*** Well I swanny!! ***

Here it is Sunday already, an' I've still got my lil' project sitting out in the studio, being very patient and quiet...sometimes I'm glad that the little fairies who live out there don't suddenly pop up an' slap me upside my head. And yes, sometimes I really do believe there are little fairies out there...pieces of paper...bottles of paint have this Thang about moving from where I'd set them down on the table...an' not be there the next time I've needed to use them. An' I know for certain it's not The Dog -- she moves so much at the speed of a snore that I'd be suprised if she jumped up for something other than biting her fleas.

So -- at long last, it seems that early in the week, I'm finally going to break down an' buy a NEW CAMERA!!! -- my middle one is quite good with cameras, an' since he's the one who has taken most of the pictures of my work, naturally I've asked him to go with me to the area computer/electronic stores, an' tell me what certain cameras have as far as qualities for getting good clear pictures. I'm not into all the great-glam-gettin'-action photos type cameras...I'm more interested in getting something that's pretty basic...can get the detail of my collages photographed well, an' also get an "Action Photo" of The Dog or The Husband while their at their best...each on their respective couch, snoring so the curtains are moving in the breeze from each of them.... WELL ~~ anyway..you get the idea. Something not too outrageously priced...not something that has 1,203.496 extra goodies included...I'd be 85 by the time I'd learn all the extra thangs on some of the cameras we've looked at. But, I'm pretty excited by the whole thing..an' it should be -- in theory -- by midweek that I'll have the lil' goodie in my hot little paw.

The Husband, yaahhhwwwwhhooooo is finally going in and seeing a Dr. about his uneven blood-pressure. The original Dr. that he saw a few weeks ago, finally called him an' said that a group of Dr's have looked over his chart (s) an' The Husband will be seeing one of them tomorrow afternoon. It sounds weird, but hopefully they'll take his pressure after he's been drivin' all day, so they'll have a chance to see what a full day of truckin' does to/for him. The Husband tho, is NOT lookin' forward to the part that he knows is coming along with the visit...the part where the Dr. will tell him -- "Loose Weight!!" -- The Husband has been absolutely in DENIAL of this for wayyy too long, an' now it's lurking right in front of him. Fortunately, a friend of our middle son, has a book that her father used to get back to the ideal weight for his body type -- he lost over 90 (!!!) pounds, so I'm absolutely going to get a copy of the book for The Husband to not only read, but put into WORK -- I can shout, yell, scream, beat the wall about how over weight The Husband is...but it literally goes in one ear an' out th other to him...he is going to HAVE TO loose the weight or the truck driving may go away...an' that's NOT a good thing. It'll all work out for the good, so it's gonna be worth whatever the cost for the visit is gonna come to.

Bought some paks of beads the other day.. an' also got some storage baskets to put all my goodies in that were sitting in ugly cardboard boxes...the paper in the cardboard has a tendancy to do weird things to certain kinds of art paper...something about the treatment of wood fiber that makes the cardboard has sometimes discolored paper I've stored in it...can't tell if it's the art paper, or the cardboard...but either way it wasn't makin' me too thrilled. Now I've got papers stored in plastic bags, most labeled, an' then stacked in the baskets. The storage bags make it so much easier for me to immediately see what's in each bag, an' then I can thumb thru the stack, see which one I want, an' go from there. An' the storage bags are so cheap at the grocery store...sometimes on sale for less than $1.00 -- Not to be passed up at that price!! And I've also got some new larger storage boxes..clear plastic that allow me to see what's in each box...so I can pop one open, grab whatever I need out of it, close it back up, an' know that dirt an' DOG HAIR won't get on the papers, fabric, or whatever is stored in the box. I don' know who designed those plastic storage boxes, but I hope they got a good retirement outta designing them....an' have a good time in Florida or wherever they are!!

Mus' go now -- I've got the Seldom Scene on the Bluegrass Channel (cable) an' feel pretty good...may even break down an' do a lil' dance on my way out to the Studio...but will have to be careful NOT to trip over The Dog....sheesh...

Lady of The Tulips -- who has tulips in the flower beds, that have not shown their lil' faces yet this winter...but the daffodils are ready to pop open, an' the camelia is in bloom..all pink an' frilly flowers tumbing their nose at the cold temps...

"Dolphin Dance" -- Copyright 2006
Spring Bay Studio




This is one of the pieces I worked on last fall -- I'd been wanting to get over to the oceanfront, but there were a gazillion things that kept me from driving over there. Then, one afternoon The Husband mentioned on the phone that he'd seen some dolphins playing in the water near one ot the terminals, and had to call an' tell me --

~~ Meanwhile ~~ the youngest is now out of work -- he's not really mad, jus' aggrivated that the job didn't last longer than he was told it would -- he's with one of those temp. agencies, and he's been pretty lucky with getting work. But the supervisor at the distribution center had led him to beieve that the job he had for the past few weeks would last till sometime in March. So one can imagine the happy-happy joy-joy he felt on Thursday when we got home, and the temp office had left a message tellin' him he wasn't needed any more. Urrrgghhhh....an' this after the car decided it wanted to get stuck in neutral an' wouldn't go into ANY gear while we were in a driveway trying to get back onto the main blvd....weeeeeee....So -- now he's back to waitin' for the next call an' see what it's gonna be like. Fortunately he's a very easy goin' person, and the change of jobs isn't nerve racking for him. He'd been with a couple of day-job temp offices, but that was really a difficult thing to do. I had to take him to all of the different job sites, an' most days that meant getting to the office by no later than 5:30 a.m. an' then waiting for up to an hour and a half for the office to get him a place to work. Drove over 100 miles a day with that deal.

Got some more work done on the current collage I've been messin' with -- Finally broke down an' got some more beads at the art/craft store. I've suddenly become enamoured with beads...'specially blue an' shades of blue -- tones that convey the ocean and all the fun lil' critters swimmin' about. Trick is to not go OVER the edge with bags an' bags of the beads...it get's so easy to jus' grab "a couple" bags of beads while they're on sale, an' the next thing ya know, there's $25.00 shot. Lot's of fun to explain to The Husband..."WELLLL...hunny, it was jus' that they were on SALE!! See?? SALE!! That makes it Better!!" --- he rarely goes for this explaination...bum...

The studio is callin' for me -- had too much runnin' around yesterday to get anything done AT ALL -- An' besides, it's sunny an' warm in there right now, so I'll take advantage of the warmth before the cold wind starts blowin' thru the cracks in the walls...I won't get started on the construction of that room --- glad it wasn't my money...

Lady of The Tulips -- who's considering travelin' to some WARM place, but only has $120 in the checking account towards any thing...blast...

*** Since the weather is going thru some sorta WEIRDNESS phase...I've been working out in the garden beds getting ready for the rest of what's SUPPOSED to be winter -- weeding some of those nahhsty lil' buggers that have popped up in these rediculous warm days. The tomato bed has the worst lil' things -- somewhere I read that a group of what I feel are WEEDS, happen to be some type of edible plant (s) -- I, howEVAH, will not take the chance and pop any of them in my mouth whilst outside in the dirt -- there are some thangs I SHALL NOT DO -- eating WEEDS is one of those thangs...

The Husband is STILL waiting for some word from our family Dr. -- Actually, since the office is part of the Eastern Virginia Medical School, we have to usually wait for a group of Dr' s to come up with some sort of answer to any dilemna (sp) we're goin' thru. The Husband did say, that the Dr. he saw, had his complete file with him -- Even got to see a letter he'd been waiting for from another truck company, telling them that he was eligible for a driving position...it just never got sent -- helpful when one is waiting for a JOB!! -- Anyway ~~ the group of Dr.'s are to let him know if he's diabetic or not...or it may just be high blood pressure, not associated with diabetes..but until these guys come along and SAY SOMETHING -- The Husband has to wait -- wait -- wait -- and in the meantime hope that the next time he goes into the clinic where he gets his D.O.T. physical, that it will come back good...Makes my last good nerve jus' twinge --

Anyway -- had a chance the other day to have a short chat with one of my elderly neighbors -- this woman is an absolute joy to be around...you never know what she's gonna say from one minute to the next. She's had a rough 2 - o - 3 years..first she had to have some heart work done. Has a pump of some sort regulating her heart function. Then very unexpectedly her husband passed away almost a year ago -- he'd been diagnosed with cancer not 5 months before he passed away, but the disease had nothing to do with his passing. She has muddled along in the months since all of these things have happened, and stopped by one saturday while I was cleaning out the front flower beds and replanting some flower bulbs.

