HOT< HOT< HOT!!!!

And HOT again!! It is already 85 out there on the back deck, And the sun just hit it! Whew! Now the weather man is saying that we are going to break historical records for alltime number of days over 90 degrees F. For Western Washington, that is SOMETHING!!! and the hot time has not even hit yet! We usually have a brief hot spell in May, then it rains all of June and then gets nice and dry in July and heats up in August and Sept. But NEVER like this! We have no AC in our houses, because we don't need it! Needless to say we all zone out someplace cool and try to ride this out as comfortably as you can.

We went out to dinner in a restaurant that was in an old victorian home in Coupeville. It was a Thai restaurant. all the windows were painted shut, and the doors were wide open but let me tell you folks, it was HOT in there!! The food was really great, and we will go back, but not until it cools down! It is hard to tell the flavor of your food when you are sweating so much it dilutes your fork before it hits your mouth!

I just came in from finishing painting the back deck. Had to wait for the sun to hit it so it would dry faster, then I painted it, then rushed into the house to wait for it to dry. Sitting here under a fan, drinking an Orange diet soda. As soon as it is dry enough to walk on, I will let the dogs back out for their pottie time, then back in to the house. It is too hot for them out there.

Yesterday I had the BBQ blocking the deck stairs, so Sadie could not get onto it, and she went BALLISTIC!! YAP YAP YAP YAP YAP like there was a threat in the yard. I ran out, and she was barking at the BBQ. I yelled at her to shut up. It is the BBQ!! I MOVED IT! LIVE WITH IT! nope, not having it, so I had to bring her in. It took her two weeks of yapping to get used to the doghouse being in the yard. She is soooo STUPID!

I made sure the bird baths were all full of clean fresh cool water, and now I am going to finish doing some work on the Computer. Then get the Minutes ready for my Board meeting tonight.

WHEW!!!! HOT!!!!!

oh I shouldn't oughta....

Back when I was a kid, the boys in town were always running around looking for mischief to get into during the summer. Nothing really bad, just tipping a few cows, moving a few out houses, and putting an old VW Bug on top of the high school. You know, fun stuff!

The other day Bob and I were coming home from dinner. We rounded the curve at San de Fuca and noticed that the farmers were cutting and baling the hay. The fields are right up against the water at Penn Cove, separated only by the two lane highway. At the corner where the Highway turns and goes through the trees is a piece of land called Grasser's Hill. The Grasser's used to live there. Their house is long gone now, but the huge apple tree is still there, and the steep hay fields are still un blemished by development. The Ebby Prairie Reserve has designated that area a no-build zone. the hay bales that the farmers are putting out now are big and round like giant lozenges sitting on the fields. They were all over the fields, sitting there drying so they can be covered with white plastic and then look like giant marshmallows.



Bob mentioned that the kids now a days just do not have any imagination. They sit in front of the tv playing their video games or texting on their cell phones, or working on their computers. for three weeks now, those giant hay bales have sat on the steep field with their flat sides facing uphill, just begging for two senior citizens to run up in the dark of night to the very top of the hill, turn them around and roll them down down down the field across the highway and into the water.

GOD!!!! The tempation is sooooooo strong!!! Never let it be said that you lose your sense of fun as you age!

Lazy? Summer?

HA! I have been busier than a one-armed paper-hanger, and our summer went South, I guess, because I Am freezing! Had to turn on my blanket last night. I came home from rehearsal last night, cleaned the kitchen and made another batch of jam so the berries would not rot. One batch did not set correctly, so tonight when I get home I will re-do that batch, and I will be done until Blackberries are ready. Donna always likes blackberry cobbler on her Birthday, so they had better be ripe before then or it is back to angel food cake! Himalayan Blackberries are very invasive here, they are the KUDZU of the Pacific Northwest, they grow up anything they can find! but they put out TONS of berries. You have to wear body armor picking them though, because they are very thorny. And they grow THICK so when you go into the thickets you get wounded. The birds love them too, and when they poop, the berry seeds get scattered, thus the proliferation of the bushes. CatmomaJ has quite a few bushes taking over her yard, so I may have a source there. They grow along every fence line in the fields, but the farmers get nasty when you pick them. Every vacant lot has tons of them too until time to pick and then they are full of people you have never seen in your life! All after the free berries. They are so worth it though.

