructuring pays off. I would still like to list another one hundred or so titles, but I am currently out of space in the library to shelve them while they would be listed for sale.

Maybe today would be a good day to clean out my old script supervisor logs and get stuff moved out to the garage and into short term storage. Hmmm. Perhaps I could begin moving a piece or two (or three) of furniture in the lower level, and get that ordeal begun. Reconfiguring that space would be a boon, and would allow me to really shake things up upstairs!

Oh, to be moving forward again.

What are you all up to?

Oh yeah, and......

Made a spicy tortilla soup and enchiladas for supper last night, including the mole' sauce to finish the job.

When the boys were younger I had to refrain from making things too spicy, but now that they are older - all bets are off.

Myself, I don't really like things "hot" just for the sake of adding the heat. I want to taste my food. If the spiciness is an after-effect of an ingredient or two, that's fine, but to make a dish 'toasty' without adding to - or horror of horrors - covering up the flavor....FORGEDDABOUDIT!

For me, the flavor of a meal is more important than (or at the very least, JUST as important as) being satisfied and full when you walk away from the table.

I can't savor the flavor if I am busy putting out fires.

I let Karl taste the mole sauce before the enchiladas were done, because he came out to the kitchen following his nose.

"What smells so good?" he salivated, looking over my shoulder.

So, I grabbed up a teaspoon and scooped out a small sample of the sauce for him. Although his eyes moistened a little, and he reached for a glass of water, he was smitten with the flavor. So much so, he snagged a cut piece of raw onion to dip into the sauce to try again!

Everybody has their own recipe, but mine has always been to saute' the red chili powder and paprika in about one-to-two tablespoons of olive oil before adding a good deal of garlic to saute'. Once those three things are aromatic and ready, I add the tomato sauce, a touch of salt and a good dose of freshly cracked black pepper, and then let it all simmer for a bit.

Mmmmmmmm.

The steak enchiladas disappeared quickly, and the soup remains for today at lunch.

What's for dinner? I don't know, so I guess it's time to go look in the freezer.

Study, study, study, study..... (rinse and repeat)

Passed weekly tests numbers three and four, but because I am enrolled in two classes - which usually run one after the other, and not concurrently - I am constantly behind the eight ball just trying to keep a little bit ahead in order to pass what would be the second of the two.

I am also scoping the terrain for a transcription course to take as soon as possible. Once May hits and Med Term and Anatomy and Health Unit Coordinator are finished, I will be available, and will have the necessary work under my belt in order to enroll and pass that class as well.

I hear transcription may be preferable to HUC work - and maybe somewhat easier to find some work, too. Either way, I guess we'll see.

For now, it's back to the books....my head doesn't feel as full as it may need to be. ;)

One more thing

I think, perhaps, some of my malaise stems from having been invited to a Mardi Gras birthday celebration for/by my friend, Merrill Capps. He's a terrific young actor, and he very sweetly included me in his birthday bash guest list.

"Why," I can hear you asking, "are you disappointed to have been invited to a birthday party in New Orleans?"

Well, obviously, the disappointment lies in the fact that I can't be there....not in the having been invited. He had arranged for his guests to have places to stay, and I have no way to get there without the funding at this time. What fun it would have been, too, knowing Mer.

Ah well, there's always next year.

Still.........................[heavy, heavy sigh]

Happy Birthday, Merrill!

What a difference a day makes

In Michigan, that expression is most especially true of the weather.

Another saying used quite a bit here, in the "mitten state," regarding the weather is: If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it'll change" (or...."turn around and look the other way"). Either one is appropriate, and they are fairly interchangeable. Take your pick.

Yesterday was sunny; beautiful, warm (relatively speaking for February) and a 360* change from today's offering. Woke up to grey, grey, grey cloudy skies, which began leaking snow around eight or so. By nine a-m, the ground was white and and the accumulation was noticeable on everything. A healthy frosting of white had covered all of the green/brown-green lawns and flowerbeds, and the snow didn't stop until around one this afternoon.

Now, it's very apparent that while still cold, the temps have warmed to above freezing, because the dripping from the gutters has begun.....again!

