>> Just a quick note to say I'm alive and well. Am looking over at my craft table, with the canvas I've been working on..it's waiting for the papers to be applied, and it's final coat of matte medium <<

The camera, which I WAZ going to use to take a couple pictures, is behaving Rather Badly at the moment, so instead of throwing it out the back door and watching it sail across the yard, I've decided to calm down, take 234,496 Deep Breaths, and try tomorrow to take the shots of my Collage. And -- the NEW storage cabinet I bought today!! WHOOO-Hooo!!! Le' me TELL you -- when I saw this piece of furniture the other day, I immediately knew it was just the right thing for my studio. After my neighbor & I watched the nice men in the Antique Store load it in her truck, we said thank-you about 3,432 times, then brought it here. It Did take a lot of cleaning, but once I finished it up with a last wash of Mr. Clean Bleach Sponge, it came out just very nice and mellow looking. It amazes me, that it also appears to be hand-made. Like one of the farm families in the area had had their grandfather or father make this for the house. Some of the hardware on the doors I haven't seen available in years and years. The handles are some old pieces of wood, that look like left over scraps from other projects around the barn. Very humble piece, and it fits absolutely perfect in the room.

Will talk more tomorrow or monday about a Wonderful Moment I had at an area Craft Show. I didn't have a lick to sell, or show, BUT -- I did meet the local president of the county Arts Association...and was asked to bring some of my work to be juried for an even this next month. I've got no words to express how amazed I am that THAT happened. Wow.

Must go an' gather goodies to make dinner with. And stand and stare at my new piece of furniture.

Lady of The Tulips

The sky today is tryin' to be cloudy, but it just can not make up it's mind. And our "friends" are still hangin' around, which drives our next door neighbor to havin' hissy-fits. He doesn't like our resident birds, an' thinks that they should just all go away. My whole take on them, is if they wanted to go some place else, they would've gone there by now.

I've gotten thru the Thanksgiving Day Festivities. There was probably far too much pie eaten to be thot about (by me) and there was undoubtedly far too much stuffing stuffed down the mouth by somebody (by me, actually ) and there was probably too much turkey eaten too. But that is not as bad as eating all the pie. Well -- actually I only ate 2 slices, but my luck, those 2 slices made my cholosteral levels go thru the roof all over again, so when I see the Dr., he's going to instantly KNOW what I ate, and immediately start tapping his fingers on his desk. Again. We ARE so grateful, tho, that we even HAD a thanksgiving dinner. In the last few years, it has been somewhat thin, to say the least, when it comes to having any kind of "celebration" for the holiday. Even had our son buy the thanksgiving food items for us the other year. So, my yes, we are very grateful for Tom having a job. And having the income to BUY the food this year. And grateful that Tom's boss/driver manager gave all the drivers a gift card to one of the local chain food stores, for Thanksgiving. Wow. Very, Very Grateful.

Will post tomorrow -- some shots of my frames that are done. Plus a canvas that don't look too shabby, even if I don't mind saying so myself. But for now I gotta go check the mail. And make sure the woodstove is burnin'. And tomorrow I'll tell the tale of Tom, Noah, and The Standing Dead Pine Tree. Only would those two get something done with a couple ropes. Some chopping with an axe. And lots of yelling..pushing..and general Stuff. No wonder my nerves are shot...

Lady of The Tulips

~~ For most of the summer, we had the "pleasure" of dealing with squirrels. Not just once in awhile - seeing them bouncing around in the yard & trees. I mean, seeing them everywhere -- in the yard, on the deck, sitting on our little table. Jumping on the front porch from one of the pine trees. Everywhere. Then, when fall started to arrive, one of the females started to drop pine cone pieces on the deck. And in LARGE numbers. It got to where we had to sweep the deck up to 3 times a day, trying to avoid stepping on pine cone pieces..the ones that have sharp points..and the left over inner core of the pine cone. A sticky mess, and one that would leave me yelling at the squirrel as she sat very contentendly up in the tall, tall pine tree.

