Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sad Good-bye

I've said my good-byes over at I Was Thinking... .

Call me strange, but at midnight on the 31st, I'm going over to watch the final seconds tick by...

I have some life changing memories from there that will always stay with me!

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Monday, October 20, 2008

Meme, Meme, Meme....

Okay, just one for right now. A short one.

Name the seven place you go most frequently each week and list the distances from your door.
1. My most frequent client- 15.1 miles one way. 7 days a week.
2. Second-most frequent client- .9 miles one way. 3 days a week.
3. Post Office-1.2 miles one way. 5-6 times a week.
4. Glen's Market-the local grocery store-.8 miles one way. Once or twice a week.
5. Houghton Lake-for the major bi-weekly shopping- 20-26 miles one way(depending on what stores I hit).
6. St Vincent DePaul, the thrift store- .7 miles one way. 1-2 times a week.
7. The State Park at the lake-8.7 miles one way. Not so much now, but 4-5 times a week in the summer. The bonus is that it's between here and #1.

Yeah, I do alot of driving, so I'm very happy to see that gas prices are finally down to $2.99 today. The state average is at $2.81, and the national average is lower than that, but I can't remember what it was, right now.
The kittens are getting rambunctious. Chasing each other, growling over the food dishes, and following me to the car, when I leave the house. They're scared of the noise my car makes, so they go running back to the porch as soon as I start it. Tonight 2 of them came running out to greet me when I got home from work. How sweet. ::sigh::
I'm in the mood for soups, and chili. I made some corn chowder over the weekend that turned out really good. That got me thinking about what adaptations I could make, corn and peas with bacon chowder, winter vegetables(broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts) with smoked sausage chowder, all with potatoes, onions and mushrooms. And potatoes are on sale this week-15lbs. of russets for $3.99! I need a bigger freezer. Or guests!
Well, I'm on battery and it's about out of power, so I'll say good night and...

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Where else?

Where else but here? Whether it's our new home, or back in the old digs, where else can you find such diversity brought together. (Dannelle, I got this idea after reading your entry, hope you don't mind)
What does this mean to me? It means that I can say, "Well, you know, I have a friend in (fill in the blank) that had 110 degrees today." Or think to myself, I've met so many people that have broadened my horizons, inspired me to write, improve my vocabulary, THINK about things from more than just the perspective of the confines of my insular, small town life. I've come to realize that there are so many things in life that I know so little about. It ignites the fire-the desire- to learn, study, dream.
If there had been a place like this 35 years ago, that I could have been a part of, I may have had the inspiration to be more than, or at least something different than what I am today. Who knows?
I do know that I seem to be in a place in my life where I want to learn more. I know that the knowledge is just for my thirst for learning, more than anything else. Just for me.
Bro gave me a birthday card-the message outside-Have a "cat" kind of birthday. The message inside-Do anything you damn well please. His message-You do anyway! Well, he's right, I do.
I'm 53, have memory retention problems, can read something and forget it by the next day. But I keep reading, keep trying to learn. I think small portions of it stay with me, and if I keep at it, eventually I'll remember most all of it. And I'm doing it all to please "me".
And where else but here, can I read small town news, global problems, thoughts on politics, all about the grandkids, anniversaries, weather from east to west, north to south, all from the personal views of the writers here.
For what could be termed a small community-we certainly are global.
Where else?
Just some thoughts floating through my mind while I'm sitting here waiting for the potatoes to cook, for the corn chowder and corn bread/muffins dinner tonight.