Ah, Michigan. Land of conundrums and inconsistent contradictions.

The truly oddest part of all of this is still (to me) how I felt so dreary and morose yesterday, even with all of the sunshine and such, and today I am feeling a bit perkier - despite the overcast and such. How does that work?

Whatever your weather, and however the day is progressing, I hope your mood is superlative and that your outlook is sunny!

Ble-e-e-e-ch!

What an absolutely worthless day!

Beautiful though it may have been, it was a waste from top to bottom.

What did you do over the weekend?

How is everybody? What have you been up to?

I have a friend who has been under the weather recently; Maria, I hope you are feeling so much better! As soon as I finish here I am heading over to read your happenings and catch up. We'll make plans to get together, soon.

I have been out of town. Away from home. Without my laptop and without sewing gear. I was lazy, lazy, lazy - just some reading and reviewing for class while riding along and visiting folks.

Hopped into Jean's car on Saturday around noon (after buying new sneakers for Karl) and we headed for East Lansing to return daughter number three to campus. From there we drove on to Kalamazoo to visit her doctor daughter and hang out, until returning to EL Sunday evening to watch an MSU women's basketball game. Jean had hoped to get close enough to see the Spartan Brass as they played during the game....which we did!

With general admission seating you must get to the arena early enough to claim seats in the limited lower deck areas, or else be prepared to scale steep heights to the precipitous nose bleed sections.

We scoped out two seats just behind the band, about six to eight rows up, and hunkered in.

About 15 minutes into the game, Barb (daughter three) joined us to chat for a couple of minutes. Then [drum roll] she came up with a brilliant solution to our Brownie-girl/Brownie-parent-crawling-in-and-out-of-the-row-every-two-minutes problem (not to mention the little tyke behind us who found it amusing to put his feet all over our coats - and the wretched parents allowing it to happen, until they saw me see it going on - THEN they 'stopped' it...occasionally).

At any rate, Barb managed to get us admission to the area of seating reserved for the band and "sponsors" of the team, much closer to the floor and directly next to the Mighty Spartan Brass and her! It was a blast!

Thank you, Barb, and thank you, Jean!

Two pet peeves

Is there really any chance the news media can attempt to stop sensationalizing every little thing? Blowing something so bizarrely sideways and out of proportion is simply poor reporting, and then once that story (poorly and inaccurately reported) is picked up by further outlets, a story becomes more than it is not.

Now, I am not saying that the failure of a cable lifting steel girders several hundred feet into the air at a construction site is a "little thing," I want to get that stated right up front. BUT, when the headline - and lead story lines - states that "steel girders collapsed and fell at the new Trade Center construction site on Thursday," it just rankles my sensibilities.

People, the girders did not fail.

I repeat: The steel girders did not "collapse" - which would suggest they were of poor quality or poorly installed to begin with. NO! A cable those particular girders were being hoisted into place with - the cables on the crane - failed, causing those girders to fall to the ground.

Nobody was injured, thank God, but a trailer was crushed.

Can we please say what we mean, and mean what we say?

On another topic:

There is a truly IGNORANT ad on TV at the moment is from a GOP runner whose voice over states that "Obama has done what the liberals have wanted to do for years" and that has lead to the failure and loss of Michigan jobs and livelihoods.

Um, hellooooooooo.

Don't drive through Detroit streets and show boarded up, derelict homes, abandoned and ruined LONG before Mr. Obama took office. Don't pontificate from a supposedly Michigan-made car and say that Obama's failures took the country into the hole WHICH WAS DUG BY YOUR TEAM, sir. Republicans ran this country and the economy into the ground and began back filling before a new set of workers could try to correct the problems.

YOUR side established a spending spree and a war, causing the debt to escalate and jobs to disappear. YOUR side allowed fat cats to continue with their glutenous, illegal activities, screwing over the common man and aiding the rich, greedy, corrupt corporate dealings to continue until collapse was not only imminent, but unavoidable. Your side penned the bailouts and fluff sanctions, and allowed banks to run amok.

