A Little Slice of Heaven

Just like everyone else, I look forward to the weekend. I get to stay up late & sleep in - sort of - schlep myself around in my jammies, read & drink coffee, after taking care of the menagerie, of course. Great, right? Or not. This past weekend is a perfect example of a lazy winter weekend gone awry. Hubby was working, so it was just me and the boys, the animals, and the fireplace. Should have been cozy on a cold winter day. Except that it wasn't just cold, it was COLD! Ass-numbing cold, with frozen mix (rain, sleet, snow) - and the dogs think they have to go out every 15 minutes - urgently! Take them out and they wander around, or they harass each other, or bark at squirrels. The diva girls will pee on the floor out of spite, and nobody wants to take the risk and have to clean it up, so you take them out even if you think there can't possibly be anything left in them. Naturally, Toby thinks he has to go out every time the girls go - so he can pee everywhere they've peed, or pooped, or walked. Then there is feeding the fireplace. You can't enjoy a cozy fire without a bit of work. I tried to make efficient use of dog-time by carrying wood up onto the back deck and bringing some inside and putting it in the fireplace. Kill-two-birds, and all that because otherwise there would be no relaxing by the fire at all. As it was, my lazy-time was severely cut into. 

To top everything off, the boys were fighting. All weekend. Over everything - and nothing. As long as they were apart doing their own thing, it wasn't too bad, but as soon as one got bored and wandered into the other's space, the fight was on. Consequently, I spent an inordinate amount of my time breaking up arguments and herding them back into their own areas. Finally I gave them cleaning jobs to do that kept them apart and busy, for the most part. We tried playing Uno, but tempers were on a hair-trigger, and it wasn't working out. When I finally had had enough and flat couldn't stand to be around them any more, I chose to escape; I grabbed my tablet, put my headphones on and watched a mini-marathon of Psych on Netflix. I even flung caution to the winds and ignored the dogs for a couple of hours. It was like a little slice of Heaven for those few hours. And there wasn't even any potty accidents on the floor, confirming my suspicions that they really don't have overactive bladder disorder. It doesn't happen often, but I was super excited about going to work on Monday.

I could be inspiring and say we achieved peace through remembering how much we loved each other and realizing how important family is and how much we mean to each other. I could gloss over the melodrama and hateful words the boys spewed at each other with a tale of forgiveness and deep brotherly affection...but I just don't have the energy required to put that big of spin on things. And really, the truth is, life is messy. My life is messy. Sometimes we have days when there isn't a lot of love being shown. It happens. We get over it and we still love each other, but it's a messy process sometimes. Just because we love Jesus and try our best to follow Him, doesn't mean we are supposed to be perfectly poised and in control of our emotions all the time. I'm a work in progress and so is my family. Christians are placed on teetering pedestals inside fragile glass houses. We are constantly being evaluated for non-Christian-like behavior by non-Christians. We aren't going to be perfect. We are imperfect humans living in an imperfect world full of sin and all that small 3-letter word entails, and we will fall off of that teetering pedestal on occasion. It isn't a matter of if, but when. The difference between some Christians and a true follower is that a true follower will be heartbroken over his failures, repent, and pray for strength in order to do better because for him, it isn't religion. It is a relationship. So, yeah, even though I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus, I fall tragically short of perfection on a fairly regular basis, and sometimes, in spectacular ways. 

This past weekend was not so great, and anger seemed to be the soup du jour. I can't remember who said it, but when we get angry with someone, and we say that person "made me mad", it is a way of transferring the responsibility for our anger on that other person. They didn't make us do anything - we have a choice. We can choose to be angry or we can choose to not be. The one phrase I heard the most was "he's making me mad!"  Evidently we chose poorly.

New Year, New Opportunities

Screenshot from my phone

It is now seven days into the new year and things are starting off with a bang. We immediately got hit with an arctic blast. It's been in the low 30's and upper 20's for days. As I sat at my computer at 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday, the temperature was a balmy 28 degrees. Of course it looked warmer than it was from inside because the sun was out. Right now it is 11 degrees and feels like -8 with the windchill - because the wind has just got to blow. It can't just be cold - it's gotta be cold and windy. Today at this same time, it is forecasted to be 3 degrees with a windchill of -12...Mmmm - Toasty warm!! 

