Erring Errand Boy

The problem with being married to a man who knows everyone is that, when you send him to the store (a 10 minute drive mind) to pick up a couple of things for dinner, he is usually gone for over an hour. Tonight he went to the grocery store and wound up sitting down to play cribbage with a friend in the back room there. He was gone for so long that I took to speaking to my dog in French. By the time Randy came home, poor Sam was a nervous wreck, pacing back and forth and sticking his head through the curtains, confused and desperately seeking help.

Apparently Sam only speaks American.

So does Randy.

They sat together when Randy came home and commiserated with each other about Life With Me.

BTW, Randy was forgiven for being late because he brought me sugar-free pudding.

Before and After

I've located some photos from the day we moved into our house. Rather than bore you with room by room shots, many of which wouldn't reveal anything new, I only posted the most dramatic or illustrative shots paired with their "after" images. I know that one or two people have had trouble accessing the photos from their computers, but I may have a solution:

View photos with broadband connection.

or

View photos with dial-up connection.

I hope that helps.

The photos of the kitchen don't do justice to just how abominably industrial turquoise (and if that isn't the color's name, it should be) those walls actually were in daylight. Also, I painted a silly mask over my husband's face in one shot as he's uncomfortable having his picture taken, let alone posted. Silly man, but I'm silly over him so that's ok.

But Aravis, what's new in your world other than home improvement, illustrations and photos?

Not much. All evening I've had the nagging feeling that I want something, but I don't know what it is. It's not food, drink or sex; it's something I don't currently have available. I just want... what? Perhaps the answer is as simple as "sleep." I haven't had much of that lately, but I can sleep in tomorrow.

Illustration Friday-Fresh

Fred likes a fresh look every day...

Look What I Found

While cleaning the cabin I came across this old photo tucked in a book. This is me with my brother Andrew and our baby sister Ashley in '91. I have always adored them, and we're this close still. Well, Andrew and Ashley fight but then, they're teens living in the same house. They're supposed to fight just now.

Speaking of the cabin, some of you expressed an interest in it, and in what I'm doing with my house. I've taken and uploaded some photos of my home as it is now. I have some horrific ones from when we moved in somewhere, and if I can find them I'll share them with you too so you can see how far we've come. On the agenda when we secure a loan:

-Remove the large windows in the livingroom and replace with bay windows. The amount of heat we lose in the winter is staggering...

-Replace ceiling tiles with something less likely to induce nightmares.

-Sand and refinish the floors.

-Update electrical system

-Remove wood panels from walls and have a huge bonfire, followed by sheet rocking of said walls. Paint etc. to finish it all off.

-Finish replacing old bathroom tiles, retile bathroom floor, new sink and vanity.

-New cabinetry and countertops in kitchen. Also new stove.

There's more that I'm forgetting right now, but it's enough to get your imaginations stirring. Some of the photos posted are a little grainy, and I apologize. It was rainy today and the lighting quality was poor, so I had to manipulate some photos a little in order for you to see. Oh, I forgot to mention in the photo captions that when you look at my photo of the hall and doors, the guest room/office is on your left, our bedroom on the right. You can't see their entries in the photo. So enjoy the slideshow and welcome to my little world!

Cleaning the Cabin

I did battle today. I waged war on dust, cobwebs and mouse droppings. I tackled the cabin, and may I never have to do anything that nasty again!

The log cabin was the original structure of our house. The cabin has not been lived in since its original owner about 100 years ago. The rest of the structure was tacked on and served as a boat show room. The cabin became a store room. The boat store eventually went out of business and this place became residential instead, but nobody ever used the cabin- accessible through a door in the kitchen- again. Honestly, I don't get this. It's a large room with a screened-in porch off of it, built-in bookcases and a fireplace. It has so much potential! But other than passing through it to get to the laundry room, reached through a door opposite the porch door, this room might as well not exist. Randy and I are working to change that, but this means tackling literally decades of neglect. Which is what I did today. I have the appraiser coming over first thing in the morning to look at our house, and I wanted that room presentable. There's still some things out there, but nothing too unwieldy. I plan to start taking and sharing some photos of the house: what it was like, what we're doing, and eventually the final product. I'll take shots of the cabin tomorrow for you, when I can get some natural light in there. At one time, that room was so full of crap being stored not only by us but by family members, that there was only a tiny path from the kitchen to the laundry room and to the porch door. Everything else was solid boxes, furniture or garbage waiting to go to the dump. Ugh.

So I scrubbed the surfaces of the cabin clean, though not the windows. Ran out of time, but they're passable. And now, dear Reader, know that if I suddenly disappear from my blog, it's due to contracting some rare disease carried by old dried up mouse poop. I wore gloves, etc. but still felt filthy by the time I was done. A shower was never so sweet!