We were commenting on strange weird things that can happen to a house..like little things that jus' happen to haul off and BRAKE -- about the same time our kitchen drain decided to stop - up and be ugly, she had the exact same thing happen in her house...where I payed $79 to have a pair of plumbers come and clean out the drain line, she payed over $140 to have the exact same thing done, but with another company...Then, she said ~~ she tried to get her front door locked one evening, just before going to bed. Tried to get the door to lock, but the stuiped thing jus' would not shut...kept hitting the little door jamb piece, and would not do anything else. Now, for an elderly woman, not being able to lock the front door isn't jus' a little annoyance...it's darn right scary.

So ~~ she locked the door with the other slide-lock she has, and went about the rest of the evening. She called a locksmith early the next morning, and within maybe 2 hours, here this fella shows up -- has this little black bag, not unlike the old Dr. bags from WAY back in the day -- an' in her words..."Ya know what? If that s.o.b. was at this job for more than 5 minutes, it'd be something...but that guy didn't work more than that -- an' ya know what he did?? Got out this little file...yeah!! ...a FILE ... an' sorta scraped along the side of some lil' S_ _ _ _ piece on the door..filed it away, shut the door, locked the s.o.b. an' said, There ya go, ma'am! -- I didn' know what to do!! So, I asked him, "Ya mean that's all your gonna do?? " -- he sez, "yeah!" -- So, I ask him, Well, jus' what the Hell is the deal here? All ya do is file this thing an that's all there is?? What's the problem with the door, anyway? --- An' he sez, I kid you not, "Well, ma'am, the house has to settle a little in order to get the door to shut an' lock right sometimes..." -- I about knocked the guy in the mouth!! I said to him, Well, I've lived in this house nearly 51 years, you'd think the son of a B _ _ _ _ _ woulda settled by now, wouldn't ya??!! "

I laughed so hard...'cause I had the same company come an' try to unlock out back door 'bout this time last year...the first guy tried to open 3 (!!!) of our doors, an' couldn't do a thing...finally after 5 hours (yesss) another guy shows up, takes 'bout 5 minutes, unlockes the back door, an' tells me it's $70 dollars...Then, the neighbor sez a couple other things have broken in her house...all little things, but after all of them right in a row, she's about to scream an' run away to some foreign country -- cept she can't, 'cause her Dr. said she can't leave till he runs some more tests on her heart this winter. !!! Can't win for loosin' it seems like --

Well -- The Husband has come back home w/the youngest, an' it's quiet out in the front room...that's not a good sign. Means 2 people are up to somethin', and it's usually never good when that happens...


Lady of The Tulips -- who has another leaky faucet in her bathroom, an' is not ready to dish out another $70 to have it fixed...even tho the plumber is quite the cutie!!! OH! shame on ME!!

~~ With some matte medium, fabric scraps, and a sheet or two of collage paper, I'm finally getting a new piece underway. The last collage I worked on was jus' before the holidays, and it didn't quite cut it for me. It'd been "finished" probably a year ago, and it felt completed at that time...but I recently brought it out of it's little storage box, looked it over, and decided it needed some extra zing...Maybe because it's the New Year...making old things better, getting all that weight off (ok, ok, maybe not ALL that weight off...ahem..) but it jus' feels better to be getting Cleaned Up this year. Hopefully the change in projects will be worth the time and energy.

>>> The Husband recently had his required Department of Transportation physical taken care of...but it didn't quite turn out the way he would have liked. High Blood Pressure was the culprit, so now he has to take some time off and make the harrowing trip over the river and thru the woods to the Dr. office. The office is in a complex with one of the larger Medical Universities in the region, so finding a parking place is always a thrill. Plus, the City has decided not to overlook the chance to add insult to injury, and now has a pay/parking fee station at the exit of the parking lot. It isn't enuf that a Dr. charges an arm and a leg for an appointment, and add to it the fee for parking. Once in a blue moon the appointment may go quickly: Get Seen...Pay the Office Visit...Go Out The Door, and be on your way....an' pay .50 Cents for parking an hour. HOWEVAH...how often is it that a Dr. visit takes only ONE HOUR?? We've had to sit for 2 hours most days, and by the time the sticking, jabbing, snuffling and what-all-else is done by the Dr., it's been 4 hours. Most times, once I've dragged myself out of the office, I've contemplated having a glass of Gin...OH, Don't Get Ruffled...I haven't had Gin in over 30 years...but sitting in the Dr. office has sometimes made me REALLY consider a good stiff drink...

So -- this should be interesting to see what all will be done to The Husband. He hasn't gone to the Dr. for at least 2 years, and I'm fearing that the office will commence all types of tests, experiments or who knows what all on the Little Fluff...He's not too thrilled, but this is something he absolutely HAS to take care of. The Dr. who he had to see for his required physical, was not too happy with him, and would only give him the Endorsement for his CDL for only 3 months. That way...He Sez, The Husband will have had time to get his medication (s) for the blood pressure..get that back within the required guidelines, and then he can get his CDL Endorsement for 2 years as is required by Law...The clinic that the truck company uses is pretty good about telling Drivers what they have to do for their job..but it just irritates an' rubs the wrong way when it's an ugly Something that's prohibiting a complete Endorsement...sheesh...

And with the Sun shining into the studio, it looks like it's time to Get To It -- finish some fabric cutting, find a good piece of Blue-Green-Turquiose (blah..spelled that one really bad...) paper, and be having fun. One thing that really, an' I mean REALLY gets me ruffled all to pieces, is when I've got some painting done, an' the paper is jus' THIS close to being dry..an' lookin' it over, I jus' happen to glance over the sheet...AND FIND DOG HAIR ON IT!!! AHHHH!!! I'll turn my chair around Really Fast, glare at the Dog, an' get ready to give her The What For...an see that she's not only sound asleep on Her Couch...but she's snoring as well...Oh For The Love Of.....

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who was told by her youngest that she too, was snoring the other morning...but Lady of The Tulips thinks this was jus' his way to wake her up an' get her down the street in The Very Fine Automobile to the thrift store...

A quiet and joyful new year has decended upon us ~~ nothing has happened that would knock anybody's socks off, so that seems like a good sign for the rest of the year. I mean, nothing has occured that would scare us or make us go screaming out of the house, into the front yard and start tearing our clothes to pieces.

That being said, I just heard a siren go off on some kind of emergency vehicle, over on the larger highway near our subdivision. Fortunately the siren and vehicle are not on their way to our home, so that is definetly a good thing.

I've never made any New Year's Resolutions, and it seems that most people I know have theirs forgotten by time June rolls around. I think one year our oldest made some kind of resolution, but it escapes me what in the world it was. Neither the middle one or our youngest has said any thing toward a resolution...I think they both have too many things going on.

Which brings me to something that did happen to me & the youngest earlier in the week. He's signed up for classes at the local community college, and went about applying for financial aide. The office took most of his information, he filed a FAFSA for whatever Federal Monies there are lurking out there. Then, he decided to try and get a small loan to use as a way to get the classes he needs, without having to wait on any grants or larger loans he may receive. He went back into the financial aide off. to see what they would say, and they told us to wait in a room just across the hall. A nice woman said she'd call his name when they came to his file, and then there would be a discussion on what he could do -- maybe even take a deferment just so the classes wouldn't get filled before any funds come in.

Fine ..... So...we wait....we wait some more...an' jus' a little bit mmmmooooorrrreeeee......
4 & 1/2 hours later, my son finally got a chance to see one of the financial aide people...just for them to tell him that they don't have a deferment program, and for him to get the classes he needs, he'd have to pay cash for them...somewhere along the lines of $600. To say we were somewhat suprised is putting it mildly. But -- the good thing is -- that since my son has this knack of being resourceful, he came back home, got online, rearranged the class schedule he'd set up, and is now able to take one of the classes online, and will only have to pay for that one. The other classes will be available in summer, so his thinking is to take them then, which should be when his financial aide will be available. I was so worn out from sitting and sitting and SITTING in that room, I couldn't see straight, let alone try and come with another schedule for college classes...sheesh..

So -- things are looking up for him..and he has another temp job for at least this week..and the middle one got some work last week, and should get paid for all of that sometime early next week. He'd been cleaning an elderly couple's home, and was expecting to have 1 more day there, but the husband became ill, went into the hosp., and won't be able to get back to his house for at least the next few days. But -- my son isn't too worried about the pay, but he is concerned for the health of the gentlemen who's house he cleaned.