Your party handed this mess to the new president and then fought him tooth and nail every time he tried to make headway or correct the course.

Damn it, Republican b*stards!!! If you can't lead (and you've proven for years that you can't), follow or get out of the way!!

Not a bad day...overall

Put a little studying for the next HUC test under my belt today, but I have a LOT more to do before I am ready to walk into the classroom. So, I will be devoting more hours tonight, and most of the day tomorrow to get it done. SO much anatomy.

Finished attaching the sleeve to the back of the competition quilt, and despite a little excess stretching that happened to one side more than the other (of the quilt itself), it is hanging beautifully! The boys aren't thrilled about having to hold it - again - so that I can take the necessary entry photo (in what remains of our daylight), and unless Brian gets himself home in the next ten minutes, it won't happen today at all.

Maybe that's his master plan. Drats and curses!

Went up to the bank and enjoyed getting outdoors during what was an absolutely gorgeous day. On the drive to town I passed our largest small lake and noted that the little bit of ice that had managed to form over a small portion of the lake this winter was now completely gone!

I had to chuckle thinking of all of those ice fishermen who wait all year for ice fishing season.........and this year it never came. The little bit of ice that did manage to form over that past few months was inadequate for a dog to walk on, let alone set up a shanty and park a human keester on.

Ah well, there's always next year, right?

In any event, my chuckle grew to outright laughter when I caught sight of a man in a small boat out several hundred yards from shore, enjoying the life out of the sunshine and the chance to fish in any kind of weather condition!

On the way back home I drove past a woman walking four or five dogs. She was patiently allowing one of the larger brutes to make a pit stop on a slim piece of grass where the snow had receded.

This dog meant complete business, too.

When he finished making his puddle, he began that doggy back-kicking, flinging-not-burying dance step they do, and the woman had to duck and cover because Fido was flinging the muddy patches of grass and snow directly at her during his doggy fandango!

Awe, I know I shouldn't laugh, but it was priceless.

[tick-tock, tick-tock]

So, it's nearly half an hour later, and while I still have no photo to enter the quilt with, I do have my moments of enjoyment to remember and relish from the day.

Happy Chocolates For Mom Day, everybody!

[*grumble*]

...whatever...

Prayers for portions of Europe

My heart breaks for the 5-year-old girl who was dug out from under her flattened home and 33 feet of snow, after an avalanche killed her parents and eight other relatives this weekend. She was trapped for more than ten hours before rescuers could find her.

God bless those men and women.

People in Kosovo, Bosnia, the Balkans, Albania, parts of Italy, and more, are suffering from the worst weather reported in a century or more.

I am sending prayers out for those homeless people who have already suffered through so much, and now to have to endure this cruel onslaught from Mother Nature.

A-visiting we will go

Went to see my grandmother over the weekend - yes, the grand old dame of 100 years and counting - and my aunt Deb was there staying with her, so I had an opportunity to show off the quilt to both of them!

Oddly, gram does not remember my being there just about a month ago (with the boys), but she did remember the quilt as having pins in it...but not this particular quilt.(!?)

Our memories, and the way in which our brains work, is a very strange and mystifying thing. She swears she hasn't seen me since before her 100th birthday party back in July! Although folks remind her that I was there snapping photographs, gram insists we have not come together for the better part of a year! How it is that she can recall my two brothers being at her party and not me is completely baffling.

Anyhow, a.D. has been getting updates of the quilt throughout a good deal of the process, and even though she's seen many pictures of it in the various stages, it isn't the same as seeing it up close and personal. Photographs do not relay the real look of the stitches in the material, nor the true colors and depth of the 4,000+ pieces. Indeed, it looks quite different experiencing it 'in person' as opposed to viewing photographs.

I imagine it also poses a bit of a shock when you see the actual size of it. I have always said it is 65"x65", because it is (or, at least, it is sixty-five one inch squares -- after sewing them together -- by sixty-five one inch squares in dimension), but with stretching and quilting...it has grown just a bit.

At any rate, it was fun to share it with a fresh set of eyes.