On a funny note, Wheezy was most displeased with me today. I wanted to listen to music while I cleaned, but my portable cd player was broken. I could crank the music up in the living room, but with the cabin door closed I couldn't hear it very well. I didn't want the cats and dog out in the cabin with me, getting into things and generally being nuisances, so I couldn't leave the door open. I was just about to give up and clean without music- the horror!- when I spotted the tv by the door, waiting to go to the dump. More importantly, I saw its cord snaking across the floor. So I turned on the music in the living room, opened the door to the kitchen about an inch, and tied the tv cord around the door knob so the pets couldn't pull the door open any further. For the next couple of hours Wheezy worked that door every which way she could think of, with no results other than my personal amusement. She even bitched me out a few times, thinking I would cave to her imperatives and let her join me. Cold-hearted woman that I am, I ignored her. She never gave up. When I was finally finished, she was waiting just inside the kitchen and tried to dart past me out to the cabin. She was unsuccessful, and sulked for most of the evening.

Sometimes life is good.

Beautiful

A friend sent me to this site. I wish I could paint like this!

If you're at work, you may want to turn down the volume on your speakers. Not that I'm encouraging you to misbehave on the job or anything. Get back to work!

At some point, when you feel like it. *G*

Settling In Again

My brother and some of his friends hopped a bus for Washington yesterday to take part in the anti-war rally there. I'm so proud of him, and wished I could have gone as well. I can't wait to hear his stories when he comes home.

Randy and I are getting the house ready to be viewed by an appraiser on Monday. Randy has bourne the brunt of it, doing the heavy work that I'm unable to do. The rewards are great however as I move more freely about my (mostly) uncluttered house. I have to tackle a couple of things on my own later today. Randy will be returning to his full-time job in the morning, though he won't have to return to his part-time job until next week so we'll still have more time together in the evenings. I actually prefer to work on projects around the house while he's gone so as to surprise him when he comes home, hopefully in a pleasant way. Still, I'm going to miss having him constantly underfoot. I've grown kind of used to having him around.

Photo Friday-Burn

Best move before the lasers come shooting out of her eyes...

Williamsburg

It began with us sneaking away in the night like thieves. The only thing stolen however was time to ourselves. Not even the saddest of sad brown puppy dog eyes could keep us home. We knew he, like his feline counterparts, would be well cared for. So we loaded up the rental car and began a 10 hour drive at 2am. It was long and tiring, but we enjoy road trips and handle it well. We found our hotel, and were in for a pleasant surprise.

This vacation was a gift from my mother, which she purchased through Quixtar/Amagift. A book full of destination choices is provided and we had to give 3 possible destinations of interest, in order from greatest to least desirability. We would get a hotel in the first available location. Choices should be made within a certain time frame from desired arrival. I did all of this, but our choice destinations were all booked. However as I had put in my request in a timely manner, they put us up in another hotel in one of our chosen areas, which is how we wound up in Williamsburg. So instead of staying in a regular hotel, they had to find another place to put us.

They put us in a large time-share condo, fully furnished and supplied! It was basically an apartment with everything we could need and more. In addition to a large master suite with jacuzzi, it had a second bedroom (I teased Randy that this was his room) with another bathroom attached to it. The condo had a livingroom complete with entertainment center and stereo system, a dining room, a full kitch and a large private balcony overlooking a pond. It was wonderful! Perhaps too much so; hard to leave that. The resort also had indoor and outdoor pools, on site mini golf and arcade for kids, weight room, picnic area and more. The only disadvantage to the change was that once each day someone would call from the timeshare company to invite us to a sales pitch. This was obnoxious, considering our trip was bought and paid for, not one of those free vacations if you'll listen to their sales pitch deals. So that was rude. But they always seemed to call at 10am, then leave us alone for the rest of the day. Easily ignorable.

The first day we were too tired from driving to do much. We drove around town, located the grocery store to stock up and grabbed a bite to eat to bring back to our room. I watched the Emmy's- Randy fell asleep at their start- and then I, too, collapsed exhausted. I hadn't had much sleep for a couple of days and needed to recuperate.

Monday we bummed around the condo complex in the morning, exploring. We headed over to Colonial Williamsburg, but decided that we would rather wait until the next day when we would have more time to fully explore. So we picked up some things at the gift store, as well as their brochures for the town to look over for the next day. Then we headed back downtown and did some shopping. I bought some much needed new clothing and some books. Randy bought himself some games and clothes as well. We swung by Kmart and discovered that everything was half off. So we splurged and bought a new 27" tv for the living room. Our old one was beginning to go and the new one only cost about $175. So our big souvenir from Williamsburg is a tv. There's something wrong about that, but there you have it. We went out to dinner at Uno's around the corner from our condo, then settled in to watch Medium. I love that show! A soak in the jacuzzi and then it was time for bed.