Well -- it so happens, much to my dismay, that Said Squirrel was stuffing herself silly with the heart of the pine cones, because she was ready to have a litter. Which she did, and I've been watching the little babies as they've grown. One afternoon, I sat in my porch swing, laughing at the antics of the babies; they with their little faces peering around one of the trees, looking at me with the most interest in the world. And then they'd meet one another near the base of one of the hardwoods, sniffing each others faces, then bounce straight up, gather themselves together, and go bounding away in the trees. A true source of entertainment.

What I didn't know, or couldn't figure out while all the trees were in full leaf, was just where the nest was for the female. And with the snow "Storm" we had last week (look, for this area, it really was considered a storm..don' ask...) whipping the last of the leaves off the hardwoods, I was able to discover jus' how close to the house the nest actually is -- or was -- or both. There it is..as close to the deck as possible..right overhead, actually. And the female is still meandering around. Well..I think it's the female. Whichever one it is, it Still is crawling around our house. I can hear it up on the roof, doing Whatever it is squirrels do in Fall. Maybe planning their get away to the Florida Keys. Who knows. All I do know is that the babies have found their own little abode for the winter. And the adult is showing up less and less. But I fear getting my hopes up that she's gone for good. Seeing the nest this morning while bringing in firewood made me wonder if the adult isn't just getting itself more dug in for the duration. Which means listening to it frockling up on the roof for the foreseeable future.

Not much to show for my art today. With the hours of messin' around yesterday discovering what there is at the thrift stores, left me with no energy to finish my frames or my latest collage. But all is not lost..today is the final coat day for the frames, and the collage is getting it's last 4 pieces. Final top coat, and it'll be done.

But fixin' the dressing for turkey day tomorrow is gonna happen tonight. Then baking the pies first thing in the morning..both Danny & Gabriel have said they're coming to the cabin for thanksgiving. Gabriel hasn't even been down here since we moved, so I wonder what he'll think of our little place -- Danny will probably want to go over to the fishing dock & check out the river & Sound. Should be an interesting day.

Lady of The Tulips

YUP!! Sara just hauled off and decided that it was all just too much for her...heaved herself up on mom's bed, and fell asleep. Well, after all she DID have to go outside and investigate all the new smells around the trees, and she also had to smell where the neighbors dog walks around by the back of the deck, AND she ALSO had to smell around where the clothesline is. So the Poor, Poor Baby!! Look at Her!! She is just flat wore OUT. Such is the life of a dog...


I got back home a little while ago from riding around with our neighbor to some of the area thrift stores. I mentioned that Tom & I had tried to find a local thrift store/"Antique" store on sunday, but we couldn't find it. WELL --- turns out that the building where the antiques are located, happens to be shared with our neighbor, where they have their vending machine company!! WHOA!! so lois took me in the building this morning, and lo and behold, there...right in front of me, is a nearly identical farmhouse pie safe..tho a little more worse for wear than the one we saw Sat. for $625...this one is a little larger -- and was on sale for $135. HA!! Guess who bought it?? ME!! SCORE!! YAAAA!!! So now we gotta get our neighbor to bring it over here, with the use of his truck. his wife said it wouldn't be a problem, so I'm finally going to have the storage I need. No more papers on the floor!!

I also got to one of the area bargain stores. Bought some goodies for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. 3 types of coffees, a big jar of maple syrup, and then got over to wallmart an' bought some pens I needed. All together a very good "Junkin" day!! Saw some shirts that may be good for noah, and tom needs some stuff too. Plus one thrift store had some dishes for less than $30 -- may get those too. Weee...!!!

Got to finish some work on me little table. And the dog wants something...blasted animal. But I love her to pieces, so off I go to spoil her some more!