The Husband has been driving and driving and DRIVING here there and everywhere it seems...a few trips out of state, a couple to D.C., and lots of loads being taken from one Port to another aroundHampton Roads. He's rather the happy guy because his wonderful middle son got him a BIG ol' bag of clothes for him to wear. Lots of pants from thrift stores, some other from friends, and still others from other people the middle one knows. But, I think the most wonderful present The Husband is Thrilled with, is a new coffee maker our oldest got us for Christmas...there isn't a coffee pot to go with it...there's a little lever that you push with a cup, and the coffee comes out of a little container inside the coffee maker. Something like the drink dispensers at fast food restraunts...push the little bar and the soft drink comes out of a container behind the clever signs saying what kind of soft drink it is. Clever. Clever. Clever. I'd seen a commercial on tv sometime last fall for the new coffee maker, and just about jumped off the couch and yelled "HOLY MACKEREL!!" -- said some other words too, but won't print them here...les' just say I was mightly impressed with the lil' goodie. An' then, the oldest hauls off an' gets us one...Man - O - Man! >> As you can see, it doesn't take a lot to make us happy...

So ~~ on goes the New Year ~~ and now it's time to go and make some more collages..I think there will be another one posted here in the not too distant future...am now getting ready to get some picture wire set on one piece, and do some painting for another collage -- Dont want to sit and waste time!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who had to let The Dog out so she could romp in the back yard..the weather is quite warm, which is sorta freakin' me out...but if it makes The Dog happy, who's gonna stop HER from playin' -- After all, she's off the COUCH!!

This is surely the lady I was told I was "suppossed" to be when attending Jr. High & High School -- the "All American " girl that always smiled and did excellent cooking..had the correct dishes on the table for all occasions...

~~ Well ~~ jus' like this lady...I'm not the smiling perfect lady I was instructed to be...instead I have a tendancy to scorch some dinners...grab whatever dishes happen to be clean...and thro paper towels next to the dinner on the table...their good to mop up spills, so there good enuf to wipe crumbs off the chin.

This piece was one of those that I seemed to put together and laugh the entire time...the lady is from some pak of collage goodies I found at one of the art stores, and simply thot she'd be my pick for the shell package...the smile os what really does it....sometimes when The Husband gets really, I mean REALLY on my last good nerve, that's when I get this same kind of smile on my face. He really knows he's in for it then ~~ But the title for this one seemed to jus' pop up from no where, but fits.

"She Sells Sea Shells By The Sea Shore"

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of '06 ~~ oh blast...an' I haven't paid the phone bill yet...yee gads...

*** Last night for the first time since the Model T was invented, The Husband & I went to a "Christmas Party" - and this was a gift to all the employees of the truck company thst he happens to work for. When he was sick last year, we didn't make the party...but this year we found that everything was fine & dandy so we got ourselves somewhat dressed up (even better than getting the "cleanest" dirty shirt out of the laundry hamper...) and made the trek to the restraunt where the party was held ***

Since we seldom get out and about, we were somewhat suprised by the amount of traffic out on the one road to the location we were headed. Sure, Sure, there are 1,298,496 drivers out on the roads right now because of the Christmas Holidays, and yes, probably 1,298,493 of them still have some late - last minute gift giving to attend to. But we thought that it wouldn't be all THAT bad jus' tryin' to get to a restraunt...shows what we know.

We ended up being the first one's to the place (A first for us!!) -- And were greeted as if we were some big - wigs attending a LARGE function...actually we went to a Texas Steakhouse location not too far from the Beach, so it wasn't as tho we were going to a Black-Tie Ordeal...but we felt nice that the staff at least were expecting us. We walked over to the area where the staff had set up chairs and tables...we had a nice dinner, talked with several of the other drivers, an' waved at others as they came in, and said bye when everybody got thru with their food. All and all a pleasant evening.

The funny-odd thing, was that the MINUTE we got into the car, The Husband's cell phone rings...I'm reaching into the back seat to grab the bag The Husband keeps the cell phone in, I'm trying to get my seat belt on, and tell him where we're suppossed to turn out of the parking lot to get across the Bizzy intersection to get to another big Blvd., and then get to our house. All this in about 25.8 seconds. AND answer the phone without sounding winded, or really ANGRY..Ends up it was the youngest, asking , "What're ya doin?" --- (Think Beavus & Butthead here...) ~~ "Uhhh....uhhhh..." He knew we went to this dinner....he knew it'd be at least 9 p.m. before we'd get outta the place, and he STILL asks..."What're ya doin?..."

I've decided that the ranting I did the other day about leavin' town, moving to a small and remote location and all-together shuffling off all parental obligations was after all A VERY GOOD THING ~~ I MEAN -- it's the first evening that The Husband & I go to a dinner party and we have to give our location and estimated time of arrival to one of our adult children...because to his way of thinking, we've been gone long enuf, and, so therefore....GET HOME NOW!!! At first I thought I'd over reacted on the rant of leaving home and going to someplace like Dodge...or another small place in Kansas...but looking back on it, the rant was quite the good idea, and may produce some sort of leaning toward some other location for residence. >> Without one of the cell phones ringing and hearing some idiotic question being asked of me.

Am I wrong in pondering this?

Well -- since it is The Holidays, I will attempt to refrain from any other outbursts and try to enjoy the pretty lights all around the neighborhood, and look joyfully at the pretty decorations the stores have set up for the shoppers. I will also refrain, or at least attempt to remain cool, calm and collect once I've got a ride to a store to do actual Christmas Shopping...The Very Fine Automobile is still sitting in the carport (no mechanic ever came to look at it...whatta suprise..) and so am waiting for The Husband to get back from an out of state freight haul , then take me to someplace high class and expensive...something like Big Lots....oops...oh, ya know...The Mall or somewhere..

If I survive this shopping experience, I may take up the offer from our middle son...who told me, "One day, ma, ya know -- I jus' may get you a bottle of Gin...you keep sayin' you're gonna have a Gin & Tonic if things don't straighten out...Won't YOU be suprised If I haul off an' git ya one?!!"

More on this later...

Lady of The Tulips -- who heard of 389 presents that "Would be Good" to get for assorted members of the family. This is all Well and Good -- Does any one know of where finances can come from in order to get said presents?? Jus' would like to know >> sigh >>

~~ As is the case with my modern hip lifestyle..(waiting for the bolt of lightening to strike the house...) I've been spending the last40 minutes attempting to download (oh $}&$# -- is it Upload??) one of my pictures again...I felt so Cool & Groovy the other day when I jus' hit the buttons and ZINGY-WHIPPY!! ~~ there were one of my collages all nice and spiffy...Now I can't figure out the problem, an' naturally the Computer Kid is at his first day on a new job...so he's not here to assist the Computer Challenged Old Bag....

But in other news...the attempt has given me a chance to think on a little intereting thing that happened to me over the weekend....

Went to a chain fabric store, in time to pick up some patterns for shirts an' get an idea of what to use for some other projects. Went up to the check-out line, an' while waiting for another customer, I'd taken out my checkbook, filled in the line for the name of the store...an' suddenly heard the woman next to me say, "You aren't REALLY going to write a CHECK??!!, are You?" I turned around an' proceeded to listen to her say how she just cannot believe her mother actually uses a CHECKBOOK >>> an' how Old Fashioned it is to use one, now that there are DEBIT CARDS!! out there. And how this woman could not believe how ANYONE in this day and age would ACTUALLY take the TIME (all her "italics...") to write out something ANYMORE!!

~~ Naturally with this woman speaking VERY loudly, people had to turn around to see who the DOLT was standing in line with something just this side of the original wheel that was invented...I, however, tho not too pleased with being made this stide of a laughing stock, turned nice an' slowly, an' proceded to tell this to those all staring at me....

The reason I don't use a Debit/Credit card, besides the fact I haven't used credit cards for over 10 years..(Why make a Fat-Cat Banker any more money?? ) is because I quit, and hate them. The second reason, is 'cause the bank The Husband opened out account at, is on the Navy Base where he had been employed...since he's no longer employed with the Tech Firm on Base, I have no way to get onto said Base, to do anything with the Bank Account...OR -- I could make a big scene, try to get on Base with out a Pass, and quickly be taken away to where ever people go tht attempt those kind of things..an' then request that my kids come visit me while I'm in the Federal Penn!!

