Fair Day

I met up with E and her daughter A today and we actually made it to another local fair. It was an agricultural fair so there were all sorts of animals on display, right next to signs which divided their bodies up into cuts of meat. Some recipes were also posted.

That was just so wrong.

I like going to the various booths to see what people are selling. I bought a couple of figurines carved out of wood to give to my mother-in-law at Christmas. I almost bought a dress for my sister. Her 15th birthday is on the 8th. However when I looked at the back of the dress I discovered it didn't really have one. If I bought that for her, her boyfriend would love me forever but forever would be short-lived because our parents would kill me. So Randy and I will go shopping for a more appropriate gift for Ash tomorrow.

I should have bought that dress for me.

Just For A Chuckle

An old friend of mine in Europe just forwarded this to me and I decided to share it with you. There's something to amuse and/or offend us all. *G*

Following the events in London last week the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from 'Run' to 'Hide.' The only two higher levels in France are 'Surrender' and 'Collaborate.' The rise was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing their military.

Updates from around Europe-

The Italians have increased their alert level from "shouting excitedly" to "elaborate military posturing.' Two more levels remain, "ineffective combat operations" and "change sides."

The Germans have also increased their alert state from "disdainful arrogance" to "full dress-uniform and marching songs.' They have two higher levels, "invade a neighbour" and "lose."

Seeing this reaction in continental Europe the Americans have gone from "isolationism" to "find somewhere ripe for regime change.' Their remaining higher alert states are "take on the world" and "ask the British for help."

Finally here in UK we've gone from "pretend nothing's happening" to "make another cup of tea.' Our higher levels are "chin-up and remain cheerful" and "win."

Camping anyone?

Tonight I find myself wishing that I was sitting next to a camp fire, cup of coffee in hand and bare toes curling in the dirt as I stare into the flames, hypnotized by their dance. My husband would be by my side, and so would all of you as we sit and toast marshmallows and laugh.

Bring your own tent, though!

Dancing in the Dark

The humidity has been insufferable. I only slept for about 4 hours last night because of it, and am punchy now.

I was doing my nightly internal search for something to blog about and felt the beginnings of despair when I followed a sudden impulse and discovered a new joy. Out of nowhere I had the urge to turn on some music in the living room and sing and dance in the dark. What could I do but obey this imperative? Oddly enough Sam and Wheezy didn't react. Normally when I behave this way during the day they keep a wary eye on me. Perhaps the humidity today was simply too much for them as well. The end result is the same: they ignored me. Randy is a heavy sleeper and wasn't disturbed by the cacophony sound of my voice raised in song in the other room.

As for the music I was listening to? I'll leave that up to your imagination.

Illustration Friday-Tranquility

detail-

I've known since Friday I wanted to do this. It popped into my head immediately. I've just had other things I had to do. With this one, I was more interested in getting my concept across than in perfection. I tend to be meticulous to the point of absurdity, and I'm trying to free myself of that a little. A lot of detail is lost in the scanning anyway. Perhaps I should follow her lead and lock everyone away while I meditate...

Help?

I'm trying out a new (for me) way to show my photos online through Kodak. Everything I looked at wanted me to share my work via email invites, which I didn't want to do. Nor do I want to pay for flickr pro in order to be allowed more than 3 "sets" of photos.

I think I've found a work-around with this one. At least, it works for me whether or not I'm logged in. But does it work for you?

If you have some time and you're bored, please try one of the new photo links on the left and let me know if you are able to view the slideshows. I'd greatly appreciate it! :0)

Tackling Chores

Another busy day.

First of all, a couple of you have expressed an interest in my cabin. It was actually the original structure, built a little over 100 years ago. It's one large room with large dark logs and white chink. Well, it would be white if it weren't so old. It has a peaked roof with two log beams crossing its width, and a fireplace at the far end. The utility room is built off the back, and the screened-in porch opens off of its front. Wide wood floors and built-in book cases finish it off. Since its original owner, it has not been lived in. It has been used solely for storage and has fallen into disrepair. The rest of my house was added onto the cabin, which is accessed through a door in the kitchen. The cabin is not heated and until recently, wasn't insulated either. It needs to be re-chinked and, unfortunately, the windows need to be replaced. I'm hoping to find some as similar in appearance as possible. But as they are now, you can literally look outside around the window frames, in addition to some small holes in the chinking. All that needs to be repaired in order for the room to be livable.

