Apartment stuff.

Been having issues with not having enough outlets or space around my computer for my stuff. Part of that is simple laziness on my part. I used to be fine, but got tired of always having to plug/unplug my various USB cords for my camera, Zune and other little electronic trinkets. I also have a cat who hangs out on the top of my computer desk, and uses my printer as a sounding board on the way up and down. not good for the printer. So, this morning I did a little measuring and swapped out two shelving units. Although this does nothing for the outlet shortage, it protects my printer quite nicely and give me a little more storage space. Now I simply want to find some nice lidded containers to place some of my junkier things in so I can visually tidy things up. This is the before picture.

This is the after picture.

Also, I was inspired by Lady Mockingbird and a lamp shade she is making from copper wire and beads. So, I sat down and pulled out my beads and some floral wire, and spruced up the bottom of my reading lamp. Now it is all shiny and sparkly!

My manager called me into the office yesterday as I was leaving work. She gave me a card with a $100 visa gift card in it. She had gotten a bonus for the year, and every time she gets one, she shares it with the managers. *blink* This is the first boss I have had that has recognized that she couldn't do it without others in a TANGIBLE way. Not just words, but a little sumthin' sumthin'. All I can say is wow! She asked me to please spend it on something that was fun and would make me happy, so I promised her I would. I have made my first purchase; two ginormous bags of really good dirt for my garden. The first I dumped into my compost bin and mixed with a half bag of fish fertilizer that had been sitting in a bin for years. I will give that three weeks to percolate, then dig it into my garden and plant. Not sure where I will put the second one. Might save it for the front beds, where I plan on mixing edible flowers with garden yummies. Oh, the gardening possibilities!

House cleaning and such.

I haven't been posting much because I haven't been doing much of interest. Yeah, I've been doing things like paying bills, working, and some swaps, but I ALWAYS do that, and figure you guys are tired of hearing about it.

Three super things have happened in the last few weeks, though. The first is that My dear friends- Bill and Liz- came down for a visit. They brought me a full sized mattress and box spring from the lake cabin that was waaaaay to hard for them, but that I fell in love with last August. So, I now have a bed that doesn't hurt my back, and I fit on it much better when there are kitties dotting the bed covers.

The next thing that has happened (actually a handful of times now) is we have had warm enough and sunny enough weather to allow me to open up the apartment and get the stink of winter out. There has been much spring cleaning and whatnot, and I even finally moved the new bed over to where the old bed was, thus freeing up my living/dining/studio room. It is quite nice to have that space free again, and to have a house that smells all nice and clean.

Smudge enjoyed my cleaning because it meant chairs in the sun with rugs on them. Those are nice places to snooze.

The other really awesome thing is, I attended my first foraging class! Watch out wild edible plants, here I come! It was most fun, and I have a stack of books I am browsing through every night.My teacher has been doing this for 30 years, and has degrees in biology, botany, and other plant and food related things. He's funny and easy to understand, and gets classroom participation very easily. I am hoping to teach others in Vernonia what I have learned, since money is tight and if you can pick it for free, why not then?

So, that has been my life lately. There has been a lot of early mornings at work and lots of reading of books. Other than that, I am simply gearing up for the end of spring, when I can plant and hike without getting soaked, and enjoy sun on my skin.

Spring

This is my least favorite season. I know that sounds strange to a lot of people, but to me this is simply an in-between time. Warm weather is not yet here, but it's no longer quiet, peaceful wintertime. This is when Nature's alarm clock is going off, and all I want is to hit the snooze button until I HAVE to get up.

I appreciate Mother Nature trying to disguise all the mud and rain and grey in-between-ness by dotting the place with flowers and such, but mostly she is simply trying to distract you from the fact that she has been able to let herself go for a few months. Now her legs are hairy, she needs a visit to the hair salon, a shower, and her old flannel pajamas and ratty house robe need to go back into the closet. The sun is rising earlier and earlier, and people are actually looking for her. She is in demand again, and there is no more hitting the snooze button for her, either.

Me, I have a little more time.

Her distrattions are rather adorable, though.

Spring is starting to flaunt it!

Note to self: Do not remove coffee grinder lid until grinder has stopped. Completely.

Vacation snap shots!

I have about half my photos up, so if you wnat to peak, here is a link to my facebook album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54775&id=1791798792&l=ec8498559a

There will be more in the next day or so.

I adore my attorney!

