News From the Holmestead

Water! Water! My Kingdom for Water!

2012-01-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

It's January. It's winter. My water is frozen yet again. Frozen because the water tank for my well is exposed to the elements, thanks to a renovation project that should have been finished last summer.
Previously, that water tank was housed in an insulated shed. The shed had to be torn down and the tank moved due to the renovation. I told the carpenter that the new shed had to be built before winter, to avoid my having to deal without water every time it froze outside. Alas, the shed never got built, so I am at the mercy of the weather.

But not for long. I am going to build the shed myself, once I figure out what shed design the carpenter had in mind. He had built a concrete platform, and moved the tank onto it, then bolted down two studs for starters, but that's all. I'll be buying lumber on Sunday to get started, and pray it doesn't freeze or rain!

Free! Free! Thank God in Heaven I'm [Cancer] Free!

2012-01-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer the end of October 2011. On December 6, 2011 I had a hysterectomy. The doctor said my tumor was small, and she was so sure they got it all that they didn't take out my lymph glands in the groin area. On December 9, 2011, the pathology results came in: the cancer hadn't spread, they got it all, and I wouldn't need chemo or radiation. I was officially cancer free. When I got the news, I burst into tears.
I breezed through the surgery like a pro, and recovered so quickly that they sent me home the next morning--just 24 hours after surgery. My doctor, the anesthetist, and the nurses all expressed astonishment at my quick recovery. My doc said my positive attitude had a lot to do with it. (I was cracking jokes even as they wheeled me into surgery.)

I only experienced mild discomfort during the two weeks that followed, and didn't even use up all my pain pills. It's now 3 weeks post-surgery, and I feel just fine. Better than fine, in fact. While I wouldn't recommend cancer for anyone, I feel I'm a better person for having lived through the shock and fear of discovering I had cancer. It made me take stock of my life, made me realize that I too often focused on Things That Don't Matter. It also taught me that I had far more friends than I ever realized. Friends who came out of the woodwork in droves and surrounded me with love, support, and prayers.

I am deeply, deeply blessed. And I am ever so grateful that I am cancer free.

Spider Bite Update

2011-11-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

Exactly 10 weeks ago I woke up in the morning and discovered 10 spider bites on one leg, and another bite on the other leg. The bites never hurt, and it didn't wake me up when that sneaky spider bit me, but man, do they ever itch! Worse yet, after 10 weeks they are only now beginning to heal. In the meantime, I look like I have leprosy! Check it out. I got those bites on September 7 and they look as bad now as they did that first day.

I now go to bed with a flyswatter, and I'm jumpy as all get-out. I keep beating myself black and blue because I feel a little prickle and then I yell and slap at it, only to discover it wasn't a spider but a corner of the blanket touching my arm. I hate closing my eyes in the shower for fear one will pop up out of the drain or land on me from the ceiling.

Have you ever been bitten by a spider, and if so, how long did it take for the bites to heal? From what I understand, all spider bites are poisonous, but most are a very mild poison. It's the brown recluse, the hobo, and the black widow spiders that are dangerous. I leave them alone when they're outside, but if they come inside, it's all out war!

Update From the Boonies

2011-11-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been a month since my last entry? Sheesh. No biggie, I reckon, as I'm probably the only one who actually reads my blog. Sort of like talking to myself. *g*

Lots if new developments in my life since my last post, the most important being my recent diagnosis of endometrial cancer. I go in for a hysterectomy on December 6, and after that they'll be able to tell me what stage of cancer I have. It's a scary thing to be facing the Big C and not know how bad it is, or if I'll have to have chemo or radiation afterwards. I hate having to wait. But all my friends have rallied around me for a group hug, and I am feeling especially blessed by all the support I've been receiving. This is definitely a group disease. It doesn't just affect me. It affects my friends and family. It's nice to know that I don't have to make this walk alone. No matter what my future holds, I know my friends will be beside me, helping me walk that walk.

The Endless Remodel Job is still ongoing. The carpenter only works a few hours a week now, much to my frustration. The worst part is that I am constantly cold because of the heat escaping through flimsy plastic over doors and windows. As I sit at the computer, a frigid draft makes my face and hands very cold. Not fun. He assures me the laundry room will be done by the end of this month, but I don't know how that can happen when he only works a few hours a week. It's been 7 months since this project began, and we haven't even started on the kitchen, yet! The picture below shows what the laundry room currently looks like. Doesn't look like it will be done in 2 weeks, eh? *g*

The doors have now been installed, and the electrical wiring is almost done, but as you can see, the job is nowhere near completion.And of course, it's not yet insulated, so that's why the rest of the house is so cold.

Spiders From Hell

2011-10-06T02:50:00.000-07:00

Those who know me best know that I do not like spiders. To appease all you do-gooder nature freaks, I will admit they have a place in the Great Scheme of Things. They are wonderfully beneficial in the garden. They are NOT wonderfully beneficial inside my house. It is now fall, and what with the interminable ongoing remodeling (will it ever end?) and the advance of cooler weather, the spiders are making their way indoors. Six weeks ago I woke up with 6 spider bites on one leg, and 1 spider bite on the other. The picture above shows three of the bites a week after they first appeared. What really freaked me out is that I apparently got bitten in my bed. Meaning a spider was in bed with me. Probably brought in with the sheets from the clothesline.

Six weeks later, my legs are not a pretty sight, as evidenced by the photo on the right. Despite the passage of time, the bites are still a violent red and they itch something fierce. This is the first (and, I hope, only) time I have been bitten by a spider and it is not something I want to repeat. What's worse is now I'm getting those gigantic scarey "drain spiders" that appear in my bathtub and sinks. You can't kill them with Raid. They just shake it off and laugh in your face. Then they scuttle up to the ceiling where they hang out, waiting to slide down on their butt thread to scare you as you wash your face or brush your hair.

Whoosh!

2011-08-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

That sound you just heard was me, whooshing by to give a quick update on the remodel before I shut down the computer and pick up crowbar. The siding and insulation to the exterior walls of the kitchen and laundry rooms are now gone. So are the windows. We've had over a week of glorious weather, with more glorious weather predicted, so now seemed a good time to start the demolition. As Murphy's Law and Mother Nature would have it, we had unexpected (and unpredicted!) rain last night. Isn't that the way it always is! No big. We'll be grateful for the cooler weather and make sure the plastic over the windows keeps the rain out. Onward and upward!

Yet More Madness

2011-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

The demolition of the exterior walls of the kitchen and laundry room has been postponed, but I've been busy anyway, drawing up design after design for the revamp of both rooms. I've been meeting with the kitchen cabinet designer at Lowes, and he's put my designs into computer renderings, giving me a 3-D view of my concepts. After many iterations, I've settled on a final design for the kitchen, and it's one I'm so excited about. I get my breakfast nook and my island. I'm very excited!

So today we gear up for the Big Push. The carpenter is going to live in the basement in order to put in more hours on this project, and to save money on his long commute to and from my house. So the project moves forward, and beginning today, it goes into high gear.

More Madness

2011-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

The remodeling continues. Slowly but steadily. My carpenter-friend cannot make it every day, so I usually get him 2-4 days of the week, with 4 being rare. And he's usually here for only 4 or 5 hours each day, so you can see why this is taking so long. Plus, I'm doing a lot of the work myself, and I'm slow. I do all the tedious stuff--painting, varnishing, sanding, etc.

Next week we begin tearing down the exterior walls to the kitchen and laundry room. I'm the main tearing-down person. Tove, the carpenter, will mark the items for demolition, and he'll cut the deck in half so that I can dismantle it. I'll be saving as much useable wood as I can, to be used for rebuilding the new deck and for use in the enlargement of both the laundry room and kitchen. I have a large bottle of aspirin set aside, and the pain pills for my back/leg are on prescription, so my crowbar and I are ready to roll!

The Madness Continues

2011-07-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Remodel woes. Everyone told me I'd be tearing out my hair. Actually, now that most of the lumber and construction debris have been removed from my hall and kitchen, I'm breathing easier. I love the new white beaded board wainscoting in the hall with the pristine new mottled beige paneling above the wainscoting. That's a picture of the hall, on the left. I'm sorting through my artwork, trying to decide which pictures I'll be hanging on the walls above the wainscoting. The hall will be my informal art gallery, since I have so much wall space.

I have painted or varnished miles and miles of trim and molding, and last night I stained and varnished (6 coats of varnish!) the oak that will be used as windowsills for the new windows in the Craft Room and the Rose Room. (Okay, so they're spare bedrooms turned into a craft room and a sewing room!)

And next week we begin the expansion of the laundry room and the kitchen. I'm excited and scared. The exterior walls of both rooms will be demolished (that's my job!), so we'll have to make sure the weather will be nice, since I'll be exposed to the Great Outdoors.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Greetings From the Hinterlands

2011-06-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

The reason I've been so quiet on this blog is that I'm deep in the throes of remodeling. As in up to my armpits. This has been going on since November of 2010, with a simple transformation of a spare room from a library to a craft room. The job just kept expanding and expanding, partly because of the usual old house woes needing to be fixed, but also because of opportune treasure finds, such windows.
I have old, wavy-glass, single pane windows in this 100-year-old house, and I'm slowly replacing them with new, energy-efficient windows, one window at at time. I have discovered that if you are very patient and check your sources diligently, you can find brand new windows for up to 50% off. I made this discovery by accident when I was pricing windows at Home Depot. They have a small, out of the way spot in the store where they place unclaimed or rejected new windows that were custom-ordered. These windows are deeply discounted and they're sort of an insider secret, so unless you happen upon them (as I did) you won't know about them. Kind of like the table of discounted "oops" paint in the paint department.

I needed a long, skinny window for my bedroom, and found one at Home Depot that was only one inch shorter than what I'd wanted, but was way cheaper than ordering a custom window to fit into the non-standard opening. I ended up paying $100 for my "custom" window! So I haunt Home Depot and Lowe's, checking out their oops windows for my next replacements.

In the meantime, I am currently having wainscoting and paneling installed in the hallway, and I'm painting and varnishing molding and wood trim, while trying to come up withdecent reconfiguations for my kitchen and laundry room expansions. If I survice, I'll eventually post pictures.

My New Craft Room

2011-02-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

Ever go to the grocery store to pick up one item, and when you leave the store you have a shopping cart full of groceries? That's how the renovation of my library-cum-craft-room started. All I wanted to do was remove the tacky old carpet and replace it with linoleum/vinyl, and get rid of the sofa and desk to make room for my craft table and rubber stamps. Famous last words. This simple project has turned into a major renovation.

The gloomy dark brown carpeting has been removed and I have a gorgeous new vinyl floor that is beige and white. I got rid of the desk and sofa and moved the old craft table from my bedroom to the new craft room. Ugh. The old table with cabinets beneath it just wasn't going to work--the table was too small and not the right shape. So I determined to build a new table, using recycled materials as much as possible. I kept the cabinets that were under the old table, and used them for the new table. Had to buy a few more cabinets because the new table is twice the size as the old one.

Then I hung the rest of the cabinets on the wall above the table, and installed a new window. I gutted the closet and installed shelving for all my art/craft/rubber stamping supplies. And I'm having a small sink installed so that I can easily wash glue and ink off my hands and my rubber stamps.

Progress on the craft room is slow. The guy I hired to do the stuff I can't do, can only work a day here and a day there. In the meantime, there's all kinds of construction debris lining my hallway--lumber, nails, boxes of craft stuff waiting to be emptied into the new cabinets and closet shelves, etc. The house is in utter chaos, and it's driving me bonkers, because I like things neat and tidy. Had I been able to do all this stuff myself, it would have been done long ago. But this bum leg and back prevent me from doing stuff I normally do. And when you rely on others, the work progresses at their speed, not yours.

Don't get me wrong--I am very grateful to Tove, the guy who's helping me. He's reasonably priced, and an easy-going guy. Fun to talk to, and a down-to-earth person. I enjoy working side-by-side with him. And in the 2 months we've been working on the craft room, it has seen major progress. I'm very excited, and can't wait to see the finished product.

I've kept costs down by using recycled materials as much as possible. I make weekly trips to Goodwill and have found a treasure trove of things I can use, from a brand new faucet for my sink, to nifty receptacles for the myriad pens, pencils, X-acto knives, rulers, artist's brushes, etc. Yesterday I found 3 stunning glass vases with really heavy bottoms. They're square shaped and staggered in size, and because they are base-heavy, they're perfect for my tabletop craft supplies, which tend to tip over if put in lightweight containers.

As soon as I finish the room, I'll post pictures. I know you're all just dying to see them. In the meantime, here is a "before" picture. I stitched 3 pictures together in Photoshop, so the alignment is off on the window and a few other areas.

I've already ditched the sofa, but the upright sofa cushion behind the maroon chair was saved for the dogs to lie on. The old carpet is rolled up on the right, ready for disposal. It was the same color as the ugly brown floor now exposed. Bookshelves line the entire wall on the right, on the left, and inside the closet to the far left of the picture. The old window in this picture has been replaced with a smaller one, and the cabinets are now hung on the left side of the window. The craft table and floor cabinets will stretch from the wall on the left to the edge of the window on the right.

What's New for 2011?

2011-01-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

Sherrie, here, checking in with my hordes of blog readers who've been waiting with bated breath for news from ye old Holmestead. (Insert smiley face)

I've been thinking about the things I hope to accomplish in 2011. I even made a list of goals for the year. I do this every January, and it's so rewarding to cross something off the list when it's been accomplished. I have lists dating back some 35 years, and some of the things on those older lists weren't crossed off until 10-15 years later. And some things dropped off the list because they were no longer important or relevant. Case in point: For several years my lists included tearing out the old disgusting carpet in my library (a sort of den with floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall books). Well, last November (2010) I crossed it off the list as no longer being relevant. I did tear out the old carpet, but by then I had decided to turn the library into a full-fledged craft room, turning it into a major renovation.

This year's list is smaller than normal, probably due to my current physical limitations. (Can you spell "bum leg" boys and girls?) However, even though my 2011 list is slightly smaller, it has some dauntingly huge items on it. Such as finishing work on the library-cum-craft-room. And gutting the laundry room to replace the floor and subfloor. Then tear up the old flooring in the spare bedroom and replacing it with linoleum/vinyl. Installing new windows, a room at a time, as funds permit.

