My Talented Progeny

Wow! I'm finally back on broadband! It will be great once I clean out one of my dial-up programs. Right now it keeps interfearing. I also need to figure out how to set up a network here at home, so my Aunt can use it too. She's having problems with her ISP as well. On to the subject at hand.

I have such talented people in my family! My Daughter-in-Law, is soooooo talented. She does photography, professionally mind you. She also paints, sews, etc. My Son can give a speech with no more than a few minutes preperation and he can write! Beautifully! My oldest Grandson can play piano,guitar, plus write music, but his main interest right now is writing fantasy. He's got nine chapters of a novel wrote and a really great short story as well. My granddaughter can dance and act and sings, she's even in a semi-professional choir. That doesn't even count all her extra curricular activities. I wish I had some of her energy. My youngest Grandson is learning to play the trumpet, jazz no less. The oldest boy graduated from an Arts and Acedemics school that encourages students to explore thier talents and they can start with 7th grade. My granddaughter is still there, in fact she was the first to go, with the oldest transferring later. Now the youngest boy has qualified to enter next year, joining in the tradition. In an era when some schools are thinking of curtailing the Arts to save money or from a lack of teachers, it is refreshing to know that there are still public schools who want to develope the whole person.

Out of Sync

Possibly your bedroom is like mine, not all that dark at night. I have led lights from 2 computers, in fact, the desk top lights are so bright that I have to cover them when I go to bed. I also have a clock with led numbers that are also projected on the ceiling. Usually when the nieghbor leaves for work around 5 am, he leaves his back porch light on as well.

This morning, somewhere after 3 am, I awoke to almost complete darkness. Something was missing! Besides being almost pitch dark, it was really quiet too. My foggy brain finally concluded that there was no electric power. I got up to visit the bathroom, and I remember thinking how grateful I was that toilets don't need electricity to flush. Since March had decided to both arrive and leave like a lion, it was cold as well. I went back to bed, thinking that the power would be back on by the time I would need to arise.

My expectations were dashed, however, when by somewhere around 6:30 am, It was still dark and cold. Notice how imprecise my idea of the time was. I had only my past bladder habits to go on. It finally started growing lighter, so we could see to get up and dressed, the dog out, then fed. It was really quite cold. There was a new layer of snow on the ground, but at least, it seemed to be finished. My Aunt called the power company, and recieved a recording with an estimate for the time the power would be back on----2:30 pm!

Now reality was beginning to set in. How would I get my caffiene fix? I couldn't heat water! How could I toast my bagel? I could at least read the paper, as there was ample light from the window. I settled for a coke for my fix and settled down with the daily Tribune. Soon, I put on a sweater, then got a blanket. I even put on gloves, as my hands were so cold to be painful, at least the one with arthritis. About 9am, we could hear the sound of furnace fans, and other machines coming back to life. Oh Joy! Now I could get back to my routine, but mainly, I could get warm and have my coffee.

After Easter Notes

Not much to post today, just letting you know I'm still alive. I've been reading my Grandson's fantasy novel as he posts it. It's getting very interesting and shows great promise. It's interesting to note how his own belief's are revealed here and there. Of course, that is usually the case for an author. It's hard to be consistent if you are writing against your own beliefs, I would think.

We're trying to have Spring here, but March is always a little undecided about whether to fully embrace Spring, or to keep giving Winter a chance to hang in a little longer. I do notice that Spring has managed to produce some pollen though, or else snow mold. What ever it is, it's making me sneeze and giving me a headache, when I really should be outside doing some spring clean up.

We had a nice Easter. I picked up my daughter, and cooked a ham and fixings for dinner for her and my two Aunts. I had to give Michele an extra carry bag to take her Easter goodies home in. The problem was that each of us had gone to the store to buy her candy, etc. but only MaryLou showed me what she'd bought. Anyway, Michele will have enough chocolate to last until Fall, plus a basket and another container to put things. That's okay, I guess, but we'll need to coordinate on other holidays.