At least that got some chuckles, and quite a few nodding of heads...So ~~ I proceeded to Tell this Very Modern Hip Woman, that not only do I not have said Debit Card, I didn't drive on one of the most aggressive, dangerous interstates in the area for over a year, after the ONE time I did shortly after moving here...it literally scared me so terribly, that it really and truly did take me a year to recuperate from the ordeal...I chose now to AVOID that particular interstate, and any of the other ones, not just because my vehicle is over 10 years old (More OH MY looks...) but because it's just not my time to get myself killed while driving from one place to another...I also proceeded to say that after moving from a town of just over 300, there are a lot of things that are far too "Fancy and Modern" for this ol' country girl to try this late in my life, an' I seem to be getting along quite nicely, thank you very much, without any of the Extra #}^* in my life. End of Story.

This seemed to satisfy said Very Modern and Hip Woman, an' this left me with enuf time to MILK IT while I SLOWLY filled out my check for the amount to purchase the patterns I needed to get. I walked out not the least more Modern & Hip...but at lease I made some people realize that it's not all that IMPORTANT to try an' keep up with the Joneses..or whoever it is nowadays...

So ~~ To make a long story just what it is...All this trying an' nashing of teeth...throwing ashes on my self and altogether feeling like a Toad...I'm going to try again in the morning an' see if a picture will wonderfully APPEAR this time on my Blog...

Lady of The Tulips - who has questioned Very Many People about what would happen if said Lady was to get a horse and buggy an' get around The City with that mode of transportation....to date I haven't gotten a Positive Thumbs Up....still waiting...like waiting for her pictures to down/up load on this blog.....sigh....

~~ Here's one - a my lil' pictures that I got finished not too long ago - I'd been lookin' at some photos of models...an' how there seeems to be this latest "debate" over what "Breauty" is -- do models an' their clamoring fans go for the thin - stick - skinny - image...or do they go for some more sensible weight size -- So this pic. is titled "Absolute Beauty" -- notice the color of the crab -- an' the wonderful woman's picture on the photo with the letter B - Do we strive for the Wonderful look...striving with no other end in sight? Or do we realize we are all unique individuals with our own self worth..regardless of what some other yee- haw Tells us to look like?

My - O - My -- didn't mean to ramble so...am waiting patiently, Again for some stuff to get done before I can get to my lil' table out in the studio..the youngest is out of work now, so he's bizzly doin' sometin' out in the side yard...I KNOW better to start any project connected with art while he's WORKING -- always makes my lil' self do a BIG slop -up ...grrrr...

Here's my Stuff , then -- le' me know what it looks like..

Lady of The Tulips -- who pulled down the last of the tomatoes yesterday..still lil' maters on the dead plants..all sorta mushy an' goey..oh SICK...as my middle one sez...an' don' even ask me 'bout the Black-Eye peas...oohheeeyyuuu

~~ Somewhere there is an unwritten Law that sez any trip to the DMV should be full of nothing but horrors, headaches and all-around sorrow...

That being said - The Husband went to said dmv on Saturday ( I didn't even know they were OPEN on Saturdays...sheeh..) to have our oldest transfer his Saturn over to The Husband...the youngest went along so he could help out in any way possible...kinda like catch the father if he fell over from standing in line too long...or catch the father if the DMV worker said, "Please come back another day", after standing in line for 2 1/2 hours...that sorta thang..


Well -- since they were literally the LAST people in line for the day, they amazingly had pretty quick service...the youngest paid for the "tags" or license plates cause he eventually wants to drive the car...and the DMV worker was somwehat helpful with all of that...she even was pretty good about letting The Husband go outside and get some paperwork that the oldest had neglicted to have legally transfered from where he used to live, to here in Virginia. Once The Husband got home and started to relate all the Goings-On to me, I immediately started to cringe, 'cause I'd thot he'd end up sayin' something like, "Oh, an' they got so sick of us they threw us out like-a couple -a bums..." AMAZING!! not the case!! And, he said twice, how nice the lady was who helped him out with all the Assorted $}^#"% that goes into getting a vehicle licensed in the state of Virginia...I think I'm still in shock...

Well -- other news is that there has been some more progress on the Collage front...I'm gonna try an' post right after this one (?) to upload, (or is it download?) one of the collages I just finished putting the hanging wire on over the weekend. I've been encouraged by the middle one to let 'er rip -- show what's been happening in the Studio thru the last few dayz...IN THEORY I'llbe able to get the one picture I'm particularly fond of set up on here for all to see....Pleeze let me know what ya'll think....

Lady of The Tulips - who can hear the oldest screaming on his cell phone out in the front room -- he had a to work last night (he's a Limo driver sometimes for the restraunt he works at as a Valet) an' by the time he got home it was after 3:00 this morning...And the people who had the Limo didn't give him any kind of tip.....grrrr....he started the Limo run BEFORE 5:00 p.m. yesterday evening...Double grrr...

~~ Somewhere there is an unwritten Law that sez any trip to the DMV should be full of nothing but horrors, headaches and all-around sorrow...

That being said - The Husband went to said dmv on Saturday ( I didn't even know they were OPEN on Saturdays...sheeh..) to have our oldest transfer his Saturn over to The Husband...the youngest went along so he could help out in any way possible...kinda like catch the father if he fell over from standing in line too long...or catch the father if the DMV worker said, "Please come back another day", after standing in line for 2 1/2 hours...that sorta thang..


Well -- since they were literally the LAST people in line for the day, they amazingly had pretty quick service...the youngest paid for the "tags" or license plates cause he eventually wants to drive the car...and the DMV worker was somwehat helpful with all of that...she even was pretty good about letting The Husband go outside and get some paperwork that the oldest had neglicted to have legally transfered from where he used to live, to here in Virginia. Once The Husband got home and started to relate all the Goings-On to me, I immediately started to cringe, 'cause I'd thot he'd end up sayin' something like, "Oh, an' they got so sick of us they threw us out like-a couple -a bums..." AMAZING!! not the case!! And, he said twice, how nice the lady was who helped him out with all the Assorted $}^#"% that goes into getting a vehicle licensed in the state of Virginia...I think I'm still in shock...

Well -- other news is that there has been some more progress on the Collage front...I'm gonna try an' post right after this one (?) to upload, (or is it download?) one of the collages I just finished putting the hanging wire on over the weekend. I've been encouraged by the middle one to let 'er rip -- show what's been happening in the Studio thru the last few dayz...IN THEORY I'llbe able to get the one picture I'm particularly fond of set up on here for all to see....Pleeze let me know what ya'll think....

Lady of The Tulips - who can hear the oldest screaming on his cell phone out in the front room -- he had a to work last night (he's a Limo driver sometimes for the restraunt he works at as a Valet) an' by the time he got home it was after 3:00 this morning...And the people who had the Limo didn't give him any kind of tip.....grrrr....he started the Limo run BEFORE 5:00 p.m. yesterday evening...Double grrr...

~~ Have some time to write some random things...basically I'm waiting for some matte medium to dry on one of my collages, so I'm leary of disturbing the piece until everything's dry. I could try and get The Dog off "her" couch, but that may take much more than I have the energy for. Besides, it's jus' a tad chilly in the Studio, so I'm going to stay in the house for a little longer before I get the heat going in the Art Space --

The Husband is doing some work like mad these past few weeks...has been hauling lots of stuff to distribution centers..A lot has been last minute christmas stuff but now the calendar for retail is on Spring....which is hard to imagine when the radio is filled with "Deck The Halls" and other fun songs...My middle son & I were looking at some fabrics last week, and The Husband called on the cell phone to say he needed to get picked up at the terminal earlier than usual....had to make a run over to North Carolina to get some jackets to a distribution center -- and Honest -- he sez, "I've got Christmas Jackets Ma!" -- Fortunately I was close enuf to a bolt of fabric so that it sorta/kinda caught my arm when I suddenly stopped in the isle... "Whaa? You got what?!" "Christmas Jackets!!! Something like 7,300 of em!!" But I gotta get home early 'cause I gotta be at the place by 7 a.m. -- so THAT means you gotta come get me so I get home an' get to sleep asap!!"

~~ Now - what actually was in the Box were Spring Jackets - the paper for the Bill of Lading did have "Green" printed somewhere in the description of freight, so naturally The Husband thot they were for Christmas....oops...Actually for a couple department store chains for Spring...he had the chance to take a sneak peek in the warehouse while the boxes were moved to seperate areas..."They're the prettiest color of green...if you can wear that kinda thing. Mens...." Maybe some sorta thing like Rodney Dangerfield playing golf..that's all I could think of . Anyway, my middle one & I did get The Husband that afternoon after meandering in the fabric store... an' the poor Husband went right to sleep the minute he hit the bed. He's had something like 2 days off in the last 3 weeks, so he was REALLY glad to do nothing this past weekend...

