Vans & Roses

On Monday, the Hubs will take possession of this.  And it's about time!  His current van is a 2002 that he bought when we  moved here in 2003.  He has put over 200,000 miles on it.  It's time to retire the beast before it costs us any more $$ to keep going. 

It made us realize that I have had my Tahoe for 5 years, this month.  I don't know what the deal is, but I absolutely LOVE my 'Ho!  I love the looks of it and totally love the way it drives and handles.  My last couple of vehicles in Alaska were Chevy S-10 Blazers and I loved them as well.  I can only imagine how awesome it would have been to have had a Tahoe in Alaska!  The 'Ho is an '03 and I only have 128,000 miles on it.  I am hoping it will last a very long time.  I don't particularly care for the looks of the newer models and it's a good thing!  Chuck checked the prices on them, just out of curiosity,  while he was looking for his van, and they are like $50-$60,000.  I'm not even sure if that was the Z-71 model.  Yikes!  How do people afford payments???  If I recall, for mine, we financed about $30,000 for 5 years and my payments are $468 a month.  It must be that a person buying a brand new one has to decide between a house payment or a truck payment!  LOL

Chuck picked my 1st roses for me yesterday AM.  My favorites bloomed beautifully and the bush id LOADED with buds! This is not a great picture.  These are actually a salmon color, with tinges of deep pink.  Ya' know!  The camera on this iPhone4 that I have really sucks compared to my 3GS.  I'll be so glad when I can upgrade in November!

What a dork I am.  Here is a MUCH better shot taken with my 'real' camera.  Nikon to the rescue!  This shows the true colors.

Anyway, the roses have started blooming early this year.  Last year they bloomed after I went to Alaska and I'm pretty sure it was sometime in May.  This will start my summer of fresh roses by my computer every day.  Chuck will pick me fresh ones, every couple of days :)  He has his moments.  Wonder who he'll pick them for whilst I'm gone??  Susie & Dixie, mayhaps :)

I'm getting down to the serious stuff in getting ready for my trip  I was commiserating last  night with Terri (lovely daughter) as to what knitting projects I should bring.  I have so many projects lined up, it's hard to decide, but I did narrow it down to "the less complicated, the better".  I've only been serious about knitting for a year, and I really don't have a lot of experience or confidence going for me yet.  I'm so easily distracted, that if I can't focus entirely on what I'm doing, I make mistakes.  If I don't catch it right away, it's difficult to fix and often I have had to rip something all out and start over.  But as I was about to say, there will be a LOT of distractions in that house while I'm there.  I can't wait :)

Back to the knitting thing.  For some reason, I am having the WORST time with a baby blanket I am trying to knit!  Its ridiculous.  I'm making it for the gal that works for Chuck.  She is due next week (in fact they are inducing her on Tues.)  I have known abut her pregnancy since the 1st moment she found out.  She helped me pick out the yarn & I got it right away.  I already had a pattern I wanted to try.  So, yeah.....this was about 8 months ago.  I didn't start it right away because I had several Christmas gifts I was making, figured I would start it after the New Year and have it finished in plenty of time.  I was so wrong!

This was when I learned how dangerous distractions can be.  I "thought" I was comfortable with the pattern.  I "thought" I could knit on it while watching TV.  I "thought" wrong!  Twice I found mistakes and had to undo a few rows, stitch by stitch and redo them.  (very slow process)  The 3rd time I screwed up, I took it as a sign that this wasn't the pattern for me!  I found a new pattern that I liked even better and I seemed to get along alot better with it.  In fact, I was zipping right along and had the blanket about 2/3 completed when I went to San Diego.  When I came home, however, that had all changed.  Murphy had pulled the needles out of the knitting, she chewed on the needles making them worthless and she chewed up and pulled out a bunch of the yarn!  It was a mess.  So.....I had to start over. 

I've been working on it every chance I get, but have had a couple of set backs.  A couple of those opportunities happened to be in the middle of the night, when my hip & leg are hurting and I can't sleep.  That's when I get up and take a couple of pain pills.  Yep, you guessed it.  I shouldn't be knitting during those times.  It took 2 screw ups before I finally got the hint.  I do believe I will be taking this project to Alaska to finish & will mail it to her.  The baby will never know the difference.  But I've gotta tell ya'.  It's great yarn and I DID love it, but I am so damn sick of it it's not even funny!!

Floral Tax News

Allow me to start off this entry bitching.

Okay.....so I wrote my bitch session all out and then deleted it like a good girl.Now I don't know what to write about.......

How about my roses?  Here's a shot of their progress thus far.  I sure wish we had known what we had when we planted them.  As you can see, they are all different types and look rather odd because they are all different sizes and growth patterns...or whatever.  But we got them from a neighbor that was moving a couple of years ago and she had cut them all down to the nubs, so we didn't have a clue.  Oh well.  No big deal.  It will fill out better soon enough.

 I have one pink one that has opened and the others are loaded with buds!  I hope I get to enjoy them before the Japanese Beetles move in!

 We did go and get plants for the garden and some of my flowers, yesterday.  I got 3 of my new favorites, Mandevilla.  I love them and the Hummingbirds love them.  It's a Win-Win for me!!  The plants get huge and trail down with clingy vines.......gorgeous!!

 Then I found some of these!  The 1st time I ever saw them, was last year in Alaska.  Terri & I found some at a greenhouse up there.  Purply magenta with green edges.  They are SO pretty and I was thrilled to see them at the Depot of Home yesterday!

 I got really radical with my Azaleas last fall and trimmed them WAY back, cutting off most of what they had going for them.  They haven't been flowering that well, so I didn't figure I had much to lose by trying it.  It worked out very well!  They are full and beautiful.  I just wish they kept blooming all summer.