Tuesday we headed back to Colonial Williamsburg, and this time we actually made it over to the historic area. We opted to walk from the visitors' center rather than take their shuttle. As you leave the center, you cross a long bridge covered in brass plaques. Each one represents a time in history, and what it would have meant for you. As you walk towards Williamsburg, you go back in time. Amazing the shock as you watch your rights stripped away and slowly become a subject of the crown. Along the way you pass under a couple bridges as well, and then come to your first scene. It is a new plantation being built by a man and his slaves. You can talk to the slaves, but not to the man as far as I could tell. The photos seen here and in my previous entry were taken inside his tiny little home. That's all there was to it, except for the little room you reach by climbing a ladder to the right as you look at yesterday's photo. That would be the dark wood seen there. Leaving the plantation and slaves behind, we came to the gatehouse. We took the quick orientation tour recommended by our ticket agent. It was wonderfully informative and fun without being too long. Then we went to grab a bite to eat in Merchant's Square before exploring. Unfortunately at this point in the afternoon, the skies turned gray and the constant rumble of thunder came closer and closer. We toured the rest of Williamsburg at a quick pace. Many vendors were packing up and closing shop because of the coming storm. We ran out of time. We managed to quickly view the Governor's Palace gardens, but not the interior of the place. The thunder was the start of a tremendous storm. We lost power for a little bit, but it provided quite a light show off the balcony!

Randy and I agree that we need to return sometime and see everything more in-depth. Not just Colonial Williamsburg, but more of the area. We only had a couple of days which isn't nearly enough to see everything. So from that perspective one might say the trip was a bust.

One might, but I wouldn't.

This trip was a strange one for me. Normally I hate going on vacation and hanging out at the hotel. My feeling is that if I'm going to go away somewhere, I should actually leave the hotel and see the place I've gone to. To a degree, that held true. But I didn't have the driving need to fill up my days with activities the way I have in the past. I was content to just be, even if only in my condo. If I just wanted to lounge, well then, that's all I was going to do. That's pretty novel for me. The other odd thing is that normally I become deeply depressed whenever I have to return from a vacation, especially if I didn't get to see or do everything. Not this time. I really enjoyed my stay, but I wasn't upset at all when it was time to come home, despite not seeing or doing everything. This never happens, but I'm not knocking it. I'm happy. I had a good trip, and now I'm happy to be home. Not bad.

On a side note, Randy noticed a sign recruiting Secret Service Agents as we drove through Richmond. He thought it was kind of odd. I thought I should join up. What do you think?

Anyway, you can find pics of our condo and Colonial Williamsburg here. I'll be adding this to my other photo links on the left shortly.

Home Again

I've returned safe and sound, despite my husband's best efforts to the contrary on the drive home. I'm fairly exhausted, so I'll catch up with everyone later, after I've had some rest. I've missed you all, and missed blogging too. It was a wonderfully relaxing time but I'm happy to be home.

More photos and details about the trip later.

Time to get some sleep!

UPDATE

I'm submitting this to Photo Friday for their Best of 2005 topic. I don't really have one photo that I consider my best from this year, and while I may have better photos posted on my blog, most of those were taken in 2004 and to my mind are therefore ineligible. I don't like to cheat. So after (brief) consideration, I chose this one. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday-Escape

And with this, I make my own escape. I'm going to take a nap for a couple of hours, and then Randy and I will leave at 2 am to drive down to Virginia. That way we miss traffic and arrive early enough to freshen up and enjoy the day.

As I said in my last post, I'll catch up with my Illustration/Photo Friday friends when I return on Thursday.

In the meantime, have a wonderful week everybody!

Photo Friday-Divine

This photo has not been re-touched other than contrast and a small crop. Though it may look like the sneakered foot of God descending to crush the Blasphemer, in point of fact it is merely the reflection of my foot in the windshield on the drive home from Tennessee a couple of years ago. This shot always gives me a giggle, and seemed perfect for the theme.

Early Sunday morning Randy and I are leaving for our trip to Williamsburg, VA. I'll be back Thursday though, and will catch up with all Photo Friday and Illustration Friday friends then.

Now I have to try to find something to wear to a wedding tomorrow. The skirt I was going to wear was ruined somehow in the dry-cleaning process. Everything else I own is either inappropriate for the occasion, or on loan to my sister for a trip that she's on. I'd better figure something out though, as Randy frowns on me appearing nude in public, and only the bride is supposed to wear white.

*sigh*

Evil Aravis Appears

So I'm not proud of myself.