An' speaking of the Holidays -- the idea in my lil' head has been to get things made for the family..but so far that's been viewed with a look of disgust, and a grunt to boot..Since I've always made odds an' ends for Christmas, this leaves me somewhat puzzled on what to do -- Do I jus' race to the closest store -- grab things off the shelves, get 'em home an shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Here's yur STUFF!!" -- hmmm...that probably isn't quite in the Christmas Spirit, is it? -- I'm feeling like there should be some sort of middle ground -- Between going into the whole Mass Merchandise buying frenzy we saw over the weekend (trying to get past the Super +++ ~~ Mart and not getting slammed into by crazed shoppers..) or jus' getting some little things and making small ornaments like I've done in the past -- OR - make some kind of "Necessary Item " they each need...say like socks...uhhh...problem there. I've got no clue how to knit...hmm...Ah HA! -- sewing up some pairs of Boxers that say "Have a Nice Day!" -- hmmm -- seems like I'm gettin' nowhere fast...

So ~~ I'm back to waiting for my collage to finish drying ~~ hoping the sun comin' in thru the windows in the Studio will make it warm enough so that I don't have to turn the heater on (ok - so I'm a cheapskate...). Maybe I'll go in the room an' The Dog will have moved to another position on the couch...it could happen!

Lady of The Tulips - who's wondering why so much stuff is out on store shelves with odd color combinations that seem rather brash, for Christmas...will the color combination make people really buy 'em? Perhaps we'll see these same things on the Discount Isle come January 10th...you know...the "Discounts to 75% OFF!!" sorta isle...sigh...

~~ I hear the wind outside picking up, an' with it being over 70 Degrees, it looks like we're in for some rough weather...A good portion of the U.S. has been hammered with heavy snows, icy conditions, and people jus' not too thrilled with Life right now...my heart goes out to all who are in the grip of this terrible MESS --

But on a lighter note...there has been some progress on the Art ~ End of things here..some projects that have been sitting on my craft table are finally getting finished...an' the middle son who knows All Thangs Computer, tells me he can get some pictures of my work on this hear lil' Blog...'cept he's in Washington D.C. at the moment, so I can't find out 'xactly how to post my stuff till he gets back tomorrow afternoon...I'm Excited, still, to know that I'll be able to let the World see what sorta things I've been creating...The Moment of Truth, as it were...

Yesterday while getting some fabric pieces cut to apply on a couple of projects, I was stationed in my dinning room -- I had 2 workmen in the attic, and in the kitchen -- they were finally here to repair our furnace...Now -- the thing is WAY too large for the house...the people we bought the house from must have looked like an easy sale to the heating and air company who installed the Beast in The Closet ~~ Because the furnace is this HUGE thang that eats loads and loads of natural gas like candy -- our heating bills have run over $200 most winters, and we finally HAD ENOUGH!!! -- an' after saving up for nearly a month, I broke down an' called another heating an airconditioning company, and asked them to come out and generally Make Things Better...

We've used this particular company since we've lived here, so I trust their work...they've been very professional, but have repeatedly told me that the furnace we have was probably a great sale for The Other Company...an' is just not meant for this house...maybe one double the size of ours...ANYWAY -- we've discussed making some imrovements in the duct work, that would make the Beast run more efficently...an', like I said...after saving up, we finally got the repairs done....lots of Cutting of Wood....Hammering -- Yelling back & forth between 2 workmen...tracking dirt in & out of the house...making The Dog a nervous wreck...but after 2 1/2 hours, The Improvements were DONE!!! New registers are now sitting very happily where some REAL old one once were...shiny and clean...and the workmen even cleaned up after themselves ~~ AND ~~ All of this to the tune of $670.70 .....

After I picked myself up off the floor after getting the estimate and final amount for the work done...I regained my composure...wrote out a check for the total...an' quickly sank into a chair at the dinning room table... I am nearly CONVINCED I have chosen the wrong Occupation ~~ Heating & Air Conditioning guys must have some REALLY great vacations..because I'm sure what I jus' paid those guys should get them to Florida this winter IN STYLE!!! Six-Hundred Dollars!!! SIX!!! ~~ HUNDRED!!! Too bad that back in the day when I was in high school, classes weren't available for Girls to take any vocational classes..Because believe me, I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THEM!!!

~~ 'K -- sorry for the rant...but now I have to re-think what to do for Christmas...I'm not too sure if I can even afford one of those Dollar Places....sigh...

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who's pondering whether - o - not to sign up for some kinda vo-tech classes, to Learn a Trade....sheesh...

2 Days under the wrath of a Nor'easter an' it feels like we can venture outside now an' not feel like we'll end up somewhere over in the Dismal Swamp ~~ This storm has been everything it was promoted to be ~~ lottsa wind -- rain, rain an' more rain -- but it was difficult to decide which direction it was coming from...what with winds over 40 mph, the wind was comin' from Everywhere. THANK HEAVENS -- it's slowin' down now...shwwoooo...

It's also the day before Thanksgiving -- Fortunately the groceries have ben taken care of...last year w/no income it was not an especially joyful day..somber at best. But now that The Husband is gainfully employed an' enjoying it..we are able to get the lil' goodies we couldn't buy last year. Even found a good turkey for not too high a price...wow...but it still rankles when I think that some guy is raising these birds an' probably isn't gettin' didly squat for the things...sigh...BUT - it is fun to go in and look at the grocery shelves with all the trimmings for the traditional holiday here in the U.S. -- Thought about getting fresh cranberry's, but couldn't decide if the time to make the sauce would be worth the effort...plus, the recipe I had from New England has somehow dissapeared...without a doubt I'll find it when I want to make a lemon pie for 4th of July ...never fails. Or like the year before last -- couldn't find the pumpkin pie receipe I wanted, an' somewhere around Labor Day it make it's appearance. "OH! Look! Here's just the thing I need!!" ~~ I swanny ~~ I figure anymore thatI deserve all the grey hairs I've got on me little head..

The Art stuff is still goin' strong...I'm waiting for the middle son to get thru with whatever it is he's making noise about....sounds like a drum machine...a guitar slightly out of tune...an' something like...uhmmm.... oh blast....I have No Idea What -- SOMETHING!! ~~ He'll be done soon...I think...

An' while thinking back on getting receipes ~~ I had a thot of making something from one of my old cookbooks ~~ Maybe a little different kinda thing. Looked at Aspic (sp) receipe's...I've no idea of what it is...but the author of the book said up & down that they were quite good, an' would make any guest jus' feel at home. What kind of home, I've no clue, as just the name of the thing..or stuff...sorta/kinda freaked me out. Turning the page didn't help much, as there were more odd things...Finally I started to look at some other kind of pies...Mincemeat looked interesting...found an old one that required using some kind of lean meat...lamb or something. That automatically put that idea out the window...price of lamb is more than gettin' some gas put in The Very Fine Car, so that page got turned, too. Flipped thru some more pages an' thot about baking a cake..but then realized I've never made a 2-layer cake in my entire life, an' the image of me tryin' to frost all this mess...I mean, I could see pieces of the cake fallin' off the side an' top of what I jus' got out of the oven...stickin' to the knife with all the frosting blobbed on...uhh...yeah, that page got turned too...

But I've still got the instant-made-frozen pie shells sittin' in the freezer, an' since the guys like havin' those, slathered with some whipped cream, well, why mess with somethin' else that may create a moment of bedlam in the kitchen? It'd be like if The Husband said he was gonna whip up a batch of cookies with chocolate (oh blast, that doesn't look like it's spelled right...) pieces...Visions of goo all over the kitchen flash everywhere...

Anyway -- Things will quiet down after the meal is over with...everybody will be sleeping an' the television will be blasting to no one in particular, about who knows what. The Dog will be laying smack dab in the middle of front room, no doubt right where I'll be walking by. I SHALL NOT FALL OVER HER!!!

