Summer's end...?

For the past few days the Sun has been out, but it has not been as warm as it looked. At night it gets down into the 40's F. It has also been very still. No wind blowing just a slight breeze...just enough to let you know that the leaves are drying out and Fall is on the way. The ships in the Strait are blaring their fog horns, so even though I cant see the fog up this high, I know it has settled in on the water. Yep, Fall is just around the corner. Warm days and cool nights makes for fog. We call it Nature's Air COnditioner. THe ferry every morning blows it's fog horn all the way across the water. A lonely sound. Every once in a while it will be answered by a deeper louder voice, a freighter on it's way out to sea. I lay there in bed listening to the music they play and loving it!! It is so comforting to me. It takes me back to my child hood when we had fog horns all along the island on the west side, and you could hear them, in their un even toots. And you knew just which one was making the noise. I love it still.

I am right in the middle of A CHORUS LINE, and it is really keeping me busy. THe Director is new to our Playhouse, and I have found that she was expecting me to do things that I normally would not do. SO I am busier thatn normal.

The picture is one of the cast during rehearsal. We dont have our costumes finished nor the set painted yet. I started setting lights tonight, but they will not all be completed until next week end. This show is kicking my butt.



The Oak Harbor Pool has been closed this week for cleaning and reconditioning, so no aquarobics. I tried to go down to the pool on the beach, but the sun has been out and so have the teenagers. So I have not been swimming this week and I can feel it.

This weekend is going to be a full and busy one, we have 5 birthdays we are celebrating on Saturday. Sherry is 50 DOnna is 40 and Galen is 30, then Mike and TIm. On Sunday I am sposed to be in two places. A minor league baseball game in Everett and a BBQ at a friends house. I am afraid I have to go to the BBQ and miss the ball game. DAMN!

Monday I will be setting lights and filming the commercial and then Tuesday is more lights. ARRGGHH!

THis too shall pass, just like the summer has, fast and furious.
Be safe!

Monday Musings...

Last Friday my darling baby daughter, AKA Omnipotent Benevolent Empress on my comments, had a milestone Birthday...She turned 40! I KNOW I gave birth to her, but Good GOD 40!!!!???? I sure dont feel like I am old enough to have a daughter that old! She has taken up knitting, and felting, and now she is taking up spinning her own wool! She has been looking at spinning wheels, as she was using a drop spindle to spin with, and that takes forever. Bob is fascinated by her spinning, and being the sweetheart that he can be at times, He had me look it up on the internet, and when he knew which one she wanted, he ordered it for her for her Birthday. WOW!! She now is the proud owner of a Lendrum double treadle collapsable spinning wheel. And soon Bob will be the proud wearer of a pair of felted and hand knitted and hand spun Clogs!



LAst night I went to the store for cat food and kitter litter...the important items in this household. On the way there I drove the back road by the ferry landing and the spit, and saw that the parking areas were FULL of cars. THe salmon are running right now, It is a Humpy year, and there must have been over 100 cars in that tiny little spot, and as I drove by two fishermen were showing off their catches...each had two 10+ pounders! NICE FISH!!

I came home from the store along Ebby's Landing just as the sun was about to set, so Sadie and I pulled over and parked along the beach head and watched. It was so pretty! It was so peaceful too. I must have sat there for 30 minutes or so, just breathing in the salt air and listening to the waves wash up on the shore.

Autumn is on us wether we know it or not...the air is crisp and smells like Fall. THe leaves are already turning and drying out. When the wind blows, they rustle now where in the spring and summer they dont. We have not had much of a summer, but this week we are expecting warm days and cool nights. You all know how much I look forward to those COOL NIGHTS... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Did any of you watch the teen miss USA? Oh dear LORD!! We have GOT to do something about the education our teens are getting...go to YOU TUBE and check out the answer miss SOuth Carolina gave. THe question was...a percentage of our young people can not point out the USA on a world map. You will NOT believe her answer. Everybody needs to dig deep in your pocket and send that young lady a map of the world! THere is NO excuse for that, and people if you cant find the USA on a world map, then YOU TOO need to get one and study it hard! GADS!!

wasting time

Ok, I have to admit it...I have been wasting time. I have been sitting at this computer for 6-8 hours a day, doing zigsaw puzzles! It is all Miss Leslie's fault. She mentioned she was doing some, so I checked it out and got hooked! I even went so far as to spend 19.99 on line to get the full version of 50 Lighthouses. Then I found another site that will allow you to play for 60 minutes free before it closes. I discovered a way to play all of those puzzles on the same 60 minutes of free time. I just dont click on finished, or show it in the gallery. I just use the back button which takes me back to the menu and the rest of the pictures. It even has a feature where you can create your own puzzles with your own pictures. You can make the pieces differnt sizes or you can cut them differently. It is ADDICTING!!

Spin Top Games is the site, and as long as you do not close it down (you can minimize) nor turn off your computer, or go off line, it will stay there. THe only problen is that spy ware has a ball with an open line, and slows the computer waaaay down. SO my high speed cable was slower than my CRAP dial=up. SO I turned off everything, defragged, and ran spy-aware, and pc cillin and now I am back running fine, but no more puzzles!! WAAAAHHHH

I MAY have to spend another 20 bucks just so I can make my own puzzles.

anybody know of any really cool puzzle sites that are free?

Ellen Crush

Good bye dear friend. I hope all of your pain is now behind you and you are sitting on that dock on the lake and fishing your heart out....You were a pleasure to know.

You will be missed.

Promised photos...

I had promised you pictures of the Coupeville Festival, but I downloaded them and could not find them. SO here is our streets.

I thought I had the waterfront on here, but I didnt, so I need to go back and find it.



Well, I still didnt get it done right!!

Hang on...




There!

So the street is 2 blocks long, goes uphill 1 block and then comes back 2 blocks and then down to the waterfront for 1 block. We are right on the water, and the tide is out, When the festival is going on, the streets are elbow to elbow people, at least 20000 a day! The vendors love it, the townspeople love it, and the crowd loves it.

I used to buy all my christmas presents there, but now that I am retired, I have no money, so I just window shop. THe fare has not changed at all, there are leather goods, hand made dresses, pottery, jewelry, (Leslie, come be a vendor next year!) paintings, photos, food, any kind of kitsch you can think of. It is fun.

stuff...

I have a brain shut down. I can think of all kinds of things to talk about, but when I sit down here to type, it leaves my memory! I feel like that cat up there, on a single track and on a dead stop! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

My back and leg are still giving me fits. I cut back on swimming, and only go to aquarobics 2 times a week, which has really helped. I think I just over did it. I am not a patient person at all, and I was trying to push my way into getting mobile again. I am not sure I ever will be. I just do not want to give up and become disabled permanently. I want to get out and WALK! I want to hike in the mountains again, I want to walk along the beach and hike the cliffs. And I want it NOW!!

Ok...politics, just what are you folks that live in the USA thinking about the upcoming elections. Last election we burned up the blogsphere with opinions, and with Wanda just being a lurker and not commenting any more, It just isnt the same.
RIght off the top of my head, this country needs a change of direction. We need to pull back our resources and heal ourselves from within before we spin out of control even further and fragment this wonderful country. I am leaning towards the left this time, but that is because I cant see anyone on the right that I think will tell the GOP to pack sand, and come back towards the center. John McCain would but he is not getting the funding he needs, and I am concerned about his age and health. Right now, I would like to see John Edwards get the Democratic TIcket with Obama as his running mate. THat would give this country the experience in political office and a new direction. It would also give Obama the chance to gain experience which seems to be his biggest drawback, and get him groomed for 2016!

I am anxious to see what Fred Thompson will do. Trophy wife aside, (jeez guys isnt there any thing else to talk about?) there does not seem to be any bad press coming out on him.