 I would write more, but the day is wasting away and I must go pick up our taxes.  Yes, they are done and my finding of various deductions that I had overlooked saved our butts!  Put us in the 'black', thank God!!  Whew!!!  Another severe screwing averted. 

All About Horses

My husband can be a bit trying at times.  People really close to me, know exactly how kindly I am phrasing that.  But I have been sitting here watching him out my window, as he works with Dixie in the round pen. He has a way with animals.  At least with dogs & horses.  I don't approve of all of his 'methods', but he is pretty good.
He's been standing in the middle, and has her running the perimeter.  He will point and say 'turn' and she stops and heads in the opposite direction.  He'll sit on the milk can in the middle of the ring and say 'stop, Dixie' and she does.  'Come Dixie' and she walks to him.  'Kiss' and her nose is in his face.  It amazes me how well he has trained her.  How well he works with her, and she's almost as dedicated to him as Gus is!  In reality, I think the part he likes best is pointing his finger at her and having her respond.  We learned 2 things about each other early on.  I know not to slap him in the face (only happened once) and he knows not to point his finger at me for any reason!

 Anyway, here is Dixie when we first got her. (March '09) She was 19 months old at the time.  We had already bought her Mama, Susie, a year prior.  When our friend decided he also wanted to sell Susie's 'kid', we jumped on it!  I promptly registered her as Sweet Sue's Little Dixie, ( as Susie's registered name is Jack's Sweet Sue and Susie's mama had Dixie in her name, so I liked the combo).  Dixie had been running free with J's other horses most of her life, and no one had ever worked with her much at all.  There was much to be done, as she was a wild, crazy little sh**!

 This is Dixie last fall, getting trained on pulling the buggy.  She took to it right away, pretty much like everything else Chuck has tried to teach her.  She will pretty much do anything for him.  Totally unlike Susie, who was 17 when we got her and extremely set in her ways!!  I was worried about how they'd get along when we reunited them.  Wondered if they'd remember each other.  It was amazing!  If horses could hug, they'd have been hugging for days!  Sadly, they are now inseparable, which can be a BIG problem at times!  But that's another story.

Chuck is working with Dixie to get her ready to go on a Cattle Round-up in Wyoming.  He was at the ranch last year with our BIL for a hunting trip and became good friends with the owner of the ranch.  He's been invited back to participate in their Spring Cattle Round-up for branding season.  It will be a dream come true for this old cowboy.  I sure wish he could have done it while I could still ride.  How I would love to go with him and spend a couple weeks at the ranch, riding Susie on all the trails on that beautiful ranch of theirs!   Anyway, he's been working with her everyday, to get her 'exercised up' and in shape, as well as training her on 'herding'.  That means that they have been herding Susie around the pasture and she doesn't like that one little bit!!  Susie is usually the one that is herding Dixie around!  It's hysterical and I must get a video to share!

So, I will return from Alaska on May 23rd and he will load up the horses and head out on May 26th.  Uggg.....the thought of returning home after that long flight and having to jump right into getting his laundry done and getting him packed and ready in 2 days blows my mind right now, but once he's gone, I can kick back for 2 weeks and prepare for my surgery.  He'll return on June 8th or 9th and I go under the knife on June 11th.  It all sounded good when we planned it, but now that it's getting close, it seems like we could have/should have done something different, but it'll all work out.

Spring Cleanup & New Toys!

It was a beautiful sunny day here yesterday and Chuck got lots of yard work done.  Flower beds cleaned up, strawberry bed cleaned up and the garden tilled.  He also got a couple of leaf piles that had accumulated cleaned up so that I wouldn't have to worry about what may be lurking in them.  Copperheads tends to blend in very well with leaves on the ground.......Eeeep!

It IS my favorite time of year here in BF Arkansas.  I got back just in time to see the Dogwoods leaf out and they are starting to bloom.  The woods behind the house are just enchanting when all the Dogwoods are in bloom!

It would have been a perfect day for riding, and oh how I wish I could have hopped on my Susie and gone with him!!  He did have a 'victim' lined up to go riding with him, but he crapped out at the last minute.  It seems his wife had a honey do list that she insisted on being taken care of.  It's hard for Chuck to find 'victims' to go riding with him and that's a damn shame.  I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that I'll never ride again, but some days it's a real downer.

I got all my San Diego photos transferred to Flickr yesterday and actually got them all labeled, too!  I'm not always very good about that, in fact I haven't been very good about uploading my photos to Flickr lately.  I need to stay on top of that!  I didn't take near as many pictures as I intended to whilst in SD because of all of my careful packing, and remembering to pack my chargers for 3 other devices, I forgot my camera charger and extra battery.  Doh!   I will get it packed in one of my bags for my Alaska trip today! 25 days!!  Woo Hoo!!

Poor Gus puppy is depressed this AM.  He had to stay home with me for a trip to the vet.  He hates not going to work with his dear ol' dad!  But his allergies are acting up.  His eyes are running and he's got an itchy bare spot by his tail, so I wanna nip it in the bud early.  He'll snap out of it once he realizes that he will be going with me in the 'Ho and can guard it while I make a couple stops :-)


I was a bad girl yesterday and gave in to my desire for a new toy.  I've been wanting an iPad (or tablet of some sort) for quite some time now, but just couldn't justify spending that much on something that I could live without.  After seeing and playing with Poolie's, the desire to possess one increased tremendously!  And what did I find in my email when I got home, but a notice of a great deal on one at HSN......so.......I ordered this

If I find I'm not totally enchanted with it, I can always send it back......somehow I doubt that will happen.  When Poolie made the comment that since she got that, she never takes her laptop on trips with her anymore, I was 'sold'.  Between the tablet and her iPhone, everything is covered.  And every time I travel, especially by air, I find I want less and less to drag around with me.  I used to carry on all that I could and I just have no desire to do that anymore. 