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who's distracted now 'cause the youngest jus' walked in the house, an' is askin' a gazillion questions...an' now fighting with his older brother.....ahh...siblings...

~~~ By the calender it's suppossed to be Fall -- the time of year when daily tempertures drop an' the leaves on tree's turn into fabulous colors. Well ~~ The leaves are up to their end of the deal, but the temperatures aren't considering the calender at all. As of jus' a few minutes ago, the thermometer was readin' 64 degrees....an' it's not quite 11:15 in the morning! I'm tryin' to make myself feel like it's Fall -- wearin' a nice flannel shirt -- but all the dayum shirt is makin' me do is melt...over heat....feel like I'm in a sauna....ya'll get the idea....So when is the temperature gonna do it's change to Fall!?? I strongly believe at times like this that it was a good thing I didn't consider being a Weather Person...I'd be ranting at the computer models that say the weather isn't cooling down...an' it's gonna be unseasonabily warm for the next 10 dayz.....sheesh...

~~ Anyway -- one of the upcoming dayz my middle son sez he WILL be helpin'me get some of my pictures on this here now lil' Blog - he has to get some THANG to transfer pictures from the digital camera an' upload (or is it download?) them onto this place...I'm excited but also sorta nervous...settin' my self an' my art out for the world to see is somewhat freightening..but then since this is what I do -- create Art that tells a story...conveys a feeling...then the only reasonable thing to do is let the world see an' tell --- or is it Show & Tell? the latter, I think. I want to let others see that I want to share my sense of Fun - of Color - an' see that I don't want to consider myself jus' TOO serious when makin' my creations...One thing that grates on my nerves are those that sey.."We Ohhnly Consider SERIOUS Ahhhrrrttt..." Blah. Art is to be enjoyed, not made to make people feel like crawlinginto a hole and hiding the rest of their life. Make Art something to Enjoy -- Make colors that create positive feelings....Create something to put a smile on your face, not make you weep because it sweeps your emotions along into a tide of misery. The Fun is what I do. And hopefully within a couple dayz everybody can see an' express what they feel about my work.

The small things around here are pretty much the same...Dog is sleepin' on the couch in the Studio an' at last look...make that the last sound I heard was her snoring....nothing is more irritating than when she gets her snore going...I'll be painting some piece of watercolor paper, or stamping some fish thing...then I hear this NOISE ~~ an' realize it's THE DOG SNORING!!! LAWDY!! Doesn't do any good to wake her up an sey "Will you Knock that Off!!" 'cause she jus' rolls over an' starts in all over again (Sorta like The Husband...) an' sometimes starts snoring LOUDER...I'll try to concentrate on what I'm doing, but it gets a little nerve racking hearing all this noise from the couch...

The other little thing that seems to be ongoing an' a problem is the Very Fine Car - it isn't living up to its end of the bargain by being a Good Car...yesterday it started in on it's Stalling Out in Traffic During Rush Hour ~~ The Husband was driving the thing for a change when it started this bit...I honestly believe he's been thinking I've been making up this story of the car being Pesty..But by the 4th time the car was sputtering...coughing...making Strange noises under the hood..then he realized the Very Fine Car has some kind of Problem. I've taken it to the mechanic, who promptly said "There's nothing wrong with it..." an' shooed me outta the garage....hmmmph.....I've tried to get another mechanic to look at it but so far it seems a person needs to make appintments for automotive mechanics like they do with a Doctor...3 Weeks in advance an' make sure you have a minimum of $100 before any diagnosis (sp) is made. I'm not one to figure out what a car DOES...'cept to put the key in the ignition, crank it up an' drive down the road...when these Mechanics ask "Well what is it doing?" What it's doing is Making Me Furious!! Having a car stall out during rush hour traffic is not one of the things I've agreed to during my time here on Earth..no contract was ever presented to me with this agreement in writing for me to say "Sure!!" Let's have a car stall out while all the people behind me are screaming at me to get the F"}%+@ outta the WAY!!

Jus' a little thing, mind you...but seems to be something to Learn To Deal With...Nobody told me this was part of living in the Big City..so I'm wonderin' who set this up -- knowing my nerves would be RATTLED....The Husband naturally starts to RANT at me when I simply ask "What's that light on the dash mean, Check Engine?" ~~ Little Thing ~~ When I'd much rather be looking at new Art papers...watercolor pencils...very fine paint brushes...That's what I'd rather be spending my time doing...not the Little Thing of a car deciding to be a $#}%_2 an' making people ANGRY!!

~~ Well ~~ My lil' eyes see that it's time to meander over to one of those local lil' Dollar places an' pick up some necessary items...boring ...boring...boring...But everybody knows that the minute you need to brush your teeth an' realize THERE'S NO TOOTHPASTE!!! -- well...the boring-ness of buying these THANGS comes right back to slap ya right across the face....Necessary Evils, I think my mother would mumble . Besides - I also have to see if the Dog has moved off the couch, so I can spray the cushions with flea spray...That always gets the beast to move...an' move FAST!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who should have thot of using the flea spray some dayz ago to make the dog hop off the couch when she wanted to sit down an' rest....sigh...

~~ The seasonal change is makin' the tree out in our front yard a fabulous Red/Orange/Brown combination of colors that almost looks like its movin' an' dancin' -- the sudden cold temps an' the right amount of rain jus' before the temperature change has really made it look wonderful. In the few years we've lived here, that tree has never looked so good.

The other thing that is soooo cool 'bout this time of year, is all the migrating birds that fly over the lake an' make up their group mind about where to land for rest -- the other day I was reading some info online, when I started to hear all this weird noise outside. First I thot it was the little boy across the street playin' with one of his toy horns...but then I realized it was a school day..sorta rainy an' nobody was outside. I quick-like hopped up to look out the window in the middle bedroom an' realized the sound was from a flock of LARGE birds...not the geese we usually have...but a flock of LOONS!! We've been here over 5 years an' this is the first I've heard an' seen these fabulous birds!! They were circling the water lookin' for a place to land...very gracefully they decended onto the water....it jus' took my breath away. They were so wonderful...An' I'd say they are much happier here where it's jus' over 50 degrees than where they must have flown in from. Don't know where they'll fly from here, but what a joy to see that flock of birds....wow...

Found a lil' place up in the mountains that I've been researchin' an checkin' out for the past few months..actually more like the last year or more. Since The Husband & I never had our anniversary thang this year, I thot it'd be a nice idea to go visit the mountains..right in the middle of the Blue Ridge mind you...an' have a nice quiet weekend. Uhhmmm --- les' jus' say that THAT idea went over like a kick in the stomach.. "I mean! ~~ it's cold up there now! You wanna go up there when??" -- So much for the quiet romantic weekend in the woods....sheesh...

But I did find some fabulous gallerys an' shops an' STUFF that have got my curiosity (Oh shush,,,that's spelled wrong so DEAL! with it..) -- Seems like maybe the time is right for explorin' the place an' seein' jus' what is WHAT!! The Very Fine Automobile is running pretty decent at the moment, so after havin' the mechanic I use get it a once-over...looks like I'll try to make the trip to the Blue Ridge....Besides..the fall colors should still be fairly good, so what more can ya ask for?

Lady of The Tulips -- who is considering jus' what thrift store to hit for buyin' sweaters an' stuff for the cold weather...summer t-shirts jus' aint gettin' it, ya know??

>>> This is jus' beginning to get a little weird...makes me wonder if there is some kind of THING that's makin' it difficult for me to move around the world in general without bashing, smashing or altogether beating myself to bits...

The last post had to do with the smashing of my person, an' some of the other thangs associated with the after effects of makin' PAIN my middle name...I'd thot that after the healing of my leg, arm, Self, had finished (or gotten a good run at it), then I'd be over this latest round of damage. What I was Drinkin' is beyond me...actually I'm not one to do the drinkin' bit like it's perceived...more than 2 beers in an evening puts me absolutely to SLEEP...

So - anyway..went to the Truck Terminal last night to get The Husband from work...jus' anothe r evening, ya know...nothing special. I'd told him I needed to use the facilities, which happen to be located in the downstairs portion of the building...there's a Drivers Lounge, with bathroom for men & women (I write this, because some places have ONE place for both men + women...so it gets sorta scary sometimes for me to use those type places...) . The Husband had already gotten into the car, an' drove me across the parking lot to the front bay doors of the truck repair shop, closer to the entrance to the lounge. I'm thinkin', well isn't THIS nice..

Got outta the car, walked over to the smaller door that leads into the repair shop, offices for the shop manager, etc., but realized the door wasn't opening right. So, after tryin' to pull this big ol' door open, I realized I'd needed to use the lil' button-thangie on the handle to open the door....So, I finally get my lil' hand to push down the button, (no easy feat for a weakling like me...) started to pull the heavy door open >>> and promptly open the door smack dab onto my left big toe. An' I MEAN, the full, heavy weight of this steel door, RIGHT ONTO MY BIG TOE!!!

The word PAIN does not even begin to describe what I felt...an' to make matters worse, I needed to sorta rush, 'cause The Husband wanted to get home, I needed to use the facilities, an' while all this was rushin' thru my lil' ol' brain, all I could feel was this incredible rush of pain. I staggered into the bathroom, sorta crying an' sobbing, got business taken care of...an while walkin' outta the lounge, realized I had to walk across the building to where The Husband had parked the car. Needless to say, by the time I got to the car, I was almost in tears, was barely walking AT ALL....got into the car, an' what does The Husband sey? "Oh, all you did was stub yer big toe...."

After we got home an' I got a chance to look at the damage....the toe is double it's normal size...an' after starting to turn a delightful shade of blue-purple...today I'm glad to say it is STILL twice it's normal size, an' is now more of a deep purple - black than last nite. Zippa-De-Do-Dah!!! I don' know whether to go find an island to run away to, or jus' go slap the $}&+@#$ outta the next guy I see...

The Husband hasn't said a word about it...he jus' figures it's a little owwwieeee....HA!! I'm hobblin' aroun' the house like I'm 105...an' can't get some house work done (Darn the Bad Luck) cause it's too painful to stand on my left foot....

But all this leaves me with the question...Jus' what the $"&+! is goin' on?? I can't move myself anywhere these dayz without a smash-up!! Is this the effects of not enuf coffee in the morning?? The effects of not enuf caffine in the day?? ( oh shut-up...I know that's spelled wrong...) But it's really startin' to freak me out..An' these bumps aren't jus' some little kinda thang..I mean, these are BIG smooshes on me...an' I don't usually get these kinda things. I've hiked up some good trails an' never gotten hurt like I've been in the last 2 weeks!!! AARRGGGHHHHH >>

~~ Well, now ~~ What I've wanted to say tho...is there are 2 pieces I'm almost done with..an' I'm so glad that I've gotten to the 95% finished place with them. I'd wanted to get another piece done by now...mermaid peering into a toy chest w/gold pieces ...but I haven't gotten the fabric painting done for her body, an' haven't gotten the right shape finalized either. So, the 2 other ones are Jus' 'bout done...the mermaid on each of them will be watercolor paper instead of fabric...bright colors....party-party glitter, an' fun stamps all over the place on the box the mermaid will be playing on. I know the 2 people I'm makin' these for will be happy with them. They've been a blast to make. Got some goofy lookin' stars with funny smiles on the inside of one box...the other will have a star with a big ol' grin on him...highly approving the Party theme for the mermaid. Fun Fun Fun !!!

Now it's back to the Studio/Sunroom. The sun is warming the inside of the room Sooo nicely, even tho the hight is only supposed to be 50 something...the windows act like such a great solar heater...I've had to switch from wearin' a flannel shirt to one of my t-shirts...jus' too warm in there to keep the flannel thing happening....the youngest brought in a large crate of green peppers the other night, to keep them from freezin' in the 40 degree night temps...the plants still look pretty good, an' the 'maters are still green an' happy...I've no clue why they haven't started turning bad...guess their tougher than I thot!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who's CAREFULLY goin' to walk down the hall + out to the studio...an' will look 3 times to make sure The Dog isn't in the way...sheesh....