Lady of The Tulips

>> This is how I'm feeling today -- sort of sunny, happy and glad that the snowstorm we experienced on Friday has all gone away <<


Actually it went away by 1:00 that same afternoon, but suffice to say that I was one of probably 12.349 who waved it away off the coast, never EVAH to see it again. Tom had to rub it in, that up where he was at the Port of Virginia, it'd stopped snowing somewhere about 9:00 -- it kept going, and going and Going down here till almost 11:00 -- He thot it was funny. I jus' thot it was a pain in the ____ and didn't like the fact that I had to tiptoe out on the deck to let out Sara. Her reaction to the snow is still Not Known. She did, however, have a Very Bad Look on her face when she realized that the Stuff was falling down around her, and it wasn't going away any time soon. Well, eventually it did, so she made the best of it, and sprawled out in the grass, sunning her big ol' belly. No, I didn't get a picture of THAT, but it was kinda funny looking. Kinda like seein' me in a bathing suit, laying out in the sun...

We went to the Antique Mall on Saturday!! AND -- no, we did Not buy the antique hutch I'd had my heart on buying. It was still there, tho, all pretty, perfect and wonderful. AND -- it was also $625.00 ~~ Uhh...yes Martha, it DOES make sense to actually look at the price of an item before getting totally enamoured with said item. So ~~ With tears in my eyes, I walked away, but not before buying some antique lace placemat kinda things. Very old. And I Will take a picture of them today & post 'em here so you can see them. They are all handmade by someone who definetly liked to have "Pretty's" around their house. I had had several, but Tom's mother made it a point to throw them all out. And in no uncertain terms, she let me know EXACTLY that they weren't welcome in her house. Even tho they were packed away in storage boxes, that we were in her house to bring back to our place. So -- that's where buying these came in. I'll never see my great-aunt's pieces again, so these are a good replacement.

I've got some new pens (!!) that I'll be working with today -- $2.00 at Dollar General. They seem to work all right, so I can put 'em to use right away. I'd bought an extra pak of pens just before we moved, an' when I went to use a new blue felt marker, it wasn't in the box that I'd stashed for Immediate Use when we moved down here. Some how it left Dodge, and disappeared. Very upsetting when I was 3/4 of the way thru one project, and discovered I couldn't finish with the same color. Now I have something Close Enuf. So it'll be zip-oh-louie-done today. It'll be fun.

Must go check on the woodstove. We're having a Heat Wave this morning.,it's supossed to get up to 55 today! WOW. Then later in the week it all falls thru the floor an' gets cold. Funny thing about november, huh?

Lady of The Tulips

So -- there I was, all sound asleep this morning, when I slowly wake up hearing Noah starting up the woodstove..which he usually doesn't do. But, I think to myself, well, maybe he just wants to get an early start to the day, an' what better way than to get the cabin warmed up. Then I hear him stomping down the hallway, and saying, "Hey Ma!! Take a look out the window.."

Me being me, I jus' think maybe there's something wandering around in the yard ~ maybe the deer is standing on the deck waiting for a handout., But lo and behold, I DO take a look out the window, and what do my little eyes behold? WHITE!!! SNOW!! YEE GADZ!!!

So with that observation, I get out of bed, grab some clothes, stomp out to the dining room, and stand by the woodstove, mumbling things that I won't repeat here. See -- just this morning, very early when Tom got ready to go to work, we both had stood in the same spot, marveling at the fact that it SEEMED to feel warmer this morning, at 3:54 a.m. -- and with that thot floating around in my mind, once I locked the doors and crawled back into my warm little bed, there was NEVER EVAH a thot that I'd wake up to SNOW...Maybe I should have paid more attention to the weather forecast last night. But with that being said, here we are, with about an inch of snow on the ground. Finally around 10:45 it stopped. And for this area, things really and truly DO shut down when it snows. It's just 'cause it happens so so seldom, that there is no getting used to it. And like the nice man on the weather channel had to say MORE THAN ONCE, "And it's Even snowing on the Water!! All around Elizabeth City!" -- and proceeds to point out a VERY LARGE BLOB on the weather radar...as if I can't see it outside my window. I mean. Come on.

