AWWW Come ON!!!!!

Catman pounces on Whidbey


By Jessie Stensland
Jun 29 2005


cat

Dennis “Cat” Avner is a little out of place on South Whidbey.
He’s a cigarette-smoking, out-of-work, registered Republican who owns firearms and left California because he believes it’s become a “communist state.”
What’s more, he’s in the process of transforming into a tiger. He has stripes tattooed across his head, a mouth full of fangs, a number of facial implants to make his face look feline, piercings in his lips and brow for whiskers, and silicon injections in his chin, cheeks and lips.
Whatever people may think, Avner is determined to make the island his home. He strikes a visitor as a genuinely nice man, with a healthy sarcastic sense of humor. A catman with a heart of gold. And that may be all it takes to fit in.
“People have a lot of preconceptions about me,” he said. “They make up facts. I wish they would just ask.”
The 46-year-old electronics and computer technician left Southern California in order to find work outside of a busted economy and landed in rural Freeland less than a month ago. He lives with a married couple, Rick Weiss and Tess Calhoun, two dogs, two cats and a snake in a fixer-upper house with a beautiful view of Holmes Harbor.
Avner claims to be the most famous, or at least most recognizable, person in the world. While that may be an exaggeration — which is just like a cat — he certainly must be one of the biggest celebrities on Whidbey Island.
He’s been on at least 50 different TV shows and featured in magazines and newspapers more times than he can remember. Larry King interviewed him twice. Ripley’s Believe It or Not featured him twice. He’s been on Rickie Lake, MTV, VH1, Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and on and on. He’s been on TV programs in many different countries, including Japan, Germany, Australia, China and even Romania.
“I would rather be rich and unknown,” he said, “than famous and poor.”
Avner began transforming himself into a tiger 25 years ago, undergoing at least a dozen surgeries and hours of tattooing by a body modification artist in Phoenix, Arizona. He said his desire to become catlike stems from his Indian heritage, notably the Huron and Lakotas. He claims it’s an ancient Huron tradition to transform into an animal totem.
A “totem” is a concept that’s difficult for even Avner to explain. It’s like a spiritual guide, he said, but much more. Every person has a totem, though most aren’t aware. His totem, of course, is a cat. He recalls dreams and thoughts of cats from his earliest memories of growing up in Michigan.
“People who don’t have close relations with their totems don’t have any concept of what it’s like,” he said. “It’s physical, dreamlike, emotional and metaphysical.”
To be closer to his totem, he decided to turn himself into a tiger — the cat he feels the closest bond with. Though he’s a work in progress, he currently has tiger stripes on his face and much of his body. To create a feline face, he had his lips and septum split; implants were placed in his forehead and the bridge of his nose; his teeth were removed and replaced with tiger teeth, complete with sharp fangs.
He had surgery to give his ears pointed tips. His lips and brow were pierced so that he can put in whiskers whenever he wants. His contact lenses give him cat eyes and his fingernails are long and painted with stripes.
Though the down-on-his-luck cat guy can’t currently afford it, Avner said his next project will be to get transdermal implants to place tiger ears on the top of his head.
While many humans may not understand his obsession, Avner said felines do. He’s volunteered at cat rescue organizations and recently got the chance to wrestle with panthers and a giant tiger. There was a little bloodshed, but a lot of bonding.
“I have no fear of them,” he said. “I communicate with them.”
There probably aren’t any big cats in the wilds of Whidbey, but Avner brought a couple spoiled house cats — Morris and Pretty Girl — to keep him company.
Although South Whidbey is stereotypically known as liberal, as well as affluent, Avner said his decision to move there had nothing to do with the progressive, accepting attitude. He was out of work in Southern California, so he left in order to find work outside of a poor economy.
Avner decided to move with his good friends, Weiss and Calhoun, who were going to Washington because that’s where Boeing transferred Weiss. After an intensive home search, they ended up on South Whidbey.
Avner’s job, while he’s looking for work on the island, is to fix and remodel the home. He hopes to eventually find a job either as an electronics repairman or a locksmith.
Calhoun said she met Avner at an anthropomorphic arts convention. It’s a hobby or interest that’s received a lot of media attention lately, including on MTV and the CSI: Miami TV show. Devotees call themselves furry fans or simply furries.
According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, “Furry fandom is a subculture of the science fiction and fantasy fandoms. Members of the furry fandom ... enjoy media that involves anthropomorphic animals: that is, fictional animals with human traits (such as walking on two feet, talking, wearing clothes, living in houses, etc.).”
Beyond this unique interest, Calhoun understands Avner’s connection with his totem. Her own totem is a horse. While she hasn’t transformed herself into an equine, she does have a large tattoo of a horse cave painting on her back.
Calhoun and Weiss said they love to live with and care for Avner.
“He’s living in a family for really the first time,” she said. “It takes some adjusting.”
So far, Avner said he’s had a great time on Whidbey. His home was recently visited by a Island County sheriff’s deputy when some rambunctious people at their party decided to howl at the moon. But it was no big deal, Calhoun said.
The unique family has traveled to Oak Harbor a number of times, to eat at his favorite Chinese restaurant and shop at Home Depot. Avner claims that local folks have barely batted on eye at him.
While he’s happy to talk to curious strangers and answer questions, he does have one pet peeve.
“I hate those jerks who take photos of me without asking,” he said.
So that’s probably not a good idea. Some tigers, after all, are known as man-eaters.


When I first saw him on Dr. Phil he was portrayed as a real nut case. According to the reporter who wrote the article up top there, he is really sweet. I do not care how sweet he is, he is NOT sitting on MY lap and purring. That is carrying your love for an animal waaaay too far.

Would you do this?

WHo KNEW!!!

And you thought it was just for squeaks.

WD-40

We thought that you might like to know more about this well-known product. When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop...Viola! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed.

The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their Atlas missile parts. The workers were so pleased with the product, they began smuggling (also known as "shrinkage" or "stealing") it out to use at home. The executives decided there might be a consumer market for it and put it in aerosol cans. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is a carefully guarded recipe known only to four people. Only one of them is the "brew master." There are about 2.5 million gallons of the stuff manufactured each year. It gets it's distinctive smell from a fragrance that is added to the brew. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.

Here are some of the uses:

Protects silver from tarnishing

Cleans and lubricates guitar strings

Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery

Keeps flies off cows and girl friends

Restores and cleans chalkboards

Removes lipstick stains

Loosens stubborn zippers

Untangles jewelry chains

Removes stains from stainless steel sinks

Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill

Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing

Removes tomato stains from clothing

Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots

Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors

Keeps scissors working smoothly

Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes

Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide

Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers

Rids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises

Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open

Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close

Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers

Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles

Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans

Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons and bicycles for easy handling

Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly

Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools

Removes splattered grease on stove

Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging

Lubricates prosthetic limbs

Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell)

Removes all traces of duct tape

We have even heard of folks spraying it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.

Florida's favorite use was "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers

The favorite use in the State of New York--WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements
.
WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.

WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.

Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!

If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.

WD-40, long known for its ability to remove left-over tape mung (sticky label tape), is also a lovely perfume and air freshener!

Sprayed liberally on every hinge in the house, it leaves that distinctive clean fresh scent for up to two days!

Seriously though, it removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor!

Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.

Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly!

Use WD-40! The applications appear to be endless

I guess I need to start investing in this stuff huh? I'll have to try it on my knees!! LOLOLOL

Leslie, have you tried it yet?

Life goes on, even when you dont want it to...

Kate needs you! Kate has been a favorite read of mine for over a year. She gets on a roll, and writes the longest posts ever, about the sun! She writes about the moose babies in her yard. she writes about Himself, her husband, and how she waits for him to get home from his job up North.