San Diego!

I should have been posting everyday during my San Diego adventure, but truthfully....we were too busy 'adventuring'!  CHA!!!  I hauled my laptop along and barely looked at it the whole time.  An occasional look at FaceBook and a comment or two, to make sure I didn't miss anything in Alaska and that was about it.  I think my next toy needs to be an iPad or something similar.  Much easier to transport and it will do pretty much all I need it to do whilst on a trip....I think....must investigate.

It was truly a delightful week, spending time with my 2 BFFs.  Such a unique trio and we have ever so much fun together.  And it was so fantastic to be able to meet some of Poolie's fabulous friends.  Any of you that know Poolie can certainly imagine what wonderful people she has in her life!

Terri and I had coordinated our flights so that we would arrive approximately the same time and also leave at the same time.  Funnily enough (neener) we actually arrived within about 5 minutes of each other and our gates and baggage claim area were right across from each other.  We had tried to call each other on our cell phones, which didn't work out, but we just sort of stumbled across each other a few minutes after collecting our luggage!  It was perfect :)  Poolie did a 'Drive By Pick Up' and we were off!

First stop was at the grocery store to pick up a couple of items for supper.  I had been DYING for a Pepsi!  There was no Pepsi to be found at the Chicago airport and American Airlines serves Coke (patooee).  I did my fair share of complaining, and even tho' I never thought to ask them to get me one, you can see that from the get-go, I was well taken care of.

 See what sweet Terri has in her hand??  It was truly an "Ahhhhh moment"

I just went to post this and realized that the above picture was missing, and now that I've added that, I see that several paragraphs of my entry that followed the picture are missing.  ARGGG!!!!  I put this post off long enough and now that I have finally written it, it has been swallowed up by some Blog Gremlin!  Damn those Blog Gremlins!!  Well, it's like this.  I have places to go and things to do, so......I'll write more later......Really!  I will!!

Russian Federation & Antiquities

I had a visit to my blog from the Russian Federation!   WTH??  I wish they were trying to contact me to tell me that I had won a trip to Russia or something exciting, but they didn't even leave a comment.  Sigh.

I've been keeping very busy acquiring things to sell in my Antique/Flea Market booth.  A couple of weeks ago, Chuck went with me to my booth, to measure and see if his gun cabinet would fit.  I suppose I should back up here. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back in December, Chuck bought a gun safe for his rather ample gun collection.  That left the gun cabinet that I bought him, oh so many years ago, empty.  He suggested that he could put shelves in it and I could use it to display things in my booth.  Particularly things that need to be locked up to prevent being stolen! So, a couple Sundays ago he went down to Betty's Attic with me to see what rearranging we might have to do if we brought the gun cabinet in.  While we were there, we found that there was a larger booth for rent, so I decided to take it.  So instead of $40 a month, I'm paying $55 for almost double the space.  It allows me to better display things, to a point, anyway.  And presentation means a lot.  I felt like I was trying to cram too much stuff into a too small space.

Old Booth before I moved

Gun Cabinet full of treasures

New space

New Space

My shelf in the Display Case (top left)

Okay, from the pictures you can see that I have quite a bit more room and was able to put more items out for sale.  I also rented an available shelf in their big display cases up front, where I can sell some of my rings and jewelry that I no longer wear, and it can be kept safe under lock and key!

The gun cabinet works quite well, but I need more furniture type items to better display things.  That is only a table up against the back wall, and I really want to get some sort of a hutch to put there, so that I can better display dishes, etc.  For now, I am looking at a bench I found, that has a back and arms.  I want to put that along the right side and lay table clothes over the back of it, and put baskets holding assorted linens on the seat.  There will also be room for some things to set on the floor underneath it.  The shelves Chuck made me are fine, for a start, but I'd rather have hutches and such for my displays.

I actually have spruced up my booth a bit since I took these pictures, but forgot to take more.  Chuck hung a curtain rod for me, up high on the back wall, and we put up some old fashioned lace curtains I had.  Looks much better than that ugly old peg board.  I also have a new rug that needs to go down, to cover the ratty carpet. 

I've been busy buying vintage linens (doilies, table clothes, guest towels, dresser scarves, etc.) to resell and have acquired some terrific items for next to nothing.  I do the whole stain removal, starch and iron thing....and yes, I actually enjoy doing that :-)
I have also gotten a huge batch of vintage knitting needles, that I was very excited about!  Some of them I am keeping for myself, but most I am selling.  Also, have any of you heard about the new fad of making bridal bouquets out of vintage brooches?  It's quite the thing, and I invested in several 'lots' of those to resell, as well.  I really enjoy doing all this.  I just wish things would sell faster!  Things have been picking up quite a bit the past month, tho'.  Hopefully it will stay that way.  This fall, once I get all healed up from my surgery as all, I should be able to go scouring the country side for great finds to resell.  It's really what I want to do!

Wanna Give Someone the Finger!

