A Merry Christmas

So, Christmas has come and gone. The holiday rush is over and everyone is chillin’. Around here, all in all, things went well. We didn’t have a lot to spend on the kids but we were able to get them a few things each that they wanted. I think they were happy. Of course, G, our youngest got a broken toy two years in a row now. That really sucked, poor guy. We bought him a remote control dragon that was supposed to do all sorts of stuff including walking. G wanted to be able to walk over the top of his other toys and pretend he was crushing them, kind of a Godzilla thing, I think. He originally asked for a D-Rex, but yeah, right…179.00 dollars. I don’t think so. This one cost 40.00 a considerable difference and would have been perfect. He was very excited when he saw it. Unfortunately, the button on the remote that makes the dragon walk and makes his wings flap is the broken one. The darn thing will do everything else, its eyes light up, it roars, but no walkie. Figures. I plan on taking it back to the store this coming week but man, last year he had a broken dinosaur toy, too. So, the whole large reptilian toy thing just hasn’t been working out well. On the plus side, though, he absolutely loves the harmonica he received, so it wasn’t a waste for him. The other kids were all happy with their stuff, PC games, bedding, Bakugon, Nerf guns, Tini Puppinies, and skateboards all topped the list.



The older kids (the ones who now live on their own) all got a check. It works well for them. But… they also got some homemade sewn goodies. S&B got a Bears apron and overstuffed pillow, K&D got a Bears apron and a Colts overstuffed pillow, and G&J got extra-long fleece blankets. J stands about 7 foot tall so I thought that he may have a hard time finding a blanket that he can wrap up in. I made them each an 8 foot by 5 foot blanky. G’s has white Japanese letters (characters ?) against a black background. J’s has a woodland duck scene. I wanted to find him something cool like Star Wars, or D&D type stuff, but no luck. I think he liked it though. He’ll be able to cover up from head to foot and wrap his feet up, too. He said that they’ve had to keep an extra blanket down at the end of the bed so he can cover up his feet when they’re sleeping so I thin it was a good choice. C has asked for a Bears shirt to be made for him from the extra material. I told him I need to get a pattern, but I think it’s doable.

Well, so much for the Christmas updatey thing. I think I’ll be spending some time in the near future doing some writing. Besides the novel (that has been sorely neglected over the holidays), I also need to write an article and keep up on the blog entries. I submitted the poetry chapbook but I won’t hear anything on it until February. Keep your fingers crossed. Check ya later.

It’s Hard Drive City

Yeah! I’m finally up and running again. It took forever but in the end I got the new hard drive and have basically reinstalled everything I need. I managed to pull up a few things that I had posted on various websites that contained some of the work I had lost when the old drive was torn so suddenly from its young life. So, even though it’s no where close to what I had, it’s not completely over.

I still want to post some pics of the aprons and clothes that I’ve been working on. I haven’t looked into it too far, but I think I may have to buy a cord before I can download the pics from my phone to my computer. Is anyone out there cell phone proficient? Oh, and willing to help? My cell phone is very new to me. The last time I had one it was like 1997 or something so…I’ve been a bit out of touch. I think I may be able to email them to myself if nothing else but I haven’t really explored that possibility yet. I think I would prefer a quick and painless method if possible.


Speaking of pics…I should take some of the garden out back. I recently added a new plot to the yard. This is strictly a show garden, no veggies, well…no edible veggies, ok…maybe there will “technically” be something there that can be eaten but…the main purpose of this spot is for aesthetic pleasure not practical food supply. On that note; I planted some hardy mums (red & orange), some flowering kale, and some black arugula (if I remember correctly). There was already a small lilac bush beginning to grow in the same area. I’m planning on adding some bulbs around the end of the month, maybe some lilies and tulips. I’m not 100% sure yet. Hopefully the spot will be fairly carefree so that when we move the next people won’t have to mess with it if they don’t want to.

I’ve gotten the birds and squirrels so used to a steady food supply that I’m afraid when we move they’ll have trouble fending for themselves so…I’m trying to put some shrubs and trees in the ground that will offer both food and shelter should the next people not offer the buffet they have grown accustomed to. I’ll be adding Bittersweet to the new plot, I know that. I’ve planted some flowering crabapples, a flowering dogwood, and a couple of hawthorns. I think they’ll help. We don’t have any solid plans, yet, regarding a move but we do know one will be coming within the next three years sometime. It could possibly be as soon as next year depending on children’s school situations, R’s job, and the, “I can’t take living in the city any longer” factor. Until then, I’m trying to plan ahead. Yes, I’m consumed by the thought of the innocent little birdies going hungry, laugh if you must.