So we now are begininng to have teeny slivers of sunshine. Noah got disgusted with the whole thing, bundled up and rode his bike over to the hardware store. Sez he's getting some kind of saw. He looked like he was ready for 10 more inches of snow. Bundled up to beat the band, he is. The Dog went out in the yard, came back in very unimpressed, and Iam still listening to the baby squirrely bouncind around up on the roof. Frolicking, they are. I already yelled at them once this morning -- "STOP THAT FROLICKING UP THERE< YOU!!" They ignored me. Bums.

Must go and check the woodstove. And make sure some of my glue on some heavyweight paper has actually worked. This is one different piece, let me tell you. Tomorrow I hope to show and tell. AFTER we get back from the antique mall. I have my dimensions at the READY -- got the exact spot picked out for the storage piece, and a new work table. Keeping my fingers crossed, and all that...

Lady of The Tulips

Here are some of the little paintings I've been messin' around with..there are more on another sheet of watercolour paper, but for now, I wanted to show a couple of the squares I've put together. May not keep one of them..but this gives you the idea of what I'm putting together over on my little table. The canvas is ready for the 1st. part of this project, an'after this paint dries, then the other pieces will get added. Think of the colors as something that wakes you up in the middle of the night after eating pizza at 11 p.m., topped with italian sausage. That kind of color thing.

We are feeling warmer this morning!! YEAHH!! Noah is out sorting some of the lumber that's been sitting behind one of the sheds. I asked him how much we have out there, as I have this batch of ideas of things to make for christmas. With our new little cabin, we need to decorate for the holidays, and what better way than to make new christmas decorations for our new place!! HUH?! clever, no? I think some glitter is Definetly in order, and I will also look around to see what kind of ribbon is stashed away. Tom has no inclinkling toward decorating..'cept to sit on the couch and point in the direction that he thinks something should go. Great help that boy is...

I've got to run an' check the woodstove..haven't put wood in for a couple hours, so it may be time to stoke the fires! And there are more paintings to get finished. This'll be fun..

Lady of The Tulips

Somebody asked "Who do you know?", and I had to think about it for awhile. Sometimes it makes a great deal of difference in certain settings, to know just the right people. People with Great Importance. Well -- I am here to say, LOOK!! I've got friends in High Places. SEE?? There's a couple of 'em, right THERE!! But I'm not sure if they'd know a particularly "Important" person or not. They may know what's Important to Them, but as for humans, they really could give a hoot..or croak, actually (Vultures make a weird croaking sound while they communicate w/each other) ~~ So -- Here Are My Friends In High Places. Am I important now??

>>>> On to other news, last weekend not only did we have a fun time exploring the Antique Mall, but we also attended the monthly Community Pot-Luck Dinner at the clubhouse. Lots of Food, since it was the Thanksgiving Dinner. There were a LOT of dishes layed out on all the tables..I bought a square aluminum pan to bake a good batch of Green Bean Casserole. YUM! And I guess most of the people attending thot it was Yum too, as it was nearly all gone by time we brought the pan home! Suprised me! There were too many deserts to list, and the turkey was to DIE for -- lots of good dark and white meat, tender and cooked just right. I also tried some other vege dishes, and tom was beside himself when he discovered a big crock pot of gumbo -- I think he ate that bowl in less than 10 minutes. Our next door neighbor and I discussed our "Friends" (pictured) and how it is that they come up to the pine trees bordering our properties EVERY NIGHT, like clockwork, to make lots of RACKET...then roosting in the tall tall pine trees for the evening. At least we know there won't be too many mice, or other rodents creepin' around the property!! We all had a very good time, got caught up on Community news, and came home Stuffed.

We had a good soaking rain/thunder storm Right after we got home. Actually it started to rain right when we walked out of the clubhouse and walked REALLY fast to our car. For whatEVAH reason, Tom decided to walk thru the grass to get to the car, which naturally left him sinking into the ground, and muddying his shoes to no end. One of the attendies took one look at tom & sez, "YOU GONNA SINK!!" But tom, being the stubborn goat he is, just kept on going, slogging thru the rain and puddles. By the time we got home the storm hit like a banshee and we had several large branches smash into the roof. Sounded like a cannon went off. Tom thot one damaged the roof, but all the branch did was hit REALLY loudly, then broke into pieces when it bounced off the roof, and landed on the deck. Jeesh. At least it's being used for mulch now. Today the weather is cold, highs should reach 45 or so. Good Bye to Summer, and Hello Fall Big Time!!