Kate lost her husband unexpectedly last week. He was working in the yard with her, and he had a massive heart attack and try as she might, she could not save him. He was young. They had only been married a few years. She is Heartbroken.

She finally wrote about it, and needed to, she does feel better. However Kate needs to know that life will go on, even though we may not want it to. Even though it does not seem fair that it should. SHe needs to hear from people that can help her heal. Thank you NJ and Barb. Your words to her helped her get it out and on her blog.

Both Nj and Barbara recently lost their husbands, and they too had to come to terms with living alone. One was expected, one was totally NOT. Both left spouses that miss them immensely! Both spouses have gone on living through grief that consumed them.

I lost my husband 10 years ago, but was not permitted the grief process. Jim and I were separated and then divorced. Jim and I were both the best of friends, and I had just talked to him for over an hour the day before he too died suddenly and with out warning. I was in shock, and I had to get my kids to Michigan and then I had to work. You see, when you are divorced, society expects that all ties to the former spouse have been broken. They are not always. I hurt inside for quite awhile, because neither my family nor my friends realized that I needed to get it out, that I needed to share my grief. I was married to him for 24 years, I raised two children with him. All of my memories were with him. ANd I had to grieve alone.

Life is so fragile. Even the strongest life can be taken quickly, and without warning. Even the most fragile life can leave in it's wake a family that grieves for the life that was lost. Everyone needs to talk about it and get it out where they can come to terms with it and heal.

NJ had her blog, and her friends and her church, and family. NJ also had plenty of warning, as her husband was home to die of cancer. NJ grieves still, although she is getting much better, and has realized that life does go on. She has learned however that it is not easy doing things alone.

Barbara is not a blogger, but she had her Church, her family and her firends and her STRENGTH. Barbara was determined that she would go on, that things would not get her down, and that she would keep her husbands memory alive, by being the strong woman that she knew he would want her to be. She also still grieves, and is surprised that she still can.

KAte is very strong also, and will realize it soon. THe family will go back to the lower 48, and leave her alone. Her friends will be there, but they have lives too. They will slowly start to leave her more and more alone.

The days up there will become darker and the weather will get much colder, and Kate will have to spend the long dark winter alone for the first time. That is where I will come into play. I do not know her really well, but She will know that she is not alone. I will send her snail mail, along with the emails I send her every day right now. I will let her know that she is NOT alone, that life, as much as we may not want it to, will continue and we are expected to move on.

Grief is such a strange emotion. It is all encompassing in the beginning, and then slowly you realize that you did not cry for a few hours, that you actually did watch a tv program with out thinking of them. That you do remember how to laugh. And just when you least expect it, you cry again. As Bara said, You WAIL! and WAIL And Wail! and then suddenly it is over and you go on. And on. Soon you realize that the wailing becomes less and less, and gives way to an occaisional stray tear or two, and then it becomes a sniff, and soon after that you realize that you can think about them without crying, that you can remember the good times, that the sun does shine again. That you can tell a joke and laugh out loud. ANd before you know it, you are healing, and living again.

Your experience through all of this helps the people who have not gone through it before. Stick your hand out to those that are grieving. THey need to talk about it, they need to share their experiences, they need you to help them heal. They need to learn that they can laugh again. Do not be afraid of them. It isnt catching.

Stop by Kates place and just say hi, and tell her that she is not alone. Stop by and read NJ's place, and say Hi and that you are amazed at how far she has come. Barbara does not have a blog, but she has email and it would be nice if you could drop her a line or two and tell her how wonderful she is for being the strong, caring person that she is. You will be stronger just for knowing them all.

My vote for The Greatest American...

Our vote for ‘Greatest American’ for the contribution made to the rest of the country by this person, and the impact that the deed had on others, is SACAGAWEA, a Shosone Indian woman. She overcame horrible incidents in her young life, and led a group of explorers, all men, over ½ a continent just weeks after having a baby. She was among the first women to have her vote counted among men, and she led the “Corps of Discovery” clear to the Pacific Ocean, thus setting the stage for Manifest Destiny.

“The daughter of a Shoshone chief, Sacagawea was kidnapped by the Hidatsa when she was about ten years old and taken back to their village on the upper Missouri. There, she and another captive girl were purchased and wed by Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian trapper.

When Lewis and Clark engaged Charbonneau as an interpreter for their expedition in 1804, it was with the understanding that Sacagawea would also accompany them. Aside from her value as an interpreter, they expected her mere presence to speak well of them to Indians they would encounter along the way. As Clark noted in his journal, "a woman with a party of men is a token of peace."

Sacagawea carried her infant on a cradleboard as the "Corps of Discovery" headed upriver in April, 1805.

Four months later, when the expedition had reached the navigable limits of the Missouri, Lewis set out to make contact with a Shoshone band, from whom he hoped to obtain horses for their trek across the mountains. When Sacagawea arrived to serve as interpreter, she found the band was led by her older brother, Cameahwait, who had become chief on their father's death. Deeply moved by this reunion, Sacagawea might have taken advantage of such an astounding coincidence to return to her people, but instead she helped the explorers secure the horses they needed and journeyed on with them and her husband to the Pacific.

Sacagawea turned out to be incredibly valuable to the party as it traveled westward, through the territories of many new tribes. Some of these Indians, prepared to defend their lands, had never seen white men before. As Clark noted on October 19, 1805, the Indians were inclined to believe that the whites were friendly when they saw Sacagawea. A war party never traveled with a woman , especially a woman with a baby. During council meetings between Indian chiefs and the party where Shoshone was spoken, Sacagawea was used and valued as an interpreter.

On November 24, 1805, when the expedition reached the place where the Columbia River emptied into the Pacific Ocean, the captains held a vote among all the members to decide where to settle for the winter. Sacagawea’s vote, as well as the vote of the Clark’s manservant York, were counted equally with those of the captains and the men. As a result, the party stayed at a site near present day Astoria, Oregon, in Fort Clatsop, which they constructed and inhabited during the winter of 1805-1806.

While at Fort Clatsop, local Indians told the expedition of a whale that had been stranded on a beach some miles to the south. Clark assembled a group of men to find the whale and possibly obtain some whale oil and blubber, which could be used to feed the party. Sacagawea had yet to see the ocean, and after willfully asking Clark, she was allowed to accompany the group to the sea. As Captain Lewis wrote on January 6, 1806, "The Indian woman was very importunate to be permitted to go, and was therefore indulged; she observed that she had traveled a long way with us to see the great waters, and that now that monstrous fish was also to be seen, she thought it very hard she could not be permitted to see either." Clark himself took Sacagawea and her husband to see the ocean on January 7, 1806.

"While she was here, she learned a lot of medicine from the earth, from the ground. And I'm sure she did from her people up there in the mountains too so as they traveled along wherever they went, if they needed medicine for the cramps or the boils and the things that they had, this young woman would find those things. When they were hungry, very, very hungry, she would find nuts, and she would find roots, and she would find berries, and she would set traps and fish things and get those things and feed those men. She made a lot of clothing for them and showed them how to make their own clothing. This was a very ingenious young woman and it was serendipitous, I guess, for them to take her along. She ended up being so valuable by the contributions she made along the way".She saved the journals (May 14 &16, 1805) from floating down the Missouri River when nobody else would jump into the water. With a baby on her back she waded into the river and retrieved medical instruments, other instruments and the journals themselves. She saved them from near starvation on more than one occasion just with her skills, her native skills of digging roots and other plant specimens to feed them".

"She simply was a great presence. An Indian woman with a child on her back for all these other Indian Tribes to take note of. This could not be a war party, it had to be a party of peace".