The first thing I want to talk about today is my ring finger on my right hand.  Or, should I say, my 'Former' ring finger....since I can no longer wear any of my dozens of rings on it!  The knuckle on this finger has taken on a life of it's own, and I really, REALLY don't like it!  Today it hurts.  A lot! So I'm gonna share.  About a year ago I noticed that my knuckle was swelling and it was becoming hard to get my rings on and off.  I figured, okay.  I've got arthritis in various parts of my body, including both thumbs, so it stands to reason that my fingers will eventually be affected. Problem is, it just kept getting bigger and was hurting quite a bit.  I mean, I already take meds for my arthritis (which doesn't take care of all of the associated pain and/or discomfort, but helps a great deal) so why was it hurting so much?  I went to see my Doc so he could determine if mayhaps it was a cyst or a chipped bone or something, and he deemed it good old arthritis. Crap.  So, deal with it.  It was about that time that I took the 1st picture here, back in September.

It quit bothering me and didn't seem to be metamorphosing, so I decided to have some of my favorite rings resized.  At the going price of gold and silver, it is a little pricey these days to go up 2 full ring sizes, but Chuck agreed that it was fine so I did about 8 or 9 rings.  Now, my ring finger WAS a size 9, but this knuckle now required a size 11 for clearance. My middle finger is size 11, so I figured that if my ring finger decided to have another growth spurt, I could always wear these rings on my middle finger.

This second picture was taken this AM, and you can see that it has, in fact, started metamorphosing again. This AM the whole thing is just throbbing and hurts the entire length of it, not just the knuckle. Guess that's what prompted me to finally write about it.That had been my intention when I took the 1st picture, but I never got around to it.  That's just a really big change in 5 months time. I think maybe I'll let Dr. H take another look and see if I can inspire him to snap a little x-ray of it....just for peace of mind....or something. 

The sad thing is, that I have a massive jewelry collection.  Well over 100 rings.  Seriously.  All gold and silver and gemstone.  A lot of them can't be resized 2 sizes, because of their settings.  And the only finger they will fit on is my left ring finger, which houses my wedding ring.  Lots of $$ tied up and just sitting there, but worst of all is the fact  that I dearly love most of those abandoned rings and it gives me a huge sad to not be able to wear them.  Ah, hell...enough sniveling.

Yesterday I went for my 'annual' eye exam.  It's been 2 years :-).  When we 1st moved here I went to Fayetteville Mall, to Sears Optical cuz they had a great sale on glasses happening.  What I found was an awesome eye Doctor!  She's amazing and SO thorough and just plain adorable.  So I continue to go there.  Yesterday, glasses were 50% off and because I am a repeat customer, I got an extra 10%.....sooooo.....when I was having trouble deciding between the purple or the cranberry, I decided to get both :).  I'm really sick of my current glasses (except when I want to read something) so it'll be fun to have 2 new and cool ones to wear.  (life's simple pleasures). 

But, I do have to snivel a wee bit more.  The trek from the parking lot, through half of Sears, to get to the Optical shop, just about did me in.  And the trek BACK to the parking lot DID do me in.  Holy Crap!  I sat in the truck thinking, what the hell do I think I'm doing???  Going to San Diego in 3 weeks.  Going to Alaska in 7 1/2 weeks.  I should be doing these things after my surgery!  Well.....I WILL be doing them then, too. But still.....I need to see my friends.  I can't wait to be together with Poolie and Terri T again!  And God knows, I desperately NEED to see Terri and Riley and Maggie and Emily and Timmy and Xander and....yes, even my SIL, Michael :-).  I just SO hate to be an inconvenience or imposition because of my freaking limitations.  I feel like such a wuss.  But the reality is, not one of them will make me feel that way.  In fact, ALL of them will make me feel like I'm the same old Yankee Chick and the same old Mom and the same old Grammy and it'll all be good!  Damn good!! So what the hell am I whining about?!?!?  It's just been over 3 years of this shit and I'm so sick of it!!! 

It's been exactly 3 years this month since I last rode my Susie, so I guess that makes it 3 1/2 years.  I first went to see the Doc about my severe hip pain whilst riding  back in September of '08. (but I wasn't giving up on riding yet!)  Holy cow!  Holy Moly!  Holy Crap!!! 

Now I want to write about Susie and I want to write about my antique booth, but this is long enough!  Hopefully I will get my butt back here and write about that stuff tomorrow!  In case anyone decides to come and read. :-)

Election Day in Alaska

Today is a big day for my family.  My awesome SIL, Michael is running for a second term for Borough Assembly.  Here's one of his ads.  I love that he is so well spoken, but then he wouldn't have been so successful in the radio industry if he wasn't, and certainly wouldn't have his own radio talk shows!  And that lovely voice at the end of the ad?  Yep.  My lovely daughter, Terri, who also has a great radio voice and used to do a lot of ads :)
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2257025436426

Hope that link works okay so you can see/listen.  His opponent is  a lawyer that is a serious snark.  He even had a newspaper ad that stated one of the reasons to vote for him is because 'he is NOT Michael Dukes'.  He has taken pot shots at Michael because of his size as well as his adamant support of the 2nd Amendment.  Like either one of those things has anything to do with the local Borough government.  He's a low life scum.  Michael will win by a landslide.  Heh.

At 6:30 AM Alaska time, I sent Michael a text to wish him luck and let me know how many points he wins by.  LOL  He texted me back and said he & his supporters were already on downtown street corners waving signs.  Gonna be along day.....for all of us.  Sure wish I was there to help!  I would keep the donuts and muffins coming and the Lattes and Sludge Cups flowing. 

There is always something exciting going on with my wonderful Alaskan family.  Riley got herself new skates.  Custom ordered.

I am LOVIN the green wheels, but the main 'custom' part is the pink leather.  Pink and black are the team colors.  She saved her tips for EVer so she could order these, bless her heart!  Some of her team mates have this brand and others are drooling :).  Regardless, she got them on Friday and has been counting the minutes until derby practice Tuesday PM so she can seriously get her skate on with these new babies!!  Like her Mama said.....it must be as exciting as waiting to drive ones new car.  Hee hee.