~Thanks For Stopping by~

Friday, October 17, 2008

As I venture into the future~

As birthdays go, today was kinda quiet. But it was a good day.
I had 2 short shifts: 10-12 and 4-7.
I came home to a birthday dinner of Baked Rainbow Trout, hash browns, and biscuits. Courtesy of Bro. For his birthday a couple weeks ago, I made a roast and brownies for him.
The backyard neighbor joined us. She's been behaving lately.
Dessert was homemade popcorn with real butter and salt, which I made, cuz I make it better than Bro. Yum. I've been talking about making popcorn for about a week!
They're watching movies, and I'm here, and now it's tomorrow!
I talked to Son last night(well, Wed. night), he had classes all day today(yesterday) and wanted to wish me Happy Birthday and apologize for my gift being late-today(Friday) maybe.
And that's about it for the celebrating.
On birthdays, don't we all reflect on the last year, envision everything we want to do and accomplish for ourselves over the next? Well, I'm no exception.
I just have a good feeling about my life for the next year. I don't doubt that there will be some struggles and hard times, but I believe that I'll weather them just fine.
I expect it will be a long winter, but I'm ready. I think this is the year of enlightenment for me. I'm going to take the time to do some things for "me". Come spring, I'll be ready to have some adventures, camp, kayak, go places and spend time at the beach(of course).
Whether it's your birthday or just Friday, think about it. What do you want for yourself in the next year?
~Thanks For Stopping By~

How about a quickie

Okay, not like that.....

Just a quick note that Magic Smoke is Here!

http://jlandhub.blogspot.com/

Stop by there and pass the word on.

Thanks!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Reflections

It was October 16th, 1955, 1:05am. In the community hospital, in a small northern Michigan town, life has just changed for one young woman. And a new life has just begun. A connection has been created, a bond that reaches past the depths of time.
For the young mother, the time with her brand new daughter will be short. Only 12 years. It will, however be enough to teach the fundamentals of life. Compassion, kindness, love, respect and honesty. She'll share things, teach her daughter how to craft a scarf out of a ball of yarn, sew on a button, how to make crispy pickles, blueberry jam, and how to put love in everything she does.
The ravages of cancer and the treatments they tried, to cure it, will end the physical bond. But the love, the eternal bond between mother and daughter will reach past the boundaries of time and place.
The daughter will grow up, stumble and fall, pick herself back up, make mistakes, and move on with her life, live by the standards taught to her in that short time. Or try her best to.
Every year, on this date, the bond feels the strongest. The memories, the image, the essense of that mother-daughter relationship lives on. The basic foundation of the lessons taught so long ago, still lives deep within her heart.
Every year on this date, the daughter remembers the dignity, inner strength, the will to live a good life, the love. The shining example of how to be.... And every year she misses her mother so much.
On this date-October 16th, 2008, I wish to honor the memory of the woman who in those 12 short years, built a foundation that remained steady and strong beneath my feet, in my heart. Honor the woman who was not perfect by any means, yet through the mists of long ago memory, left an indelible impression. And for that, I will be forever grateful.
I may not have had her guidance through some of the hardest years of my life, but I had that foundation she built, a foundation that saved my life, my sanity, my heart, gave me hope.
The least I can do is live a life that shows the compassion, integrity and love that she taught. To be the kind of woman she would be proud of.
Today, Mom, I send you love. I dedicate this entry to you. Thank you for all you were.

There is no stone to mark your passing,
To show the world you were here.
There is only the legacy of love,
carved deep in our hearts.
The memories of years.
And that is enough.

For Barbara Jean

So far, so good.