It was also fun to catch up with a.Deb and listen to her stories of little Adeline. I remember being excited sharing stories of my boys when they were little and cute and innocently matter-of-fact.

I hope my mom was as excited about Bud and Karl and their cute little ways about them as a.D is.

Thinking the next time the quilt and I go a-visiting it will be to see Maria and her latest projects. Whadaya say, M, are you up for a chat?

Oh, those wacky, wacky celebrities

Recently, I was reading an online news feed, and one of the headlines heralded the advent of Robert Downey Jr's new child, hinting at the peculiar nature of the little fella's name. So, being a diligent fan of RDJ, I clicked on the link to read all about it.

Exton Elias is the diminutive Downey's moniker, and that first name isn't as weird as it might have been. I mean, let's face it, some high-profile celebrities (and some more-famous-in-their-own-minds-than-to-the-general-populace celebrity wannabes) have come up with some incredibly odd, somewhat weird, downright stupid names for their offspring. For example:

Audio Silence - son of Shannyn Sossamon/Dallas Clayton

Moxie Crimefighter - daughter of Penn and Emily Jillette

Pilot Inspektor - son of Jason and Beth Lee

Kal-El - son of Nicolas Cage/Alice Kim (although I am surprised at the tame nature of this nutjob's choice)

Speck Wildhorse - son of John Mellencamp/Elaine Irwin

Sparrow James Midnight - son of Nicole Richie/Joel Madden

Bluebell Madonna - daughter of Geri Halliwell/Sacha Gervasi

Banjo Patrick - son of Rachel Griffith/Andrew Taylor

Kyd Miller - son of David Duchovney/Tea Leoni (more cute and kitchy than weird)

Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q - son of Bono/Ali Hewson

Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha - son (or pet) of Lisa Bonet/Jason Momoa

Daisy Boo (&) Poppy Honey - daughters of Jamie Oliver/Jools Norton

Reignbeau - daughter of Ving Rhames/Deborah Reed (a little gender-schmeared, poor kid)

Jermajesty - son of Jermaine and Alejandra Jackson (figures....what a strange clan of people)

Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen (&) Moon Unit - daughters of Frank Zappa. But let's not forget his sons, Dweezil and Ahmet. Personally, I think Ahmet got off easy.

I will refrain from ranting on, as I think this list speaks for itself.......sadly. There are so many questions one could ask, but if I got started I would never quit. Then there's the whole matter of how muddled my brain would be if I did ask "why ?" and ponder over any of it any further. So, let's quit while we're ahead and laughing, eh?

Thank you for the hilarity this morning, you wacky, wacky celebrities.

Aloha to....

....the Netherlands.

Diligence

Nothing but diligence.

I have managed to keep my head down to get this current quilt done, but have also managed to miss several contest deadlines, and to that end I am disappointed....but not devastated. After all, the contests I missed-out on this year can still be entered next year - and let's face it, two of the missed deadlines were due to having work for a short while.

Yea, work! Yea and boo, actually. Temporary jobs - phe!

Anyhow, I am excited to be using the new ironing board (I received for Christmas) to make the sleeve for the quilt. Very cool. I actually used it for pressing a small portion of the cut binding strips, but it was neat to have a new, non-rocking, right height, functioning ironing board - with an extension that holds the iron off of the board's surface when you are not immediately using it!

I know, it doesn't really take much any more to excite me.

Finished blind stitching the binding over last night, and will get to work on the sleeve in a bit, but wanted to touch base before I hunkered down one more time.

Diligence has also paid off in my two medical classes, passing both of my first quizzes with flying colors! However, now that we have passed the honeymoon period - and are on to week three - the work is becoming more intensive, and the ground covered during in-class "lectures" is enormous. The reading alone is tremendous, as is the amount of information to try and commit to memory. No new projects of any sort for me for a while I'm afraid (and no old ones, either), and I am wondering if I should even try to rearrange the lower level and clean it out as I would like to with so much time needed for pounding these terms and words, etc., etc., etc., into my head.

Oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into?

Heave ho!

I've been awake for the better part of the past two hours - that is, as near as I can figure out.