We have been exchanging emails and phonecalls the last week. We finally wrapped up this round last night. I ended my email with;

"It's Friday, and I have been home a whole hour and still don't have a glass of wine and plate of nachos in front of me yet. It's a cryin' shame!"

I had a response from him this morning, which started my day off just right!

"Remember: pair Cool Ranch w/ a good Chardonay and Chipotle Doritos w/ Merlot (or Cuervo). Don’t be gauche and make any faux pas. Your cat might resent it."

Hehehe!

Proud of myself!

January is my month to get things in my home life tidy and ready for the New Year. I was just looking over my 2 page list of projects I wanted to accomplish last year, and only transferred 4 items to this years list. The rest I accomplished, with perhaps the exception of about 6 that no longer held interest for me.
Wow!
This years list was just finished, and there are only 14 items on it. I know I will be adding a few more, but compared to coming up with 2 pages in on sitting last year, that is a phenominal accomplishment for me! Of course a handful of items are time intensive, all year projects. Like learning to forage, finding good places to do so, and getting some mad gardening skills. However, I can take those skills with me wherever I go, and it's more like play to me that work, so I won't feel the 'have to' like I do with other things. The choice to consolidate my email accounts, journals, etc and my little bitty spending here and there has felt 'right' as well. I am actually looking forward to freezing my Netflix for a month and seeing how I do. Betting the reading and resting time will increase, along with crafting. Internet is one thing I will not give up. I will keep my high speed connection. I pondered going back to dial up when my 1 year deal with Frontier expires, but with everything I have to do online for work and life, it is worth the money.

Not bad for a mornings work. Off to sort piles and pet kitties and such.

What?!! two thousand-elebanty already??!!

I brought in the new year (or as close to it as I could) making a cool puzzle with Mary Lou and others at the fire station. It was nice to be surrounded by friends, all chattering away about this that and what-not; friends that had nothing to do with my job. I needed that.

I have been cleaning and getting things straightened up from the holiday season. This includes getting my pictures of the burn up on Facebook. here is a link for you.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49387&id=1791798792&l=3e6833a235

There will be another house going down, and I will try and find out when so I can attend. I want to see this one light up the sky!

All is still snowy and well in my neck of the woods. I have my pile of books by the bed, and have added a small note pad so I can jot down other books recommend by those books. I will be freezing my Netflix account next month to see if I can live without. I feel I am starting to spend to much time watching. Might be time to call it quits for a while.

Slowly putting away my Christmas gifts. I am a lucky girl. I can now see how unbelievably cold it is outside without opening the door. Thanks Dave and Beth! Right now it is a balmy 24F. I think I'll leave a bit early for work so I can avoid the slip and slide.

These are pictures I took in my front yard yesterday morning about 6:30am. Enjoy!

So, a few weekends ago I watched several fire districts come together and burn a house down just a couple blocks from where I live. I have a huge amount of really great pictures, but I'll limit my sharing to a handful.

It was very interesting to watch them set up, organize everything and run drills. I have even more of a burning desire to try on a suit and try it myself. I might even be able to make that happen. I'm working on it.

They set up pools to hold the water for the drill, and carted the water in from town. It took 2 tankers apiece to fill each tub. This water was sucked into the engine and pushed out the hoses. Nice little get up!

Anyways, here are some pics. Enjoy! I did. *smiles*

So, I did most of my Christmas decorating this last week. I finished the inside, and am going to finish the outside this weekend. Just need another extension cord...My Window of Joyous Lightage!

My tree of Glorious Pinkness!

I also painting a little decorating I bought 2 years ago, and covered bits of it with happy, sparkly glitter, and I put out various little trinkets and whatnot's. I hung my Snowflakes, and I am done. It's not much but I love it.

I have the nativity that Lady Mockingbird gave me; the one with the pissed off baby Jesus. Love it! Giggles galore every time I see it!

This made my entire day worthwhile!

Our weekly merchandise trucks are huge this time of year. Last week it took us 3.5 hours to get the truck unloaded. However, for most of that time, I had this to look at

and that made me smile and giggle. Yep! There was a leak in the truck wall, and it froze these boxes of freight to them and I couldn't get them off. We had to cut them open where they were and take the freight out. Hahahaha!

I think I have about 3 inches of snow. Should be fun driving today. They have been plowing the roads on and off all day, so I'm not worried. From the sounds of it, this is the winter I have to look forward to, so I might as well suck it up and get used to it. Can't hide in town for the next three months.