This entry is one of those that fall in the 'day to day' category.
Monday felt kind of wasted to me, I couldn't seem to focus on much of anything for any length of time. It was just a "day". I hate that.
The highlight was watching a little of the Monday Night Football game between the Giants and the Browns. I've been a football fan since I was a little girl, watching the Lions with my daddy. When I moved to Ohio, I became a Browns fan as well as a Lions fan. Can you be a true fan of more than one team? I'd like to think so. I try to be, and can carry it off until they face each other. Then, I'm just torn, I want both my teams to win, and well, that's just crazy! Thankfully, they don't play against each other very often. I don't get to watch as much football as I'd like, but I try to keep up. But then again, this year(and several of the past), the Lions just plain SUCK! I'm hoping for better seasons in the near future.
Yesterday was a good day. It was beautifully sunny, with an autumn chill in the air. I had a client from 10-12, then headed out for the licenses and shopping, finishing up my outing with my 4-7 shift.
I do have one question. Why? Oh Why, do driver's license photos "have " to look so bad? I vowed this year would be different, this year I'd look more like a person who isn't posing for a police lineup. I signed the forms, passed the eye test, stepped behind the tape line on the floor and composed my face into a pleasant little smile. The clerk told me to look at the little flower picture taped just below the camera lens, and then began to fiddle with something, taking forever to snap the picture. I began to go a little cross-eyed, felt my brows begin to slide down into a squint and then all of a sudden she says "smile". My concentration was broken, I looked up and started to open my mouth and the flash went off. OH NO! Not another 4 years of "the worst picture of me, ever". I'm not looking forward to getting the result in the mail in 2 weeks. ::sigh::
I stopped at a dollar store, and found a nice little daily planner(actually, I bought 2) that will let me write in larger than microscopic scrawls. The plan is to start writing down my efforts to get organized, and this had a page a day format, is small enough to fit in my bag. I've carried one of those that display a week over 2 pages, and there was never enough room to fit what I needed to in those little spaces. It's undated, so I started it with yesterday's date, and will work on filling in the rest today. I Will use it every day, and take Katie's suggestion to place it by the coffeemaker, so it's one of the first things I see in the morning. I just have to remember to carry it with me when I leave the house. :) Thanks Katie!
I finished the shopping, picking up a few items for Bro and my afternoon client, had a "bad for you, but yummy" lunch, and went to my afternoon client. They gave me a sweet little birthday card(it's Thursday) and we spent more time chatting than working. That is an integral part of my job. Many of my clients don't see anyone but me for days at a time. And I do so enjoy it. There's just something about hearing about other peoples lives, their memories, that intrigues me. If I'd had my sh#& together when I graduated high school, I'd be an anthropologist now.
Oh, and gas prices are falling fast. I paid $3.05 a gallon. Yippee. That eases the burden my transportation to work puts on my puny little paycheck.
I sent Son an e-mail about Grandmother, couldn't get him on the phone. I also listened to some music with Bro, who really loves his music, and is very knowledgable. He's frustrated about the layoff happening so early this year, and needed some distraction, so I got the lowdown on Tool. A very productive day-Yay for me!
Today, I'm just spending some time online, catching up with journals, filling out my new little planner, and just taking it kind of easy till work at 4. At least that's the plan! ;)

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Monday, October 13, 2008

Well, Happy Columbus Day-sort of!

Phffttt.....
I had plans for today, things I needed to do that will have to wait till tomorrow, and Wednesday. ::sigh::
I completely forgot about the holiday, had planned to go take care of errands today-only have one 4-7 shift. I was proud of myself for setting up all this so that I have time this week for other activities.
I'm usually a very disorganized "last minute lucy" when it comes to things like bill paying, laundry, or things with any kind of deadline. I have my auto insurance set up to automatically come out of my checking account on time, have my pay direct deposited, just to make things easier, but if I have to do it myself, it gets put off or sometimes even forgotten till the last minute or even late.
So here I am with all this time today, but no money, it's not technically deposited till business tomorrow. I can't go do the laundry, get my license plates and renew my drivers license, pay my storage unit(which was due yesterday, but they were closed), get groceries, or take that scenic drive to my afternoon client. ::heavier sigh::
I started a private blog for the catch-all stuff, entry ideas, rough drafts, and reminders to myself. I've been checking out some of the gadgets, trying them on that journal. There's some really neat things there.
I'm still trying to figure out how to add a hit counter, it keeps saying there are illegal symbols in the URL and rejecting my attempts. I must be missing something, some step, or click. Maybe later.
I'm gonna go catch up on reading journals, and have to send an e-mail to Son. I got a letter from his grandmother(ex-MIL) asking me for his new phone number and address. He'll have to take care of that himself. I'm not wasting postage on the woman.(I still resent the way I was treated by her) Anyways, I'll be back later....