Complications

I'm a confirmed computer user, and I'd never want to be completely without one. Sometimes though. they can be a pain. My Aunt has been frustrated for days over an editing assignment for an organisation she belongs to. First, the attachment which was supposed to be in her email, didn't come through. After she had it resent, she got the attachment into her files, but couldn't open them. It seems that, when she got her new computer a bit over a year ago, she didn't get around to activating the Microsoft Word , so the computer wouldn't open the files or print them without her activating the program. Shouldn't be a problem, right? In order to activate, she needed a long registration number which niether of us could find. The file was done in Word Perfect, so we thought maybe it would let me open it on my laptop, as I have Word Perfect.
She had burned the files to a CD, so I put it in my laptop. Lo and behold, there it was, but since my printer was in a box in the basement, I had to go down and get it, set it up, and print out the file. It was nice to have my printer running again. Unfortunately, there's no room for it, so it's back in it's box in the basement. Oh well, such is life I guess.

I am so enjoying reading my Grandson's fantasy novel on his blog. Has it given me the nudge to get my own writing going? Not yet, but there's always hope in nearly impossible dreams.

New Projects

I bought a quilt for my twin-sized bed and was quite disappointed in the size. It seems most bedding for twin beds are too long and not wide enough. Since I wanted a quilt that would act like a bedspread, I decided to make my own. I found some "fat quarters" in colors that I liked and bought them. I decided to keep it simple, so I'm using 4 inch squares, no complicated pattern. After I measured the bed and decided what size I really wanted, I figured out how many squares I would need. I'll need 675 squares and I have enough fabric to cut 240 squares. Opps! It seems that I have a slight problem. That's okay, I'm going through all the fabric I have on hand and there are some in the right colors. I'll have fun finding other fabric to buy to fill-in the rest of the quilt. I expect this to be a fairly long term project, as I'm not real experienced with quilting, and I'm taking it slowly.

My Aunt got a ladies clothing catalogue from a company called Saginaw. They have some of the cutest purses, mostly made of fabric. Looking at them though, I bet I could make some myself. There goes another future project. Not that I need more really. Soon, it will be warm enough to start working in the yard. We have some old twin tubs that were used with an old wringer type washer. We plan on having the old washer toted off, but I got this idea to bring the tubs up from the basement and use them to grow tomatoes and kitchen herbs. Unfortunately, sometimes I have more ideas than energy. I think I just need to prioritize my time, right?

This and That

It's a typical March day, meaning that it can't make up it's mind what kind of a day to be. First it's cloudy and a little gloomy, now it's sunny, though still with high, light clouds. I guess we're going to get some stormy weather from the northwest this weekend. That seems to be the pattern for the last several months, storms on the weekend. Of course that's when I have to make the long trek to work, so I'm not too appreciative.

Yesterday was my Daughter, Michele's bi-weekly visit. She seems to have another cold. She had a pretty bad one over Christmas, I'd hoped she wouldn't get sick again.

I mentioned before that my Grandson is writing a fantasy novel on his blog. I just read chapter three. He's doing very well. He seems influenced by Tolkien, but most fantasy writer's are, and who better to be infuenced by. Sam's plot is starting to get interesting and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does with it. He's certainly at least 3 chapters ahead of me in writing!

The cost of gasoline is going up again. It's averaging around $3.13 per gal. of regular, with the higher grades being higher, of course. If this keeps up, I may have to make some "life style" changes, whether I want to or not. This weekend,I saw quite a few more motorcycles on the road around Tooele. I guess they are cheaper on gas, but saying I'm not comfortable on one is a massive understatement. Maybe I'll have to get a job locally.

News

I'm happy to report that my Son, Daughter in Law and Children have formed thier own family blog, right here on Blogger. Since they live in Washington state and I live in Utah, with oil selling at $108 per barrel and gas prices soaring, it will help us to keep in tough a little better I hope. My oldest Grandson, Samuel, also has his own blog and he is writing a fantasy novel! I have such creative Grandchildren. Sam also plays guitar, piano, and viola. Caitlin sings, has tried her hand in dance and film making. Ethan is playing trumpet and doing very well.