Due to stress, a stomach bug and a severe shortage of sleep (9 hrs. in 2 days) I was feeling resentful when I got out of bed this morning to prepare to greet the Sears repairmen who were supposed to come fix our dishwasher. Our tap water is full of lime and calcium and leaves a film on hand-washed dishes, so a dishwasher is a necessity. They had already made us wait a week to come repair it, so I was anxious to get it done. Randy called to confirm and they said that they were running ahead of schedule, so I could expect them between 9:30-10:30 am. I groggily watched a movie while waiting for them to show.

Only they didn't come. Instead they called at the last moment and said they would have to reschedule, giving me a number to call and do so. But Randy and I are going out of town for a few days, so now this means our dishwasher must wait for 2 more weeks.

I became quite angry.

I called the repair center to reschedule, and I let her know I was angry. I didn't yell. I didn't swear. I wasn't abusive. I told her that I realized this wasn't her fault and I wasn't blaming her for the situation, but that I wanted them to know I was angry. I was probably a difficult case for her. She really should have put me in touch with her supervisor to let him/her deal with me.

Instead, she hung up on me!

I called right back and asked to speak to a supervisor. I was disconnected.

I called once more and instead of choosing the repair dept. option, I went to customer service, explained everything and lodged a complaint about the woman who hung up on me. I have never done such a thing before, but I was livid at this point. The customer service girl was very sweet and apologetic, and I felt better after talking to her. I've never had this sort of problem with Sears before, and I'll continue to use them. It turned out that one of the repairmen who was supposed to show up suddenly started burning up with a fever of 102 and was being treated at the hospital. I feel badly for him. It's just that, you know, I am the center of the universe and his illness was dreadfully inconvenient for me at a time when I wasn't inclined towards compassion.

Just to be clear, that last was tongue-in-cheek. I do not truly believe I am the center of the universe. Just somewhere near it.

I told you I'm not proud of myself. I felt squirmy for a couple of hours, and that did nothing for my already upset stomach. I really, truly hate the emotional aftermath of my anger, and don't like me when I'm that way.

To end on a more positive note:

I spoke with the sponsee I mentioned a few posts ago, and without being confrontational I told her I could no longer be her sponsor. Hell, after the repair girl I was ready to just get any unpleasantness out of the way at once. I can't prove absolutely that my friend is drinking, so I left that out of it. I simply explained that I felt it was too much of a strain on our old friendship to blur the boundaries between being a sponsor/sponsee, and just being a friend. I'll continue to sponsor her until she gets a new one, and then I'm off the hook. She took it well and understood. So that weight is off my chest.

Also, Randy and I watched Fever Pitch tonight. Very funny. Sadistic soul that I am (don't believe me? Look at the title of this post again), I think my favorite scene is one that involves a rock-climbing wall. I snarfed my tea. Thankfully it was iced, not hot, or my nose would be quite sore.

Finally, Survivor. Yes, I know that many of you think it's rubbish that rots my brain, and you might be right. Can't be any worse than the damage I've already done to it, so I'll risk it. I like the show, and that's all there is to it. That being said, if I have something to say about the show in the future, I'll put it in an extended post so that only those others who are cheerfully rotting their brains with me will read them. See how much I love you all?

Now run along. I still have to go visit your blogs...

A Streak Of Burnished Copper

The days are getting a little shorter. So often now Sam's walks take place in a twilight world. It's really lovely, and we see more wildlife. The other evening Randy and I saw a beautiful fox gracefully bounding through the tall grass of the pasture to hide among the reeds edging a pond there. It was wonderful to see, and we mused about how idyllic a spot it was for a fox den. There's no lack of food or water, and its location inside the pasture secures it from the casual passers-by. There are four cows in the fields which are in no danger from the fox, and no other livestock, so the farmer allows the fox to live in peace. Across the road- ah, the fox must be cautious here!- there's a forest full of prey. Predators, too, I imagine. Life is never easy, however it may appear on the surface. All in all, though, I believe this creature has a pretty good life. I can only be happy for it. After all, it made me smile.

PS- For the faithful followers of the urban fox, I'm not revealing its gender. ;0)

Photo Friday-Massive

This wasn't my favorite topic, and I found it difficult to do as a result. I made a stab at it anyway. I figure I can't grow if I only tackle projects which interest me. I wanted to behave, so that left all the fun shots out. I don't even know how many different shots I've tried of many different things. Nothing worked for me. So this is what I wound up with. And yes, I read the whole thing.

Illustration Friday-Depth

He lives under a fault line and creates all sorts of havoc when he stretches in his lair...

Feeling A Little Down

For some reason I can't get the song Zuckerman's Famous Pig, from Charlotte's Web, out of my head.