Then, Monday was the first day back to school after the winter break and they let out early because the school district along with a few others across the country, received an emailed threat. Bomb, gunmen, don't know exactly, only that it was intended to threaten the safety of students and staff. According to the FBI, it contained the same language as letters received by schools in other states, but they aren't releasing the exact wording of the email - to hinder copy-cat efforts, I imagine. I thought the school and the law enforcement agencies did a good job of "dismissing" the kids and getting them home without any hysteria or panic. To the kids, it was just an early release day that they weren't ware of - like a bonus, lol. Classes were shortened up and they had to round up bus drivers at the last minute - it was a lot of work and I think everyone did a fantastic job while dealing with the logistics of evacuating all the schools as well as the turmoil of frightened parents. Turns out it was a hoax, of course: some highschooler who got the idea, and the email, from someone he knew online outside of the country. Hmmm...Well, with a new year comes new opportunities - to shine and show the world what you're made of, or to involve yourself in random acts of stupidity and, well, show the world what you're made of....

Yes, so far 2015 is starting off exciting in my little corner of Kansas even though we pretty much ignored the passage into the New Year: Hubby was sleeping because he had to work, the kids were playing games and Skyping with friends, and I was watching movies and reading. Yes, we're an enthusiastic lot, we are! I've been doing a bunch of reading on my Kindle because I did the KindleUnlimited free trial for 30 days, so I'm trying to get the most out of my 30 days. At first I thought it might be a good deal for $9 a month and read anything you want, but there is a catch: Not everything is available for Unlimited. I found a series of books to read but the second book wasn't available, so I had to skip that one. Then I tried some that I had gotten part way through, thinking I could finish them up, but they weren't available either. I did find some others, though, so for me, while the trial period is great, I don't know that it is worth the money. Although, you can quit any time you want without penalties, so it might be beneficial to do it for just a while and then quit, and come back to it again later. I've seen the ads on Facebook about Oyster - they call it "Netflix for books" and I'm now wondering if it has the same kind of limitations. I would bet though that a person could just do the eBook thing through the public library system with similar results, only it's free. It's a thought...

I've got a few things to keep me busy over the next few weeks, other than the reading, as well as throughout the year. I have a couple of design projects, which will add to my professional portfolio, as well as some personal art projects. I also want a new winter scarf, so I need to pick out some suitable yarn - maybe plum or cranberry? Or maybe an ombre effect in blue and teal? I guess I'll know when I see the yarn. Oh yeah - I can crochet. No fancy stitches or anything, but I can - learned how from my step-grandma when I was a kid. Of course I didn't call her step-grandma, or even grandma. We all called her by her name, Alice, just as we called my dad's dad by his name, Clarence. He wasn't much of a father to my dad and he lived up in Yakima, Washington and we didn't see them much, so the grandkids were not encouraged to call him anything else. But oddly enough, my grandmother (dad's mom) didn't like the term grandma, so she also got called by her first name, Georgie - actually Georgia, but she preferred Georgie. Anyway, I thought about learning to knit, but it seems complicated - knit one, pearl two and all that. 

If I don't come up with any more scholarships and can't continue on for my Bachelor's in the near future, then I want to take piano lessons. One of the pianists at church teaches, and his prices are reasonable. He also said that I won't have to do any recitals, which was the big kicker for me when I was a kid. I was definitely interested and seemed to have an affinity for it, but the whole recital thing was a deal breaker. I know - I'm weird. The funny thing is, I don't really care :p

Hubby and I also talked about maybe taking a road trip on the bike this spring. When we got the new bike, Harley Davidson sent us an atlas with all kinds of routes to different places complete with recommendations for places to eat and sleep. It sounds like fun, but I think I would want to get a bluetooth headset before we go so that we can talk easier. We also need to plan a family trip. The problem of taking anything longer than a day trip is Toby, our German Shepherd. Toby has never actually hurt anyone, but we really don't want to test the waters, either. He's affectionate and goofy and loves his family - other people not so much. He takes his job of protecting his family seriously, and other people take him seriously. Who wouldn't? He's huge, scary and he sounds like a bear when he growls.

I leave you with a shot out my backdoor yesterday morning of a gorgeous winter sunrise.

Winter sunrise out my backdoor- no filter!!

