Once Again, I am the Late Auntie Lenora

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Weather in the Tries:
Yeah, it’s still out there with sun sometimes and either dark or cloudy the others. No more freezes, but still breezes.

Once again, I am the Late Auntie Lenora:
It was a week. Last Monday, I drove Favorite Daughter and Favorite Grandcat Bruce, to the WSU Veterinarian Hospital for tests and a sleep over. Because Favorite Daughter has other cats at home, we drove home Monday to sleep in our own beds and then back to Pullman and WSU on Tuesday to collect Favorite Grandcat Bruce. He said the food was awful, and the sleepover ok, but he doesn’t want to do a repeat.

Actually, I don’t think I want to do a do-over, either. My allergies went bonkers and I’ve been fighting a sinus infection. Housemate Dan even went shopping for me and brought back some Afrin and some Nasocort. I do feel like I am actually coming back to feeling like a human. At least the sinus headache is down to a susurration. 

Other than walking the Beast (aka Sammy) I haven’t been outside much. Did meet a friend for coffee yesterday and have a networking social this evening.

Did make my poetry critique group on Saturday, and finally have a long poem ready to be abandoned. (Poems are never finished, merely abandoned.)

I also woke at 3:00am and realized I hadn’t written, let alone posted, this week’s blog. I am dedicated, but not that dedicated. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Listening to the music of Dune by Hans Zimmer. Dune are my ‘thumb sucking’ books, at least the original 6 by Frank Herbert. And try as I might, every time I’d get the litany against fear memorized, I’d mess it up somehow, and yet it was, and is, one of my favorite things. In one of the books, Reverend Mother Odrade said it took long to say, so she shortened it to: “Face your fear or it will climb over your back.” Yep, that one I can remember for more than two days running. The original, for those of you who may not remember it, is: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune

But, back to the music, there are several parts of it on he www, not something I would want to listen to all the time, but great background for reading, writing, or sewing.

Photos of the Week:
Not sure what this is, but it’s in the Vet School complex on the second or third floor. Break room? Lunch room? Reading room? Just thought it was an interesting picture.

This is the first of two bas relief (?) curved glass panels that greet one when entering the small animal clinic. The represent the wetlands, and the floor, which I did not shoot, was set with the foot prints of 17 animals who would be found in the wetlands and wave lines. There was a coffee pot and hot water pot with teas and hot coco available. Very nice set up. (There are three entrances—wildlife rescue, small animal, and large animal. Mostly in the small animal, we saw dogs and cats, but also bunny and ferret. The bunny people came from Seattle. The school has a very high reputation.)

from the desk of the spoiled beast;
my humans spoil me. if housemate dan gets up early, my pestering him will get me breakfast and a walk earlier than if I pester mom. she thinks my tummy is on a schedule. well, I guess it is. the schedule is when it’s hollow and empty it needs food. or when I’m up and see my empty bowl. she’s always saying she ordered a cat and got me, so I don’t understand why she doesn’t love me more when I act like a cat. humans are really strange.

Quotes from Bill Nye:
“Television isn’t inherently good or bad. You go to a bookstore, there are how many thousands of books, but how many of those do you want? Five? Television’s the same way. If you’re going to show people stuff, television is the way to go. Words and pictures show things.” – Bill Nye

“If the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, it’s game over. It’s control-alt-delete for civilization.” – Bill Nye

Dune: Part Two | Soundtrack Cut | Hans Zimmer

I regret to inform you…

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Weather in the Tries:
The highest day will be this coming weekend, in the mid 70s, the lowest is scheduled for tomorrow at 60. Most will be in the upper 60s. The nights will be down to a comfortable low 40s, with a couple in the high 30s. There will be no more three dog nights for a few months.

I regret to inform you…

It is with sadness I tell you, your dearly departed uncle has left you the entirety of his estate valued at xxxxxx amount of Dollars, Pounds Sterling, Won, Yen, Whatever. It has taken us some time to find you, as he left only your name and possible location as you’ve recently moved, and there are several people with your name, and we had to ascertain you are the correct recipient of his vast fortune in currency, jewels, and land. yadda, yadda, and more yadda.

Several years ago, my favorite Brother of Choice Dave, told me how to set my computer so the entire sender email is shown (se below). That has saved me no end of hassle and the possibility of embarrassing loss of funds 😉 And, yes, I have sent it on to Phishing@visa.com

This guy is so bad at this, I almost want to edit his letter and send it back. This is his whole letter:

*

Solomon Williams jeorgekennedy011@gmail.com

hello

To: undisclosed-recipients:;,

Reply-To: cbi.customerservices10@gmail.com

 Attention,
I send you this message previously without hearing from you,
Today we received an appropriate letter from the treasury department of the
Executive Board of Directors to continue with the transfer of his
Fund deposited in our bank. We have established all
transfer documents behind your full amount.