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Look, that's me!

Well, the short one on the right. The tall one on the left is my handsome Son.
I've got to thank my nephew, Potsey for helping me with this. Something else I need to learn how to do!
Now for the hit counter.
:) Leigh

The Invasion!

The weather forecast is for perfect Indian Summer days this weekend! Yay! The leaves are almost at peak for color change, high temps in the low to mid 70's. I'll be headed outside to enjoy it, maybe get a (skip the rest of this sentence, camera pros) disposable camera and take some pictures. (Son cringes when I use those words)
Our yard has been invaded-by bouncing, running, jumping, inquisitive kittens. They're 6 weeks old now, and their little legs are strong and almost sure as they scamper all over the place. And I do mean ALL over the place. I've fished one out from behind the trash bin(the box we have to put the trash bags in, to keep animals out), coaxed the boys out from under my car, so that I could leave for work, and cleaned up spilled cat food more times than I care to count.
They're starting to eat the dry food we put out for Mom and haven't learned that "all you have to do is put your head in the bowl", yes, I've been telling them that. A flat tray with a big rock in the middle has cured the problem for now. They sure are cute, though.
Speaking of Son, I've IM'd a few times with him this last week. He's doing well in school, except for the life drawing class. He's got some habits and techniques to change and is "just doing so-so." I pointed out to him that he's been drawing that way for almost 20 years, be patient and don't get discouraged.
I've been working on adding the hit counter. The gadget window kept telling me there was illegal code in the URL. ::sigh:: I gave up last night and will try again tonight. I'm going to find a course "for dummies" for one of my winter projects. I'm tired of just stumbling around.
The economy woes are invading our house. Bro got laid off yesterday, a whole 6 weeks early. He works for an excavation company and the housing market disaster has hit the building industry hard in our area.
::Heavy sigh:: Now I'll have him underfoot at home. I enjoy my quiet, private time during the day when he's at work. I'll have to encourage him to go hunting or fishing or something. JUST GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!
I'm heading out to enjoy the weather, hope you all have a great weekend! And as always...

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Friday, October 10, 2008

Tech-Dummy Question-

How do I add a hit counter to my blog, where do I find one? All help is greatly appreciated!
:) Leigh

Oh, I forgot...

~Walking In My Shoes, Honestly~ is here! lol I'm so scatter-brained right now.

Moving Day

It's kinda funny, just think about it for a minute(I mean me-think). Moving has been the impetus for 2 of the 3 blogs I have. (In a roundabout way all three)
I started "I Was Thinking..." when we were getting ready to move. With all the details, hitches, physical labor, and mental thought processes involved, wanting to start a public journal, this was my material for the beginnings of my first venture into being a blog-author.
Then came "~Walking In My Shoes, Honestly~". Another move, but a more internal move into creating a healthier self-perspective. Sharing my thought processes and progress with all the wonderful friends I've made over the last year or so.
"My Thoughts, Honestly" was created as a result of the news that AOL Journals was closing it's doors. I AM ADDICTED TO JOURNALS! Not just necessarily mine-but the concept in general. So there had to be a new outlet created. And in those early days I wasn't really sure what I was going to do about moving the others over to our new home, so a third journal was born.
Here I am now, with all my journals safely tucked into one host. I've been one of the fortunate ones. My journals moved without a hitch. I didn't have to change the names, just added "The Memories" to "I Was Thinking..." to mark it as an archived journal. And who knows, I may add entries to it from time to time, we'll see.
I have yet to decorate, fiddle with colors, add the "stuff", and add them to my reading list, but the passport's been stamped, the boxes are all over the place, and I'll work on settling in and start living here.
I have to go back and clean out the old places, spend a few minutes in contemplation of what they have meant to me, and say good-bye. It seems there are always endings associated with beginnings. The optimism of the new start, tinted with the melancholy of heart for what has ended.
I was going to delete everything, cut the ties myself, rather than just let AOL send my writing into oblivion. Then another journaller(Dan, from Slapions) wrote an entry on the movie "Titanic" and I rethought my decision. I'll craft a good-bye entry for both public journals, delete the private one that I used for a clearinghouse of thoughts, and go down with the ship. I'll be right there with the orchestra that stood ondeck and played their instruments to the bitter end. I've got my lifejacket on and we already know that I'll be rescued-I'm here, aren't I? I know, corny, but it's early and my mind is wandering into the fanciful.
I've been gathering some inspiration, making notes for new entries, the whole of it on hold, till I knew I'd arrive with all my past glorys(is that right?) safely delivered. I'll have to remember to tip the delivery guys-they did a pretty good job, nothing was lost.
Now, I think I'll go fiddle with the colors(I love painting) and "stuff", add my journals to my "I'm reading" list and make myself at home.

