Clam Digging...

Yesterday I was looking at the local Telephone book…The PLAID Book…Which is put out by a local publishing company. It is crammed with all kinds of minutia. There are green pages, which is local government, Blue pages, which is Federal Government and the Base, and of course the white pages and yellow pages and red pages (emergency). But way in the back is the fun pages. Among the kids pages and the jokes there are the local tide tables. I had not read a tide table in years, and I used to have several of them in various places…the glove box of my truck, in my tackle box, in the kitchen junk drawer, and beside my chair. I would read these every week, so I would know when the best days for fishing were, and at what time. And also when the best clam tides were.

I remember when I was really young and first came to Whidbey Island; we lived in town which was really small in 1954. The Seaplane Base was right there within walking distance, and the Best clam beds were right below Officer’s Country. We would have to walk down a very steep muddy trail, down the bluff and then walk about ¼ mile out onto the clam beds. We had to time this just right. Walking out when the tide was going out, and then digging like crazy, and getting our limit before the tide started back in.

Dad and Phyllis and I always went. That way we could have three limits. Carting the burlap bags full of clams the ¼ mile back up the cliff to the car was the worst part. The fun part was digging through the mud for the clams. We would find all sizes from the baby steamer size to the giant Gooey Ducks. We would throw the gooey ducks back because they were so tough. (obscene looking too.) But the steamers were kept to eat that night.






Once we got the clams home, Dad would cover them in water in the back yard in this big old tub, then pour cornmeal into the water and let them cycle it through their systems to get all the sand out of their stomachs. Then Mom would steam the little ones and we would dip them in garlic butter and eat them with bread and Cole slaw. YUMMY!! The bigger ones we would boil until they popped open, and then Mom would grind them up and freeze them in batches and use them to make clam fritters, and clam chowder. Man I loved those fritters!!

We always watched the tide tables for the Minus tides. The best tides were in Late May/June and Late Dec/Jan. They would start at a -1.3 and work up to a -2.4 which was a really really low tide. Yesterday I looked to see just how low the tides were and saw that there were some -3.4 tides!! I do not remember them getting that low when I was little. Clam digging is not nearly as good anymore, because of all the pollution in the water and all of the “red tide” which is the common name for paralytic shellfish poisoning. It will kill you if you eat seafood that has eaten the plant while in bloom.

It is so sad to see the clam beds all lying wasted, with the empty shells washing up on the shore. It is even sadder to know that generations of kids will grow up and never know the joy of getting up at midnight on a very cold December evening and carrying the Coleman Lantern down the muddy cliff behind your father while he leads you once again onto the abundant clam beds that had been harvested for centuries by first the Indians and then the white man. These kids won’t ever know the feeling of having frozen fingers and toes and watching their breath leave their mouths while their hands shake as they held the lantern while their father filled the burlap bag full of those little steamer clams we knew we would be eating for dinner the very next night. Damn! And all I have in the cupboard is a can of Snow’s Clam Chowder. Nah!! Just won’t do! I may have to start reading those tide tables again.

It is time to quit pampering our kids...

Spare the Rod and spoil the child.

Growing up in the 40’s and 50’s that phrase was used by my Mother when ever she saw a child misbehaving and it’s parents ignoring it. It was a given that you spanked your child. Children were to be seen and not heard. Children addressed grown ups as Mr. or Mrs., NEVER by their first name. If they were a close family friend then it was Aunt so and so or Uncle what’s your name. NEVER EVER by their given name. Children also were told to not interrupt. You could not pat your parent on their knee and say Mom, Mom, Mom until you were recognized. NOPE. You were told to sit until asked to speak. Emergencies excepted of course. Families all sat down to eat dinner together, and manners were expected to be used. I remember getting a fork stuck into my elbow if I forgot and leaned on the table. Your free hand was kept in your lap, and you ate with one hand, and chewed with your mouth closed and did not EVER talk with your mouth full!

Children were expected to be polite when visiting, and if you misbehaved, you knew there would be consequences to pay when you got home. You were rarely disciplined in public, unless absolutely necessary, and the fear of “waiting until your Father gets Home” was usually worse than the actual punishment.

Yes there were stories of children that were beaten not spanked, and there were cases of children so abused that they were taken away from their parents. That was not the case in our neighborhoods. We were a military family, and we lived in a very close community, and the behavior of the family was watched very closely. If the children or Wife was unruly, The military would call the serviceman onto the carpet, and tell him to make sure his family was kept out of trouble.

Teachers would send notes home with a misbehaving pupil, and if that note was not answered, then the teacher would ask the parent to come in for a conference. Policemen knew by name the “bad” Children, and where they lived, and they were there to watch over the good kids on their long walks home.

We Knew that any wrong move would bring a spanking. I for one, did not get many spankings, because I feared them, so I behaved as much as possible. Phyllis, on the other hand tried anything and everything, and usually got caught and punished. I remember her getting into trouble almost every day.

Mom would spank so hard she would hurt her hand, so she switched to a ping pong paddle or a pancake turner. Dad was rarely the one to administer the corporeal punishment.

As we grew up into the 60’s, less and less children were getting spanked, and more and more were rebelling and running away from home. By the time I graduated from High School Psychologists were starting to put forth the theory that children were rebelling because of they way they were treated growing up. That spankings were not the proper way to discipline a child, that reason and logic were the right way. Rewarding your child for doing something right was much preferred to punishing your child for doing something wrong. My generation was the first to fall into the trap of treating your children like grown adults instead of letting them be children. We allowed them to dress up and wear make up way before their time, and we gave them things with out making them earn them. We spared the rod, and in my humble opinion, we spoiled our children.

There is nothing wrong with spoiling your children, as long as they know that misbehaving is nothing to be rewarded for. I admit to spoiling my kids. I gave them anything I could, but not to reward them, but to show them the love I had for them. I also spanked my children when they needed it. I was also a military wife, and my husband was rarely home, so the disciplining was up to me. I spanked hard also. But one of the things I never did was use a paddle, or spank anywhere other than the back of their legs or their fanny! That was fair game.

My children did not grow up with the manners I had growing up, and I blame myself for not taking the time to teach them. I was too busy working full time, to get the things that they wanted. Just like the rest of my generation.

Now we are working on the third generation of no spanking, and both parents working full time just to make ends meet. This leaves their children to raise themselves with the help of violent video games, and mindless television. You see them driving their brand new cars at high speeds through town, while talking on their cell phones. You see them cutting into lines in the parking lots, and running into stores while you sit and seethe. You see them yelling obscenities at other drivers, and causing accidents. You see them pushing other children around and laughing at it. You see them shoplifting items and then bragging about it to their friends.

There is more and more being reported about out of control kids. It is time to rethink the negotiating and logic that was applied to unruly children and go back to corporeal punishment. I am not in any way shape or form condoning beating your child nor any form of child abuse. I am speaking of spanking a child for not behaving. We need to start teaching manners and civility to our younger generations. We need to teach them that there are consequences for their actions, and not just in front of their parents, but all through their lives. That any time they put their needs and wants before the good of society, that the consequences will have to be paid. We have raised three generations of ill-mannered Americans. Is it any wonder that we have a bad reputation in the rest of the world?

I hate alder trees...or maybe it's spring I hate.

Between the Alders sending out their catkins, and exacerbating my allergies, and my computer kicking me off line everytime I try to post, I am not having a good week. I am so tired, All I want to do is sleep. I get up get dressed and fall asleep in my chair, or at the bird window. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ and I have no Ayrtec either. My luings are full of crap, and I hack all morning.

I have sat down here to post several times, and cant go any where. TOday is the first day I have gotten THIS far. Let's see how far I get in posting this.

I am gearing up to begin another Play. Rusty is directing FOREVER PLAID, and I am her Producer. I also am going to put my name in to direct a play for next season. Either SOCIAL SECURITY, or COOKING WITH GUS. Both are really funny comedies, and I should have a fair shot at them. If not, I will produce for DOttie when she does 12 Angry Men as an off season show.

I had to have Sadie shaved last week, she is one nekkid puppy! She had so much fun out there playing in the snow, and getting snowballs all through her feathers, that she matted up badly. So the only way the groomer could get her groomed was to take her all the way down. She looks like a little beige lamb! even her ears had to go. SHe will grow out really fast, and look like a cocker spaniel again. Meanwhile she shivers. I made her a sweater but she wouldnt walk in it, so I took it back off. I had to turn on my electric blanket for her to lay on, so she could get warm. Who says I spoil my pets?

DAMN Hewlett Packard!!