Sacagawea

From the journals...

Tuesday, April 9, 1805
When they pull over for supper, Sacagawea immediately searches for food. She takes a sharp stick and begins digging in the ground near small piles of driftwood. She knows mice hide large quantities of roots in these locations. Soon Sacagawea gathers a good supply of what Lewis calls edible wild artichoke roots.

Wednesday May 8, 1805
As Clark and the Charbonneau family walk along the shore, Sacagawea stops and begins gathering roots along the hillside. One root is wild licorice. The captains taste a second specimen-a white appleroot, a kind of breadroot.

Tuesday, May 14,1805
During the life and death struggle, trying to save their boat and supplies from sinking and losing everything, Sacagawea remains in the back of the sinking vessel grabbing valuable articles as they float from the boat. She catches nearly everything.

Thursday, May 16, 1805.
The day is fair and warm. By 4 P.M. almost everything is dry, repacked, and ready to go. Medical supplies suffered the most damage. Other losses include seed, a small amount of gunpowder, and other culinary items. Sacagawea demonstrated fortitude and resolution equal to that of any man on board the stricken craft. She saved most of the bundles, which had been washed overboard.

Wednesday, August 14, 1805
Charbonneau strikes Sacagawea while the family is eating the evening meal. Clark reprimands him.
During the expedition’s return journey, as they passed through her homeland, Sacagawea proved a valuable guide. She remembered Shoshone trails from her childhood, and Clark praised her as his "pilot." The most important trail she recalled, which Clark described as a large road passing through a gap in the mountain, led to the Yellowstone River. Today, it is known as Bozeman Pass, Montana. The party returned to the Hidatsa-Mandan villages on August 14, 1806, marking the end of the trip for Sacagawea, Charbonneau and their boy, Jean Baptiste. When the trip was over, Sacagawea received nothing, but Charbonneau was given $500. and 320 acres of land.

In Portland, Oregon, Bismark, North Dakota, and other places, are statues honoring Bird Woman. A Montanta mountain pass, peak, and river also bear her name.

Her bravery, her fortitude and the respect she gained from the entire Corps Of Discovery, is more than what was expected. She blazed trails for all women to follow.

Sacagawea died at an early age it is believed, as there is not much readily available about her after leaving the Lewis and Clark expedition. Legends say she lived to an age of 100, other legends say she died in from complications giving birth to her daughter Lisette.

She was quiet, intelligent, obedient, and terribly brave. She truly was a GREAT AMERICAN. And in my book the GREATEST.

For those of you that have not been keeping up with the show…the GREATEST AMERICAN according to the viewing public of The Discovery Channel was (gag) Ronald Reagan. Now I would like to see him give birth, carry that kid on his back and walk over 1000 miles, leading a group of BRAVE men who could not speak your language. And THEN once there, show them how to survive the winter, where to pitch their camps, show them how to use the herbs to heal themselves and how to get back home. Nope, not Ronnie!!

Summertime....And the living is easy.

Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high....

Today was the first day that it actually looked like summer out there. I had to work the box-office at 1100 and on the way in to town, I have to drive right along the Cove, and noticed that the tide was WAAAAAAAY out. It left a long walk to the water line. People were lining up already for the clam beds that would soon be uncovered. The Ferry was cancelled for the two runs from Keystone and the 3 runs from Port Townsend. Yep it is summer!

I remember when I was 10 and we had just moved to the island, from Honolulu. We were living in a tiny house that was renting only the bottom half. The rest of the house was off-limits. (at least it was to us!) We were only a short distance away from the Seaplane Base, and the Seaplane Base has some of the BEST clam beds in the whole Puget Sound.

To get to these beds, we had to drive to the top of the hill on Maylor's point, Holding our breath as we drove through Officer's country. (didn't want to get contaminated!) And Dad would always hold his nose in a pinched position as he drove through with one hand on the wheel and one on his nose. (Hey we were TEN and SEVEN, it was FUN!) Then we would drive down this little dirt road into the woods, and then park right along a steep bluff with a well worn path heading down into the beach. We girls would have to carry the burlap bags, and Dad would carry the shovel and the bucket. Back in those days we did not have to have a salt water license, but there was a personal limit. Dad would walk us way out on the sand spit that rose from the water, and when we were out as far as we could go, we would start digging. Dad would dump a shovel full of gravel, sand and clams out onto the top, and we would have to sift through the debris looking for the clams. Mom and Dad liked the tiny steamer clams, and there were plenty of those. These would go into the bucket, and the bigger ones would go into the burlap bag. When we thought we had our limit, (and WAAAY MORE!) we would head on back to the house, dump those off and head back for more. We would do this until the tide started coming back in.




the fog horn on the tower of the Seaplane hanger would honk, and that was the signal that the tide was turning, and would be coming back in FAASSSTTTT and to head for shore. If we didn't leave when signaled, there was a chance that we would be cut off, and possibly drown. We never lingered. We would get back home, and Dad would dump all of the clams into a tub of water, and then dump a box of cornmeal into the water. The clams would siphon the water through their system, get the cornmeal into their shell, and then spit until it left their system. In doing this, it also cleaned them of all the sand that they had in their shell. We would leave them like this for a day, and then we would steam them open, eat the little ones with garlic butter, and either fry the bigger ones, or grind them up to make clam fritters out of.

These days were always hot, and cool at the same time. A hot sun and a cool breeze. We always had a gallon of kool-aid in the icebox, the old fashioned kind of kool aid, that you had to mix sugar with. ( if you took a pkg of the granules and mix the same amount of sugar in the pouch, you could eat it dry, and it would taste like those sweet tart straws.) My favorite was root beer, and then there lemonade flavored. I hated the red kind. YUCK.

As I came down the hill today into Oak Harbor, I saw how low the tide was and thought, yep, must be a minus tide. It must be June. I wanted to keep on driving, but I made the turn into the playhouse to work from 11 until 3. By the time I got off work, the tide had turned, was on its way back in, and the magic was over.

I remember my parents so clearly on days like this, Mom staying home with morning sickness, or else staying home and making dinner so we could come in and get our baths. Dad driving the 49 Nash through Officer's Housing with his nose pinched up.

LOLOL funny the things you remember isn't it.

WHEW......

I have been sooo busy, no time to post, or rather no time to THINK about what I want to post! I have my greatest american all selected, I just dont have time to write it right now. I promise I will get it by Sunday. I will tell you that the top five on the show are

Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Reagan
George Washington
Martin Luther King Jr
Benjamin Franklin

RONALD REAGAN???? Good Lord! THINK people THINK!!!! Use that brain that God gave you. Reason with it. While I was a fan of Reagan, I no how think he is the Greatest AMerican to have lived. Yes he did some good, he also did a lot bad, and he does not deserve it!

I am so very surprised that Thomas Jefferson did not make it to the top 5. He wrote the Declaration of Independence!

My selection was not even on the top 100!! How are you all coming on your selections? The final show is this Sunday on DIscover!

I had minor surgery on my eyelids, to have all the skin tags taken off, and even though it was a no-brainer, and done in the office, my eyes are all bruised and puffy. I look like I have been in a horrible accident. Yesterday I could barely keep my eyes open, so hopefully today I will be able to catch up with everything.

I work at the box-office tomorrow, and We strike the set Tomorrow night. Hard to believe it is over all ready!! Now, on to BLITHE SPIRIT!

ALVIN!!!!!!!........

I wake up at 445 yesterday morning and the birds are already at the feeder. I look to see what Lola is fussing about, becasue she is chattering like crazy, and there is a tiny little 'something' running along the fence. I looked closer becasue I thought it was a baby Lola, but it was a chipmunk!! I have NEVER seen a chipmunk around here before. SO now we have Lolas, and Susies and Alvins!! and this weekend we had 5 Lolas and a susie!! Man these guys are making me go broke!! I must be feeding the whole forest!!