So there you have it. a glimpse into some of my plans for 2011. Am I the only one who does New Year's resolutions, or are there a few relics out there who still do it?

When the Going Gets Tough . . .

2010-12-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

. . . the tough Feng Shui. Yes, I'm going to Feng Shui my house, because as a friend said, there's a lot of bad juju going on here. I've looked into Feng Shui, and decided my preconceived ideas about it were all wrong. I thought it was a yuppie New Age thing, but it is a centuries old belief in harmony, energy, etc. And what I like about it is that most of it is basically just good old-fashioned common horse sense--nothing woo-woo about that!

The hardest thing I'm having to deal with right now is keeping the lid down on the toilet and keeping the bathroom door closed. I hate closed doors. They depress me. They cut off light coming in through windows. They box me in. But according to Feng Shui, the bathroom sucks energy, luck, and money down the drain. So you shut the door. I'm new to all this, but I can kind of see how the bathroom can have some negative effects on your life. For one thing, I've read the horrifying studies about all the nasty things that burst out of your toilet every time you flush it. Things you can't see, but they're there. They float around and deposit microscopic bits of sewer gas and fecal matter on your towels and toothbrushes (thank God my toilet is around the corner from the medicine chests and sinks!).

So okay, I'm keeping the toilet lid down and the door closed. We'll see how it goes the next time I go screaming down the hall, pulling down my jeans as I head for the bathroom, forgetting that the door is closed and the lid down.

Another thing that totally dismayed me is that you aren't supposed to have books in your bedroom. Bad energy there. A book on the nightstand is okay, but bookshelves aren't. Sharp edges on the shelves, the murmur of millions of words filling the night air, the dust they collect (dust mites! Eeeekkk!) . . . I guess books are too stimulating for the bedroom. Which puts me in a dilemma, as I have over 5,000 books, and every room but the bathroom has bookshelves. I consider books beautiful. They cozy up any room they're in. They are a fashion statement. They are friendly and homey. But not in the bedroom. So I have to figure out what to do with the hundreds and hundreds of books in my bedroom.

Then I'm going to move my bed, because it's in a bad position. Luckily, the spare bedroom that I'm converting into my craft room is in the "Creativity" section of my house, according to Feng Shui. I hope that means I'll soon be making dynamite cards with my rubber stamps and bits of ribbon and lace. It also turns out that the Financial part of my house is in my bedroom, so I'm reading up on what I can do to bring more money into my life. The Career part of my house just happens to be where I set up my office. I find that a lot of the decorating and arranging I've done with my house actually followed Feng Shui principals, and creates calmness and happiness in me because of the aesthetics.

So we'll see how this Feng Shui business goes. I've been watching Feng Shui tips on YouTube and I have a client who knows a lot about Feng Shui, and she's helping me too. I'm even going to aim for improving the Health section of my house, to see if I can get rid of this blasted leg problem!

A Leg Report

2010-12-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

By now I'm sure all 3 of my blog readers are sick of nothing but reports on my bum leg, but hey, it's the most exciting thing in my life right now! Last week I called the doc to tell him that the two pain shots in the butt and the 3 pain meds he has me on are doing zilch for the pain. If anything, I'm worse. Today the doc's office finally returned my call. They are referring me to an orthopedist and tripling the dose on one of my pain meds. (I hope it's not the one that gives me a dry mouth! I have to carry water with me because I get so dry that I choke when trying to talk.)

So that's the latest. Once they process the referral, I'll call the orthopedist for an appointment. I'm dreading how much this will cost, as I have no medical insurance. On the other hand, I really want to get this thing fixed!

At Last! A Diagnosis!

2010-11-20T04:46:00.000-08:00

Saw the doctor yesterday and finally (FINALLY!) have a diagnosis for the cause of my leg and back pain: herniated disk, sciatica, and a pinched nerve in my hip (meralgia paresthetica). I have a list of back exercises to do, three prescriptions for (1) pain, (2) inflammation, and (3) spasms, and a couple of shots in the butt for immediate pain relief. (Though I have to admit that 13 hours later I'm still not feeling much pain relief.)
However, I did get a good pun out of the butt shots. The nurse had just given me the first shot in the left cheek when I asked her if she wanted me to "turn the other cheek." It made her laugh. This was one of the few times I actually thought of a pun right away instead of an hour later.

Anyway, the doc discussed options with me. He wanted to order an MRI, but I haven't any medical insurance and can't afford the $4,000 for the MRI, so that is not an option. He also wanted to refer me to a bone specialist, but again, the new doc will want an MRI. So I'll do my back exercises, continue to lose weight, take my meds, including increased amounts of B-6, B-12, and Folic Acid (all of which I'm already taking). And in another year I'll be 65 and on Medicare, so if things haven't improved by then, at least I'll have Medicare.

I'm just glad I finally have a diagnosis and a list of things I can do to help me get better.

One More Leg Update

2010-11-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

Getting tired of me talking about my leg all the time? Well, me too. As I write this, I am in considerable pain. The leg is really bad today. So bad that even using crutches is painful. Both my feet are swollen. And the right leg aches like a seriously bad toothache, only ten times worse. The pain pills and aspirin only take the edge off, but don't knock out the pain. Despite the fact the doc didn't find anything wrong when I had the ultrasound, I'm going to make another appointment. We simply HAVE to get to the bottom of this! I can't continue like this. Standing alleviates the pain as long as I put my weight on the other leg, but after awhile, the good leg starts to ache from the constant strain. Sitting is downright painful. Lying down helps, but I can't live my life flat on my back. Driving is excruciating.

Today I am hobbling around like a cripple. I've been doing leg stretching exercises and they only seem to make it worse. I'm not overdoing the exercises, but yesterday I did some mild hamstring stretches and today I can barely walk. So I'm going to make yet another appointment with the doc and ask for X-rays. Maybe that will show something that the ultrasound didn't. In the meantime, I've become extremely grumpy from the pain.

But there's good news. I've now lost 13 pounds. I've lots more to lose, but at least I'm losing!

Leg Update #3

2010-11-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

Break out the Band-Aids! I spoke too soon. My leg pain is coming back. It is just the most bizarre thing! Now the entire leg is involved, from buttock/hip to foot. Sitting for longer than 5 minutes is painful, and driving a car is excruciating (it's my right leg, so pressing on the brakes or gas pedal makes things worse.) I now drive with my body twisted so that my weight is on my left hip and butt, to relieve pressure on the bad leg. I look weird, but hey, it works! Sort of.

I've lost 12 pounds, and have tons more to lose, but I'm sure that losing weight will help. Or at least keep things from getting worse. Now I have to get up and walk around some more. Sayonara!

Leg Update #2

2010-10-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, the results are in. It is not a blood clot. It is not deep vein thrombosis. That's what it isn't. They do NOT know what it is. Nor, apparently, do they care, especially since the leg is getting better on its own. I love the medical system. They called to tell me no blood clots and no thrombosis, and got ready to hang up.

I went, "Whoa, wait a minute here. We aren't done. I've been in intense pain for over two months, been on crutches and painkillers, been incapacitated. Shouldn't we dig a little deeper to find out WHAT is causing all this pain, so that I can keep it from happening again? And what exercises or therapy should I be doing?" The nurse was nonplused. After all, I was getting better. The problem was going away on its own.

It was my turn to be nonplused. Just because I'm getting better doesn't mean we can now ignore the previous months of pain, or the fact that for the past two years I've had more and more bouts of intermittent pain. I guess these questions will remain unanswered. Wonderful medical system we have, eh?

So I'm going to lose weight, as I'm sure that's a factor. I'm being careful about the leg, trying to avoid doing anything that will cause a flare-up. I sleep with a pillow between my knees (have for years). I'm taking aspirin when the pain flares up. I'm not overdoing things--no more long hours on my feet doing spring housecleaning or house painting beyond the pain threshhold. Without a diagnosis, that's all I can do. Plus, I'm staying away from banana peels.

Leg Update

2010-10-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

I saw the doc last week regarding my bum leg, and yesterday I went in for ultrasound to "rule out a blood clot." Of course, they won't tell you the results of the ultrasound. You have to get that from your own doc. The ultrasound lady told me that my doc would have the results of the ultrasound in a couple of days, so I'm expecting a phone call by the end of the week.

In the meantime, the doc gave me some pain pills, so I'm off crutches for now, thank goodness.

Bum Leg

2010-10-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

The past 45 days have been interesting. For some reason, I ended up with a bum right leg. I suspect part of the reasonn is my persistent meralgia paresthetica (pinched nerve) in my thigh, but that doesn't explain the knee and calf pain. Sitting is painful. Walking is painful. Standing is painful. Driving is excruciating because of the pressure on the back of the thigh from sitting. Lyng down does help a little.

When you live alone, there's nobody to fetch and carry for you. Nobody to bring you a glass of water or cook your dinner or drive to the grocery store. So resting the leg is difficult--thus the borrowed crutches and the standing saddle stool (more on the stool, below).

Never one to rush into things, I thought I'd take a wait and see attitude and let Mother Nature do some healing. Apparently Mother Nature was on vacation, because she totally ignored me, and the pain got so bad that I'm now on crutches. I also bought one of those standing saddle stools, and I zoom all around the house in it, which has helped take the weight off my bad leg. These stools are designed with a seat that looks like an English saddle, so that when you sit in them, your legs hang down from the hips, not from the knees. This takes pressure off the back of the thighs and keeps the hips in a more open position.

I have an appointment with the doc in a few days to get a diagnosis and to see if they can get me back to normal. In the meantime, just call me "gimp."

It's State Fair Time!

2010-09-12T02:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 10, my sister Lori and I went to the Puyallup Fair (formerly called the Western Washington Fair). We went on opening day, a mistake we will not repeat, as it was a mob scene, with throngs of people packed into the 169 acres like sardines. Eventually the crowds thinned out, however.

The Puyallup Fair is the 8th largest fair in the world, and is over a century old, having begun in 1900. It runs for 17 days and attendance always tops 1 million. It's so huge that you can't see it all in one day. It starts off with an old fashioned cattle drive right down the main street of Puyallup, with the cattle being driven to the fairgrounds by cowboys mounted on cowhorses. The cattle don't always go where they're supposed to. Last year, one steer did his imitation of a bull in a china closet by taking a detour through a drug store, with the amiable steer going in one door and startled patrons erupting out the other door.

This year, I tried to talk my sister into going on some rides with me, but she declined. So the only ride I went on was the Giant Slide. That's me on the far left. I screamed all the way down. It was a blast, but climbing the five million steps to the top just about did me in. The stairs are on the right of the slide, behind the orange barrier.

Everyone is so friendly at the fair. Complete strangers will laugh and joke with you as you wait in line for rides or share inadvertent elbow bumps and toe stomps. I love being totally immersed in the whole experience. It’s a sensory overload of the best kind—crowds of people, food smells, calliope music from the carousel, screams from the fairway rides, cheers from the rodeo grandstand, mooing cows, baaing sheep and goats, crowing roosters, the thunder on the pavement as 6-horse hitches of Clydesdales rumble by, hucksters hawking their wares, the diesel smell from the farm tractors/agricultural equipment demos, the bright and twinkling lights from the brilliantly gaudy fairway . . . Lord, how I love state fairs!

The Summer That Wasn't

2010-09-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

For the first time in many years I had a large veggie garden this year. Below is a picture of part of the terraced garden in front of the basement. I was diligent, starting my seeds indoors and transplanting them early. They started off promisingly. In April we were blessed with unseasonably hot weather, and the garden took off. And then summer came.

At least the calendar said it was summer. You couldn't tell it by the weather. We'd have a few hot days, and then the clouds would move in and the skies would turn gray. So my garden's been growing in fits and starts. Once, we had almost two weeks of hot weather, but then it turned cold again and everything quit growing.

And so it's been, all summer. My corn is 5' tall, but has only begun to tassel. I probably won't get any corn this year. My tomatoes, on the left side of the picture, are tall and vigorous and loaded with tomatoes--all of them green. I have 6 large tomato plants, and so far, have harvested less about a dozen ripe tomatoes, most of them cherry tomatoes. My summer squash is barely producing, and my acorn squash is so late that it hasn't even begun to blossom yet. My sugar snap peas are a joke. You can see them lying anemic on the ground in front of the tomatoes My green beans, however, are doing great and I've been eating beans for weeks. The broccoli is just starting to form heads, and my cabbage and Brussels sprouts are iffy.

The only thing that grew immediately, and fast, was my radish crop. I had to pull them up and toss them, as they were all wormy. I'm never growing radishes again. My carrots are still infants. My Walla Walla sweets aren't even adolescents, though the jalapeno pepper plant--the only one I planted because I bought it by mistake at the nursery--is growing like crazy. When I bought it, I thought it was a green pepper plant. My other green peppers are sickly. My cucumbers haven't a single blossom yet. My parsley, on the other hand, is growing like gangbusters.

All in all, we've had an absolutely lousy growing season for veggie gardens. I'd bought a canning and freezing book this year, anticipating canning and freezing all my produce. Guess I'll put the book away. I certainly won't have anything to preserve this year!

Stopping the Nonsense

2010-08-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Retailers: can we please just make life easier and stop all these stupid rewards/loyalty programs? The ones I'm talking about are the stores that won't give you discounts unless you have one of their rewards or loyalty cards. Everybody does it, from grocery stores to pet stores, from bookstores to hardware stores, from shoe stores to sandwich shops. Either you get a discount at the register, or you accumulate points and they mail you a rewards check. On some cards, you accumulate points toward air miles or get a discount on gasoline.

I hate these things. They take up room in my purse. I have 12 of them in a little plastic pouch that I carry in a pocket of my purse, for easy access. (That's a picture of my rewards cards, above) Most of these cards are free, but you are asked to give your phone number and other personal info when you sign up. That way, if you're at the register and forgot your rewards card, you can just tell the cashier your phone number, while everyone else in line hears you giving out your unlisted number.