Still Here

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. I have been so busy I rarely have time to sit at the computer unless I am doing work for one non-profit or another!I am finishing up one show NUNSENSE and have just started rehearsal for the next one ZOMBIES FROM THE BEYOND. AND getting ready in 4 weeks for the Coupeville Festival. We hold an arts and crafts fair every year, and vendors from all over the country come to sell their own hand made wares. We have over 200 booths, and it fills up two streets in town! We end up with over 10,000 people in town for that weekend. Lots of planning and getting things going. More than I ever thought about until I got involved. WHEW!

I also started a class in Chair Yoga, which I think is helping me. Too soon to tell, as I have only been to two classes, and now she will be gone until the 14th of July! :( I am still swimming,and still in pain, but maybe JUST maybe, this Yogini can help me with that.

I have not been blogwalking but I do try to keep up with facebook, so people will know that I am still alive. I will not stop blogging, just not as much! You have all been there. You KNOW you have! Rain, I stopped by and left a HUGE comment on your post this morning, and blogger lost it. But I really was there!!!!

CatmomaJ's white deer

We live on an island, and it is very rare for new creatures to crawl across the bridge or swim the 5 miles from the mainland, so we have a population of deer that eventually interbreed. THey are small, but they breed like crazy. The only natural predators are the coyotes that were brought over to control the rabbit population, and of course the proverbial teenager with a 22 rifle or a shotgun. Needless to say, when theses deer are corraled by houses and fences and highways, they will interbreed, and we end up with some very strange looking holstein like deer. Very rare on THIS Island, but in the SAN JUANS (2 islands over) they are very prevalent.




CatMomaJ took these yesterday out her bedroom window. This one is not an albino deer, but a very pale color nonetheless. Judy has been watching her for about a year now and she is quite shy. I would expect her to breed this year and possibly have some little baby white deer!

Still Here

It is very difficult to write when everything you want to say is negative. Difficult when you find that writing may make you realize a few things you dont like. even more difficult when there is not a freaking thing you can do about them.

I am stressed....
I am in Pain.....
I am hurt........
I am in pain.....
I am pushed......
I am in pain.....
I am lonely......
I am in Pain.....

I so want a good night's sleep without having to get up and peee 50 times a night, I want a good night's sleep without drugs that may or may not cause me to sleepwalk, sleep eat, or sleep compute. (How would I know? I live alone!)

I went to the Neurological Surgeon and he said that there is nothing he can do to fix me. THat anything he does would only be temporary and could hurt me worse than the fix. That was not what i wanted to hear. I have been through therapy, did not help. I Have had the shots in my spine...did not help. I am on Drugs, but they dont work anymore, and only will lead to more and more drugs at a higher and higher dose. I dont want that. The Pain is causing stress because I can not do what I need to do in my everyday life. I can't paint sets, I can't mow the yard, I cant walk through the grocery store, I cant vaccuum, I cant walk on the beach that I love so much. I have to go up the stairs one step at a time and I hurt. People are pulling away from me because I am no fun to be around. That is just an impression, not a known fact.

Being in pain causes me to be less tolerant than I used to be. My daughter told me I was acting like Ouiser in STEEL MAGNOLIAS. Thank you SO much OBE! Appreciate the support! :(

The only time I am not hurting is when I am sitting, for a short time, or swimming. Now swimming is a blessing...but not the one I was looking for. I was hoping it would strengthen my back so I could walk. Instead it has built up muscles in my gluts and my legs, so that I can swim Longer. Unfortunately my back will never improve from swimming. It feels good in the water though. No gravity, and no pain...however the pain upon exiting the pool is horrendous! Even little kids look at my face and run!

I have a new play starting this next week, and I am stressed about that. Stressed because I have repeatedly asked for help in finding a musical director, and I am getting nowhere! I know I can pull this off and it will be funny, but I cant play music, and so need help.. The Board is not helping one iota in that regard.

I have a cat that is going to have to be put to sleep if he doesnt quit shitting in the garage! He is UBER old, and used to belong to Tim, and he is an independent cuss, but he refuses to use the cat boxes! If I put him out at night, he stands under the window and SCREAMS until I let him in. I spent last weekend cleaning the garage, and I am paying for it this week. And yesterday I went in to scoop, and there right against the garage door is TWo piles of poo! ARRRRGHH!! He is so old he forgets what he is doing. I keep hoping that an owl or a coyote will take him away, but that aint gonna happen...It will have to be MOM that does it.

