Thursday, September 30, 2010

anchors aWeigh

My Weight watchers "diet" is going very well. After 8 weeks I have lost 14.5 pounds, not shabby at all. Once I hit 20 pounds I'll try on some of my too-small jeans; I love it, I can shop in my own closet.

These lovely days of autumn are my favorite time of year. Once winter arrives it will be all gray and overcast all the time, but for now the sky is glorious. No fall colors yet, that will happen after the frosts, but it's all too ephemeral. Maybe that is why it seems so special.

The convex portrait of my grandmother is not ready yet after its restoration and copying, but the couple who is doing it assures me it will be shipped this week. The lady said she has been showing it to everyone because Grandma looks so lovely. It is still a mystery to me why the portrait was made at all, it has to have cost a pretty penny at the time. And also odd is that I never saw it after all the summers we went to her house. Why would you not hang it? My uncle says it lived in the attic. I don't think my grandmother had a very good marriage. Granddad was a randy guy, and I would guess a tyrant at home as well. When I was in my teens he became far too "huggy" but according to one of my cousins that was the least of his tendencies. Grandma deserved better, I think, she worked herself to the bone, like many farm wives, cooking and sewing and raising 5 kids. When she was married she (and Granddad too) was a school teacher, and I wonder if she missed it. Maybe that is something she would not have talked about to a granddaughter, but I wish I had tried to get to know her as a person. But like most kids I was self centered and to me at the time she was just an old lady (younger than I am now!). She was 98 when she died, long after Granddad was gone; she lived with my aunt right until the end, and although I didn't see her often, I have one photo of her holding my baby daughter that I am very glad I took. If I can find my copy I will post it here.





I am rambling more than usual in this post, so I think I'll call it done for now.

Bumper sticker for the day ' A Freudian slip is when you say one thing and mean your mother."

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Manic Monday

Yes, I do realize that today is Thursday, but that's because Monday was too crazy to write about it then. SO:

Monday afternoon Norm fell down the stairs at our home, gaining a concussion and a battered, but not broken, arm. The time between calling 911 and getting in the ambulance was approximately two eons or so. N was making no sense, couldn't remember anything from that morning and asking the same questions over and over (why was I going downstairs? How did I fall? etc.)/ It was spooky; all I could think about was how my sister, 6 years ago, fell on an icy sidewalk and hit her head; at the ER they did a CAT scan and found bleeding in her brain; 2 surgeries later she died, having never regained consciousness. Not a happy thought, eh? But N was incredibly lucky, that falling than far upside down and on his back, he only cut his head (LOTS of blood) and bent his left arm. Huge hematoma and grossly swollen, but only cracked. No cast. 6 hours later, back at home. The people in the ER were terrific, although very busy, they kept us informed and moved us along as quickly as possible. Just a note: if you have to go to the ER, the best way is to arrive is in an ambulance (if warranted), eliminating all the torture of the waiting room + triage. N was himself by the time we went home, tracking all OK.

Not coincidentally I got to ride up front in the ambulance, lights and siren. It is totally amazing how stupid drivers are about getting out of the way of emergency vehicles. At one intersection, a man looked our way, and THEN pulled out in front of us. And you know how you always say, Damn I wish there were a cop around? Well there WAS. The statey flipped his lights on and caught the guy before we were clear of the intersection. I understand it is a huge fine... and deserved.



Bumper sticker for the day: "So many stupid people, so few comets"

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

oops

I shouldn't have mentioned a new template, because my code is very sensitive, cries easily then pouts, sorta like my daughter (joke!). Because my hit counter vanished and now hooks up to another web site. How this happens is a complete mystery, but I found another hit counter and you can see it over there--->
I had to guess at the starting number, so I probably show too many hits, but who cares, right?

Here's a rare picture of a two headed 8 legged horse:



Bumper sticker for the day: "Watch out - whatever hits the fan will not be distributed evenly"

thanks for reading.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Nightmares

Sitting here at 6 am trying to stay awake until the latest nightmare fades. Or maybe since it is morning it should be daymares?

I am into making candles, some 20 years after candles were the craze, one saw them for sale everywhere by crafts people, remember the carved ones that looked like Russian cathedrals? I could never bring myself to buy one, knowing they were far too pretty to burn, and now I wish I had one, so I could study how they were made. Isn't it weird, how we "save" good things so as not to mess them up or use them up? Like my good china and the sterling flatware, and who will ever use them then? Silly. Still I keep them behind china closet doors.

The candle thing is new for me, but so far I am enjoying it immensely. I burn a lot of candles, and the purchased ones are either very well made (like Yankee candles) and too expensive for something to burn up, or cheap but poorly made, where they burn down the center and eventually drown the wick. They smell good in the jar, but don't throw scent very well as they burn. Surely I can do better? Except that to get good homemade ones I spend more than the good ones would cost me. Ah well, it's the doing of the thing I enjoy. I can't (so far) bring myself to burn them (see above) yet, I will soon, can't really tell how good they may be without burning them. Currently trying to use up the purchased half burnt ones, one to get the jar to use, and two so I have place to put the new ones. If I ever get stocked up I'm going to go to a flea market and see if I can sell some. Like the old days, only plainer.

Does anyone know of a good blog template designer? I want a new look here, but the last time I did it myself I lost a bunch of formatting without a clue as to how to fix things. Always save the original version...

Bumper sticker for the day: "Remember - pillage then burn"

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Throw throw throw your coat

Update:
The folks who buy used furs didn't want mine as it is too old. So I found a furrier who will make it into a throw, about 3 feet by 4 feet. I'm thinking this will be a great thing to cuddle under, and more usable than the coat. Also, they will be returning the leftover fur, should I want to have a teddy bear made later. And pretty reasonable price too.

The fish story continues, I have been to all three of the local pet shops and none of them have any largish fish for sale, like around an inch or one and a half. Drat. So I got some wee tiny catfish and red tailed sharks, put them in the tank, and haven't seen more than one since. My hope is they are all there, but taking turns swimming in the front of the tank ;-).

Insomnia is once again plaguing me, and I spend countless hours trying to get from pleasantly sleepy to being actually asleep. Why do all the 'script types leave me groggy and grumpy (a miserable combo) the next day? I hate them all, and find the commercials for them irritating too. Grumpy.

It is too late (or early, i.e. 1:30 am) to be clever and I will sign this off. Maybe I will edit more in this post later, who knows?

Bumper sticker of the day: "Come to the dark side (we have cookies)."