Off to shower and get ready for work. I charged my camera battery, so I should be snapping some pretty pictures on the way home today. Stay tuned!

Eeeeeeeeevil!

This is a picture (poor, but adequate enough) of my finger pointing at the first flakey-flake of evil. Wonder what things will look like when I head to work tonight at 10:30pm?

Happy dreams

Not sure what he's dreaming about, but I know it's a good dream!

Apparently, after I left, the cats carried on and on about the horribleness of it all. "Mom kicked us out and we are all cold and damp and starving and neglected so please let us come into YOUR house neighbor lady because we are making a racket and will continue to do so *insert kitty swear words here*. "My neighbor was amused. Thank goodness. I think I will need to clarify to her that unless I call her and tell her to let them in the house, they need to stay out. She knows where the spare key is, and was telling me she had been thinking about it because they were SO miserable and sad and whine-eee. They spent a whole 7 hours outside. Poor dears! They are sound asleep from their exhausting trial. They will probably sleep into next week from the stress of the "I had to be outside for 7 hours" incident. Poor dears indeed. *insert human swearing here*.
I had a fantabugrandious time crafting with Mary Lou and Merle. It's been to long, and we had a great time eating home made clam chowder and my apple pie. They demanded the recipe, so I have emailed it to them. In return, they had to pose for a picture. Merle is on the left and Mary Lou is in the middle.

Lost power again last night. My phone wakes me up when it comes back on, though. The instructional voice tells me I need to press the center button for 'menu'. Then it beeps. The microwave helps the phone by picking up the beeping and continuing until I put in a time. Then there is the red flashing of my alarm clock, and the green flashing of my oven clock. Really? Seriously? There is no way I can sleep through a power out in this house.

The cats decided to have an exchange of words about 4am. If I had a machine that could translate cat-speak into english, it would break. The sounds that come out of these cats mouths would make words that I am sure would make a sailor cry. Since I can't understand them, I try to play referee and calm the masses. "Misty, what are you growling at? You can't even SEE Pug from here!" "Smudge, he's not even TOUCHING you!" "Pug, stop laying so close to them. There is plenty of room up here. You are just trying to annoy them!" After a few minutes of this, one of two things happen. They settle down, or I kick them out. This morning they went out. They will stay out until I come back from crafting at the fire station. It will (hopefully) do them good.

So, it is Saturday, and I choose to arise at 5am. Why? Well, because I want to bake a pie to take to craft-o-rama day, and I didn't want to mae it last night. So, I have my hour to coffee and computer it up, then I will make pie, shower, pack the care with the entire contents of my magical craft cabinet, and head out. I be all excited! It's been months, and I am looking forward to hearing what everyone has been up to this summer.

Pig pile and recent swap.

This morning I saw this fabulous Kodak moment! These two sisters truly adore each other.

This is a recent hand drawn/painted ATC swap I finished.

I know you look to these journal pages for substance (Hahahahahaha!!! I crack myself up!), and I have yet to give you any updatey goodness on so many things that have happened recently. Especially the fabulous visit of Peter and Ursi. However, I am just not in the posty mood. Work is in full retail holiday swing, and it's a tough on this year. Just pop in occasionally and see if I have had a moment of posty excitement. It's bound to happen sooner or later!

Being Ruths friend can be so hard!

I adore her, though, so it is all worth it. We have high wind and storm warnings starting around 8pm tonight. They are to last until Monday morning. So, I went over and put up the last support post and stapled the fencing to it. Then I started on the wind break of clear plastic. She has a bunch of small sheets we could piece meal together, but the prospect of doing that didn't make me happy. So, I measured the place up and walked to the local hardware/liquor store and bought a huuuuge roll of 4-ply white-ish plastic. With her help I have gotten it up, and we will check how it is holding up throughout the day, and see if we need to put up more. About 1/3rd of the outdoor cat hotel has been sheeted off.Hopefully that is all we need to do, but there is plenty of plastic left for more encasing goodness

Hmmmm,,,a little behind, aren't I?

I see I have no posts about the fabulous visit with my uncle Peter and his lovely side kick, Ursi. Seems like I have been to busy to post much of anything. I did just spend 3 hours at Ruth's house, steam cleaning her carpets for her. Only 1/3rd left to clean. I really must like that lady to do all this crazy domestic stuff. *grin*

I'd promise to post about the visit, but right now I am

A. Not in the mood to do anything else structured.
B. Lazy.
C. All of the above, and more!

So, sorry folks. Nothing to see here. Move along.