Feeling Festive? Here's Cinnamint Toothpaste in Your Eye

I guess hubby was feeling festive and in the Christmas spirit or something because he bought cinnamint flavor toothpaste this time. I don't particularly care for cinnamon in my toothpaste, but oh well. I say nothing because as everybody who has been married for any length of time knows, you have to pick your battles. A wise woman will let those little things go for a larger and more significant victory later. I'm banking all of these so-called little 'losses' towards something bigger: I want the kitchen and dining area painted red. Not fire-engine red, of course, but a red that goes with the cypress green walls of the living room since it is all one big open space now with only a half wall separating them. Right now, the kitchen and dining room are a cucumber green because, as my four readers might remember, we tried yellow, but it looked like a Green Bay Packer fan decorated our house. I tried really hard to explain the relationship of green and red on the color wheel, and how it wold really look good, etc., but no dice. So then I showed him the color wheel and told him he had to pick something within a certain range and yellow is what he came up with. Of course it was a very, very pale yellow - in the can. Once it was on the walls, however, it changed. With the lights off it looked like school-bus yellow. With the lights on, it became Corvette yellow. 

There it is - nasty! It might not look so bad from this photograph, but believe me: it was bad. Just ask all the people who came over specifically to see it. Below you can see the cucumber green it is now. Not horrible, and it goes with the darker green, but I would like something warmer. Of course, now it will be harder to paint because the cabinets and everything are up now, which is why I am picking my battles. But I digress...

As I said, I don't really like the flavor of the cinnamint toothpaste, or the brand that it is, really, but I'm making it work. Or I was until the flip cap on the tube shot some of it into my eye -yikes! Every time I flip open the cap it spits, not sure why, but no matter how I do it - still happens. This time it happened to get me in the eye. Now, I'm sure it doesn't make any difference at all what flavor the stuff is, because it is toothpaste after all and designed for the mouth, not the eyes, so it really hurts, but because I already do not like it, now it is truly evil. In fact, in that moment, all the evil in the world was contained right in that 8 oz tube. So, once the screaming and jumping was over, me and my angry red eye let hubby know, very firmly, that we would not be buying any more of that particular variety of toothpaste. Ever.

Christmas is almost here, and my kids are getting antsy. They keep trying to get me to let them open one gift early, but I keep saying no. Really, though, if they are just patient, they won't have to worry about it because the kitten will do it for them. (we are now 95% sure it is a male, so the boys have named him Percy...Percy Jackson, LOL. I still refer to him as Little One, though) For the most part he has left the tree alone, although we didn't decorate it with any of the breakable ornaments -  just in case. He gives it a swat once in a while when he walks under it and it touches him, but other than that, it's just there. Or at least that was the case until the presents got under there. Now he is obsessed. He stalks the presents, and leaps at them with his paws up over his head then runs away and does it again, over and over. Sometimes he will lie on the couch and stare them down until he can no longer stand it and is compelled to pounce. Silly kitty :)

We are naturally hoping for some snow for Christmas. Weatherbug says there is a 30% chance of snow for Wednesday, Christmas Eve and then the chances go up to 80% for the beginning of the following week. So my kids are excited to get to mess around in the snow during the break. The last couple of years it hasn't snowed until the day before they start back to school. Which is okay with them if it delays going back, which it has before. My dogs like the snow, in varying degrees. My Bassett only likes it if it doesn't get too deep because her hoohaa is so close to the ground. My cattledog/lab fancies herself a dainty princess I suppose because she tries to shake it off of her feet as she walks and can't wait to get back inside. She's a hothouse violet, that one. Now Toby, the German Shepherd, he loves the snow. But then he is a long-haired variety and the cold doesn't bother him. When it's snowing I can't hardly get him to come in. He romps and rolls and flips it up in the air with his nose - he's a big goof. I am a bit worried about my outside kitties, but I have set out some old blankets for them, and hubby bought a bale of straw for them, so they will probably be okay.

