This 'N That

I'm never "ready" for Christmas. However, I do have a bunch of cards ready to mail tomorrow - maybe they'll get there on time....

And - I've been trying for 2 days to order gifts online. I got a couple squared away, but messed up on the rest. For me, it really is faster to go to the store (but hard on the feet).

Think I might visit the Super Walmart tomorrow.

One thing I won't do is shop on Christmas eve. I did a few years ago and had a bit of a disagreement (shall we say) with a lady at Target. Back then I didn't have a cell phone. If I had, I would have called the cops.

She was no "lady" - and neither was I!

So I'm spending my days cleaning up after the puppy. She's getting it - slowly - and is probably wondering in her little head why Momma is so interested in her bodily functions.

She eats like a little pig. Gained 2 pounds in the first 10 days we had her!

On another note, there's nothing like a good movie to take one away from holiday stress and puppy stress. Last night I watched Super 8.

If you're a sci-fi fan, make sure you see it some time. And if you're not, I think you still might like it. It's got kids, zombies, a space monster, a sweet romance, lots of action, explosions and mystery. It might scare little kids, but for grown up and half grown kids it's a great movie:


The Kids - Amateur Movie Makers

Here Comes the Space Alien!

.... And There It Goes!

Did I mention it was produced by Steven Spielberg (think ET)?

That's it for now. Hope you're having a wonderful day - and don't worry about being "ready" for the holidays!


Family Addition

Faith speaks:

Y'know, they just won't leave well enough alone!

When I adopted these two mommas, there was a dog in their house already. The dog refused to leave, so I have been nice enough to let him stay.

But now they've done it. They've really done it!

Last week they brought home a puppy.

That thing piddles and poops everywhere, barks at me, and even had the nerve to sneak up behind me, with her tail waggin', like it was a game or something!

The first time she piddled in the living room I covered it up with my own pee and that made Momma Carol very angry. Well - if you don't want my help - OK, I won't do that again!

I explain to this dog with every creative growl and hiss that I know, and I've bopped her on the head a couple of times too, but she just won't leave.

Man, can she let out a yelp - somewhere an octave above high C - so loud and so high that I'll bet they can hear it for miles! She does that when I bop her one - heh, heh.

I'm tellin' ya, she'd better learn her place around here or there's gonna be blood!

Faith's momma (Carol) speaks:

No, there won't be blood, Faith.

The new puppy is Chica. Chica is a street child from Puerto Rico. We were told that there are a lot of dogs there who run loose on the streets and don't use birth control (shame!). Chica was three months old and weighed seven and a half pounds when we adopted her. She's very lovable but also quite feisty. She just won't back down from Faith.

Faith comes to me and "talks" about her unhappiness, in a variety of growls and whines. I feel for her. She's getting extra petting and brushing these days to make up for her stress.

I have no doubt Faith will continue to be the "Alpha" here, and the puppy will survive, and peace will prevail once more, but for now the adjustment is quite entertaining.

I also believe that eventually piddles and poops will learn that outside is where you put it!

Family Nap Time (dogs)

Family Nap Time (Alpha Cat)

On Organizing - And Being "Different"

I am organizationally impaired, deficient, disabled.

My daughter Beth, on the other hand, is a super organizer. She gets that from her Dad.

Beth comes to our house for the weekend and the first thing she does is organize her clothes - the clothes that stay here that go through the wash between visits but never get put away until she comes back. I tell myself that she'd rather do it herself - whatever!

After she's done with her own stuff, she starts organizing our stuff, cleaning dirty coffee cups off the desks, putting eyeglasses and car keys where they belong and - without being asked, I kid you not - emptying all the wastebaskets!

We love it when Beth comes to visit!

These photos were taken a few years back, but she hasn't changed very much. That is, except for quite a few grey hairs and her age. She's 37 years old now. Since coming to Florida she has attended an adult day treatment program where she gets instruction in academics, social skills and activities of daily living. Beth's favorite part of the program is the workshop, because she earns real money there.