But the candidate that will get my vote is one who will give us universal health care for EVERYONE! A candidate who will protect the environment, a candidate who will get the economy back on track and back towards a balanced budget. I would also like to see a candidate who will back free education for all Americans who want it, and put emphasis back on learning instead of coddling our younger generations.

I think we need to pull out of Iraq, out of Afghanistan, out of the middle east and just let them do their own dirty work. If they dont or wont do it then they have made a choice that they will have to live with. I am not sure that Democracy in its present form will work over there, as there is too much History to the contrary. I watched Lawrence of Arabia the other night, and when the Arabs took Damascus, (i think) each tribe was fighting with the others over who was going to control what. Nothing has changed. THey are still fighting, they will always fight, ANd until they take up the fight and govern their own cities and towns, it will forever be that way.

Ok off my soap box...I am just an aging fat woman, with an opinion, and Lord knows that will change as the wind blows.

SIGH!!!

Pooped!

I came home last night and was in horrible pain. Oh Yeah I told you that already. I woke up this morning, still in pain, but knew I had to get to the festival. I offered to take the 12-5 shift as they could not find anyone else. I have always wanted to get involved in the festival, since the days it first started. Well 44 years later, I did. Only I got there so late, I did not get to order a shirt. WAHHH!! I did get a coffee cup though.

I rushed out of the house this morning, and stopped to get a big cup of coffee, and stood in line for almost 20 minutes! GOD I HATE those ditzy blondes that come in and order mochas and lattes for their entire group. so there were three people in line, the ditz, an older lady with a bag of coffee and me. 25 Minutes folks!!! unreal.

I got back in the car and headed down to try to find parking. THe festival is on front street, which is on the water, and the rest of the town heads up a steep hill. and I Do mean steep. the vendors were all along Front Street and then up the Hill and then back up COveland. Quite a walk! I headed to where I was parked yesterday, and squeezed through the barricades, and then since there was no one else there, I drove on down to the off limits parking lot right in the middle of the vendors. It was for handicapped people, but no one knew that, so I parked right smack in front of the office, right by the potties, and crawled on in.

I do not have a handicapped sticker on my car, and I am trying like Hell to avoid being labeled, but I think if this keeps up, I will have to. I can not walk any distance at all any more. I miss it so much! Anyway, no one said a word, and when I told the president of the Assn what I did, she said GOOD for you! and smiled. SO there too.

I am going to take it really easy next week, and tomorrow I will go down and try some stretching exercises in the pool.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Im going to bed.

Saturday....

I had to park way up the hill and walk down to front street, and the office is right next to the portapotties, so I did not get a chance to get pictures. I will tomorrow though, I go in at 12:00. Getting back UP the hill took all my breath away, and did a wild number on my back. I came home and went right to bed with Ben gay and aspercreme on it. I am getting worse and worse. I HATE getting old!

purrty huh?

My sister posted a picture of this afghan that she made for me,but she did not know how to turn it the right way, so for those of you like me, that get a crick in their neck looking sideways, I stole the picture and made it right side up. SO now she can steal it back and post it correctly. *tee hee)

Tomorrow I stuck my neck out and volunteered to work the Coupeville Arts and Crafts festival from 9-3. I will be sitting in the office answering phones and watching people. It is always fun to look at all the people that show up. THey are expecting over 20.000 people this weekend. So COupeville will be wall to wall with pottery, yarn goods, photo artists, leather toolers, kitsch makers, people with strollers, and people with dogs. (WHY do people take their dogs to things like that? THey just get stepped on)

I plan on taking quite a few pictures, so I should post them tomorrow. Continue keeping Ellen and Curtis in your thoughts, They are having a very rough time right now. Curtis made me cry with his last post. Sniff! It was so poignant!

ELLEN...

When I first started blogging some 4+ years ago, I met a lady from winnepeg, who was a school teacher. She was also a writer, and wrote articles for a canadian magazine. THe way she wrote about her life and her kids, her School kids...she has none of her own, You could tell that she was one of those very rare teachers that actually cared about her pupils.

I got the opportunity to meet Ellen and Curtis three years ago, when she came out to see her brother in Vancouver, BC. My sister and I drove up to White Rock BC to meet with them, and enjoyed our visit a lot. She is as bubbly in person as she is on her blog.

Ellen had cancer and licked it, and then it came back. She now is in her final stage of life, sleeping and being kept comfortable. Her Husband by her side, reading her all the comments that she gets on her blog. Her last entry was July 21, and you could tell she was tired.

I spent the Month of December last year folding Origami Cranes to send on to a friend who needed to have 1000 cranes for a Crane Project to send to Ellen. I managed to fold over 400 of them, and sent them on. Ellen got them several weeks ago. SHe was astonished and overwhelmed by all the love and prayers that went with them. Curtis found her sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by the cranes, and bawling her eyes out with happiness. I feel so good knowing that for a very brief time, I was able to be a part of the great feeling of love she received in that batch of cranes.

Brian over at AUDIENCE OF ONE has challenged us all to write about Ellen on our blogs and send every one of our readers over to her Blog and leave a comment, that Curtis can read to her. Curtis will be reading for days!

So all of you lurkers and all of you regular readers go tell Ellen Crush hello, and make her final hours even happier than she has been.

Saturday. Now what...

I remember the days when I would so look forward to Saturdays. Days when I knew I did not have to get up early and rush in to work. Days when I could sleep in if I wanted, or take a day trip up into the mountains. THere were always places to go and things to do and sights to see.

THere still is, only now I have no money to do them with. I woke up this morning and wondered what day it was, just another day in a long string of days that are all the same. Days when The house needs cleaning, the yard needs mowing, the gardens need tending the car needs to be washed, the blog needs to be updated, yada yada yada.

Retirement isnt the jewel that it once seemed to be. Everyday is a Saturday now, and every night is Friday night. It just goes to prove the point that we all need order and regimen in our lives. There once was a book written that said that we all NEED the celebrations and the rituals in our lives. We need to acknowledge Birthdays and anniversaries and we need to celebrate the holidays.

I had not given that much thought, but then I realized that when I was in grade school, we were always counting down to a certain DAY a certain EVENT that helped us realize just where we were in the course of our lives.

Once I grew up, My children gave me those reasons to celebrate and look forward to. It wasn't until just recently that I realized that now I NEED those reasons back into my life. It is so easy to just let them slide by without celebrating them. It is almost summers end, and I am still waiting for SUMMER TO ARRIVE! My deck has not been readied, I planted no flowers, I just let the days slide on by with no realization that my life is also sliding by.

I have a tendency to procrastinate and put the everyday things off, and by doing this, I just shove Monday into Saturday and wonder where the year went. I look around the house and see the trim that STILL needs to be painted, and the projects that still need to be finished. I need a personal trainer. A person that will motivate me into getting these everyday things done. I need some one to do them with. I can work like a horse but I cant work alone. Another Saturday is here and once again here I sit wondering WHat NOW!? SIGH

Easton Ridge Fire

This afternoon about 400, a helicopter with 4 people aboard, crashed into the densely forested mountains just over Snoqualamie Pass. THe crash broke out in flames and that started a 4 acre fire that quickly grew to 300 acres.

The phone rang about 730 and it was Tim calling collect to tell me he could not talk, but that he was on his way over to the fire. THis one could be a really bad one, as it was fueled, and it crashed into very dry timber on the east side of the mountains. It is also very sttep and there are no roads into the site.

TIm and his crew will be breaking trail, and climbing mountains to get to it. Say a prayer folks, THis has the potential to grow HUGE!

I will keep you all posted as I know more.

