Happy New Year !!

I am still here! i have been extremely busy and stressed, so I have not been in the computer room at all. Poor baby thinks I dont love him anymore!

Our Brother was acting kinda spacey on Christmas, so he went to the Dr, and he ordered a CT Scan of his brain. Then Friday, the Dr called and had him go back in on Sat for another scan, because he saw something he didnt like. Today Mike had his third chemo treatment and was sposed to see his Dr for his brain scan, but wont now until Wednesday. We spent all day in the oncology clinic today. I am pooped! just sitting and worrying drains ya.

I drove up to see Tim yesterday and he looks really good. He starts work at Meridian Tires on Wednesday and MAY get to come home for a few hours on Sunday! Yippee!! All he will be doing though is going through his van and seeing what all he has left. Not much that I can tell.

The sun finally came out today! and tonight it is due to get below freezing, but still no snow.

I will be posting very sparely in the next three weeks, as I have a ton of stuff to get ready for the Playhouse. Just like me to wait until the last minute. THen I have to get started on prep for My show February 3-4 Auditions. SOcial Security by Andrew Bergman. FUNNY SHOW! It opens April 3, and runs through the 18th.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year. and Thank you for understanding our absence! I think of all of you every day! I Really do. It is so nice to have friends who stick by you through all the rough times.

Happy New Year!!

More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com

Free at last!

Tim is now a semi-free man! He is now in Work release, but he can wear real clothes and eat real food, and see his mommie when he wants to, and can have phone calls, and can eat homemade fudge!

He went to Bellingham last Tuesday, and Wednesday I went up and picked him up and took him to Wal-Mart to but some real clothes. He lost everything he had, so he is really starting over. I had been hanging on tho his tax refund check, so we used that to buy him a wardrobe! It was hilarious! We walked in the door and he started pitching clothes into the cart. We only had 2 hours to get there, shop and get back, so it was a speed run! But now he has a warm coat, waterproof shoes, UNDERWEAR! and several changes of clothes and a BELT! He was holding his pants up with the cord that was on the bottom of the jacket that they gave him when he got out.

He looks good, he feels good, he has a great attitude, and he is excited about getting a job and getting back to earning some money. He has to find a job, and goes to at least four places a day. He has to walk or ride the bus everyday, no cars.

When we pulled into Wal-Mart he just sat there in the seat. When I looked over and asked why arent you getting out, he looked surprised, and said "Oh WOW, I can open the door myself!" Little things...

You cant see his beautiful blue eyes but they are there. He is 6'5" and 260, so he is not a little boy any more!

I pray everyday that he continues on this road to a normal LEGAL life! He says he is. I have all the faith in the world that he will. (crossed fingers)

He can NOT come home for Christmas, because he does not have a job yet. He earns 20 hours of "social Time" for every 32 hours he works, so maybe by New Years! I can go up anytime though, and it is only 60 miles, and 1 1/2 hours away, and NO ferry ride! SO it is real easy to get there. WHEW! Only takes 1/2 a tank of gas too! So I think I will take him a prime rib sandwich on Wednesday. I am such a nice Mommie huh?

buttons...

I was shopping through the markdown bin at the Scrapbook store the other day and I eavesdropped on a conversation between two women at the counter. THe store was clearing out stock preparing for a move. Everything was slashed at least 60 % off the regular price. THe store owner was telling about her former father in law who was a button salesman, and had a WONDERFUL demo box. When He died, her mother in law gave the button collection to her. The woman she was talking with was quite a bit older, and had been well-traveled and had buttons from all over the world.

That brought back a memory to me. When I was a little girl, we moved every two years, as Dad was in the NAVY, and we went overseas and back and up the coast and down the coast. We drove from San DIego to San Fransisco which was our sailing point. We would then come back into San Fransisco and then either drive up to Washington or Down to San Diego, depending on the duty station.

We usually had to spend about a week in the Bay area waiting to get the car out of the import yard, and then gather all our baggage, and our express shipments, and then hit the road. Aunt Dutch lived in Salinas, Calif. which is just down the coast from San Fransisco, so we always stayed there with her until Dad was able to get the car, get it ready to drive, load it up and check out.

Aunt Dutch was a very sweet old lady just like you would picture a little old lady in the early 50's. (she had to be all of 50!) OLD huh? Her only child was the same age as my Mother, so there were no little girl things in the house for us to play with.

Phyllis and I had to make do with what we could find. One of the things that we always got to play with was her sewing supplies. She had a HUGE glass jar full of buttons. Buttons of all sizes and colors, buttons of all shapes and material.
We would dump the button out on the floor and then try to match them up, the one that could come up with the most '4's of a kind, would win. We would then sew them together, so Aunt Dutch would know what matched what. The buttons were always a wonder to me, Where did they come from, what is a FROG? Does a toggle count if you dont have the other side? Plastic was not a factor then, as most of the buttons were either metal or shell or wood or glass.