I Wish I drank! THen I could self-medicate and not worry about it, but I don't. So I guess I better shut up before the few readers I have left leave me too.

On a good note: THe oldest Baby flew today, but came back into the nest when Mom came home with dinner. The others looked at him as if to say..."HEY, You don't live here anymore! Go Away, this is OUR Lunch!"

WHOOPED!!

I am so tired! I had a board meeting tonight for the CFA, but I worked on the SHow this weekend, so now I have to rush to get caught up with my Producer duties....GOtta get to the scrapbook store tomorrow and get the paper for the Lobby Wall, then get that all done then Swim on Wednesday, then Buy-out on THursday and Open on Friday! THEN I have to get my shit together for MY show ZOMBIES which Auditions in three weeks!! ARRRGHHHH I am so glad I am retired and have nothing to do!!!! BAHHHH

Dress Rehearsal

Last night was a full dress rehearsal, complete with the band. I still do not have the lights set the way they need to be, but I will have before next week. It is getting to be so funny!! These ladies are veterans, and the more comfortable they get the funnier they get. You dont want to blink or you will miss something! here are a few more pictures to entice you to buy your tickets now!

more NUNSENSE.....

Nunsense!!

I am still chasing all of those wacky Nuns around town...Lord only knows what they will be up to NEXT!! The show is in production now, and will open on June 5! Get your tickets early, it is expected to be a sell-out!!

A Long Hard time is over!

In 2000, I was stationed in Fallon, Nevada, as GM of a retail store on base. It was a long way from home, but I drove it every 6 months just to see green again. In the Spring of 2000, I was heading home, to just spend time with my daughter, in Ellensburg. I called Tim on Orcas Island to tell him I would be there, to come over and meet us. WELL!!! I was informed that he was in jail...MY BABY!! I was shocked, but refused to put up any money for bail, as I knew he was financially unstable, and in fact had told both of my kids when they left the nest, that they knew right from wrong, and if they got in trouble it was on their own nickel. He knew that and knew not to call for bail money. Imagine his surprise when I went to visit him. oh YEAH! anyway, you all know the stress I was under and the problems I had getting stationed back here. DOwn Grade, lost money the whole works, but at least I could see him once in awhile. He was sent to Prison for 36 months with time off for good behavior. He waas transferred to a minimum security prison on the Olympic Peninnsula. He got the job of his dreams with the DEPT of NATURAL RESOURCES, fighting fires, and cleaning camp sites in the National FOrest. He did his time, jumped through all the hoops, got the rehab, and was released to work release, where he found a great job. He left that program after 6 months, and was on 1 year of probation. Yesterday we were all sitting around the table, eating Prime rib, and he announced that he is no longer on probation, that he has a letter from the DOC stating that he is fully rehabed and needs no further supervision!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!! My baby boy finally has his head on straight! Only took him 37 years!

Photoshoot

I spent the afternoon running around town following a bunch of wacky Nuns. They are due to arrive at the Playhouse June 5th for a four week stay. You see These guys are hard to pin down. They are so full of energy, and so GLAD to be alive after escaping to a BINGO hall, while Sister Julia...(Child of God)poisoned the rest of the convent with her Vichyssoise soup that was tainted with botulism. 52 of their Oder died, and they only had enough money to bury 48 of the sisters, so the other four were stored in the convent freezer....until the Health Dept caught wind of it, and demanded that they too be buried. The Little Sisters of Hoboken are putting on a fund raiser at the Mt. St. Helen's school, and the fun begins! There is Reverend mother (Mary K Hallen), Sister Robert Anne (Sue Riney) Sister Hubert (Allenda Jenkins) Sister Leo (Elizabeth Booth) and of course Sister Amnesia (K. Sandra O'Brien). Rusty Hendrix Directs this zany Musical and naturally I am producing it.

SHHHHHH

I woke up this morning in horrible pain again, per the course, and just lay there on my back listening to the birds. There was something going on in the alders as there was a lot of cawing and loud chipping coming from beyond the fence. I just figured they were all glad to finally see a semi-dri day, so I went about my morning ablutions. Yogurt, coffee, crochet, the VIEW and the News. The dogs were going nuts barking too, so I finally got up to see what was what.