I have been babying my printer along until payday as I can only afford 1 set of print cartridges a month. SO Yesterday I went in to Office Max to get my monthly supply. I have an HP Photosmart 3150 all in one printer that copies, prints and scans. It is really nice. I used to have a Photosmart 1000 that I lieterally wore out. Over 15000 pages out of it. and the Cartridges lasted a LOONG TIME.

I now use 92 or 93 and they are a lot cheaper and a WHOLE lot smaller. Much better color though. SO I go in and grab my usual cartridges, get them home and open them. Both of them. I inserted them and sat back waiting for the test page and calibration page to p[op out, only to discover that a box popped up telling me that I had the wrong cartridges in both slots. HRMMMM says I. I thought I did it correctly, opened the door to find that I indeed had them installed in the correct spaces according to the little diagrams that come on them. I pulled them out, and re installed them only to get the same pop up. Wrong cartridges in wrong spots. SO I pulled them out, and then looked at the old ones,. LOOKED EXACTLY the same, fit in exactly the same spots only they were off by one fricking number!! I had purchased a 94-95 twin pack, and I needed the 92-93 twin pack. ARRRGHHHH Why would a company make different cartriges for two printers, when they both look exactly alike and even fit properly? THey just are coded differently. Had they been totally different, then I would have only opened the ONE and still been able to return the OTHER>

I will take these back to Office Max tomorrow, but how much you wanna bet they tell me to eat beans? Why would they give me the right ones when It was my own stoopid fault for not paying attention to the fact that their cartridges look EXACTLY ALIKE???>?

ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH

on another note, if you have not seen the Guardian with Kevin Costner and cutie pie whatshis name. You need to rent it. It is GOOD!!!!

In My Opinion....

I think I am going to take this blog into a different direction…at least for 1 day a week. I am going to make Wednesdays the day right smack in the middle of the week when I say what is on my mind. It will be a brief peek into my sick little mind. My views may change from week to week depending on the stars, and whether or not I have taken my Zoloft. I have a giant list of subjects that I want to write about, but I want to ease into this slowly, so I don’t scare myself, of my readers off. Some of my opinions will be quite surprising to most of you, and not so much to others. I will try desperately NOT to offend you, but if I do, I am sorry. It would not be my intention to do so, but merely getting a long buried opinion out of my convoluted brain.

Some of the subjects that are festering in there are: News media, political correctness, bigotry, personal responsibility, medical insurance, Doctors, Real estate developers, immigration, gasoline prices, global warming, the Iraq war, spanking your children, network TV schedules, Education, the WASL, (a test that all high school seniors MUST pass in order to graduate) and anything else that might just pop out in a moment of illucidness. These might be funny, sad, incendiary or a combination. It is for sure that they will be MY OWN opinions, and more than likely won’t be that well written. I have a tendency to make up my mind about something and then not be able to defend my thoughts. Thus my political positions. I don’t know why I think the way I do. One thing for sure, you never know what will be popping up! Any subjects that you would like to see me opine about?

So now you have had fair warning, so give me a week to get my thoughts in order, and then tune in folks! Oughta be fun if I can pull this off.

Tim!

We drove Over and saw Tim again today. A cold dreary, misty drippy day. But it was a nice drive. Bob was finally cleared to visit, so he went over with me which really helped! The drive was not nearly as bad! My back was spasming bad, so he drove most of the time.

When we left Port Angeles and started around Lake Crescent, the sky lowered. The water was still as glass, reflecting the gray clouds and dark mountains into it. There were still trees laying everywhere from our Fall wind storm, but the drive was beautiful. The rain drops were spotting the water clear across the lake. It was so cool.

We got into O.C.C. and went and signed in at the visitors desk and they called Tim to come on down. They are really relaxed there, as it is the minimum security Prison, and everyone there is on good behavior. They have it really good. Microwaves, and tv's and semi private rooms and they even get paid for working!! .40 an hour! and if they have to work on Friday, they get paid overtime! .60 an hour!! LOLOLOL ah well, keeps them honest! He came in with a full beard! ACK!! that is not my clean shaven good looking kid! he laughed. Said it was just to see what it would look like.

Several of you asked about my email address. I posted it over there in the side bar. take out the words and replace them with the symbols and you got it.

Off to bed now, as I have to clean house big time tomorrow.

Tim!

A lost blogger...FOUND!

All of you know how I keep track of people I like and have disappeared, well TXOCEANLOVER was one of those people. He stopped blogging suddenly in October and there were some very unsettled things in his life. I sent him several emails, And heard nothing, so me and my big mouth sent one more. To the Tune of Get your lazy ass back on the net. And he sent me this answer…with permission to post it. So for those of you who, like me, was worried about David, here ya go.


Mary Lou

My sincere apologies for not answering before now. It just shows you what I
am going through. I cannot make myself doing anything despite knowing that
I have tons to do. You should see the things on my desk that I NEED to do,
but I just stare at them day after day. The same goes with the computer and
especially the blog. I know I should go back to it, but I can't even make
myself hit the link to see if it still works.

The last year just took so much out of me - the unexpected and untimely
death of a dear sister-in-law, the huge numbers of problems associated with
my mother-in-law, her move to Austin, the birth of Ella and the problems
associated with her cleft palate, and the problems with the youngest
daughter. All of them just flat wore me down.

I hardly ever see my grandkids any more -especially the three boys of the
youngest - since she moved in with the boys other grandmother. The others
are hard to see as well as they live 20 miles away and are in school. I did
see a lot of Ella going to and from the pediactric dentist in San Antonio
each week.

Speaking of Ella - she made it through her first surgery to repair lip and
nose and she looks tons better, but still has a ways to go. That was so
tough to see her go through that and the hard two weeks with her arms
restrained. But she appears to be an intelligent and happy baby and even
loves to talk on the phone anytime it is in her Mom's hands.

I have started back to the gym - have 30 pounds to lose. For the longest
time I could not make myself even go work out and I feel every pound of it.
I have also rejoined weight watchers to motivate me. So there is a little
progress there.

I most certainly miss those in the blog world that I came to respect and
enjoy. I am not certain if I will come back - I have mixed feelings about
that. I certainly would welcome emails although I find it hard to sit down
and type replies. I often wonder how each and every one is doing.

Thank you so much for checking on me and feel free to post this to our
friends if you wish.

I wish you the best.

David


I would like to see him get back on the blogwalk, but then I am not as good at it as I used to be either. I quit worrying about making sure I haven't offended anyone, or making sure I post every day, or so on, I just post for me, and you all are the cream that comes in the gravy! I am so grateful for blog friends! They keep me sane.

or not.

whoo-hoo I got on!!

Yesterday morning I woke up at 630 which is waaay early for me. I took a look out my window and could see that it was just a little foggy. I dozed until 700 turned on TODAY and sat and watched the night fade into morning. The fog disappeared, and the eastern edge ever so slightly got pink. Just as it was pinking up, wisps of fog made their way through the trees, like tiny clouds. The edges of the trees were turning gold, so I knew that the sun couldn’t be too far behind. Suddenly there was a golden fog over everything. Not thick like pea soup, but light and airy like angels wings. It was beautiful. I watched the frost actually form on the wisteria and the fence top, then slowly drip into oblivion as it warmed up. The whole process of frost, then melt took maybe 20 minutes.

Just as the frost started melting, the birds woke up and then the feeders were covered with juncos and chickadees and doves. I rolled over onto my side to see if Sadie was awake yet, and she had crawled out of her pen, and was on the pillow right next to me with her head also on the window sill, just watching like I was. When she saw me look at her, she was ready to go out. That took care of the birds for a few minutes while she peed.

As I drove into Oak Harbor last evening, The sun had just gone behind the Olympics and was turning a pretty pink. Just as I rounded the curve to head east. I got a glimpse of the almost full moon, and Mt Baker just to the left of it. OH soooo pretty! I went on to my meeting at the Playhouse, did my errands, stopped at Albertson’s and headed home. The Moon was still high and bright, and as I shot over the top of Sherman Hill and headed in towards Coupeville, I looked over to my right at the Olympics and almost ran off the road. They were incredible!! The night was dark, so the Mountains should not have been visible but the very tops of them still had a good snow covering on them and the moonlight hit the snow and lit it up just maybe two shades lighter than the rest of the night. It looked like an island floating above the Penninsula. INCREDIBLE!

I stopped at Phyllis’ to pick up the catfood that Elliott can’t eat, and headed home. Coming down through the flats and the farm land around Crockett Lake every star in the sky was hanging like it was put there just for me. Incredible.

These are the moments, folks, that just take my breath away and make me so glad to be alive. Incredible….

cough cough....