And it will be. I think it's a crime that this gorgeous space with so much potential has been left to rot!

My plan for the room- once the repairs are made- is to create a dining area just as you walk into it from the kitchen. Then I'll create a seating area around the fireplace. I'll have music in that room, but no television! That room is for enjoying the company of friends and family only. Kids can always go into the living room to watch tv while the adults socialize. Or they can play outside. I have a large yard. But the cabin is going to be set up for enjoying one another's company. In the warmer months, people can open the front door and step out onto the screened-in porch where they'll find another seating area, and a hammock slung across one corner. Eventually I want to add a brick patio in front of the screened-in porch, with a cafe table and chairs perhaps. I have this vision of reading my paper and sipping on my tea and nibbling on a croissant during breakfast, which is patently ridiculous as I'm never awake to have breakfast. So I suppose in my fantasy I'm really having an evening snack. But whatever. It's my dream.

I'll take some photos of the cabin in a day or two, when I get some more things cleared out of there and you can see it better. Almost done clearing out the stored stuff now.

Which is part of what made today so busy. There was a mountain of laundry- mostly old clothing and blankets- that was out there waiting to be cleaned and sorted. With the exception of dry clean only items, I finished it all today. Everything is now either put away, trashed or waiting to go to the Goodwill box with Randy. Hurray!

I also amazed myself today. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Randy's lawn mower died at the beginning of the summer. Friends have been helping out with the front and side yards, but the backyard is fenced off for Sam and has become completely wild. At the end of the breezeway where you step into the back yard, some weeds had grown to over 3' in height. I don't know what they were, but they were impressive. Randy just got his weed whacker back from the shop, but we knew it wouldn't be able to touch this one large grouping. Today, while Randy was at work, I dug out my gardening shovel and decided to have a go at them. In the end I dug up about 15 individual weeds using only one arm to operate the shovel. I didn't know I could do it, but I tried and I did it! My back is killing me now, but I've just made Randy's life so much easier and I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish despite my wrist.

It was a great day!

DIM

DIM=Do It Myself. Most contractors would probably say that's an appropriate acronym, given all the times they've been called in to fix a DIY screw-up.

Busy day, in a good way. I finally finished weeding the garden, and it's breathing easier again. I even gave it Miracle Gro, so it should be happy. The weeds will, of course, have taken over again by next week. I'll worry about that then. I had one bad moment today when I lifted some leaves and uncovered a recently deceased baby mouse. I jumped. I took a deep breath. I got a shovel and scooped it up, removing its body to the woods nearby, muttering a little prayer for it as I went. I put away the shovel and trembled for a minute, preparing myself to continue weeding in the face of the possibility of finding other dead critters. But I got a grip and finished the job, corpse-free from that moment on. I just can't get away from field mice, it seems!

Randy is going to bring the sawhorses over to the screened-in porch and I'm going to start painting the decorative molding that sort of frames that space. I just need him to bring the paint home with him so I can get started. Maybe I'll finish insulating the cabin while I'm waiting for him to do that. He's done most of the work. I just need to measure the leftover space in each section that needs to be filled in, then cut the insulation and attach it. The ladder is already out there, so that shouldn't be a problem. It would drive Randy nuts if I finished it while he was at work, so I may just have to do it! *G*

I've spent the night so far transferring photos out of my SBC Yahoo photo pages, as I'm about to cancel the account. I'm just trying to make sure that I've transferred everything I need before it's gone. I liked their service, but they refused to provide DSL here. I had to make the change and can't regret that I did. Broadband is fun!

I think I'll go look up paint samples now.

Oops

When you were a child, did you ever play that game where you and your friends sit in a circle and pass a message around by whispering it in the ear of the person next to you? You know, where you whisper something stupid like "Callie likes Tommy" into the next person's ear and they pass it on to the next person, till by the time it gets back to you the message has become "She said she likes jelly donuts." Moral: too many people in the middle and the message gets lost.

So while girlfriend D told me that girlfriend E suggested we all go to a country fair today, what E really suggested was that we go to a christian Revival.

Me.

We didn't stay. E changed her mind and wanted to leave, and D and I definitely were not into it at all. There was a fair a town away, but when we arrived we discovered that it wouldn't be starting for some hours. So we went shopping instead. I only bought a couple of tank tops, preferring to look around in the home goods section for ideas while D and E did more serious shopping.

