Woolly Mutts

It's Monday morning and we can't see a thing.

It was beginning to clear when I took this picture, but when I woke up this morning I couldn't even see the tree line in the back.  Pea soup, I tell you.  Kind of a soggy way to begin a new week, though the mutts don't seem to mind.  Some rain yesterday made a big dent in the snow and I've seen multiple robins, so warmer temps and sunnier days aren't far off.  We must be patient.

It's been over a week since we last visited here in Muttville.  It's all good here....just couldn't think of anything much to say.  It's been a week of transition for me as I learn to live as a person with anxiety issues.  I have new drugs, which I REALLY did not want to take and now that I have can't imagine what my problem was.  I feel so much better.  I also have a new therapist, who is lovely and has made the process as easy as possible for me. 

So, rather than dwell on my crazy, I just want to tell you all that I'm good and getting better. Sometimes it takes a little crazy to head a person in the right direction. Onward to Spring!!!

We've evicted the family that lives in the basement.

I have lived in this house for almost 30 years. Amazing Husband joined me here a little over 11 years ago.  In that wild and vast time frame kids have come and gone and come back and gone again and with each arrival and departure stuff was added to our basement.  My stuff, his stuff, their stuff.  Sounds like a George Carlin joke, doesn't it? :-)  There are prom dresses and weight benches and computer bit and pieces.  We frequently joke that an entire other family could be living down there and we wouldn't even know.

Last week AH decided it was past time to get a handle on the basement and has been working to sort and pitch.  I have conveniently decided to play host to this lung ailment so I am unable to assist.  This is probably not such a bad thing because I don't think there is enough Zanax on the planet to help me deal with the mess.  (I have junk/clutter issues.)  Last garbage pickup had something like 15 bags of garbage (oh great god of this green planet, forgive my landfill contribution.  I promise my carbon footprint is below average.) and today this rag tag group of suitcases have hit the curb.  Our garbage pick up guy must wonder what the heck is up. When we get around to the Goodwill/Salvation Army donation they might have to build an addition to house it. 

Ah, but when it is finished there will be blessed organization.  Amen to that.

Random

I'm starting to feel a little guilty about how I have been neglecting this little blog.  My brain has been going in so many directions lately that I find that I have a hard time sitting here and making the words flow together.  A few random things....

 

*These two lovely people are still awaiting the birth of baby Cambria.  If she hasn't been born by Monday the 26th they will induce her.  Kysa is no longer working and that is making life in late pregnancy much easier.  We just keep waiting for that phone call. :-)

*I am still completely in love with my job.  It is much more physical than I expected (which is in no way a bad thing) so after a full day of on my feet and going up and down stairs to the store room I'm pretty used up.....still it's so great to be there.  Monday, which is generally my day off, I'm meeting my boss and the jewelry supplier at the store to do the buying for the holiday season.  Looking forward to seeing all the pretty things.

*Mother may be gone, but the red tape continues to wrap me up in knots.  Spent time at the Social Security office with no success at verifying her SS number.  There has been a great deal of signing and notarizing and mailing things certified.  Do your kids a huge favor and have all your financial ducks in a row before you pass.  Something as simple as not changing a beneficiary from my deceased father to me, and a typo in her SS# is causing me no end of grief.  Really looking forward to the day when I actually miss her, as opposed to being frustrated.

*Spending lots of time today putting the yard to bed for the winter and covering the hole that will be the pond next year (please let that be true).  The fish are in a large tank in the basement and I tell them regularly that they are on winter vacation in the Bahamas.  Good thing they have no sense of time. :-)

*Working my way slowly through An Echo in the Bone....the latest in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  As with all of her books, it is a wonderful read.

*Is anyone else watching Stargate: Universe?  What do you think?

Brand new week.

And....we are home.  It was a long drive back here, but it is always good to be home.  Each time we visit Minnesota I renew my vow to play the lottery, cause that is the only way enough money will  come our way to make Grand Marais our second home.  I would not want to move so far away from the kids and friends here, but I would sure love to have a place we could bring them all to so we could enjoy it together...and then come back to this home.

After vacation reality is some times hard to step back into.  I would love nothing more than to sit in this quiet house, knit, maybe kill a few zombies, and let the time go by lightly.  Instead, I have promised my boss that I would meet her in Janesville to buy jewelry for the store, and then I have errands to run.  I thought I had to go to the bank and Social Security office today(apparently my mother gave her broker the wrong social security number when she set up the account and now that number and the number on her death certificate do not match, so I must to verify the number before funds will be released... SO much fun) but, it is Columbus Day, so those things will have to wait until Thursday.  

