Today I'm going to take Jasper's lead and just relax today.
Jasper really does just sleep like this!! If he was any more relaxed I'd have to check to see if he has a pulse.
We all should be so relaxed, eh?
Enjoy your day!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Take time to relax
Remember I introduced you to our newest family member, Jasper, our little black kitty? Well......
Today I'm going to take Jasper's lead and just relax today.
Jasper really does just sleep like this!! If he was any more relaxed I'd have to check to see if he has a pulse.
We all should be so relaxed, eh?
Enjoy your day!!
Today I'm going to take Jasper's lead and just relax today.
Jasper really does just sleep like this!! If he was any more relaxed I'd have to check to see if he has a pulse.
We all should be so relaxed, eh?
Enjoy your day!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Never Forget
Remember that day when we were all busy taking our kids to school and rushing our way to work?
Remember how Islamic Terrorists changed our lives by killing innocent men, women and children heading to work, or flying to destinations afar?
Remember how we all stopped in our tracks and held our breaths with tears streaming and stinging our faces? Huddled around TVs and Radios living the events of that day, the sights and sounds in shock and disbelief?
Remember for weeks after 9/11 we all took things a little slower, showed one another patience, consideration and care?
Remember when we were ALL Americans, not just Conservatives or Liberals, Republicans or Democrats, Left or Right........Just Americans, outraged that our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers would be cut down for doing nothing more than just living their lives and living out their day?
Remember when no one apologized for being American?
Stand together, take time to consider everyone around you with compassion and gratitude. We did not deserve the events of 9/11, we did not cause the events of that day. Do not apologize for it and do not apologize for being a Proud American.
DO NOT ever FORGET 9/11.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Reconstruction begins.....
Preparing for the kitchen repair. We are done with the tear outs, dry outs, asbestos removal, clean-out, dig-out etc.
First order of business is PAINTING. Grant was just thrilled.
I think painting the bricks is the worst........so I gave that side of the kitchen to Grant!
Do you see the jeans? The jeans that are barely covering the Ghost Buster Boxers? Well, Grant was in total weekend warrior mode, when he went to Home Depot. While heading into the store a panhandler was about to ask Grant for some spare change when he spied the jeans Grant was wearing........then held out some money for Grant. What a week!!
We got the Kitchen nearly painted but won't be able to finish now till the cabinets are put back in and I can clear out the dining room, then I'll paint the corner that is currently blocked.
I have to admit, Grant did most of the painting. I was distracted by the Ghost Busters!
First order of business is PAINTING. Grant was just thrilled.
I think painting the bricks is the worst........so I gave that side of the kitchen to Grant!
Do you see the jeans? The jeans that are barely covering the Ghost Buster Boxers? Well, Grant was in total weekend warrior mode, when he went to Home Depot. While heading into the store a panhandler was about to ask Grant for some spare change when he spied the jeans Grant was wearing........then held out some money for Grant. What a week!!
We got the Kitchen nearly painted but won't be able to finish now till the cabinets are put back in and I can clear out the dining room, then I'll paint the corner that is currently blocked.
I have to admit, Grant did most of the painting. I was distracted by the Ghost Busters!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sitting In The Middle Of A Debris Field
It has been quite awhile since I blogged. Clearly, I lost my Blogging Mojo for awhile and now it is time to get myself back together.
This has been a spring and summer season of trials and tribulations for me and my family. Starting in April, Jillian had an accident and totaled my car, my cute convertible. While trying to find a used car to buy, Grant's car broke down, leaving us with no car for a weekend (that is right up there with losing the TV remote control.....we were in a state of vapor lock for three days). In one week, we got Grant's car repaired, bought an older used car for me (youngest will be learning to drive in a few months) and also managed to get a nice used car for Jillian. Truth be told, Jillian is now driving a nicer car than Grant and I, but with all the safety features, including side air bags, it is the only way I can sort of rest easy.
We had a couple of nice things happen in between disasters, like adding a new member to the family. Jasper, the cutest, blackest, kitten with the biggest Catitude you have ever seen. Jasper has brought a lot of laughter to the household and the fact that Grant is not a "cat person" adds to the entertainment and wonderment.
Jasper likes to hang out in the oddest places, here he is, in the bathroom sink.
Keep in mind, we have ONE bathroom so there are times when Jasper hanging in the bathroom sink causes some conflict in the house. Like.......
.....when Grant wants to brush his teeth!