Why not just mark down the retail items for everyone, and do away with the rewards programs? Why must we add yet one more point of inconvenience to our already busy lives? Well, one reason why is that retailers can track your purchasing habits with these cards. The cards help them accumulate demographics--where you live, how often you shop, which brand of soda pop you purchase, how much you spend on each trip, and even how old you are. According to Wikipedia, these rewards programs "are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially of benefit to the firm."

I realize demographics help retailers plan their futures, develop targeted marketing programs, and even issue coupons based on your buying habits. But they're still a nuisance. They are an invasion of privacy. They clutter my life. They annoy the living daylights out of me.

Advanced K9 Behavior

2010-08-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, August 14, I graduated from the Advanced K9 Behavior course at the Kitsap Humane Society, where I volunteer as a dog trainer/dog walker and cat cuddler. This advanced course is geared toward training problem dogs and turning them into model canine citizens. Sort of like charm school for dogs, if you will. Dogs completing the K9 Charm School will be made available for adoption at a higher adoption fee, since they will be so well trained. Part of the higher adoption fee will cover the cost of training the new owner, who will be required to take training along with their dog. It's a win/win for both dog and new owner.

I'm part of a pilot program for this K9 Charm School. It's exciting to see such wonderful programs going on at the humane society, and to know there are dedicated animal lovers willing to give of their free time to benefit the animals in the shelter. There were 20 volunteers who graduated from this advanced class, and we will begin training select problem dogs next Saturday. We're using the buddy system, as most training sessions will include the problem dog and a laid-back, non-combative dog, which will be the "target" dog when retraining dog-aggressive dogs (it's why we need 2 trainers--one to handle the aggressive dog and one to handle the target dog.)

When I signed on as a volunteer, I told myself I was NOT going to get carried away and volunteer for more work than my self-alotted volunteer hours per week, nor get roped into extra stuff. So much for willpower. I can see where this new program is going to add greatly to my volunteer hours, as well as my car mileage, so I have to be careful not to take on more than I can handle. I'm feeling a little pressured to take on more, but will hold firm. I can't really spend hours and hours on my feet because of significant arthritis in both feet, so that'll be a self-limiting thing.

I used to show and train dogs about 35 years ago, and training sure has changed a lot since then! And it's all for the good!

Dougie MacLean Visits the Word Wenches

2010-07-26T02:10:00.000-07:00

On Monday, July 26, Susan King of the Word Wenches will interview Scottish music legend, Dougie MacLean. MacLean has a large following in the UK, Australia and the US. He performed "The Gael" from Last of the Mohicans and also "Caledonia." (I have the soundtrack from Last of the Mohicans and "The Gael" is one of my favorite pieces.) Monday's interview will center on MacLean's deep interest in history, so he'll fit right in with the Wenches! Join us on Monday for a little bit about Celtic music and a lot about history! Here's the link: http://www.wordwenches.com/

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

2010-06-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

So last night I was painting the house, and decided to knock off for the night, as it was getting dark. I was quite high up on an extension ladder, painting the second story with a roller on an extension pole. It felt like I was 40 stories up. Descending a ladder from that height is an interesting proposition. For one thing, ladders are built for tall people. I'm short. As I descend, I hang onto the ladder in a death grip and lower one leg, groping with the tip of my toe, certain I'll never be able to reach the next rung. It's that way all the way down to the ground. The gaps between rungs are not easy to navigate for a short person.

Since I live alone and I know that accidents can happen, I take my phone with me. It's not a cell phone--just a cordless phone. I figure if I fall, God forbid, I'll at least be able to call 9-1-1. But I don't have pockets in my jeans, and besides, if I fell, I'd probably land on the phone and break it, so instead, I put the phone in a baggie and place it on the ground at the base of the ladder. I figure if I fell, I'd be able to reach the phone and make my call.

So there I am, descending from the heights of an extension ladder, when suddenly my shoe gets caught and I can't move it. What the . . .? I look down, and of all things one of my shoelace had managed to impale itself on a tiny wire connected to the giant hook thingies that lock the extension part of the ladder in place. I can't reach my shoe to unlace it, and the shoelace is thoroughly impaled (the wire went through the lace, like a safety pin). I can't go up or down. I can't wriggle the shoe enough to get the lace untrapped. I can't even get my foot out of the shoe because just that morning, knowing I was going to be going up and down ladders, I laced my shoes nice and tight.

I'm stuck. And it's getting dark. And my phone is on the ground. And it's starting to rain. Great.

But determination is my middle name. Clinging to the ladder like a monkey, I wriggled and wriggled my foot and eventually managed to slip out of the shoe. I then descended the ladder with one shoe on and one shoe off. Now that was a painful experience! A bare foot on a narrow rung just isn't fun. However, once the shoe was eye level where I could use my hands, I managed to work the shoe loose and take it down the rest of the way with me.

I can hardly wait to find out what happens next time I climb up a ladder.

My Favorite Cartoon

2010-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'm deep in the throes of house painting, so this will be a very short post just to let everyone know I'm still alive. One of my favorite cartoons was sent to me by a friend years ago, and I believe (but not sure) that it is from the New Yorker magazine. Alas, I can't read the signature of the cartoonist, but it may be Mort Gerberg, whose cartoons always make me laugh. At least it looks somewhat like his signature. He used to have cartoons in the New Yorker. I Googled his name, but couldn't determine if it was his cartoon or not. I hope the copyright gods will give me an "E" for effort. I do care very much about protecting copyrights.

It makes me giggle every time I see it. In years gone by, many fancy restaurant waiters began visiting tables with a pepper mill, asking if you wanted freshly ground pepper on your salad and such. Over the years, the pepper mills these waiters brandished started getting larger and more preposterous. I almost became afraid of saying, "No, I don't want any pepper," for fear the waiter would club me with his oversized pepper mill. (Thankfully, I adore pepper and always said, "Yes!" when asked)

Without further ado, here is the cartoon in question. I hope it gives you a giggle. And if anyone knows who I should credit, please let me know so that I can give proper attribution.

Volunteering at the Humane Society

2010-05-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

Last month I decided to become a volunteer at the Kitsap Humane Society. I've gone through extensive training, and now I am a Dog Walker and Cat Cuddler. Yes, those are official titles. Walking those dogs is not an easy task. The dogs are so eager to get out and stretch their legs and go potty that they drag you everywhere. My first time Dog Walking I could hardly move the next day. But I'm getting better at it, especially now that I've learned to alternate the "pullers" with the easy-to-walk dogs (of which there are few).

I'm really impressed by the Kitsap H.S. objectives. They care deeply for the dogs and cats in their care. They do all in their power to rehabilitate "bad" dogs and turn them into good canine citizens. They only euthanize animals that are so ill they cannot be cured, or if the dog is so vicious it cannot be trained.

Many of their animals have been there for over a year, so these walks in the woods for the dogs and petting and lap time for the cats are the brightest spot in their day. And we don't just walk the dogs. We train them. They invest a lot of time in making the dogs adoptable. Almost all the training is done by volunteers who have gone through considerable training themselves. I used to show dogs, so I have a background in dog training already. But training methods have changed in the 30 years since I showed dogs. Everything is positive reinforcement. No dogs are punished. It's remarkable how well the dogs respond to positive reinforcement.

Since 85% of the dogs at KHS are pit bulls or pit bull mixes, training is important. They're one of the few humane societies in our area that accept pit bulls. Other humane societies send us their pit bulls, and we live in an area with a high pit bull population, so training is doubly important for these dogs. KPS has a Great Eight program, where dogs that have been there for more than 8 months have their adoption fee cut in half. They also have asimilar Nine Lives program for their long-term cats. In addition, these long-time residents get to go home with volunteers for short "vacations" so that they get a break from cage life.

I'm feeling very good about the work I'm doing with KHS. It's rewarding. And everyone rejoices when a dog or cat gets adopted. Now, if we could just educate the public on the importance of neutering and spaying, there wouldn't be a need for humane societies . . .

Blue Eye/Brown Eye

2010-04-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

The other day I bought new eyeshadow. It said it was for blue eyes, and it had 3 colors: brown, gray/blue, and silver. You're supposed to get all fancy and layer them artistically. I don't. I slap on one color, use eyeliner and a dash of mascara, and call it good.

So what color would I use of the three? Certainly not the silver. That was for highlighting under the arch of the eyebrow. Brown? Perhaps. To see, I did up one eye in brown. But what about the gray? I did up the other eye in the gray eyeshadow, which actually turned kind of a blue/gray once it was on my eyelid. I couldn't decide which eyeshadow I liked best, so I decided to do some chores around the house and think about it. And of course I promptly forgot I was wearing two starkly different colors on my eyes.

So naturally I went shopping like that. Ran errands here and there, and it wasn't until I got home and happened to glance at myself in the bathroom mirror that I realized why people had been giving me odd looks. I felt like a Siberian Husky with one brown eye and one blue. I love getting old and senile.

Dressmaker's Dummy

2010-04-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

I had a blast at my sister's yesterday! After our Easter dinner, my sister Lori helped me make a dress-maker's dummy for myself. The materials included 3 rolls of duct tape (2 silver and 1 white), plus an old T-shirt. The process involved my donning the old T-shirt and then having Lori cover my torso in several layers of duct tape. That's the piebald finished product above. You can see the hemline of the T-shirt at the bottom. You can't tell in the picture, but it's like wearing a body cast. I could barely move, and I certainly couldn't bend at the waist or raise my arms. Oh, how we laughed as we applied layer upon layer of tape while my brother-in-law just shook his head. And hot? My gosh, I got so hot inside my duct tape prison that we had to finish the job outdoors on my sister's cold and breezy back deck.

I found the duct tape idea on the Internet when I was pricing dressmaker's dummies and discovered they were beyond my budget. I printed out the instructions, and then Lori taped me from my neck down to upper thigh. It took about 2 hours, and thank goodness I had enough presence of mind to visit the bathroom before we started! Once finished, Lori used a sturdy pair of scissors to cut the back open along the spine, from neck to butt. I carefully pulled the form off my body and was thrilled to see that it maintained my plump little dumpling shape. *g*

I'd been fortunate enough to find the torso of a male mannequin at Goodwill the week before, so I bought it, figuring once I made my duct tape dummy and wriggled out of it, I could place it over the store mannequin torso, tape up the back, and then pad it out with wadded up paper and plastic bags. It worked perfectly, and I'm amazed at how sturdy my new dressmaker's dummy is! Now, instead of having to put on a garment dozens of times as I make it, then struggling back out of it without getting stuck by pins, I can use my new dressmaker's dummy! And all it cost me was the price of a few rolls of duct tape and a few hours of my time. Here's the dummy after I stuffed it with tons of plastic bags and a few old towels.

The Laws of Decency

2010-04-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

This post is about people who say, "I hate rules." (Often said in a superior, I'm so important I don't have to follow rules tone) I'm a traditionalist, and I usually follow rules. I believe most rules have a reason for being, and most often those reasons are based on sound concepts. There are grammar and punctuation rules. Traffic rules. Mathematics rules. Construction and architecture rules. And many more rules too numerous to mention. These rules provide sound guidance. They are there for our safety (construction architecture, traffic, instruction manuals), for clear communication and expression of ideas (grammar, punctuation), for calculation, accounting, inventory (mathematics) and so on.

Yes, many of our greatest advancements have been made because someone chose to ignore the rules and do it their way. Humanitarian advancements have been made because someone ignored the rules and pushed for change. Think women's right to vote, or Civil Rights.

But rules have their place, and those who whine about hating rules get no sympathy from me. And in this case, I'm not talking about arbitrary or just plain stupid rules, and I'm not even talking about the above-mentioned rules. I'm talking about the most basic social rules that govern our lives and how we interact with others. In other words, decency. Like not running a red light. Like waiting your turn. Like saying please and thank you. Like showing up on time. Like respecting the rights of others. Like being honest.

I wonder what happened. I wonder why kids growing up today seem to lack a conscience. I wonder about their parents, who never taught them the basic principles of social conduct. I wonder why 8-year-old boys are raping 7-year-old girls. I wonder why 12-year-old kids gang up on a schoolmate and kill him because he's different. I wonder why a 15-year-old girl suffocates her newborn and puts it in the dumpster. I wonder why a group of 14-year-old boys kill an innocent jogger by stomping him to death.

I wonder.

And I worry.

Life on the Fly

2010-03-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Stopping in at a dead run to say hi. It's been crazy busy around here. I had major furnace work done last week, and it wasn't cheap. The plumbers were also out last week and fixed myriad plumbing problems. That's my old-fashioned toilet on the left. They had to rebuild it. And below that is the other part of my bathroom. Now the faucets no longer leak, nor the sinks, either. Gone with the buckets under the sinks!

This week I've been crawling over electricians every time I turn around. I guess it was worth it. One of them said, "It's a miracle your house didn't burn down." Now I can get rid of all the extension cords that my microwave, fridge, washing machine, lamps, etc. were plugged into because half the outlets in the house had quit working.

I'm still washing dishes in the bathroom sink, which is a major pain, but it'll be a few more weeks before I can afford to have the septic people out to fix one of the septic systems so that my kitchen sink will be useable once again.

No, that wasn't a typo. Septic systems, as in two. The people who built my house eons ago must have had plans to convert it into a two-family dwelling at one time. Upstairs I have one septic system. Downstairs, I have another. It's a daylight basement that I converted to an apartment years ago, but quit renting it out when the septic system for the apartment began acting up. Little did I know that the upstairs kitchen sink drained into the downstairs septic. And when that failed, all that dirty dishwater began flooding the apartment downstairs. I didn't know this, as I seldom go downstairs. When I discovered the flooding, I was sick. Brand new carpeting ruined. Everything musty. It's heartbreaking.

So Thursday I have a neighbor kid coming over to help me tear out the carpet and begin the process of drying out. In the meantime, I'm up to my ears in work, and really can't spare the time for such nonsense.

So to all 2 of my loyal followers, I may not be dropping in as much as I'd like to. At least for the next month or so, while I deal with a gazillion old house issues. Ahhhh, the joys of sinking my life's savings into a 100-year-old house!

Harbingers of Spring

2010-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

The pussywillows have run their cycle and are at the ugly-fuzzy-yellow-pollen-almost-a-leaf stage. The forsythia is in full yellow riot. My quince bush is in the tight bud phase, ready to burst forth with myriad pink flowers. And the lilacs are beginning to leaf out.