Tunk Grade Fire

I got this update from Tim last week...He is still in prison, but he is working with the Department Of Natural Resources fighting wildfires.



These images are of the fire he was at, but they were pulled off the web, so I have no idea who is in the pictures.

Hello Mom.

I am over in Okanogan fighting the Tunk Grade Fire. Right now it is 10% contained. 15,600 acres. I am having fun. We put out spot fires yesterday, then watched the helicopters do their water drops and the tanker do their retardent drops. They fly right over our heads. It is pretty cool to watch. I could tell the pilot was balding and had sunglasses he was so close. (my comments here...the pilot got so close they were actually dropped ON, but not until after this was written. It was on the news,)

Today we got to do some back burning. That was fun, I burnt up a whole hillside.BIG hillside. It was sagebrush and went up fast and hot. THis camp tripled in size from the time we left this morning to the time we got back. I saw a couple of people from Orcas (Orcas Island is the place he lives when he isnt in prison, and he was with the fire department there) It was nice to see familiar faces. There was a channel 5 news team there today, and we drove right past them as they were setting up to do their 500 live feed.

Any way, I am having fun, at least so far. I better get some sleep, talk to you soon.



He called last Friday, and we were just getting into the conversation when we were cut off. THe phone at the corrections center is monitored, and it will not allow 3 way calling, so whenever they pick up and monitor the conversations, it thinks we are on a 3 way call and cuts us off. SO he calls back and they do it again, so I know he is back, the fire is out, and he is waiting for the next one to flare up which could be at any time.

It is hot and dry over there, and our forests can go up in a minute. We have lost firefighters when they get overrun by the fire, but I think he is smart enough to watch out for that. I HOPE!

Right now he is back on the Olympic Penninsula, thinning trees and cleaning camp grounds. He LOVES it. Sees some gorgeous sites, and mingles with the animals.

Admiral's Cove Beach Club

I have written about going to the pool every day, and seeing the eagles in the trees overhead. One of my "lurkers" Wrote and asked me to post pictures of the pool. SO here they are.

The beach is right over the wooden fence, and during really high tide and windy weather, driftwood blows into the wall! It gets really windy all the time, as we are right in the middle of Admiralty Inlet, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca turns to head SOuth and become Puget Sound. THe land you see in the distance is the Olympic Penninsula. We get to it by Ferry, which is a mile to the right of the pool.

Yesterday I went down expecting it to be empty as it was cold, wet and windy, but there were three birthday parties going on, and lots of little kids. Happily they all left at 5:00 when Adult Swim started. THere are about 5-8 of us die-hards who come down every day, rain or shine and swim. Actually to say SWIM is a mis-leading term. I Do my aquarobics up against the edge so I dont take up a lane for those that do laps, and then there is Sil, the Taiwanese lady who comes down and just hangs out in the deep end and talks to me. Leslie is another one who comes down everyday and treads water. So we all do our own thing, and talk. Leslie was raised here in Coupeville, and so was my family, so we know a lot of the same people, and of course we do a little gossiping. Sil laughed and said she never thought that coming to the pool would she find out what all was going on in Coupeville.

Hey what can I say, I do my workouts for an hour, and then tread water until I quit.




In the tree tops there is a tree that has three tops to it, and that is where the Eagles are nesting. to the right of it is a snag where they perch. some times on a really quiet day you can even hear the Orcas breathing. THere just isn't another place like it. I feel so blessed to live here.

Whoosh........

OMIGAWD!!! I can not BELIEVE how fast this thing works now. I still have some puter problems...I think it has arthritis as it freezes up every once in awhile. But Man, being able to blogwalk EVERYONE in under an hour is mind boggling! It used to take me up to 5 minutes just to load some of your pages. Poor Brenda was the hardest! And when she had music on it...fugetit!!

I have been asked to post some pictures of the pool, so this afternoon I will take my camera and show you the place I swim. THe community pool, not the Big Oak Harbor pool where I do Aquarobics. big difference!

I just got a letter from TIm also, describing his fire-fighting experiences, so that will be later tonight.

Gee something to look forward to.

back to basics....

My daughter will be turning 40 in three weeks, and when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said some Roving would be nice.

ROVING? What the hell is roving?

Roving, from what I can gather, is wool, that has been carded and cleaned, and ready for spinning into knitting wool.

Donna has taught herself to knit, I tried to teach her, but She is Wrong handed, and I am right handed, and it just did not work out. She has gained a reputation at work for the one who knits baby sweaters and hats, and everyone just adores what she creates.

THe other day she came bee-bopping into my house, with the BIGGEST pair of hand knit slippers I have ever seen. SHe was making them for Bill (SIL) and needed to use my washing machine to felt them. SHe is MS GREEN, and has one of those new low, agitate, low water level, front load washers, and they wont work for felting. Had to be a high level, high agitate washer. SO she shows me the size 112 slippers, and says wait until I am through felting them. (yeah right)



After about an hour of her going back and forth to the machine to reset the wash cycle, she pulls out the prettiest pair of green mereled size 8 slipper clogs! All she needed was to sew the leather soles on them. Wow! I was impressed.

SHe has decided that she needed to do it theold fashioned way, so she bought some roving, and a drop spindle, and is now spinning her own wool, and dying it herself!

So now she wants a Spinning Wheel and a set of hand carders, so that she will be able to buy the fleece straight from the Lamb, and ready it herself!



I was duly impressed! THe spinning wheel above retails for almost 800.00!! ACK!!
I thought spinning your own wool was the cheap way to go...guess not huh?


She also wanted a set of the carders above, which are only 65.00 so she just MIGHT get those.

I am so proud of the way she has gone after learning how to do this herself. She is so talented! I am just amazed!!!

still no joy with email

I figured out how to import my address book, and it worked, but I can not send any thing. ANd all I can receive is on the OLD account.

HELP!!!!!!!
CARL?????
WS?????
JIMBOB??????

Where is everybody when I need them?

I'm FLYING!!!!!!!!!!!

WHO KNEW?

I can not believe this is so fast!! But now I can not get email, nor can I send email. SO I guess I need to find someone to come out at 50.00 an hour and set me up for that!

GAH!! Always something!

Cross your fingers

Well, Tomorrow I THINK I am getting Cable speed internet...I ordered it, I have a date and time, and I know he is bringing a modem. SO maybe then I will be able to post and blogwalk again. Right now, I have not been able to download most of your blogs to see what you are doing. ANd if you have a you-tube or a sound or a movie clip I cant get there either.

I cant wait......EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Schroeder

I read the last line on my previous post, and laughed..."Weak as a kitten" I said. HA!! Who ever first said that line must have never had a kitten. Schroeder is 100% testosterone, and is fearless!! He will attack anything and anybody!! I wake up every morning in terror that my toes will be attacked! Schroeder sleeps at the foot of my bed, and as soon as he knows that I am awake, he puts 10 sharp little needles into my toes! It is so very hard to get out of bed without moving your toes. ANd once those claws are in them it is even harder to move, knowing that he will dig in even deeper than he had the first time.

He sits and waits for Sadie to walk into the room, and then he runs at her on his back feet with his front feet ready to wrap around her neck and throw her down like a bull. He does it too. Sadie could bite him in half, but she doesn't, and then she chases him until he hides, and then he chases her until he throws her again. HE has Loki and Lint stymied, All they do is hiss at him and he backs away, for about 10 seconds then he is at Loki again. He leaves Lint alone. Smart move! Lint does not suffer little cats gladly at all!

Ethel is left alone after he thought he was brave enough to tackle her and got his clock cleaned! She lit into him like there was no tomorrow, and with fur flying, blood dripping and cats screaming, she ended that attack right then. He came running to his mommie for protection, and I picked him up looked him over saw he was ok, and then put him back down and let him figure out what he did wrong. He hasn't touched the Bitch since!