Speaking of the outside kitties, my neighbor (formerly referred to as crazy cat-lady) and I had a little bonding moment this past week. I discovered the big orange male cat behind her house in the alley when I was on my way to work, so I stopped and got out because I didn't like the way he was just lying there - the sun wasn't out and it was too cold to be where he was. He wasn't moving and although I didn't touch him, I was sure he was dead. I felt so bad about it that I called her at the school and told her about it. Turned out that it wasn't technically hers, but one of the strays that she has fed over the years. I confessed to her that I have been feeding the kittens and several others and that hubby rescued one who we keep in the house, and she was so happy I thought she was going to cry. It made me feel bad for calling her crazy-cat lady, especially since now I am one too. She's a bit odd sometimes (who isn't?), but she has a good heart and in those few moments I began to realize that we weren't all that different and I was ashamed. I have always loved animals, and there are times when I would rather spend my time with them than people. I sense she feels much the same way. 


So this Christmas, God has illuminated a flaw within me and allowed me to examine and deal with it. Then he blessed me with a deeper understanding of my neighbor and myself. With God, it is always about relationships: our relationship with Him, our relationships with others. In this season of celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is important to remember how much He loves us and that we are to love one another the same way. Merry Christmas!

A Food Epiphany and that River in Egypt

I must be living under a rock (some people might think this town fits that description) but I just today discovered Yummly! OMGosh! It's been around since 2010 - where have I been? It's like Pinterest but just for food. I'm in food heaven, happily "yumming" recipes and adding and organizing them into my collections. When I discovered it, I was thinking "it's about time someone created something like this" and then I was like "wait a minute...", did a quick hop over to the About section, and found out I had been missing the boat for a while. I believe I faintly heard a choir singing one sustained high note...

I have been steadily expanding my family's food horizons, and can claim some small success in that I was able to finally get both my husband and boys to try Spinach Artichoke dip this Thanksgiving - they loved it! Even my dad liked it. My youngest, though still proves to be the ultimate culinary challenge and is unwilling to have his food horizons broadened. He is the pickiest eater I have ever known, myself included. Then I had a flash of insight: this is what my mother dealt with, only on steroids. I confess - I was a terribly picky eater, but my picky-ness was mostly centered on mom's cooking. There were a lot of the usual things I wouldn't eat (green beans, lima beans, fish, cottage cheese, etc.), which made dining out a trial, but mainly my quirk was less about the food itself and more about who had cooked it, as in was it safe. I know, weird, but the only reason I can come up with was my extreme fear of throwing up. A horrible norovirus, the flu, or some combination of the two went through our house when I was about about 5 years old and it was a traumatic experience for me. Let me put it this way: the last thing I had eaten the night before was half of a Snickers candy bar (that was when they were the size of the king size kind we have now) and I didn't eat another Snickers until I was in my 30's. Then on the heels of that experience I contracted Pneumonia, so I missed a few weeks of kindergarten. From then on, anytime a family member got sick on something or somewhere, (or it was the last thing they ate before getting sick) I crossed it off my list and put it on the "Do Not Eat" list. The list got quite long, if I recall correctly...

Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be *gasp* the big 5 0. I don't feel 50 (most days), I don't really look 50 (except for those extra 20 lbs that came along with Sully) and I'm finding it hard to believe I'm 50 (denial: not just a river in Egypt), even though I've had a whole year to get used to the idea. Hubby asked me if I wanted something special or if I wanted to go to our favorite Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi place. Since it is so close to Christmas, I've opted for a family dinner at a favorite semi-local (and sorta famous) chicken restaurant and a trip to Bath and Body. And maybe a new pair of silver hoop earrings... I know 50 is supposed to be a big deal and there should be a party and all, but really, I'm good with keeping it low-key. Maybe no one will notice and I won't have to explain. Fat chance of that, I know.

Accomplishing the Impossible...

...or we could just call it "managing to get a photo of one of the feral kittens in my carport" but it doesn't sound as good, now does it? I was out with Toby (my German Shepherd) letting him go around and do his thing, and happened to spot this little beauty just sitting there on top of the lawnmower. The kittens are certainly growing and getting very pretty, too. I want to pet them something awful but I rather like my hands intact and unbloodied. Actually, they would probably just run away out of range unless they felt cornered, which I would never do. They allow me to feed and water them and talk silly baby-talk to them, and they will even get within touching distance while I clean out the leaves and such from the water bowl, but I don't want to make them feel unsafe, so I don't attempt to touch.