The baby Hairy woodpeckers are out too, and they LOVE the suet feeders!! I am going through about 5 a week now. Sheesh!! Once I started diluting the Hummingbird juice, they started flying away and foraging for flower necter. They should be starting to migrate back towards Costa Rica. Maybe they will follow Kat and Lusicious Mr. Pete!!

Today it rained like hell!! THe clouds came up and the Thunderclouds got really noisy, and then the bottom fell out of the clouds!! We do not get thunderstorms around here very often, so as soon as the first boomer went off, so did the girls. Running and barking like someone was breaking in. I have a peacock in the woods across the highway, and just like in NEVADA, as soon as thunder sounded, the peacock screamed. I know he or several he's are over there, but he never shows his face.
I would love to have them come to the feeder too, I have Mr. quail jumping up there now. Mrs Quail and all the little Quails still sit on the ground.

So the kid is home now so I need to get off so she can get on. I LOVE having my own home.... :(

Busy weekend!

I have had a very busy weekend, running around trying to get everything done. I had to work the box Office for Sunday's Matinee, and I dont even know why we had a show! It was Father's Day and only 27 paid seats! We called the retirement home and about 20 came over GRATIS, but 1/2 of them fell asleep. THe show was great, but the audience was terrible. THey did not get (or could not hear) the lines. Finally the cast just started ad-libbing at them. ANd they liked that. right after intermission, just as the 2nd act started, we blew something and all of the lights went black. FOr about 15 minutes we could not get powered back up. I think our laptop is getting ready to bite the dust, as it said run-time error on the blue screen of death! Jim ran off stage, (our lighting guru plays Hysterium) and fixed the problem and crossed his fingers and ran back on stage and the audience loved it!

On my way out of town, I noticed the check engine light came on, and there is a tick tick tick sound coming out from under the hood. Thinking I might be low on oil, I stopped at Safeway and bqt, opened the hood, and put the oil in. It was only a Qt low, so that did not solve the problem. I checked the dashboard lights, they were all fine, the engine was not running hot, it was only when I pressed the footfeed that the tick got louder, When I stopped it went down. HMMMMMM so I pulled out the manual, and it said take it to the closest Mazda dealer. So I figured it must be safe to drive a little ways.

I tried calling Bob, but naturally the one time I need him, he is no where to be found. So I drove on home, and prayed Id make it back into town this morning.

I had a Dr appt at 930, which was right on the way to the MAzda dealer. Made it in there and the service writer said it was the lifters, and they were probably all gunked up and that would be spendy. SHIT!!!! I have no money!!! so they looked at it, and Joy of Joys, it was a sparkplug! evidently this model of MPV has a quirk in that they can pop a sparkplug out of place. ??????? POP it out???? so new sparkplug, new wire, and 40.84 later, I am on my way with no noise!! YES!!!!!

Came all the way home which was about 1230, and then remembered I had a meeting for BLITHE SPIRIT at 2:00. SO I load the "girls" into the back, and head back to town.
Tilly gets car sick! THis we did not know! SO she barfs freshly eaten puppy chow all over the back seat. Swell. AND WANTS TO RE-EAT IT! SO I am reaching back into the back and trying to get it off the seat before SHE did, and driving down the highway all at the same time. Sadie was sitting nicely in the front.

I went to me meeting and then drove through Dairy Queen to get them their doggie-bowls of ice cream. Sadie loves it. Tilly would not eat it, Probably because she was still kinda upset. SO Sadie ate Tilly's too, and Tilly had fun eating the BOWL! I now have shredded styrofoam all over the back seat.

We are home now, had our nap, feel all better, and I am trying to catch up on all of your blogs. Whew!!!

Has anyone heard from CJ recently? All I get is a blank screen when I go to her blog, and she is not answering email either. I hope she is ok!! I worry.

The Greatest American....

America’s Greatest American!

On Discovery channel this month there are several programs all specials, hosted by NBC’s Matt Lauer. He is profiling what we the voters have said were our choices for the Greatest American. He had an original list of 100, and narrowed it down to the top 25, that once again we the viewers have said were our top 25 picks.

Here is the list that we have selected…

Remember these are the GREATEST AMERICAN EVER list.

Mohammed Ali
Lance Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
George W. Bush
George Washington
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
William Jefferson Clinton
Walt Disney
Bill Gates
Thomas Alva Edison
The Wright Brothers
Henry Ford
Alfred Einstein
Eleanor Roosevelt
Benjamin Franklin
The Reverend Billy Graham
The Reverend Martin Luther King
Elvis Presley
Bob Hope
Oprah Winfrey
Rosa Parks

While all of these people may have affected the lives of those who were around them, I am not at all sure in my mind that with a possible few exceptions, any of them would or SHOULD be considered THE GREATEST AMERICAN.

What should the criteria be for such a title? Popularity? The Way they Affected Our lives? The good that they did to others? The impact they had on the rest of the World?
The wars they Won?

This evening, Bob and Donna were available and no TV was on, so We cooked outside, and sat around the table on the deck discussing who we thought should or should not be on the list. We also discussed WHY they should or should not be on the list.

I went to google and googled the 100 greatest Americans and got the official website and printed out the 100 and we sat and discussed each in length.

The first thing we did is immediately throw out any professional athlete. There is no way they could even be considered the GREATEST AMERICAN. The next thing we did was try to come up with good quality criteria for what constitutes THE GREATEST AMERICAN. In perusing the list, we noticed that there were no Native Americans on it anywhere. (Jim Thorpe excepted) Then we wondered why there were no Canadians, or Mexicans, or South Americans listed. Is the GREATEST AMERICAN just limited to the US of A? It appears so. With that in mind we set upon trying to think of people that should have been on the list that were not, but first we needed to get back to criteria!

We thought that they must have first done no harm to anyone. Which pretty much eliminated everyone. SO then we decided that the main criteria should be that they made a contribution to society that benefited the country and preserved it for the future generations.

After much discussion, and argument, we narrowed it down to a few people that we thought warranted being on the list. Each person already on it was dissected and discussed, and either agreed upon or tossed off. While we all agreed that such as Rosa Parks should be on the list, we did not think she made as much of a contribution to Society as say MLK. SO she was tossed. Then one by one we did the same with all of them.

John Adams was added, Ben Franklin was kept, Thomas Jefferson was kept, Eleanor Roosevelt was kept, Theodore Roosevelt was kept, Thurgood Marshall was added, and Sacagawea was added, and Rachel Carson was added along with Robert E. Lee. There were minor players also, but these few folks for the most part are the ones that we three agreed deserved the title of GREATEST AMERICAN.

No entertainers, no athletes, no business men, no religious person, and few politicians. Only one warrior, Robert E. Lee, and only for the contribution he made to actually saving life and preserving the Country, by surrendering to US Grant. We thought he was a much maligned forgotten person in the naming of these people.

You ought to try this with some of your friends, and see where you get. We tried to keep popularity out of it entirely, and thus we felt that having the average TV viewer vote was a travesty. We thought that the ones who voted would not necessarily represent the average THINKING person in America.

After the baked beans were eaten and the hamburgers devoured, we got down to the last few and came up with OUR vote for the GREATEST AMERICAN who ever lived.

Any idea who we chose? Who would you choose? And why? My answer later on this week.

Roaming...

Timmy Pat

I found this picture in among the things that belong in the hope chest. I remember this day so very clearly.