Now I am much older than My Aunt was when I played with her button jar, and I too have a button stash. Mine is inan old Currier and Ives cookie tin from a Christmas long long ago. When ever I am getting rid of clothing that the kids had outgrown, or worn out, I ALWAYS cut the buttons off and put them in the can. Now mind you when ever I MADE something new, I always bought the thread, zippers, and Buttons the same time that I bought the material and the pattern, so I never used the old buttons.

Now I am in a point in my life where I could be doing something with all of these old and unusual buttons and as I dig through the tin looking for something, I notice the buttons that were on DOnnas first dress, or on her halloween Costume. I find TIms' cowboy shirt buttons, I find Jim's peacoat buttons, and soforth.

Just after I came back from the scrapbook store, I started googling buttons, and found tons of sites where you can find buttons of all shapes sizes, colors and materials. Sites full of old antique buttons, sites full of new plastic or glass buttons, And all of this brings me right back to Aunt Dutch and wondering what ever happened to that huge jar of buttons? I wonder if Gerald Edward knew what the value of that Jar was? Not in money, but in memories...probably not. Sigh!

BAD Week!

I am sorry for not updating, but things have been pretty grim around here.

We are in the grips of the nasty weather that Washington is known for...gray, cold, drippy, (not rainy,just drippy) dark and depressing. So when you are prone to depression any way, You just want to hibernate, snuggle under the covers, turn the blanket on high, grab the remote or a good book, and let all the animals jump in bed with you, and just HIDE!

I still have my house to clean before Christmas, and I just dont feel like it! I feel fine, but I am COLD! I am just shivering. I went swimming on Monday and the pool was even cold because the heater was out, and they had just gotten it fixed. It is hard to get motivated when you are chilled to the bone. Wednesday I did not go, as I did not want to go from cold house to cold pool! (BRRRRR)

Friday my Brother Mike got sick and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital and he was admitted. He could not keep anything on his tummy. He goes in for his third Chemo treatment this next week, and I am so worried that he wont be able to tolerate it and they will have to stop.

I am not taking this well at all. I raised him, until he was thirteen, when I left home to start my life with Jim, and I was clear across the country. I had wanted a baby brother for years, and when I was 10 I got one. I have loved him since the day he was born. ANd yesterday I lost it. I just had to close myself in and just mourn.
I know things will get worse, and I worry so much about him and Sherry. Phyllis is keeping track of his progress on a site she created for him on caringbridge.com.
(I would link you here, but the link logo is gone from my posting page for some reason. No pictures either. If you go to Phyllis' site www.lifeonwhidbey.blogspot.com she has all the links there. You need to sign in and register, and I have not been able to access it, so it may need some tweeking, or it may be my dying computer!

ANYWAY!!

I appreciate all of you that are continuing to stop by and check on me.

oh GADS! I am watching EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION, and they are in Seattle dealing with the rain! Yes folks it really does rain that much down there. On to another week. Be safe!!

YAY!!!!

I'm getting a SON for Christmas. Tim got word last week that he will be transfered from Olympic COrrections Center, to a work release house in Bellingham. He will be going sometime next week, but they are not allowed to say when.

I will know when I get the phone call, that he is in work release, and when I can come see him. He MIGHT be able to come home for Christmas Dinner. Bellingham is only an hour's drive away, and no ferries to deal with, so It will be easy for me to get there.

I am so relieved!! Now to get him through the next 6 months and then on to a full time job! I guess being a Mother never stops! He sounds so UP! he swears that he will NEVER do anything wrong again. We shall see. I have faith in him and Told him so, so Hopefully hw will not dissappoint me. I think he grew up quite a bit in there.

My Brother Mike started his Chemo last week, had two in hospital treatments, and came home with a bag strapped to him. He goes back on Dec 17Th for another treatment. He is feeling a lot better, and since he was put on antidepressants, his mood seems a lot happier too. At least it sounds like he has some hope now where before he had NONE. I know this is just buying him time, but My God, 3 years plus is a long time for a miracle to happen.

My husband died giving himself an insulin shot, so he never even saw it coming and left a lot undone. At least Mike has some time to do what he needs to do, and plan for his ending. Hopefully there will be a cure or a remission, and hewill have many more years. Cancer is such an EVIL Beast!

With everything that has been going on, I forgot to make Christmas Cards this year! So some of you will be getting an e-card and a promise that I will not forget you next year. I feel so terrible about that! I remembered it today! SO even if I got started tonight, there is no way that I could get them made, mailed and paid for this month. You will all just have to forgive me.

NOw to re-decorate the bottom of the tree, as I hear Schroeder in there knocking the lower ornaments off again! I forgot about having a kitten too. ACK!!

Got Milk?...

