Proof that I cannot draw my way out of a paper sack...

Remember those little drawings we all did as kids of a house, and a tree, and sunshine, and a bird and flowers?

Somebody has duplicated that drawing, but in real life and without the bird - and sunshine only sometimes, and straight lines instead of wiggly ones.

There is a sod farm a few miles down the road from where I live, and there is a homestead on the property. Large garage, painted white with green roof and green trim, 3 multi-pane windows on each of the 2 long sides. And along under those windows, dark dark peonies and iris with spikey spikey foliage.

I swear it looks just like a kid's drawing of a "house" (except for the big garage door...) I don't think it has a tree. We shall see when I go home.

Just delightful. I shall indeed post a photo when I get home and get a photo, assuming there is enough light because right now it is VERY DARK outside and raining and it's the end of the world and we're all gonna die.

So, I'm sitting here with more computer memory around my neck than was used to send Apollo11 to the moon. A 2-gig usb flash memory stick on a ribbon. Amazing, eh? I love TigerDirect. For stuff like memory sticks and mouses and keyboards they have awesome prices, and if I order before 4pm, I usually get it the next day. I've never gotten anything "huge" from them like a whole computer or a monitor or anything - but the stuff I've gotten has been good.

234 days

Motivational Overload

Ever get to the point where there is just so much to do and utterly no time to do it in?

Or there's so much to do that you get paralyzed because you get overwhelmed? I think that's what has happened to me at home lately.

I come home from work, and I see Dishes/Laundry/Vacuuming/Dusting/FloorScrubbing/Gardening all needing to be done, each of them wailing at the top of their lungs for my complete and undivided attention - and the cacophony overloads my circuits and I shut down. I have yelled at the laundry repeatedly, but it simply refuses to do itself.

I know the solution. I got it from one of the most annoying women I've ever worked with, but despite all her less-than-endearing qualities, she did come up with one piece of advice that stuck with me. I know the solution - "Pick a pizza".

See, this annoying former co-worker was the receptionist for a few months, and had previously been co-owner with her husband of a pizzaria. After their divorce (WHY am I not surprised...) he got the business and she had to go find a "real job". The solution, however did come from one of her myriad pieces of unsolicited advice. Her story went thus:

"When I was IN CHARGE at the pizza parlor, I would see a lot of new employees who would become so overwhelmed by the volume of orders during our heavy volume times that they would just freeze in place, unable to do all of it at once. I would tell them 'Just pick ONE pizza - make that ONE pizza - don't worry about the others' and when it is done, pick another one."

So - I seriously need to decide which of my houseworking pizzas to attack first. The one I hate most would probably be the best idea - but one that has a large visual "DID IT" factor might be a better choice in terms of self-motivation.

Hey Amanda - your e-mail bounced - how about sending me your new address so I can put it in my addresses book?

235 days

Brrrrrrrrrr

T'is cold today. Was very cold last nite, and I forgot I'd turned off the furnace until like 3 a.m. at which point it was too late, so I just burrowed under the covers and swore a lot.

I was going to write a whole gigabyte here about another of the forwarded e-mails from my super-religious family, but then I read something on TFWY's and on Enigma4ever's blogs (differing opinions, to be certain) and another set of thoughts started percolating around.

Oh, I'll get back to the gigabyte diatribe later - perhaps not even a diatribe, perhaps just the very sad, very hurt feeling I have regarding this e-mail. But enough.

It would appear from things said in the last few days - and will doubtless become 100% certain by the end of the week - that the Democratic party will be close to anointing their Sacrifice to the System - whether Senator Obama or Senator Clinton.

I can understand that there are folks who are not happy with Senator Obama. I can understand that there are other folks who are not happy with Senator Clinton. I can even understand that there are staunch Democratic folks who are not happy with either of the 2 remaining candidates. Fair enough.

Whatever our reasons, however, I think it is important to take a step back, a deep breath - let your eyes wander over the lovely spring flowers, breathe deep of the crisp clean air... and remember that all of us want a Better America, but that our own visions of a "Better America" are all going to be different.

Just as Man has created his God in his own image, so too it seems, many are intent on ONLY voting for a Presidential Candidate who shares all .. not most... not some... not just the important ones, ... but ALL of their personal agendas.

Dad does this "Can't vote for X - he's pro-gay. Can't vote for Y - he's anti-social-security. Can't vote for Z - he's not a Real Republican©"

Sometimes we have to back away from our own pet issues and take a look at the larger picture. Sometimes we have to think long and hard not only about what will benefit ourselves and our agendas, but that of the community as well. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride - a most bitter pill! - and realize that even though our pet issue is not going to be addressed, the people running for office are trying to do the best they can - and will try to benefit the MOST people possible.

Dad and his groups are ardent Conservatives - of the OLD school of conservatism, not the current corporate-welfare, pander to the elite neocon conservatives. I'm not ashamed to say that I am a liberal. Dad knows this - and he knows that I'll get up a head of steam if he yanks hard enough on my chain - and we both love each other so much that we just both back off and talk about citrus trees. (Long story)

So what I'm asking for here - from all my pals - is a bit of a moritorium on knee-jerk responses. Just because someone doesn't approve of your pick for candidate and states his/her reasons doesn't make them an abominable troll or an idiot. Not everyone is verbally Shakespeare, so consider that it may not be ignorance, or negativity but possibly the "tone" that the internet gives things that don't have inflections and gestures to soften.

Please can we all who have been such a comfort and support to one another through the last 7 1/2 years of hell stop backbiting and sniping and knee-jerking - and remember that after this is all over - however it turns out - we are still all going to be Americans, we all still have to live together and get along (Shaddup, Manic, I know you're not 'Merkan).

Kum-ba-ya
And all that.

236 days

My plants love me

Yesterday I thought I'd killed about 8 of them. Ones I hadn't gotten into the ground yet, due to me being a lazy slob and not wanting to dig holes. They were bone dry (why do we say that? Bones are pretty darn wet if they are inside people like they supposed to be). So I flooded the cardboard tray they were in, gave the dirt in their pots a sprinkle and went in and had a G&T.

This morning they were perky and upright and beaming at me. Yes they were beaming. They're my plants, dammit, and if I want them to beam, they're gonna BEAM!!!

So anyhow, the little baby impatiens will survive, and all will be well as soon as I put in another 40 minutes or so on the gardening and digging holes and rescuing the subsiding wire plant thingys.

Lea is hanging in there. Got some really good advice from a visiting healthcare worker, and found some other "workarounds", so she's doing a bit better between the Chemo appointments. I'm glad she's found some relief for the mouth sores, they sounded utterly miserable.

I think I shall buy some new tomato cages. The ones I have are probably 15 yrs old and all rusty and nasty. Since I only have 2 tomato plants this year, I'll only buy 2 cages, but I will buy some sticks, because I think the pepper plants need sticks.

More to say, but will have to wait for later - lunchtime is over, back to work!

237 days