Jim and I had separated, and planned on just staying that way, and Tim had moved in with me in my little one room studio appt. We also spent quite a bit of time together, playing catch, talking, baseball, and our favorite thing to do…roaming.

Roaming was just getting in the truck and driving around all the back roads, walking the beaches, visiting the state parks, just ….BEING….

This day we had walked out on the bluff overlooking the Deception Pass Bridge. We were on the North side, which was usually deserted, because it takes some walking to get to. We were just sitting there soaking up the sun, and playing with the camera. I snapped this one as he was laying on his tummy looking at the grass and the bugs going by. He had just taken a picture of me and one of his foot too.

He was so innocent and trusting then. He identified more with me than with his Dad. I was the outdoors person his Dad was NOT. I played catch with him; His Dad was coaching another team. I taught him to fish. I also taught him to drive, although I did not know it at the time. Tim and I were alone together for about 6 years, and then I got transferred to Adak, Alaska, and he went to Orcas Island where his sister worked.

I loved those days, we were broke, we were pinching pennies, I was going to School, and we lived in a 1-room studio. Those were the happiest days of Tim’s life. He has told me so many times. He remembers eating the fish and the smelt we caught because that was all we had. He LOVED it.

I must have done something right, to instill in him those values, even though he did forget them when he discovered the “Biotch”. He has returned to trying to get his life back on track, and When he was home last year recovering, I asked him what the one thing he remembered about me. He did not even pause…”Roaming, Mom, those were the best times.”

SNORF!!!!!!! SNIFF!!!!!

Cookbook

AS most of you know, I have lost, or misplaced my Birth Certificate! Now that may not seem like so much of a chore to you, but in this house it is!! I never throw away a piece of paper! I have all of my Dad’s cancelled checks, my moms cancelled checks, my husband’s old paperwork, the kid’s paperwork, and all of mine too, and all very disorganized and floating around in a box somewhere in this pigsty I call a home.

While rummaging through a box of memories, that is sposed to be in my hope chest, I discovered a Mother’s Day present that Tim made when he would still let us call him Timmy.

It is a cookbook, made by the Boy’s and Girl’s of Mrs. Jacobsen’s Room Grade one
Clover Valley Grade School, Oak Harbor Washington.

I will share some of these really goods with you…

Put down your coffee, Brenda!

WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR LESLIE TO READ!!! SHE WROTE THE BOOK!!

MARSHMALLOW COOKIES

Get 2 cups of flour and 2 cartons of marshmallows. Put them in a bowl. Add 1 cup of water and 1 Gallon of milk. Stir it with a big spoon. Shape them like rabbits and Easter eggs. Put them in an oven. Bake them for two minutes.

HOT DOGS

Put in 4 hotdogs in a pan. Add 3 cups of hot water. Put on the stove for one hour. Or until the bell rings. (This kid almost has it)

Hot Dog 2

Take the hot dog. Put it in the cooking pan. Wait a few hours and 6 minutes. Get the thing you put the hot dog in and catsup. Put in some mayonnaise; Put some Mustard in and 6 sticks of cheese. Put some Lettuce in.

UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

You need Lemon mix. Put on Quart sugar, 2 quarts of flour. Put Crisco oil in the pan—fill the whole pan. Put in a can of pineapple. Then put ½ cup of cinnamon in. Make the mix with a blender. Then put it in the pan with the other stuff. Then put 4 cherries on top. Put it in the oven for 6 hours, then cool it off and when it gets cooled off it’s done!
(SLOW OVEN I TAKE IT?)

OATMEAL COOKIES

Put 1 inch of milk in a bowl. Add two eggs and ½ cube of butter/ Stir it up. Put one teaspoonful of oatmeal and stir. Take a spoon, lift it up and drop it on the pan. Put it in the oven. Bake until 1:00 in a very hot oven. (She is cooking the SPOON?)

TSUNAMI!!!!

Northern California just had a Major earthquake off the coast near Crescent CIty, Calif. SO they have just issued a Tsunami warning for the entire west coast!!




TO - TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM PARTICIPANTS IN
ALASKA/BRITISH COLUMBIA/WASHINGTON/OREGON/CALIFORNIA
FROM - WEST COAST AND ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WARNING BULLETIN - INITIAL
BULLETIN NUMBER 1
ISSUED 06/15/2005 AT 0256 UTC

...A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL AREAS
FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE NORTH TIP OF
VANCOUVER I.-BC. INCLUSIVE...

...A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL AREAS FROM
THE NORTH TIP OF VANCOUVER I.-BC. TO SITKA-AK...

...AT THIS TIME THIS BULLETIN IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY FOR
OTHER AREAS OF ALASKA...

EARTHQUAKE DATA
PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE - 7.4
LOCATION - 41.3N 125.7W - 90 MILES NW OF EUREKA-CA.
300 MILES NW OF SAN FRANCISCO-CA.
TIME - 1851 ADT 06/14/2005
1951 PDT 06/14/2005
0251 UTC 06/15/2005

EVALUATION
IT IS NOT KNOWN - REPEAT NOT KNOWN - IF A TSUNAMI EXISTS BUT A
TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN GENERATED. THEREFORE PERSONS IN LOW
LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR
LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. PERSONS ON THE BEACH SHOULD MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND IF IN A WARNED AREA. TSUNAMIS MAY BE A SERIES OF
WAVES WHICH COULD BE DANGEROUS FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE
INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.


COASTAL AREAS FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE
NORTH TIP OF VANCOUVER I.-BC. INCLUSIVE.

...A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL AREAS
FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE NORTH TIP OF
VANCOUVER I.-BC. INCLUSIVE...

ESTIMATED TIMES OF INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL
CRESCENT CITY-CA 2029 PDT JUN 14 ASTORIA-OR 2154 PDT JUN 14
CHARLESTON-OR 2044 PDT JUN 14 TOFINO-BC 2157 PDT JUN 14
SAN FRANCISCO-CA 2123 PDT JUN 14 SAN PEDRO-CA 2200 PDT JUN 14
SEASIDE-OR 2126 PDT JUN 14 LA JOLLA-CA 2214 PDT JUN 14
NEAH BAY-WA 2148 PDT JUN 14

COASTAL AREAS FROM THE NORTH TIP OF VANCOUVER I.-BC. TO
SITKA-AK.

...A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL AREAS FROM
THE NORTH TIP OF VANCOUVER I.-BC. TO SITKA-AK...

ESTIMATED TIMES OF INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL
LANGARA-BC 2244 PDT JUN 14 KETCHIKAN-AK 2257 ADT JUN 14
SITKA-AK 2227 ADT JUN 14

COASTAL AREAS FROM SITKA-AK. TO ATTU-AK.

...TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT...


THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER AT EWA BEACH HAWAII WILL
ISSUE BULLETINS FOR OTHER AREAS OF THE PACIFIC.

BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS
WARRANT. THE TSUNAMI WATCH/WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. REFER TO THE INTERNET SITE
WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ETA SITES

Guess Who lives on an Island? We'll keep you posted....

BRRRRRR......

It is COLD today. In fact it has been cold here all week. THis is mid June, and the past few years have gotten me thoroughly spoiled! Usually our Junes's are cold wet and windy. And this one is following suit. But for the past several years, we have had no rain or clouds from April-Sept or October.

I am cold clear through. I wanted to just stay in my flannel PJ's in bed all day , but knew I could not do that. I had things to do and places to be. I took the 2 'visiting cats' back to their Mommie today, so I am back down to 4 cats 2 dogs and a bunny. Donna woke up itching and scratching yesterday, Bob called and said he is too, the DOgs are fine, I think, DEAR LORD please I do not want to start this crap over again. I still itch a little, but we were told we would for up to three weeks after the cream was applied. SHIT!!!!!!!