Unfortunately, Jasper also has drama tendencies himself (indication that he fits right in with this family). About four weeks ago, then 3 months old, Jasper was running around the house in what we call a "Kitty Spaz", jumping on the furniture and bouncing across the floor. I could hear Jasper's little paws pounding the carpet when I was rounding the corner from the hallway to the living room. All of sudden I felt an impact on my shin, and heard a pop! Jasper ran full tilt into my leg and went straight into Janeva's room under the bed and let out a horrendous cry. I was sick to my stomach because I was sure Jasper had a horrible injury. I called the vet and was told to take him immediately to the emergency vet hospital. Turned out, our little Jasper had a concussion and an eye injury. He is doing fine now, but Grant is convinced Jasper is not very smart.
Grant's dad and stepmom, Michael and Annette, came to visit us from Australia. Grant was able to take a road trip with them to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon and Skywalk and then we all did some local site seeing. It was great having them both here and they got to spend time with the girls, Jasper and I when Grant was working. We really enjoyed their visit and the time flew by far too quickly.
Jillian is working now, and Janeva has enjoyed having the summer off......
Then, three weeks ago, we discovered that we had a broken drain pipe under the slab in the kitchen. Resulting in the tear out of our kitchen and having the slab jack hammered up to find the offending pipe.
The pipe has been fixed and now we are looking forward to having a weekend of painting in the hopes that our cabinets and flooring will be installed next week. So we have been living in a small house with all the contents of the kitchen in every available space in the dining room and living room.
After all the fans, dehumidifiers and jackhammers running to dry out the walls and concrete floor then fix the pipe, I am now enjoying the quiet of the dogs barking, the kitty meowing, the kids complaining and Grant bitching. We are now in the rebuilding phase.....I think it will be moving along quickly now and can't wait to have a kitchen again. We all are sick of microwave dinners, paper plates, bowls and plastic utensils.
All the while I have just kept knitting on my summer project, the Forest Path Stole and making some impressive progress (if I do say myself) while sitting in the middle of a debris field.
I have never worked with lace weight yarn before this summer. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long!!
Going back to a timeless saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!". Well, we have enough lemons for Lemonade, Lemon Bars, Lemon Pudding Cake, Lemon Curd and on and on.
Yet, we all are still grinning. This is one of those weekends that we will be glad to see come to an end, but we have added some new tales to tell and we can laugh about it all later.
How have you spent your summer?
This has been a spring and summer season of trials and tribulations for me and my family. Starting in April, Jillian had an accident and totaled my car, my cute convertible. While trying to find a used car to buy, Grant's car broke down, leaving us with no car for a weekend (that is right up there with losing the TV remote control.....we were in a state of vapor lock for three days). In one week, we got Grant's car repaired, bought an older used car for me (youngest will be learning to drive in a few months) and also managed to get a nice used car for Jillian. Truth be told, Jillian is now driving a nicer car than Grant and I, but with all the safety features, including side air bags, it is the only way I can sort of rest easy.
We had a couple of nice things happen in between disasters, like adding a new member to the family. Jasper, the cutest, blackest, kitten with the biggest Catitude you have ever seen. Jasper has brought a lot of laughter to the household and the fact that Grant is not a "cat person" adds to the entertainment and wonderment.
Jasper likes to hang out in the oddest places, here he is, in the bathroom sink.
Keep in mind, we have ONE bathroom so there are times when Jasper hanging in the bathroom sink causes some conflict in the house. Like.......
.....when Grant wants to brush his teeth!
Unfortunately, Jasper also has drama tendencies himself (indication that he fits right in with this family). About four weeks ago, then 3 months old, Jasper was running around the house in what we call a "Kitty Spaz", jumping on the furniture and bouncing across the floor. I could hear Jasper's little paws pounding the carpet when I was rounding the corner from the hallway to the living room. All of sudden I felt an impact on my shin, and heard a pop! Jasper ran full tilt into my leg and went straight into Janeva's room under the bed and let out a horrendous cry. I was sick to my stomach because I was sure Jasper had a horrible injury. I called the vet and was told to take him immediately to the emergency vet hospital. Turned out, our little Jasper had a concussion and an eye injury. He is doing fine now, but Grant is convinced Jasper is not very smart.
Grant's dad and stepmom, Michael and Annette, came to visit us from Australia. Grant was able to take a road trip with them to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon and Skywalk and then we all did some local site seeing. It was great having them both here and they got to spend time with the girls, Jasper and I when Grant was working. We really enjoyed their visit and the time flew by far too quickly.
Jillian is working now, and Janeva has enjoyed having the summer off......
Then, three weeks ago, we discovered that we had a broken drain pipe under the slab in the kitchen. Resulting in the tear out of our kitchen and having the slab jack hammered up to find the offending pipe.
The pipe has been fixed and now we are looking forward to having a weekend of painting in the hopes that our cabinets and flooring will be installed next week. So we have been living in a small house with all the contents of the kitchen in every available space in the dining room and living room.