That leads me to an interesting article that I just read on scientists studying the brain while doing something creative. They had a keyboard made of plastic so that it can be used inside of an MRI chamber. Next they had jazz pianists play inside. They played music they memorised, then they played improvisation, where they make it up as they on along. One of the things they found is that the area of the brain responsible for inhibition switches off when improvisation starts. That makes sense to me. Also, some of the same areas lit up that are used in dreaming. I know my dreams certainly seem creative, sometimes really bizarre actually. Too bad I don't put them on paper, but then again, there's that bizarre thing. The article is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23562208/

The Seasons

Isn't it strange how we want to rush the changing of the seasons,at least I tend to, but then once the season is here, we get tired of it soon. I suspect that happens in areas that have well defined seasons, like Utah. We pretty much have 4 distinct seasons, though transitional months like March can really be very unpredictable. I guess I find March the hardest month to deal with, especially after a snowy,cold winter like this last one. We actually had a couple of nice days the end of February, then March came in like a lion with storms. There were a day or two that were nice last week, but it is cloudy and a little gloomy today. At least the predicted storm yesterday didn't amount to much,mostly a cold west wind, but lots of sun. I'm finding that sunshine most of the day can make me pretty forgiving of cold temperatures. Later in the month that probably won't be so true. By mid-March,I'll be expecting some warmer days. I do,however,remember some truly big snow storms in past Marches. Their saving grace is that they melt faster.

Last summer was the hottest summer on record,so by mid-September, I was getting anxious for cooler temperatures. I've noticed that my weather anxiety is more prominent at the beginning of Spring and the ending of Summer. I guess I'm more likely to get tired of the more extreme seasons of Winter and Summer. I'm pretty tolerant of Fall, in fact it's my favorite season.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that some of us are heavily influenced by our surroundings, especially the weather.

Great Photography!

My Daughter-in-Law is a professional photographer. She works out of her home and brings a great deal of creativity and artistry to her work. She manages to bring out the best in her subjects. The fact that many of her subjects are babies and young children, makes that ability more amazing. She also does photo studies for seniors getting ready to graduate, pregnant ladies looking to have a pictorial record of this special time in her life,and other family oriented photo ideas. She even does a ABC book for little children. As you can tell, I'm a great fan. I check into her blog frequently to see what she's been doing.

This week,I checke her blog and discovered, to my joy, that she had done a couple of sessions with her Daughter, my Granddaughter and 2 of her friends. They did some costumed shots, one of vintage clothes and one that the girls created themselves. The pictures were wonderful, catching the girls' sense of fun, their high spirits, and sense of self. You could tell how much fun they were having, including the photographer. You can take a look at http://www.lightshadowphotography.com/

What a Feeling

Last week, a neighboring town had an earthquake. It was in a little town called Wells, NV, which about 20 miles from the Utah border. That makes it about 80 miles from us in Tooele. Since the quake measured 6.0, we did feel it. At first, I thought the dog had bumped into my chair as I sat reading the morning paper. Then, I realised that she was still in the kitchen. I asked my Aunt if she had felt anything. She said "no". I said "Wait". Sure enough, in a few seconds the earth began to roll. that's really what it felt like.......like my chair was on rollers that were going around and around. It seemed to go on for a long time, in fact I was wondering if it was time to go stand in a doorway, but it was probably about a minute. The earthquake was 6.5 miloes deep. Maybe that was why it felt like a roll instead of a shake.

Wells is a small town, part of it quite old and still being used. Unfortunately, those older buildings didn't hold up to the quake very well. There was quite a bit of damage. They showed film from the survalance cameras inside a grocery store on TV. There were cans and packages falling all over. The last I heard, there were 42 homes too damaged for people to live in. Over 180 people needed somewhere to stay. The Red Cross was there very quickly, supplying food and water and blankets and such. Fortunately, there have seemed to be a lot of people show up to help. Since there are a whole lot of faults in my area, it made me stop and think that we might need to think about getting a little prepared when our turn comes.

Long Dry Spell

I just noticed that it's been well over a month since I've posted on my blog. Even with my extra work schedule during the Holidays, I still managed to post at least once a week. I think that my reason for inactivity is loss of interest. I'm not talking about a loss of interest in my blog only, that's just a symptom of my general lack of enthusiasm to life.