Thirty-seven years ago I would get up at night and rock this little baby and cry and cry. Then one night I looked down at her sleeping peacefully and realized she didn't have a care in the world. She didn't know she had Down Syndrome. She didn't know her life would be substantially different than most people's.

It was then that I started taking her life - and mine - "one day at a time."

I started noticing that my worries about the future took up space in my head and drained my energy. I also noticed that what I wasted time and energy worrying about almost never came to pass and, if it did, was never as bad as I thought it would be.

So my motto for life is "one day at a time" or, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Makes for a peaceful life. Although, I think I should tweak it somewhat when it comes to housework....!

Hearts In A Basket

Have a wonderful day!

Back to School (sigh)!

Hi Everybody.

Odie here.

My Momma's been in a funk lately so I'm trying to help her out.

But, hey, I've been feeling pretty bad too. You see, school has started back up and my Momma Caroline is gone all day - every day!  She leaves at 7 in the morning and doesn't get home 'til 4 or 5 o'clock and, boy, do I miss her!

Now my Momma Carol, well, I think she's just feeling her age. You see, she turned 65 this month:

She looks happy enough here. But that's what you get with a couple of beers and a silly hat!

Now she says she's feeling fine again. Whatever it was that got her down earlier this month - depression, infection, aggravation, imperfection - she's better now. She's cleaning off her desk, cleaning up the house (sort of), getting back on track. She even went and bought materials for that raised bed vegetable garden she's been talking about!

I'm glad for that, 'cause her bad mood was getting me down!

It's tough enough having to wait at the front door for the other one to get home.

Now, don't mope around like I do. Check out these two poems (limericks) and see if they don't bring a smile to your face:

County Down

A young lass from old County Down

Was arrested for painting the town.

"It just got in me head

to go paint the town red."

Which she did in her night-sleeping gown.

by Denise Rodgers

And this one is not about me:



My Long-Eared Dog

My long-eared dog is very sweet

He loves to lick my stinky feet.

And that is why I'd use my mace

before I'd let him lick my face.

by Denise Rodgers

Mom says she found these at:  http://www.funny-poems-for-free.com/short-funny-poems.html

Froggie News - Disaster Hits Fort Lauderdale

Breaking News From Frangipani Pond in Fort Lauderdale:  Disaster struck today in Frangipani Pond (named after Brad and Angelina Frangipani, prolific propagators of froggie progeny). At about 9:00 this morning, Frangipani Pond was infiltrated by poisonous chemicals, leading to the disastrous demise of thousands of tadpoles and young frogs.

The details - as reported by four young frogs who miraculously survived - are sketchy, but this is what we can report:

The poison spread immediately to every corner of the pond, and froggies and tadpoles jumped and crawled to dry land as best they could. Some faced a second threat, THE NET, but THE NET could not move fast enough to catch most of our folks.

Froggies who survived did so by clinging to the blue and white cliffs on the edge of the pond, and a few clung to a floating yellow island, but many of our brothers and sisters succumbed to the fumes and the strong current which took them down stream and trapped them in a small pool which some know of as THE BUCKET.

Survivors, now homeless, are thanking the Great Frog God for their deliverance, and ask sympathetic readers to send donations to: Frangipani Frog Relief, c/o Faith Shoemaker, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Faith, we are told, is a CAT, but can nonetheless be trusted with the money.



For more news of froggie doings in Fort Lauderdale, we refer you to this story: Daredevil Froggie Kisses Ugly Princess - Disastrous Result.

(Ed note:  We neglected our back yard swimming pool to the point that it became populated with tadpoles. Caroline tried to fish them out with the net, but they swam and jumped away from it. When she finally gave up and put in the chemicals we had a "mini holocaust." It was very sad - and messy. We have resolved to take better care of the pool in the future.)

And how was your day?

Yes, You're In The Right Place

How do you like my new header?

It's symbolic of my tendency to escape into fantasy whenever I get the chance. That, and, Caroline brought home these kits for making cute little fuzzy critters. Here's the whole crowd:

I chose the lady in the tutu, but I do so love the doggie with the green eyes! The following picture would have made a good header, but it was too long - took too long to load, that is. It suggests, though, how I feel about housework:

I'm way too little for this big job!