The crabgrass in the gravel driveway has begun to grow like the weed it is. The moss on trees and fenceposts has turned a violent green. Trees are sending up suckers like shooting stars. And the birds are getting noisier and noisier as the boys practice their rusty mating calls. And the other day I saw a robin fly by with nest-building material in its mouth.

I am so ready for spring! These signs of greenery and new life are glad tidings to my winter-weary heart!

Got an Itch?

2010-02-21T00:27:00.000-08:00

I've finally discovered a way to wear a bra without suffering from the intense itching that usually occurs within minutes of donning said undergarment: wear it inside out. As I have long suspected, it is the thread or the material used to line the inside of the bra that causes the itching. The itching annoys me so much that I quit wearing bras around the house 5 years ago. Well, today I had to run errands, so I tried something new and turned the bra inside out. Voila! No more intense itching! The only problem is, this works fine for bulky sweaters, sweatshirts, and blouses with a pattern, but if you wear a smooth, solid colored top, you can see the bra seams.

Why don't manufacturers get a clue? Skin is sensitive. The smooth part of undergarments should go toward the skin, and the seams should be on the outside. If the seams are likely to show through outer garments, then cover them! But for heaven's sake, stop using scratchy thread and itchy lining and scratchy seams!

Cat Pictures

2010-02-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I notice my cat, Christopher the Assassin, sitting on a tree stump in the yard. I grabbed my camera and ran out to take a few pictures of him. He has the prettiest green eyes, and they showed to perfection in the photos. After the photo shoot, he came in and joined me at my desk, where he has a bed. He likes to keep me company while I'm on the computer. The first picture shows him just about ready to fall asleep. The second picture is Christopher sitting on the tree stump. (If you click on the pictures, you'll get a larger image)

Can Spring Be Far Away?

2010-02-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

There's pussywillows out there in the woods. I just know it. Spring is just around the corner. And the pussywillows are out.

How do I know it? Because of all the mewling in the trees. It's not cats stuck up there. It's pussywillows. And that means spring isn't far off, despite what Punxsutawney Phil says. Six more weeks of winter? Bah! Gimme some sunshine!

And pussywillows, which I adore.

Calamity Jane Rides Again

2010-02-02T03:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was not a good day. I forgot that my 2009 Washington State business taxes were due today, so I raced around getting all my tax stuff together and completing the tedious paperwork--only to find out that I made so little money last year that the state said I don't even have to file a return! I don't know if I'm relieved or depressed.

Later that day I fixed my hair, as I had a meeting to go to. I grabbed what I thought was a can of hairspray to give my hair a good shellacking, only to discover I'd sprayed WD-40 on my hair instead of hairspray (the cans look similar). I'd used the WD-40 to grease up the shower curtain rod earlier, and it was still on the bathroom counter.

It was too late to wash my hair, so I splashed on some cologne, hoping to disguise the WD-40 smell, and jumped into the car and headed for Tacoma for the Adobe Users' Group meeting. When I got there, the building was dark and nobody was there. What the . . .?

That's when I realized the meeting wasn't until next Monday. I hadn't wanted to get all dressed up and go out on a dark and cold night in the first place, and then to realize I'd done it all for naught. Oh well. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Overnight Soft Herb Rolls

2010-01-19T04:15:00.000-08:00

This is one of the best dinner rolls I've ever tasted. They are a heavy roll, hearty, tasty, and unique. The recipe is from the November 2008 issue of Sunset Magazine. The rolls are the brainchild of Chef Bradley Ogden, who created them at the Lark Creek Inn, Larkspur, California, in 1995. You can use fresh herbs or dried, but if using dried, use slightly less, since the flavor will be stronger. The rolls are much better with fresh herbs, though.

The recipe calls for 15 minutes of kneading, and I followed the recipe religiously the first time I made them, kneading for 15 interminable minutes. But the second time (tonight), I decided to see what would happen if I only kneaded for 5 minutes. Also, this time, I refrigerated them. I'll bake them tomorrow morning, and will let you know the results, but I expect the kneading (or lack thereof) won't make a noticeable difference. Either way, I'll update this post with the results after I bake them tomorrow. (UPDATE: Surprisingly, the rolls raised a little in the fridge overnight. After taking them out of the fridge, I let them rise on the kitchen counter for an hour. Then I brushed them with egg and sprinkled them with coarse sea salt and popped them in the oven. They came out just fine. The shortened kneading time doesn't seem to have made a difference. I think you could also use a bread machine for the kneading.)

Overnight Soft Herb Rolls

1 pkg active dry yeast (about 1 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp each flat-leaf parsley, fresh dill, chives, & rosemary
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 large egg
1 c milk or half-and-half
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp lightly beaten egg
About 1 Tbsp coarse salt

1. In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over 1/4 c. cool (70 degrees) water. Let stand until dissolved, 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, table salt, herbs, butter, 1 whole egg, and milk. Add 3 1/4 c. flour and stir to moisten.

2. Knead dough on a lightly floured board until elastic and not sticky, 15 minutes. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Shape into 12 equal balls. Place in a well-buttered 9x13" pan.

3. Let dough rise in warm place until doubled, 45-60 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. Brush rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake until deep golden, 25-30 minutes.

Make ahead: Prepare through step 2. Immediately wrap airtight (do not let rise) and chill up to 1 day. Proceed with step 3.

Who Loves Ya, Baby!

2010-01-11T04:36:00.000-08:00

I was playing around with my camera a couple of days ago, taking pictures of myself to fool around with in Photoshop. It's hard to take a picture of yourself. I kept getting my eyes and the top of my head, or my chin and chest. I was being silly and making faces. These are two of my favorites. They make me laugh every time I look at them.

SNARL!

GIGGLE!

Christmas Newsletter!

2010-01-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

I'm working on my Christmas newsletter. Yes, I know. Christmas is done, but my newsletter isn't. You see, I write BIG newsletters. As in huge. As in 18 pages. My annual letter has been 18 pages for years, and for some peculiar reason, people actually read the thing. Not only that, I get new people every year begging to be on my mailing list. Go figure.

But I do try to make it appealing to the eye, and chock full of amusing stories. That's my life--one big amusing thing after another. I'm serious about that. My life is funny, and funny things happen to me. So I like to share. But these newsletters take months to produce. I got a bit behind recently, and never mailed out a 2007 one. So I decided to combine it with 2008. I worked on it some more, and soon Christmas 2008 had come and gone. Sooooo . . .

I'm putting the finishing touches on my gargantuan 2007/08/09 Christmas newsletter. I hope to have it out by Valentine's Day. *g* In the meantime, I have to cut many, many pages, because I'm over my self-imposed 18-page limit by 12 pages. Yes, it's 30 pages long. I've managed to cut 5 pages tonight and gotten it down to 25 pages, but I'm still cutting. So many good stories on the cutting room floor! But if I go over 18 pages, the postage goes up. If you're on my mailing list, you will eventually get the Christmas newsletter.

Maybe by Valentine's Day.

Mom! The Cat Wants In--Again!

2010-01-05T04:12:00.000-08:00

A week or so ago I posted a picture of Asterisk, my Boxer, standing at the slider, with my cat, Christopher the Assassin, on the other side of the slider. I hung a bell on the handle of the slider, and trained Asterisk to ring the bell when she wanted to go outside. Asterisk has taken it a step farther, and trained herself to ring the bell when she sees the cat at the door wanting in. Here's another picture of her, doing just that. I snapped the picture just after she rang the bell.

Mug Shot

2009-12-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is just a short post to share a picture of my dogs, Nova (Doberman) and Asterisk (Boxer). I took the picture yesterday and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. This is a typical picture of them. Whenever I'm in my recliner, they plop their heads on the arm and give me these pitiful, soulful looks. It's really quite pathetic. *g*

No E-mail, No Life!

2009-12-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

Blast CenturyTel, anyway! Or rather, CenturyLink. They recently merged with another company and changed their name from CenturyTel to CenturyLink. Which is probably the reason why I have been unable to get my e-mails for 4 days now. They are my phone and DSL provider and when I called them 4 days ago to find out why I can't download my e-mails, they said they were having server problems and "hoped to have it fixed sometime this weekend." Well, "this weekend" is almost over, and it's still broken.

I work from home, and e-mail is my lifeline. I can dispense with all the social e-mail for a few days and not miss it, but my work is another issue. No e-mail, no work. No work, no groceries. And so it goes. What's most annoying is that I have friends who also have CenturyLink as their ISP, and they are getting their e-mails! And they only live 20 miles away. I get around 100 e-mails a day, so I shudder to think what my inbox will look like once this problem gets fixed. So in the meantime, if you've sent me an e-mail and haven't heard from me, now you know the reason why!

More Christmas Cards

2009-12-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

Just a short post with a couple more cards I've made. These two are less traditional in appearance, with nothing overtly Christmasy about them. If you click on each card, it will bring up a larger version of it. I stamped the aspen trees, below, with black ink, then sponged color on the background to give it an autumn feel.

For this card, I used a simple stencil and placed it over maroon cardstock, then sponged in the "mist" background with different colors.

Christmas Cards

2009-12-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

Well, gosh! I won a card contest! I've been making Christmas cards for a contest and came up with some cool ideas using "found" items like bits of lace, scraps of material, pieces of ribbons, etc. I decided to go with nontraditional colors. Instead of the usual reds and greens, I went with golds and beiges. Above is the card that won the contest. I'd used an old postcard for the main part of the card. Below are two more cards I made, using the same color scheme.

Holiday Lunch With Friends

2009-12-15T03:35:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season! I recently went to Christmas lunch with my friends, Jacquie Rogers and Judy Laik. We've been friends for years, and often spend the entire day at Jacquie's watching movies. Her husband is a sound engineer and he has a huge in-home theater set up in their basement, complete with real movie theater speakers as well as comfy recliners. We each bring our own lunch and make a day of it, watching several movies in a row.

But this time, we were doing lunch. As usual, we laughed a lot. Oddly enough, we were almost the only diners in the restaurant. Just one other table had customers. Afterwards, we asked the waitress to take our picture for posterity. That's us in the picture--Judy Laik, Jacquie Rogers, and me. Aren't we colorful?!!

The Mug Shot

2009-12-12T03:47:00.000-08:00

My sister Lori and I often get together for what we call a Baking and Bonding Day. On a recent B&B Day, we made squash bread, and the house was redolent with the wonderful scent of cinnamon and ginger and cloves. We got to goofing around, and I tried to take a picture of ourselves with my camera. It wasn't quite focused properly, and the angle was unflattering, but every time I look at the picture, I laugh. That's Lori on the left, me on the right, holding the camera out and trying to aim at our faces. I love this picture.

Mom! The Cat Wants In!

2009-12-08T00:50:00.000-08:00

I've trained my young Boxer, Asterisk, to dingle a bell hanging from the handle of the sliding glass door when she needs to go out. But lately, I've notice that Asterisk was dingling the bell even when she'd just been out. I'd get out of my chair to reprimand her for dingling the bell when she didn't need to go out, but then get sidetracked when I noticed one of my cats wanting in. So I'd open the slider and go back to my computer.

This went on for a couple of weeks before I realized what Asterisk was doing: She dingled the bell to let me know that a cat was on the other side of the slider, wanting in. My desk faces away from the door, so I can't see a cat behind me at the slider. But Asterisk can. And she goes to ring the bell whenever one of the cats wants in.

It's hilarious, really. I never taught her that trick. She figured it out herself. What's more, the cats have learned to ring the bell themselves when they need to go outside, by observing me training Asterisk to ring the bell when she has to go out. They put two and two together, seeing that every time Asterisk jingled the bell, I'd let her outside. Smart animals! (The above picture is one I took just after Asterisk had jingled the bell to notify me that Christopher wanted in. You can barely see the blue and green cable ties just above her head, from which I've hung two large jingle bells. The buckets on the porch were from the 2 weeks of cold weather when I had to carry buckets of water to the barn for the horses when the water at the barn froze.)

Construction R Us

2009-12-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. My last two posts disappeared. No wonder things have been quiet around here! I finally finished the office project where I installed cabinets over my desk. It was a bear of a job. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not get things level, primarily because my house isn't level! It bugs me every time I look at the cabinets, but friends tell me it's not noticeable.

I'm something of a DIYer and have built many things in the past: a walk-in closet in one end of my bedroom, a craft center (with table and cupboards) on the other end of my bedroom, a closet and cupboards in the laundry room, cedar benches and table on the front deck, a rock garden, etc. But the cupboards above my desk were the hardest task so far. They're done, now, and I have lots of storage space.

And once the office cupboards were installed, I got on house-rearranging kick and moved furniture and pictures around. I'm really pleased with how things turned out. Here are two pictures. The first shows the new cupboards. The second shows my "office."

Lord Byron's Profile

2009-11-25T04:31:00.000-08:00

Here's another picture of Byron. I told you he liked to pose. This picture was originally bigger, but I cropped it down, because I wanted to focus on his profile and his long whiskers, standing out stark against the dark background. Isn't he a handsome boy?

Byron Gets Contemplative

2009-11-20T04:17:00.000-08:00

The other day, Lord Byron (my cat) was in a very contemplative mood. He was a study in otherworldliness. This is a very photogenic cat, and he is an excellent photographic subject. Most animals get silly and self-conscious when a camera is aimed at them. Not Byron. He's a ham. Isn't this a handsome picture?

The Red Dahlia

2009-11-12T04:09:00.000-08:00

This past fall I took a picture of a red dahlia that fills me with happiness every time I look at the picture. It was a beautiful flower on a bright sunny day, and when I look at the picture, it reminds me of how lovely the day was. I'd like to share it with you.

Cheesemonger

2009-11-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago my sister and I had another "Baking and Bonding" day. This time, we made cheese. Yes, cheese! Mozzarella, to be specific. I'd ordered a cheesemaking kit, complete with video, cheesecloth, recipe book, rennet, etc., and we made two batches of Mozzarella. It was great fun, and now we want to move on to the more difficult cheeses. I plan to make "farmhouse cheddar," and my sister has already made an herbed Mozzarella, adding sun dried tomatoes and fresh herbs. She said it was great on pizza.