I was tired afterwards and went home, but they were going to meet up with each other later for dinner, and possibly head back over to the fair. You know, the one that actually was a fair.

On a side note, while driving around with them I noticed that one house has a horse's head hanging on the side of it, overlooking the woman's garden. I know it was a woman because she was outside working in it. Now, I think the horse's head was cast iron, but it was life-size and life-like from what I saw of it as we sped by. For the life of me, I can't figure out why someone would choose the hang such a thing on the side of their house, unless it's because they have an unhealthy fondness for The Godfather? But then surely the head would be in their bed, not the wall of their house. Hm.

The other thing that left me musing was a shop sign on a small side road in a bigger town. It read Tom and Debbie's Second Hand Furniture, only there was a big, black X over Debbie's name. Talk about bitter break-ups! He could have simply painted white over "Debbie" but instead went for the bold black X. There were some strong feelings there I think. *G*

Photo Friday-Attractive

Difficult Decision?

A couple of girlfriends are picking me up for lunch tomorrow, and then we're heading off to a small country fair about 45 minutes away. I started weeding my garden today and had planned to finish tomorrow, but I doubt I'll be back in time. Hm. Pulling weeds and fighting bugs and poison ivy in insufferable heat, or going out to spend the day at a fair with a couple of friends.

Tough call, but I suspect I made the right decision.

Cavities and Country Living

And so I survived the dentist yesterday, though it was every bit as bad as I had feared. The cavity was on top of the nerve, and I have an overly sensitive mouth. This drives my dentist crazy because no matter what he does, I feel it. Eyes open or shut, I know what he's doing and where the pick or the drill is. He insists I can't possibly, but I do. Anyway, he gave me 4 shots of novacaine and still needed his assistant to hold me down while working on one part of my tooth. In the end he had to abandon the drill and clear the cavity with a small pick. Thankfully, my filling is in place and it's over with. My gums are sore from the novacaine injections, but it's manageable. I asked him why it isn't possible to just gas a patient and do all of their dental work in one shot? He said that actually you can, and some opt for that. But the last woman to do so in this area wound up in the hospital for 7 days afterward. I thought about this for a moment, then said "So what's the problem? Sounds good to me!" Which tells you how painful dental visits are for me. However I then realized that I would be taken to the local hospital that I hate so passionately, and decided that taking care of my dental visits a bit at a time is perhaps the better course of action! He always tells me I'm going to die with all of my teeth. But if the preservation of my teeth means pain, I can't really agree with this philosophy. I mean, what difference will it make to my corpse whether or not my teeth are originals? I told him this, and he pointed out to me that this was one of those times when I'm a pain in his ass. He gets away with talking to me this way because he has known my family for about 25 years. My grandmother and I used to clean his office and babysit his youngest daughter. But turn about is fair play. I get to give him a hard time of it too. I like that. *G*

That was yesterday. Today was nicer.

I tidied up the house and then cut some flowers from my garden and wildflowers from an area in my backyard. I put them in my favorite vase and placed them on my dresser. The cheerful white and yellows look lovely against the dark brown of the wall. They're so fresh and pretty!

This evening when I took Sam for a walk my neighbor's wife and her mother were outside in her garden dead-heading flowers. In the 10 years I have lived here, I've never spoken with Mary beyond "Hello. How are you?" Tonight however we stopped what we were doing and chatted for quite a while, much to Sam's disgust. The upshot was the Mary may join us on our walks sometimes. This sounds pleasant. She is my mother's age and in fact knows her. Mary, like my mother, was a hippy. She still dresses the part, and has an artistic soul. What I know of her, I like. So I would be happy to have her join me sometimes. Which surprises me, shy loner that I am. There is that part of me that is mildly alarmed at the thought of her joining in on the walk. It's that part of me that isolates as a way of self-defense against hurt and rejection, I suppose. But that side of me has been hibernating lately. I have enjoyed the company of others more often, in doses. I feel as though I'm on the verge of transforming or emerging. Not comfortable, perhaps, but good for me. We'll see.

Sam and I finally left Mary and her mother to finish what they were doing. About halfway through our trek we saw Randy walking towards us. He had arrived home and, not finding us there, deduced where we were and the quickest way to intercept us. So Randy joined us. I love when he can. It's just such a cozy, companionable feeling. Sam loves it too. As soon as he saw his "daddy" coming towards us, his ears perked up and he broke into a jog, tugging me along until I matched my pace to his, so he could get to his daddy quicker. Very cute.

