Fractals...

I used to love to do cross stitch and I might add, I was pretty darn good.  At the time, I was doing mostly Victorian style angels.  I'm ready to try my hand again, but couldn't stomach doing an angel so I started looking for something different and found "fractals."  They're done with mathematical equations from what I understand and some require up to 122 colors.  The only thing easy about them is that there are no 1/2 stitches.  If you click on the picture you can see them better.  Here's a few I'm loving...

 But, I think this is the one I'm going to do.  I love how it looks like feathers.  This one has 99 colors.  The only thing I hate is the thought of doing this on black.  It's almost impossible to see the holes on black.  I may pick another color...



I'm Such a Proud Mama...

My beautiful granddaughter Hannah, is turning 1.  In lieu of the typical first birthday party, my daughter has decided that Hannah is so fortunate to have a home, a loving family, clothes, toys, and food to eat, that her first birthday will be in honor of City Light Home for Women and Children.  It's a wonderful program for our city's most vulnerable citizens - homeless women and their children.

I'm really excited!  I've bought some socks, hats and gloves, toys and a few other things for the kids.  I'm going through my pantry today to pick out some food to take and will soon hit my closet to see if there may be a few things in there that I can take (I know how laughable this thought is to some of you!).  I'm also going to see if my boss will let me set a cash donation box up at the Merc to help out.

What a great way to spend a day, and what a great feeling everyone will have for having done something good for those who need a hand up in these hard times.  Thanks Jack, for doing something so wonderful to help so many.  You always make me proud.

Happy first birthday Hannah Dee!

OK, Enough of This...

I love my daughter.  She's always got my back and knows me better than anyone except my mom.  I got a call from her this morning basically telling me that I haven't been myself lately and reminding me that we really have great lives.  Whenever I find myself worrying about things, I always try to tell myself that there are so many people out there who are so much worse off than I am.  However, I've had a dark cloud following me the last several months but didn't realize how bad it was until my daughter's call this morning.

I started rattling off things I'd been thinking about (I evidently needed to get it off my chest!):

Wanting so badly to sell our house but not being able to
Wondering if we were going to need to move all the kids up the the property into a commune because of the horrible economy.
Not being able to come up with a good plan for a much-needed family get-together.
Not having Jake home.
blah, blah, blah

Then she reminded me of what I always say. "Life is good."

It was a gentle butt-kicking I needed.  Life really is good you know, and here's what I have to be so grateful for and will now focus on:

A husband who loves me - even though we're much like Al and Peg Bundy!
A family I can always trust and talk to.
3 wonderful kids who have turned out to be more than I could ever have hoped for - despite some of the things I've done.
A daughter-in-law and son-in-law that I love and feel so lucky to have. You're extremely fortunate if your children marry someone who loves them (almost) as much as you do.  Thank you Heather and Tim for loving my kids.
Jake will be home - where he belongs - soon.
A mother who is so special to me (and everyone in our family) that I can't imagine not having her as my best buddy.
A beautiful home.
A beautiful piece of property that we'll someday live on.
A few friends that I think the world of and would do anything for and I know would do anything for me. (I'm basically quite anti-social - not that I choose that, but because I'm just not the life of the party like my sisters are so people have a hard time getting close to me).  Jaci, Denise, Casey - I love you!
5 WONDERFUL grandkids that I think love me almost as much as I love them - and it's the best feeling in the world.

So, thanks Jacki, for giving me the lift I needed and the gentle butt-kicking to remind myself of how wonderful my life really is.  You are my sunshine...

About the Death Penalty...

In just a few days, November 18th, Paul Ezra Rhoades is scheduled to die out at the Idaho Penitentiary.  As his death watch has gotten closer, he has decided to challenge Idaho's method of death as "inhumane."

Pffffffffffffftttt.

As I hear that, I can't help but think of the wonderful people in my life that I've watched die of cancer.  An old friend from Fish and Game who died from brain cancer.  It was a horrible death.  I had gone to see him once a week, every week when he was placed in a nursing home - something that was hard to see.  He was all man, a man's man.  A good Game Warden who loved his job.  I had seen him just the day before he died.  He had nothing left.  I'm sure if someone had offered him a lethal injection several months before he finally died, he would have gladly accepted it. 

The man Ival was named after.  He lived with us the last year of his life.  Thankfully, he didn't suffer like Don did, but I'm sure that he too, would have welcomed the opportunity to "just go to sleep" instead of the last few days he suffered.

And my old boss at Fish and Game.  She was so sick for so long. 

Paul Ezra Rhoades should be grateful he's getting a lethal injection instead of dying the way he killed the teacher in 1987 and the convenience store clerk in 1988.  Be grateful Mr. Rhoades, it could certainly be worse.

Adam's 18th Birthday Request...

Adam has decided what he wants for his 18th birthday.  It's a rather strange request.

As I've mentioned, he's planning on joining the military right after he graduates.  The other day we were sitting on the couch and he said, "I want a tattoo for my birthday." 

"Really?" 

"Yep, I think I want one of grampa's prints tattooed on my arm so that when I go into the Army, I'll be able to look down and see it and I'll always know that he's with me."