On that note, I shall call it a day for today. I look forward to being able to write again on a more regular schedule so it would be nice to see all of your smiling web addys show up on my blog log ;-) on a regular basis as well…no hint there…hint, hint…hint.

Temperament

I think that I’ve learned quite bit about my temperament here lately. It seems that when people are tested they can either learn from the experience or they can choose to stew over it and build up that lovely stress maker, resentment. I try to be a learner; sometimes it’s easier than other times. Lately it seems that the tests have been frequent and well…irritating, as tests may tend to be. There is a lot going on in my life right now, as is the case with most people. Of course, it all boils down to how we handle those situations. Are we learners or resenters?

I figure that I’m one step ahead of the tests, though, since I realize that they’re there. You know what I mean? I think that if a person is capable of recognizing the areas or events in their life that pose the biggest stress points, then they are more likely to be able to deal with them. This, of course, sounds obvious; but I think sometimes it is painfully oblivious to people when we’re in the thick of things. I know that I need to take time to evaluate my life from time to time. This means taking an honest look at what is happening. This does not mean taking a negative view on life. It’s not right to look at all the bad and forget the good. An honest “moral” inventory, means also allowing yourself to see the good and to give appropriate credit where credit is due.

Now, I have no intention of airing my dirty laundry or patting myself on the back here. Suffice to say, that we all go through things, and I feel that we all could benefit by taking the time to reflect on our lives, the situations that have brought us to our current point and whether or not we’re happy with it. If we’re happy, then we should understand how we got here so the positive can be repeated. If we’re not too happy with a particular situation then we need to decide the best course of action for correcting the problem in a manner that will have a more positive outcome for all parties involved.

For me, I find that I reflect best if I engage in a creative individual activity. I tend to zone out in the garden, or involve myself in a sewing project. These activities allow me to empty my mind from the squirrel cage mentality that usually drives my thoughts. I find a peaceful, tranquil even, retreat to where my mind empties, as it were, and only the breath remains. It’s meditative and it’s the point, for me, in which I become able to assess my life honestly. I can be upfront with myself and look at things that are bothering me and see the part I played in the problem. Now, while I’m not able to change the actions, or reactions, of others; I am able to change mine. Therefore, if I truly (honestly) understand the role that I played; I can then claim the power of changing the situation, because once I change my role I have introduced a new variable into the equation and the odds of a different outcome increase.

So, where is all of this taking us? Who knows? I mean really. I know that I’m a better person for finding a way to reflect and assess, and that’s about as far as I have the power to take it; the rest is in anyone’s court. But, the end result….and I know you’re expecting some big philosophical answer here, but that won’t happen because it’s no longer in my court….is aprons; yes I said aprons. I sewed four of them here lately, and a new skirt as well. I went on a meditation binge as it were. In the end, I feel more enlightened, more relaxed, more self assured, more confident, and overall better. I’ve taken some pics of them and I’m going to try to get them up on the blog within the next day or two. We’ll see; I’m not sure I have all of the necessary equipment, hopefully I do. If so, you should see them soon.

Of Cucurbitaceous, D&D, Writing, and Sewing: In other words a life update

How many of you knew that squash and cucumbers were in the same family? If you didn’t know, you do now. I’ve been having some particular trouble lately with the squash members of this family. My yellow squash, zucchini, and my pumpkins are all suffering from Blossom End Rot. This sucks. Basically, what happens is that the blossom end of the fruit, opposite the stem end, rots before the fruit is fully developed. The causes vary, but a common one is due to uneven watering methods. I know that this is not the culprit in my case, though. What is causing it? Calcium deficiency. My soil has had this problem before and although I add a good amount of organic material to the soil each year, for some reason, the calcium just seems to be sucked right out. I added a goodly amount of Bone Meal around the plants this morning and gave the rest of the garden a dose of Organic Fertilizer. I’m hoping that will help. I wanted to add some Oyster Shell since it’s a much better source of calcium than bone meal but I couldn’t find any at Lowes, and I didn’t have the time to go running all over checking for it. Anyway, I went with the bone meal, we’ll see what happens. Keep those fingers crossed.