Today was filled with a sense of well-being. I love days like that.

Photo Friday-Silky

Hurray!

I received and installed my high speed cable internet kit and modem today! As predicted, I have been busy marveling at the speed and convenience while setting my preferences and my new email accounts. I still need to switch my photos to flickr and change my email address on subscriptions, but that will wait until tomorrow when I feel more awake and can better remember all the places I need to go to make the changes. There's a lot of them, but it's certainly worth it!

This comes at an excellent time. I have a painful dentist visit tomorrow, and this helped to take my mind off of it. Oh, well, best to get it over with I suppose.

Now I'm off to read your wonderful blogs! :0)

Illustration Friday-Karma

I wonder if I'll ever feel that this one is complete? As a writer I know that I can sit down to craft a story only to have it emerge very different from my original idea. The characters are too stubborn and will have their way. Now, as a new artist, I am learning that the same thing happens to me when I paint. I had such ideas for this painting, but it refused to cooperate. So I'll share it with you now, because I think this is a piece that is going to take a very long time to finish evolving. I have to put it away and periodically return to it, adding details in some places and removing things in others.

The topic was Karma, and I loved it. Karma teaches us that the choices we make and the things we do will have consequences over time, for good or ill. The man in this painting has chosen a path. The way is shrouded by mist, keeping him from knowing what will happen next. Faith in a god of his understanding, or simply believing that everything will work out somehow, gives him the strength to keep going in the face of the unknown. He walks into his future, to discover the consequences of his chosen path.

In Brief

I have a book to read and a painting to complete, so for tonight I'll just share this:

Some commercials leave me thinking: "I hope those actors were very well paid."

Buying, Painting, Reading

I wrote a long, detailed and incessant list of all the shopping I did today. But being a generous soul, I deleted it.

So I went shopping with a friend today. I solidified some ideas for the house, bought some things we need, bought some art supplies and some clothes.

Came home feeling fat from buying clothes. Took Sam for a walk. Fired up computer. Logged into my emails and was assaulted by spam that promised I could melt away inches and get rid of my flabby thighs. I told them to bugger off. Saw emails that promised me a larger penis or guaranteed me hot, wild women. While I know some of my readers might have use of an over-heated nymph, I don't. And happy in my femininity, waking up with a penis- let alone a larger one- would be only slightly less horrifying than finding myself in a Rove/Cheney sandwich.

Deleted.

I began work on a painting for this week's Illustration Friday. The topic is inspiring me to try to do a proper painting, and I sketched my idea onto a canvas. There's something missing, though, and I haven't begun to paint. It's too incomplete (to my mind) as is. I'll let my thoughts percolate a bit and see what floats to the surface. As for Photo Friday, I've got no clue yet.

Happily, as I was beginning to feel despair over my artistic block, Randy came home with my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Time to strap on my wrist brace and curl up in a cozy corner with the young magician and his friends...

Another Day

Randy had a wonderful Hatch Day. Thanks to all who wished him well, or envisaged him under a man in a chicken costume. *G*

I, on the other hand, experienced some technical difficulties. The installation kit for my cable internet connection arrived, and I was so excited! But they failed to send me the necessary cable modem along with it, and I specifically ordered it. It being the weekend the local cable company is closed. So while I believe I can get one from them, I have to wait until Monday or Tuesday when they're open and I can get into town.

I finally got my car down to the garage since Randy was home today and able to follow me over in his. Having not been used in over a month, the car was in even worse condition and barely made it there. I am now fearful that my little car is done for. But I won't know for sure until the mechanic has a chance to look her over.

Later in the day I was trying to print out a copy of a photo for Randy, and my printer suddenly stopped working! It was on. It had plenty of ink. It was printing one moment and refused the next. It tried to tell me that I had the wrong type of paper in the feed, but as I had just printed another photo and hadn't changed any settings, I knew that message was wrong. It wouldn't print anything after that. It just decided to crap out with a really lame excuse, not unlike a teenager. However when I rebooted my computer, it worked again. It's still quirky, telling me the document has failed to print 2 seconds before printing the document. I'll figure it out later. I just wanted to get back out to the living room to spend time with Randy. Sometimes even I manage to keep my priorities straight, you see.