After all the fans, dehumidifiers and jackhammers running to dry out the walls and concrete floor then fix the pipe, I am now enjoying the quiet of the dogs barking, the kitty meowing, the kids complaining and Grant bitching. We are now in the rebuilding phase.....I think it will be moving along quickly now and can't wait to have a kitchen again. We all are sick of microwave dinners, paper plates, bowls and plastic utensils.
All the while I have just kept knitting on my summer project, the Forest Path Stole and making some impressive progress (if I do say myself) while sitting in the middle of a debris field.
I have never worked with lace weight yarn before this summer. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long!!
Going back to a timeless saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!". Well, we have enough lemons for Lemonade, Lemon Bars, Lemon Pudding Cake, Lemon Curd and on and on.
Yet, we all are still grinning. This is one of those weekends that we will be glad to see come to an end, but we have added some new tales to tell and we can laugh about it all later.
How have you spent your summer?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Correlation Between Disaster Movies and the Economy?
While watching the Airport Disaster movie series last night which I wrote about here, I got to wondering about why these films were so popular back in the 70s.
In the 70s there seemed to be a running theme in the movie theaters, disasters like Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Flood, Swarm, When Time Ran Out and the list could go on and on.
In the 70s we were in a deep recession and then stagflation. I remember the long gas lines then gas rationing, and rampant inflation. It was an incredibly stressful time for families and I remember my parents were anxious about the changes occurring in government policy and the impact on our lifestyle. Our lifestyle was very middle class comfortable before the recession of the 70s but nothing that would be considered lavish or excessive.
It seems odd now looking back and seeing that the movies that people flocked to for entertainment were disaster themed. I admit to my own fascination in these type of films but I always chocked it up to the time in my life when these films first came out. I was in my teens and these were action packed movies and groups of us went to the theater and it was all good.
Now as an adult I find it curious that not only were the movies back then disaster flicks but that they are now being replayed quite frequently on movie channels when there seems to be so many similarities in the economy....high unemployment.....rising prices......housing issues (back then it was rising interest rates).
I realized last night between Airport 77 and Airport 79....that really the "disasters" were the back story to the "survival" of the characters. The characters of the movies finding their inner strength to overcome fear and fight tenaciously for their survival. Also, it was the good people that lived and almost always the mean and evil people died horrific deaths. There were tragedies but there were greater triumphs at then end of the movies which left the viewer feeling good in the end.
While sitting on the couch, on a wonderfully quiet evening at home, knitting and watching disaster movies, I figured it out.
In the 70s there seemed to be a running theme in the movie theaters, disasters like Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Flood, Swarm, When Time Ran Out and the list could go on and on.
In the 70s we were in a deep recession and then stagflation. I remember the long gas lines then gas rationing, and rampant inflation. It was an incredibly stressful time for families and I remember my parents were anxious about the changes occurring in government policy and the impact on our lifestyle. Our lifestyle was very middle class comfortable before the recession of the 70s but nothing that would be considered lavish or excessive.
It seems odd now looking back and seeing that the movies that people flocked to for entertainment were disaster themed. I admit to my own fascination in these type of films but I always chocked it up to the time in my life when these films first came out. I was in my teens and these were action packed movies and groups of us went to the theater and it was all good.
Now as an adult I find it curious that not only were the movies back then disaster flicks but that they are now being replayed quite frequently on movie channels when there seems to be so many similarities in the economy....high unemployment.....rising prices......housing issues (back then it was rising interest rates).
I realized last night between Airport 77 and Airport 79....that really the "disasters" were the back story to the "survival" of the characters. The characters of the movies finding their inner strength to overcome fear and fight tenaciously for their survival. Also, it was the good people that lived and almost always the mean and evil people died horrific deaths. There were tragedies but there were greater triumphs at then end of the movies which left the viewer feeling good in the end.
While sitting on the couch, on a wonderfully quiet evening at home, knitting and watching disaster movies, I figured it out.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Get your Frequent Flyer Card Ready!
Tonight, on the AMC channel there is an Airport-a-thon. Back to back Airport disaster movies!! Tonight's line up is Airport 1970, Airport 1975, Airport 1977, The Concorde: Airport 1979.
For this occasion I'll be starting the Turtleneck Tube Vest while watching hundreds of people crash and burn. My husband, Grant has the night off so we may sneak in some kanoodling to the romantic sounds of passenger's screams and moans, making this just about as perfect a night we have had in over a year!! (I told you all I have been stressed!)
Interesting point: In Airport 1970 the heroine is, a sweet old lady, Mrs. Ada Quonsett a stowaway who knits throughout the whole disaster without so much as slipping a stitch!