The dogs came in, Lint came in, and the birds were fluttering around the suet feeder, but there was still something in the woods. I stood in my nitegown at the edge of the back deck and looked as far as I could through the jungle that used to be my back yard, and right there on the edge of the Alders sitting on a branch was a Barred Owl. I talked Barred owl talk to him, and he just sat there with his eyes closed sleeping away. The Birds do NOT like him there, as he is as apt to eat them as mice or rats. He obviously isnt very hungary, as just now a chickadee flew right into his face, and he just sat there grooming himself. I sure wish he would scare away the starlings though...they are greedy little bastards, and devour a suet block in 15 minutes. The owl just sits there...keeping watch on the ground for the rats that Live under my house...yeah I know, dont feed the birds, but Hey...It is one of my only real pleasures. And if you think about it, I am feeding the owls too. :)

Dr. Report...

Last Friday I went to get an MRI on my Lumbar spine. I have been in pain for over 10 years, constantly getting worse. I have asked several times for something to relieve the pain, but get ignored. Last Thursday I went in a yelled at my Dr, and told him to either find out what is wrong with my back or give me enough drugs to tolerate it. I can no longer walk all the way around the grocery store with out pain radiating down my left side and my leg collapsing. I am ok sitting for awhile, and I am in no pain in the Pool. So I swim 2 hrs at a time three days a week. He realized that I have been trying, so he referred me to the MRI. I came home the next day with films in hand. So being the WONDERFUL Dr that I am....(NOT) I looked at them, and then compared them to normal MRIs on line. (did you know there are TONS of pictures of lumbar spines?) I thought they looked scary, so I called and asked when I should bring them in. I get a call left on my answering machine, from the Dr, that there is INDEED an abnormality in my Lumbar Spine, and he is referring me to a Neurologist for evaluation and possible surgery! HALLELUJAH! At least now he knows and I know that I am not making this pain up.

I have this wonderful new mower that I have been trying to use to get my grass down to a workable level, however I mow 50 feet and then sit and rest my back, then mow some more and rest, Today I actually got the front 1/3 of the back yard down to where it should be. So now Sadie has a place to pottie without getting lost in the foot high grass and dandelions which have taken over my back yard.

Now I am sitting here updating my blog, and hoping that the pain goes away long enough for me to get in the car and drive to the pool. I'm telling you...PAIN!!!!
When Did I get so OLD? I thought Sciatica was an OLD PERSON'S ailment. Didn't they have Carter's little pills for that? Humph!

Good pot o'beans!

I, Like the rest of the country had a baked Ham for Easter dinner. Actually it was Saturday, because that is when the family gathered. I cooked it, and there was not much to slice off after dinner, so I stuck it in the fridge and then later in the week I made a pot of pinto beans. I reached in the cupboard for the bag of beans that I ALWAYS have on hand, only to find that I had just half a bag. I shrugged, threw the bone, the beans an onion, garlic and a swig of Mrs. Wright's Liquid smoke, turned on the crock pot and walked away. THe next day I had a great pot of bean SOUP, but not many beans. I ate a few bowls, and stuck the rest into the fridge. Sunday I stopped by Prairie Center, got a few needs and several bags of beans to have on hand. I came home threw a bag of small white beans into the crock pot and set it for 10 hours. It turned into a good batch of beans, I ate some and then Yesterday I thought...HMMMMM it is so thick I wonder what would happen if I tried to make baked beans in a crock pot.

I threw in a cup of brown sugar, a big squirt of mustard, MORE Mrs. Wright's, and all the molasses I had left (1/4 cup), and about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar stirred it all in and heated it up. Last night I came home from swimming and OHMIGAWD!!!! It was wonderful!! B&M Boston Baked Beans has NOTHING on me!!! No oven, no long baking, just use the crock pot and there it is!!!

I have grown up eating beans and cornbread for dinner. Only Mom used salt pork, not Ham. and I LOVE the cornbread soaked with the bean juice, piled high with ham and beans. YUMMY!! and Baked Beans with Polish Sausage on the side!! damn, it is time for lunch.

A GREAT READ.

When I first started blogging over 6 years ago, I had a follower, "The Fairy" that sent me a book that she really wanted me to read. "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" By Alexander McCall Smith. I read it and fell in love with Mma. It takes place in Botswana, Africa and is very innocent and naive at first. Then you realize that she uses her innocence to her benefit, and solves cases.