I am still swimming daily, or almost daily, and am just starting to feel the therapeudic effects of the past 5 months. It is just ever so slowly and ever so slightly gaining the ability to walk upright. Not far, and not fast, but I can stand straighter and walk a few meters with out pain!! YAHOO!!!!!

Just a swimmin' in the Rain....

I woke up this morning at 500 listening to the rain POUR down! We needed it badly, as we are in the middle of a drought and the forests are burning at a rapid rate. Tim is over fighting the Tunk Grade Fire just below Tonasket. It is now the biggest wildfire in the USA. So I am glad we got it. Almost 1/3 of an inch of rain today, and that is usually the level for the MONTH! It just kept on coming down! Finally at 330 I decided to go down and see if the pool would be open for adult swim, or if it would be closed. The pool is right on the beach and is uncovered, and the wind was chilly, and the rain was coming down in buckets!

It was open, with no one but the lifeguards in the water. SO I signed in and got wet! It was WONDERFUL! THe air temperature was around 55 F and the pool was around 82F so It was like walking into to a bathtub. There was fog forming on the top of the water and the rain was still dumping! I LOVED it. I was warm and un crowded, so I worked out for an hour, and then did laps and floated for another hour. AHHHHHHH!!!!

THere is something very primoral about swimming in warm pool during a dark storm! THe lifeguards were doing their laps, and keeping an eye on me. Not ONE bratty little kid!! YES!!

Now I am home and as soon as I get off of the computer, I am getting into the shower and then into bed! I am as weak as a kitten!!

Sheer Terror!

I made it over a major hurdle Friday night. I had to present my play, SOCIAL SECURITY in front of over 100 people. I do not like to do public speaking! I have panic attacks! Shear terror. I have known about this for over two months, and I was trying so hard to make it go away that I kept pushing it back and pushing it back and pushing it back until I had no choice but DO it. So Friday afternoon about three o’clock, I sat down and wrote out a 5 minute presentation. Yep, I know, I am the President of the Procrastinator’s club.

I had to be on stage about 9:00 so I got there early, (Bob forgot to buy tickets for the banquet, so I skipped the dinner) The room was packed with people, and from where I stood, right inside the doors, I could see into the dining room and everybody was waving their programs in front of their faces to cool off. I sat in a chair right in the door way, where there was a really cool breeze blowing in from out side. When people walked out during the breaks, they were complaining about the heat. I was just fine, but I knew that if I went into that room I would suffocate.

The things that happen to me during a panic attack, is I get really hot, my face flushes, I can’t catch my breath, I stutter, and my heart races! So I just sat there waiting my turn in the cool air.

Finally all the others had done their presentations, and some of them were really great, because they could actually act and sing, and did so! Me, I just walked up to the stage shaking in my shoes, and then I panicked! I could not get ON the stage…There were three steps up and nothing to hold on to. I have no sense of balance, and I knew that if I tried, I would fall flat on my ass. I was going to just stand in front of the podium and read my presentation, when I noticed steps around the back up against the wall! SAVED!! Made it up, and looked out at all the faces, sitting there fanning their hot faces and the panic attack started! I could feel my heart racing, and I could not breathe. My Hands shook, and I almost broke out in tears. I made it through, and got down off the stage and walked back to my chair. WHEW!!

As people started to leave several of them said they could not wait to see it in April of 2008. And several of them are planning on auditioning. They did not have any idea I was as nervous as I was. THANK GOD!

One of the reasons I direct and produce is because I love the stage, and really enjoy knowing how to actually turn it from a written page into a full fledged live production! But I am one of the only Directors that does not EVER go on stage in front of an audience. I do back stage work ONLY!

I have always wanted to be an actor, but I can never get over the fright I get! My ideal role would be Mama Rose in Gypsy! I would give ANYTHING to be able to pull that role off well! But age and gravity and 3 packs a day habit for many years, have ruined that chance.

So I do it vicariously through other people! Maybe other people have the same problem with public speaking, but I tell you, I almost die every time I go in front of people. Even people I know very well. Weird!

A tad bit toasty...

I could not sleep last night as it was too still, and too hot! I live right on the Strait of Juan De Fuca, and up around the 250 foot level, so It is very unusual for it to not have any air moving. I had the ceiling fan on over my bed, but that just moved around the warm air. I have trouble breathing unless I can breathe in cold air. I sleep with my head literally out the window all year long. The colder the better. I felt like I was suffocating all night long. The damn cat from next door knocked the outdoor thermometer off the burd feeder pole, so I have no clue how hot it stayed last night. I just know that the cats had a problem sleeping too, and Sadie was restless all night.

I think it was around 65F, but I am not sure, But JimBob will tell us wont you? ;) I woke up at 530 this morning for the umpteenth time, and went out and turned off the water that I left running all night. I was hoping it would give my roses a good soaking along with “Figgy”, but it didn’t. It just must have watered figgy’s roots all the way to China! There was no wet spots anywhere except right at the tree’s trunk.

I went in to fix some coffee and said Nope, too hot for coffee, so being the excellent housekeeper that I am, (NOT) I grabbed the pot that had yesterday’s left over coffee in it and poured it over crushed ice and had an Iced Latte . Not bad!

I had the front door open and the storm window out on the storm door, so cool air could circulate. The cats were all stretched out on the wood floor, flat as pancakes, trying to keep cool. Sadie was out under the pussy willow tree, out of the morning sun. It just got hotter and hotter! There is a high pressure trough heading this way, and with it will come cooler temperatures. Actually as I lay here and type this, there is a cooling breeze blowing in the bedroom window! AHHHHHHH Much better!

I know you all are dealing with rain and warm weather too, and it is not unusual for you. It is here. We only have about 10 days a year that it gets unbearable, by our standards, the rest of the time it is cool and nice!

I went down and did my aerobics in the pool for an hour this evening. When I got there, the pool was shoulder to shoulder with pre-teens. Adult swim is from 500-530PM so I usually get there around 430 so I can get a good hour in. The pool was cloudy, and you could not see the bottom and when I asked why, The man I asked said he choose to think it was because of all the suntan lotion from all the kids, But just to be safe, DO NOT SWALLOW any water!! EEEEWWWWWWW!!!!

Tomorrow is the City pool, and it is inside and sparkling clean! It is also full of swim classes and kids screaming. We do our aerobics and then leave. I think I am going to try swimming laps next month! I don’t do it now because I am not a good swimmer. I can float and tread water forever, but my stroke is very bad, and I need to perfect it. I am going to see if I can find a good sturdy kick board, and do laps just kicking, to try to get those muscles built up! I have some really good days, when I think that I am getting better, but they are mixed with some really bad days where I can not move, or sleep, or sit or stand without being in agony! I am hoping this will go away with time, but I am not sure it will.

Schroeder has discovered the cool breeze blowing in the window here and he is all stretched out and purring and sleeping right beside me. He is going to be the sweet lover that Chitters was. It has been a year since I lost Chitters, and I still miss him sitting on my hand while I type. And his little tongue kisses….SIGH!! Well Schroeder is going to be a sweety!

Yikes! I really blabbed a lot tonight! For not having much to say, I wrote a book! Now if only I can connect to the internet and get this posted, then I will be in business!

OH and if you are a reader, I just finished Janet Evanovich’s LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN, and it was a HOOT!! Start with her first book, and go in order and you will LOVE her! I think she would make a great TV series!

WHEW!! It is HOT here! For most of you this is nothing, but for us, it is HOT! 97F at Seatac Intl, Airport! ANd due to get hotter tomorrow! Portland where Blogeois lives hit 102 and broke an all time record! ANd it is only July!