1) Through a VISA CARD based on a personalized PIN with a
maximum withdrawal limit of ($10,000.00 USD) per day till
receive your full amount.

(CBI Customer Service)
[cbi.customerservices10@gmail.com]

*

Photos of the Week:
First up, a photo of my new bookcase. On the left, nonfiction—top shelf is Native American, in the middle are poetry books in the angled shelves, the top middle is my Morgue, in the right is my fiction. Someday I may have to swap location of fiction for poetry 😉 I buy very little hard copy fiction, but all my poetry is hard copy. 

Remember my talking about the quilt for my Sister and Brother of Choice’s pet python? Well, as you and I both know, they don’t have a pet python—they have a furry, and claw-bearing cat who likes to sit on the top of their bed’s headboard to look out the window. Here is a shot of the “python quilt” in its new home. And it has been approved!

And here are their new place mats, with the center piece. I drew a circle around the center of the center sunflower in the center piece and used a pale yellow to radiate out from the circle and continue down into the mats. The radiating rays are a stretched out ‘S.’ I was going to use a nice bright yellow, but the backs, or other side, is a soft sage green, and the brighter yellows did not play well with the softer green. Photos of quilts by my SOC, Lee W.

from the desk of the brave dog;
the sun is coming out more and more every day. my human likes it almost as much as me. the days are warmer, and so are the nights. my human still has a heavy quilt on my bed, woof—our bed. but it won’t be long before she will put a summer quilt on it. and then just a sheet. oh, hot weather comes. bark, bark, bark… my human won’t want 2 more dogs to share my, woof, our bed.

Earworm of the week:
woke this morning (Sunday) with Ghost Riders in the Sky by Sons of the Pioneers. Talk about an earworm. And Roy Rogers was still with them at the time. I remember that song from when I was a step above being a toddler. My folks played it over and over. Was I dreaming of them? I don’t know, but my first conscious thought was “Yippee kai yay, yippee kai yo ghost riders in the sky.” 

And a quote or two on this national day of poverty, courtesy of romper :

“Isn’t it appropriate that the month of the tax begins with April Fool’s Day and ends with cries of May Day?” — Robert Knauerhase
“Death, taxes, and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.” ― Margaret Mitchell
“The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf.” ― Will Rogers

Bookcases &c

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Weather in the Tries:
Highs this week will all be in the 60s, mostly higher 60s. The los will be in the 40s. We’ll have sunbreaks Monday and Wednesday, and winds on Tuesday. Can’t we have wind and sun at the same time? Who knows, and he’s not telling.

Bookcases &c:
My old and well used bookcase finally said it was tired of holding 3,002 pounds of so of books on it, and the little pins you put in your choice of holes broke the wood enough to fall out. If I raised or lowered the shelves (2 of them misbehaved) my books wouldn’t fit. So, I put the white book case I’ve never been truly happy with on the patio, and will get someone to help me move it up to the dumpster tomorrow (Monday) with a ‘Free to a Good Home’ sign on it. Moved my old and well used bookcase into the living room area now devoted to sewing/quilting, and got a lot of fabric &c stored on it so it has neatened up that area somewhat. And then I went to my favorite ‘has everything I’ve always wanted and didn’t know it’ store and ordered a new bookcase.

My old bookcase that is now mostly a fabric case, was 6 shelves (including the top) 6’ x3’. I ordered this bookcase, which is 72.8” wide, 79.5” heigh, and 11.8” deep. It is surprisingly easy to put together, and take apart, and put back together. The iron standards are each 3 pieces, a bottom, a middle, a top. They have holes in them. Did I pay any attention to hole placement? Of course not, I just put the pieces in however the farkers would fit with H on the top, I in the center and J at the bottom. Guess what, the holes are different on one side from the other. This morning (that would be Sunday) is deconstructed three of the four, and reconstructed them, and am now putting the shelves in. They are using engineered wood rather than compressed sawdust & glue. Each shelf is 23” long, give or take a tenth or two. I will have to get Housemate Dan to help me with the higher shelf. One is supposed to put them on the floor, but I can’t get down and back up. I laid one of the shelves (paying attention to the holes) on my chair and got the screws in the top shelf, and managed to get the second standard attached to the other end of the shelf, then stood it up and am now putting the rest of the shelves in. Photo next week when it’s together and populated with its books. I think all my books or poetry will go on the center ‘library cart’ style shelves, nonfiction on the left side and fiction on the right side.