Should have simply just gotten up and done homework reading, or grabbed a needle and thread and begun to turn the binding and stitch it in place....something! But I lay there, hoping to get back to sleep in the darkness and resumed quiet.

Originally, I was awakened by the sound of Cleo (as it turned out) retching. She ended up not tossing a hairball; it was a dry heave dry-run. Although, I am certain the main attraction will happen some time today, and probably when I am not around to locate it (before stepping in it).

After having lay there, unable to turn my mind off, I began to wonder what time it really was....and how much time I had actually put into the quilt. A lot of folks have asked, and while I began the project keeping pretty good track of the hours, I managed to let the task fall by the wayside somewhere along the way.

I turned on the TV to quickly ascertain the hour, and found it was 4:40AM....darn it! I lay on my back and noticed a spot moving on the ceiling overhead.

Quickly springing to my feet, I darted out of bed and found something to dispatch the sneaky spider before he could rappel from his space to my face. Ick!

Cleaned up the spider smoosh and returned to bed, but of course I was no longer the least bit drowsy, so I grabbed a pencil and some paper and began ciphering.

After a while I found myself becoming groggy, so I rolled over to enjoy a couple of hours of sleep in the lovely pre-dawn darkness....but it wasn't meant to be.

Not too far from me, somewhere in the dark, the familiar sounds of a cat about to deposit a sloppy, messy hairball sent my mommy-mode into hyper drive. Who and where, and can I get the transgressor to an easily cleanable surface? Nope, too late.

Hobbes stood motionless in front of me, about five paces off, finishing the process of making my day.

Paper towel, bottle of vinegar, a baggy to place the used towels and furry masses into. Armed with the tools of the trade, I quickly clean up and wonder what's next. I wash my hands and tumble back in to bed, hoping my blankets will love me more than the cats apparently do.

Nope. The Sandman and anything living in my home with four feet are in cahoots, I tell ya.

Hobbes jumped onto the bed and padded around; Flop crossed my legs and hopped off. This was a curiosity for Hobbes, since she's lately taken to picking on Flop, attempting to displace her any chance she gets in order to usurp Flop's spot in the sun, or on the bed next to the pillow, etc., etc.

Once Hobbes was convinced she had the bed to herself (my presence notwithstanding and quite inconsequential), she set about finding the most pleasing spot to lay down. This meant crisscrossing my chest and hips a few times, stepping stealthily up to my face and sniffing for signs of life, then finally coming to rest right next to my thigh....and grooming with a vengeance. After a bit, she settled and purred us both into a stupor, just as the gurking noise began in the distance.

That's right - Flop was now one level away and revving for a throw-up of her own. Hers are always messy, and usually on furniture or a rug.

On went a bedside light; up the stairs I ran; quickly I halted and located the position of the throwing-up cat with my mom-sonar. She spooks easily, and will trundle off to an unreachable spot if you disturb her mid-vomit.

Flop is a double-spewer.

I calmly spoke to her as I reached for a light switch, hoping to locate spillage number one, since she rarely stays too close to the first puke to deliver the second round.

Ah, there you a....eewwww! I found the first steamy pile....with my foot.

[heavy grossed-out sigh]

OK, so I am no longer thinking sleep is an option for the remainder of this early morning. I'll grab a nap sometime mid-afternoon when I am feeling it wash over me. For now, perhaps I will just head back to a spot on the couch and begin reading my chapters for class - again.

By the way

I watched two movies last night, and enjoyed both for very different reasons.

Had I been able to call up Ratatouille via the Wii, it would have been an all animation evening, but since that wasn't possible I viewed Tangled and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Charmed and charming.

I had only ever seen bits and pieces - and usually the end - of 'Breakfast', and have always wanted to see the entire movie. Despite the (occasional) cheesy writing, the acting was lovely (except for the Micky Rooney portions - what an overactor), and I was happy and satisfied to finally have seen the entire thing from stem to stern.

How marvelous was Audrey Hepburn, and not just in that role! She has always amazed me with her talent and sublime visage. Add to those components her humanitarian work, and we had an angel in our midst for a short while.