~~~ Well -- seems like Summer is jus' tryin' it's best to stick aroun' -- the last few days have been WARM >> as in over 70-Degrees-WARM -- thus why I said it's just like the summer is not wanting to go away. Funny thing is -- we had the furnace on not three days ago, 'cause the inside of this older home gets chilly once the temps outside fall below 55 Degrees...not too much insulation, so cold seeps thru the cracks and teeny openings that we don't even see. Then, just when the Gas Company thot we'd get the gas blasting into the house...HA!! ....the temps climb back up into the 70 Degree range...makes ya feel like ya don' know whether your comin' or goin' --

AND -- so as not to be too comfortable with the weather bein' nice...this lil' ol Tlip Lady had a great time of fun and games last week....First some kind of NAHHHSTEEEYYY virus got ahold of my person, and made me have coughing fits that felt like my lungs were gonna come flyin' outta my body...very nerve racking, body racking, dog-lookin'-at-me-like WHAT-IS-THAT??!!! kinda stuff...not fun, an' made the more merry with this voice that sounded like I'd turned back to bein' 5 years old...sqeaky-teeny-lil' voice that hurt to say more than 10 words, an' after that the coughing - hacking- sneezy STUFF would start in. OK -- this is not what I'd thot of when I'd wanted a new month to kick off an' look forward to Fall...SO...

Jus' to make matters even more thrilling....I casually went into the Sunroom/Studio an' looked at the dog laying as usual, on the beat-to-a-pulp couch, an' thot, well, I do need to open the 2 side windows to let in a little bit of fresh air, then I was gonna get a final coat of varnish on a piece I'd been workin' on for the past couple days. Fine. 'Cept, I have to climb up on the couch to reach the window handle, an' so, jus' like I've done for EVAH...Igot up on the couch, but w/the dog in the way, I tried to jus' lean over to the right a smidge...but realized I was loosin' my balance. All within maybe 30 seconds, I start to fall over...sorta half-standin', half leanin' toward the couch, an' the leaning-falling-over chair...that was covered with junik...uhhh....so, Istart to try an' get my momentum goin' to the left a little bit, but then see out of the corner of my eye, my oldest son's bicycle, directly behind me...so the next quick thot is, UHHHH..let's not impale ourselves on the handle bars of the bicycle...let's not land on the brand-new paper shredder in front of the ratty chair.an' let's not fall on the dog....WHEEEEEEEE >>>>>>

What happened is I landed mostly on my right leg, smack dab on top of the paper shredder, sorta bounced off of that, an' landed on the floor of the room...Screamin' for my life. I'd really thot I'd broken my leg..the pain was jus' so $"&^}@ BAD...I almost started to hyperventalate (Oh --I know that's spelled wrong...so HUSH!!) --- the middle son came runnin' into the room, looked at me in a heap on the floor, an' quickly ran to get some ice..my leg was bleedin' from where it hit the paper shredder, an the swelling started in right away...my middle one got me to my feet (No easy task there....I could barely stand up..) an' got me into the house. Sat me down on the couch in the front room, told me STAY PUT!! an' got a pillow under my leg to keep it elevated. Needless to say a BIG bag of ice was the best thing in the world..kept the swelling from gettin' to bad, an' after puttin' a bandage on the cut smack-dab on the center of my shin, my son told me not to move. Ya think I was gonna get up an' go somewhere??

Finally after 'bout an hour, the pain started to get a little dimmer, an' I got someone to grab me some pain medication...Now I have these three HUGE black + blue bruises on my leg...the icky spot where my leg scraped the shreder is slowly healing, an' the sharp pains are startin' to go away...BUT -- I have to hand it to whoever builds those paper shredders...that lil' sucker didn't even crack..no nothing...jus' sat there like a lil' brick ______ house, no doubt wonderin' why I suddenly attacked it with my entire person...my shin tho, is not all that impressed with the thing, an' I think is intending on doin' something to it somewhere down the line...

BUT --- this is not all the fun + games I've had in the past few days...NO - NO !! Just so I don't have one part of me black + blue...My right arm must have felt somewhat slighted, so this is the next lil' thang that happened.....

The other night, jus' as I was gettin' to sleep, I started to have one of my heaving - hacking - coughin- fits...right when I thot it was safe to sleep in my own lil' bed an' not out on the couch in the living room ( The Husband didn't want to get sick, so Your's Truly slept on the couch for over a week...) -- HA!! No-sir-eee Bob....I get to couchin' so bad, my eyes started to hurt. So, stagering out into the dark-black hallway, I start stumbling down toward the front room, only to trip and start falling over the dog who happened to be lying smack-dab in the center of the hall...I start falling on her, I'm steppin' all over her back leg...she's tryin' her best to get outta my way, tryin' to get up an' move away from me...I start yellin' at her, an' while tryin' to get my self back sorta standin', I start to lean to the right to "maybe" hold onto the wall. All I did was succeed in havin' my right elbow rub along the wall while I was sliding - half-falling downthe hall way. Screaming once again, an' makin' more noise than is probably legal, I succeed in waking up my middle son, who comes flyin' outta his room, screams, "WHAT THE !!!______" an' then sees that 'm once again in another minor disaster of my own making...

Mind you...The Husband never got outta bed to see if I was ok...the oldest, I gues, took a brief vacation and avoided the entire situation like the plague...an' the youngest finally came stumbling out into the living room, once I made it out there, fumbled-bumped around an' stumbled back into his room, sayin', "Will you keep it down out here..."

I'm not sure if there was a Full Moon -- if there was some planet-moving situation out in space, or jus' what the $"&^*})(}@}was the THANG...but LAWDY!!! I've got more black + blue bruises than I've in 15 years...An' all I was tryin' to do was get some sleep...an' the other time was jus' tryin' to get some fresh air into the studio....I MEAN .... No wonder it's difficult for me to move around this week...my body jus' aint into doin' NOTHIN'!!!