Equally apropos of nothing, I have come to realize that I am a Crate and Barrel woman with a Kmart budget. Although for accents I would skip C&B and go right for Pier 1 Imports. Someday, I'll be able to afford these things again.

But what has really been on my mind, truth be told, is that I suspect my friend (and AA sponsee) is drinking again. She is behaving as she did the last time she was drinking on the sly. Her daughter called me last night and voiced the same opinion. There's not much I can do about this. I've asked her upfront if she's begun to drink again, and of course she denied it. She denied it the last time too, when in fact she was. So her denial isn't holding water with me. All the signs and behaviors are there, and I could list the evidence against her. But it all boils down to the same thing: I believe she's drinking. Next question is what am I going to do about it?

She has become a huge source of stress in my life, and if my suspicions are true then I am dropping her as a sponsee. I'll remain her friend- we've been friends for 5 years during which time she was sober until last December- but will distance myself a little more. I'm tired of playing her games and being manipulated. Enabling her in this behavior won't do her any favors. I'm just sad and tired and frustrated. But this too shall pass, as the saying goes.

I hope she can find a way to be honest with herself and others, so that she may truly get and remain sober some day.

This Candle

This is for my grandfather on his birthday. He's far away and difficult to reach in the religious community of which he is a member. But I think of him often and miss him. He was always boyish and fun, but firm when needed. His rumbly, deep, English-accented voice introduced me to Tolkien, Lewis, Mowat and more. To this day when I read a book that he once read to me, I hear his voice in my mind reading along with me. The happiest memories of my childhood often involve him, my grandmother and my aunts and uncles. I'll forever be grateful to have had him in my life. And because I know he'd wish it:

This candle is dedicated as well to those who perished on September 11, 2001 in Pennsylvania, Washington and New York. In loving memory.

It is dedicated as well to all of those affected by Katrina, not the least of which are the animals. They're never far from my thoughts.

This candle is for all who are suffering, for whatever reason, wherever they may be found in the world.

And so in the end, this candle has been lit in the name of love, compassion, hope and peace for all. It's a dream, but a beautiful one I think.

Over to You

I'm feeling uninspired (uninspiring?) tonight. So I turn this post over to you.

What, in your opinion, is the worst movie you've ever seen?

I think for me it would be Teenage Vixens from Venus. Or were they simply from Outer Space? I can't recall now. I do know that it was one of those B or even C movies that, rather than frighten me, made me fall off the couch I was laughing so hard. People get turned into tomatoes and carrots, etc. An entire town gets turned into a summer squash or somesuch. It was the worst I've ever seen, and I recommend it to everyone who might need a laugh.

Your choices can be so bad they're funny, like mine, or they can just plain suck.

Take it away!

Some Thoughts

I might leave Randy for Hugh Laurie, were it an option. Strangely, this doesn't seem to concern Randy much...

After viewing almost 600 photo submissions to last week's Photo Friday topic, Order, I found myself wondering in a passing sort of way about the need of man to organize the hell out of everything. We do seem to love order and symmetry. Well, you do. My desk looks like a trash basket vomited on it. But I know where everything is, and that works for me.

This week's Photo Friday topic is Massive. Suggestive that, but I'll probably behave. I wonder if everyone else will?

I was commenting to Randy tonight that, from a career standpoint, I lack passion other than avoiding human contact at all costs. However as yet I have not been able to turn this pasttime into a lucrative business. I'll keep thinking about it and see what I can come up with.

Finally, I invite you to see what Chad posted about Bush. Pretty funny!

Update
And the answer to my Photo Friday question is: no.

Annoyed

I need a vacation.

People are annoying the crap out of me, either through their actions or their existence. As I am taking my meds and am not PMS'ing at this time, I can only conclude that it's time for a vacation.

Perhaps I would be in a better mood if someone hadn't called and woken me up this morning to accuse me of screwing up her computer because I taught her how to run disk cleanup (when in fact what happened is she went online and downloaded a virus because she was too cheap to buy virus protection). This did not endear her to me. When the truth about what she'd done came out, I really wanted to hang up on her. I told her to get the virus protection right away and not go online until she did. As usual, she didn't listen and then blamed me. So now she gets to pay to clean out her computer in addition to paying for virus protection when her computer is up and running again.

I need a vacation.

Fortunately, our mini vacation is coming up soon (the 18th-22nd) and while I'll have my cell phone with me, she won't have its number! Unfortunately, my mother-in-law will have the number. She's taking care of our pets while we're gone. But at least a cell phone can be ignored in a way that someone barging into your house cannot. *G*

Photo Friday-Order

Illustration Friday-Roots

No Sex. Station Break. Interrupted Sex. Getting Screwed.