I went on to read almost all of the series, (I have missed two books, I don't know how!) and thought it would make a good TV series. WELL! HBO did too, and they made a TV movie of the first book, and then they are presenting a series based on the books written. I watched episode #3 last night. (HBO Sunday Night) I Loved it just as much as the first one.

I encourage all of you to get the books and read them and then follow along on the series, and escape to an Africa that you probably have never known. I got a map of Africa, and keep it by my bed, so that when I am reading, I can follow along and know where she is. Great Geography lessons too.

DO it. you know you want to. ;)

back problems

after 7 long painful years of yelling at my dr, He FINALLY said ok, we will get an mri on your lumbaer spine region and see what is going on. I am pain free in the water, and stay in for more that two hours three time a week. I went down to Lynwood on the mainland, and had to look for it. Fouind it right away. went in crawled into the tube and layed there for 45 minutes while they took 4 sheets of pictures.

I went on line to see if any there look like mine, and there are some. So Now I am going to yell for surgery to get this crap fixed! I have sat on my ever widening ass for 7 years, and I am tired of this. THere is something pinching my sciatic neverv and now it runs clear down my leg into my ankle and big toes. ARRRRRGGGHHH Really hard to walk when your legs wont move! I NEED to get out and walk.. every day! 3 miles everyday, i Need to hike along a sandy beach. I need to hike trough the high mountain forest. I need to just get away for awhile. So next week I take the films back to him and then start the nexdt step. This pain is horrible. SHould have heard me yelling as I waas pushing the mower this afternoon! OOPS@

SPRING!! AT LAST!!

Not only has the weather been just lousy as hell, and my mental state has been busy with dying brother, but even the flowers are late this year. In The Skagit Valley they have a tulip festival every April, and the Tulips have not opened yet!! Tulips in my yard are just now starting to open. THe plum trees next door are loaded with blossoms finally, and the crab apple tree is getting a tinge of pink...By Now we would have had an explosion of color, But it looks like if the weather holds like it is today, we might have a spring after all.

Yesterday it snowed in some areas...REALLY!!

I have a horrible allergic reaction to the tree pollen, and with spring so late, they are all pollenating at once. NICE!! My grass has grown almost a foot, and my lawn mower just got here yesterday. Now I am waiting for the grass to dry out enough to cut it.

I bought an electric lawnmower. A Neuton! totally electric, with no cord! it is run by a replacable battery that you just pull out and plug into the wall and voila. No gas to buy, no pollutants to fill the air and very little noise! Now let's see if this puppy can cut! (and see if I can push it!)

Michael Murray Brett Sept 12 1955-April 8 2009

My baby brother finally left this world about an hour ago. He fought a long hard battle with Colo-rectal cancer. The past two months he has been in a hospice Enso House, and they are there strictly to take care of the dying, and to allow them to pass from this world in as peaceful a setting as possible.

The past week he has been semi-concious, but he had his eye-lids only half open. He was cold and gettign a blue tint to him, his eyes were sunk way back into his skull, and he could not speak. It was horrible watching him try to leave, and not being able to. This has been a very hard transition for him and for the whole family. I hope none of you ever have to go through that.

Do your families a favor and go out and get a colonoscopy. DO IT! NOW!!! catch it before it is too late! If you smoke, STOP!!! and next time the Combined Federal Campaign comes your way, donate to the American Cancer SOciety, and let's get a cure for all cancers!

I will write more in the morning,. RIght now by brain is very tired. I may just sleep all day! Thank you all for being here for me.

still hanging on...

All he is doing now is sleeping. He only gets out of bed to go to the bathroom, which isnt often as he isnt taking any nourishment in. He is getting weaker and weaker by the day, and is starting to hallucinate. He sees little people walking around, and sees people walking in the fields. He called Sherry today and did not know who Rocky his dog was. So technically it should not be much longer.

Sherry sold Tim Mike's Truck, and he now has good reliable transportation, which is great! His old van finally gave up the ghost! (THANK YOU LORD)

I wish I had better news to report, but there just aint none lately. We are all worn out. TIred, allergies, stress.WE KNOW THAT THE lORD HAS HIS REASON WHY HE IS LETTING mIKE LIVE SO LONG, bUT WE SURE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS UNLESS IT IS PUNISHMENT FOR SOMETHING HE DID. It is beyond my ken!

Herman, Tim said you found him on facebook. He is thrilled that you have kept up with him, and wish him good will. It means a lot to him. Thank You. You are such a kind man!