Last week, Western Washington got slammed with a 1-2-3 punch from Mother Nature. First we had cold and snow, none of which stuck here, but PILED in the mountains. THen came the wind...129 MPH clocked at Bay City, Wa, on the coast. We got slammed too, but not that high! THen came the rain! 5 " in Seattle and lower Pugert Sound around Tacoma and Olympia, and the coast.

We live on an Island in the middle of Puget SOund, right in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. WHat this means is that the warm moisture laden winds hit the olympics nd dump all the rain on the western and southern slopes and by the time it comes around to the North and down the Strait of Juan De Fuca, it is just really high winds. Whidbey Island and most of the San Juan Islands only get around 17" of rain a year. So while we were listening to the weather reports of the rain falling and the floods starting, we were sitting in sunshine, tied down to keep from blowing away.

The rains hit the deep snow in the mountains, and soaked the snow pack causing avalanches to close North Cascade passes, Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie pass which are our major E-W highways. THe rain then flooded the rivers in the lowlands, THe Chehalis, and rivers south of us, covering I-5 over 10 feet deep for over 20 miles. THat pretty much shuts off our trade routes. Highway 101 which runs along the coast from Mexico to Canada was closed in many parts around the Olympics due to fallen trees and mud slides. So we had no supplies coming in from the rest of the country.

THe shelves in stores were getting rather empty.

TOday they reopened I-5 after the Army Corps of Engineers knocked a hole in a levy and allowed the water to go back into the river and drain I-5. THere were semi trucks lined up for MILES waiting to get through. THey finally got through about 2 hours ago, bring milk, and diapers and water and food to THe Puget SOund Area.

We were not affected as much as Grays Harbor and Pacific COunty were. THey were flooded out of their homes, and left with out electricity due to the high winds. Trees are down every where, and the main power lines from the Bonneville Dam blew down also. It is really pretty grim there.

My lights did not even blink through the winds, I think the last storm and outage did in all the trees and branches and weak lines so that we are ok for a few months. Maybe..

Fresh Milk sure tastes good, and I am sure that the major malls are glad that their Christmas Supplies are finally able to get through.

It seems that we always have a major punch from Mama just before the holidays...usually the wind and flooding in the mountains, but this one was different and slammed the southwestern part of the state right where they hurt the most. THey are already the most economically challenged part of the state, due to the ban on logging and fishing, so what they lost will hurt them harder than what we lost. The Seattle Area has come through though like they always do, and have already sent trucks full of supplies and blankets to Aberdeen and Hoquiam, and the power crews are working hard to get the main lines back up.

All of the islands are secure. Ya know there is a distinct advantage to living on an Island...we float in floods. ;)

and Mary Lou in Texas...send me your email again please? (i lost it again :( )

The measuring Wall...

As we were growing up, it was very common for Mom to line us up about once a year and place a book on our head, then push us up against the door jamb and make a mark where our head stopped and the book began. Then she put the date and our name right next to the mark. Sometimes she would put our age also, but usually not.

We were a Navy Family, and we moved at LEAST every two years, so there were not too many measuring marks left behind on the door. However, there WERE many doors left behind with measuring marks on them.

When Mike was about 10 we moved into an old run down Victorian house in Coupeville. Dad had since retired from the Navy, so we were staying put...sort of. Mom and then I marked Mike's growth every six months or so.

We were never ones to ruin the ambience of the house with a fresh coat of paint, so the marks were there for all to see. WHen I was married, and then a mother, and then a SINGLE Mother, I moved back home, and added DOnna's name to the measuring wall. We would have to hold her up, but she was added there with the rst of the family. SHe grew, and Mike Grew, and the dates passed another date as the kids grew.

Mom and Dad moved out of that house, (maybe because it needed painting...)and into another. THe old VIctorian was sold for a song, I think to the tune of 35,000. The new owners put a LOT of money into refurbishing the Bones and the inside of that house, and we thought it was sad that the measuring wall would be gone.

One day while Mom was sitting in her usual spot at the corner of the Bar at Seeleys Tavern, a couple walked in. Mom, being her usual outgoing self started talking, and discovered that the couple was the one who bought the house. THe lady said that she enjoyed all the history that was ensconced in those walls, and mentioned the fact that there was a measuring wall on the door jamb and wondered what ever happened to the people measured there. She told Mom that she thought it was so enchanting that she left it totally as is, the only part of the house that was not painted over. THe score marks from the measuring instrument,(sometimes a pocketknife, sometimes an ice pick,) still intact, even though the names were fading. Mike and DOnna and the rest of the family had lived on in the history of that house.

I am sure that it has been painted over by now, as this story took place over 35 years ago. THere are new people in the house,and it is once again for sale, although I am sure that they want substantially more than 36,000! Last I heard it was over 1,000,000!!

There are older people living in it and if they still measure, I am sure it looks something like this...


Sorry, I just HAD to. (Snicker...) The story is real though!