I have one section finished. I’ll have to have Housemate Dan help me with the second section. I’ll hold the top shelf, if he’ll screw it in, then I can put the rest of the shelves in on my own, then build the tilted ones, and connect the hip bone to the leg bone and the leg bone to the ankle bone, or whatever. Once the three sections are connected, I’ll know how far I need to move my desk so they will fit the space. I think it’s 5” but will know for sure soon.

I can’t get a copy of the picture but this may help if you’re really curious: IRONCK Bookcases and Bookshelves Triple Wide 6 Tiers Industrial Record Player Shelf, Large Etagere Bookshelf Open Record Player Shelves with Metal Frame for Living Room Home Office https://a.co/d/hUmZhFw  The record shelves are what will hold my poetry books. I don’t have any vinyl anymore, not a place to put a player.

Well, I wanted to use the picture from the Amazon page, but couldn’t get it transferred, so if you want to see it, you’ll just have to click the link above. Or wait until next week when it’s done and populated with books;-)

My new website is up. We’re still dusting, and polishing, but it’s there. Check it out: https://foragooddeath.com. As stated, it’s still being tweaked, let me know if you have any ideas for improvement. Thanks

Sammy is surveying the work from his bed in the other room 😉

Video of the Week:
Ever wonder how a stone is cut? YouTube is full of all sorts of stuff. This guy has a 1000carat piece of clear quarts and is faceting and polishing it. The computer truly is a thing of wonder—as long as you don’t watch news all day;-)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr-UNlOWS3Y When he finishes it, it’s gorgeous.

from the desk of the big chihuahua;
we have sunshine and warmth even if the breeze is a little cold. my human complains, i think it’s because she’s bigger than i am and more wind hits her. im happy with it. more new smells as new people move in and out and bring and take more dogs n cats. i don’t care. the sun is shining and summer is coming.

29th of March is National Pita Day!

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Weather in the Tries:
We will probably his 80 on Tues, then drop to high 50s/low 60s. With Thursday and Friday possible days of rain. Quite livable, actually 😉

29th of March is National Pita Day!
Did you know that March 29 is National Pita Day? Check your phone book or search engine and see if you have a Middle Eastern Bakery anywhere near you and go buy their pita bread. So much better than grocery store pita. If you get there at the right time, you may even get it hot out of the oven 😉 I went to my local bakery and oh, the pita is sooooo yummy.

I didn’t get this scheduled last night. I got tied up in two pretty important (to me) projects. I have ordered a larger book shelf than the one I have, should be big enough for all the books in current case, plus another one, with some space left over. So I spent time emptying shelves, and boxing/stacking books.  2. I am scheduled to give a talk/lead a discussion on Death Doulas at our local Reflection Café and was working with one of the hosts on that process. 3. oops! 2b. I was finishing a book I had to finish to be sure everyone survived. (I also couldn’t think of much to say)

Photo of the Week:
Found Buzz safely attached to the rear bumper of a pickup truck. I’ve only seen the truck in our parking lot, but think it would be great to see him on the road, waving to all us kids behind him as he and the truck head to Infinity and beyond!

from the desk of the brave dog;
it is so nice to go for walks in the sun, but walking in the shade isn’t so warm, especially if the wind blows. my human says that’s the way spring is and I have to deal with it. as long as it doesn’t rain, it’s okay. but don’t like rain. it’s cold and without a thick layer of fat under my fur, it hurts a lot. us desert dogs like warm and sun. ohhhh, yeah. sun. warm.

Quotes for Phun:

“The world isn’t going to end today because 
it’s already tomorrow in Australia “. —Anonymous

“Easter eggs are aborted chicken babies that are painted 
in drag for small children to worship.” —Anonymous

“The first of April is the day we remember 
what we are the other 364 days of the year.” —Mark Twain

Music to work by or meditate with:
I get tired of the news and have discovered some great music I can listen to while I sew in the other room, or work at my computer, wash dishes, etc. There are several channels for meditation music from the music of DUNE (which is wonderful) go Samurai meditation music, which I love. This is Miyamoto Musashi: Embracing Loneliness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TASbYDMaHn4&t=2527s

An economic fix to gender wage disparity

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Weather in the Tries: 
Not as warm as last week, a chance or two of showers, hi 50s to low 60s with los in the lo-mid 40s. IF I trust the weekly forecast. It takes a tad bit to accurately forecast in March.

An economic fix to gender wage disparity:
Ever since I entered the workforce way back when, there has been a wage disparity between what men are paid and what women, who do the same job, make. And it hasn’t been in the female’s favor. Think I’m joking? Remember Carly Fiorina? When HP offered her the top job, she got a few thousand dollars less than her predecessor. There were “good” reasons, the company was making less, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I don’t think there is a single man on the face of this old globe that would have accepted such a deal. They would have upped the ante, demanded more.