An' I missed the deadline to enter a show I'd wanted to place some pieces in....been workin' 2 months on these thangs....but couldn't come up w/the entrance fee..jus' had to pay $250 for medications for The Husband. Not that I'm in any way ANGRY ~~ not that I'm in any way MIFFED ~~ Not that I want to rip off the head of the pharmacist who refused to accept a coupon that would have given us one of the medications FREE ~~ AND WAS AN EXTREMELY RUDE HAG ON TOP OF IT ~~ no-no -- not me....I"M FURIOUS!!!! 2 months....whoosh...gone an' nothin' to show for it. Well, I do have the pieces, but they didn't get into the show like I'd wanted and worked for. Maybe this is why I'm contemplating coloring my hair....something like PURPLE....

OK ~~ I'm takin' a deep breath now...I'm also gonna go an' get some coffee an' try to get another piece started up. Later will take a coupon to the art store & get some STUFF needed for my work.

I'd love to stay an' chat....but I feel like I better go take my, uhm....."Temperment" outside an' smash a few slugs to pieces that are crawlin' aroun' the tomato plants....that'll show 'um...

Lady Of The Tulips

Well, it's been a few days , to say the least, since I last got something written here...seems like the time I need to sit down an' 'splain somethin, there is always 49,507 other things that pop up an' grab me 'roun' the throat an' say "Listen Here!!!" So -- those have been put outside next to the shed, poutin' an' kickin' rocks against the backyard fence...an' they can stay there for the next few days..

Just got thru drivin' the youngest to another temp job...he has a good agency that places him with companies that only need a worker maybe one - o - 2 days -- the pay isn't anything to write home about, but at least he gets experience an' does get some $$ in the bank. Today he's workin' at a local college, doin' "Grounds Maintenance" -- which is somethin' he enjoys, an' will probably make near $45 for the day. Pays Bills, as he sez, so it's worth gettin' to the place at 6:00 a.m. ~~ usually I'm in slumber-land, but he 's done with the work over near the Beach, so now he's on to something else.

~~~ What is so disturbing, is just the driving around this area ~~ This is something I know I've ranted about in other posts, but it defies description, at best -- there are so many UGLY Drivers out there...Take for instance this morning. I got hung-up in an intersection where the left turn light wasn't workin' -- jus' sat there on red thru 10 - 12 min. of signal changes. So -- I attempted to get into the right lane, that would allow me to go straight, into a industrial complex, 'bout 1/4 Mi. from my house. If I could get thru that area, I knew I could get back home.....Sounds simple enuf...HA!! Once a car pulled up to my right at the intersection, I honked, an' waved my hand at the driver to let me pull in front of him -- with my right turn indicator on. He was SOOO confused, rolled his window down like his pocket protector would get dirt on it -- frowned -- an' sez, "What??!! What did I DO???!!!" I simply said, "The light isn't working, an' I just need to get over in that lane to go straight? Can I do that?" He gave me the DIRTIEST look, but let me over....Shwoo...one step taken care of....HOWEVAH....once I got into the industrial park, I suddenly realized there were no cross roads to get to the main street going around the park and the adjoining airport road...hmmm...hmmm...

So -- I stopped at one intersection, an' nearly got wiped out by people in a hurry to get to work...never mind the speed limit sign said 25 ~~ These people are doin' 40 an' by GAWD don' SLOW THEM DOWN!!! I'm lookin' an' lookin' -- tryin' to figure out where to go....I drive aroun' an' around..people are glarin' an slyin' past me, while I'm pulled off on the side of these streets, gettin' more an' more upset....One guy in some dip-stick "Hot-Rod " nearly side-swiped me while I was desperately tryin' to get into a driveway to ask someone, ANYONE for directions. FINALLY ~~ in complete desperation, I literally WAVED BOTH ARMS OUT THE WINDOW AT A VAN -- an YELLED "HELP!!! HELP!!!" The guy at first just drove past me!!! Cars drivin' past KEPT ON GOING!!! What if I was suddenly ill?? What if I was havin' a heart attack? These shallow, vain people had no concerns other than their shelfish GARBAGE an' didn't give me the time of day!!!

Finally this van stopped an' backed up, while I was still wavin' my arms (BOTH!!) out the window sayin' HELP!!! I NEED SOME HELP!!! He very gingerly rolled down his window like I was gonna shoot him or somethin' -- an' finally sez, "You need somethin'?" I told him I simply wanted directions to where I needed to go, an' he couldn't help me -- didn't know where I needed to go, an' jus' sorta shook his head. Finally I jus' pulled the wagon back into another intersection, an' went back the original way I came in. I was shakin' -- was nearly in tears -- an' all the time jus' kept thinking ~~ If this was a sister....mother..wife to any of these people, would they react the same ugly, nasty mean way? And -- what does it say about the way people show "concern" for others? WAIT -- it shows there IS NO CONCERN FOR OTHERS!!! Well -- by jinkiees -- How silly of me!! To think that the majority of people racing to get to work in the morning would rather see somebody stranded on the side of the road, an' not do a thing to help? Hey!! Guess WHAT???!!!! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WENT THROUGH!!!! Probably 75 - 100 cars, with nobody stoppin' to see if I needed help....

Maybe it's just my imagination, but WHAT THE $"^{$&{*){( is WRONG with this picture? Kindness is pretty much non-existent to the vast majority of drivers in this city -- And like The Husband said, "Don't expect somebody to come to your aide...they'd just as well run over you an' then scream at your dead body for slowin' them down..."

Somebody want to let me know if maybe I'm just over reacting? I don't think I am - Just wondering why the country in goin' to He- - in a hand-basket...

Lady of The Tulips - who's now reconsidering some land she looked at not far from where she used to live -- near the Ozarks -- maybe this is the time to negotiate ---

~~~ Well, it's another one of those late-summer mornings, where Mother of Weather is being fickle again, an' the temp outside is already nearin' 80 degrees..the humidity is climbin' up the ladder gettin' ready to make things melty again, an' I realllly wanted to get some paintin' done out in the sunroom/studio...Once I walked out there an' felt my back startin' to melt slightly, an' the dog layed on the floor panting-panting...well...that idea went out the window an' jus' is NOT comin' back.

The temps. earlier in the week had been jus' so darn wonderful, too == Cool for a change, with a nice gentle breeze softly comin' in the windows..I thot for sure that the heat was goin' away once an' for Evah...well, not exactly Evah, but at least till next spring. Lots of work got accomplished -- Got a rough mock-up for a 3-Dimensional piece I'm contemplating on doin' for a local show next month. The rough piece is there, an' now the pieces to put it all together are layin' on the table waiting for the "right" assembling ~~ Never having done a 3-D piece is the challenge, so I'm takin' it very slow an' careful. I'd like to figure out how to make a person's body bend around a angled box -- as if to be lookin' inside -- but the detail have eluded my lil' ol' brain for the time being. Frustrating, but I know when the time comes it'll literally pop in my head -- things sometimes happen that way ~~ Suppose the Muse is there but on a coffee break till later notice.

Am also experimenting with some paints I've never used before ~~ Actually some coatings that have a soft glowing patina to them once applied to any surface. I experimented with some wood, paper ~~ Got some color that looked promising, so now the trick is to get it blended the shade that's gonna look good with a Sea-Life piece in the works. There has also been some painting done for another piece for a friend who's up to a good party when the moment strikes -- Even found some paper martini glasses an' somewhere I've got those funny lil' paper umbrellas that abolutely HAVE TO be applied to the piece, which is naturally titled, "PARTY!!" ~~ thot of usin' that song from the 80's "Girls Jus' Wanna Have Fun" -- but didn't know where to start lookin' for old party dresses -- big hair -- makes me tired thinkin' about it all....

Now the next project is looming an' I can't decide whether or not to use gel pens an' glitter -- all on one lil' piece of paper....too much sparkle...or not enuf? One Muse is sayin' GO FOR IT -- the other one is sayin', like the lil' ol' Sunday School Teacher...."HMMM!! That's Just Not What We DO Around Here!! That's Something Other People Do!! NOT US!!" ~~ Actually, I'm thinkin' about tellin' the ol' lady to SHUDDUP! ~ an' go for BROKE!!! THERE!! HA!!! Boy, that feels better...More The Merrier it IS!! Wheeeee!!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who's now gonna go turn off the t.v. with the blah-blah of Pre-Game Football Stuff an' blast some Jazz in the house instead....There! HA!! ~~