On to the D&D game. It looks like we may have to put the game on hold indefinitely. With R starting this new job and his schedule being very difficult it appears that he may not be able to run it. Not to mention the fact that when he starts classes again this fall he just won’t have any time free at all. This, of course, sucks but I certainly understand, appreciate, and admire the sacrifices he is making in order to provide us with a better life. He’s really quite remarkable. If I haven’t ever mentioned it before, let me just state it now that, I really love this man. So, even though the game may suffer, in the long run it will be for the betterment of the family. Now, there’s a small (and I do mean small) chance that we can talk R’s cousin into running the game for a while. (R’s cousin’s name also begins with an R, so we’ll call him CR, for Cousin R) Anyway, CR has been playing for as long as R has played. We’re talking something like 25 years or so, since D&D first came out in the seventies. CR doesn’t like to run games anymore; he only wants to play so…convincing him to run may be a problem. He’s really dead set against it. The only other option would be N. She could run if she wanted to, but she has never actually run one before. I know she would do great, though. Her imagination is awesome and she’s been playing almost as long as R and CR. Hopefully, one of them will pick it up, otherwise it’s hiatus city.

As for my writing, I’m getting back on the horse if you couldn’t tell by this long-winded post. I feel recovered even though I’m still in mourning. I’ll be ok, and onward I write. I need to write, I can’t live without it. I would go crazy, really, if I didn’t write. I’m sure of it. I’m planning to do some work on a really bad first draft of a poem that I wrote a while back. It’s the vampire one that’s posted on the Blog under April 10th. I took it to the writer’s group the other day and received some good feedback and I’ve decided to make it a pet project. There’s a lot of potential in it, I’m sure. It definitely needs some work, though. We’ll see what becomes of it.


Finally, I began a new sewing project. I’m making aprons for all the girls/women in the house. I love aprons, I think they’re pretty, versatile, and make good common sense. They protect clothing (god knows I need help in that department) and they feel great and look pretty. Anyway…I digress. My first one is finished; I have three others to go. This first batch is all half aprons (tied around the waist with no top), but after I get those done I plan to move on to the more challenging stuff. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time now, but one thing or another delays it. But, now I have the material, the patterns, and the time so…onward. After, or possibly in the midst of, aprons I would also like to get busy on some matching linen table covers and napkins. I have a million ideas and it just seems like I’ll never have enough time to complete everything I would like to do. I suppose time will tell.

Well, I guess that’s it for the update. Now that I’m feeling a bit more like my old self I hope to be Blogging more regularly. Then again, now that I’m feeling more like my old self, well…let’s just say; check my previous track record for posting. I have good intentions; we’ll see what happens.

Time...What A Concept

There is so much to do and never enough time to do it all. I know people everywhere experience the same phenomena. So why did we invent the concept of time again? Someone remind me; it seems so useless.

I’ve taken a permanent leave from work, in a way. It’s a rather long story so suffice to say…Due to some health problems I’m not going into work anymore but I’m still doing a minimal amount of stuff for them at home. Now, one would think that I would have boo coo amounts of time on my hands; it couldn’t be less true. It seems that no matter how much time gets freed up not only does more time take its place, but it leaches into even more time. It’s just freaky I tell ya.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately. I’ve been wanting to sew but I haven’t made time for it; although I do intend to work on some stuff this weekend. I’ve managed a bit of time in the yard and garden, but no where near what I would like. I get a lot of help around the house as far as chores are concerned, so that doesn’t take a lot of time for me. I run errands frequently. But again it doesn’t consume the better part of my time. I get up each morning between 6:30 and 7:00 and I don’t go to sleep until almost midnight. Still, I never seem to have enough time. I’m forever saying to myself, “Where did the day go?” For example, it’s already 12:30 in the afternoon; I’m clueless as to where the morning went…it’s just gone. I think there may be a conspiracy. What other explanation could there be?

Well, at this point I guess I’m going to write some more. I’d also like to get some sewing done and I have a crochet project or two that I need to get busy on. On a completely different note…R got the job we had been hoping for!!!! This means that I no longer need to work, which is such a relief, of course R says that I need to write that million dollar book now…but no pressure. At the moment, despite the health issues and lack of time, things are looking up.