My Little One, on the other hand, loves the attention and is quite affectionate. Still having trouble determining what gender, of course, so still calling it a lot of silly-talk names like "sweetpea" and "scamp", etc. L.O. doesn't seem to mind not having a name just yet. What with the Thanksgiving holiday, there hasn't been time to go to the vet, plus I wanted to wait until L.O. is old enough for shots and all, so about another week or so, I'm thinking.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it went well. Of course two days of cleaning and cooking wore me out, so I did next to nothing the following three days. My husband and I do most of the cooking - he does the turkey and the potatoes, and I do everything else - so it is a lot of work even for just 5 or 6 people. And while I prep and cook the food, I think of Mom. I really miss her - all the time - but particularly around the holiday period from Thanksgiving through New Year's. I get why some people hate this time of year, I really do, but because of the type of personality I am, instead of avoiding the memories and hating the holidays, I think of all the wonderful times and find the joy. I have a knack for sorting through the sad stuff and thinking of only the happier things. Drives my man nuts! But it was a lovely, quiet time with Dad and my cousin Larry, with good food and fun stories from past holidays. I haven't heard a peep from the other cousins, though, which is a good thing, but also a little juvenile, too. I'll explain:

The week before Thanksgiving, both of my problem-cousins posted a couple of those stupid political rants: one said "keep the immigrants, deport the Republicans" and another one was a quote of some politician or other saying that Republicans weren't inherently evil, but because of their greed they became evil, or something to that effect. Anyway, I had had enough, so I climbed on my soapbox and ranted a bit about how tired I was of being pigeon-holed and then vilified for my political association, etc. I might have mentioned how people I considered friends and family were no better than angry villagers, running wildly in a pack with their torches and pitchforks, looking for anyone to attack...Anyway, it has been oddly quiet ever since. No ridiculous political shares and no wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving either. Oh well, chalk it up as the price of peace, I guess. I'm not complaining, anyway :) I will consider it yet another accomplishment. So on that happy note, I leave you with a picture of L.O. sleeping with a Beanie-Baby parrot in my arms.

Milk Mustaches and Goatees

Yesterday was the first snow of the season, and although rather skimpy at just under three inches, still quite pretty. It also came with a winter weather advisory, which meant that it was much too cold to be out in it, but lovely to look at through the windows inside a toasty family room with a fire in the fireplace :) Of course I still had to take dogs out in it and also feed the cats out there, but it just made me appreciate the indoors more. And I didn't get a darn thing done all weekend, but that's not the only reason why...

I mentioned in a recent post that I've been taking care of some kittens in our carport and that I saw another mama cat with kittens in the immediate vicinity. Well, that particular mama cat, or at least I assume it is her, has abandoned a baby in that same planter mentioned in the post, (which is why I'm pretty sure it's her) The poor thing was left out in the cold sometime during Tuesday night and Wednesday morning right out in the open with no shelter. And it was so cold and windy! Hubby kept an eye on it for a while, and when he couldn't stand it any longer, went and got it. (LOVE that man!) Then upon noticing that it's eyes appeared matted shut, immediately took it to the vet. (I probably would have gently cleaned them myself first, but I tend to have a cooler head) And that is the story of how we came to belong to a tiny feline. I'm calling it Little One rather than she or he, because I can't tell if it is male or female yet - the vet seemed to think it was about 2 weeks old, but didn't take a look at the undercarriage, so being the cat novices that we are, we don't know. We will be going back in a couple of weeks for a check-up anyway, so hopefully we will get a definitive answer as to gender then. Little One is sweet and loving, and has its purr set on 'high'. After it has had it's milk and I've cleaned up paws and chin (quite an impressive milk goatee!) L.O. likes to snuggle up under my chin, purr and pat my face with tiny, soft paws.

Little One

Isn't that a sweet little face? No wonder we are all smitten :) ...Well, all of us except maybe the dogs...but they will adjust over time. L.O. is quite smart and has figured out the litterbox in the crate. The crate is quite large for a kitty cat, but just the right size for a Bassett Hound, so L.O. has plenty of room. I got to spend the whole weekend with the kitty while Hubby worked, but now he is off, so he gets to spend the day feeding and entertaining L.O. I texted him earlier and asked how it was going. Apparently they ate, played, and slept the morning away. 