A veggie so full of cabbage-eee goodness shouldn't be so hard to prep! I just made a yummy apple-rabi slaw, but good GOD!!! Peeling and grating exhaustion! I need a little food preper...

What a way to end a week!

Today, in the fabulous town of Vernonia, two men were standing between their trucks comparing rifles. They were in the post office parking lot. Awesome!

On my way home a few days ago, I had a car with 3 kids in it (all 12 or less) pass me. The adult driving was in full clown get-up! Face paint, red nose, afro orange hair.OMG!!! I love my drive home!

Spent the last 15 minute making faces at two kids on a school bus. They loved it! I really enjoy my drive home!

Dinner drive.

Drove Ruth to dinner at the Blue House. However, we took the scenic route to the resturant, since it was such a lovely evening! Drove out of town about 7 miles and hung a left on McDonald road. The animals up there don't see many cars, or they are so inbreed that their response time is mega slow. I drove over a chipmunk. Literally. I looked in the rear view mirror and he was still sitting there, trying to process what had just happened. Then he slowly wandered off the road and into the grass. Freak.

Had a close encounter with a squirrel, except in slow motion. I saw him and by the time I came up to him on the road I was going about 6 miles an hour, and he was still trying to decided whether to finish making a run for it, or abandon his quest for the other side and move the 2 feet back to safety. I went around him and left him to ponder his choices. Weirdo.

Had a similar encounter with a small Junco. Seriously? A bird?!! Hey bird! Try flying away BEFORE I get to ya, not after. Dork.

Anyways, after our exciting Northwest Trek experience with the wildlife, I filled up with gas and we ate greek. Ruth had never been there, and was thinking of taking some company there. Now she knows how good it is. We then hit the grocery store for cat food so that the little beasties wouldn't attack Ruth in the middle of the night and try and chew her leg off.

I helped bring the stuff into her house, said goodnight, and then gave Pug a car ride across the street to my place. He doesn't quite know what to make of being IN a moving vehicle, so I try and do this occasionally. Would rather it be familiar in case I need to take him somewhere, like a vet.

To think this little girl would run away from me whenever I came within 20 feet of her. Now she hogs the bed and begs for pets and head scritches! She rewards me by sticking out her tongue at me.

It's only taken me almost a year and a half to win her trust. Well worth it! She will be warm and happy this winterI believe her to be about 13 -14 years old.

99% done!

I finished the yard yesterday. I haven't cleaned out the old fireplace, but I will. Then I can make little fires and roast little wieners!

So, this is a picture of the yard part done.

This is the yard done. Less tree branches, no poop in the grass, the garbage is gone, and there is a huuuuge pile of yard debris you can't see by the tree on the right. I have cleaned up 2 chairs Ruth has. At least they are as clean as they can get, and I am ready for company!

Any takers?

Yesterday.

It was full of a bunch of these moments;

And it had a bunch of these moments, too!

Hehehe!

Slow morning. Ha!

Wow! I have been busy and it ain't even 9:30 yet.
Decided to start cleaning up the pretty little side yard at the apartment. You don NOT even want to know how much dog poop I have gathered so far. I probably only have about a 1/3rd of it. I have made a ginormous pile of branches, and will be racking up much debris shortly. I wish I had taken a picture of the 'before' but I have a picture of the 'right now, and will take one or two (hundred) more before I am done. I should have it all finished by Sunday. Then I'll stat on the inside of the house.
I am happy to say that I love yard work. If i didn't, I'd have less to bore all y'all with.

What a beautiful morning!

Opened my front door at 6am so I could watch the sky change from night to morning. Snuggle with Pug, which tends to be the highlight of my day. He is such a sweet little man! About 6:45 I wandered outside to sit in my lawnchair and enjoy themorning. Deadheaded some flowers and let the thoughts about my week rolled in and out of my head.
Work has been highly stressful. I am starting to wonder if I am on the 'out to fire' list. I feel I am being treated that way, but really don't know what to do about it. The management team was informed yesterday that labor hours will NOT get better. They will become even more sparse. Our feeling that we have had less hours this year to work with and more to do has been correct. I am really starting to dread the whole work thing, and finding it harder to more than 'bare bones appreciate' the fact that I have a full time job at all. I don't like that feeling, or the way the stress is making me act. I really need to do something about it, but at this point I can't seem to figure out what.