Andrew (my brother) and I went to the movies tonight, just the two of us. We rarely spend any real time alone together, so it was nice. We went to see The 40 Year Old Virgin. This was a very funny movie, especially as I know some men a lot like the ones seen in this film. *G* I think the final scene was my favorite, involving the song Age of Aquarius. I can't describe; you just have to see. Another chuckle? Two characters were listing signs that a man might be gay. Liking Coldplay was one of them...

I also caught the final episode of The Closer tonight. That show has proven to be extremely satisfying. I'm bummed that I'll have to wait until next summer for another season, but I've got Everwood and Medium to watch on Monday nights instead. I hope this season of Everwood is better than the last one. Ephraim has become annoyingly self-pitying and angry.

On another note, I believe I need to start locking my doors; living in the country, you'll find most people don't bother. Anyway, Randy came home early today because of the holiday and we were enjoying one another's company when all of a sudden, my mother-in-law just walks into our house! The bedroom door was open and the room is visible from the living room. I dove to close the bedroom door- she didn't see anything- while Randy quickly made himself presentable. Then he went out to see what she wanted, hoping to get rid of her quickly. Instead his mother settled in on the couch to have a cozy chat with her son. Randy, not thinking straight, told her I wasn't home when she asked where I was, so I had to stay quiet in the bedroom. But the more I thought of Randy sweating it out with his mother in the other room, the more I had to stifle my laughter. I mean, we're married consenting adults in our own home, and I'm being stashed away as though we were teens surprised by the early return of parents! Later though, I started to feel annoyed that she walked in without so much as knocking! I wonder when she slipped into that habit, and why we never noticed? It never seems to occur to her that Randy and I might want to be left alone when he gets time off from work. BTW, she came by two more times today, at less critical moments, and always for inane reasons. I want a cloaking device for my husband's car; she never just pops in when he isn't home.

*sigh*

Lastly, here's a funny flash video music clip about the effects of increased gas prices. Take a look.

The Weekend So Far

My face is sunburnt from helping out at the tag sale this weekend, and I have that sleepiness that seems to accompany this sort of thing. No big deal though. I made $50 from the sale of books and videos mostly, so that's nice. And my friend John is taking one of the bookcases I was lamenting the other day. The second one is in rougher condition, and currently resides in my garage. I may decide to keep it out there for storage since it's scratched up anyway. Or I may decide to put it in next year's tag sale. Whatever.

Have any of you seen the movie Eurotrip? College students were probably their target audience and it's over the top sometimes, but I still found myself cracking up while watching it tonight. Especially funny to me were the scenes with the crazed Manchester Utd. fans. I kept thinking of my blogging friends over in the U.K. for some reason. *G* Lots of naked women in the movie for those who care about that sort of thing. On the other hand, there were lots of naked old men too. Balance in all things, you know. ;0)

Now on a more serious note, the government has been slow to help the people down south. However, they have already hired Halliburton to take care of their own there.

Also, the southern states hit by the hurricane desperately need healthcare professionals and relief personnel. If you or anyone you know are interested in going there to help out, you can find more information here.

Finally, feeling the need to end on a happier note, my brother and I are going to see The 40 Year Old Virgin tomorrow. I'll let you know what I think...

More From My Aunt

My aunt has continued to work 12 hour shifts in the nursing home, while her husband and my cousins have been volunteering throughout Baton Rouge as needed. The administrator of the nursing home gave her and some of the other nurses today off to rest so they don't become sick themselves. My aunt took the opportunity to go into the community with some of her church members to help out. Tonight she emailed about what she had seen, and I wanted to share it with you. I've blanked out the name of her employer to protect privacy:

There's an eerie quiet in the sky this evening because the helicopters and planes have stopped flying overhead for a while. We understand that most of the evacuees stuck in NO are out to safe areas but the tragic thing is the dead or dying that are left behind. They haven't yet completely combed the remaining buildings for bodies--that is the grueling task they face ahead. We haven't been allowed close enough yet to view the severest damage first hand, but if I can I will get pictures once we're allowed in...not for sensationalism, but for a first-hand account that isn't on the news. This isn't something to sensationalize--it just hits you in the heart and one can only imagine in a minute way what war must feel like when you're up close and personal.

Today I joined other members of our church to sort through clothes and toys that have been donated and to go out to some of the areas that have needs. We went to R__ to provide food for the staff and families stranded there (really good Louisiana homemade Jambalaya with a salad and bread!) and to assist in any way we could. Some helped feed the many extra residents there (we don't want to call them refugees any more as we're getting to know them as real people now) and some helped bring in new beds being delivered for the many residents still sleeping on the floor. (Unfortunately the beds were not usable when they arrived as they were more like gurneys and we couldn't use them safely.) Some went to minister to those who asked for a verse from the Bible or just needed some reassurance, and others went around with a guitar and a songbook, singing requested songs. I think they needed that more than anything else, because I saw more smiles in those 2 hours than I had seen all week. Things are slowly improving in that facility, thanks to the outpouring of help-and our adjustment to the situation.