So what we have here on my part is progress, not perfection. For Randy's part, none of that stuff effects him so he was able to be his usual happy-go-lucky self. Well, the car might effect him, but he'll worry about that when it happens.

Have I ever mentioned how much I want to be like him when I grow up? I mean dogs are the perfect beings, but Randy comes a close second. *G*

Happy Birthday Randy!

Today is my husband's birthday, though don't point that out to him. He is uninterested in birthdays and insists that he wasn't born, he was hatched. So today is my husband's Hatch Day. His mother tends to argue the point but as I am not the one who suffered labor pains over him, I'm inclined to indulge this quirk of his. At any rate it's far easier than trying to dispute the notion, believe me! He just grins at me, tells me he wasn't born he was hatched, and therefore no fuss need be made.

To hell with that!

I love the man and am grateful every day that that he is in my life. His birth- or his hatching- is plenty to celebrate! So every year I get a little something for him to mark the day. This year I just put together a silly goody bag full of things to amuse him. He's a child at heart as often as not, so I bought a bunch of those cheap plastic toys, the sort that you might find in the grocery store. You know, the paddle ball, a little plastic pool table, a little plastic sword that lights up, and a little magnetic fishing game. I also bought a little magnet with a funny quote about dogs. To cap it off are several bags of some of his favorite candies. I know it probably doesn't sound much, but he would be upset if I spent a lot of money, and he will genuinely be amused by the things I chose. We let each other play like children when we're not busy being adults; it's nice to be able to be that way with someone. So...

Happy Hatch Day Honey!

Feelin' Groovy

Despite the recent rains and the slipperiness of Karl "Wormtongue" Rove, the shadows of life have receded a bit and I find myself smiling a little more.

I'm spending more time socializing, which quite frankly I find exhausting. But done in moderation it is pleasant enough. I enjoy spending time with friends, new and old, but am always grateful to be home again at the end. Good to go out; good to return home.

Though my dog has a large yard in which to run and play, I noticed that he's bored and restless lately. It struck me then that Randy and I hadn't taken him out to the hiking trails since my car went on strike. Randy's car isn't the best for transporting a dog, so Sam has been reduced to playing in the yard exclusively and he was getting the dog version of cabin fever. I live on a very busy, winding road with no sidewalk, so it's dangerous to walk along. But I suddenly remembered that I could walk him the short distance south on my road and then turn off onto a smaller side road which loops back to my road again eventually. It's approximately a mile total, and only occasionally dangerous. I used to walk it with him all the time before we adopted Greta. I couldn't walk both dogs by myself, and when Randy was home we'd load them up in my car and take them to the trails, so I had gotten out of the habit of considering this walk around our immediate neighborhood. Now that I have recalled it, I've taken him out every day this week. The fresh air and exercise are doing both of us good, and Randy joins us if he doesn't have to work late. It's just some nice "family" time. Minus the cats, because the thought of sticking those cats in harnesses and walking them leaves me alternately laughing, crying and clutching my head to stave off a migraine. To the untrained eye I might appear to be having a breakdown and find myself hauled off to an institution by a well-meaning stranger. So the cats can stay in the house and just deal with it!

Getting back to the car situation, we're hoping to get it into the garage on Friday to find out what the damage is and what it's likely to cost. Probably around $1000, maybe a little less. I need a new transmission, of that I'm sure. Randy is about to take out that home equity loan so we can pay off our bills, fix up the house and put a down payment on another car. My inheritance will go towards all of this as well once it gets through probate. Whenever that is.

BUT I finally have some more solid plans for decorating and am ready to paint the kitchen and do the little touches I can do prior to getting the loan, like changing the hardware on the cabinets. I'm going to decoupage recipes torn from old cookbooks on the backsplash. Once we have the loan, I want to replace the countertops, preferably with granite. We'll see how everything plays out. The outer wall with two windows is going to be painted terra cotta, and the window trim will be painted blue. The other three walls will be a soft yellow, and the cabinets will be blue like the trim. But I'm going to "pickle" it, giving it a streaky whitewashed (blue washed?) look. I have to get to Home Depot to choose the pulls, but suspect I'll choose something silver with sleek, simple lines. Unless I find something quirky that really strikes me. *G*

Yes indeed, I have plans. And yes, when everything gets underway I'll provide before and after shots.

Different Religions Week

Found on The Vegblog:

Different Religions Week July 15-22.