I've had a couple people mention problems with my comments.  I wonder what's up with that?? Let me know if it continues to be an issue {via FB or email.  Time to run errands so I can get home and knit :)

Priorities

I can never seem to get my priorities straight.   Why is it so hard for me to keep up with this whole blogging concept when it really is important to me?  I have a bad memory for details, like dates and timelines of particular events and I've counted on being able to refer to my blog for the bits missing from my wee little brain.  I think about things that I wanna blog about every day, but they don't materialize.  And yes, I make notes and jot things down and they get lost in the shuffle of grocery lists and reminders for other things and eventually just get purged from the clutter.  Then, of course, is the realization that I FaceBook with most of the few readers I have, so what I write is redundant. But I can't refer back to FB now can I?  So I need to do this for ME.  Heh.  There are a lot of things I need to do for me. So, I am just going to go forth with some photos and highlights and see what I can accomplish before my darling spouse demands something.  LOL

First. My adorable eldest grand-daughter and our Roller Derby team, the Midnight Sun Roller Girlz, had their 1st big Scrimmage against an opposing team, The Denali Destroyer Dolls, on Sept 24th.
Prior to the scrimmage, they had a photo shoot at a car dealership that is one of their sponsors.  Believe it or not, this is my little "Muffin Girl", aka Riley who is now know as "Boom-Dot Saint".  Boom for short.

Isn't she something?!?  A local Vintage clothing store let them pick outfits to use and she sure did good!

Here's a good shot of her during the scrimmage, slipping by the blocker (in the white shirt, that should have stopped her. heh)and helping to clear the path for the Jammer of the moment.  The MSRG won the scrimmage by an astronomical score of 149-15!  The team has been working SO hard and OMG, did it ever pay off!!  So proud of all of them!  Best part?  No serious injuries.

Next up is the news that I have rented a booth in a local antique shop, called Betty's Attic.  I have so much Depression Glass and other collectables that I really need to get rid of and what better way?  I rented the booth a week ago or so, but it won't be available until Oct 25, so that gives me lots of time for pricing and gathering my stuff.  I have no place to properly display my treasures and many of them are still packed away in boxes under the house.  I will keep my family treasures and a few other things and sell the rest. I'm starting with a fairly small booth and can always move up if need be.  If it goes well, i will buy more stuff to resell.  If not, no big deal.  This is my soon to be area (not my stuff in it, obviously)

I can paint, put up shelves (which I must do) add tables, etc.  Chuck is in charge of that, of course :)

And speaking of Chuck, he bought a buggy and has been training Dixie to pull it. She's a fast learner and eager to please.  Mission accomplished.

 The one above is them returning from about a 3 hour trip around the back roads yesterday.  She was a very good girl!

This, however, is how my Sweet Susie acted up  the whole time they were gone!  Actually she just paced and whinnied the whole time, only rearing up when they finally got back.  So anxious when her kid is out of her sight!!  And so excited to have her back :).  Dang horses are worse than kids. Well, actually, she acts like a typical mother!  What am I thinking?  LOL


Let's see, what else.  About a month ago I had a perm.  Bound and determined to have curly hair again.  It's been a couple years that I have been doing the straight thing after many years of spiral and piggy-back perms.  It came out good.  My wonderful Hairstylist did a great job. But.....I hated it.  It's just not "me" anymore.  SO.....last week she tried a new straightening process on me!  I had to leave it in for 72 hours.  Could not wash my hair for 3 days, which is bad enough on it's own, but the stuff she used was kinda icky.  My hair felt like it had been over moussed and gelled.  Dry and stiff and icky.  But now that I can wash it, which I did 3 times Friday pm, at the exact moment that the clock struck the 72 hour mark (6:58 PM) it is fairly straight and best of all....silky and shiny again!!  Yay!!  I love my Becky, like Poolie loves her Joannie.  She's a terrific gal and an awesome stylist and colorist.  We have a lot of fun with my hair and I trust her with my beloved locks!

As I was typing this, I was thinking that I wish I could get my s&%t together and chronicle everything via photos (with details) on Flickr.....like our lovely Karyl does.  I SO need to organize what pictures I have and need to be taking lots more!  One of my biggest problems is that I am not working and also that some days I am able to do more than other days, depending on my pain level.  I used to have such 'structured days' and I deffo function better that way.  I just can't seem to get a grip on this new way of life and make the best use of my time and resources.  I hate the intrusion of having to schedule anything, and yet I find I can't accomplish what I want unless I do!  Ah, well.....as one of my former blog buddies used to say (and probably still does!) "It'll all work out in the end. It always does!".  LOL

Shopping Online

I was supposed to have a rare shopping opportunity with my BFF yesterday and it didn't work out.  While posting my complaint about it on FaceBook, my buddy Terri @ myseniormoments suggested that since I always get the short end of the stick when we have vehicle problems, I should just shop online.  Well, I'm here to tell you......I do plenty of that!  Here are some of my recent acquisitions

This first picture is a Photo/Panting done by the Photographer that took Riley's senior portraits.  She is quite the artist and has many talents.  When I saw some of her Photo/Paintings, I just knew that we had to have one of the horses!  I found some pictures of The Girls and sent them to her and we finally decided on this one.  The overall size is 30 x 30 and it is stunning!! 

What happens is this.  I had a 20x30 photo printed of this picture and had it shipped to her.  She actually tears the edges (in this case to make it about 19x19) then she affixes it to a canvas.  In this instance, she did an abstract border in colors to complement the picture. The wonderful thing IS, we didn't actually discuss colors and it just so happens this will look perfect on our green living room wall!!Another awesome aspect of this painting is that the sides of the canvas, where it wraps around the frame, are painted as well.  That gives it a wonderful unique finish and I don't have to frame it :).
If you'd like to see some of her other work, go here Christina-M-Ehlinger~Artist for starters.