~~ Must go check some painting I got done yesterday. I'm 'bout ready to show some "Stuff" I've been messin' with..quite different..you'll see...

Lady of The Tulips

>>> This morning the weather is telling us that yes, it really and truly is Fall <<< When I got out of bed, this back portion of the house was feeling just a little bit chilly, and the dining room wasn't much warmer. Noah was sitting at the kitchen bar, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. I could see that the woodstove needed to get started up, an' zoom, that's 'xatly what I did. Now it feels good, warm and toasty thru the cabin. The wind outside isn't all that strong, but with the temps just out of the 40's, it DOES say FALL!!


This last weekend was quite the "Discovery" weekend for me. I'd wanted to go check out some thrift stores for frames, which I need for my canvases. At first I'd planned to go up into Elizabeth City to search out what there is...But on the highway leading into town, right along the secondary road, was this Big Blue building, with the words ANTIQUES -- AUCTION. printed in relly LARGE letters. Now, I've gone past that building for who knows how many times, and I swanny, I've never taken one look at it, till Saturday afternoon. "WHOA!!" I say to Tom. "What's that," He sez.. "LOOK!! You can't see that?" He, driving the car, doesn't want to look away from the road.."See what?!" "That antique store..ohhh..wait, It's an Antique Mall. We're goin' in.!"

So, with some reluctance, tom pulls the car into the dirt driveway, an' since he can be a 3 year old, "I don' wanna go in..I know..You go in first, an' then come back out & tell me what it's like.." That produces headache # 4.565 for the weekend..ANYWAY -- I go in an' immediately Thot WHHOOOAA..this is way too cool. An' even tho I was on the hunt for frames, I quickly changed that idea to a "New" work table. I walked back to the car, told tom my plan of attack, walked back in, an' found just the right size table. It's not that old, maybe 1950's -- wood,with something like a pine stain on it, solid top and gently curved legs. We didn't have the $$ right then, but since the place was nearly deserted, we figured that if we go back this sat., then we can pick up the table. I also found some really old handmade lace table runners, crochet doilies, and place settings. They are to die for. And a collection of 3 was $3.50. Yeah, I'm definetly goin' back an' pick up some of those. I also will be looking for a small hutch, to put in here for storage. I've given up on the idea of shelves attached to the walls; tom & noah have no inclination to do the work, so I know I saw 3 small hutches that would fit along the wall by the doorway, giving me not only space to store things inside, but also 2 shelved on the top of the hutch to display items. It popped into my head last night while reading, an' I thot, "Ok, tha's what I'll do!" So it'll be good to get some work started in here..it's rather dark an' miserable in this room, what with the old wallpaper, smoke stains...yup, it needs some work!

~~ Muse go an' check the woodstove, make sure Sara isn't getting herself in trouble on the deck, an' see if noah is getting the wood box filled. A good monday I'm wishing for you!

Lady of The Tulips ~

"Untitled" ~ Spring Bay Studio 2008

One of the pieces I worked on this last week. I got it finished around the time that I started taking my dumb meds. The said Meds are something Satan has created, I'm sure. Ok, OK...they aren't REALLY, but the "Minor Side-Effects" are not exactly FUN. But I think this little piece is just the fun thing for a rainy day.

I called my Dr. office to find out why my combination of meds has been making me WAY too dizzy and icky-stomach-feeling. "Oh, it's the side effects, but it shows that the medication is working." Idon' know whether to feel good about that answer or not. But then there are days like yesterday where I felt fit as a fiddle. (But how a fiddle can feel fit is anybodys guess..) Even took an hour to clean off the piles of leaves that covered the driveway. But zip-a-dee-do-dah, today I feel like somebody slapped me with an ugly stick. Thank the stars in heaven, I only have a few more days of the stuff. At least the antibiotic. The Blood Pressure stuff is probably here to stay.