After finishing there we went to two hotels which were packed with refugees. We set up outside each one and several of the guys ran around knocking on doors to let them know free food and clothing was available. The first hotel wasn't very full-those that could no longer pay their stay had been "kicked out" to find a shelter. The people in the 2nd hotel we went to-probably close to 200 of them-were negotiating with the manager, trying to avoid the fate of so many being pushed out. They came in droves for their food and picked up clothing. We also provided bags of baby food and diapers. We had a canopied area set up near by (it's still in the 90's down here all day) and offered prayer and support to those who asked for it. Several of the people had their faces puffed up and badly peeling from sunburn, having spent so long in the heat and the sun stranded on the rooftops or interstate. They all just looked down, exhausted, as if all the rest and food in the world couldn't take away their worry and their discouragement. One lady asked if anyone knew how to get more oxygen for her mother-and Paul and I went to her hotel room to check and see what her mother was using. They had evacuated on Sunday and were staying in the hotel trying to find other family and to decide what to do. The oxygen concentrator wasn't working and her portable oxygen tank was almost empty. We were able to get the concentrator filter cleaned up, and the tubing changed (it was full of water from condensation so the oxygen wasn't going through). With my fingers crossed I called an oxygen supply place and they were most obliging, saying they were staying open 7 days a week to meet this kind of need, often free of charge. They were able to fill her portable oxygen tanks-this elderly lady was dependent on this. That's the kind of thing we see most often -just a bewilderment in people, a numbness as to how to go about solving problems they hadn't had to face before, but also a desire by so many (like this oxygen supplier) to meet the needs regardless of what it means financially. I feel so thankful that we are able and available to help with these small but crucial things.

We're also working with other local churches to organize relief to thousands of refugees in Metairie (pronounced Met-ah-ree) which was hit by the hurricane and also flooded, but not as badly. There are huge churches filled with people sleeping on the floor and without food. The power is still out in that area. What we'll be doing is convoying food made by churches up here down to the churches in Metairie-hot, cooked food. We're also supplying water. The homeless situation is bad-there are still people sleeping in the shade of the interstate overpasses for lack of a better place. It's hard to sleep on the ground here because of the fire ants and so they look for shaded cement. One of our relief efforts includes finding housing either here or in other states. Central Louisiana doesn't have many job opportunities so isn't the best place to relocate to. Southern LA is too crowded right now. Many are thinking they might start a whole new life and move out of the Deep South altogether...but you wonder if they will feel differently once they've been away from the chaos and confusion for a while. This has been their home for most if not all their lives.

I baked some cookies tonight to add to the bag lunches we're making for refugees and ran out of eggs-called Paul on the road and asked him to pick some up. He had to hit 3 different stores before he found some. He said there are many staple foods missing from the shelves because of the high demand and the big influx of people. Even milk is running low. As in many parts of the country, the gas prices are climbing and the supply is limited so you have to go hunting for gas. Someone who is coming down to help out said they had to fly into Memphis in order to find an area that had rental cars available, and will drive down to LA from there. The airport in Baton Rouge is open in a limited way but the rental cars are used up. The New Orleans airport is closed, except for emergency aircraft. Last night one of the patients at R__ began hemorrhaging from a surgical site and had to be sent to the hospital-the ambulance crew asked me to go with them because they only had one EMT on board because of the shortage of emergency workers in Baton Rouge-they were all needed in NO. That is just an example of how this city is impacted. The fairgrounds, several miles from where we live, are filled with tents and campers housing refugees and workers who have also flooded the city. It seems like every square inch is filled.

Anyhow-I think this is all for now. The brain gets kind of numb when you start to think of the enormity of it all. It's not just New Orleans but also Gulfport and Biloxi which is wiped out completely-beyond recognition. Paul and I were there in June looking for beaches to take the kids to and ate at a few wonderful little restaurants there which you can't even see now. Like I said, when we can we will take pictures to send to you.