I woke up early this morning and opened all the windows and turned on all the overhead fans. Schroeder immediately thought it was a big giant bird, and climbed clear to the top of the cat condo and tried to jump at the fan to catch it! He missed twice thank GOd!

I came home from swimmming and took the trash out, and turned the water on the back yard. I also filled the bird baths, squirted Bea down so she was cool, chased Sadie all over the back yard with the water, and left it to run all night on my roses and fruit trees. I have two peach trees that are LOADED with peaches, IF the alders will let the sunget to them so they can ripen!

Lea's plum trees are loaded as are the apple trees that she espaladed(?) before she died!

THe pool was over full today. THere must have been 35 people in the class tonight! usually there are only about 15-20. Guess the heat forced some of them down there. I have been going to the community Pool down on the beach here, 5 days a week, and just work out on my own.

TIme to go lay across the bed under the ceiling fan and work on another jig saw puzzle that I downloaded into my lap top. THose are so way cool! I may jusrt have to break down and buy the program!

Ya'll stay nice and cool through this heat wave, and do not forget to HYDRATE!! Drink LOTS and LOTS of water. (I suck on ice chips all day.)

Hopefully my 'puter will start behaving and I can blog walk again. I miss ya'll!

After dinner, we watched 1776 for the umpteenth time, (I LOVE IT) and then went down to the beach to watch the fireworks. It really is a great time! Everyone that lives in the Cove, bring their own fireworks down to the beach and set them off over the water. THe houses that are sitting right on the water are down about 1/4 of a mile, and they set off their own.

We have everything from sparklers to the full blown boomers that you would expect to see in a professional display! We were covered with the smoke from the explosives, and were watching very closely the tide. THe wind was blowing in from the West, and the waves were really high. And so was the Tide! Usually the tide is out quite aways and the fireworks-setter-offers are usually down at the water line away from the drift wood. But we were all scrunched up in the 10 feet of dry area! We were down there for about 2 hours, and then the Pt TOwnsend fireworks started. It is about 10 miles across the water, and we had a great seat to watch it. We came on home after most of the show was over, and the tide had chased us off the log we were sitting on.

THe people across the street had decided that it was perfectly legal to set of M-80's right in the middle of the street, ALL NIGHT LONG! THere are burnt out bottle rockets in the backyard too, amazing that the woods did not go up in flames.

Such is live in a rural area of Washington State.

Happy Fourth of July...

I have the potato salad in the fridge, the baked beans in the oven slowly baking, Bob is bringing the hamburgers over, and THe flag is flying high!

FOr the first time in a long time, the weather is very warm. Sposed to be in the high 80'sF. Usually we have rain and wind and cold on the fourth.

I asked Phyllis over for the BBQ, but she is already going to one with her church, and Sherry has to work, and so does Mike, Donna came over on Sunday, so she wont be here either, so it will just be the two of us!

I hope that all of you have a very safe and fun holiday whereever you are.

Brain Droppings....

No matter what your political view...Ann Coulter is a bonafide BITCH!

on Immigration...
If you want to be an American...LEARN THE LANGUAGE

If you are a foreigner and you break the law...bye bye! I dont care how many people you are supporting, they all go back too. If you come here, STAY LEGAL!

If your country is so great, WHY DID YOU LEAVE?

If ours is so BAD, WHY DID YOU COME HERE?

I think that all Politicians should have to show a report card to all of their constiuents on how they voted, and then be graded on it, if you have a c or better, then you can run for re-election. If you have a C- or Lower, you CAN NOT run again.

All Lobbyists should have to report on national news during prime time who they paid off and how much they paid, and for what.

When a politician drafts a bill, of ANY kind, it should only be on the one subject, no riders! PERIOD!

Line item veto should be required!

All Politicians that vote against Universal Health Care should have to use only the worst Drs and Hospitals in the land. NO INSURANCE EITHER

I think that pets should have health care too!

If your Dr. Doesn't make you well, why should you PAY him, hasnt he fallen down on the job?

If you are over the age of 62, you should not have to pay taxes any more. Including Real Estate taxes.

Ok, I posted. SO do you agree or disagree?

Getting wet again!

Where else can you practice your aquarobics chest deep in 90F water, right on the edge of the pacific ocean,, and look up at the bright blue sky and see fir trees over head, and in one of those fir trees sits a bald eagle! The day was rather cool, and I almost did not go down and practice, but I spent all last night with spasms up and down my spine and hips. I needed to get into that water and work those muscles. There is adult swim from 430 to 530 daily, and I pick out a spot and just hug the edge so the lap swimmers can go right by me. I worked out for an hour, and then just floated, and that is when I looked up at the bluff and saw the eagle sitting on a snag. I asked the guy in the next lane where the nest was and he showed me the tree about 6 trees over. There was another eagle sitting on the nest. COOL!! This is the same eagle that I wrote about a month or so ago…the one who swiped the fish from the great blue heron. The people down there don’t think that there is a chick in the nest, because they have not seen it yet, and it is way past hatching time. Since Eagles mate for life, and both of these eagles were full adults, maybe they were setting up shop for next year. They will return to the same nest, IF they leave it for the winter.

We held auditions for A Chorus Line this weekend, so that is why I have been so silent. I was quite busy. Casting one show, winding down CHARLIE BROWN, and trying to come up with a skit for the banquet in two weeks. UGH! I am not creative. I can never think of a skit, and I have to show 10 minutes of the show that I will be directing in APRIL 2008, Social Security. I don’t even have a cast yet, and I really don’t want to give away the good parts, so I am stuck!! RUSTY HELP ME!!! I am also gearing up to start production on 12 Angry Men for OCTOBER.

My computers are both acting like someone is high jacking them. I connect and then they freeze up and go really slow. Sometimes it will kick me off sometimes just freeze up. If I was wireless I would say someone is piggybacking on my air time. But I am dial up, so I don’t know how that would work. I need a fairy God Mother to come leave me a new Sony Vaio Laptop, and a new Sony Vaio Desk top with wireless capabilities! (Like that is gonna happen!) I can dream can’t I?

We are supposed to have some thunder storms tonight. FUN!! I Love to be all cozy and warm inside and then sit and listen to the rain and the wind, and thunder!! I don’t have any close tall trees, so GO for it!! Well Schroeder is trying to sit on the key board so I had better stop for the night. Have a good one!

YAWN......

I have absolutely nothing to say! I have been very busy, swimming, producing, living, but nothing that I would write about.

Oh Yeah…Lint, my geriatric cat, with no tail,, and a personality like a dog…was screaming out side my window tonight. MROPH< MROPH, MROPH…not his normal loud mouth MEOWRRR. I looked out the window and there he sits with a baby rabbit in his mouth. He wanted IN with his present for Mommie, but I did not want to let him in. He would not put it down, and in fact trotted up the stairs and tried like Hell to push the door open with that poor baby in his mouth. It was not moving, so I gathered it was deceased. I tried to get him to let it go, but he would not.. IT”S MINE< I GOT IT!! So I just left him out there. He took it over and dropped it right in front of Bea’s cage, and looked up at me as if to say, “ok, don’t let me in I’ll terrorize your bunny!!” so It lays there. I am already in my pj’s and do not want to go out and remove dead carcasses from my yard. I turned out the light and was soundly sleeping when Sadie woke me up. She wanted out, and could not wake me, so she peed on me!! In MY BED!! She has done this about 4 times now, and I am not sure how I am going to break her of it. I had been blaming it on Lint, because I did catch him doing it one time. But he was out side. I have washed all of my bedding, with Lysol, and sprayed the bed with febreeze, but it is always in that one spot. Hopefully I have it covered now, and I just won’t let Sadie on my bed when I am sleeping. Back into her pen she goes!