>> The weather here is cloudy, the temps are nearly hot for thi s time of year, so we're begining to hear thunder rumbling to the west of us. << Sara hates, loathes and dispises any NOISE , so she is sitting nearly in this chair with me while I tap, tap away. The weather people said jus' some rain, but it's beginning to look like maybe I should get the weather radio into order, just in case we get a warning. We get some weird storms along this side of the Sound, and sometimes they aren't even affecting anywhere else. Just within a 10 mile area. Very strange. Tom drove thru a frog strangler on his way home from work one night, pulled into the driveway, and discovered it was as dry as toast here. "What the ??!!" So it's a guess as to how the weather is going to turn this afternoon.

~~ Have to check some painting on the work table. Well, that's if I can get past the dog laying RIGHT next tot me. Ever have a 90 pound dog in your way? ~~

Lady of The Tulips

I have my "Golden Parachute" thank you very much ~~ When I look out my bedroom window every morning, this is what I see -- A fabulous color explosion that makes the room glow when the sun bounces along the branches and leaves. The Golden Parachute -- is ALL MINE!! -- It makes me sing and feel the beauty of the woods -- I hear the soft sounds of birds going thru the leaves - searching for whatever they can find...while one at a time..the soft, brilliant colored leaves, fall, fall, fall from the tree. It makes me sad that summer is over, and that Fall is decending now. But the color of my Parachute makes up for any loss of summer fun, the beach or anything else connected to summer.

I was somewhat suprised by how quickly it seemed that the trees started to turn color. Maybe I've not been paying enough attention to the woods, but it truly seems so FAST -- one week there are Green Leaves throughout our woods, and then there is one morning, when I open the blinds and see this fabulous color explosion directly above me. Where is the summer? Oh..hmm....it is November, DUH .. So the trees have been doing what they need to do this time of year, and from some of the trimmings Noah did last summer, there is extra room for the trees to grow outward even more. Noah cleared out a large patch of overgrown trees, most which had grown into a terrible tangle of vines, baby trees, small wild bushes and long pointed grasses. I feared he'd be bitten by a snake or something. Ugh. But he cleared and cleared, so now when Spring comes, the soil will be able to accept seeds, and the trees will be able to send out their branches without any more plants keeping them from stretching to the sky. And that feels good to know.

Must go put another coat of Gesso on a frame -- If my camera behaves itself, I'll post a picture of what I'm doing...it's kinda cool.