The idea behind this movement is to get people to go to at least one religious service/meeting outside of their faith, to increase knowledge and understanding among people of differing religions. Atheist/agnostic meetings are included as options.

Check it out. I really like the underlying premise.

How To Get A Car

My 18 year old brother just got a new (used) car. I believe it's a VW Jetta, a car my friend John likes. It was a little over-priced at $3500 and my mother was going to tell Drew that he couldn't have it. But first the car's owner and Drew took it for a test drive. Mom stayed behind with the owner's wife, chatting. Some time went by and the wife's cell phone rang. After speaking urgently in Hungarian for a couple of minutes, she told my mother that they needed to get in her car and go to the shopping center down the road.

My brother had been in an accident.

It seems that when he went to make a U-turn in the parking lot, he swung to the right before turning left. The SUV behind him didn't realize he was turning left, and plowed straight into him when he made the turn. The rear driver's side door is dented in. The SUV was unharmed. So my mother bought the car rather than report it to the police and insurance company, and Drew has to pay her back. She's already paying $5000/yr car insurance because of him and another fender bender he was in, and couldn't afford for the insurance to go up any more. So she bought the damaged car to pacify the owner, who lacked the ability to see anything remotely funny in the situation. My mother and Drew don't think it's funny either. I think they're all just too close to the situation. From the point of view of an older sibling who got into her fair share of trouble in her time, it gave me a little chuckle. But only because nobody was hurt!

Oh, the pains of growing up! The pains of being a parent of a careless teen! The joys of being a Big Sister who doesn't live in the same house anymore! *G*

Speedy Internet At Last!

I'm happy tonight. I finally ordered high speed internet through my cable company today. I've waited years for DSL to become available where I live. I have seen my neighbors up and down the street get it. But SBC refused to make it available along my little stretch of road, so I'm going to someone who will provide what I need. No more dial up connections that top off at 45.2kbps! My cable connection will be faster than DSL, and all's right with my world. As soon as the self-install kit arrives in the mail, I'm good to go.

Incidentally, I think it's funny that if one can install memory, ethernet adaptors, modems, etc. they automatically assume you're a man. Sad in this day and age, but there you have it.

The best part was that they were running a promotion (of course) so that I would only have to pay $19.99/month for the first 3 months. But the salesperson gave me 6 months at the special rate instead!

Good things do still happen.

Illustration Friday-Metropolitan

detail

Epiphany

The day before the London bombings the news coverage was focused on yet another bicycle riding accident of Bush's. Now, at first I was very angry over this. Not so much the coverage- after all, what reporter could resist the fact that the president of the US cannot ride a bike?- but rather I was angry for this very reason: the president of the US cannot ride a bike! I mean come on. That makes 3 bike accidents to be reported so far. What the hell is wrong with the man?

That's when it hit me.

George W. Bush is not human. He is a remote controlled robot that keeps cycling out of radio range!

I know, I know. I've been known to refer to him as a puppet more than once. I was wrong. But it all makes sense now. Remember that mysterious bulge in the back of his jacket during the debates? That wasn't a wire feeding him his debate lines. That was the cable to plug in the battery recharger to his remote receiver! As for his tendency to mangle words, this too is explained by my new theory. They simply haven't perfected his speech module yet!

It's all so clear to me now.

Some of you may think this is far-fetched, but I prefer it to the notion that the president can't ride a bike.

Photo Friday-Candid

August 13, 2004
My uncle's wedding in Wasilla, Alaska
Pictured: My new aunt bending over to kiss her little girl in between poses for the (professional) photographer.

It was a truly outstanding day!

For England

In memory, and in hope.

I Don't Know What To Say

My heart goes out to England today. My thoughts are with you.

Resistance is Futile

I keep trying to post something, but I must admit I am distracted. You see, The X-Files is on. Having only watched it occasionally when it originally aired, most of these late night episodes are new to me. The television is on as background noise and I try to ignore it, but it's no use. I keep getting sucked in. Mulder has just been returned, Scully is very pregnant and Doggett is working the X-Files alone while she's on maternity leave.

Saved from introspection by supernatural programming. Something's out there alright. It's my tv, and it's calling me.

Goodnight!

Illustration Friday-Sport

To be very honest, I was annoyed with this topic. Only a couple of weeks ago this was the Photo Friday topic, and I wasn't thrilled about it then. Only the touch of OCD I suspect I harbor made me participate this week; I simply couldn't skip it. So this is my contribution to "Sport," inspired by Sam's love of the game Fetch.