One thing we found out is to avoid ultra-pasteurized milk when making cheese. It just won't form a proper curd. And trying to find non-ultra-pasteuriaed milk wasn't all that easy, because stores like to stock the ultra-pasteurized as it has a longer shelf life.

Here's a picture of me with the two batches of Mozzarella that we made.

Autumn Photo Shoot

2009-10-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

I hosted a nature photography outing here in Olalla on October 18, hoping to capture some of the beautiful autumn foliage on the local trees. After a week of rain, Mother Nature did cooperate and the sun came out on our day. We stopped at Olalla Bay first, taking many pictures of the beautiful trees lining the shore, as well as the numerous cormorants and seagulls sitting like silent sentinels on old pilings. On the left is my favorite shot of Olalla Bay. The second picture is another view of the bay, where you can see more of the colorful trees.

The third shot shows Olalla Bay from a different perspective. I think the rocks and boulders add visual interest. They were brought in to prevent erosion of the beach. At high tide they are completely covered.

Next stop was Crescent Lake, for more photos. Then we stopped to shoot an old abandoned cabin. Our final stop was a small park where we took pictures of an old weathered totem pole.

The close-up of the leaf is another of my favorites. It is a blackberry leaf and I love the red and green pattern.

At day's end a couple of us still had the camera bug, so after the rest left, we went to Burley Lagoon for more photos. The 5th picture is Burley Lagoon.

In all, it was a great day and everyone got beautiful shots. Hope you enjoy a few of mine!

Funny (and not so funny) Animal Shenanigans

2009-10-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here at my computer and I hear my cat yelling at me for some attention. I look down just in time to see him lean heavily against a box on the floor, attempting to rub his face against it. The box slides across the floor. The cat staggers and falls down. Oops! A little too much body English! Embarrassed cat fastidiously licks himself, pretending it didn't happen. Kind and sensitive owner that I am, I laugh hysterically.

I did not laugh yesterday when my puppy, Asterisk, chewed the power cord on my new drill. She didn't even have the decency to chew the plug end, which I could have replaced. Nooooo. She chewed it off where it enters the drill, leaving no room to splice a new cord. I caught her in the act, and was able to punish her, which probably didn't have much of an effect on her, but it made me feel better. :-)

Retail Rip-off

2009-09-25T02:41:00.000-07:00

I am becoming more and more cynical and curmudgeonly as I age. Primarily it has to do with "the public out there." Rude drivers, obnoxious people, outrageous prices on products, lack of respect . . . the list goes on. We're breeding a society of "gimmee" people. Gimmee this. Gimmee that.

Last week I went to the pharmacy, looking for a device that helps old people pull on their socks. I don't consider myself old, but I do have a bad hip, and while I can cross my left leg over my right knee to put on a sock, I can't do that with my right leg. It's been that way all my life, but as I've aged, it's gotten so bad that it's very painful trying to put a sock on my right foot.

So I paid $18 for a cheap sock aid that is next to worthless. I went back and looked at their other sock aids. They had one other brand, at an utterly ridiculous $32. We're not talking rocket science, folks. A sock aid is basically just a tube with straps attached. The top of the tube is open. You slide your sock onto the tube, stick your foot into the opening, and pull up on the straps. It pulls the sock onto your foot and slides free from the sock.

No way was I going to pay $32 for a piece of plastic with straps. So I made my own. I took an old plastic 2-cup measuring cup and cut off the bottom, sliced off the handle and upper part of the tube, made a slit on either side for the straps, and voila! It cost me nothing--I had all the materials. And because it's rigid plastic, I can wipe off the hand lotion that I often use on my dry feet. That's my homemade sock aid, below.

The sock aid I'd bought isn't rigid plastic, so putting a sock on it is an exercise in frustration. And because it's lined with cloth (whose bright idea was that?), lotion gets all over the lining. So now I have a perfectly decent sock aid, and retailers who charge a fortune for an item that probably cost 5 cents to make, can go suck someone's toe!

Autumn in Olalla

2009-09-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, where did the time go? Let's just say I've been crazy busy. REALLY crazy busy. I'm now on Injured Reserves, having somehow injured my back just below the shoulder blade. Ouch.

Autumn is officially here now, and that means the leaves on the trees are just beginning to turn. In a few weeks, they will be a riot of oranges and yellows. A photographer's paradise!

I'm having a group of photographers out to my place as soon as the leaves are at their gorgeous best. We'll be heading down to the bucolic Olalla Bay, just 2.8 miles from my house, where pine and deciduous trees grow right down to the water line and put on a display worthy of Mother Nature's highest award. The bay is glass-like at high tide, and the reflections of the trees in the water make for some beautiful shots. Plus, the bay has an interesting contour and shoreline.

I'll be checking tide tables and watching the trees turn color. In a few weeks you'll likely see a million pictures from me. Or perhaps just a few. As all photographers know, you can take 100 pictures, and only have 2-3 good ones worth keeping. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of Olalla Bay, taken a few weeks ago. Sort of my dry run. The tide was coming in, so the water wasn't as glass-like as it usually is.

My New Gate

2009-09-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

I just finished painting the new gate I built for the front porch. The old gate was forever getting out of alignment, no matter how many times I tightened the hinges. This made it sticky, and I kept planing off wood from the side to keep it from sticking. Then it would sag some more and scrape the deck when I opened it. I finally got tired and chucked it. Now, the new gate is perfect! It is perfectly level and swings shut with the touch of a finger. I love it! And it's completely green, because I didn't have to buy new lumber. And I used paint left over from previous projects.

Now I'm in a building mood! Oh, hey, I just came up with an idea! I'll build a cozy cat house on the back porch for the cats. It'll be a place for them to get in out of the rain on days they're outside and don't want to come in. Right now, they have a bed on a small table on the porch. The roof overhang is really large (4 feet long), so it protects them from the elements. So I'll build a box and install it under the kitchen window so they can peer into the house and scare me with their eye reflections. Which is what they do now. Let me tell you, it's really spooky to see two pairs of eyes watching you at night!

I think I'll hang the box/bed on the side of the house, under the kitchen window, and either build a ramp to the box, or probably just put a footstool below it, so they can jump to the box from the footstool. Yup, that's the ticket!

Best Friends

2009-08-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today is the birthday of my best friend, Carol Hansen. Carol and I have known each other for 35+ years. We met while taking horseback riding lessons and have been friends ever since. We've held garage sales together, as well as driving around looking for garage sales to visit. We done Competitive Trail Riding together, as well as just trail riding for fun locally. We've weathered heartache and happiness, and many, many birthdays together.

Carol's always there for me when I need her, and I hope I always return the favor. Just knowing there's someone who loves me for who I am, and who overlooks my foibles and missteps, means a lot. Carol has enriched my life in more ways than I can name. So this post is dedicated to you, Carol. May our friendship continue to grow. Happy birthday, dear friend.

Yet More Pictures

2009-08-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

Washington State is a perfect environment for green and growing things. We have a maritime climate--lots of rain and mild winters (usually) and also lots of sunshine. Rain and sunshine have been in abundance this year, and as a result things are growing as fast as a speeding bullet. (Case in point: the apple above, taken in bright sunshine right after it rained) You can almost hear the vegetation growing in the pasture. So I've been taking lots of pictures lately. Pictures of the cats and dogs playing, of the horses playing, of flowers blooming, of trees in all their leafy glory. Lots of pictures. Here is a sampling.

This is the underside of a leaf from the apple tree. Love the veins!

And if you don't believe in our rains, here's a picture of part of my driveway during a huge rainstorm.

This is a single tree in my pasture, an ancient alder with three trunks. Quite a rarity for an alder.

And last but not least, one of my favorite pasture pictures, showing a meandering path made by my horses and wild critters. I find this picture very calming.

Two Nerdy History Girls

2009-08-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

One of my clients has started a new history blog with a friend, and it's so delightful that I wanted to pass it on to you.

Two Nerdy History Girls is a new blog by Susan Holloway Scott and Loretta Chase. Susan writes historical novels and Loretta writes historical romance. The focus of the blog is history in all its fascinating aspects, including talk about who wore what and who slept with whom, not to mention sorting out rumor and myth from fact. If you're a history buff, do drop by their blog for a visit. These ladies know their history!

New Pictures

2009-08-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a lot of pictures lately, taking advantage of the recent spate of overcast, rainy days. An overcast day is excellent picture-taking weather if you're doing close-ups of, say, flowers, or portraits of people. Bright sun casts harsh shadows on faces and objects, so whenever it gets overcast, I head outdoors with my camera. I took the picture on the left, looking up through one of the Alder trees in the pasture.

This is a close-up of leaves in the apple tree. I love the veins that are so prominent in apple leaves.

I guess this is going to be a "green" post, since apparently all my recent pictures are of green things. The below picture is a close-up of bracken ferns. I'll be back in a few days with more pictures.

Breaking All Heat Records

2009-07-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today it hit 102 degrees F. in Seattle, breaking all previous heat records since we began recording the temps in 1861. In truth, the temps have soared much higher in outlying areas. It hit 106 in the shade at my place today, the hottest weather I've ever encountered in Washington State in 62 years.

I'm hosing down the dogs several times a day. In fact, when Asterisk hears me using the garden hose, she comes running. She likes to run through the spray, biting at the water. Unfortunately, it's so hot that the dogs dry off quickly. I may just put a small sprinkler in the side yard and let the dogs run through it at will.

Here are some more pictures of Asterisk playing in the water.

Running Through the Sprinkler

2009-07-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

See that thermometer on the left? It's on my front porch, and I took the picture today, 7-27-09 at 4:29 p.m. It's 99 degrees Farenheit in the shade.

Here in the Pacific NW, few of us have air conditioning, because this kind of weather is rare. We've been having weeks and weeks of temps in the 80s and 90s, and this week they're predicting we'll break 100. There's an Extreme Weather Advisory and an Air Stagnation Alert in our area.

It's been so hot and dry that drought-resistant plants are dying. Today when I went to clean out the horses' water trough, I found a dead squirrel floating in the water. Obviously he'd tried to get some water and fell in and couldn't get out again.

How does one stay cool in such hot weather? Well, if you're a 9-month-old Boxer pup named Asterisk, you run through the sprinkler. Or you lie down in your very own kiddy wading pool and then roll onto your back, legs spread, begging for tummy rubs. Or you chase the spray from the garden hose, biting at the water and ignoring the spray blasting you in the face.

As you can see by the pictures, Asterisk knows how to stay cool and hydrated.

Cats in the Dog House

2009-07-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

It got up to 96 degrees today, and I checked the back porch to see how my two cats were doing in this heat. They have a bed on a small table on the back porch, and that's the place where they hang out most of the day. They weren't there. But I heard a meowed greeting. It took a minute to realize that both cats were sacked out in comfort in the igloo-type dog house! I don't know if it was cooler in there, but the cats seemed quite comfortable. They looked so funny that I just had to take a picture of them!

Something's Wrong With our Healthcare System

2009-07-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

This is a rant. I'm not going to get all political on you, but I really must say a few words about the state of the healthcare system and the outrageous prices they charge.

Last week I made an appointment to have a complete eye exam. They told me it would cost $256 and I'd have to wait 3 weeks. Ouch! I will also need new frames (I stepped on mine) and lenses. A look at their cheaper frames showed a range of $169-$399. The lower priced ones were butt-ugly, so I'd probably end up with something in the $250-$300 range. (I'd like to know how anyone can justify charging $400 and more for an ounce or two of colored plastic! This makes me very mad.)

And then there are the lenses. I have reflection-free, "no-lines" trifocals. Add another $200-$300. So, $256 for the exam, $250 for frames, and $250 for lenses. Total: $765! (and that's conservative)

Today I went to Costco and found out I can get a complete eye exam there for--get this--$65. Frames will cost me $75. The only price I don't know is the cost of lenses, but knowing Costco, it will be half what I'd pay elsewhere. So I made an appointment at Costco and will cancel the other one. Instead of paying $756 out of pocket, I'll be paying $265. That's a difference of $491. Oh, and I didn't have to wait 3 weeks like at the other place. I'm going in tomorrow at noon.

I won't even go into all the hassle I've had with the incredibly bureaucratic and ridiculously inefficient medical doctor I'm seeing for various issues. I'm on Basic Health, a state-subsidized medical plan for low income people. The plan itself is a good one, but the doctor they appointed for me sucks. It's at a modern community health clinic and they are the most inefficient thing I've ever seen. My doctor has misdiagnosed every thing I've seen her for but one. She never treats me for anything, instead referring me to a specialist. Referrals are supposed to take 1-2 weeks. In truth, I wait 1-4 months for referrals.

I waited 4 months, in serious pain, for a referral to a podiatrist for my feet. I waited 6 weeks for a referral to an ob/gyn after my doc said I had a prolapsed uterus. (As usual, she was wrong--it was something else entirely.) I waited several weeks for a referral to a surgeon to have a fingernail removed because she said I had a fungus. Turns out she was wrong. No fungus, but arthritis, and the surgeon said I needed meds, not surgery.

I waited 6 weeks for a referral to a specialist because of debilitating thigh pain. And now I've waited 4 weeks for a referral to physical therapy for the same issue. While I wait, I'm in severe pain.

Somebody needs to do a performance audit of the community health clinic I go to. These people are seriously stupid. There's a very good chance I'll be kicked off Basic Health because they are in financial trouble due to the bad economy, and they are looking to dump about 80,000 subscribers--despite the fact we're low income and qualify for BH. If I get kicked off, I'm going to submit a report on the atrocious care I've received the past 3 years. If I don't get kicked off (it'll be a miracle) I'm going to ask if I can change doctors.

In the meantime, our entire medical system needs a serious overhaul.

End of rant. My thigh is killing me. I'm going to bed.

Recipe: Layered Pineapple Pound Cake

2009-07-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

I've been cleaning out and organizing my recipes, and came across this one that I'd clipped from a magazine but never tried. I needed a simple dessert for the 4th of July BBQ that was supposed to be held at my house (and which subsequently got canceled when I came down with a miserable cold--my first in 2 years).