Over the weekend Beth and I watched "The Incredible Shrinking Woman." I think it stuck in my mind....!

Or, it could be the fumes. You see, today I started staining a book case. When it's done, it will sit in the kitchen and hold about twice as much as our old "pantry" did. You may notice the stacks of canned goods, etc. on the table; it's been like that for a week and I'm sick of looking at it. The book case this stuff came out of is actually a book case again, in our spare bedroom / office.

We do this every summer - move stuff and re-arrange everything.

Caroline says it's the best way to clean.

To which I say - why clean?

If it weren't for her, I'd just sit in the dust and draw. Here you go:

Trying To Keep Up

And, I bought some nice PENCILS at the art store the other day. My first effort:

Growing Like a Weed 2

"An' that's all there is 'cause there ain't no more,"

Says Faith.

Gotta feed her.

One Can Never Have Too Many Chairs.

We found that out when we had ten people at Caroline's birthday party.

Well, now we have two more. Aren't they nice?

Navy Chairs

Caroline got them from Overstock.com and they were on sale (of course). We had no choice on the color, but the color is perfect - lucky us!

They go perfectly in our little grey/white/blue kitchen:

You've seen this picture before, but I keep putting it on the blog to convince you that my kitchen is always clean. Hah!

Now, back to the chairs: And Faith: They (the chairs) arrived packed together in one big box. I took the first one out and removed the padding around the legs, etc. As I was doing that, I heard noises from inside the box.

For a brief moment I wondered if the Overstock people had sent me something extra - something alive.

Then I heard Faith's bell. She had squeezed herself into that box even before I got the second chair out!

So, I decided to make her a playhouse. Tomorrow.

Because, today I was busy cooking. I made black bean soup and cornbread:

I had some left over ham in the fridge, so that's what got me started on this. And of course I didn't use a recipe, so this is just an approximation of what I did. Let's see:

• One small bag of black beans
• About half a pound of sliced spiral ham
• Two small potatoes
• Half an onion
• About half a cup of leftover spaghetti sauce (a great addition to many recipes)
• Salt, pepper, chili powder

I cooked the beans according to the directions on the bag, which took about an hour to soak and about 3 hours to cook until the beans were very soft. I simmered the ham in a different pan to make broth, and that's what I cooked the beans in. I cut the ham into small pieces and kept it in the fridge until the beans were cooked.

When the beans were pretty soft I peeled the potatoes and cut them up and cooked them with the beans for the last 20 minutes or so.

Then I got out my trusty blender. After the beans cooled a bit I whipped them up (potatoes too) in batches, all but about a cupful of beans, to give the soup a little texture.

Then I put it all back in the pan and added the ham, chopped onion, spaghetti sauce, salt, pepper and chili powder. I simmered it for about 15 minutes, to cook the onion and blend the flavorings.

Caroline doesn't eat bean soup, so I had only myself to please on this one. I ate it with a dollop of sour cream and a square of corn bread (made from a Jiffy mix).

Nutritionally speaking, I guess bean soup is kind of old school - high in carbs - but you can't say it lacks fiber, at least. And it's soooo good!

Meanwhile, Faith is waiting for me to get going on her playhouse!

"Farmville" and Other Artistic Endeavors

Detail from my Family Farm

Yes, I play Farmville.

In fact, I have 2 "farms." My original farm is a big ol' American corporate farm: Efficient, highly productive, and nobody's "home."

My other "farm" is a family farm in Great Britain, with gardens and ducks, cows and pigs, and horses. And, of course, a Pub.

This "game" is not competitive. Players progress through levels by sharing goods, helping their neighbors, visiting and working on neighbors' farms, etc. That's nice.

But the nicest part is that it's so pretty. I can arrange the various parts of the farm, create gardens, barnyards, orchards and so on. It even comes with music and sound effects.

Very relaxing.