Well, damned if that didn't just make my heart melt!  He's not sure which print he wants done, but he's thinking right now about the Mountain Man, which is the print we used to raise reward fund money when dad was killed.

I'm thinking this one might be less painful!  But, it will be up to Adam.

We're going to have to find someone REALLY good to do such an intricate piece.  Anyone know someone really good locally?  Any idea how much this might cost?  I thought I was going to get away with giving him 50 bucks...

The Blame Game...

I recently read a post on my local Casting For Recovery Facebook page where someone asked if anyone had been off of Arimidex for long enough that they had noticed a change in their side effects from the medication.  They specifically named lack of emotion and energy and mood swings. 

WHAT?

I didn't know those were side effects of Arimidex!  I've been on it for 8 years and have 2 more to go, even though I asked Dr. Montgomery at my last appointment if I could stop taking it - he said no.

But, to get back to why I loved this question. 

I love it when I can come up with a good reason for my bad behavior.  Now, I feel completely comfortable in blaming it on the Arimidex.  Life really is good...

Woot!

Empty Nest...

Today something hit me.  In just 8 months I'll have an empty nest.  Wow.

Adam is planning on joining the Army and will probably ship out to boot camp as soon as he graduates from high school in May.  This of course, has made me wonder, what will Ival and I do?  I hope to be like that car commercial where the young girl has moved on and worries about what her parents are doing and says, "I'm an only child.  Except for my sister."

I hope we'll be off riding horses, taking care of critters, and spending some enjoyable time together.  But a family always seems to revolve around the kids. 

What did/will you do when you have an empty nest?

Our lives will definitely be different...

First Solo Hunting Trip - Could Have Turned Out Badly...

Adam and one of his best friends took their first solo deer hunting trip a few days ago.  They were both really excited but mom was a bit nervous.  I had to make sure they had enough food and water for 4 days, plus a lighter "just in case."  I'm such a boob!

They were only going outside of Horseshoe Bend - about an hour away.  They got up early and left in time to make it to their hunting spot by daylight.  They saw another vehicle parked where they wanted to hunt so they parked nearby and got out.

The minute they stepped out of their vehicle, they were verbally assaulted by 3 men in their 30s.  Calling them "anal assholes" and a bunch of other 4 letter words asking why they were hunting in the same area.  Adam finally said, "Before you get all nasty, why don't you ask us where we're hunting."  So, one guy asked where they were going and Adam pointed the direction.  The jerk said "Good, we're going that way." 

And they all parted ways.  I keep thinking that this could have turned out really badly.  I wish Adam had gotten a license number.  This grizzly mama would have run down the jerk and told him that he could have ruined my son's first solo hunting trip if Adam had allowed it to happen.  As it turned out, the boys saw a doe but no bucks and had a great time.  Why would 3 30-year-old men talk like that to 2 teenagers? 

Jerks.

Kitty in the Garbage Can...

My mother, bless her heart.  She feeds the birds and loves them.  She has one problem however, and that's neighborhood cats that tend to "sneak" on her birds and have often killed them.  She hates that.

A few years ago, she watched as a neighborhood cat caught and killed one of her tweety birds.  She was having none of that.  She ended up catching the cat, set it into her big plastic garbage can,  shut the lid, found a BIG stick and spent the next few minutes banging the garbage can.  KAPOW!  KAPOW!  KAPOW! Needless to say, neighborhood kitty was scared shitless and when mom finally opened the lid, said cat flew out of that garbage can never to return.

Well, this spring mom kept seeing a cat out laying under one of her bushes.  She was sure the kitty was stalking her tweety birds.  This cat however, was very friendly and would run up to her as soon as she opened her door.  After watching kitty lay under her bushes for several days, she finally scooped kitty up and gave her "the trash can treatment."  Yep, my sweet 80-year-old mother.

This time however, she noticed that kitty kept coming back.  Only it was getting thinner and obviously wasn't eating - not even her birds.  It was instead, eating her bird seed.  Poor kitty, somebody had obviously moved and abandoned her.  So, trash can kitty stole mom's heart and she started feeding her.  As time has passed, mom felt so sorry for her that she now lives inside mom's house.  On mom's wonderful bedspread, on her beautiful furniture - wherever she wants to sleep.

Trash can kitty now has a home, although she tends to sit and stare at mom sometimes - like she'd like to scratch her eyes out.  I wonder if she's having flashbacks...

Pinterest

My sister sent an invite to Pinterest a few weeks ago.  I went to the link and set up an account but had no idea what I was supposed to do with it.  I went to websites I like but couldn't figure out how to copy the pictures to my page.  I then discovered that they have to be linked to the site in order to do so.  So, I started going just through the Pinterest website and starting finding all kinds of things that I love!  They have lots of categories and it's a great way to keep track of ideas that I love for our barnhouse. 

If you have a Pinterest account, send me the link, I'd love to see what you've pinned.  Or, if you don't have one and would like one, let me know and I'll send you an invite.

You can look at my page by clicking on the Pinterest logo on the right hand side of my page here.  It's great fun when you have nothing better to do.  I haven't pinned too much yet but I'm working on it.