Anyhow, the weekend is here now. I am off to put on my outdoor work clothes and start my day. I do need to put another pot of coffee on, though, before I do anything else. I have been cleaning up all my picture files, and think I have a few gems for you that I will post later.

Hope you all are enjoying the sunny morning, too!

Sunday morning hair

I took this picture trying to capture how cute Pug is in the morning. Instead, I captured a picture of the morning hair I get up with every day. I laughed so hard when I saw this! What a beauty I am! Heheheh!

what did did this weekend.

1. I finished fencing in Ruth's carport, which included cutting and screwing a bunch of boards to cover various holes, and making a floor for a cabinet she has that will be a kitty sleeping home. Now she can put 8 of 10 kitties outside.
2. I cleaned up a lot of my front flower beds; dead heading flowers, weeding...you know the drill.
3. I picked up my little housie.
4. Two loads of dishes.
5. Hung a new curtain rod, moved some curtain clip holders around, and rehung my closet curtain with an added lace curtain over the top to soften the look. Turned out quite nicely.
6. Helped Ruth trim a large bush, and cut up most of the wood for my little outdoor fireplace. What I didn't get to cutting, I dragged back to my place to work on later.
7. Harvested some carrots and onions and made a salad.
8. Printed Peanut pictures out for A and spent some time with him, chatting and saying goodbye. Didn't know him well, but really liked the guy. I wish him all the best, and little Peanut, too.
9. Started a bunch of commissioned pieces for a child's 3rd Birthday party. Two pieces down, 3 or more to go (as she keeps adding stuff she wants)
10. sewed up 3 items that have been sitting around waiting for repairs for a while.
11. Mailed 42nd of July pics to Bill and Ls.
12. Watched several T V show episodes.
13. Slept 10 hours both Friday and Saturday night.
14. Worked on several silly little crafts which I shall take pictures of and post when they are finished.
15. Made chicken fried steaks. Yummy!
16. deleted, sorted, and reorganized all my computer pictures in hopes of getting a little more space freed up. No such luck.
17. Quiet time in the mornings, and a nap Saturday. Very nice!
18. Reading each evening for about 15-20 minutes. Super nice!

What I have left to do? Make a lunch and continue working on the commissioned pieces. Then to bed.

Beautiful morning!

I rolled out of bed around 6:30am. I have spent the morning playing with various kitties, trimming up my front flower beds , drinking coffee and watching the sun come up and the world around me wake up. It was a nippy 48F around 7:30. it's now a whoopin' 52F. My sidewalk looks like plants bombs went off, and I am on my second cup of coffee. I truly love lazy, quiet mornings like this, where I can wake up slowly with the world around me, and no one else is up.

Ah! I am home with all the windows and the front door open. The breeze is blowing the cat hair lazily around my floor. I SHOULD sweep, but I think I'll sew up the holes in my pants instead. Yes, folks, the weekend is here!

I just cleaned under my bed. I am surprised all the cat hair didn't meld and rise in the dark of night to smoother me. Esh! I love cats, but not sheding.

The weather at Loon Lake was fantastic. As a matter of fact, as I was waiting to fly to Spokane, I received a message from a friend telling me Vernonia was having a heat warning for the weekend. The lake itself was warm, with a bit of a breeze. It was fabulous! Great for sitting with your feet in the water, or on the porch swing, just a-rocking with your morning coffee.

I spent time with Lisbeth, Bill's lovely wife. This is the first quality time we have ever gotten together ion the 23 plus years they have been married/together. It was fun! She's an amazing woman, full of life and laughter. Smart as all get out and cooks like a pro. Our quiet time chatting in the mornings was the best part of my day. I've missed out on a great person, and hope to make up for that.

I also was glad to get time alone with Bill and his mom. They were a huge part of my life growing up, and being able to chat without others around was awesome. Again, I hope to make up for lost time here.

As the people trickled in I realized how much I had missed them, and the gathering we used to do. However, I must wait for the right time in order to move, and as to where I want to move, I am unsure. Sometimes, I wish hard for that winning lottery ticket. The friends I would visit! and the places I would live.

Clicky on the linky,or cut and paste it.

Here is a link to my facebook photo album of th 42nd of July party. Let me know if it doesn't work, and I'll put pictures here instead.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31932&id=1791798792&l=63827976f4

Let the 42nd of July Party posts begin!