This recipe is dead simple, and absolutely delicious. It came from a Dole Pineapple advertisement and was originally called Dole Golden Layer Cake, but I don't feel that conveys a very good description, so I renamed it. You can name it whatever you want.

Here's the recipe:

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice
1 carton (8 oz) Cool Whip
1 pkg (4 serving size) instant vanilla pudding
1 pkg (16 oz family size) frozen pound cake, thawed
1/3 cup almond-flavored liqueur, or 1/3 c. pineapple juice and 1/2 tsp. almond extract (I didn't have pineapple juice, so used orange juice)
Optional garnish: sliced pineapple; 1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted

Combine undrained pineapple, Cool Whip, and pudding mix. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut cake lenghtwise in thirds. Drizzle with liqueur. Spread one-third pudding mixture over bottom layer of cake. Top with second layer. Repeat layering, ending with pudding. Chill 30 mins. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds and garnish with pineapple slices, if desired. Serves 12. Prep time: 15 mins.

Snake Skin

2009-06-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

While working in the pasture a couple of days ago, I found a recently-shed snake skin. It was entirely intact, a perfect specimen. I thought it was so beautiful I just had to photograph it. Moments later, the neighbor's daughter, who'd been working in the pasture with me, found the actual snake. We know it's the same garter snake, because the snake skin had a wound that corresponded with the wound on the snake.

This was a big dude, over 2 feet long. When Zoey held up the snake for me to admire, I discovered the wound on its belly. He was a very handsome fellow. As Zoey held him, he flickered his red tongue at me. We carefully returned him to the pasture and wished him godspeed.

How to Make a Light Box

2009-06-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

WHAT IS A LIGHT BOX?
Simply put, it is a photographer’s aid, a plain box with the sides and top cut out and covered with a light-diffusing fabric or translucent paper. Objects (such as this chess piece) photographed inside the box will have a clean and professional appearance with virtually no shadows.

MATERIALS

Sturdy cardboard box
Thin, white fabric (muslin, T-shirt, interfacing, old sheet, nylon) that allows light through
Heavy white opaque paper (poster board, butcher paper, interfacing)
Glue Stick
Utility knife
Scissors
Marking pen
Tape measure
Swing-arm lamps

INSTRUCTIONS

Obtain a sturdy box, preferably with a lid. The box used for this demo was a Banker’s Box, but you can use any size box. Don’t go too small.

Cut out all 4 sides of the box with a utility knife, leaving 1½” rims. If you use a regular cardboard box, you’ll need to cut off the top flaps. If you use a Banker’s Box, it won’t have top flaps.

Line 3 sides of the box on the inside (or outside, if you’re lazy) by gluing white fabric or light-duty paper to the box. Leave 4th side open. That’s the opening where you’ll place the camera lens to shoot your pictures.

Carefully cut out the bottom lip at the FRONT of the box. You'll be inserting a long piece of paper next, and this will allow the paper to stick out the front of the box.
Cut heavy paper to fit into the bottom and back side of the box, starting at the front, and CURVING UP AND OVER the rim at the back. This will create a seamless backdrop, so be very careful not to crease or wrinkle the paper. Secure paper to the back of the box on the outside.

If using a Banker’s Box, cut out the center of the lid, leaving a 1½” rim. Cut fabric or paper to fit lid and glue to inside of lid. For regular cardboard box, just glue fabric or paper directly to top of box

Finished box. To take pictures, shine lamp through top of the box. If you need more light, shine additional lamps through the sides.

Sweet Puppies

2009-06-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

This will be short and sweet, as I'm headed out to the pasture with my backpack sprayer of Roundup, on a mission to kill poisonous plants before my horses can get to them.

Last night my two dogs were sleeping together. As they always do when sleeping, they have to have a paw touching each other, or even better, their bodies touch. It is very endearing. So here's a cute picture of Nova and Asterisk sleeping on Nova's bed (which I made extra wide to accommodate both dogs). Isn't it just the sweetest picture?!!

Asterisk has her own crate to sleep in at nights, but during the day she is able to sleep anywhere she wants. And she almost always wants to sleep with Nova in her bed, one paw touching Nova. Or in the yard, one paw touching Nova. Or on the deck, one paw touching Nova. And so it goes.

OK, end of short post. Now I'm off to do battle with buttercups, tansy ragwort, bracken ferns, and dock.

Dog Under the Steps

2009-06-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

The most bizarre thing happened last night. My Doberman, Nova--who never ever gets into trouble--got herself into a predicament she couldn't get out of. And it was morbidly funny. She got stuck under the steps that lead from the deck to the side yard. Somehow, Nova managed to wriggle underneath them, and then she couldn't get out.

The thing about Nova is she's a very quiet dog. She never whimpers or complains, even when she should. If I accidentally forget to bring her in after letting her outside in the rain to do her business, she will simply stand patiently at the door in a miserable huddle, waiting for me to remember her. She never utters a peep, even though she can see me through the slider, 5 feet away, sitting at the computer.

So when she got stuck under the steps, she never said a word, even though the slider was open and my desk is right by the slider. She was only 15 feet away. I could tell she'd been stuck for a long time, because you can see where she tried to dig her way out. Unfortunately, she had to dig while on her belly. There isn't room enough to stand up. Judging by how filthy she was, she'd been digging for a while!

The above picture is deceiving, because Nova is a lot larger than she looks in that shot. She has dug herself quite a deep hole, and most of her body is in it. There's also a big hole directly in front of the bottom step. I have no idea if she dug it trying to get under the step, or if the pup dug it after Nova got stuck. You can also see she knocked wood loose from the woodpile, probably while trying to get out.

All I can figure out is that somehow Nova got stuck between the gaps in the steps while trying to retrieve a tennis ball. I'd seen the bright pink ball days earlier. Should have removed it then!

The thing is, Nova is terrified of confined spaces and narrow gaps. She's lived in this house since a puppy, yet she still gets freaky about the hallway sometimes. Then she'll be stuck in the laundry room or bathroom or one of the bedrooms, because she's too afraid to come out into the hall. I have to snap the leash to her collar and lead her out. So it's a complete mystery to me how she ended up in such a wickedly confining space under the steps.

How did I get her out? I had to move the whisky tub on the left of the picture, so she could crawl out that way. Not an easy task, as the tub was full of dirt. I'll say one thing, though. That dog was mighty glad to be free of the steps! I'm still laughing over my first sight of her--me standing on the deck above the steps, and her forlorn head sticking out between the steps and looking up at me, with a pleading (and mortified) look on her face!

Leaves as Art

2009-06-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at the monthly meeting of the South Sound Adobe Users Group I demonstrated how to make a light box, and then we raffled off three light boxes I'd made as give-aways. We had lots of fun, and several members had brought items to place inside the light boxes to practice photographing.

One of them, Larry Weakly, brought a most unique item: a skeletonized holly leaf that was utterly gorgeous. Being able to photograph it in a light box allowed for a nonintrusive background which highlighted the beauty of the leaf. In fact, I'm going to tromp down to the pasture later today to see if I can find any alder leaves that have been skeletonized over the past winter.

For those of you who aren't into photography, a light box is simply a box that has had the sides and top cut out, then covered with white, translucent fabric or paper (so as to allow light through). The inside is lined with white paper. Objects placed inside the box can be photographed without shadows and have a seamless background. Commercial photographers use this method to photograph jewelry, toys, etc., for advertisements.

I may be weird, but I think the skeletonized holly leaf is beautiful.

More Puppy Antics

2009-06-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the day with my friends, Jacquie Rogers and Judith Laik. Jacquie has an in-home theater, and we lay in recliners all day watching movies (something we do several times a year).

It was the first time I left the puppy in the fenced yard all day long without supervision. Those of you who read this blog regularly, or who follow me on Twitter will have a good idea what happened while I was gone all day. That's Asterisk above with a sock in her mouth. I was taking pictures today of the socks she'd pulled off the clothesline the day before. She grabbed one and I snapped the picture. The massacred foam pad is something else she had taken off the line. By the time I arrived home, she'd gotten into a lot more things! Notice the picture of her looking so innocent in the foreground, while in the background lie the remains of a hanging wooden planter she had destroyed, along with plastic pots for seedlings, and ivy leaves she'd yanked off the ivy vine.

Here's a partial list of what she did:

pulled a hanging planter off the deck table (where it was sitting, prior to being hung) and dismantled the planter and spread dirt and plants all over)
chewed on the deck, the steps, the gate, the porch railing, the ivy covering the railing, and probably lots of other stuff I haven't found yet

pulled an old rubber sink mat from the garbage and chewed it up

ripped a pair of my socks off the clotheline

shredded a blanket.
knocked over a water bucket. Knowing her propensity for this, I'd put out two water buckets, since it was a hot day. The other bucket was fine

climbed INTO a whiskey barrel planter and flung dirt at least 50 yards away. Dead plant bodies lie all over the yard

got into my empty pots and planters that were neatly stacked on the deck table. She scattered them all over the yard

The bottom two pictures show the steps she chewed on, and the rubber sink mat she demolished. You know what, though? I'm just laughing. I see the humor in what she does. It's not malicious. It's just pure puppy fun. And if you can't have a little fun in life, then what's the use of living?

Pretty, Fluffy, Green

2009-06-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

The picture to the left is a vase of branch tips from a Douglas fir tree. I love this time of year when all the evergreens are sporting new, lime green growth. I especially love how the tips of the fir trees are this lush green and the new growth is very soft to the touch.

Don't they look pretty in the vase? See how the tips curl inward. The smell is divine. When I pick them, I strip off the needles from the stem before placing them in water. By the time I'm finished stripping off the lower part of the stems, my hands are sticky with pitch and the house is filled with the Christmas scent of evergreens.

I often put Doug fir branches in tall vases and scatter them about the house. They will last a long time as long as you don't let them run out of water. (They're thirsty and will drink half a vase of water in 24 hours)

I used to pick huge armloads of salal and stick them in a bucket of water, and then stick the bucket in a decorative basket on the floor. It looked like I had an expensive house plant, albeit a large one. I did that when I was too poor to afford house plants. Salal will last a very long time this way. I've had some last as long as 6 months in a bucket or vase of water. Every once in awhile I'd change the water completely when it got gunky, but aside from keeping the vase filled with water, that's all I did. I used to receive numerous compliments on my salal "house plant."

And because I'm in a green mode, I've tossed in a few more pictures of things green. The upper picture is a close-up of a dock leaf. The lower picture is an ivy close-up.

That's all. Just a short post because I wanted to share my pretty picture of the Doug fir tips with you. As I type this, the fir tips are on my desk, wonderful smells emanating from the vase.

Sunday Puppy Humor

2009-05-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is just a "for fun" post. I enjoy humorous pictures, and have numerous shots of my dogs being silly and funny. In other words, typical dogs. Throw a puppy into the mix, and you have nonstop humor (though often seasonsed with healthy doses of exasperation!).

The Beware of Dog picture shows Asterisk with her head through the porch gate (like a cow at her stanchion, waiting to be milked!). The sign was given to me by my sister, who has my same warped sense of humor.

The next picture shows Asterisk trying to lick peanut butter off her face. She was making such contorted faces and looked so funny, despite the fact her dark, slanted eyebrows always make her look like she's scowling.

The final picture is Asterisk with a plastic water bottle. She far prefers toys that are made of plastic because they make such delightful crackly sounds when crunched.

Asterisk, the Monster Demon Annilhilator Puppy

2009-05-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Just look at that sweet Boxer face on the left. That's Asterisk with her big Doberman sister, Nova. Don't they look cute together? Doesn't Asterisk look innocent?

Don't let that puppy face fool you. She's at it again. Her name's Asterisk, but it should be Destructo. It's actually quite funny. She has learned the joys of ripping things off the clothesline and subjecting them to dirt, dog poop, grass stains, dog slobber, you name it.

Thankfully, today the only things on the clothesline were dog blankets and socks. I can see how she got the blankets off the line--they hung down within reach of curious doggy mouths. But the socks? She must have taken a running jump to get high enough to nab them. And she got 4 of the 5 socks off the line.

Thank goodness she isn't a destructive chewer. She never shreds the stuff she takes off the line. She just drags them around and tosses them in the air.

Time for me to get out the old shock collar. It's imperative she learn that taking things off the clothesline will have shocking consequences. (insert sound of evil laughter) How can something with such a sweet face do such diabolical things? I guess it's all part of being a puppy.

So, what's left on my clothesline? One lonely sock, which she was apparently unable to get at. Doesn't it look forlorn, all by itself?

Spring Flowers

2009-05-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Pat Rice posted a picture of her lovely clematis on her blog site, and lamented the fact commenters couldn't leave pictures of their own in the comments section. I agree. I would love to see other people's flower pictures! I love looking at (and smelling) flowers, so I decided to post a few of my own here. I hope you enjoy them!

The yellow picture is a perennial called Basket O' Gold that is one of the first things to bloom in the spring. It cascades over the railroad ties in my landscaping in wild abandon. Their bright yellow flowers are so cheerful. This is a hardy plant that thrives on neglect.

The purple picture is the clematis of a friend. I love how the ruffled edges of the flower remind me of the ruffle on the hem of a Regency debutante's dress.

The green picture isn't of flowers, but of bracken ferns. I liked the pattern of the ferns as well as the bright green color. In case you couldn't tell, I like doing close-ups. *g*

The single flower in the next picture is a columbine, another cheerful little perennial that is blooming in my whiskey planter tub right now.

And the last picture is yet another hardy and determined little flower, the first harbinger of spring: a primrose. These primroses have survived hail, snow, sleet, and driving rain, and don't seem adversely affected by any of it.

Oh, wait, I have one more picture to post. The pink rose is the only rose plant in my garden. I call it my Rose Stick Plant, because it is just one single stalk that sticks out of the ground and it never branches out, nor does it produce more than one single pink rose each year. Originally, it produced a single blue rose, a hybrid I bought through mail order and which I highly prized for its rarity. Then one year the goat I used to own ate the rose down below the graft point, and now all I get is the pink rose, since the stalk the blue rose was grafted to was for a pink rose. Alas.

So these are just a few of my flower pictures.