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

"I'm sorry. I just can't do this anymore. I'd like to be able to say it's not you, it's me, but the reality is...it is you. I'm tired of the drama, the thinly veiled insults, the game requests. Why do people I don't even know want to friend me just because we happen to know someone in common? And, this is really shallow, I know, but your name - it's just weird. Things used to be great between us but what used to work in this relationship just isn't working anymore. I think it's time to say goodbye, Facebook"

I've been thinking about this a little bit, can you tell? It isn't hard feelings over being insulted by family - let's just say it was a contributing factor. I don't know that I will actually do it, but it's fun to think about. I probably will just do a really serious bit of house-cleaning instead.

I managed to swing an invite to the new social media site Ello and although I know absolutely no one there yet, I like it. The appearance and functionality appeals to the designer in me. And I even get the name :) It is simple and modern and no ads - a big plus! You can follow people as friends or as "noise" (general chatter). It's a system I like because they don't know how you have them classified at all, allowing you to filter through what you see without hurting feelings. You can click on Noise and visually skim through it all, landing on whatever looks interesting for a closer look. I have a bunch of invites I can send out, but the problem I see is that unless people are really fed up with Facebook, they probably won't leave it. Most people will stick with what's familiar even if it sucks. 

I personally don't really care for Twitter. I don't like using abbreviated speech/text patterns and I find it awkward. Also, it seems like it is mainly for celebrities and wanna-be celebrities. I think some people have a Twitter account so that they can post on celebs feeds and act like they are friends. And every company has a Twitter account, but has anyone beside me noticed that they don't respond to you if you have a real problem? I have tried to get info from Verizon, Belkin, and a few others about various situations, etc. and never get a response. A scenario pops into my head of a social media powered helpline in which a person, feeling invisible and voiceless, makes a post asking for someone to acknowledge their existence and gets ignored. (Yes, I have an appreciation for dark humor and irony)

Don't get me wrong - I'm not against social media at all. I just wish we had more control over it, better filters, etc. If your grandmother posts tons of pics of abused animals and your stomach can't take it anymore, what do you do? You can't 'un-friend' Grandma. You want to block the images, not Grandma, right? But right now the options are clumsy and wind up blocking more than the intended target. If there are more sophisticated filters available on Facebook that can weed out those offensive posts while leaving everything else intact, I sure don't know where they are. The filters they currently have in place are complicated and awkward and don't always work as expected. 

Okay, so I can't really quit FB because I have some friends and family there that wouldn't know how to function any other place. Well played, Facebook - well played. You've won this round, but I will do some tidying up and continue to contemplate my options.

On a Roll (Not the Kind You Butter)

I feel like complaining today. I think I have run across every inconsiderate moron in the world so far today, and the day is only half over. Is it really too much to ask that you stay in your own lane while driving? And what about texting and driving - have you not SEEN the commercials? It causes a person to become distracted and thereby fail to stop at stop signs! All that before work and it was two separate occurrences - not even the same person, if you can believe that! I wonder sometimes how these people survive at all. I assume it is because the rest of us are on the lookout for idiots such as these.

Okay, so since I'm on a roll: This is why I hate Bing: Clicking on any of the "stories" below the top third of the MSN home page leads you to, not a story, but to a page with search results. For example, at the top of the second third of the page is what you would think is an article entitled Find: Celebrities' Strange Final Wishes and a photo of Marilyn Monroe. If you click on that it takes you to a MSN Money page with a slider of photos. Clicking on  a photo gets you a blurb about a famous person  and then a bunch of links underneath where you have to do more clicking if you want to find out what the person actually stated in his or her will. That's ridiculous! And I don't care about what other people are searching for! I keep seeing these commercials about how different and better Bing is. Well, it's different alright! Half of the time it brings up search results that result in more searching. It makes me furious most times, and I don't agree that it is better. If you have to click more than twice to find out about a topic, then you're clearly not better than your competitor - just more frustrating. By the way, the only reason I am even on Internet Explorer is because its the only browser that is compatible with the death certificate site.

And furthermore: It's important to note that when attending a funeral or visitation, stay or go, but stop running in and out the door! Sometimes there is so much activity outside that I begin to wonder if someone brought a keg and is handing out beer from the back of a pickup. Another interesting tidbit is what passes for funeral wear for some folks: for women, any black skirt or dress, with or without stains, and flip flops, and for men, jeans with holes and any shirt with a collar, regardless of holes, stains, or cigarette burns. I had no idea strapless cocktail dresses with sequins and nine inch (pardon the expression however accurate) hooker-heels were appropriate funeral attire.