Well Folks, if you dont see or hear from me in a while, do not worry, I have a very slow sick computer, and every time it coughs, it boots me off line and shuts down...TOTALLY! then I have to run check disc and re boot, and then reconnect and start over and cross my fingers. I am waiting for my tax refund which may not be until the middle of February, so I can have a complete overhaul done, complete with new modem.

I will keep trying though.

Crocus' are popping up

I headed out to actually try to work in the front flower bed today, but it was too cold still, so I opted to come back in and crochet. I did manage to pull some of the leaves off of the back of the beds, and there under all the detritis was a crocus popping through. One of the few that the squirrels did not get through the years. The tulips are up about 3 inches too. It is still cold out there, so I am afraid that we may lose some of our flowers if the weather keeps up. I am just amazed at this winter. We normally only have one or maybe two TOTAL weeks of cold weather, and the rest of the time it is in the high 40's and low 50's! But this winter has been un normal! Almost like a real winter! Maybe we will get a real spring too.

I have not seen Lola in several months. I am just wondering if the cold maybe got to her and she went into hibernation. I am hearing a LOT of loud thumping in the walls, I hope it is not Lola and her family hibernating in my insulation!! I will have to send some one under there to put out rat traps and poison. Not that I want to kill off Lola and her kin, but I do want the rats gone, and if they die not, I can seal up the entry to the crawlspace and be done with them. Or I just might set out a Hav-a-hart trap and catch the neighbors bastard cat that sits on my bird feeder like he is waiting for dessert, and throw him under the house, THEN seal it up. He could eat for months before he starves! kill two rats with one cat. ;)

and ANOTHER one...LOLOL

You Should Have Voted For Bush

(You May Want to Hide This From Your Left-y Blogger Friends)

Who Should You Have Voted For in 2004?

ANd I didnt cheat either...

Another quiz...

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

What a beeeuuutiful day!

I woke up very late this morning, flat on my back which is unusual for me. Got up to fix a pot of coffee and get dressed. I had nothing clean to wear! I had all my laundry done, but Today is Friday, date day, so I needed to wear something besides a tee shirt and jeans. I found 1 silk blouse in the back of the closet, did my he=air and hit the road.

As I drove out of the developement and hit the open fields around the Navy auxillary Field, I saw the mountains. BRIGHT white in a sea of bright blue sky! No smog, no fog, no clouds, just clear blue and white. It made me want to just keep going! I didnt though, I stopped in Oak Harbor.

Turned in My dry cleaning, went to the Playhouse to make some copies for Rusty and then hit the bank to make a much needed deposit.

Once I had my chores in town down, I just drove around enjoying the beautiful weather. It was cold, only 38F. but it was clear, and the sun was so bright after all the gloom of the past several weeks, that it hurt my eyes! I had left my sunglasses in Bob's truck yesterday, so I was sun blinded. I can't take the bright sun very well at All. I make a great mole.

There are tiny green shoots sticking up out of the ground everywhere, letting everybody think that Spring is here. The crocus' are the first ones to bloom, and they are gonna be out before long! It absolutely amazes me the way that nature can say " ok, I've had enough of this cold shit, time to brighten up the world" and then do it. I have seen the blossoms on the fruit trees all out too early and then a cold snap hits and the fruit wont get a chance to set up for the summer. But some how, those old trees just keep bouncing back.

I passed a pussywillow bush today that was all out and almost blown, but my pussy willow is just sitting there looking like a dead bush. I really think I am going to cut it down this year. I hate to, because I keep thinking that this will be the year that it pussy's. However....I might cut the branches off and stick them along the outside of the back fence, and that way if they root, like they should, I will have a good dense green buffer in case some one builds back there.

Tomorrow I plan on getting out there in the back and getting the flower bed ready for early color. I can put pansies and primroses out there and then go right into the petunias, and other sowed seeds.

I hope we have a nice spring this year, last year was wet and late, and then we had a hot dry summer. I would like a warmer spring and a cooler summer this year, we shall see. guess the rest of the country just got slammed with winter finally. Hope you all are safe and warm.

BRRRRRR...

I am so COLD! I am chilled to the bone. I’m not sick, just COLD!! I have on a sweater and Cords, fuzzy socks and warm slippers but I am still cold. I am now sitting in my bedroom with my door shut and the heater on, and the window shut! (I NEVER close my window!) I also have the electric blanket on high. So now I have three cats 1 dog and myself lying on the top of the covers, trying to get warm. You know it is cold when the animals scoot you off your own bed so they can have the warm spot.

The weather has actually warmed way up. Almost into the 60’s today, but the house is COLD. I walked around the yard today checking on the fence to make sure there were no holes being dug under it. (I heard coyotes right out side the yard all last night) As I walked I noticed the trees in Lea’s yard are budding up. Her plum trees are covered with buds! It is way too early for them. The tulips are poking their heads up through the soil also. Uh-uh! Not yet!! Gonna get cold again! It is really damp out there though, even with the sun shining. That is what is making it feel so cold. When our humidity is up, the weather is felt even more.

Another thing I am wondering about is the insulation under the house. When I had the flood on Mother’s Day, the workers ripped out all the insulation under the house, because it had gotten wet. They wanted the floors to dry out completely, and the insulation would get moldy and cause even more problems. I know for a fact that the workers came and put insulation back under the house, but I could not get under there myself, so how much they did and how well they did it I am not sure. I do know that my electric bill is up. Even with the power out ½ the time. It has been a lot colder, but I am usually not affected that much by cold. Guess I better get someone under the house to see just what is covered.

I suppose I could get my ass out and haul in some wood and build a fire in the wood stove, but we are under a stagnant air advisory, and can not burn fires unless it is your only source of heat. I do have wall heaters in every room, but I usually do not use them.

I was awake this morning at dawn, and actually got to see the sun rise, under the cloud cover! It was so pretty. And we are expecting sun for the next week or so. That ought to really fool the plants into a false sense of security! Spring is still a long ways off, and the Farmer’s Almanac says that we are due for more ice and snow and wind before the Middle of March. Whee!

Another Season is chosen...

One of the ways that Plays get chosen to be presented as a season, is what we call PLAYDAY. During the year prior to Jan, a committee is chosen to read plays that have been submitted as possible contenders. These are submitted by the membership, or potential directors. We all read the plays and then report on whether or not we feel that it would be a good choice for consideration. Is it a family play, adults only, violence, language, too complicated for our stage. Etc. A lot of the plays that are submitted would be wonderful shows, but we have a very small stage, that is not conducive to big splashy musicals. There is no “back stage” there is only a narrow stairway down to the small green room. So a big cast is very hard to use.

We narrow all the submissions down to 5 musicals and 7 comedy/dramas and then the plays are given to each member of the playday committee to present to the membership. We are each given 12 minutes to “sell” the play, by showing a few minutes of several scenes, without giving the end away. It is up to us to decide how we want to do this…read a few scenes, use actors to read those scenes, show a video clip, play the music, or have a group on stage to sell the song from the show.

Playday is set for the middle of January each year, and the Members are invited to come to a lasagna dinner (5.00) and then stay and watch the presentations, and vote for their choices. Then the top 3 shows from each category are announced. These shows are then presented to the board of directors to finalize the season, taking into consideration a well-rounded season: Our elderly, religious season ticket holders, how many children parts are involved, The newer younger season ticket holders that are expecting fresher shows etc.

Last night was our Playday for 2007-2008 season.

I had the award winning play “LAURA” a wonderful murder/mystery to sell to the membership, and it was good. Unfortunately it did not get chosen. Neither did Man Of La Mancha, which was Rusty’s presentation. So, It looks like I will not be doing any shows after June.

I am tempted to see about an off-season show, either a children’s Christmas play or seeing if I could put Laura on without the complicated set that it calls for.
The six shows that did make the semi-final cut are:

HONK! The Musical
Guys and Dolls
Angry Housewives

Cooking with Gus
Social Security
The Heiress

So we shall see what happens when the board meets, and what kind of a season we will have to work with. Rusty has said she wont direct any that have been presented (DARN!!!) and I don’t know who else will be, so I may not be producing any at all.

Tim called this evening…Nothing new to say Mom. It’s raining, I’m planting trees.

At least he is healthy and safe

She's BAAACK....

I have a pair of varied thrushes that appear right after the new year every year. ANd they are back again this year. THey disappear as soon as it warms up in March or April, they can be heard, but rarely seen then. The have a really weird call. It sounds like they are whistling and humming the same one note.

The snow has finally melted and we have actually risen above the freezing mark! I have not hit 40 yet, but real close! I am due for some really sunny days, and then it can start all over again.