I had planned to give it to Chuck for X-Mas, but she got it done so quickly and I received it last week.....and our anniversary is this coming Friday (the 12th)....soooooo.....I'm giving it to him for our anniversary!  I can't wait!!  We don't always exchange gifts and usually just treat ourselves to an "All we can eat Lobster or King Crab fest" at home.  He'll be so surprised and I know he's gonna absolutely flip over it!  I can't wait to get it on the wall, as we have a perfect empty spot behind the love seat that has just been waiting to be filled for about 6 years now!  Next weekend I'll get to post photos of it on the wall!! I can't wait!  Squeal!!!!!!!!!

The next picture of online acquisitions is just one box of many that I have been buying since I went to Alaska in May and acquired serious knitting fever.

Not only did my lovely daughter, Terri, get me to finally take the 'knitting plunge', she also gave me the bug for only the finest yarns!  When I did alot of crocheting, I always preferred some of the better brands (such as Lion and Bernat over Red Heart), but oh, she had to get me into using wool and wool blends and alpaca and all sorts of beautiful colorways in scrumptiously delightful spun yarn! 

And I have found a couple of WONderful websites that often have WONderful sales on this sort of delightful yarn!  I will give you an example of what my new passion is doing to my checking account.  I found a sweater pattern, using Noro yarn, similar to that in the above picture.  The color  I selected is darker hues, but still multi-colored.  Anyway, the pattern calls for 11 hanks (sort of a skein)so I ordered 12 to be safe and I found it for a terrific sale price! Normally $20 a hank for $14.00!  Weeeeeeeee.........Adds up tho', as do the many other great finds I have found......but they were all on sale!!  So that makes it okay, right???  Right???

See what happens.  Make me get a new bionic hip and keep me house bound for 6 weeks with a desk top, a laptop and an iPhone.  I can search, find and order from any room in the house!  When I have to explain the piles of yarn and my lack of $$......I'll blame the Percocet.  Buwahahahaha

Why Do I Need a Title???

It's so friggin' hot here. Still. And more triple digits predicted for next week.  We need rain SO bad!  Our lawn and the pasture is so dead and dry that even Gus, our Cocker Spaniel, leaves a little cloud of dust behind him when he trots across the pasture!  You should see the cloud of dust the horses raise!!

In this shot, you can see how badly poor Gus needs a hair cut, and I took this a couple weeks ago, so you can imagine his hairy curly self now.  Also alot less green on the ground than that now, as well.

He does get to go to the groomers tomorrow, now that I can get out and about, so he'll be all sleek and fast and COOLER!

I'm happy to say that my hip is feeling great, most of the time.  It even feels normal.  Sure wish I could act and move like it's normal.  sigh..... It's really hard to keep myself from just 'doing things' when it feels normal.  But I'm not all healed yet and it's not ready to have me do all this normal stuff like bending or sitting comfortably or dancing thru the living room to the Boondock Saints theme song.  Sucks, I tell ya'!  But I try to stay focused and I improvise a LOT.  I just wish I had longer toes so it would be easier to pick up stuff that I drop.  hee hee

We've got 2 birthdays coming up this week.  My 2 baby boys, Tim and Xander!  Tim will be 11 on the 3rd and Xander will be 6 on the 5th!

Here's a great shot Terri got of them yesterday with a couple of Storm Troopers at AlaskaLand.  Pretty awesome huh?

So funny....Terri said to Xander "they look pretty scary....what if Darth Vader is near by".  Xander replied, "Mom, they're just guys in suits."  He's just so damn logical all the time, I told her she mayhaps should have named him "Spock".  LOL

Oh, yeah....an update on our toilet disaster the other day......they are fixed and all is well, however we now need to replace the ceiling in the Living Room.  I am so thankful I am married to a Contractor that has spent his whole life doing such things!  I figure it will only take him 2 or 3 years to get around to it. :-p

Roof, PT and DERBY....Oh My!

This AM I still have men banging around on my roof!  All week this has been going on and all week, my poor kitty, Murphy, has been in hiding.  She is terribly unimpressed by the noise.....as am I.  They 'say' they will finish up this AM and I sure hope so.  Murphy & I want our "little piece of quiet" back!

I thought that yesterday was my last day of Physical Therapy, but NOooOoO.......PT Dude says that I am doing so well and so far advanced with my progress, for only being 3 weeks and 5 days post-surgery that he wants to give me some more challenging exercises.  Joy, joy, happy happy. :) So, he'll be back 2 more times next week, after he checks with the good Doctor to report on me and get authorization to 'step it up'.  Actually, it's all good, especially since I'm doing so well because I'm so "young"!  Weeeeeeeeeee.  Gotta love THAT!  {and I DO.  Truly, indeed, I do!}  I ditched my walker at least a week ago and am using my cane.....when I don't walk off and forget it.  Have I already told you this?  Probably.  Sorry :-D.  I no longer have much hip pain at all.  Mostly some discomfort when I over-do it.  My back bothers more than my hip, at this point, but I am hoping that the continued exercises will strengthen my ab and back muscles and help with that.  I'm pretty sure that since I'm 1 year 4 months post spinal surgery, that my back is pretty much as good as it's gonna get.  But I am so thankful to be able to walk again, that I will deal with it!  Trust me!