These things are all minor irritants, but what really has me upset is how friends and family - people who claim to love one another, now! - seem to lose all sense of respect and caring when it comes to politics. This past Tuesday was Election Day and the Democrats are mad because the Republicans are now in control and they are throwing all kinds of slurs out there and even calling their own fellow Dems stupid because they allowed the Republicans to gain ground. Members of my own family went as far as to call Republicans in general racists by the simple fact that they opposed Obama. By this so-called logic, if I say that I don't like the job Obama is doing as a president, or if I didn't vote for him that makes me a racist. Well, I didn't care for Bush either, what then? Two of my cousins posted on Facebook how stupid Republicans were and how they pretended to be Christian but in reality they were rich, racist poor-punishers, yada, yada, yada. I commented that, unfortunately, there was plenty of stupid going around on both sides and that Americans should vote according to the issues and the candidates's record, and not strictly by the party. Is that not sound advice? Shouldn't you know the issues and the candidates before casting your vote? I got blasted by one and then the other one ganged up on me with a "Well said, ____(insert other cousin's name here)!" These are two people that I love and respect whom I thought loved and respected me also. Apparently I was wrong because instead of offering a simple "I don't agree", I was blasted. I do happen to be a Republican, but that doesn't mean that I agree with everything they do as a party, and the last time I checked I was neither rich nor racist. My parents were not wealthy or anything like it, and they taught me that God did not see color when it came to people and neither should I. Honestly I don't closely identify with either of those two parties because they neither one resemble their original founding tenents, but if I want to vote in a primary election, I have to be registered as one of them. 

I'm also kind of incensed by the sweeping generalization that because I'm a registered Republican I'm also a fake Christian. My feelings have been wounded, and because of that, I haven't made any response to my "offenders". If I was only angry then I would have fired off something snarky and been done with it. But this hurts, and it came from an unexpected direction, too, so I'm still processing and haven't addressed the issue yet. I did, however, post on my feed a quote by JFK, which is probably too subtle for them to get, though: "Let us not seek the Republican answer nor the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future." And, um, yeah: he was a Democrat.

That Thankful Feeling

Now that it is November, it's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. A lot of people I know on Facebook are posting what they are thankful for everyday until the holiday and I think it's a nice way of forcing yourself to focus on all of the blessings instead of all of the crummy stuff. Am I doing it also? Well, no, but I still think it is a nice idea and just because I'm not posting it on FB doesn't mean I'm not being thankful every day ;)

Last year the Holidays were different with Hubby's parents having moved to Oklahoma. Peaceful, quiet and nothing burned. This year we'll have my cousin Larry with us. His wife left him, for the second time, and he felt like he had nothing in California to keep him there, so my dad (who is his uncle) flew back to California to help get him packed up and they drove back here. Larry lived here when he was a kid, so it isn't totally foreign, but he's lived in California so long, that I'm sure there will be some culture shock. He seems to be enjoying it so far, but of course it hasn't snowed yet.

My dad and Larry are not all that far apart in years, with my dad being the elder of the two. My dad now has some company around and someone to cook for him on a regular basis. Larry is an excellent cook and my dad is reaping the benefits of that talent. He is in hog-heaven because he doesn't have to cook for himself.

My relationship with Larry is different because he is a lot older than me - a grown man with kids my age to be exact. I always loved Larry even though he teased me mercilessly when I was little. There is a picture of one such occasion in which it is my birthday and he is insisting that the birthday cake is his and not mine. I of course, being the spitfire that I was, informed him hotly that it was MY cake! Funny what we remember. I can recall many of those types of conversations between us, but last Wednesday's dinner details are a little fuzzy.... He has had a couple of mild strokes, but it has left him different. Of course recent circumstances may play a part as well.He was always impulsive, brash, and boisterous. He's now more quiet and reserved and seems a little beaten down. I'm hoping that this change will be good for him and give him back his spark.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving and I'm already planning what to fix. Apparently Hubby is also, because on his day off he went shopping and picked out two turkeys - one for us and one to fix for the church Thanksgiving dinner. Last year we went simple since it was just us and my dad, but this year we'll have Larry and maybe even Chris and Stacy and the kids, so I want to do a little more. I'm taking the day before and the day after off as I have found out that it works better  that way. I can clean and do all of the make-ahead stuff that day so that I'm not a frazzled mess the next. Having the day after off is nice because then I can recover from all of the work and food from the day before.