THe newscaster said last night that the Farmer's Almanac is predicting several more snow storms in Feb and a BIG WInter Storm in March! whoo! Dont know whether our power poles and trees can take much more. Looks like the rest of you finally got it too. Stay safe everyone. Remember, it is not absolutely necessary that you get out and drive in this mess. And if you do, be very careful!

Still Playing with blog...

Bear with me folks, Im still trying to figure out what goes where.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap

Omnipotentbenevolentempressofthe50universes Came up to visit me today. She brought me my Birthday present. I also bribed her with swiss steak and mashed yukon golds!

I got the cutest little stuffed animal that flirts with you. (Hallmark) He is soooo CUTE! and he talks!! I also got a quart of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in Lavendar. Liquid! For those of you that have never been introduced, You have got to go to the nearest health food store or organic section of a hippie grocery store, and ask for it!! 100% Pure castile soap! It is to die for!! I take the lavendar and squirt it into a hot bath with epsom salts and just soak. AHHHHHHHHH!!! and if you have a cold, get the eucalyptus flavor. Hot steamy shower with that and your cold feels so much better. I also like the Peppermint soap. It is WONDERFUL for a pick me up.

If you have not ever seen it, you will get a big kick out of all of the writing on the label. He was a jewish soap maker in Germany during the holocast, and he preaches like mad on his labels! Every single square inch of his label is covered with writings. But BROTHER does he make a fantastic product. I highly recommend you going and getting a bar or a bottle (comes both ways) and try it. You will soon be HOOKED.

So after she left tonight, I cleaned up the kitchen and went in and took a hot bath, squirted the lavendar soap into the water, soaked until I was weak, then got out and slathered myself with cranberry body butter, and settled into bed with my laptop. Life doesn't get much better than this. AHHHHHH!!!

January snow!

I just love the snow! It is so pretty out there, And it is so very unusual for us to get snow, of a significant amount, and then have it turn bitterly cold, and clear! We have had cold down into the 10's f. and for two days the skies have been crystal clear, making for beautiful days! The roads have been very icy and bad, but I stayed home until I knew the roads were drivable.

Standing out on the deck while Sadie did her thing, I looked up, and the moon had not come up yet, and the stars were hanging low in the sky, twinkling like you could reach up and touch them.

AS I drove into Oak Harbor yesterday, the sun was just setting, and as I was heading east, the Cascades and Mt Baker were turned a bright vivid Pink! I tried very hard to get a picture, but some ass-hole was right on my tail, and I could not pull off and get a good one. I saw pictures of the Comet on the news, so Today we were down at Ft Casey waiting for the sun to set, so we could get a good view, and wouldn't you know, there was a cloud bank coming in and blocked our view of it. As soon as the sun was down and the comet was gone, the clouds cleared up! BAH!!!

Tim called tonight, and said that he would have called yesterday, but he was working down the coast planting trees for the Dept Of Natural Resources. He is planting 300 trees a day. He feels real good about that, and seems to be doing good. Time will tell.

Well now that I have posted, I think I will try to go back to sleep. I hate this nap taking business that seems to be my nights lately. sleep for an hour, wake up, awake for two hours, sleep for 3 hours up for some more. ARRGHH!!

Might snow again today! WHoot!! I am really loving it. Especially when the power stays on.

Snow is so much fun!

It snowed today, about 4-5 inches, which as we have said before is really strange for here. It is so pretty though. SO I was looking at the weather pictures on our local tv station website and up pops this dog. I just LOVED it. How many times have you stood in the falling snow and stuck out YOUR tongue to catch a snowflake? I just never had seen a dog do it before.

It is going to get down into the teens tonight. Windchills down into the minus numbers too. BRRRRRRR

Bob came over and filled up my wood box for me, so if the power goes out again, I will still be warm.

Power came back on around 330 this morning. Woke me up so I got up and turned off everything. I went back to bed and layed there bright eyed and ready for the day.

GRRRRRRR. I want to take a bath go to bed, and go to sleep and sleep until morning. I have not done that in a long time. I wake up after an hour or two and lay there. I hate that. Now I am out of books to read until My shipment comes from Amazon, which should be tomorrow.

Man it sure is pretty out there! Smells good too.

Sitting in the dark....

So I googled sitting in the dark to see if there was any picture that would help me illustrate what I am doing...and up pops Harrison!! IF ONLY!!!! SIGH!!



So without the company of Harrison, I am sitting on my bed and updating my blog with the candles burning, and the phone line only allowing me to connect at 26.6!!
My friend Rusty was over the other week, and was going to show me a webwsite to download a fun game....LOLOLOLOLOLOL

She goes into the office and says "what's wrong with your computer?" Nothing, says I, I have CRAP dial-up which only gives me 56.6 connection speed. She was stunned!!
Bitch lives in town, and has Comcast cable!! GRRRRRRRRR She laughed at my computer!

THen when you can only get to 26.6 it REally feels like you are back in the dark ages. DARK AGES!!!!! LOLOLOLOL

ah well....gonna snow tonight too.

Getting ready...

Well, We won't get our next storm now, because I went out today, topped off the gas tank, got enough propane bottles to last 4 days, enough D-cells to fill the radio twice, bought a new powerful flashlight, and more lamp oil. I stopped at the store and bought canned goods that can be heated on the woodstove , or quickly re-heated on the camp stove. I bought hot dogs and canned meat, just in case, and mac and cheese for emergencies too. I have wood in the house, and I say bring it on.

I am getting tired of the power outages though...I miss my computer and TV.

Sending out Christmas Cards to all my blog friends has brought me back in touch with TW and with Leslie USA. I still have not found Wanda though. I tried her old address/URL and saw that she had written a post on Dec 7 but nothing since.

TW is thinking about coming back but still isn't sure...WE MISS YOU TOO TW!!!! I think of her and the Hunter every fall, and wonder how many dead animals she has hanging in her back yard. LOLOL

Leslie USA is fine, and still has a house full of kitties. She said to say hello to everybody!

I have no idea what has happened to TX Oceanlover though. Nothing since Oct and has not answered emails either. Hope it wasn't something I said.

KB pops in every so often and comments, so we know she is ok.

One of the things about blogging is that you never REALLY know what happens to people that stop suddenly. Are they ok? Were they really telling the truth. I guess I get too involved with everyone.

I am Just such a worrier. It is my job and I do it too well.

Well gotta go finish battening down the hatches. They just popped on TV and said MAJOR STORM COMING> Duh! Been that way since Nov 1! Actually, this is really what our winters used to be like, it is just that November's rains really loosened the trees roots and the winds just blow them right onto the lines. I worry about the tree across the street, but it appears to be leaning more towards Lea's house. SO I guess I am safe.

Darkness...

So Friday night I settle in for the evening, to wait for my son to give me his usual Friday night COllect call. Just as He called, the power went off! AGAIN!!

It stayed off all night and the next morning I crawled out of bed to run heat into the bedroom, and there was none!! GRRRR

I had planned on working on the computer for PLAYDAY COmmittee. Well the power fairies had other planns for us, SO all Friday and ALl SAturday I sat here in the dark waiting for the lights to come back on.

THey finally came back on at midnight last night, and I was able to get about 3 hours sleep between the cats playing with their catnip mice and the heavy duty generator the phone company hooked up to the equipment on the empty lot next door.

Today I dozed off and on, and now I am going back to bed. Tomorrow I hopefully will be back on line with out trying to fall asleep while typing.

Winter has been HELL!!!! Gonna get snow and COLD tomorrow! WHee...and all the snow will fall on the broken branches and we will start this cycle all over again.

Stand by!

Still Here...

I have been so very busy the past few days. So I have not even had a chance to read blogs. I have been working on a project for a blog friend that i have never met, and it has taken quite a bit of my time. I am at a stopping point in the project, and until she tells me she needs more, I think I canput everything away.

Last Saturday I got up at day break, and caught the 2nd ferry off island to go see my Son. I stopped at Mc D's got my usual Sausage buiscuit with egg and cheese and hit the highway. I made pretty good time this trip/ I left Pt. Townsend at 930, and got into the Corrections Center at 12:00. I did not stop to sight see, nor did I take the wrong road this time, so The time was good.

The weather has taken a real toll on our state, and it really shows once you get out into the wilderness. There must have been 1000 cords of wood laying along the highway, where the power crews have cut the trees off of the power lines. You can see the dents in the barriers along the road where they had fallen across the roads and landed on them. THe wood is not cut and split, but is just laying there, I assume once the weqather has all calmed down, someone will glean the wood off the right of ways. Wish I had a strong back and a big truck!