Now, put your seats and trays in their up right position and fasten your seat belts we are ready to take off. Our Cabin Steward, Grant has arranged for a Chinese dinner to be served.
Knit on.
UPDATE: Look at the In flight Snack Steward Grant, of Couch Sitter Airlines brought me.
I don't think I will be bitching about Qantas Airlines after this flight.
For this occasion I'll be starting the Turtleneck Tube Vest while watching hundreds of people crash and burn. My husband, Grant has the night off so we may sneak in some kanoodling to the romantic sounds of passenger's screams and moans, making this just about as perfect a night we have had in over a year!! (I told you all I have been stressed!)
Interesting point: In Airport 1970 the heroine is, a sweet old lady, Mrs. Ada Quonsett a stowaway who knits throughout the whole disaster without so much as slipping a stitch!
Now, put your seats and trays in their up right position and fasten your seat belts we are ready to take off. Our Cabin Steward, Grant has arranged for a Chinese dinner to be served.
Knit on.
UPDATE: Look at the In flight Snack Steward Grant, of Couch Sitter Airlines brought me.
I don't think I will be bitching about Qantas Airlines after this flight.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Quiet Knitting
Is it just me?
I have been feeling stressed out, frazzled, irritated, agitated, high strung and overly anxious for the last 2 months. This last week I simply just hit a wall, I had enough. I was strung out from not sleeping soundly at night and having random thoughts that would interrupt my sleep. I have been miserable.
I think it is the cumulative effects of all the bad news about the economy, anxious about the unemployment outlook, the 401K looking more like a hole in my pocket, money going in balance going down. Getting our taxes done and ending up owing instead of getting a return and the government telling us that the $13.00 a week the feds are giving us is like this magic tax cut....but for those of us in California we are getting reamed at the State level with higher taxes and fees for just about everything. Not really feeling the "Golden State" right now if ya know what I mean.
I don't think I'm isolated in this crap bubble. Everyone seems to be pissed off and have hair triggers. More people are driving aggressively and tailgating for no particular reason rather than just changing into a passing lane and going by. In the grocery store a woman had a minor freak out last Sunday because she had to stand in line. Who doesn't expect to stand and wait their turn at the check out? I really don't think there is a magic happy pill for what is ailing all of us.....
This last week I stepped away from watching so much news coverage. I replaced it with DVDs like JAWS, Aliens, and tonight I'm watching Volcano. It appears that I'm comforted by watching movies of natural disasters, beach goers being eaten or a slobbering alien beast splitting the crew of a space ship to bits.
The other thing that I have been doing is whipping out smaller knit projects. This last weekend I knitted up two scarves both using the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf pattern.
One made in a really soft worsted weight Malabrigo and the other made in a Cashmere Merino Wool blend. I really love the way they turned out and found the pattern to be very relaxing and quick knit. Perfect for gifts!!!
I am lining up some more disaster movies, like Dante's Peak, Leviathan and yarn to relax with in the evenings.
I am feeling better now.
I have been feeling stressed out, frazzled, irritated, agitated, high strung and overly anxious for the last 2 months. This last week I simply just hit a wall, I had enough. I was strung out from not sleeping soundly at night and having random thoughts that would interrupt my sleep. I have been miserable.
I think it is the cumulative effects of all the bad news about the economy, anxious about the unemployment outlook, the 401K looking more like a hole in my pocket, money going in balance going down. Getting our taxes done and ending up owing instead of getting a return and the government telling us that the $13.00 a week the feds are giving us is like this magic tax cut....but for those of us in California we are getting reamed at the State level with higher taxes and fees for just about everything. Not really feeling the "Golden State" right now if ya know what I mean.
I don't think I'm isolated in this crap bubble. Everyone seems to be pissed off and have hair triggers. More people are driving aggressively and tailgating for no particular reason rather than just changing into a passing lane and going by. In the grocery store a woman had a minor freak out last Sunday because she had to stand in line. Who doesn't expect to stand and wait their turn at the check out? I really don't think there is a magic happy pill for what is ailing all of us.....
This last week I stepped away from watching so much news coverage. I replaced it with DVDs like JAWS, Aliens, and tonight I'm watching Volcano. It appears that I'm comforted by watching movies of natural disasters, beach goers being eaten or a slobbering alien beast splitting the crew of a space ship to bits.
The other thing that I have been doing is whipping out smaller knit projects. This last weekend I knitted up two scarves both using the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf pattern.
One made in a really soft worsted weight Malabrigo and the other made in a Cashmere Merino Wool blend. I really love the way they turned out and found the pattern to be very relaxing and quick knit. Perfect for gifts!!!
I am lining up some more disaster movies, like Dante's Peak, Leviathan and yarn to relax with in the evenings.
I am feeling better now.
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