Ellen's Whale trip was cancelled yesterday because of the bad weather. It was windy and the water was really rough. SHe said she was going to try and go again today, but it was kinda blowy out there yet. I hope the weather clears and she gets to see them. They are really something to see, especially up close.

Bob and I took his sailboat out about 13 years ago, and the whales were right up close to the boat. His boat was a 20' fiberglass one, and the whales are bigger than that. It was cool getting to hear them sound, and to see them surface, but they were too close for real comfort for either of us. I enjoy watching them from the top of a bluff or from the Ferry, but not any closer.

Brrr, Im gonna go build a fire in the wood stove I think. Maybe Im coming down with another cold....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Meeting the Crushes...

Ellen and her Curtis came all the way out here to the Left side of the map to the lower left hand corner if you are Canadian, and to the upper right hand corner if you are American. Visiting her Brother And her sister. When she first started planning this, I invited myself up to Vancouver to meet her, and she was thrilled.

Today Phyllis and I headed North to the Border, knowing that there was a huge Celebration going on at the border crossing on I-5. So we took the Route through Lynden which is about 15 miles to the East of Blaine. We waited in line for about 20 minutes to get through.


heading
into Canada

Finally got up to the booth and Mr. Friendly looked at us and said, goods? we said Huh? He said you got any Goods? We said HUH? He said DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DECLARE? I said no real fast and he looked away. Phyllis said what now? he said you can go, She said You mean were done, that's IT? he rolled his eyes and said yeah. so went we did.



Southbound

There was about a 1/2 mile back up of traffic waiting to get back into the US as we headed on up to the road that would take us to White Rock, B.C. Where We had planned to meet Ellen and Curtis.

We were expecting a full 4 hour hang up at the border as that's what the news had been saying. SO needless to say we were really early, so We found a spot and parked and Phyllis walked along the Promenade and I sat there watching people.

I have a really cool walking stick that Barbara bought for me when we were in Astoria, Oregon, and I take pictures of my adventures, and laminate them and hang them from the rawhide strip on the handle. I had a number of old folks stop and comment on my Hickory Stick. I like it, it helps me walk, and it also is an ice breaker now. I have astoria, Anacortes, and now White Rock on it along with the pictures of the people I have met. I will take a good picture of it tomorrow in the sun.


Ellen Joe and Cathy

Phyllis and I decided to head over to the restaurant early and sit on the patio and watch people, but just as we sat down, Ellen and Curtis showed up early too, so we went in, got a table and yakked, and laughed, and made all kinds of noise, and had a really great time.


ellens party

After about 2 hours, Joe and his new friend Cathy came in. So we introduced ourselves all around and started in talking again. The Waitress was really cool and took our pictures with all of our cameras. We ordered fish and chips, ate our meal, and talked somemore.

Since Phyllis had to work tomorrow, we headed back about 745, and the Crushes headed home so Ellen could rest. Joe and Cathy headed out also. TOmorrow Ellen is going to get her wish and go on a whale watching trip to see the Orcas!! She is really looking forward to it, and I hope she sees some they are really an awesome sight to see.

I could not find my Birth certificate, so I had all of my families papers with me, and he said he believed me, and was very friendly and nice, and waved us right through, With a friendly reminder that we needed to get our passports. SO as soon as I save 100.00 I will go get mine. I figure I am not through with Canada yet. Too many friends to meet, cats to pet, and stories to tell.

Sunday Funnies...

MAUDE & MABLE


Two old ladies are outside their nursing home, having a drink and a smoke, when it starts to rain. One of the old ladies pulls out a condom, cuts off the end, puts it over her cigarette, and continues smoking.

Maude: What in the hell is that?

Mable: A condom. This way my cigarette doesn't get wet.

Maude: Where did you get it?

Mable: You can get them at any drugstore.

The next day, Maude hobbles herself into the local drugstore and announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of condoms.

The pharmacist, obviously embarrassed, looks at her kind of strangely (she is after all, over 80 years of age), but very delicately asks what brand of condom she prefers.

"Doesn't matter Sonny, as long as it fits on a Camel."

The pharmacist fainted.



As you all may or may not know, I am on my way to Vancouver Canada to meet Ellen Crush and her Curtis. They are from WInnepeg and are visiting relatives in Vancouver, and since they are so close to us here, A mere 90 miles, I invited myself up for lunch or tea, the meal is not important it is the MEETING. Ellen has terminal cancer, and it is very agressive, so THis may be one of the last chances I will have to meet her. THere is always hope of course, but even she says why skirt the issue, She is Terminal. Now it is just a matter of making her remaining life as full and as comfortable as possible, and hoping for a miracle. It has been known to happen.

Ellen is very upbeat and positive, and in face of all that she has had to endure, very brave. I am not sure I could be. Needless to say Phyllis and I are gonna become foriegners and go meet miss Ellen. WE are gonna Laugh and take dorky pictures, and exchange good wishes, and just have FUN!! laughter is one of the best medicines around. And Lord knows Phyllis and I have a lot of that!!

WIsh me luck getting back across the border...I lost my Birth Certificate...

:(

Yardsticks

What ever happened to yardsticks? Do you remember them? You used to get a yard stick and a calendar the first of every year, from the bank, the grocery store on the corner, the full service gas station and CHURCH! We always had yardsticks laying around the house. Moms favorite ones were the nice thick ones that had a brass head and a brass hole in the top for hanging it by the door. Didn't EVERYBODY have a yardstick hanging by the door? It was used for measuring the kids to see how much they grew. then they were penciled into the sash on the door, so you could tell at a glance who was growing and how much. THe line and name and date were put there.

I am working on a project and I need to measure the distances between pictures, and I need a yardstick. You cant find one any more. Well yes you can, but you have to pay for them and they are really flimsy, can't whack a behind without them breaking anymore.

Maybe they went away with the metric system...But I remember when we were gonna try to go to the metric system, and it had meters and centimeters on one side and feet and yards on the other. They were 36" long thus the name YARD stick. All of the advertising that used to be on the back of them was fun to read too, and the old phone numbers ORchard 5-2492 ORange 8-3809 GRizly 7-7848 now you have to remember 10 numbers to call someone, and if its busy you have to remember their CELL phone too.

All I want is a good sturdy Yardstick, with the yards and feet and inches marked on them. preferably free with a hole in the top to hang by the door. That's all.

ahhhhhhh!!!!!! SLEEP!!!!!

I relaxed last night!


I came home from the Playhouse, and fixed a hot bath, poured epsom salts in it and some Bath THerapy minerals. sat in it and just poured the water over me. I did this until the water was turning cool, then got out put on my pj's and headed to bed. I remembered the Mineral Ice for my back and my knees, and I remembered the ounce of Drambuie that I thought I still had in the cupboard, left over from the holidays. I found it behind the canned corn, and beets, and poured it straight over crushed ice. Was not quite a shot, but it worked. I took this back to bed, and was reading a book and sipping the Drambuie.

Now mind you, It does not take much to relax me. I took two of the possibly 10 sips that were in the glass, and I started getting sleepy. I forced myself to stay awake while I tried to finish it. I WAS RELAXED!!! (now how sad is that that I cant stay awake long enough to finish 3/4 of a shot of Drambuie!!) I felt myself falling asleep, and Tyler the Black Kitty that I am cat-sitting, was curled up by my head purring low and the reverberations were relaxing too. I put the glass down and turned out the light.

I do not remember settling down, I was warm, I was comfortable, I was relaxed, and I did not hurt. I slept! I slept until I had to get up and pee around 500! I went back to bed, found the warm spot, and snuggled back into the bed. And I slept! I slept until Tilly, with the help of her MOTHER started chewing on my right ear. (no DOnna was not chewing, she put her on the bed) I looked at the clock and saw that it was 730, and knew I had at least 6 hours of good restful sleep!