I HATE Change...

One of the things that my Father was famous for was that every thing he owned he put IN A CERTAIN SPOT! He ALWAYS put there, and if it went missing, It was my fault. ALWAYS! Never mind that I didnt live there, or I had not touched IT...it was still my fault. We laughed about it among ourselves and often threatened to go in and rearrange his entire house just to see what he would do. Change was not good for him, and he often lived in the past...you know the stories, WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL....yayayayaya.

Last night in the pool I channeled my DAD! I could not help it, He was just there, bitching about all the changes the new instructor was making. I tried so HARD to keep him under water, I even pushed his head under and stood on it with my foot, but he kept popping up and complaining.

THe new instructor is blonde, and perky, and speaks very very low. She was scared too, as Dad kept yelling at her to SPEAK UP< I CANT HEAR YOU! and she tried, but even I could not hear her.

Katie, our regular instructor knows that the noise factor in the pool with all the little kids trying to learn to swim (I also hate Summer) is awful, so she shouts one word instructions and we know what to do next. We all have our own spot in the pool, and mine is as far back as I can get without hitting the drop off. (even then it only comes chest high) So new instructor has us moving all over the pool, no warm up like usual, and our routines were all different. They were good, but not our normal routines, She kept each Rep short, and it got real confusing.

Dad finally said, I cant hear you, and I am not moving...so I will do my own thing right here. I was so embarrased, because it LOOKED like it was ME that was saying all that! Dad and I finished our routines just like we always do, and then we left. I was gonna chew him out, but by this time I was in the ladies room, and he disappeared! He was just gone!

I tried to go out to apologize for his behavior, but Katie and the New person were having a pow-wow. (Probably to decide which one of us to ban from the classes. It Better be Dad! It is all his fault!)

AM I really getting old? Am I really getting stuck in that much of a rut? OH GAWD!!!!!!!!

Maybe?

I am going to try and post, but I have been trying for three days and my puter freezes before it posts. I am so afraid that I will be needing a new one real soon! GAWD!!!

Our Community Pool opened on Monday, so I grapped my dumbells and toddled on down there. I almost did not go as it was COLD up on the hill where my house is, a raw wind coming right up the strait! I went down and signed in, purchasing my seasonal pass, and going on in. It was full of rude teenagers, who thought that they were the ones that the pool was opened for. When Adult Swim was on, I was the only one in the pool, and I did my aquarobics excersises all by myself. The pool was WONDERFUL!!! It is an outdoors pool, and they had it up to 90 F! AHHHHHHHHH So as long as I stayed in the water, I was warm, and I worked out the full 45 minutes. Then they blew the whistle and 30,000 brats jumped into the pool. SO I got out, and told the cashier I would be back when it was more civil.

I am getting old. I can not stand kids making noise just to make noise, and SCREAMING teenage girls are the worst of the bunch.

OH OH!!!! it is blinking like it is gonna freeze up again, so I am outa here....

Bummed!!

At what point should a Human Mother quit worrying about her Children? Animals quit worrying as soon as they are able to eat, and hunt on their own. My daughter will be 40 this year, and I still worry about her. My son will be 36 this year and I will worry about him until the day I die! He has been after me to get ahold of San Juan County Sherrif and find out where his wallet and watch and clothes were, so he could get his driver’s license back and start driving for the Dept of Natural Resources.

I finally got ahold of the Detective in charge of his case, and man did I get an ear full! He first off admitted that he liked Tim, but he said he was just inches away from being in real serious trouble. (like PRISON isn’t?) He told me that I need to tell Tim to NOT come back to Orcas Island or San Juan County when he gets out, because he will just end up right back in prison. He has never had an inmate get out and go straight! When I told him that he was planning on going to Arkansas to see Sandy, he about flipped out! SANDY? She’s the biggest Meth Head in the county! (SWELL!!) He said that Tim just doesn’t get it. I am sincerely hoping that is just a frustrated policeman talking and not the facts.

Tim’s license has been suspended for failure to appear on a speeding ticket, and has been turned over to collections, so there is no way he can have it reinstated until he pays all of his tickets, for a total of 3500!! Man he is never going to be able to get those all paid off! He cant work with out a car, and he cant drive without a license, and he cant get a pay his fines without a job! Poor kid is stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just know when he hears all this he will be so bummed out, and he has been doing so well, up until now! They sure don’t make it easy for them do they? And maybe they shouldn’t. But I know Tim, and he will definitely drive without his license, and he will get another ticket and when that happens he will end up right back in jail. LORD! PLEASE SHOW HIM the right path to take…and MAKE HIM TAKE IT!!

Meanwhile, This Human Mother will worry about him even more, even though I know there is nothing I can do, and even though I know that I should not! It is born and bred into me to do that, It is my job after all, and I do it so WELL!! (SIGH)

This and That...

I have been neglecting my blog for quite awhile now. I have been trying to get in here and post, but my life seems so BORING to me, and I am sure that reading about the birds and the cats and the squirrels and the weather for the umpteenth time cant be all that interesting to you either. I was talking to OMNIPOTENTBENEVOLENTEMPRESS and She has the same problem. We discovered that we both have been so busy with LIFE that we have not had a chance to sit and THINK.

I can write, when I have a chance to THINK, and sometimes I even amaze myself and write something worthwhile. Just lately I have not had a moment that was not filled with thinking about what I have to get accomplished and not just to think about what is WORTH thinking about. DOes that make sense?

I cant get started on a project, because I am afraid I will forget that I have to go somewhere...swimming, theater, etc. So I just am spinning here.

I so NEED to get back into writing, as it is so therapeudic. I feel alive, when I can just sit and type away, and then stop and read what I have written and find that WOW!! That came out of ME!!!

Charlie Brown is going well! 2 more weeks to go, and it is over. A CHorus Line AUditions in two weeks, so I am gearing up for that one. Twelve Angry Men has just been approved, so When DOttie gets back home from here vacation, we will have a meeting for that show and get rolling on that one. No auditions for it, as it is an Off-Season show, so It can be pre-cast. We just need to start rehearsing. I have also started getting in gear for MY show which runs in April of Next Year...SOCIAL SECURITY...a comedy about living with your children and still having a life. FUNNY!

I am taking care of Dottie's two cats, TIppy and Tyler, while she is gone, so my house is a real zoo! The kitten has adapted well, and even was all curled up and sleeping with Sadie this afternoon. He is such a little SHIT! I can not get over all the joy he has brought into my life. I woke up in the middle of the night, and Schroeder was asleep between my boobs, just purring softly in his sleep. AWWWWWWW!! THen when I woke up and went out of the bedroom, I found the 8.00 ball of wool that he had crocheted the furniture together with. All of it wound into and out of the legs of all the furniture in the livingroom and dining room. He was a busy little boy, no wonder he was sleeping so soundly!

Today is the first day in a while that I have not had to be anywhere, and what have I done with it? Not a damn thing! I just slugged all day, woke up early, drank a pot of coffee and watched tv. Such a waste huh? NOT! It felt so damn good...

This and THat

Little itty bitty kitty...

Schroeder must be ready for red meat, he is chewing the heck out of my fist!


He plays hard and he stops fast, and snuggles so sweet!

Add one more species...

I walked out on the deck yesterday to get some freshair and saw a pair of birds on the sunflower feeder. I stopped and looked at them, and then looked closer, because I could not identify them. I walked right up to them anc could have reached out and touched them and I noticed that their bills were different.

I came in and got out my SIBLEY's Book of Birds, and discovered that they were red crossbills. THey are very shy. THey live around the area, but they are hard to spot, so I feel really fortunate.