Driving along highway 101 along Lake Crescent, waterfalls were running fast and furious right off the cliffs, across the road, and into the lake. Usually the weather is colder up high and the waterfalls are just a trickle, because the snow has not melted yet. With the 2 weeks of rain we have had since the snow storm and the wind storms, the rivers are running high, and you could see the extent of the flooding along the Bogaschiel and Hoh and Sol Duc Rivers.

We have more wind storms coming. and in between the wind storms, we have rain! whee. The Weather PErson on the news Says we have not been this wet in YEARS.
I turned onto the Hoh Mainline Road, and the fog and mist and drizzle was laying low over the road. THe Mud was blowing up onto the car and I went through a whole bottle of window juice on that trip.

Tim looks good, and is doing well. He is scheduled to get counseling for his addiction soon. They were going to wait until he was on work release,but there are enough men in there that need the classes that they are scheduling one this spring. GOOD!!! He has seen herds of elk, and deer, and a black bear, and coyotes, and squirrels and lots of birds that he can't identify. He does not take after his Mom in that respect. But he does have my love of nature and the wilderness.

He mentioned that they are out in these storms keeping the fire service roads cleared of fallen trees. When I asked what they did with all the wood, He says they just cut spit and stack it along the side of the road, and whoever wants it takes it. DAMN!!! Where is that truck! Since this is all inside the National Forest, I would imagine that you would have to have some kind of permit to remove the downed wood. I will have to check into that. We talked for 2 1/2 hours, then I left and headed home. I almost put the car into the ditch several times, because it was getting dark and I was sleepy. I should have pulled over somewhere, but I did not want to be out there alone in the woods. Next time I go I will make sure that I leave before it gets dark.

Sunday, as you saw, was New Years Eve, and the excitment in this house was overwhelming. NOT!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Monday we drove down to DOnnas and had a prime rib roast that Bill was given for his CHristmas Bonus. (???) It was really good, It was a nice visit, and then we left and drove back home in the rain.

Tuesday I had planned to watch the funeral, but since it came on so early here, I recorded it. I slept in got up and NO POWER again. SO I get out the lantern, and the radio, and prepare for a day of boredom. It was raining and blowing so hard that It was dark out,and I could not see to read. So I napped. And watched the birds. and napped some more.

Power came back on after 14 hours, and I turned everything off and went to bed. I got up and watched all of the recorded funeral program. ANd then the Grand Rapids Burial. It was well done. It really gets you when you see men that have been in that office cry as they say good by to one of their compatriots. Even seeing Rumsfeld cry was humbling. I have always liked President Ford.

Today I took the tree down, and made the best stew out of left over rib roast! Bob came over, and stayed to eat it, and even he said it was really really good. Got to give the credit to my new stove! I LOVE IT!!! So now I am in bed typing this on my lap top, because my desk top is ready to die. When I get my tax return back I plan on getting that refurbished. Then I can blog walk alot more.

I hope you all are enjoying the new year, and that the weather has not affected you as badly as it has us. We might even get more snow this week. WHOOT!!!!!

Happy New Year!

One of the best fireworks displays every year is NEW YEAR AT THE NEEDLE. It is choreographed and goes off with out a hitch even in the rain.

I wish Each and every one of you out there in Blogland those that read and admit they do and those that just stay hidden in the background, THe BEST And Healthiest New Year you have ever had.

Merry Christmas, ML...

I bought my house while I was home on leave from the Aleutian Islands. My CO called and told me that my orders had come through and I was being transferred back to Whidbey Island. SCORE!!!!!

I was so excited, And had my down payment already saved and in the bank. I went house looking, got a realtor, and told her what I wanted. There were several available, and 4 of them were being built. I went and looked and bought my house that day! It was not finished yet, but would be by October 1st which was the time I was transferring out of Adak! PERFECT!!

I got home and had to wait three weeks for closing, and then it was MINE!! I had a brand new house, with brand new appliances and carpet. WHOOT!! I felt like a queen!

I decided that I would cook thanksgiving dinner that year at my place, and my household effects were due to arrive way before then.

thanksgiving came, and I loaded the Oven with the Turkey, and everything was going along fine. UNTIL...I started to fix the potatoes, the peas, the green beans and the gravy all at the same time. One burner was fine, two were fine but three or more and the whole top went out. GRRRRRRR I got creative and made it through dinner, and then called SEARS the next week and they came out only to tell me that they could not find anything wrong. (be here next Thanksgiving Butt Head!!) SO I assumed it was just a freak coincident. Christmas dinner and the same thing happened. I called Sears again and they came out and replaced two of the burners. I did not cook a big dinner again for several years, and when I did, the same thing happened.!!

After the third time SEARS came out, I just said to hell with it, and only cooked with two burners.

FOr the past 2 years I have had to baby the stove along, because even the big burner wouldnt work. I could get it to work by pulling the burner out, then re-installing it, turning it on and then hitting it real fast and hard with my hand to see get it to spark. If it did not spark, it would not work. I did it real fast because I did not want to get burned on the off-hand chance that it WAS on. Bob would watch me go through this routine everytime I fixed him dinner. When He questioned me about it I told him I needed a new cooktop, but could not afford it yet. The oven worked fine.

Until this Thanksgiving! It worked just fine, but Now the self-cleaner will not work, because the buttons on the front broke off and are gone. WHen THAT happenend I dont know.

Yesterday I went to FOrks to see Tim, (tomorrow's story) and was gone all day, and when I got home Bob had gotten the new stove and had installed it for me.



Isn't it PURRRRTY!!!!

I had a built in-drop in stove before, and this is a stand alone. SO we had to cut the cupboard to get it to fit, but it works just fine!! I was sooooooo excited!!

It is a Whirlpool convection oven with self-clean oven. (gotta have that) and the glass top cook top. I LOVE it. He was gone when I got home, but I called and thanked him profusely for the Christmas/birthday present.

THen I turned around and saw the MESS!! They had used a sawzall to cut the cabinet, which is what I expected, but there was sawdust EVERYWHERE!! in the cupboards, on the counters, in the food, in all the appliances, all over the floor...I WAS PISSED!! I had a royal hissy fit at the mess. ( a week off of ZOloft...waiting for payday) So as tired as I was and hurting so bad, I rewashed all the dishes that were in the open dishwasher, then moved everything off the cupboards and washed them down again, and then the floor had to be scrubbed.

I was calling them every name in the book!! Why would 2 grown men instal a stove and leave such a mess? Well I should have known...It was Bob and Ron! Ron is a handy man by trade, and does this for a living, albeit self-employed. Ron is also the downfall of Bob. Ron says that perfection just gets in the way of Good enough! SO Bob has chosen that as his mantra also.

I called DOnna because I was pissed and wanted someone to just let me rant, I NEEDED to rant!! Hell I wanted to KILL SOMEONE!! (Not taking your meds does that ya know)
All DOnna said was MOM! It was FREE!!! ok, so I'm an ungrateful Bitch! ANd I feel so much better today, after getting meds, cleaning up the kitchen and taking a good hot shower and then taking some Tylenol PM and THera-flu. I woke up just fine, went in and cooked an omelet on my BEAUTIFUL NEw Stove.

Now I am waiting for Bob to come over for New Year's Eve. I am cooking steaks on my brand new stove in my brand new oven under my brand spanking new broiler.

Life is good!! (THANK YOU LORD for ZOLOFT!!)

Friends.....Maybe?

Don't you just know that dog would just love to chomp on that kitten? His master is probably standing right there and teling him to STAY!


I have seen this series of pictures before and lost them and tonight got them back again.

I am doing my bi-yearly cat sitting, for Tippie-Canoe, and Tyler-too. (yep, that is their real names) And Tyler has found a safe haven from Sadie...in the back of my closet on top of a comforter. Safe and warm too. Tippie on the other hand has discovered the DVR and perches in it all day long. WHen she gets down off the perch she slowly looks around and if she sees another cat or Sadie, she growls. Does not run, just walks around and growls, as if to say, "I am Kittie, hear me growl!" She is a seal point siamese and older than a kitten but we dont know how old. She is a sweetheart though, and as soon as Bob walks in the door, she is on him like he was cat nip! SOOOO Funny!

Tyler is the kitten that was adopted with Tippie. They found each other in the cat store, and were inseparable! Tyler is NOT Tippies kitten, but they both think he is. He is just over a year old and a big black sweet baby boy! He purrs and drools all over you. HE puts his nose right up against my arm and starts purring and making "mud-pies" and just goes limp. THat is until Sadie discovers that I have him on my lap, then it is black streak followed by blonde streak, followed by GRRRRRRRRRR as Tippie runs after them both to save her baby. My house is like Disneyland to them. Dottie says they LOVE to come over here when she goes back east.