The 42nd of July party was wonderful! I spent 4 days napping, eating, swimming and doing nothing. I knew I was walking back into a bunch of old memories, but I was completely bowled over by the presence of love from Bill's Dad -Jim, and George, their dog. It was thick! Bill and Lis's kids may have never met him, but they are slathered in his love every time they visit that lake cabin. He is there and happy, and it was not what I expected to feel at all. He was buzzing with excitement when I got there, but when the grand kids arrived, he just sat back like a proud Grandpa and enjoyed! It was amazing and wonderful, and apparently I am not the only one who has felt or mentioned this.

We have all gotten older. The wild running around and drinking has slowed to a crawl. The joking, laughing and talking is still what we do in excess now. As if you can have excess for that! I am constantly amazed by this group of people and their ability to see things from different viewpoints, talk about it, and still get along smashingly. And the laughing and jokes! The fun we have, the ease in which we have it, well, I have missed that, especially since moving to Oregon.

Bill and Lis have 3 lovely and wonderfully behaved children who's humor will make you pee yourself silly! There family reminds me of mine; all the jokes and chatter and bonding. I think this is the longest I have been with kids and not been annoyed at any point. The 'three A's' as we shall call them, are 17, 15 and 9. This is my first introduction to one of the 3 As. Littlest A was helping to empty the car, and I came out to the landing to see this. This really made my day!

The 26th annual 42nd of July party

I made it to the 42nd of July party this year. The first I have been to in 20 years. It was held in Spokane at Loon Lake, and I promise you, I will have posties and pictures this weekend. I was in a fog most of yesterday- my first day back at work. I am tired today, and not wanting the last little shred of vacation feel to slip away. Alas; it is a truck day, and it shall be beaten out of me! I did manage to download the pictures I took, and hope to do a quick purge and sort tonight before I collapse into bed. We will see.
Anyhow, stay tuned everyone!

Yep, here I am again with more amazing redneck events for you! Needed a break from weeding the garden, so thought I'd amuse everyone with shots of the mower races yesterday.

By the time the race started, the crowd was double what you see in this picture. Each Mower had to complete 20 laps. These guys have been doing this for years, and you can tell they look forward to it. They all put on a show for us, and it made watching 20 laps worth it. Lots of break downs, stalls, cut offs, passing. It was an event full of excitement, drama, and men on lawnmowers who I am sure were not sober. Ah, the things I do to get out of the things I need to do!
The contestants.

The line up.

Dragster mower.

Jamboree

Now I will pelt you with an overload of pictures from yesterdays fun town event! I started walking around town at 9am. I wanted to avoid the crowds and enjoy the quiet start of Jamboree. Wrong, wrong, wrong! There were throngs of people out already. People were claiming space along the street for the parade, eating, shopping, doing last minute prep on the floats. It was a madhouse, and the energy was amazing! I was grinning from ear to ear, watching these people party as if they were at some big state event! This is quite the thang here in little Vernonia. Quite the thang!

One of the first things I saw walking into town was this shirt. It says "I'd rather miss a note than a meal". I saw many other shirts like this, all with different sayings on the back. Apparently, they were part of this band.

They were VERY good, and full of energy. It was hilarious to see baton throwers and cheerleaders in their 50's and 60's. They loved what they did, and their joy was very contagious!

Outdoor storage!

I inherited an outdoor cupboard from my neighbor when he moved out. Unfortunately, it was rotted out on the bottom, so when I went to move it, I ripped out the hinges on the bottom. Suddenly, I had a new project. I was, however, very motivated to do this one because having outdoor storage would remove things from in my increasingly crammed apartment.

So, wanna see some photos? Good!

First, I had to cut about a foot off the bottom. This involved power tools, which I love to use. I am afraid of them, but when they belong to me, I am not as worried about doing whatever I am doing 'wrong' and messing up the project or the tool. It's mine, so no one else can complain/supervise/ridicule.

I had plenty of fuzzies to check my progress, and they all gave it approval at various stages, so that boosted my confidence.

I then had to prime the inside, all the new cuts on the old board, the new bottom I made, and where the hinges had been. Once that was done (and approved) I put on the bottom and cut the doors down to size. I put on the new hinges and places the doors. Lastly, I had to move part of the latch so I could lock it up. I started on Friday and finished Saturday before 2:30pm. Not bad for a girl who has to wing it. My house id empty of a few space-consuming items, and I am enjoying the cleaner, sleeker look of my living space. Yeah me!

Vernonia Jamboree!