>> Lady of The Tulips <<

~~~ There are signs outside that something called the SUN is attempting to make a comeback to our neck of the Sound. We've had rain, and some horrendous winds this week. The trees, which are starting to turn color now, were being battered, whipped and altogether treated terribly in the storm. Fortunately we didn't have anything bad happen to our woods, but every now and then I could hear pinecones landing with a Thud on the roof. I was sitting at my little table when I nearly jumped out of my skin, hearing a Very Loud THUDD. A very large branch had landed on the roof, and it's still sitting where it landed. It's smaller branches have been hooked along the roof seam where the front of the cabin meets the back portion; looking like the branch is trying to clumb into the hallway thru the roof. ~~~


I have a wip, and have about 7 sheets of paper I'm going to be cutting up today. With this infection, I've not had the energy to do much of anything. And actually, yesterday, I truly did nothing...laying on the couch and staring out the window was the most activity I accomplished for the day. The Dr. did get me a good amount of meds, which Tom picked up for me yesterday just before he went to work. We are fortunate that his terminal is just down the street from one of the national chain drugstores, which makes it easy for him to eigher drop off or pick up meds. Plus, one of the medications the Dr. prescribed for me was FREE!! Get That!! I nearly fell over when Tom told me. So that news made up for me feelin' so puny all day yesterday. I'm experimenting with some gel - type paints I bought for Fifty Cents -- they are quite old, and are something of a chore to work with, but once I figured out a way to thin them, it's been interesting to see how they blend with acrylics. The canvas is taking shape, so I am waiting for the most recent coat to dry, while I cut my papers.

** Since the Fall Colors are starting to Really pop in all the trees around our cabin, I'm going to take some pictures of how they look. It's reall quite wonderful, how each tree develops it's own series of colors from branch to branch. And thre may be 4 Oak trees standing near one another, but each has it's own color combination, making for a vivid tapestry effect. Quite soothing after the storm we had. The pictures will be quite nice, I'm hoping. **

Must get to the work table an' start measuring papers. The Dog is laying in the kitchen near the woodstove. Even tho it's warm today, we are hearing rumblings from the Weather Service that the Cold is coming toward us here on the edge of the Albemarle Sound. So it's time to gather some wood from the stack outside, and make sure that the kindling is stacked and covered inside the wood box. Sara has a tendancy to get too close to the stove sometimes, which makes Noah tell her, "Hey YOU!! Would ya watch your tail, there?!" She gets very confused, which makes her get up and meander over to another portion of the dining room, away from the woodstove. Sometimes that dog puzzles me...

~ Lady of The Tulips ~

" Bohemian Work Environment " 2008 Spring Bay Studio

This is one of the pieces I worked out last week. The colors just seemed to say "Tropics!!" to me when I was digging thru my little stash of Stuff. The flip-flops are just too much!! I'd love to find a Bright Orange pair for ME, but since it IS November, I guess it's too late in the year to go and find some decent flip-flops!!

I finally went to the Dr.!! Yeah!! The ear is doin' it's thing, and its not so good. I guess it's just like my Dr. told me..."Don't you know??!! You don't go stickin' things in your ear any larger than your elbow!!" Ever wonder why it is that I want to go jump on the next freight steamer at the Port and go sailing away?? THAT little ditty from my Dr. is ONE OF THE REASONS!! I am glad that he did give me a good batch of antibiotics to get rid of whatever is trying to set up house in my system, tho. The little boogers are trying my nerves to HERE!!, let me tell you. The good thing about the whole day, tho, was that Tom didn't loose too much work hours. We devised a PLAN!! >> what I did was have him take me to the Dr. office, then when I was done, he took me over to Gabriels house, so I could hang out with him and just do Nothing for the day, 'cept have fun with my middle son. FUN!! Then when tom got all finished, we went to the closest Polling Place for Gabriel so he could Vote, then we stopped to have dinner, then got back down here. WHY AM I TIRED TODAY??!! Wayy too much for this girl, I'd say. But Gabriel & I had a Blast -- he let me check out his new little house, with all it's Old nooks and crannys...the arched doorways and the Ancient plaster walls. Very Cool old house, probably built in the 30's. We had a good time doin' just about nothing..Well, actually I sat on the couch and watched him do horrid and terrible things in some weird Video Game he's had..I MEAN...some Really Odd and Bizaar THINGS in that game..creatures that I kinda see when I eat anchovies and have beer just before going to bed >> THOSE kind of weird creatures...