I've noticed that people who have experienced 2 to 3 winter storms a week since December first, tend to get a little depressed, or at least a little resentful of Mother Nature. Some of that resentment spills over on to cheerful weather men who keep reminding us how much we need all this water to break the drought. Maybe they'd like to come out and shovel the 2 feet of snow we got a week and a half ago.

While it is true that we need water for the summer. Who knows, we might end up with an even hotter summer than last year. Hopefully not though. Still, the storm we got over the 13th and 14th was really too much of a good thing. That's when we got the 2 feet. Fortunately, I didn't have to go to work that day, as the only part of my car visible was part of the rear bumper and the driver's side mirror. Otherwise, it was just a small hill next to the garage. With the snow blower on the fritz, it was purely a job for shovels. It took my Aunt and I from around 6:30 am until 1:15 pm to finish digging out. We did have a little help from a neighbor, thank goodness.

We still have a lot of snow in the yard, but temperatures have been higher and the last storm was mainly rain on the valley floor. There were even a couple of places that had to sandbag to avoid some flooding.

It has been wonderful to see the sun more often lately. It really shows that most humans respond favorably to sunshine. I think of my Son and his family in the Northwest where they've had days and days of rain and I can sympathise with the many people up there who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I think I've had a bit of it myself.

What Will 2008 Bring?

What kind of a year will 2008 be? If the first 2 weeks are any indication, it will be lots of politics. Of course, that's not a prediction,but maybe a given, since it's an election year and there have been so many states trying to get into the early primary act. It should be interesting, but maybe not so nice, given the recent history of political races. It would be nice if the candidates and their workers could raise the bar a bit and clean things up and stop using fear as tactic. Unfortunately, fear is such a good tool. Maybe, since the currant administrtion has used it so darn much, the American public has gotten more discerning. I do believe that the electorate is getting sick and tiredof business as usual. At any rate, if you have a low tolerance for politics, you may have to turn off the evening news.

I'm afraid that we maybe in for a bumpy ride when it comes to the economy though. Much of the news isn't so good. The problems caused by subprime loans and the housing slump is bad enough, but now unemployment isn't looking too stable. It's also been, so far, a rough winter which can be costly to states and municipalities, not to mention, private citizens dealing with some pretty extreem weather in parts of the country.

Only time will tell how the year will go. I guess we'll just keep our eyes open, and do the best we can with what we're given. Pretty much like always.

Thoughts On Christmas

Now that Christmas is over, maybe I can make some sense of some of the feelings that I was having. For the 3 weeks before Christmas, I was heavily involved with selling "events"where you spend 2 or 3 days selling either the same or related products. I found that I really got quite emotionally invested in selling the products. Maybe it was because I was selling products that I really enjoy myself, like various cheeses and dips. I got so involved,that I didn't realise how close to Christmas it had gotten. Whoa! Time to try to get the rest of my shopping done! One day, I was walking past some fresh pine wreaths we had for sale and caught the fragrance.It nearly made me cry with the memories and feelings it brought up. I was missing a lot of the things I usually did around Christmas. I was spending so much time at work, and even away from work, planning my demos and checking my sales, that I hadn't really done some of the things I usually enjoy. We usually drive around to see people's light displays, but with the price of gas and all the snow storms we had, I missed that. It's not really a big deal on that, but what I had missed, was taking time to contemplate and enjoy the season. I didn't even do any baking or candy making either.

When Christmas came, it was very nice, though quiet. My daughter seemed to enjoy things and we were able to have her with us for a few days. I had planned to call my son and his family, but didn't manage that either. I guess after all the rushing, I kind of became a little slow and quiet. I suspect that's probably something I needed.

I Did It

In my last post, I talked about giving money to Heiffer International, something that I've wanted to do since I first heard of them, but always seemed to find ways to put it off. I finally donated some money toward a goat for a needy family. I would have liked to give more, but had planned to donate to a couple of charities that I usually give to. I'm now wondering if it would be better to pick just one charity and give all that you've budgeted, thereby, possibly accomplishing more, at least for that one charity. Then again, there are a lot of worthy charities out there, isn't a few dollars better than none? It's something I'll have to think about.