Loki and Sadie play chase all over the house, and will settle down with the rest of the animals and cozy up to each other in front of the fire.

Once the fire place is warm and the spot in front of it is warm too, then all bets are off as to who is the aggressor and who is the victim. Who ever gets the warm spot first wins. Then all is calm in the Chandler household, and peace once again prevails.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve thoughts...

Christmas is a time for reflection. At least always has been for me in my adult years. When I was a very young adult not yet married, I loved Christmas Eve. I still lived at home, but I worked and I had my own car. I would save my money and go shopping on Christmas Eve. Oak Harbor was a lot different then, it only had one main street, Pioneer Way, and the stores were built out over the water on the South side. These were the old style buildings with wooden floors and high false fronts. The Christmas lights would be strung zig-zag from one side of the street to the other.

There were not many stores of note in town, there was the Co-op which later became the Pioneer Dept store, which carried EVERYTHING including piece goods. There was the shoe store, 3 drug stores, a coast to coast hardware store and two dime stores. That was just about it. None of these big box stores, and no strip malls. This was the mid 60’s, and we were a sleepy little town. I would buy a gift for all of my friends, even though it wasn’t much, a hanky or a scarf or a box of dusting powder. It did not matter. I felt so good about being able to save money and do this.

I would get all my shopping done, then go home and wrap the gifts. I always went to Christmas Eve Services at the Methodist Church, and gave all my gifts to my friends there. After Church services, we would have a cup of hot cocoa, and then head home to wait for “Santa”.

We lived in Coupeville, and my bedroom was on the second floor of an old Victorian home. It looked out over the field to the county courthouse. The County Christmas Tree was right in front of the courthouse, and was kept lit all the time day and night. Late at night I would sit there un my window seat and stare off into the dark night and look at the tree. I would then think back at how far I had come in my life, and how much farther I had to go to be where I wanted to be.

By this time, Mom had found her way to the bottom of a bottle, and was usually passed out in her chair. Dad worked 24 hrs at a time on the Crash Crew on Base, so it was up to Phyllis and I to make sure that Santa came for Michael. We would then head to bed and wait for him to wake us up in the morning. He was 8 or 9, and would be excited to see what was under the tree. When Dad got home at 830 in the morning, we were allowed to open our presents and empty our stockings which somehow magically got filled. Had to be Santa, because neither Phyllis nor I did it, and Mom was still passed out in her chair. Never did figure that out.

The quietness of the night sitting in that window seat remains with me still. The tree at the court house is gone now, and was not replaced. The County offices have taken over Coupeville, and Oak Harbor has become a hustle bustle place with three main roads all crammed full of strip malls and big box stores. We still have to go off Island to the mall, in Mt. Vernon, but we can find just about everything we need on the island. Everything that is except the community tree. There is no place in either town that you can call THE tree, that is all lit up and carols sung around it anymore. That has gone away. Every store has it’s own decorations, but there is no town center any more. No where to gather and have community sing alongs. It is as if everyone does their own thing and could care less about being a part of a whole. They all go to their different churches, and then home. No more neighborhood parties, no more caroling down the middle of the street. No more taking cookies to your neighbor’s houses. Where did it all go? When I sit there on Christmas eve and the nights leading up to it, with all the lights out except for the tree and the radio is on to Classical King FM and the non-stop Christmas music, I sometimes can hear the past calling out to anyone who would listen…”stop, people, STOP! Look around you, reflect on what you once had…grab that feeling with both hands and do not let go.” It would sure be nice wouldn’t it?

Hurrah!!

I have been trying to post for two days now, and I just can't seem to connect. Or if I do, I get kicked off right away. I SOOOOOO Need a new computer!!!

Christmas Spirit flew the coop! Spending three days in the dark and cold can do that to ya! You learn to cook on Coleman Stoves, You learn to always have extra propane on hand. You also learn not to cook indoors unless you have a good source of air.

there is a horrible epidemic that has come out of this blackout. And that is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, and it has resulted in at last count, 7 deaths! 4 in one family, and all are immigrants from Countries where cooking on BBQ's indoors is quite the norm. But then so is no insulation and no windows. In The Pacific Northwest, our houses have to be tight, to keep the cold at bay and conserve energy. Most of us know not to cook indoors on a briquette BBQ but there were some who were using Gas BBQ's inside, and that is not good either.

I knew that from all the years of camping, and I made sure that when I did cook inside, on my dining room table that there were at least 2 sources of air coming into the room.

It has just been horrible for the minority communities from East Africa and the Indonesian islands. And the ELDERLY!!! One woman called into the radio station in tears because she had just gone to visit her grandmother in a retirement home, and there was no heat, and no way to cook. These old people were freezing to death and starving because some city councilman did not think to make a contingency plan for these people! MY GOD FOLKS use your damn BRAINS!! When I heard that I just was flumoxed! I was assured that the retirement homes here on the island had either a generator or an alternate heat source and that their residents were ok, in the dark, but warm and fed.

Some of the outlying areas east of Seattle still are in the dark one solid week after the winds blew. The power lines have been devastated by trees and limbs. The majority of the people that were prepared are taking it all in stride, but it is the fringes of society that have not prepared for this and are blaming everyone for the power not coming back on soon enough. Once again we have an incidence of people always expecting a hand out from the government. No idea how we are going to PAY for this handout, but they think they should have one. I don't! They can be prepared just like I was. They can adapt, they can listen to the radio and not play computer games. (although I did go through free cell withdrawals) They can have canned food and a canopener that does not work on electricity. (I use one everyday)

People were stealing generators right out of the yards where people had their freezers hooked up. People were selling cans of gasoline for 10.00 a gallon along the road. People were lined up for MILES in line to get gas for their cars at the one or two stations that still had gas to dispense, and then fights were breaking out when the tanks went dry. PEOPLE LISTEN!!!! BE PREPARED!!!! Get those tanks all topped off as soon as they say a storm may be coming. If it doesnt, ah well, you can use it for the car.

One other thing that was brought to light is all the tanks full of tropical fish that died because people did not think of them. THey get cold too and die. one young man took hot water bottles and set them in his tank to keep the water warm. COOL!!! He used his head.

I did not get my Melting Moments baked, because the power was down, but I did get rum balls and bourbon balls and the fruitcakes baked. TOmorrow I will make fudge and wrap the few presents I did make for family, and then get back on track.



I put my tree up AGAIN!!! and now the lights on the outside of the house are out. They are gonna stay that way! Im done. Enough is enough. On to CHristmas and PRIME RIB!!! YUMMY STUFF!! Donna is coming home tomorrow!! WHoot!! Not to celebrate Christmas becasue she does not do that, but to see her Mommie!!! :)

Tim's Christmas Present got shipped here instead of to him, so Now I have to return it to Amazon and re-order it to get it shipped to him. THat way they are assured there is no contraband stuck in the book! (from his MOTHER???) ah well.

I will post again tomorrow, IF I CAN GET ON LINE!!!!! Meanwhile, all of you drive safely and have a very Merry Christmas! See you next week.

WHOO! That was fun....

When I asked OmnipotentBenevolentEmpress of the 20 Universes to update my blog and let everyone know that we all were safe and alive, I had no idea she would unleash the TROLLS instead of the Gnomes. They can both be destructive, but those forest trolls are the worst. THey hide in the branches of trees and then ride them like a roller coaster when the wind blows. I think they like the way the transformers POP and put out the sparks and the great light show when a branch arc's across a power line and shorts them out. Nasty beings they...

The Island lost power on Thursday night and some of us still do not have it on. Phyllis got hers back on Friday, and so did Bob, But I didnt until Saturday night.
I had a pallet made up and laid it right in front of the woodstove, and had everything I needed right at hand. The radio was on, the lantern was full, I had the books and the animals all close at hand. I had just hunkered down for the night and looked up just as the lights came back on. I needed them to. As I said last month, it was fun when I was younger, but when you are all alone, it is BORING!

I will write extensively about the damage that was done, and the people stories that have popped up, but tonight I just wanted everyone to know I am back on line...hopefully for the rest of the year. I could connect, but the server would not let me go anywhere. I can now.

THank you all for caring. ANd through all of that, I actually got all my christmas cards made and mailed. Aren't you proud of me?

She's Okay

In an attempt to put a stop to the endless sappyholidaymovieathon that inevitably leads to the why-won't-you-give-up-your-boycott-and-celebrate-like-nice-people phone call I put out an order for the Gnomes to please cut off the TV access to the Imperial Mum.

Well you know how Gnomes get sometimes this time of year, what with Elves getting all the attention and their garden variety bretheren being left out to crack in the cold.