My "Corporate" Farm

Besides, for this retired lady, there are certain benefits:

• maintaining eye-hand coordination
• improving short term memory
• meeting new "friends" and "neighbors" (real people, in cyberspace)
• engaging in uplifting activity on days when I don't have the energy for other things
• and besides, it keeps me off the streets and out of bars - so there!

I still have time for drawing. The picture below I finished last night while watching Black Swan, a fascinating, disturbing and really amazing movie by the way.

And, no, my housekeeping is not the best - 'cause I'm too busy enjoying life.

River Goddess

So, to all my readers, follow your own Goddess or God, and live life your own way!

(sounds like Charlie Sheen....)

Purple Dishpan Hands

This is what 60 white T-shirts looks like.

I thought that was going to be it and then Caroline told me we were doing them for all five first grade classes - 102 in all! Thus began the tye-dye project, otherwise known as the three days of domestic chaos.

The task was to dye the shirts in groups of about 20, in green, purple, red, orange and blue.

First, the tying, which Caroline did. That big bag of Office Max rubber bands worked well.

I did the dying in buckets and dishpans. No way was I going to put dye in my washing machine. I've gotten into enough trouble putting bleach in the washer. Maybe other people get away with it, but my washer conspires to save just a drop or two and deposits it several loads later on something brand new. I kid you not.

So - I was Ms. Washer Woman for 3 days, with buckets, dishpans and the bathtub. And, yes I used gloves, but they're such a pain, so I took them off during the rinsing process.

Monday was blue/green fingernails.

Tuesday, a lovely shade of yellow.

Wednesday, purplish red.

But I'm such a fashionista, as you know. It really mattered....!

Now here's the fun part - cutting off the rubber bands:

I did give in and do the final rinse in the washing machine. Time will tell whether this was a wise decision, but I was so tired of rinsing and wringing by then that I decided to take a chance on it. I'll let you know if Mr. Washer objects colorfully to that decision.

Dried in the dryer, folded neatly, ready to go:

I am definitely not a dying expert, but I think they turned out OK. I am told the children were very cute, looking like 100 lively easter eggs on the school playing field.

Should've gone to take a picture, but dealing with a hundred little kids is not for me, thanks.

Now - back to my baby quilts! Ahhh!

 

Help! I Need a Plan!

So, there I was at 10:00 this morning, watching Dr. Who and cutting out quilt pieces.

I'm hopeless - but not helpless. In the living room are 2 baskets of laundry that needs to be folded, and in the kitchen is a sink full of dirty dishes. And in my heart a lot of guilt.

But my quilt is coming along very well....!

Since I hate to cut out squares, I sew in strips as much as I can. In this case, I stitched a 2" strip of yellow along one side of the blue, and a 2" strip of pink on the other. The blue strip is 4" wide. Then I cut the joined piece into 2" strips. Here are some of the assembled blocks laid out on the kitchen table:

I think it'll be 6 blocks by 8 blocks, with a double boarder.

By the way, did you notice Faith in the first picture. She's just a bundle of energy, isn't she?

And, Odie, I think he's crying about the neglected the housework.

Here's an idea on how to discipline myself regarding the kitchen: I'm thinking of storing some of the dishes way up high so that it'll be easier to wash a dirty plate than get another one out of the cupboard. That way we'll never have 8 dinner plates in the sink, at least.

Sometimes, my kitchen does look nice!

By the way, I tiled the back splash myself, and painted and put new hardware on the cupboard doors. I'll tell you more about that later.

Hope you're having a wonderful day. I love your comments - lots of comments!

A Word From Faith

Hate to admit it out loud, but I had a wonderful Christmas vacation!

First of all, my Momma Carol got red socks for Christmas. Now, I know some humans think we Cats can't see color, but they are dead wrong when it comes to RED. I had so much fun playin' with that red sock, you don't even know!

An' then there's the shiny ornaments. They decorate a tree just for me every year - isn't that nice? A whole year is a long time to wait for my special toy, but I make the most of it while it's here, an' I'm so thankful to my humans for doing that for me. I think they enjoy it too, 'cause they become very animated when I play with my tree.