I do not listen much to the news, nor do I read the newspaper.  If it isn't reported on NPR or The Daily Show, I probably don't know it's happening.  I find that I can sleep better this way.  The latest ridiculousness over President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize is the perfect example of why I choose to live this way.  It keeps me from wanting to run screaming in the streets.  That anyone can find contention in a prize honoring peaceful efforts makes me worry for the human race. Perhaps fear really is the biggest obstacle to peace.

19 days.

Following is the speed reader version of the last few days:

Weekend....house cleaning, laundry, a fast trip to Stitches where I discovered Carol Sunday and Sacred Laughter...lunch at Portillos.....a few episodes of Torchwood.   Treadmill viewing the last few days has been "City of Ember" which I highly recommend, especially for its Steampunk styling.  There has been lots of working from home, phone calls, plans for fair trade shopping trips made.....lots of stress over spending so much money that isn't mine. 

Busy morning and then to work at 1:00 where a HUGE Ten Thousand Villages order had just arrived.  Opened, tagged, organized, broke down boxes, wore myself out.  A homeless man came in begging to use the rest room and then disrespected it is so many ways I can't tell you.  Ugh.  Being kind bites you in the butt occasionally.  At least it was my boss who let him use it.  Got my first paycheck!!! :-) 

Celebrated a wedding anniversary with two of my favorite people on the planet...played some quick Plants vs Zombies, talked to another friend who had a fall in Target and NO ONE offered to help her. Something very wrong with that.

 Tomorrow I make my first shopping trip for the store alone.  Monday we are completely re-organizing the store to make room for all the new stuff coming in and tonight I'm a little nervous/excited about all the newness in my life.

Phew......and in 19 days (19 days!!) Amazing Husband and I will be going to the place pictured above to spend a few days breathing in Minnesota, watching the full moon out our window, and remembering what brings me joy and peace.  Bringing Mother along to commend her remains to the big lake.  She was the only person who loved Minnesota more than I do. 

The end of summer. (YAY!)

Back when we spent every summer at "the lake", Labor Day was the official end of summer, and in my mind, it still is.  This weekend I pulled out the Fall door wreath, did a little cleaning-laundry-groceries, but if we're being honest, I spent the majority of the time doing this:

Plants vs Zombies.  I blame Jorge Garcia (Hurley on LOST). He blogged about his own personal addiction to the game a couple of times and curiosity got the better of me.  Once you start playing it's almost impossible to stop.  Consider this fair warning.  Amazing Husband has it even worse than I do....for almost 3 days he's been trying to keep his brains from being eaten with considerable success.  Me?,...I've been Zombie dinner many, many times.  I took a break today to do a little work (it's a labor of love) and weed through some growing paper work, but pretty soon I'll be back to spitting flaming peas at bucket wearing zombies.  Awesome. Seriously awesome.

Things I am digging right now.

*Walgreens now carries the body care line from EcoTools.  I wish I could find a link, but as usual, I'm in a bit of a hurry and Google is not cooperating. Anyway, EcoTools first began with a series of eco friendly and cruelty free makeup brushes of which I use the eye liner brush.  (fabulous!)  Now they have this line of body care products that are 98% natural.  You can purchase a travel/starter set to see if you like them and right now there is a $2 off coupon right on the package.  I LOVE these products.  Reasonably priced, kind to the planet, and do what the claim to do.  Sort of a fruity/floral fragrance.

*We are a household that includes a few animals and I am a bit anal about how the house smells.  Thank you Yankee Candle for providing long burning, great smelling candles.  This year I found a new scent for Fall called Autumn Fruit. First of all, it's purple.  Purple.  Cool in itself, but the fragrance is delicious.  Fruity, sure, but also that hint of Autumn that can't be defined. LOVE!

*Garrison Keillor, in one of his lovely stories, talked about how in high school he was a sci-fi geek cause, well, at 17, earth wasn't really working out for him.  Earth works just fine for me, but I admit that I, too, am a sci-fi geek.  Not sure if Defying Gravity falls into that category completely, but it is about space travel.  Sunday nights at 9:00 central on ABC (that was a shock).  This television series is co-produced by Canada, Germany, and the UK and is shown on their tv line-up as well as ours.  Smart, interesting characters, thought provoking....I'm hooked.  It began airing early in August, but you can catch up on all the early episodes on Hulu. (Do you hulu?) I suppose I should not be surprised that ABC is already talking about cancelling it, but I sill have hope. 