Oh I remember last Wednesday now! We had McDonald's because parent teacher conferences were that evening. HUGE success, it was, and what a joy! Both of the boys had excellent evaluations and it is always heart-warming to hear how well your child is doing and what a pleasure they are to have in class. Our boys typically have good reviews, but still, the conferences are always something that cause apprehension. What if it's not good? What if?... you know the drill. "Anything can happen and probably will" is our motto when it comes to parent teacher conferences. That way we are prepared for the worst and overjoyed at the wonderful news that our children aren't deadbeats: they can read, write, and do math, and are not beating the living tar out of their classmates. Thumbs up - it's all good! We did have a little "attitude" trouble last year with our teen, but he has pulled himself out of it and is enjoying high school which is such a blessing. Freshman year can be such a scary, nerve-wracking time, and it is such a relief when kids adjust to it well. 

Okay, so let's see: I'm thankful for my family and friends, especially new old friends (you know who you are), and that my children are doing well in school; I'm thankful for my church family, opportunities to serve, and I'm thankful that I am able to put my talents to good use. I'm also feeling especially thankful for the upcoming holiday and the opportunity to spend a few days off with my family. On that note, I leave you with an image of last year's smoked turkey:

Hoodie Weather, Crazy Cat People, and the Warm Fuzzies

Fall is definitely in full swing here: the leaves are changing colors and the evenings are getting crisp. Of course during this time of climate transition, the temperatures swing from hot to cold like a hormonal hotflash. Hubby and I went for a ride on the new bike Saturday afternoon and it was downright hot! Then the next evening it was hoodie weather. But that is how it is here: hot one day and frost on the ground the next. Unpredictable, yep. But the trees are beautiful, and so I planned on getting a picture of the Maple tree in our front yard. It was a good plan, only it was super windy last night and most of the leaves that were on the tree are now on the ground, the street, the gutters, my neighbor's gutters...anyway, my tree is quite bare now. Instead I will post a shot I took last year at the park.

My crazy neighbor behind me has two gorgeous trees that miraculously appear as if they didn't lose any leaves in the wind last night. I'm sure if I try to take pictures of her trees she will no doubt photograph me photographing her trees and report me for suspicious activity. My kids have permission from our neighbor one house over to the North to play in the grass lot that adjoins Crazy's, and several times while out there playing catch or Nerf guns they have seen her taking pictures of them. Waiting for them to step foot on her property? Who knows, but if I catch her taking pictures of my kids, I will file a report, because that's just creepy. She's an odd one, that's for sure, and not just because of all the cats.

In all fairness, I don't feel that I can continue calling her the "crazy cat-lady" anymore. I say this because I have been feeding five kittens and Mama-cat who have moved from the crawl-space access to the carport. Actually buying bags of kitten food, not just food scraps or whatever. I found an old fleece scrap of material that I was going to do something with at one time, and put it out in the carport for the kittens. I try to do a head count every day, not easy when by some silent command they all scatter in different directions as if they KNOW what I'm doing. I worry if they are staying dry when it rains, and if they are warm enough on those chilly nights. I try to figure out ways to make their "den" more secure yet roomy for them. As if that isn't enough, now another mama-kitty has been to the food bowl and has been spotted carrying kittens into the planting bed just on the other side of our fence. Argh! These mama's apparently know a sucker when they see one. I'm going to have to start buying bigger bags of kitten food...

Recently I was asked by our youth pastor to go along on a day-trip to a mall in the city as an adult female sponsor. My teen who is in youth seemed glad that I was going to go with, and at the time I didn't think much of it. But I got asked to help with the youth lock-in this Friday (Halloween) and when I mentioned it to the family last night, I heard genuine excitement in my son's voice when he said "Awesome!" Which caused me to think back to the mall trip and realize that my teenage son still enjoys spending time with his mom and that made me feel really good - warm and fuzzy. My oldest son was much the same way until he moved away from home. Now I'm doing good to get a text! I must be doing something right, though if my boys want me to play video games and watch TV or movies with them. Good to know :)