Decorating and Giving

I've spent the last several years simplifying my Holiday decorating. In fact, up until my Mom got too ill to travel, I didn't decorate inside my home at all, since I and my daughter, would be in Washington with my Son and his family. After my Mom got too ill, I purchased a small tabletop tree and pulled out some of my old decorations.

Today, my Aunt and I decorated our home. I have a very small collection of Santas, but my Aunt has some wonderful Santas. We still have a tabletop tree, but there are lots of Christmas bears and ceramics, as well as stuffed bears. It took all morning to trade out the regular bears for Christmas ones, and there are still lots of boxes in the basement untouched. I also have things in storage that I probably haven't even thought of in years.

When I was still married and my children were young, my ex-husband and I would put up 2 trees, one upstairs and one down. We also put up lights. It was a lot of work, but we enjoyed the results. I'm not nearly as enthusiastic as I used to be. Maybe that's because there's no young children around the house.

I still enjoy the Christmas season, but I think it may be time to change my focus a little. I'm not quite ready to serve dinner to the homeless, but I think something like that is in my future. I've been aware of an organisation called Heifer International for several years. I've often thought of donating to them. They provide the poor, mostly in undeveloped countrys, a way to help themselves by giving them livestock like cows or goats or chickens and ducks. This gives them a way to feed their families and down the line be able to sell baby goats or eggs to help themselves and ultimately, their neighbors and villages. This has always seemed to me, to be the ultimate way to offer help to the needy. I kept thinking that I needed to buy a whole cow or something and couldn'y afford it. I still can't afford a whole cow or llama, but I can afford one or even two shares of a goat, or a flock of chicks, or seeds for planting. This year, I will put my money where my mouth is.

Anyone who is interested in donating, or just wants more info can go to http://www.heifer.org

Getting With The Season

Today my Aunt and I got the outside Christmas lights up. There are 3 deer, a polar bear, and 2 pine trees, one large and one small. My Aunt was worried about getting the timer set right. Last year, on the first night, the lights didn't go on until 2 am. I checked at 5;30PM and they are on, at least part of them are on. One deer only has it's head lit up, the large tree is very spotty.I guess we'll have to run down the dead bulbs or missed connections. I picked my daughter up for one of her overnight visits and her tree was up and decorated, done on the 1st of December. I don't think I've ever been that early. I guess we'll do the inside decorations next week.

I've been reading about and seeing on the news, the huge rain and wind storms battering the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately, my Son and family live on somewhat high ground, But I still need to call them to check that they are okay. We're supposed to get another snow storm again this weekend. It's too bad I work weekends. At least it's not supposed to be quite as cold as the last one. It was in the 20s, so everything was frozen or freezing. Hopefully, it will stay above freezing this time.

I finally had enough of our electric can opener not opening. I got an old fashioned, handheld opener! I think it's always better to have a way to cook and clean by hand,just in case.

Thanksgiving

I had intended to post on Thanksgiving, but it was a little busy, then came work and that was that. So here's my Thanksgiving musing.

There are many things that I'm thankful for, my Aunts for being there when I need them, my Daughter Michele, just for being herself and loving me unconditionally, my Son Robert, for being a wonderful son, father and husband, a good man. Thank you to my Daughter-in-law, Lisa for being a good wife and mother, and for being a roll model of strength and determination. I'm grateful for my Grandchildren, they are turning into wonderful people with loads of potential. I'm grateful that I have a job that I can find pleasure and satisfaction in. I'm grateful for my co-workers. I enjoy the people I meet on the job, especially the little children. They are a delight!

There are always the "little" things that I'm thankful for every day. The many beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I see daily, the view of the Great Salt Lake when I'm traveling to and from work. There was a huge, nearly full moon on Thanksgiving, beautiful. When I left for work the next morning, I looked up at the western sky, and there it was, getting ready to set, poised between the rosy glow of sunrise and the darker sky of night, really wonderful.