Bad Dog, Good Dog

2009-05-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

You've heard the old bad-cop-good-cop routine. Well, apply that to dogs, if you will. I have a 4-year-old Doberman bitch that couldn't be more perfect. Nova is so well-behaved and inobtrusive that when I'm invited to visit friends and family, they tell me to bring her along.

And then there's Asterisk, my 7-month-old Boxer pup. For the past several days she has been trying my patience to the limit. If there is something to get into, she's gotten into it with a vengeance. A few days ago she flipped an entire bowl of kibbles with her foot, just like tiddly-winks, and shot kibble all over the kitchen floor. It was like someone dropped a bag of marbles. She has utterly destroyed her very expensive high density foam crate pad & cushy afghan I'd placed on top for extra comfort. That's the picture, above.

She knocked over a potted plant and it smashed to smithereens. Dirt and pottery bits all over the place. Then she had the audacity to steal the little plastic dish thing you put under plants to protect furniture (picture on left).

She has chewed a piece of plywood into oblivion, leaving it hanging in strips. She has pulled the bark off a small decorative log I was using as plant stand on my deck. She is still not housebroken, and must be let out every 15-20 minutes or I'm cleaning up accidents.

My exasperation with her is at an all-time high. And just about the time I wonder why I thought it would be fun to own a puppy again, she comes into my bedroom where I'm working at my craft table, creating cards, and lies down at my feet, just to be near me. And my heart melts as she puts her chin on my foot and sighs happily.

Puppies. They're as bad as children.

Beautiful Bounty of Flowers

2009-05-18T02:58:00.000-07:00

This will be a short and sweet post, but I couldn't let the day go by without showing you a picture of my bouquet of lilacs and pink rhododendrens. Isn't it a pretty bouquet? (Even if I did jump the gun and pick the lilacs and rhodies before they were fully open!) I love flowers, and I'm grateful that lilacs bloom so early. This bouquet is sitting on my desk as we speak, and the scent is filling the room. Bliss. Pure bliss!

Once More, With Feeling

2009-05-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Once more, I am off to the paint store for more paint chips. I've decided the previous colors I narrowed my choices down to were depressing. I want something different, something to make my house stand out from the crowd. So I'm going with something radically different. I think I'll look at some powder blues and peaches. I'm leaning toward peach, as I think it will go well with the hideous brown roof. And hey, maybe I'll use powder blue accents! Now there's an idea! Lightness instead of the drab dark colors I'd been experimenting with.

Now, of course, I'll have to use several coats of paint to cover the huge swatches of dark green and brick red that I'd already tested on the house. Maybe I should just do something fun and paint each board a different color. But then the neighbors would complain. Ah well, I guess I'll stay traditional, but hopefully with a little style. No matter what I choose, it'll cost money!

So wish me luck. Here I go . . .

Decisions, Decisions!

2009-05-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

What color to paint the house? I've been collecting paint chips from Lowe's and Home Depot for weeks, trying to find something that complements the odd redish-brown color of my new roof. Mind you, when I looked at the small roofing sample, the color looked like it would go well with my taupe house. I couldn't have been more wrong. For one thing, a small sample gives you no idea what an entire roof of the same color will actually look like. What I thought was a subtle neutralish brown with a faint red cast, is now a glaringly redish-brown roof that clashes horridly with taupe. It doesn't help that brown is not my favorite color.

So I've been agonizing over house colors. I so don't want a brown house! Thankfully, there is enough red in the roof that I can lean toward brick colors. I also tried several shades of dark hunter green. I've finally narrowed the choices down to the following:

Green: Charcoal Smoke; Gunmetal Gray, Northwest Green

Brown: Mayan Red, Rich Chocolate; Leatherbound; Wine Barrel

Of the above colors, there is only one truly perfect match: Rich Chocolate, which is a rich dark brown with a red cast to it. I'd almost call it a burgundy. The problem is, I need a second color to go with it, because of the way the house is constructed. That's an old photo above, before I had the new roof installed. As you can see, the upper half of the house has vertical boards. The lower half has horizontal boards. I think it would look weird to paint both the upper and lower parts the same color. I've tried a dark hunter green for the bottom, with Rich Chocolate for the upper part, but it looks weird. Then I tried a lighter shade of Rich Chocolate for the bottom, but it looked orange. Next, I tried a hunter green--upper half, and Rich Chocolate--bottom half. Ugh. Then Charcoal Smoke with Gunmetal Gray. Blah.

And then, of course, I have to choose a color for the trim around the windows. I have no idea what colors I'll go with, but in the meantime, the sample colors I've smeared across the front of the house give it a dilapidated patchwork appearance. And as much as I dislike brown, I'm afraid the overwhelming choice so far is Rich Chocolate. Now, to decide on the complementary colors . . .

If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Ada Lovelace, Inventor of the Computer

2009-05-05T12:04:00.001-07:00

I've logged on every single day since my last post, trying to think of something new to post, without luck. Nothing's been happening that is blog-worthy. But today on Twitter I came across this link: http://tinyurl.com/cngrar

It is an utterly delightful comic about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, post-Regency inventors of the computer. There are several laugh-out-loud moments. It's a fun and clever and literary comic! So that's my gift to you today. It was a gift to me, and now I'm gi

ving it to you.

Weather report: It has been raining raining raining. That's all it ever does, is rain. When oh when will we ever see some sunshine? I love rain, but this is ridiculous. I don't think I've ever seen a more rainy winter and spring.

Houston, We Have a Problem . . .

2009-04-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

. . . or maybe not. I finally have a diagnosis on my thigh pain: meralgia paresthetica. Not that I'm happy about the diagnosis, but at least I now know what it is and what I can do to alleviate the pain, which at times is quite bad. In fact, here are the most common symptoms, all of which I have in spades:

Constant pain on the outer side of the thigh, extending from hip to knee

Burning, numbness, or tingling in the thigh

Bouts of shooting pain, often likened to being stung repeatedly by bees

Hypersensitivity to touch and heat. Warm water from the shower causes stinging and burning sensation.

Occasionally, aching in the groin area or across the buttocks

Usually more sensitive to light touch than to firm pressure

Aggravated by walking and standing, or prolonged sitting

So I am scheduled to start physical therapy, and I need to lose weight (no surprise there) and start walking again. The only problem is, walking is painful. But I'll do it anyway. Anything to get rid of the constant pain.

On a high note, I bought some hanging plants today, and now I'm going outside to hang them from the beam I installed on the front deck, just for that purpose!

My Dogs

2009-04-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

Dogs are so entertaining. I have a 4-year-old Doberman named Nova and a 6-month-old Boxer named Asterisk. They're both girls, and right now they are wrestling on the floor and making the most godawful fake growls and snarls. They enjoy each other's company, and so do I. They're fun to have around and keep me from being lonely.

I don't have much news to report, so this is a fluff piece. I've included pictures to pad out this short blog post. Here are my girls.

Project Done!

2009-04-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's done! I have a few odds and ends to do yet, but for all intents and purposes I’ve finished building the benches and potting table on my front porch. I still have to paint the benches and table, and clean the deck and then paint it too. But I finished inserting the last screw at 7:30 last night, 4/24. Lord knows when I'll get around to painting them all. That's for another day! I had a blast building this stuff, and now my deck looks so cool.

The long photo above is a composite picture I did in Photoshop, stitching together 6 photos, so the perspective is a bit off. It makes the bench on the right and the table on the left look considerably longer than they really are. The picture was taken from the gate leading onto the porch from the driveway. It makes my deck look huge, but it does give a decent panorama, if somewhat distorted. And yes, the wall and door really are purple. Here's a better picture, without distortion:

The long beam across the top of the benches will be used for hanging plants. The table on the left with the small bench on the end will be used for potting plants and for potluck dishes during barbecues (Think July 4th!). It will also come in very handy when lugging groceries from the car. Instead of leaving the slider open to the elements while I troop back and forth carting grocery bags, I'll be able to deposit all the groceries on the table, first, then once the car is emptied, I'll whisk the bags inside in one fell swoop.

The next picture is actually 2 photos stitched together. You can tell because the deck planks don’t line up. However, the benches are in proportion in this picture. I think it will look really nice once I get it all painted and have flower pots hanging from the beam.

I’ll probably build a gate to go between the two benches, and install handrails for the steps leading down into the side yard. But that's for a later date. Right now, I'm dreading picking colors to paint the deck and benches and table, because it will be one of those exploding projects. To backtrack, I have a new roof that clashes horribly with my house color. When I picked the roof color, I thought it would go well with my taupe house. I was appalled when the roof was done. It's reddish brown, and clashes horribly with the taupe. So I have to repaint the house. It needs it, anyway. But trying to decide on a color is so trying, and I can't paint the deck and benches until I decide on my color scheme for the house. Then I'll be able to find complementary colors for the deck, etc. And then (groan!) I'll have to repaint the cinder block wall and my intricately painted door, because purples will most certainly not go well with anything in the reddish-brown family.

WIP - a Work in Progress

2009-04-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have several WIPs around the house. The term "WIP" stands for Work in Progress and rightfully belongs to the writing world, where it refers to the manuscript you're working on. For me, it means a whole lot of unfinished projects. Currently, it means the overly-ambitious deck project I'm working on, and which keeps expanding at an alarming rate.

I blame it on the miserably cold and wet winter and spring we've had: unrelenting rain and a spring with hardly any sun at all. It kept me indoors to the point of dementia. And every time we had a rare day or two of good weather I went screaming outside to roll in the dirt in my garden or some other equally physical activity.

So when the forecast a few days ago said we were going to have several days of exceptional weather, I roared into Home Depot and bought a bunch of pressure-treated lumber so I could build benches for my front deck. Then I decided to build a taller bench in one corner, to use as a potting table for when I repotted plants. Then I decided it needed to be longer, so it could double as a table for holding side dishes during barbecues. Then I decided I needed two benches, not one, since I was going to have more barbecues, meaning more people needing places to sit. Then I decided to add a third bench to the end of the potting table. Then I decided I needed to have a place for hanging plants to decorate the deck, so I hoisted a 13-foot beam above two of the benches and bolted it into place.

I'm envisioning a Babylonian Hanging Garden, steaks on the barbecue, the clink of ice cubes in glasses of Sangria, and good friends sprawled comfortably on my brand new benches while the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughan waft from the stereo. My neighbors will sit in their mean shacks, green with envy, salivating over the delicious smells emanating from the barbie. Or so I imagine. If I ever get this WIP finished! That's a picture on the left of what I've done so far: 2 benches and the overhead beam (it's not really bent--I stitched 4 pictures together using Photoshop) The potting table will go on the left wall where the lumber is stacked. I still have to add backrests to the benches, and complete the arm rests, and then once everything's done, I'll paint the deck and benches.

I'm terrified of what I'll think up next! I'm still working on the bench project, and I have to say that it's coming along nicely, though I sometimes wish I had an extra hand for things like holding up one end of a 13-foot beam while I bolt the other end into place. On the other hand, I . . .

Oh, wait! How about if I put arm rests on my benches? Yeah, I need arm rests. And maybe I could cut out holes for cups, like they do in movie theaters!

What about you? Do you have any WIPs? If not, I envy you! *g*

Blessed are the Friends

2009-04-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

This is a post about Susan Wiggs. (Photo on the right)

But first, let's talk about me. *g* Despite the fact I'm the perpetual optimist, I've been feeling a little down lately. The medical things are getting to me: pending hysterectomy, extreme pain (cause unknown) in my right thigh, constant coughing from allergies . . . and an I-don't-care-you're-just-a-number medical system. Yesterday, I made yet another phone call to the clinic trying to find out if my referral to a specialist had gone through. They had initially said it would take 2 weeks. It's been over 2 weeks. I found out they hadn't even started on it. As I told them 2 weeks ago, this needs to be done ASAP, since I'll be losing my medical insurance in the near future, and I want to be sure my hysterectomy is covered.

So how does Susan Wiggs figure into the picture? Well, she may not be able to build a fire under the medical system, but she sure can do things to make you feel better. Susan is a person who always manages to lift my spirits. She did that today when I opened my mailbox and saw a long, skinny package. What the . . .? And then I saw it was from Susan. Now, Susan has this quirky mind that always seems to come up with the perfect gift at the perfect time. The Screaming Monkey Christmas gift had my family in stitches. My Doberman Nova's favorite chew toy is a big green rubber thing, courtesy of Susan. The Rubber Thing has since been commandeered by Asterisk, my Boxer pup. That's Asterisk above, with the Rubber Thing. (And yes, she is sitting on Nova) BTW, a suggestion from Susan was the trigger to my naming the pup Asterisk.

So when I saw the package was from Susan, I started to laugh, knowing it would be something quirky and fun. By time I got back to the house, I'd torn off the brown paper and discovered . . . a BugZooka! (Where does she find these things???)

What's a BugZooka? Well, it's basically a bug disposal unit--a long vacuum tube that sucks up insects. Better than a flyswatter, because it doesn't leave splats on your walls or ceilings. You can either set the bugs free outdoors, or dispose of them some other way. I get these humongous hairy spiders in my bathroom that hang out over my sink or shower, keeping me from my ablutions for fear of them landing on my head. I don't know what kind of uber-spider they are, but Raid has no effect, even when sprayed directly on them. I find that exceedingly scary. And using a flyswatter is out of the question. I tried that once and it left an extremely gross mess on the ceiling. Now I have an effective means of dealing with uninvited critters in my house. I can't wait for the yellowjackets that invade my house every fall and terrorize me and my pets. Zap! Gotcha!!!

Truth in Advertising

2009-04-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

If I were in a position of power, I would make it mandatory for food companies to package their products in a non-deceiving way. How many times have you opened a box of macaroni and cheese and discovered that 3/4 of the box is filled with air? Or opened a bag of chips to find that the contents only take up half the bag?

Today I opened a box of angel hair pasta with herb sauce. The box was 7 1/4" x 5". At the bottom of the box was a measly 1" of pasta, and a small bag of powdered seasoning. The box didn't need to be 7 1/4" tall. A 2" tall box would have been ample room for the pasta and packet of seasoning The amount of cardboard wasted on unnecessary (and deceitful) packaging was ludicrous. (See pictures below)

This has long been a pet peeve of mine. Just think how much shelving space would be saved in grocery stores if food companies sized their packaging to fit the actual contents.