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Monday, October 6, 2008

Another successful computer lesson for me! Well, sort of.
I saved my journals to a word processing program. I didn't try to separate it by pages, just copied whole sections at a time. I may go back a fiddle with it later, try to separate by entry, and add comments. Even if I have to type them in myself. That, to me is one of the integral parts of this journaling adventure.
AOL alerts sure have been quiet lately. Kind of like a ghost town. Just a few still writing there. I still have more journals to add to my "I'm reading" list. If I missed yours, please let me know. I don't want to lose any.
Short entry, gotta go shower and work for a couple hours.
My words are returning. For those that didn't read the entry in "Walking" , I was having trouble expressing myself, going through some depression. I've been working on coming out the other side of that, and in a way the closing of J-Land may be helping. Gotta go...
~Thanks For Stopping By~

Friday, October 3, 2008

October Days

I slept in this morning till 7:25. Very late for me. I was up late, up in the middle of the night for an hour or so, I guess I needed it. It's just weird to wake up with it already light outside.

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. The sky is that autumn blue that carries just a touch of silver undertone. Temps will be in the low 50's, so it's sweatshirt time. I think I'll pack a lunch and head to the State Park for awhile before my 4pm shift. The water takes on an especially deep blue as it gets colder, and it'll be nice and quiet there.

The nights will carry the frosty temps below 30. I put an extra blanket in with the kitties and worried about them(probably why I was awake at 4am.), but they seem to have done okay. I still don't know what's going on with them finding new homes yet. Potsey's got classes all week, and his girlfriend is in Chicago till later today. They'll both need nudged to get them taken care of. I'm worried.

I am finding my way around here better. Still have some decisions to make about migrating and saving my other journals. I have a terrible habit of procrastinating. This may help me break that habit. It will at least improve my computer skills!

Short and sweet is the catch phrase for today, I've got some things to do before I head to the lake. So, as always...

~Thanks For Stopping By~

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

WooHoo!!

Hey, look what I did. I added a photo. The thing is-I did it completely by accident. I was just looking at what to do clicked on the pic I wanted and poof. Who knew?

Well, day 2 has me trying to follow everyone, and just figure this all out better. I'm so proud of me! I haven't deleted anything major yet, which is always a good sign in my book.

Did I tell you that we were feeding a stray cat? She showed up one day and Potsey's girlfriend fed her, so she adopted us(for the free food). Well, they're supposed to be finding her a home, only now the situation's just a little bit more complicated.

I discovered that she has 3 kittens. Very adorable kittens just about a month old. I would love to keep one, but don't have the money for the extra security deposit. Or the vet bills. I did name them, though. The little girl is Cleo-as in Cleopatra-with lines around her eyes that look like heavy eyeliner. The 2 little boys are Marc(he's the only one with a black mark on his nose) and you guessed it, the other boy is Anthony(Tony for short). ::sigh:: I've tried not to get attached, they have to leave here.

Well, that's it from this front, for now.

~Thanks For Stopping By~