Anyway, They apparently managed to blusterate the entire Island into darkness for what they tell me will be days. This was not what I had in mind and I do very much apologise for the Gnomey behavior. (I'm making them sit in front of 24 hours of taped speeches by the Shrub as part of their punishment for over reacting without fulling planning.)

In the mean time The Mom is warm and dry at her cottage. Her wood pile is stocked, her wood stove is functioning and cats are providing extra insulation where needed. (Though if there's someone resembling the Marlboro Man that wishes to further the cause of Heat generation and preservation, I don't know that she'd argue too much.)

She claims she doesn't need any food, and in fact is more worried about having to eat everything in the freezer before it melts, but Bob (definitely NOT the Marlboro Man) has promised to bring a generator before that happens. If you live near by and know where there's a stash of propane or D batteries, I'm sure she'd be grateful.

Her phone does work just fine. If anyone should feel the desire to call her, feel free to email me at ms(dot)hyphen(at)gmail and I will see what I can arrange for you.

Cheers!
The Empress of the 20 Universes

Yikes!!!!1

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A HIGH WIND
WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY
MORNING.

A HIGH WIND WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE POTENTIAL OF STRONG
DAMAGING WINDS. A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL REACH THE AREA
THURSDAY EVENING. SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THURSDAY
AFTERNOON...THEN SHIFT TO SOUTHWEST AND INCREASE FURTHER THURSDAY
NIGHT. SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH ARE
POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT.

A STRONG SURGE OF WESTERLY WINDS IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. ON
THE COAST AND IN THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA EVEN STRONGER WINDS
ARE POSSIBLE. IN THESE AREAS WEST WINDS 50 TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS OF
80 TO 90 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT THESE
ESPECIALLY STRONG WEST WINDS WILL BLOW ACROSS WHIDBEY ISLAND LATER
THURSDAY NIGHT.

Well folks, If you dont hear from us for awhile, we are without power....AGAIN!!! That would be me, Phyllis and Keewee too.

I need to go out toorrow morning and bring in my umbrella, so It does not end up on top of Lea's roof. I should be fine. THe garage door may blow in, but that is all. But I seriously doubt we will get winds that high.

GOt water, got food, laundry is all done, firewood is close to the house, got matches, got batteries, got propane and even have pet food. SO we are good to go.

OH YEAH! And I still have two bottles of booze for the fruitcakes! HEY HEY HEY! I am ready! jim beam and Bacardi! Whoot!

POOF!!!

oops

I Hate putting lights on the tree, When I was growing up my Dad always did it, and they had to be JUST SO! When I got married, Jim did it, when He left, Tim did it so now I have to and I HATE IT! My Sil Sherry came over on Saturday and put the lights on my tree for me and they looked really pretty.

I still had not gotten around to decorating it, so tonight I started. I hung the large bells along the bottom, and I sat down to rest my back, and POOF! the lights all went out. HRMMMM!!! so I unplugged them and plugged them back in again, and realized that Sherry had hooked all 6 strings together, and into one plug. I found one of the connections to see if that was the offending string, and it was so hot I could barely touch it. Needless to say, the lights are now all off and will stay that way until I can get the oomph to re string more sets of lights onto the tree.

It is a real tree, and I am so thankful that I was right there, or I would have had a serious mess in my front room. No, I dont think I want to deal with more water on my floors, especially at this time of the year. So all the peace I was feeling yesterday just went right out the fricking window. I think I will go have several bourbon balls! BAH HUMBUG!!

Winter Moon...

As I lay here on my tummy late at night, I can peek over the window sill, and gaze out at the moon peeking through the bare branches of the alders out back. It looks so cold and so lonely. The night sky in December is beautiful in an odd sort of way. The air is still warm, and the land is cooling down, so light fog forms, sometimes up high, and sometimes along the ground. THe fingers of mist it puts out, look like hands of Father Time, telling the world that it is time to sleep and rest for the coming winter, and renew for the coming Spring.

We have had some really mild weather the past week, after the Siberian Express blew through and dumped snow and cold on us. I have been able to see the moon come into fullness and then slowly pare away into a half moon. I would look at it as it slowly climbed up through the trees and cleared the tops to be free from obstruction, and then soar away like a big balloon, in the misty air. Several times I have seen an ice ring around the moon. Orion has moved so that he wakes up earlier now, so I can no longer see him from my bed.

THis has been a time of reflection for me. I have been listening to classical Christmas Music, and watching every Cheesy Christmas Movie there is. I am very much into the spirit of the season this year. More so than usual. We have made a pact that we are not buying gifts for family this year, we are making them. I have most of mine done already, and I feel good about that. We are not filling stockings this year, as I am flat broke, and I dont feel bad about that. I have almost all of my Christmas Cards made, and have to dig up the money to mail them all. I really felt good about that. I have really enjoyed making them.

I have done some Christmas baking this year, and That has been fun. I have my fruitcakes soaking in rum, and I made bourbon balls this year too. I will be making my Melting Moments tomorrow, and then finish putting the ornaments on the tree. I got a small one this year, and even that feels good.

I have been reflecting on all of the things I have missed about celebrating Christmas. This year I think I am going to see all I can and do as much as I can afford to do and then just sit back in my big comfy chair with my dog on my lap, and enjoy the rest of the year. The earth is resting up and maybe we all should too. All the hub-bub of shopping and rushing and buying is secondary. ENJOY! Celebrate! Be with friends and Family and recharge your batteries. Spring will be here soon enough and then we will all be busy again.

Snail Mail Addresses please...

As most of my regular readers know, I send out handmade cards every year at Christmas. That is IF I have your snail mail. (I HATE E-Cards!)

So all of you lurkers out there and those new readers I have, please send me your home addresses so I can get these in the mail to you.

my email is dreamer(at)galaxynet(dot)com Take out the parentheses and replace the words with the symbols and Voila! My email address.

Christmas Rules...

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet
table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see
carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum
balls.




2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-
malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch.
You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who
cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if
you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat.
Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's
Christmas!




3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of
gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of
your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk
or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a
sports car with an automatic transmission.




5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to
control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the
buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of
eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of
shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them
again.




8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each.
Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always
have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor
Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean,
have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the
party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read
tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by: My favorite
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather
to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body
thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a
ride!" --

A Christmas Story..

The Whidbey Playhouse is presenting "A CHristmas Story" this season, and even though I am not involved in this one at all, I Highly recommend those that can, get your tickets now and go see it.

I am probably the only person in the world that has only seen the movie 1 time. It is Hysterical! Ralphie want a Red Ryder 200 shot BB gun with a compass and a thing that tells time embedded in the stock, and he will do anything to assure that either his parents or Santa CLaus knows he wants it.

The tag line that keeps popping up when ever he tells anyone is "you'll put your eye out" and it goes through the whole show. THat and his little brother that has "to go wee-wee" at the most inopportune times.

Barbara and I went last night, and I laughed and laughed. THe story is funny, the actors were fine but I did not like the set. There is a lot going on in this story, and the set had to be 5 places at one time, and it worked, but it looked unfinished to me. It may have been, but I think that is how it was planned. It just needed something. No, I doubt that I could have done any better at all. maybe not even that good, but over all it was a good show.

We stopped by Seabolt's Smokehouse for dinner before hand and had their smoked salmon and chips and clam chowder. OH YUM!! Seaboldts started out as just a place to buy smoked slamon, and they have just branched out to serving self-order counter dining, and the place was packed. It was very good, and I will be going back. I know now to request more tarter sauce because they never serve enough in places like that. (Ok, so I am strange, I use tarter sauce on my fries instead of ketchup!)

THe menu had mussels (Brenda!) clams, tuna, salmon, cod, and crab. All big sellers here in the Pacific Northwest. For those of you that have never had smoked salmon, you do NOT know what you are missing. THe Mussels are grown right over there>>>>in Penn COve. And they are world reknowned! So funny too, because when I was a kid and lived on Penn COve, we would squash the mussels growing on the rocks and the piers. No one had any idea that they were actually edible. We went after the good stuff...steamed butter clams! Gads I am making myself hungry now.

Now back to seeing if I can get my stove to work... (grumble, cuss, swear!!!)

Only 21 more days of Autumn...

Just think, with all of the cold and the snow and the rain, we are still only into the 2nd month of FALL! Makes me wonder just what WINTER will actually bring.

It is now 36 degrees out there, but it is 1030PM. It got all the way up to 48 today. THe snow is all melting, the icicles are gone off the eaves, the snow is all gone off the trees and the snowmen that were built all over the neighborhood, are laying like a pile of forgotten snow in their respective yards. THere is nothing quite so sad as watching a snowman melt. Their eyes slip, their arms fall off, their hats hit the ground, and the carrots that once were a nose now look like really sick penis'!