I'm so anxious to get in my trusty Tahoe and drive......just go somewhere, anywhere.  Being cooped up 24/7 since June 20th is grating on me.  But it IS a bit better now that I am able to do more besides "sit" and "lay down".  I mean, I can do laundry (except for the carrying), I can cook, I can sweep and mop (carefully and not perfectly, but, hey...it's something!).  Best part is, I can take showers by myself now, but I sure do miss having Chuck scrub my feet! {cuz I still can't bend over and he was SO good at it!}

Okay, enough about me....let's move right along to my latest favorite subject, Roller Derby!!!! Yay!!!  Gonna share some great photos of the last couple practices.  I sure wish it was me there shooting the pictures, but alas......I must enjoy the pics taken by others and be thankful that I get to see such great new shots every week!

First up is my sweet Xander!  Yes, folks.  The little man is on skates and determined to be a referee for the Midnight Sun Roller Girlz.  hee hee.  That's Camo Cazi helping him and my Emily (Emma Lee the Strange) in the background.

 He went down....but look at that smile!  How fun!

 This amazing action shot is the girlz practicing jumps over a skate board, in this case.  {They'll jump over anything...or anyBODY, for that matter!} We have my Riley (Boom-Dot Saint) on the left, Chelsee-U-Inhell in the middle and Camo on the right.  I really don't know why Riley looks like she just swallowed a frog.....If I coulda been there, maybe I'd have more insight.  Hmmmm

 This one is of Boom-Dot and Raggedy Andi doing 'Chariot Rides'.  Tough workout for the lead dog!

 And last, but not least is another awesome shot and it's of Camo and Raggedy Andi doing 'Leg Whips'

Aren't these girlz spectacular!!  But wait!  There's more!
Next up is Maggie {Morbid Maggie} getting her 'skate on'!!  Woo Hoo!! 

 And Emily {Emma Lee the Strange} getting HER 'skate on'!  I'm so proud of all my girls.  They are so gonna rock when they get a Junior Team going!!

Well, that's it for today.  I hope ya'll have a great weekend :)

1st Official Post

Well, I've pretty much got the new place set up the way I want it, so I'll go ahead and write an entry!

I'll start by explaining the Title, "Mama Monroe".

As many of you already know, my daughter, Terri and eldest grand-daughter, Riley are both in Roller Derby. To be precise, they belong to Midnight Sun Roller Girlz.  Okay, so I had been hearing about this group and the girls joining for MONTHS and was totally caught up in the excitement expressed by both of them, that just kept growing in leaps and bounds!  I couldn't wait to get up there in April for my visit and see what this Roller Derby thing was all about.

Well, here's a little sample of what I found:

In this 1st shot, they are scrimmaging during practice.  Riley {aka Boom Dot Saint~her Derby name) is to the right and has a yellow star on her helmet.  In this scrimmage she is the Jammer and it's her job to get by the rest of the pack, twice.  Right in the middle, in blue, is Raggedy Andi.  She's watching for Boom Dot to come around so she can grab her hand and "whip" her forward faster, past the other skaters.

 The second one is a shot of one of the most amazing women I have ever had the pleasure to meet and befriend.  It's the great Camo-Cazi!!  Yay!!  Sadly, in this shot, she is being sent to the penalty box....which I'm sure now explains to you the expression on her face.  LOL

This is just a random shot of Boom Dot cruising the track.  She has learned and developed her skills so quickly and we are all so proud of her!  She is totally dedicated and extremely focused and oh, how I love to watch her!!

 And here is Riley.....I mean Boom Dot with Emily (aka Emma Lee The Strange and Maggie (aka Morbid Maggie).  They are all learning and all loving it! 

And here is my Terri aka (Marilyn Makeumoan Roe).  Sadly, she bit the dust and that is Camo coming to her rescue.  She found out later that she blew out her knee and actually had to have surgery on it whilst I was there, so no skating for her for awhile longer!

Okay, so now that you've had a glimpse and I have disclosed everyone's Derby names, I can go one to tell you about the name of my blog :).  I just loved it all so much and all the members of the team are so awesome and it was all just so exciting to witness, even if I couldn't participate.....well, one thing led to another and I was dubbed "Mama Monroe" (since Terri's name is a spoof on Marilyn Monroe and I'm her Mama...get it?? Thought so.  Figured I'd explain anyway.)  AND............the paperwork is in the process for me to become an official team member!  YES!!!!! Since I am unable to actually skate, I will be an NSO (Non-Skating Official) but that's not to say that I might not just get my butt on some skates one day!!  LMAO

So this new blog will have some fresh material involving some of my new interests.  Roller Derby, knitting and a new "lease on life" after finally having surgery that has resulted in me being well on the way to being ever so much more physically mobile than I have been in about 3 years!!  Things are looking up, I'm feeling good and it's all up-hill from here!  Weeeeeeeeeeeeee...............

Fusion Anniversary

Well, Wednesday was the 1 year anniversary of my spinal fusion surgery. I went Thursday for my X-Rays and will see the DR next week. I spoke with his nurse Tuesday about some issues I've been having and they are of some concern, so I need to be checked out. I actually thought he needed to see me at then end of a year anyway, but she told me that he had 'released' me because my healing was so well progressed on my 6 month X-rays. I think I missed that, but I'm glad I called because my legs are giving me trouble that can, apparently, occur when a 3 or 4 level fusion is done. {Mine was a 4 level}

So anyway, I still have trouble walking. As a rule, on a daily basis, it just starts bothering me when I walk too far {which isn't far at all} or stand too long. My legs get achy and just don't want to 'go' and my lower back starts getting achy. Some days I can get a lot accomplished, other days, I just can't do it.