I woke up laying on my back, all sprawled out over the bed, puppy gnawing on my reight earlobe, 2 cats between my legs (DON"T go there) one laying on my pillow, and one swatting at Tilly. Sadie was still asleep in her pen. The other 2 cats were not around. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, and it felt like my mouth was stuffed with cotton. I sat up, grabbed a drink of water and tried to speak...CROAK!!! more water...and I was awake, and rested, and pain free for awhile.

YES!!! Epsom SAlts do it every time.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

At the feeder this morning I had Lola, and Sal, and Susie! Lola and sal were sitting with their tail ends hanging over, so it was plain that it was Sal and not another Lola. Susie on the otherhand was hard to tell, as She was on the ground, and every time she tried to get into the feeder, Lola and Sal fought her away. Finally they left to run down the fence line and Susie got her chance at the feeder. It is definatly a SUSIE and not a SAl! She is so pretty and fluffy. I wonder how many more there are out there. And wonder why it took her so long to come to the feeder. Lola and SAl have been coming by for about three years, Ever since the wooden fence was installed by privacy-prone neighbors. It allowed them a safe ingress into my yard.

Sadie heard the squirrel chatter, and was awake and ready to head outside. ALl I have to say is Lola, and she is out the door and barking at the squirrels. After the chase is over and Sadie thinks she has sucessfully defended the yard, she heads back to the deck to keep a watchful eye 1/2 open for intruders, and the squirrels head quietly back to the feeder, and I got up and fixed another cup of coffee.

A restful night is SOOOOOOO Nice!!

A quarter to three..And no one's in the place, except you and me...

Sounds like a good opening line for a Sinatra song doesn't it?

I can not sleep. I am dead tired, I ache I have a head cold that has settled in my sinuses. My back and knees hurt so bad, I cant stay still in bed. I turned on the lamp to finish my third Earl Emerson Book, and got sleepy. So I turned off the lamp, took off my glasses, pounded my pillow into shape and laid down to sleep. Nope, aint gonna happen!! So I am up surfing the net, and getting a post off early!

We had an emergency rehearsal this evening, so that Brian, the replacement could learn his blocking. The cast was amazed that in just 3 days, Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday, He has memorized all his songs and his lines. WhooT!!! Some of the regular cast members who have been working on this for three months STILL don't have their lines yet.

I went in tonite to get Brians picture for the lobby wall, and collect their librettos, (script with the music in it DAVID!!) And pick up my prescriptions. Got all the way home, remembered the catfood, and milk and bread, and forgot my meds!!! So I am going to have to run in again tomorrow and pick them up. Wasting gas!!! Shame on me.

I certainly hope that this Back ache goes away again soon. It feels like if I stretched really hard it would go right into a spasm! My legs are cramping too, along with the knees hurting,.

I am just an out of shape mess!! Cant walk far, but I really need the exercise. I keep hoping I'll wake up and be 40 again. I could do a pretty good mile back then.

SO set 'em up Joe, I got a little story I want you to know...

A wish I still drank, I think a good hot toddy just might put me under right now.
Tilly will be getting me up in 3 more hours, so I better try to get some sleep. Sadie sleeps a good 12 hours at night, and she feels sooooo much better. No more mites, no more kennel cough and best of all, she no longer STINKS!!!

Wish me luck...

The Whidbey Playhouse presents...

We opened the show A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum last weekend. This is one FUNNY FUNNY SHOW!!! It is the story of Hero,and Philia, who are in love and Pseudolus who is trying to win his freedom from Slavery. His Boss, Hysterium works for the House of Senex


the House of Senex

And Hero is the son of Senex. (He is also the Guy who QUIT on Saturday with 10 more shows to do,) Senex and his Wife Domina are bickering and have been for 26 years.


the House of Lycus

Philia lives here in the House Of Lycus, a house of ill-repute. Philia is a virgin, who has fallen in love with Hero, by looking at him from her balcony. She has also been sold to


erronius family

Miles Gloriosus, a Capt in the Roman Legion, who in reality it turns out is the long lost son of Erronius, and was stolen along with his twin sister, by pirates when they were babies. Guess who the twin sister is...



a maid

This is the four men doing the funniest routine in the show!! A MAID! When Senex returns to Rome from a visit to the country, he finds Philia in his house, and she thinks HE is the Capt who bought her, and she wants him to TAKE HER, and he WANTS TO BADLY! However Pseudolus convinces him that she is a new maid, and the four of them are just Hysterical with anticipation of Senex getting a little on the side.


the staff

Here is the illustrious staff. Even at 6'1" tall, I still look really fat, and old!! They stick me in the back even sitting on the steps!!

Ya gotta go see this show if it ever comes near you. You will hold your sides laughing!!

Governor! At Last!!!

Governor Gregoire

Washington Judge rules not enough evidence…

I know you have not heard much about this mess, Because it only involves one state, not 50, but it is really quite an important decision. The Washington State Governors race, which was held by election during the National election, has been in Limbo for 6 months now.

You see, it was too close to call, so they had a recount, and the Republican won, then they had another recount and the Democrat won, so then they had another recount, and the democrat won by a slim 125 votes. So they election was certified, and Christine Gregoire was sworn in to the Governor’s position.

Dino Rossi, the loser, filed suit, and said that because there were so many miss counted ballots, and illegal ballots, and missing ballots, and undetermined ballots, that the election should be declared null and void and another election be held.

After 4 weeks of testimony, during which several Felons admitted to voting illegally, and several precincts in King County had mis-counted or lost or not counted ballots and were discovered, the judge ruled that there was not enough evidence supporting the suit that said that the Democrats had rigged the election. He also said that because 5 of the ballots in question were submitted by felons, and because they admitted who they voted for, the vote changed again…this time Gregoire won by 133 VOTES!! It backfired!!

The Judge also stated that it is the PEOPLE who elected the governor, and that the Judicial system had NO business deciding that the people had voted incorrectly.

YAHOO!!!! Now I voted republican in the General Election, but I did vote Democrat in the State, and basically for the same reason…I did not trust the person that was running in the other party. Ms Gregoire has, in the 5 months she has been in office, shown to be a very competent governor. She makes good decisions, both for and against her party, She thinks of the people of the State before she rules. She is very qualified, and should be allowed to finish her term.

What has been brought to light by this whole mess, is that the election and voting system in our state, and in every single other state in the country is broken. Florida was brought to light by the election in 2000, when Gore lost to Bush. SO it was scrutinized. Ohio has been scrutinized because it took so very long to get everyone through the poles that were registered to vote. Far above the normal length of time.

We as a Country need to take a good hard look at how we vote, and what happens to that vote once cast. Did your vote actually get counted, or did it lay hidden in some little office out of the way, thinking that all ballots were in? There has to be a better way of doing this. It is only because these few states had CLOSE election RETURNS that they were even looked at. I am willing to bet that if someone was to go to say MONTANA, and scrutinize their voting procedures they would find the same things wrong. It is systemic people, every vote does not count, and it should. ONCE. And then it should be validated and closed. Not recounted, and recounted, and then recounted again. The amount of money spent by both parties trying to overturn an election, would have gone a long way towards finding a workable solution for every single precinct in the Country to count and validate their votes, quickly and finally!

Let’s hope we are on this already, because they are already talking about 2008 elections and the candidates that will be running.