This is a crazy little town I live in. they have events for everything. To many events. However, THIS event is pretty fun-tastic! I mean, really, who can pass up a small town parade where they pelt you with candy. Who can pass up lawn mower races? Who? Not me!There will be pictures, but I am pretty tired and a little listless at the moment. I have been a crazy fool today, finishing up my cabinet, a shelf, walking through town to see all the Jamboree stuff, watching a sloooooow town parade full of old cars, clowns, horses, logging trucks and fire engines (yummy). I am pooped, I tell you. Pooped! I need food, hydration and an nap.But pictures are a comin'!

Mom and Dad, next year you HAVE to come to this!

Knowing the back roads.

I don't really know the back roads around here well. However, I have a thing for maps, and recently I've been peeking at maps of my county, courtesy Google Maps.All this peeking finally came in handy today.There was an accident about 5 miles from Vernonia, in the north bound lane. Actually, it was in both lanes. I came upon a very long back up of traffic. You know it's bad when people are turning around on a road where there really isn't room to turn around. I did a quick inquiry, and decided to follow the crowd and head for McDonald road, which was a few miles back. I wasn't positive I could find my way to vernonia taking that road, but had been looking at the maps enough where I had a pretty good idea of where I was going. Apparently, me and a lotta other peeps decided McDonald road was looking like a nice quick and scenic way home.It was beautiful!I will be taking it again on Monday. It's absolutely gorgeous, with it's fields of hay edged in thistles, Tansy, Queens Lace and Sweet Peas. It smells like country. It has old beautiful homes dotted along it's edge. It has those little groups of trees that when you drive through them, the air turns cool and damp and smells like rich, loamy dirt and the color green. I saw a few places that made me think, "I could live THERE"!I want a map of my county. I like Google Maps, but tend to get turned around when I have to tile the roads together in my head. I want to explore other ways home. I want to see all these beautiful places. I want to know my backroads.

Hey Kool-Aid!

I have been wanting cool refreshing drinkage at home, but balking at paying the high price for Country Time or Crystal Light. For some strange reason, I had forgotten all about Kool-Aid. Now, I figure it has about the same nutritional value as the other stuff, and I can get a
ba-zillionty packs for the same price of one huge container of the 'other stuff'. I am thrilled! I put in 3/4 cup sugar instead of the whole 1 cup, and I still like the taste. I have fun summery stuff to drink now, and I am happy!

Happy busy weekend.

I have been a putzin fool this weekend. I am bouncing between my place and Ruth's, doing this, that, and the other thing. I've been pulling weeds both at her house and mine this weekend, as well as putting fencing up around her carport. We are going to enclose it so she can put the cats out for the duration of the decent weather. This will allow her to get her house cleaned up and beck into some kind of order. hard to keep up with 10 cats. Even harder when you are 85!

My neighbor, Jon, moved into a home, and I have inherited a small storage cabinet of his. He was a bean and rice hoarder, so it didn't take long to empty the thing out.. It all went into the compost bin, and tomorrow I will cut the rotted legs off the bottom and put new 2x4s there. Slap a little Killz on it and place some scrap wood along the front of the door to cover the gap. I will have a place for things like garden tools, tire chains, and other stuff that floats around my home like dandelion fluff on the wind. Very heavy and clutterie dandelion fluff.

I have also spent the day doing various crafts, posts and cleaning. Peanut has been very...um-helpful? She did her book impersonation again, which was quite charming. Never knew books cleaned themselves.

One craft I have been dying to do is a button craft. It is cheesy and tacky and all sorts of fun! I ran out of blue buttons, so I will see what I can pick up tomorrow at work. I might take pictures and post them when I am done, or I might not. Right now, it could swing either way.

Off to do more stuff. Need to make food and a few calls. I can't believe it is only 1pm. Wow!

Wanna buy a purse?

Here is a link to Diana's Etsy store, where you can see the plaid Peek-a-boo purse and her beautiful jewelry.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52458534/peekaboo-skirt-purse-no1

From three tiny seeds!

I love nasturtiums. They are bright, easy to grow, and you can eat them. Seriously. They also fill space up quite well. This explosion of flowers is from 3 tiny little seeds. It's about 5 feet across. I love it!

Peanut impersonations.

Little Peanut spent the day in my house, snoozing in various places. Here she is, impersonating a book. I had a picture of her curled up on top of my refrigerator on a stack of paper plates, but I have misplaced it in the vastness of my computer.