Personally, from my research, I have an idea it might be nerve damage. I'll just have to wait and see what he says next week and go from there. I have to learn to accept my limitations and make the best of what ever cards I've been dealt! But I'm not done looking for help, either.

Something just caught my eye, out of my front window, and I got looking and realized that it was my neighbors 2 cats running across the roof of their trailer house. How funny! I know how it sounds to have a squirrel playing around on the roof of our motorhome, so I can imagine the noise 2 big old cats make on their roof!

Gads. I've been blogging so irregularly and yet my head is always full of little tid bits I wanna blog about. I really should make notes, cuz I open up a page to write a new post and they all escape me. Doh! I wish I could be like our dear Poolie and have something fun and interesting to write about everyday.

I have been trying to remember to take my Nikon with me and get some pictures of various "Spring Things" around here, so I'll share some baby cows from down the road with you. They're so cute (and clean-lol)


A couple of babies.

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"Hey, Lady. Whatcha doin'?"

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"OMG! RUN!! She's got a camera!!!!!"

The Blessings of Life ♥

And this, my friends, is a collage of my greatest treasures. The true blessings of my life. Timmy♥Emily♥Xander♥Riley♥Terri♥Maggie♥

Holy Crap!

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last bloggage! And I was doing so well, too, damn it all. I've certainly had a lot of stuff whirling around in my wee little brain to write about. And I've got a lot of new blogs to read, too, and haven't done that!

A couple of the highlights of the past 2 weeks have been a couple of snow storms, one of which we are in the midst of as I write; the switch over from Dish TV to Direct TV, which keeps getting postponed because of the weather; switching over from DSL with our phone company to WildBlue Satellite internet, which barely made installation between storms; my legs pretty much quit working for about a week.....let's see....what else. 3 people I know had babies.....awwwww. My cheap ass router that is 5 years old took a dump, so I got a NICE new one so that if we EVer get Direct TV set up (which will include a DVR...yes, I've been living in a DVR/TIVO-less world) I can watch stuff on my computer whilst HE watches reruns on the Western channel.

I guess the best part of all this stormy weather is that Hubby didn't work for several days and we both survived him wandering aimlessly around the house with his mouth running like a whippoorwill's ass in chokecherry season. There was a day, many years ago {seems like a life time ago} that I would have loved to have been snowed in with him! But....unless you live way out in the bush, Alaskans simply don't get snowed in! In fact the schools are out for weather only when it hits 40 below. The schools are still open, but your kids don't have to go. As for me, I would take Terri to school myself rather than take a chance on the bus breaking down at those temps. Anyway, Chuck has been to work the last couple of days and now he's home....doing that aimless thing again! AGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Or he stands for {what seems like} hours, in front of my computer desk, staring out the window at the horses or whatever. I'm sorry, but it totally messes with my concentration when someone is hovering. How the hell can I write a blog or read anything?! I did just ask him if he was going to stand there all day and he got all huffy, put on his coat and boots and is outside shoveling! Hahahaha. Worked for awhile, as long as he isn't in a pissy mood when he comes back in. Then I'll be sorry I opened my big mouth!

Poolie wanted some pictures of Gus in the snow, so here are a couple I took of him and some others I snapped today of the snow.

MY GIRL'S ARE LOOKIN' GOOD!

Well, here's a "Horse Post" for a change.  It's been all about Murphy for awhile and no talk about my girls.  So unfair!  Chuck had some trouble with his van yesterday and we had to drop it off at the shop.  When I picked him up and brought him home, he decided to let Dixie into the outer pasture to play with her Mama, Susie.

If you recall, Dixie has Laminitis in her hooves and the poor thing has been 'quarantined' in the barn yard, on a diet of only hay and water {and her morning carrots} since July.  Partly so her hooves could heal and partly so she could lose a few hundred pounds.  We figure she's lost about 200-250 lbs and she sure is looking good!

I showed this picture to Chuck and he said that Susie was "giving me the tail"! How funny!! LOL

The did have a great time running and playing and I got a few more shots of them with my trusty iPhone before I headed to town.

 It's actually quite nice to have some pictures of them with the barn and OUR house in the background!  Usually I'm snapping shots from the yard near the house and our neighbor's house/trailers/dead vehicles, etc are the backdrop.  Ewww.  This is much better :)

It doesn't look like Chuck's X-Mas gift is going to make it in time for the big day and I'll have to wrap a picture of it for him, instead.  He won't mind, but I'd rather have it get here in time.  Mayhaps it will.  I ordered him a horse weathervane for the barn and he'll love it!   Anything to do with the horses and he's good to go. I used to dazzle him with new tools or guns, but at this age...he's pretty much got everything in those departments!  As for ME, there are no strange gifts under the tree with my name on them, but I do know that he and Deb have had their heads together a couple times the past couple weeks.  Although she and I have never had a "what do you want for X-Mas conversation", it'll be interesting to see what they came up with.  Hee hee.  We're giving Deb {Casino} money and getting her lovable Redneck Hubby a carton of smokes and a case of beer.  Neither one of them would like anything better! 

And we are also giving them a night off, so to speak.  Their boys (grandsons that they are raising) Corbin and Noah are going to spend the night with us tomorrow night.  Corbin (9) is looking forward to baking X-Mas cookies with me and Noah just wants to "hang out" with Chuckie (as the 5 year old calls him :) ) and watch westerns.  It'll be interesting.  I adore them both and Corbin often comes down to help me do stuff or to just hang out.....just the 2 of us.  He thrives on the one on one time and the attention.  Poor Deb works long hours and their time is limited.  HOWEVER....when the 2 of them are together, they are a force to reckon with, so I repeat.  It will be interesting......sigh......