I'm going to have to go on medication, now, so I'm kinda bummed about it. My Blood pressure is absolutely thru the Roof -- I kept writing it off to the trip up to the city, but after the Doc took a good luck at the past readings for me, he put his foot down and said "Young Lady!! YOU are going on Blood Pressure Medication!!" I kept telling him I was in denial, but when he showed me the chart, I really and truly felt sick. Yesterday my readings were (Honest) 179/120 -- Yeah. I'm a heart attack waiting to happen. BUT ~~ It's true ~~ The fact is that most people don't feel BAD when they have high blood pressure. I have felt funky for years, but never has anybody in the Dr. office I used to go to, EVAH taken a good look at my readings. So when this particular Dr. took a look in less than 30 seconds, he about jumped up off his chair!! So -- Tom has to take the 'scripts in tomorrow, an' by friday I'll be on the meds. Plus the stuff for my ear -- drops and some kinda Stuff --- the meds name sounded like the Old Timey Bactine Spray that my parents used in the 60's to keep cuts and scrapes from getting infected. My Dr. took a look at me an sez, "NO!. Oh, YOU!! It's not that..well, actually it's sorta like that - but not really. Make sense?!" Somedays I wonder about him...

Must go and see what The Dog is doing. She was SO funny when we got home last night -- an' that wasn't until nearly 8:00!! Poor Sara had missed her mommy BAD, and was literally hopping up and down to get my attention when I walked in the door. She went into fits and spits when she sniffed my sleeves and pant leg -- Gabriel has a CAT!! ~~ And don't you KNOW that dog sniffed each and every spot that cat had crawled, sniffed and poked me with his little teeny paws. And too ~~ Gabriel gave us a box of food and some t-shirts he'd won during a concert...so we got some coffee (YEAHH!!) some dinner odds and ends for a chicken casserole, and some rice mixes. Very Cool!! He just wasnt gonna use 'em, so WHEE -- we will!!

Lady of The Tulips -- listening to some Jazz on the Satellite..very nice on this cloudy and VERY windy morning ~~

*** So here it is, another day where the weather just can NOT make it's mind up ***


We have temps up in the 70's, the sky is sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny...the wind is blowing around little teeny clouds, that float beneath other large-stormy-ugly looking clouds. It's as if the sky will not decide from one minute to the next what it wants to do. This makes Sara very upset, as she THINKS she wants to go outside, but then she looks around at some of the teeny tiny drops of rain water that have collected on the grass - where we had a "Rain" for about 10 minutes, that did nothing but make the grass damp. but OH NO!! sez Miss Sara -- it's RAIN, and I DON'T LIKE WET GRASS under my feet...I swanny, I have never seen a dog be more picky about where she walks than the one we own. Tempermental, stubborn, cranky a LOT >> this animal takes the cake. It is absolutely like having a 2-year-old in the house. And yes, she talks back, too. I can sit and tell her, "NO! You do NOT want another dog biscuit "BARK!!BARK!!" "Don't Interupt me!!" "BARK!!! BARKBARK!!" "SHUT-UP!!" "BARKKK!!!"

So it goes..in the house, with the doors closed and the windows too. The wind comes in kinda Just chilly, then when the sun comes out, it warms up again. My windows are getting the workout that the engineers designed them for. MaybeI should call and see if I can make a commercial on how well they operate after nearly 30 years.

Noah has gone off on his bike somewhere. I think he's applying for yet another job. He got to work at a peanut factory last week...he was pretty glad about finally getting the job..the temp agency that lined it up for him, had taken their sweet time getting it all finalized. Then Tom dropped noah off REALLY early for the job, so Noah had to sit for over an hour before the start of the day. Then after 2 hours, the Supervisor came to tell him, that the Temp. Agency had sent too many people for the shift, and that Noah could go home...Which of course he Couldn't, cause he had to wait till after 5:30 when Tom would get off work and come pick Noah up. So -- he sat around for the next 7 hours, cause there wasn't a bus that would come to the bus stop till later in the evening, and there was no where else to go...

Needless to say, Noah told the agency to do SOMETHING else, but he didn't tell me his exact words...I don't think he was very polite -- which under the circumstances makes a WHOLE lot of sense. So he's off down the road to try yet another job...hopefully its gonna work out. There are jobs out there, but who really wants to be the ditch digger putting in cable lines for Fiber Optics Corporations, at $6.00 an hour?? Well -- some people may say it's looking a gift horse in the mouth, but trust me -- digging in clay and mud for 7 & 1/2 hours does not quite qualify as a pleasant job. So Noahs off to try and find something else.

I'm still battling with the ear infection that's been plagueing me for the past week. I finally got ahold of the Dr.s office, an' have an appt. in the morning. Shwoooo -- it's really a PAIN right about now, this little bit of Stuff that's floating around in my ear. I don't know what it is. I don't know WHY it is, and all I want is for it to GO AWAY. I haven't had something like this for nearly 10 years, so it's way past irritating me...sort of like being a thorn in the side. Yeah. That's it...

Lady of The Tulips - listening to somebody pounding something across the street..sounds kinda scary, it does...