End of rant. See the pictures for yourself. The ball point pen in the second picture is pointing to the 1" mark on the ruler. That's how much pasta fills the box. The rest of the box is just empty.

In the second picture, below, I've cut down the side of the box so you can see the 1" of pasta.

This is the actual size of box needed: 2" tall. The other 5" was pure waste.

The Joys of Puppy Ownership

2009-03-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

Guess what I came home to tonight after critique group? A very happy puppy, greeting me at the door. She was just so excited to see me. She was all smiles and puppy wags. Only problem is, I locked her in her crate before I left for group tonight. Somehow, she figured out how to open the door, and oh my, did she have a good time. Yes, she pooped and peed all over the place. But she was very selective. She only pooped and peed on the rugs. She completely avoided all the linoleum. Thankfully, she did not tear anything apart.

And she got into the cat's water, so she tanked up really well. The throw rugs are now in the washing machine. I’m so glad they are machine washable, because they are expensive rugs. I'm going to have to tear out both carpets in the library. I know from long experience that it's a lost cause trying to save them with urine smells in them, and the bottom carpet is old anyway, so out it goes. The top carpet is relatively new, but it's already had a few previous accidents on it, and though I took it outside and hosed it down really well when it happened, and let it air dry in the sun for a week, it's now toast. I'm not supposed to be doing any heavy lifting, but this can't be helped. The carpets have to go. Too bad, because the top carpet was practically new.

Things could have been much worse. She could have destroyed the furniture. Terrorized the cats. Gotten into the living room with my pale oatmeal-colored carpet (a sturdy puppy gate prevented that). Now the little blighter is in her crate sawing logs after I cleaned up all the messes around the house. I guess all I can do is laugh. *g*

Here are some pictures I took today of Asterisk and Christopher playing hide & seek. For a cat, Christopher is so good natured about the puppy. He doesn't use his claws at all. Are these cute pictures or what?

(Top) Christopher on the other side of my desk, tempting Asterisk with The Paw of Death.

(Bottom) Christopher has just leaped out at Asterisk from behind the footstool with an, "AHA!"

(Top) Ready to play patty-cake

(Bottom) A pounce ready to happen

This picture cracks me up. Asterisk had been jumping at Christopher when Christopher suddenly whipped out his paw to slap her face (notice his claws are sheathed). Asterisk stopped so fast her loose puppy skin accordioned about her neck and shoulders. Too funny!

When the Warranty Runs Out

2009-03-26T03:42:00.000-07:00

Just when you need all your body parts the most, they wear out and the warranty expires. I went to see the doc about an annoying little problem and they discovered a much more serious problem while I was there. No, it's not the Big C or anything fatal, but it is just worrisome.

I've always been healthy as a horse, so it was a shock to find out that my body is succumbing to the ravages of time. I see a specialist (actually, 2 specialists) in a few weeks, but it looks like I'll be getting a hysterectomy. I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. This sort of thing happens to other people, not me.

So I'm going into high gear with the ol' positive attitude. I'm not dwelling on the problem, but dwelling on having a healthy body. I know from long experience that the mind can work miracles, and I'm just going to keep on imagining myself healthy and whole and happy and smiling.

And that's going to be a whole lot of fun!

Puppy Shenanigans

2009-03-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

My new Boxer puppy, Asterisk, is making overtures of friendship to Christopher the Assassin, my cat. Christopher likes dogs, and was best buddies with my old Boxer, so he's tolerating the pup pretty well.

The picture above Shows Asterisk under my desk, trying to reach Christopher. And Christopher knows that the puppy can only get her head and front feet through that little hole at the bottom, so he is sitting tantalizingly close, just to tease the puppy. Animals are so entertaining.

I happened to have the camera on the corner of my desk today, so I was fortunate enough to catch a cute picture of Christopher sitting atop the desk, peering sneakily down at Asterisk, who was under the desk. A moment after I took that picture, an unsuspecting Asterisk moseyed out from under the desk and suffered the indignity of a series of rapid-fire slaps to the head (no claws) from Christopher, who'd been hovering like a vulture waiting for the chance to nail her.

Christopher thought it was great fun, but it startled the daylights out of Asterik, who thought the demons of Hell had landed on her head. It was hilarious watching Christopher planning his attack and waiting in tense expectation for Asterisk to get in range. I love my animals. They're better than TV.

An Ordinary Day

2009-03-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

Today I cleaned the barn, which was very satisfying. The horses hung out with me and offered advice over their stall doors. Asterisk (my Boxer) and Nova (my Doberman) played King of the Mountain on the bales of hay. It was hilarious, and had me laughing out loud several times. The dogs were having such a good time playing like silly kids while I laughed at them. I wish I'd had my camera with me.

It was fun puttering around in the barn. I had the radio going, and it was (for once!) almost like spring outside. We've had so much rain, snow, sleet, and hail since January that any day we get dry weather is a treat.

Right now it's 10:15 p.m. and I'm getting ready to work on a client's manuscript. The dogs are sacked out, tired after a hard day playing. All is right with the world.

Recipe: Sunday Spinach

2009-03-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

I just finished a plate of creamed spinach that was divine. It's the first time I tried this recipe, and it's a keeper! Without further ado, here is the recipe.

SUNDAY SPINACH

Two 10-oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach

6 T finely minced onion

1/4 c. melted butter

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp black pepper

2 T cream cheese

6 T grated Parmesan cheese

6 T heavy cream

Tabasco sauce (optional)

Italian bread crumbs

Cook spinach according to package in unsalted water. Drain well. Saute onions in butter. Add drained spinach, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour in cream. Add cheeses and Tabasco sauce. Mix well. Before serving, place in baking dish and top with buttered Italian bread crumbs and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Freezes well.

Note: when I make this again, I think I'll reduce the onions to 5 T. instead of 6, and increase the cream to 8 T. instead of 6. I like onions, but I thought they almost overpowered the spinach. Regardless, it turned out really superior.

Recipe: Sherrie's Creamed Chicken & Noodles

2009-03-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

If you wonder why there are so many recipes with my name on them, it's because they are my own inventions. It's a bit egotistical, but hey, I want credit for my daring inventions! We won't talk about the epic failures, of course. And speaking of epic failures, check out the picture on the left. What happened to the broad's nose??? And I guess she's such a good cook she doesn't need to see what she's doing, because her eyes are obviously closed!

This is another recipe you can make, using chicken baked with my special chicken seasoning (see earlier posts). This is a very hearty and filling meal, with a trace of spicy hot from the Mrs. Dash seasoning. But only a trace. No burned mouth linings!

SHERRIE'S CREAMED CHICKEN & NOODLES

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts baked with Sherrie's Sensational Chicken Seasoning. Remove hot chicken from pan and set aside to cool a little.

While chicken is cooling, mix 1 pkg Country Gravy mix with 1 c. water and 1 1/2 c. milk. Add to pan drippings. Bring just to boil, stirring often.

Cube or shred chicken and return to pan/gravy. Mix well.

Serve over egg noodles or white rice. This will really stick to your ribs.

Recipe: Sherrie's Chicken Salad

2009-03-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

After you have baked chicken using my chicken seasoning (see previous post) let it cool, then cube and place in bowl, along with all the pan drippings (mostly the seasoning that came off the chicken).

Mix with Best Foods Real Mayonnaise. Serve on toast for a sandwich, or on a bed of lettuce as a salad.

Optional additions to the salad: chopped celery, mild chopped onion (easy on the onion), Thompson's seedless grapes.

If using as a salad, the Thompson's seedless grapes (the green ones) are awesome. They provide a wonderful complement to the chicken.

Recipe: Sherrie's Sensational Chicken Seasoning

2009-03-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

After much testing, I came up with my own kind of chicken seasoning, which I make in large batches and store in my spice cupboard in shaker bottles. I also give it away for Christmas because it seems to be so popular.

I'm sorry I can't give exact measurements. Seasonings are highly personal, so I suggest you do what feels right for you.

SHERRIE'S SENSATIONAL CHICKEN SEASONING

4 bottles Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning, original blend

Kroger Spice Classics poultry seasoning. If you can't find, then substitute with sage, onion powder, & coarse ground black pepper, or use Kroger Grill Time chicken seasoning (go easy--salt is 2nd ingred)

Oregano

Granulated garlic

Empty all 4 bottles Mrs. Dash seasoning into bowl. Save the bottles. Then, add generous amounts of the other ingredients as per taste (go easy on garlic). Mix well and, using a funnel, refill the empty Mrs. Dash bottles. Replace shaker tops, screw lids down tight, and return to pantry. To avoid confusion, I use masking tape to cover the original Mrs. Dash labels and write "chicken seasoning" on the tape. I save my shaker-top spice bottles to re-use for my chicken blend, so I always have extra bottles around.

When using on chicken, I rinse boneless, skinless chicken breasts in water, and put in baking pan dripping wet. Then I liberally coat both sides of chicken with seasoning, add a little bit of water to the pan to keep the chicken moist, put a lid on the pan, and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I have waterless cookware, so the lids form a tight seal and baking the chicken that long doesn't dry it out. In fact, halfway through baking, I turn the chicken over and return to oven. When done, the seasoning provides a very tasty crust to the chicken. And because the seasonings are low salt, the chicken isn't overpowered with sodium.

Tomorrow and the next day, I'll post recipes for using chicken cooked with Sherrie's Sensational Chicken Seasoning. *g*

My New Puppy

2009-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

I have a new Boxer puppy! Since I run an editorial business, I wanted to name her something vaguely related to words, punctuation, etc. So I think I'm going to name her Asterisk (Aster for short). And what's really fun is that I can refer to her as * when writing to friends! She is a barrel of fun, as all puppies are, and she and my Doberman, Nova, get along great. Poor Nova puts up with a lot from Asterisk, who frequently insists on sitting on Nova's back.

They play a lot in the yard, and I'm thankful that the first week I had her, the weather was sunny and dry. That helped a lot with potty training. I could also leave her outside in the fenced yard with Nova to play with for an hour or so several times during the day. When I brought her in, after playing hard, she slept in her crate with no problem.

But now that it's raining cats and dogs, things have become more trying for Asterisk. She does her business on the deck *sigh* instead of going down into the yard, and unless Nova is out with her to encourage her to play, she sits huddled in a miserable mass in front of the door. So, like a trooper, I don coat and go outside with both dogs and hang out with them for 30-45 minutes or until my coat is soaked through. Once they get to playing, dogs don't care about rain. And I admit that once I am outside with the dogs, I don't mind it either.

It's been four years since Nova was a puppy, and I'd forgotten how much work it is to housebreak a puppy. In Asterisk's case, I had to section off part of her crate to keep her from peeing in it. The crate is a little too large for her, meaning she can pee in one end and then sleep in the other.

She was very unhappy with me after I sectioned off the crate. She can stand, turn around, and lie down, but if she pees, she has to sleep in it. I've also begun restricting her water after 9 p.m., and it seems to be working. Sort of. I also let her out once in the middle of the night, so I'm sure that helps.

All in all, I'm thrilled to have a new puppy. Do you have a puppy? Or a dog? If so, how did the housebreaking go?

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

2009-02-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

I just made this recipe for the first time last night and it's divine. I served it over egg noodles, but it could also be served with rice. This is a hearty, juicy dish, and because the meat cooks all day in the crock pot, it is incredibly tender. The only thing I would change is to leave out the 1 tsp. of salt, or cut it in half. There is plenty enough salt with the bouillon and soy sauce, so adding more salt was overkill. Still, it was delicious!

SLOW COOKER PEPPER STEAK

2 lbs beef sirloin, cut into 2" strips
garlic powder to taste
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 (14.5 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt (I would delete this salt)

Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the seasoned beef strips in the vegetable oil. Transfer to slow cooker. Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. (Note: I mixed all liquids together first, then added to beef)

Cover, and cook on High for 3-4 hours or on Low for 6-8 hours.

Glorified Rice

2009-02-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is a rice salad usually served with meals, but is so sweetly delicious it can also be served as dessert. It's almost like a rice pudding. This is my mom's recipe, and I have no idea if she made it up or adapted it from another recipe. Friends have mistakenly called it Heavenly Hash, but that's a different recipe that calls for marshmallows and fruit cocktail, while my recipe has neither. I don't normally use a recipe for this, so I've done my best to give approximate amounts of ingredients. Don't let the simple ingredients mislead you. This is really delicious!

GLORIFIED RICE

Cooked rice (1 small saucepan full?)
1-2 cans crushed pineapple
1 jar maraschino cherries, sliced in half
1 tub Cool Whip

Add 1 or 2 cans drained crushed pineapple to cooled rice. Fold in Cool Whip. Add cherries last (if you add them first, it will turn the salad pink). Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sometimes the rice will absorb so much Cool Whip overnight that you'll need to add more, to keep things moist.

If used as dessert, serve in glass goblets and garnish with a whole maraschino cherry.

Recipe: Sherrie's Pasta Salad

2009-02-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

After trial and error, I came up with a pasta salad that I really like. The nice thing about this salad is that you can add or subtract ingredients per taste. I happen to like broccoli and cauliflower, so I include them. Whenever I make this salad, it disappears pretty fast. My brother-in-law really likes it, and when we have summer get-togethers he always asks me to make it.

SHERRIE'S PASTA SALAD

--1 small package corkscrew noodles, cooked in seasoned water

--Bernstein's Cheese Fantastico salad dressing

--raw broccoli, cut to bite-size pieces

--raw cauliflower, cut to bite-size pieces

--red peppers, chopped

--green peppers, chopped

--sliced black olives

--green onions, sliced (I used mostly tops)

--cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

--Kraft grated parmesan cheese

Boil noodles in water seasoned with chicken bouillon and garlic powder. Drain and cool a little, then lightly marinate with Bernstein's dressing to keep the noodles from sticking together. Regrigerate while preparing vegetables.

Chop veggies and add to noodles. (To keep the green onions from overpowering the salad, I discard most of the white bulb and use the rest, including the tops) Add more Bernstein's dressing and parmesan cheese and toss. Optional ingredients: frozen peas, mushrooms, grated carrot, pepperoni, hard-boiled eggs, or whatever else you fancy.