I LOVE the snow. I love the silence that it brings, like a big fluffy blanket being laid over all the dirt and noise. Making magic happen for just one day. I love watching the juncos and the chickadees pecking through the snow on the feeders for the few bits of seed that are still hidden under there.

I love the crunch that walking on fresh snow brings. Like a giant box of Corn Starch being squeezed with two hands.

This is one of my favorite months! THe build up the festivities, the decorations, the hustle, the baking, the food, the people, the MOVIES! the songs. I Love it all.
I am planning on getting my tree up this weekend sometime, and then I will enjoy sitting there in front of the wood stove, with all the lights off, listening to Christmas Music and staring at the tree and the decorations. I have always LOVED CHristmas.

It seems really strange after being in Retail for 37 years, to NOT be up to my eyeballs in Christmas for 5 or 6 months. I think I do kind of miss it.

NAH!!!!!

Changes are a-comin'...

We have just been told that the weather system that is hitting the coast right now, will turn quickly to rain. The air has warmed up significantly from 8 degrees F last night to 34 degrees F tonight.

It did get cold! I kept Power all night and all day, but I would not count on it staying on much longer. We are having gale force winds, and with the ground as wet as it will be when it all melts, we will lose even more trees!

It was pretty while it lasted, now we will see the ugly side of it. The mud and the dirt! The road sand will all get splashed up on the windsheild, and we will have to wash our cars and filll the reservoirs.

I spent all day today inside in my snuggly robe. I did not even get dressed. I got up and built a fire in the wood stove, made a pot of coffee, and settled in to watch the birds and squirrels!

Sadie is a matted up mess right now. She will have to go to the groomer, but not until the snow all melts, and the mud dries up. She has had more fun throwing snow over her shoulder! Dumb dog! Even Lint has decided that he will stay inside for the duration.

I am so far behind in getting my things in the mail. Certain people's BD Presents came back, because I forgot to put a customs tag on it. DUH! Well It will have to go with the christmas cards now. This whole year has been a wreck for me. I am so hoping that next year will be the year of starting life over. I now have all my floors done, I have the walls painted, I have almost all of my unfinished projects finished, I have made every member of my family an afghan, so next year is for me.

I think I will reinvent myself. I really need to. Not making any promises, because I know how I am, but I will try. one step at a time. I may even put my Bio on Match.com just to see what happens! (eek!)

So right now I am laying on my tummy in my bed with the electric blanket on, the window opened 1/2 way, breathing in the fresh cold air, and typing away. Jay Leno is on, and soon I will be turning him off and turning on Classic King FM, and closing up the laptop and opening my book. I will read until I get sleepy, then if the electricity is still on, I will turn off the lamp and sleep until I wake up.

Hope you all are having a nice morning. Watch out for all the storms that are heading your way! They are nasty this month!

(OHMIGAWD! There is a model on TV right now wearing a 6,000,000 dollar BRA! WHY?)
That is just twisted!

Roaming...

You know you live in a small town when the airport closes because the one plane is frozen to the tarmac! This was taken from the road which is right at the end of the runway! When A plane takes off, you better duck!




Squash Barn taken from the OTHER side of the Prairie from the Cemetery that I usually shoot from. I love the contrast between the white and the red. I have been trying to get a good picture of this barn for years.




Yesterday while driving I was shooting from the car and this shows the hiway where the tree limbs had fallen on the wires, and they were about to fall on the road.




This just shows you how beautiful our island is. PUUUURRRRRTTTYYY Huh?

Most of the roads were still iced up and blocked by fallen trees and power lines. There are people up the Skagit River that STILL don't have power after 3 days. With record breaking cold weather this is really bad for them.

We are expecting an even worse storm than this one according to the CBS station in Seattle. Sposed to hit tomorrow afternoon and dump about 3-7 inches of snow, and then warm up and rain on Thursday. What this will mean for us, is that the new fallen snow will be heavy with water, and the trees will continue to fall and kill the power for even more people. Then the Ice storm and then the rain will have no where to go because the drains are all clogged with frozen solid snow! Could have more flooding on the mainland.

wonder what December will bring. Man I LOVE weather! I am a storm Junkie! AS long as I know I am safe and My family is too, then I love to sit back and watch Mother Nature do her thing.

I wanted sooo badly to sit out on the deck tonight in the 8 degree F cold and watch the stars, but the deck is as slick as snot and you know what happens when I head to the deck in November at night to look at the night sky! So I thought I would just stay in where it is semi-warm and enjoy. If you see any Northern Lights, let me know!

YES!!

Whoot! It snowed! ANd snowed some more, and then it snowed again. FOlks, this NEVER happens here. THe one time I remember it happening like this, it immediately turned to rain, and sunk a lot of marinas !



I bundled up, got in the car and put it in 4Wheel drive for only the 2nd time in 10 years, and damn near did not make it our of my drive way! THere was over 8" on top of my car, and a good 6 inches sitting on top of my snowman antenna ball!


antenna ball

The roads were pretty good once you got out of the COve and onto the hiway. The worst part was ducking all the falling tree branches and live wires. We hardly ever get any snow, and if we do it isnt often the wet gluey kind that this was. PERFECT for snowballs and snowmen and clinging to tree branches. I heard trees falling all night last night, but knew my house was safe.

THe scenery was absolutely gorgeous! looks like a fairy land out there. Tonight it has gotten down very low into the teens and all that wet snow is gonna freeze and the roads and trees are gonna be a nitemare! Poor Phyllis got called in to work at 530 this morning to drive the roads and make sure they were safe for the buses, and she didnt get home until 10pm tonight. I am sure she will have a lot on her blog once she wakes up.

I will post more pictures tomorrow, when the sun comes out, Then it should really be pretty. Everything will be closed, and people will be out sightseeing once the roads are drivable again.

THis is a major event for us here in the NW. We usually only get lots of rain. SO we are enjoying the heck out of this. I wish I was yound again,I would love to get out there and play in it!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

new

Rusty called me at 830 this morning screaming into the phone. "IT"S SNOWING!" I murfffed from under my pillow and stuck my nose over the window sill to see how much and all I saw was green.

"No it isn't;t!" I muttered, and she said yes it is LOTS of it, and big wet floppy flakes. It was not doing anything. SO she hung up and I re-buried my head for another few hours. The phone rang again at 1130, it was Phyllis, "IT"S SNOWING!" Once again I murrfed from under the pillow and stuck my nose over the window sill to see a few very tiny little flakes falling on the feeder.

OK, that means it is starting, so I got up to get dressed and get into Oak Harbor to get my insulin. By the time I was dressed the road was covered, so I said nope, not getting out in that, My Insurance lapsed on Friday, and I was going into the office tomorrow to pay it. SO I stayed home and watched it snow, and snow and snow! The birds were fighting over the suet blocks and scratching the snow off the feeders.

I saw several birds I have not noticed before, a tiny little olive bird that may be a warbler of some kind, and a Big thrush sized gray and olive bird. Huh! gotta look those up.

the big grey squirrels were Loving the snow, frolicking and running back and forth from the feeder to their trees. Lint refused to go out, said nope, No way am I getting my feet cold. Sadie ran out, hit the ice on the porch and slid right off the porch onto the grass. She was out until it started to cover the grass then she was ready to come in. Now I cant get her out to pottie at all. I have to throw her out and then slam the door really fast. Once out, she has fun, running and chasing snowballs, but she wont go out on her own. She came in looking like a snow-dog!

We have snow advisories posted until tomorrow morning, and should have another 1-4 inches by then. We have about 4" right now. SO COOL!!!! The bad part, is the weight of the snow on the branches is breaking them, and hitting the power lines and killing power in some areas. Keewee has no power, and she only lives about 20 miles down the island. We do though Thank Goodness.

I bundled up really well then took the wheelbarrow out and loaded it up with wood, and wheeled it into the garage. Then I built a roaring fire, and settled in to watch more movies. Did you know that snow storms block the signals from the satellites? I didn't until this afternoon. PAH! So I turned on classic King and listened to music all afternoon while I putzed with my Blog template.

I got reception back around 430 just in time for the local news, then the Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie. I laid down on the floor with all the animals and watched it with a box of Kleenex within reach. Good movie!

My tiny little Lopi Stove only takes two pieces of wood at a time, so I started the fire, and when it caught good I put one more piece in and the little thing GLOWED! The cats even got two warm! I only use 4 pieces of wood a day, and my house is so warm I have to open spare rooms to cool it down. Good stove, Tight house, NICE DAY!!!! And another one tomorrow. (I'm SO SORRY Dick!) :)