I bought something new on meditation recently. I've often thought of buying a book by Sharon Saltzberg, who writes about Loving Kindness and Insight meditation. She has a kit out, sold by Sounds Easy called "Unplug". It consists of an instuction booklet, idea cards and 2 CDs. On the CDs she walks you through meditations. Unlike many I've tried, she gives you periods of silence where you can count your breath and really get a feel to meditation. She really has you count, brethe in, and out, one and then breathe in, out, two and so on to ten and start over. If you get distracted, start again with one. She says not to judge any thought, just think of it as "not breath"and start again, being very gentle with yourself. So far, I'm quite impressed.

Just Musing

Our kick off the holidays event at work is over. It seemed to go quite well. People were pretty receptive, for the most part. It was a lot of work, but also pretty fun. We were set up in pairs in order to keep the demos open and serving all day. It had the advantage of giving us someone to talk to during slower times, getting to know a co-worker better. Our customers were a little surprised at the fancy dishes we provided. They seemed to enjoy themselves. Even with the fun, I'm glad this event only comes once a year. Boy was I tired!

Today is my Son's birthday. He occupies a special place in our family. Not only is he my first-born, he is also the first grandchild born on my maternal side and he was also born on my Aunt's birthday. She feels he's part hers, I think. Bob is a wonderful son, everything a mother could want but for one thing. He and his family live in Vancouver, WA and I live in UT and I miss him. I miss them all, my Daughter-in-Law, and my Granddaughter and 2 Grandsons. I certainly wish for Bob to have a great day today and a wonderful year.


The weather around here is pretty strange this year. The last 2 days were of record breaking warmth and today it's cold again, we may even have snow, though the storm doesn't seem to have a lot of moisture. That seems to be the problem this last year or so, not enough water.
Utah frequently has unpredictable weather, but it seemd to be a bit more so recently. Maybe global warming? Could be.

Dates of Note

November is a busy month for me. Today is my Daughter's birthday. Next week is my Son's birthday, plus my Aunt's birthday as well. Also next week, is Thanksgiving. This week will also be busy due to a big promotional event that my company holds every year the weekend before Thanksgiving. As I've probably mentioned, I am food demonstrator. We are a bit under staffed right now. We have to stay on the floor, serving from 10AM to 6PM for all three days. As we are short people to relieve for lunches and breaks, we will operate in tandem, 2 people working 2 demos together and covering both demos for breaks and lunches. It will be a little tricky, but should work.

My daughter will be 41 today, I think. I don't always pay attention to my kid's ages, then I have to pay attention to my own. Michele won't mind my giving away her age though. She doesn't pay attention to things like that. In fact, she had forgotten her birthday herself. She was too busy looking forward to "turkey day". Michele is my handicapped child. She is mentally disabled and also has some autistic behaviors. She has been able to live in a supervised apartment and work in a sheltered workshop enviornment for about 14 years or so. She's managed, with her staff, to build a life of her own, for which I am very grateful. She lives a fuller life than she did at home, though I'm sure she misses some of her family at times. She does spend an overnight visit with me and her Aunt every 2 weeks. Unfortunately, she hasn't seen her brother and his family for quite awhile. Hopefully, we'll remedy that sometime this next year. When I think about things to be thankful for, all the things I've learned from my children and greandchildren are high on my list.

Time and Money

It seems like so many of our problems link back to either time or money or both. Last year, I worked full time during the last quarter of the year for the Holidays. It worked out well because I was 15 to 20 minutes from work. This year, I am 45 minutes from work, gas prices are on the rise again, and I recieved two raises, putting my social security in some jeopardy. I decided to work 4 days per week, thinking that an extra day per week wouldn't put me at too high a salary that I would have to pay soc sec back. Of course, that decision was made before the most recent upward spiral in gas prices. At this point, I'm only hoping to keep ahead of the extra miles paid for on my gas bills. Then there's the matter of time. I seem to only manage to post in my blog once per week. I've started sewing again, but I'm still finding it hard to find the time.

When I stop to think about it. I realise that I probably have plenty of time for everything if I just get organised and stop wasting time with TV and crossword puzzles. I could also save money with gas by riding the commuter bus into the city a couple of days per week. That brings up the time issue again. The schedule for the bus requires me to go into town earlier than if I drove, and coming home later. Guess I could do crossword puzzels?