By the way, I want to add one thing because I can hear it being discussed on CNN behind me: I cannot and neither can anyone else I have been in contact with, black or white, believe that some are wishing to make this a racial thing. The fact of the matter is that our Governor was slow in approving deploying the National Guard and the paperwork held things up. Whoever makes the decision to deploy is the one who pays for it. Many here believe that Gov Blanco waited too long, hoping the NG would get orders from the government, saving the state of LA some millions of $. New Orleans is over 60% black and very poor-you can see that easily if you venture beyond the tourist places. Most of them probably had no clue a hurricane was imminent. I truly do not believe that help was delayed because of the color of the skin of the refugees. You get pretty sick of hearing that kind of thing down here when all you want to do is reach out a hand. I don't hear the refugees saying this-it's mostly said by someone who wants to inflame the situation, maybe trying to make sense of it all somehow, who knows.

Redirection

I'm pretty tired and head-achey tonight, so I think instead I'll direct your attention to a great photo blogger, Ali. He is a student in New Orleans. He managed to get out and shared some of his thoughts on what's going on. He also found some excellent photos through online news sources to share.

So if you're interested, check out Beyond.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

My mother-in-law is having her annual tag sale on our lawn this weekend and I'm putting some of our things in it. Most of the stuff I'll be happy to see the last of: dishes, books I didn't like, etc. However I find myself getting emotional over something I'm letting go of. Or rather, somethings.

Two bookcases.

They're nothing much to look at, slightly fancier than most tall pre-fab bookcases one can find at K-Mart or WalMart. But I've had these two bookcases since I was 8 years old, and I'm finding it a little painful to say good-bye.

I don't need them anymore; I have built-ins in the cabin portion of the house in addition to a few smaller cases in other rooms. The ones I'm selling are bulky and take up too much space. It's just that they have formed a part of the background of my life for the majority of it. I spent a great deal of time alone when I was younger. I would pour over the books on these cases and lose myself in the treasures I found there. I discovered one of my favorite books- Animal Farm- on those shelves. And though the bookcases are each 8' tall, my first cat was able to jump from the floor to the very tops of the cases and used to do so to get away from me. *G* With memories like that, is it any wonder it's hard to let go?

It's time, I know it is. I've cleared one of them off already and have been cleaning the built-ins and shifting things to them. I don't want to sell my bookcases.

But I need to.

Illustration Friday-Dreams

When I was twelve I was in the middle of reading all of the Chronicles of Narnia. I was a voracious reader as a child and completely immersed myself in fantasy worlds. They were so much better than my reality, you see. Movies and television could be equally absorbing. A television movie version of Alice Through The Looking Glass came out around then, and its special effects were excellent for the time. This was the early 80's and I was living in Texas. Every summer I would fly back to Connecticut and New Jersey to visit relatives. I looked forward to this all year long. However at this time DC-10's kept crashing either through faulty mechanics or deliberate actions on the part of bombers/hijackers. Only the year before when Dad, my step-sister and I were changing planes in North Carolina, we noticed that there was a long line of people waiting to board the plane we had just left. They weren't being allowed to board because the plane was being searched. It turns out that while we were in the air, someone had called in and said there was a bomb on our flight. We knew nothing of it until we disembarked. Scary. Incidentally, there was no bomb. But you can see why I might feel some trepidation about flying by myself on a DC-10 the following year!

All of these factors combined to form my most memorable dream, and believe me, I have some strange dreams! But I don't believe any have topped this one:

I'm flying on a DC-10 and though the plane is full, none of my family are aboard. The flight starts out quite smoothly and I'm not at all worried. Up ahead a mountain looms, but I know that the plane will just fly over it. However just as we reach the mountain, a 200' gingerbread man appears and with a giant smile reaches out and smashes out plane to the ground! The plane breaks cleanly in two, and most people are dead. The gingerbread man chuckles, declaring that he is turning the tables and eating us for a change. He starts pulling people out of the plane and popping them in his mouth as though they were the tasty treat at the center of the crunchy shell that was the plane. Amidst the smoke and confusion, I manage to get away to the other side of the mountain. I know I'm not out of danger yet and am looking for a place to hide. Before me, for as far as the eye can see, is a checkerboard land divided in two by a hedge. I run to the hedge and hide inside it. As I curl up and try to adjust to all that has happened, a large golden lion and an equally large black dog approach the hedge from opposite sides of the board. They know I'm inside and an argument ensues over whose slave I should be. I realize that had I run to one side of the hedge or the other, I would clearly belong to one of these two rulers. However I chose the middle ground, and a sharp debate was being waged over who I belonged to. I knew that if I went with the lion, I would be safe and well. I wouldn't really be a slave. Silently I prayed to go with the lion.

I awoke before a decision was reached.

Then of course there was the time I dreamt that H. R. Puffinstuff knocked on my door and when I answered it, pulled a matchbox out of his pocket, took my (tiny) mother out of the matchbox and gleefully squashed her between two fingers. This is not one of my mother's favorite dreams of mine, btw. *G*

Photo Friday-Chaos