I am so tired, I got a good work out at the pool, and then came home and finished the lobby poster for the last show, labeled the light book for this show, and got the Audition posterd for the NEXT show all ready to give to the DIrector. Tomorrow I sit with the light tech and show her how to run the board, and when I know she is all checked out on it then I will be just about done with this show! Most of my job is preparation BEFORE the show, and Publicity just before the show opens. THen the budget, while the show is on, and then I close it with making the Poster for the Lobby.

Auditions for the NEXT show are June 23, 24 I hope we get enough people to audition! This has been a real problem for the past two years. I dont know why, because the word is geting out there, but I guess people just are not interested.

It has gotten really cold again tonight, so I am going to go take a hot shower and wash the junk out of my hair, and turn on the electric blanket and hit the sack!
It is almost in the 30's right now. 42F! go figure!! only 3 more weeks until SUmmer! ya think?

A Day Off!

YAY!! I had a day off today! I cleaned house! I must have broken the belt on the vaaccum cleaner 3 times! then the hose got clogged, then the bag was full. You would think that some one somewhere would invent a vacuum that could easily be taken apart to get to items like that. Surely I can not be the ONLY person who has odd bits of "stuff" laying on the floor that get sucked into the hose before you can stop it! Legos, Lincoln logs, bone bits left from the dog dish, petrified cat barf that the kitten found hidden under something, Pennies, rocks that come in on Bob's shoe treds. You know normal average everyday stuff. Stuff that gets hung up on the belt and then causes it to stop and burn and stink up the house just as it pops and breaks. Stuff that gets clogged in the hose right where some idiot has designed an L shaped curve that a lincoln log can not get around. I would LOVE Mr. Hoover to allow me to test drive their new models and give it a real work out. If it can pass MY test, It could pass ANYONE's! Aw but why would they listen to me? I just buy one every three years or so.

SIL came over today and mowed my yard for me. BLESS HER HEART!!! She misses her Mom, and she comes over to help me and pretends she is helping her Mom. I dont mind one littlebit!! Sherry was my babysitter when she was 14, and that is where Mike found her. He was stationed in Norfolk, Va. ANd we were stationed in Oceana, Va. so he would come hang out at my house, and then sherry and him started dating when she was 16, and then married when she was 17! A sweet young southern Girl, who married into this noisy disfunctional family. She has learned how to fight back now though, and we really appreciate her. especially when she comes and mows my yard, because she wanted to be in the sun!

Two more rehearsals to go until we have a live audience. Family night, which usually is really funny, and then a dress rehearsal and then we open! Friday night June 8, until June 30!

This is a picture of THE LITTLE RED HEADED GIRL that Charlie Brown has a crush on. She is usually never seen, but Rusty put her in as a woalk on. She is cute.


I wish you all could come see it. It is good.

Gorgeous moon!

I was driving back from the playhouse tonight and noticed an orange glow over the trees on the otherside of the bay. It was not quite dark,and I thought it was a fire or something. Just as I rounded the corner in San De Fuca, I saw it again, and it was higher in the sky, and only partly covered by a cloud. The full moon was bright orange and glowing like it was Autumn! I know it must happen a lot, but I dont recall ever seeing an orange full moon other than in the fall. It was gorgeous! It made a wide Orange path on the water of the cove, and just sat there glowing!

I got all of Act 1 Set with light cues today. I am so tired! THis show is really doing a job on me and I dont know why? I am tired all the time, and HURT like mad. Maybe that is what is causing the tiredness. When you are in pain all the time, it really wears on you. Someone who has not been in pain just does not understand how much it invades your being.



Got off track there for a minute or so...ANYWAY, tonight was Press night, and we actually had about 20 people there! Hopefully we will receive good press, and sell out. THe cast out did themselves, and it actually looks like a great show. It is so funny! old balding men playing little boys! and WELL!! THe tunes are really catchy and stay with you for quite a while. Good ear worms!

summer finally??? or not....

Our weather has been so weird! It is almost June, and we have only had 1 day that we could really call warm! Last night it got down to 38 F!!! BRRRRR I was going to take the electric blanket off the bed and wash it and zip it up for the season, but I used it last night!! My feet were FROZEN! I slept so good though! Woke up at 800 with Schroeder having wrapped his hind feet around a hair roller in my hair, and he was attacking it!! Back feet kicking at it, and front feet hanging on while he chewed at it, OUCH!! He is a little devil!

I spent all day at the theater, getting the lights plotted and ready to set cues. I still have to find someoneto hang the lights I need though, as I do not do ladders, especially ones that are 20 feet tall! uh-uh, not me! I am so unsteady on my feet, and I lose my balance easily, so I try real hard to stay flat footed on the ground.
Tomorrow I will work on a few cues, but then I have to go to the pool. I wont get a lot done on the lights. I really should skip swimming, but I just do not want to get into that habit at all. It is just too easy to make it just one more skip, and soon you aren't going any more at all.

Tomorrow we are supposed to hit the high 80's F! and then Thursday even warmer! Today was really really nice, but there was a a cool wind blowing in off the strait and tonight it is cool also. I have a feeling we are gonna get HOT and stay that way up through September, and then get cold again. It is hard to believe that Spring is almost over!

Time to let Sadie In for the night and put the BEAST away for the evening. HAve a good Wednesday!

Copied from ANJI....

My blog is worth $23,146.14.
How much is your blog worth?

Now if only I could GET that much for my blog...That would surely help out the money crunch!



I spent two hours in the pool tonight. I got there an hour early, and since it was a holiday, there was no swim team, so I got to go in and work out early. Then we had our regular class. Needless to say, I am tired, and my legs and ass hurt. I found some Tylenol#3 in the medicine cabinet, so I am on my way to a painfree evening.

Tomorrow I get to go in to the playhouse and start getting the lights all set the way Rusty wants them. Things are really starting to come together, and we filmed the commercial tonight. Thursday is the Press Night, If any of them show up, and then next week is Hell Week. Live audiences...and then we open! I sure hope we can gather a good crowd. We really need a sell out!!

Schroeder is getting really sassy, and has this house standing on it's head. He has Ethyl and Lint COWED! and Loki just adores him. Sadie still thinks he is a squirrel, so I have to watch her around him.

Hope you all had a safe weekend, and are looking forward to the good weather we are expecting to have.

FUN TIME

No matter how clean you think you keep your house, get a kitten, preferably a fuzzy long haired one, and turn it loose in your house. It will scurry hither and yon under sofa and table, and dresser and into closets long thought to be empty. It will find things you thought you had thrown away ages ago, It will also find things under the bed that you would rather not have found! The kitten can be combed out and all the little dust bunnies and loose threads will then be gathered and easily thrown away. HINT....throw them in a covered can, or they will be found and scattered yet again.

I took some petrified Cat Barf away from Schroeder yesterday. God only knows who, or how long ago ago it was deposited. I have no idea where it was either. But he found it. And in the bathroom there were 5 toilet paper rolls minus the toilet paper of course. I dont know where he found those either.

I have scratches all over my feet and my arms from Kitten play time. He got his first ride in the carrier yesterday, to go see the Vet. He yelled at the top of his voice clear through Coupeville, and into the Vet's Office. The Dr, came right out, and said "Goodness" He is one nice cat!" He thought I got a really good animal, and said there must be some Maine COon in him because his ears and paws have tufts of fur.

He is ruling the house. Even Sadie is cowed by him. Lint still refuses to have anything to do with him, but Loki things he was brought into the house for him alone. He Mothers him, and plays with him and cleans him, and plays and talks with him. SO CUTE!!

I tried to get a picture of Schroeder and Loki together, but they are both too fast! I'll keep trying though.

Rehearsal....

I got the lights turned on the set for the first time tonight, and it does not appear like I will have to add too many spots! COOL!! THis is a rehearsal picture of the cast and set, minus costumes. It is going to be a really cool play! Adults playing kids! FUNNY!!!!