July 4th Picnic

seen at the cook-out today.

We stuffed ourselves like pigs and I felt as though I had swallowed this thing whole at the end, so it seemed the most appropriate image to share. We had a really good time and met a nice family new to the area. Normally not a social creature, I was relaxed with everyone present, though I didn't know half of the people there.

I hope everyone's day was as pleasant!

Airy Concerns

I've just read that Bush doesn't want to cut greenhouse gas emissions. I can only assume this reluctance is due to sympathy with all sorts of vapor, his head being full of the stuff.

I wonder if pins are banned in the White House for fear of popping him?

Vortex

Cursed Computer?

I spent the day not helping my friend set up her DSL. I tried to help her yesterday, only to discover that her computer needed a memory upgrade. I looked up the specs for her computer model, located the type of memory required and made a date to meet with her today to go buy it. So she drove over, picked me up and we journeyed to Torrington together, about 30 minutes away. We quickly found what we needed and returned to her home in Sharon, about 30 minutes from Torrington and 20 from me. I went over, unplugged her computer, opened it up and installed the memory. No sweat. Hooked everything back up again, turned on computer and it worked like a dream. I continued to install her DSL. I install phone filters, hook up the modem and then...

she had no ethernet adaptor.

I left her at home and took her car to run back to Torrington to buy an ethernet adaptor. Get back to her place. Unplug everything, open computer and install ethernet adaptor, stabbing myself with a screwdriver in the process. I stem the blood flow and reconnect computer to its wiring again. Installed drivers for ethernet adaptor with a couple of false starts requiring reboots. Thanks, Windows.

I thought the ordeal was coming to an end as the DSL software installed itself. At the last moment, when there was only a sliver remaining on the right side of the bar that shows your installation progress, it froze and refused to load anymore.

I wanted to cry.

We called tech support and learned that there was a problem with the DSL line itself and they will need to send a repairman out to fix it. There was nothing more I could have done. My friend brought me home.

She had picked me up at 1pm. I got home at 10:45. Subtract 2.5 hours for shopping and lunch, the rest of the time was spent as described above.

The funny thing is that while all of that probably reads as a complaint, I actually had a pretty good time. I had a project, a challenge upon which to focus and which I was sure I could accomplish. I would have, too, if it weren't for SBC and their meddling DSL lines. Sorry, slipped momentarily to the end of a Scooby-Doo episode there. I need sleep.

My point is that while it was difficult and frustrating, it was fun too to sink my teeth into something that really occupied me.

Now I'm just looking forward to bed!

Photo Friday-Used

The weathered and well-worn surface of a saw-horse.

Mental and Physical Journeys

The nursing home had their annual picnic today, so I joined my mother and sister there with my (step) grandmother. Her alzheimer's has now progressed to the point where it's obvious she no longer knows who I am. She knows that she knows me, but she doesn't know how and doesn't like to ask. I work hints into the conversation for her to help her, but she's more or less beyond being able to work it out anymore. It's the same with my mother and sister, though she's better with my mother because my mother works at the nursing home and sees her almost everyday. Grammie can work out who she is and is comfortable with her. As she sees me with my mother, she knows she's safe with me. I'm not hurt by any of this; I've known for a long time this was coming. The earlier years of her life were the happiest for her, and that is where she is retreating to. I'm sad that this is happening to her, but there's some comfort in knowing that the world she's living in now is one that makes her happy. To her mind it's entirely possible that her parents or her siblings- long gone- will walk through the door and invite her for a swim in the river behind their old house in New Brunswick. I think that's a sweet illusion, and not one I would strip from her.

After the picnic we shared with her, my mother and I took my 14 year-old sister to the high school to meet up with her Travel Club. They boarded a school bus and drove to Newark where they were to meet another high school Travel Club at the airport. The two groups are merging over the next week and a half, and right now are flying to Europe. They'll be touring Germany, Austria and southern Switzerland. It wasn't cheap- both mom and Ash worked hard and saved every cent to send her- but we couldn't let Ash miss the opportunity to go. I freely admit that I am jealous. Who wouldn't be? But I'm so very happy for her that she is able to go. Mom is terrified that something might happen to Ash and I'm thinking that some valium should be slipped into her tea. Underneath her fears, though, she is also glad that Ash went.

I just hope Ash has a wonderful time!