GOOD GOD People!!! Let’s let those duly elected, GOVERN. Let’s quit throwing stones at each other and work together for a better way. We must look really foolish to those young democracies overseas…

watching the back yard...

suzie

Donna has named this big Eastern Gray Squirrel Suzie! Not to be confused with little tiny Douglas Squirrel named Lola. Suzie comes down out of the canopy of alder trees, onto the top of the peach tree, down the trunk to the ground and then lops over in big sweeping waves, to the feeder. Lola on the otherhand is small enough to get between the wooden fence put up for privacy by the neighbors last year, and my 6 foot chain link fence put up by me to keep the dog in 13 years ago. there is a space about 6" between the two fences, so needless to say weeds grow ther and can not be pulled. They can however be sprayed, but then Lola would run through the chemicals. So she runs through the weeds and is safe from the cats and the hawks, Susie has to run really fast!! She has been back every day this week. SO I may have another mouth to feed!!

The other day while watching her and Lola ignore each other, I saw for the very first time a Swainson's Thrush. She landed on the platform feeder, and I thought wow, that is a thrush, but what kind. I have heard her for years, first thing in the morning and the very last thing at dusk, but she is very, very bashful. I was so glad to finally be able to identify her and add her to my life-list.

I am still scratching, but the Dr and the Literature says we would still itch long after all the critters were dead. SWELL! I am SOOOO THrilled. But it is not nearly as bad, and Sadie and Tilly seem to be cured. All victims have taken all of their antibiotics, I have one day left, and then we should be home free.

We had a major cast member quit the show today. 3 performances into the run, and now we have to replace him. He was getting "picked on" by the cast, so he quit. So Long there Hero. Guess he does not want to ever act in this town again. or Anacortes either. WOrd gets around, and You dont QUIT a show! We will replace him with another young man who will be FINE! So ego's don't survive in Community Theater.

I finally got a Storm door installed on the front door. I had one that was hangign there by one hinge, but it kept popping open and would not keep the bugs out, so Bob said we were gonna replace it this weekend, and we did! He took two days to do it, but it is looking good, and is done right! And It closes, and is air tight, so we can get sunshine in the winter too. Ethyl sleeps in the sunshine in the afternoon, and missed having the door open. Anything for my babies.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Sunday funnies!!!

Got this in an Email today...just found it very funny...

IRAQI WAR STRATEGY


The latest plan to defeat the Iraqi terrorists is to send in a team of
Alabama Special Forces. Billy Bob, Billy Joe, Billy Ray, Bubba, Boo
Boo, Scooter, Slick, Bucky and Cooter are being sent in with their 1968 Ford
four wheel drive pickup trucks. They will be given only the following
information about the enemy:
1. There is no limit.
2. The season opened last weekend.
3. They taste like chicken.
4. They don't like women, beer, pickup trucks, country music, barbecue, or Jesus.
5. They were responsible for Dale Earnhard's death.
Should be over in about a week.

Parade in Small Town USA

WWII

One of the very nice things about Small town Parades, is that they put their heart into it! May not have a fancy corvette to squire around the honorees, but by GOD we got Pickup trucks and classic cars. This is one truck that has a little bit of everything on it, But the main honoree was an RCAF Vet from WWII. Flying his Maple Leaf as proud as can be.


CHS

This year the Coupeville High School Band has UNIFORMS!! I can remember not too long ago when there were only about 20 kids total, counting the grade school, and they wore white T=shirts, as that was all they could afford. It was a very small school and a very small town! Money has moved in, and we have become a bedroom for larger towns, and with that comes more kids and bigger bands.


Biller

Our District Fire Cheif has his own classic firetruck that he polishes up every year. He loves to pile the kids in and bring up the tail of the parade.


bus

Since this is a small town, we have to show off our new buses. This one is a kneeler. It goes down on one knee when the door opens, making it easily accessible for handicapped and elderly people. SO the CItizen Advisory Board rides it in all the Parades, gets out every so often and bows to the bus, and it bows back, then they wave jump back in the bus and take off again. (Hokey huh?)


horse

And this is what the mode of transportation will be like in the future, when Gas is over 20.00 a gallon and no one can afford a car anymore. Pony carts. THe horses are small, so every backyard can have one, and they pull easily, and the carts have tail lights, so they are street safe. I wonder how many miles to a bale of hay?

The parade usually goes all the way down main street to the waterfront, turns and goes along front street and then goes to the field and stops. This year they are re-doing the sewers on North Main, which is the old Victorian part of town, so they only went 1 block, from the high school to the highway. But in that one long block we had the street lined with people, waiting and watching for the classic cars, each with a Veteran. The Pony carts, the Fire trucks, and the John Deere and Farmall tractors. Each with Red White and Blue ribbons and a Veteran or a Veterans Family.

Unfortunately this is one of the few Real Memorial Day Parades left in the state. There are still ceremonies and services, but no proud parades full of old creaky men with tight torn uniforms, and gray hair and canes. No flags waving from the curbs in appreciation, and no one to keep the Real reason for the Memorial Day parade alive. We have turned all of our holidays into 3 day weekends, and with that we have lost the meaning of each of them. BBQ's and camping trips are what we celebrate now, and if we do not get back to home town values, and Family life, and remembering our Heroes and what they stood for, then soon our country will cease to be. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Men died on FOriegn soil and with Foriegn men, in order to keep freedom alive in the world. Let's do better for the 4th of July, and get out there and wave that flag. All you foriegners out there, do the same on your Special Holidays. Let's be sure to keep Freedom Free.

I'm Still here....

The Three C's

COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington. And they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them each a cow.


CONSTITUTION
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart Guys, it's worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.



COMMANDMENTS
Want to know the real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse? You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians! It creates a hostile working environment.


I am still here, but have been so busy with dogs and rashes and cleaning and cleaning and scratching and itching. I think we have finally found it out!! Sadie picked up Scarcopic Mange (mites) at the groomer, and since they are VERY hard to diagnose even with a skin scraping, no one thought it until she did not get better on the antibiotics, but once her fur fell off her chest and the vet could see the rash, he gave her a shot and she got better. MUCH better.

Tilly however is a carrier of Bordatella (kennel Cough) and gave THAT to Sadie too. SO poor Sadie has been crouping her head off, and keeping us all awake with it.

Tilly then got the mites from Sadie, (they believe in sharing) who then gave them to Donna and myself. SO three Dr visits For Donna, 3 visits for me, 3 to the vet for each of the Dogs, and we all have finally gotten mite prevention.

This has been HELL folks. I have moved everything and cleaned and stripped the beds every day, and washed and washed and washed and showered three times a day, and bathed the dogs, and then re=showered, washed their bedding.

donnish Dr finally gave her some permethrin cream to put all over her body, and she shared with me. I got an actually good nights sleep last night, and think I may have them all covered. I itch some today, but not nearly as bad as I did, and it may be sympathetic reactions. The mites are microscopic and I am going nuts thinking of these things crawling all over me. (SHUDDER) I felt so unclean...Even though I know I was really clean.

So with all of this work, and getting the show opened, I have been maxed out!! I did the Bios for the show yesterday, and will post them on the Lobby wall today, then all we do is sit back and watch the show. I will still need to write three more articles for the newspapers that would not come to press night, and hope they get printed before the show closes.


friend

Today as I was watching TODAY and drinking my coffee, I saw a BIG GREY SQUIRREL come up to the feeder, and scare Lola. I did not think we had these on the Island, but obviously we do. They must have been a catch and release introduction. I will watch and see how often she comes back. Lola was none too happy about it. I also saw a red cross bill bird for the first time, all alone and chowing down on the black oil sunflower seeds. Last night I heard a peacock in the woods across the highway, SO there are things happening that have never happened here before, and I wonder why, and what it means!


lola and friend

Now if I look out there some day and see a bear......