We went through act 1 tonight and tomorrow is act 2. THen We will be putting it all together to run as a whole show. No prompts, no books, no stopping. This becomes brutal now, but they have to get their lines down without help, so we throw them in the deep end of the pool! tee hee!

I need to go wash the clorine out of my hair, because I really DID get into the deep end of the pool during aquarobics. I LOVE them!!! no pain for 1 hour!! ahhhhhh!!!

Anybody seen my Q?

Schroeder has decided that I am "all Right" and he follows me everywhere! He climbs my robe to sit on my shoulder when I am in the kitchen, he climbs my pant legs when I am sitting at the computer and he climbs the bedspread to sit on my laptop while I lay on my tummy to blogwalk. He also has learned that if you hook your little front claws under the key tops, Mommy can't lift you up so fast to move you before you publish something she has been working on. When You do this, the key tops pop off!! and then Mommie yells really loud!

I was missing my Z until yesterday morning when I found it under the bed. Tonight I am missing my Q. THe only thing there is a little white smooshie thingamajig that I can push down and get the q to print. AH well, I guess I will move the bed again tomorrow and see if I can find the missing key top!

Kittens are really a lot of fun though. THe whole world is brand new and they love to look at everything. He eats like a little pig too! and he has stuck his head into my milk glass and helped himself to all he could reach. (Little SHIT)

I am laying here tonight under my electric blanket, trying to get warm. It has been such a cold spring, that I just realized that May is almost over, and we will be into June before long! Usually we have a wet April with a few nice days then May is usually Hot and dry, and then June is wet and cool, and then summer starts out with hot and dry until mid Sept. But I dont know what the weather will be like this year. It has been so bizzarre! all of the spring flowers popped out all at once, and very bountiful too. THe grass has grown a foot in a week!

My SIL came over yesterday to mow my yard and borrow the mower to mow hers, and she got mine done and then the mower quit on her! Poor thing! I sure do appreciate her doing it though! I just cant get out there and push that mower more than 50 feet. I sure hope this aquarobics does the trick, and gets my legs and core strong enough to get out and walk again. I feel like a cripple! I technically am not, but I sure cant get very far with out being in excruciating pain! I almost did not make it through the grocery store today. This just SUCKS!

We are starting to come together on YOURE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN, a few more music and dance rehearsals and then we will be doing straight run throughs. I will be taking candid shots during the runthroughs and then getting the head shots and bios ready for the lobby. Meanwhile, this week I need to get the audition poster out for A CHORUS LINE. (Whew) You all dont even want to see my house right now!! too busy and too hurt to clean!

Well the laptop held up through this post, so let's cross our fingers and see if it will publish!! I sooooo need a new fast computer.

Kitten on keyboard

I had forgotten how much work and joy that a baby anything can bring into a house. Especially a baby Kitten! The whole world is brand spanking new and they have no fear of anything! (except Ethel, who hisses and growls at him, so he leaves her alone)

Schroeder has left a mark on my legs, my hands and my nose. His sharp little claws are like razors, and he has no qualms about using them either!

Yesterday he got his little body underneath the line of dressers in my bedroom, and could not find his way out. It is a tight squeeze under there, and a tight squeeze getting back out. But MAN his voice sure didnt sound squeezed! He yelled so loud that even Sadie was trying to figure out how to get him out. I took the bottom drawer out, but these dressers have a bottom on them, so that didn't work. I finally tipped one back against the wall and propped it up with a shoe until I could get him to come to me then dragged him out. Sheesh.

I keep him sequestered in the hall bathroom, so that he can eat his kitten chow and Loki wont scarf it down first! Bob went in to pee, and all I heard was YEOW!!! it seems that Schroeder decided to climb up his pant leg while he was doing his business. LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Oh GAWD!! I am surely being entertained.

Ya'll gotta get a kitten!!!

I cant post!

FOr some reason or another I am unable to post pictures. I tried for over an hour this morning, just to post 1 picture! and tonight the same thing, NO CAN DO! This morning everytime I published it lost everything I wrote, so until I figure this out..

SHIT!

SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!! Blogger is being a BASTARD!!

Schroeder....

Isn't he adorable? His name is Schroeder after the character in the play we are doing. Rusty and Judy decided that I needed a kitten and they put their heads together and Judy found the litter and of course you know what a sucker I am! So He came home tonight. He is 6 weeks old, and likes to ride on my shoulder!

Ethel took one look and sniffed and hissed and now she is hiding in the garage, Loki wants to play, but the baby just hisses. ANd Sadie thinks he is a squirrel and wants to Eat him. oops! Lint on the other hand took one look, looked at me as if to say Oh SHIT! Not ANOTHER one! What can I say...I need some vice, right? I dont drink, smoke or "anything else".

He is in the hall bathroom and there are 4 noses all aimed under the door trying to smell, and he is on the far side of the room behind the toilet. But they all know he is in there. OH!! I hear kitty growling, Ethel must be being bitchy! She is 14, and Lint is 16 or 17 we think, And Loki is the baby at 7 so it's time to shake up this crew. Besides, I needed something to fill Chitters'space.

I Know, I KNOW!! I'm bad. But I did not take his sister, and she was even CUTER! She needs a home, Carole, ya want one?

Funny!

Widdle Wabbits


A precious little girl walks into a pet shop and asks, in the
sweetest
little lisp, between two missing teeth, "Excuthe me, mithter, do you
keep
widdle wabbits?"

As the shopkeeper's heart melts, he gets
down on his knees so that he's on her level and asks,
"Do you want a widdle white wabbit, or a thoft and
fuwwy bwack wabbit, or maybe one like that cute
widdle bwown wabbit over there?"

She, in turn, blushes, rocks on her heels, puts her
hands on her knees, leans forward and says, in a tiny
quiet voice, "I don't think my python weally gives a thit.


I have had hamsters, and gerbils, and parakeets, and bunnies and puppies and kittens and frogs and even a dead sea urchin, but thankfully we have never had a python! My brother Mike had a garter snake once but it "disappeared" ;)

Gee!! (grin)

GARSH!! Thanks everybody….Nothing like a call for a hug, to bring lurking friends out of the woodwork! ;) edt…

I had several phone calls, and in retrospect it was just a BAD Day! My computer kept kicking me off line, and I could not blogwalk. And I am so tired of being in pain! I have spent the good part of the past week on my stomach on the floor or in bed, trying to ease the pain in my back. So thank you all for all the hugs! I will be fine. Maybe.

This morning I had a rare gift from Mother Nature! I peeked over the window sill, and saw Lola for the first time in AGES!! She was trying real hard to get up the courage to climb down the wisteria and run over to the feeder. Just as she decided to do so, a flock of birds flew to the feeder, and in that flock were about 10 goldfinch males, and 3 Evening Grosbeaks!!! I had never seen them before, even though they are plentiful on the island. 2 males and 1 female! So Now I have added another species to my life-list!

I hope that all of you in the path of these horrible tornadoes are being careful and staying safe. I just can’t imagine living where you have to fear those monsters. I LOVE a good thunder storm, but ours are not accompanied by tornadoes. Yet. We have nasty winds in the fall and winter, but we built sturdy enough to survive them. I also live up high so I don’t have to worry about high tides, or tsunamis either. About the only thing we have no control of is Earthquakes, and NOBODY knows when they are gonna hit. I have insurance for them, and we are pretty stable, sorta. And our volcanoes have been listed as the most dangerous ones in the country, but they don’t move, we know exactly where they are, and we may get ashed, but not badly, as the prevailing wind goes East and we live West.

WAAAAAHHH!!

I Need a Hug!!! :(