I'd be mad 'bout them takin' down the tree, but I know that's just the beginning, 'cause every January my mommas re-arrange the furniture, an' that's the best fun.

It's like the Olympics decathlon. I start at the garage door and run an' jump from box to pile to chair to table an' on and on clear to the other end of the house! Along the way I get to try out new high spots an' play with vases and lamps and pictures I haven't seen since last year;  that is, I play up there 'til somebody shoos me away an' moves whatever I used to get up there - darn!

An' the dust - ooh, the dust! It's like our own little Florida snowstorm! They stir up dust an' cat hairs 'til even I get into sneezing fits! Momma Carol gets grossed out 'cause she says nobody taught me how to use a Kleenex. Hey, not my fault I was born in a barn and raised in an animal shelter!

This uproar is going to go on for awhile, but the kitchen is pretty well set, at least as far as furniture is concerned. Momma Carol took this picture of our tiny pantry 'cause she wants to show off all her new blue plastic. See how pretty?

As for me, I'm kinda worn out for now. Think I'll have a little nap with brother Odie an' Momma Caroline.

Momma Carol does a lot of "resting" in front of the computer. She thinks I don't know it, but she plays "Farmville" a lot!

She did something clever today: She turned "Celebration" on its side an' re-named it "Manta." Do you think it looks like a manta ray?

Manta

Manta Ray

I love my job! No, it's not full time, but I do get PAID to do it. And what do I do? I go to parties. Tupperware's a good company, has been around since 1946. Here's the proof:

Y'know, I think I see Grandma McGill - front row on the right.

This selling business is about the easiest thing I've ever done. I go to the house and set up my wares:

Then all I do is talk. Anyone who knows me knows that there's no problem there. Sometimes the talk is more like a discussion, since the guests may know more about the product than I do. Sometimes we play an informal little game And  usually there's some food prep involved - like, I've been making salsa lately. And of course, we talk about all the wonderful uses of Tupperware, like:

Muzzle the cat

Capture a bat

Create still life compositions

It's a whole lot more fun than what I used to do - and THEY PAY ME. I've become the Tupperware Lady, but I'm still looking for an image. What do you think of this?

Or is this more me?

I've always believed that people should enjoy their work. Maybe not 100%, but there has to be some satisfaction to it, considering how much time people spend working.

So, if you hate your job, keep looking for one you like better. If you never find it at least you tried. And when you get enough years in (or enough money in the bank) you can retire and do whatever you want, knowing that you have a security cushion to guard against - should I say it - failure?

Life is to be LIVED, so GO OUT AND LIVE IT!

Don't Let It Get You Down!

So, here's my theory on housework: Don't do it! I mean, don't do it unless it's worth doing. Don't clean ANYTHING unless the cleaning will be noticed. Let the place be a little bit grimy, because when you do finally clean you'll be rewarded. You (and "they") will know you did something worthwhile and you may even hear something like, "Honey, the kitchen floor is SO BEAUTIFUL AND SHINY!" We call this "positive reinforcement," which is a tactic used by psychologists, teachers and animal trainers the world over to control (people, children, dogs, etc.). Don't get hooked on the praise or you'll find yourself scrubbing and cleaning way too much! And then the praise will go away because they don't notice anymore and they start thinking the house is cleaning itself!

At that point you - poor soul - are ADDICTED to housework! I can think of a lot of more fun things to be hooked on than scrubbing my toilet, can't you?

So just get it done and get it over with, as in mopping the refridgerator - really! When you mop the kitchen floor, mop the fridge too, and the walls. Well, why not? Why waste a bucket of water just doing the floor?

I've learned a few things down the years, about how to keep a household. And I would love to hear your ideas too, because I think that ever since the first cave person shoveled out a cave there's been this depressing thing called housekeeping, and IT CAN REALLY GET YOU DOWN, if you let it!

Now, here's my first attempt at beautifying my new blog with a picture. Is it working? Can you see it?