As for the animated Tangled, I was sorry I missed a chance to have seen it on a big screen when it first came out, but it was (is) a fun romp, and it took me back to when the boys and I would go to a theater and watch a new Disney release. Just enough music - not too much - and the correct amount of heros, villains, gasps, tongue-in-cheek jokes, adorable sidekicks and tom-foolery along the way to a happy ending.

Now I guess I had better get down to my pile of homework...I have two quizzes this week.

I'll take it!

Bright and sunny, with beautiful blue skies - I'll take it!

Turned on the boob tube late, but in time to hear the last words of Joel Osteen's advice to let go of comments and negativity that brings me down or holds me back - I'll use that!

A chance to enter my art quilt into a prize-winning show I hadn't counted on - I'll take it!

Another opportunity to re-invent myself (or, add to my skill sets) - I'll do that!

The possibility to smile while my hands are busy and my brain is sharp - I'll take it!

The good feelings that come with hugging your sons and telling them you're proud of them - I'll give and take it!

Trying to squeeze more out of the growing daylight hours and not waste time - I'll try that!

To be a blessing and to count my blessings - I'll do that!

February 4

Forty-three degrees.

How many more weeks of winter?

Nice surprises

Sometimes good news comes in a phone call.

The boys heard from their father last night, and it seems "the family" has decided the grand kids will receive a stipend from the granddad's estate. The man had a lot of money saved - never parted with a penny if he didn't have to - and believe you me, he found a myriad ways to hang on to every cent.

I always felt horrible for my (ex)mother-in-law, because there wasn't any reason for her to live the way she had all those years, except because of the whim of her husband. But that was her life and her way, and now that both parents are gone, their children are dealing with the final bits and pieces.

Since the demise of my (ex)father-in-law, I always wondered why nothing ever fell to my sons. He and his wife both intimated the kids would benefit a little once they passed.

I never ghoulishly sat on the fence and waited for that day, I (we) never had a need; the kids were fine and life was proceeding as life should. A few lumps here and there that maybe could have been less rocky...but that's life, and the boys are the better for those knocks and lessons.

As there were only three grandchildren between the five siblings, it seemed the grand kids would have some sort of nest egg to inherit and have tucked away in a back pocket for 'some day.'

Well, it's taken a while, but the boys are each now receiving a nice sum of investible, save-able money.

As Bud has lately experienced the feeling of achievement in saving a portion of his paychecks (and the grief at having to use some of that savings when "life happens"), he has cleverly decided how to portion and save the total amount to his best advantage, and for that I am very proud.

Karl is still weighing his options, but is receiving advice in a considered - and considerate - manner, and will be investing or saving the lion's share as well.

Thank you, Lord, for sublime miracles and Your loving favor.

Just a bit

Finished the background quilting late yesterday afternoon, and I cannot tell you how I have waited and worked towards that goal! It felt as though every time I stitched through an area and could move on, the quilt grew another three feet, and I would still have as much (and more) to quilt. I knew I was making progress, but it never felt like it....does that make sense?

At any rate, I am now on to another detail of that project, but I can relax a little, too, and that feels good.

I'm poking my head out of my hole and looking around - like that poor groundhog in PA - and I am seeing daylight and a chance to move on. Forget about shadows and winter.

Once this project is completely done I have plans to rearrange the lower level - including my sewing area. It's time to shake things up and get out of old ruts. Time to finish other projects in different areas of my life and home, and I'll be dragging the boys with me!

Sshhhh...don't tell them, let it be my surprise.

;^)

Anyhow, this was just a bit of news for the day. Have a nice Feb 2.

Photos and more info on my quilting projects at: www.truenorthquilter.blogspot.com

In the news

Breaking headline from my electronic newsfeed:

"Romney routs Gingrich in Florida"

So....essentially, what they're saying is -

'The newt was mitt-slapped in the pan handle.'

Hey folks, this is the news. I don't make this stuff up, I'm just re-reporting it in my own words.

Gotta make your fun with whatever you're given. Honestly, I like my version better.