*Baby Showers.  Kysa had her first, hosted by the lovely ladies above, on Sunday.  My sister Kathy is on the left and BFF Trina on the right.  It was a fun day and Kysa got some fabulous gifts.  I think there ought to be Grandma showers. :-)

*New hair.  I think I dig it.  The pic on left is the before, click to see larger.  It was LONG, but I admit that I was sort of attached to it.  Yesterday, after thinking about it for weeks, I took the plunge and had my hairdresser cut if off.  I still freak out a bit when I walk past a mirror and shorter does not mean easier maintenance, but overall I'm happy.  Regrettably, less hair does got give me more neck, but some things we must learn to live with.

*New jobs....of which I must get to.  Hugs all around!

Still around

I apologize for the lack of recent posts.  To be honest I just haven't felt like it.  I have had a tendency of late to be a bit of an Eeyore and I didn't want to whine.  Whining is never pretty, so I opted for silence instead. 

I've had a stomach virus this past few days.  It came complete with a fever and lots of aches along with the requisite symptoms that define a stomach virus.  I'm starting to feel better.  I did sway a bit while getting a manicure this morning, but perhaps it was dehydration.  Whatever, I do feel a bit more stable now.  The thing is that while I am sure that the stomach virus was real, I think perhaps that my body is how I am expressing how sad I am.  When I can't seem to do what other normal folks do, which is cry out their sorrow, my body finds other ways....cause you know...it has to come out...all that sad.  I can't keep it forever. 

We hit the 4 month mark since my mother's death last week. I try not to keep track of things like that, but it's hard not to.  Her ashes have yet to be anywhere other than here in my room, on the floor next to me.  Her monies will not be dispersed for another 6 months or so and I'm feeling like that 4 month mark should have more to show for it.  A few steps closer to closing the door on the last details.  I must learn to become a more patient woman.

Today, though, on this rainy, chilly day that she would have hated like crazy, but I love, I think I miss her.  In fact, I know I do and the sad truth is that up until today I can tell you that I have not.  The last month of her life was so difficult for me that I have felt very little except relief at her passing.  Today, as I struggle to regain some of my old self, as I pull the beginnings of Autumn around me, I miss her and I think maybe that is a good thing.  I hope so. 

Back to life as usual.

Wednesday morning, sun is shining, though the forecast is for storms later in the day.  Hope they are correct.  A good storm would do us all good.  The last several days have been so packed with emotion that it feels good to just post about life in the norm here.  We did manage to fit a movie in over the weekend and our choice was District 9.

This film was not at all what I expected, though I can't say if that is a good or bad thing.  Quick synopsis: alien mother ship appears to be stalled over Johannesburg, South Africa and after some waiting to see if it would go away, the residents decide to go up and find out what was going on.  They found a ship of aliens who were starving and brought then all back down to earth and set them up in a shack community they call District 9.  The first half of the film was so disturbing to me that I almost asked AH if we could leave.  The aliens were so repulsive and the situation so...well I think disturbing is the best word I can come up with.  By the end of the film I was fully on the side of the aliens hoping that a good number of humans would get what they deserved.  It was a deep film with areas of beautiful African music and perhaps a bit of a commentary on Apartheid which was particularly difficult to watch.  We talked about it for a long time afterward and I still find myself thinking of it and hoping that the aliens found their way home.  I recommend it, but with the caution that it is NOT a film for children or for the very sensitive.  Where films like Independence Day and MIB take the alien possibility and make it funny or explosive, District 9 meets it on an extremely human, and probably more truthful level.  As always, if you see it I'd love to hear your opinion.

A gentle Wednesday.

It's raining here today.  A gentle, steady fall of drops that the earth absorbs with pleasure.  I was planning to go over to the Edgebrook Farmer's Market and get a few things for a dinner salad, but instead I think I will stay home and light candles and read books.  Wednesday is the day of the week that I think of as my gentle day.  It's true that I need to cook a meal for family dinner night, and perhaps do a bit of house cleaning, but on Wednesday I try and let time go lightly for me.  The rain is a perfect compliment to that. Reminds me of that song that Tom Chapin sang "Let Time Go Lightly".  You can listen to it here. Always makes me smile to listen to it. (sending out some special love to Steve and Trina)

So, since I have nothing of worth to talk about today except rain and music about old friends I'll leave you with a the latest *Bump Watch* pics.  24 weeks. I know for sure that I was NEVer this cute while preggers.