Women have always been paid less than men for the same job. And there are always “good” reasons. Some I remember hearing: “You have a husband; you really don’t need this job.” “He  as a family, your husband outranks him. You’ll get the next open slot,” that one was when I was in the Military. We had to take a test for the promotion. I beat the socks off “Him” but I was a female, who outperformed the chosen male, ahhhhh. Some of the “We’ll spend all the time training you and you’ll just get married (and quit)/have a child (and quilt)/miss work every month for a couple days(and cost us more for health insurance)/always have excuses why you can’t work overtime”/and the list goes on. 

Of course, the biggest concern on making wages the same, is the cost. And yet, I argue, they will save money by making the pay the same. Hundreds of thousands, billions of dollars. And the fix is simple. I just don’t understand why businesses haven’t already figured this out. Why those high paid economists have come up with it. Why leave it to a numbers dyslexic person to figure it out. The solution is so simple, and it is staring us in the face.

Pay men the same as women.  There, isn’t that simple? Just think of the mind-boggling amounts of money that would be saved! (as an aside, there is an easy way of telling when traditionally held women’s jobs become well-paid enough for men to consider becoming teachers or nurses, etc. Yeah, when those women finally get some recognition, and some decent pay, suddenly, men realize they love children and teaching, or they truly are caregivers at heart. Yep, pay the men the same as women. Works for me!

Photo of the Week:

One of my friends, Roseann Ferris, had a very interesting, dare I say, “exciting”? life. While in college, she met and married the love of her life, an Iranian student. She followed him to Iran a year after he left. She stayed behind to finish her degree. Needless to say, when she followed him a year after their wedding, she went through some strange portal into a completely different culture where she knew nothing, including the language. Five years later, she was fluent in the language, and passed as Iranian from the north. And then the Shaw was deposed, and she lived through the Revolution until, finally, she and her husband, escaped to America. I haven’t yet read this iteration, but I read the earlier ones, and it is quite a story. Told from the perspective of an American who had every intention of making Iran her new home country. Both the paperback, and the electronic version are available where you normally buy books. Strongly urge you to buy a copy and read it. Here is the cover:

And here is Rosann, giving a talk just before reading a few pages from the book at her Book Launch, in Somer’s Middle Eastern bakery next door to my home 😉

I’m eager to read this final version. The earlier ones were fascinating. For a good read check your favorite bookseller.

from the desk of the big chihuahua;
not much going on. my human goes between the computer and sewing machine and reading a book. sometimes she comes in to lie down with me and let me snuggle for a while. never long enough as far as i’m concerned. but i takes all the bedsnuggles possible. they’re the bestest.

Picture of Peace, Business Cards, and 

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Weather in the Tries:
Didn’t we, as kidlets, learn something about March Winds? March winds bring April showers and April showers bring May flowers. And what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!! /Bwahahahaha/ As you can tell, my Grump has packed up and gone somewhere else! We’ve had a few days of sunshine, and a couple more coming. Winds on Wednesday will issue in clouds, and probably rain showers on Saturday. Highs will range from 75 to 56, with lows mostly in the 40s with a dip to 39.

Picture of Peace:
I subscribe to the Story Sparks newsletter by author, Jane Kirkpatrick. I have had the pleasure of meeting and corresponding with Jane of more than a few occasions. She is one of the most generous of authors I have had the pleasure of meeting. In her March Newsletter, she had a copy of a prize-winning poster by a thirteen-year-old Slovenia student, Anja Rosen, a Primary student from Ravne na Koroskem. Her poster earned her the grand prize in the Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Brava, Anja!! Your poster is delightful.

https://www.lionsclubs.org/en/blog/Slovenia-teen-wins-grand-prize-in-Lions-International-peace-poster-contest

Follow-up on my new cards:
Alas, I am not getting the beautiful blue cards I fell in love with. I have use VistaPrint.com for various projects since Madame Dorion was published. I’ve never had a problem with them, until now. And you must know, they were more than helpful in correcting the problem. They replaced the first cards and when the second order arrived, it, too, was not correct, and they quickly refunded my cost. I still give them high grades, but not with the silvered foil print.

But, I really need some cards and Good Friend Barb recommended FedEx Printing. I needed a new card. I quickly scanned my photos, found one, but couldn’t get it and the type to both transfer to the FedEx link. Good Friend Barb to the rescue. Again. So here are my new cards. I will pick some up tomorrow (Monday) morning, and the majority of my order will arrive the following Monday. So here they are, and yes, the email is active. I’ll let you know when my new  Death Doula website is live.

Photo of the Week:

This photo was taken on the Oregon Coast, I think along Bandon Beach. I loved going there.

from the desk of the big chihuahua;
we have sunshine. i am doing my happy dance. that’s kinda hard when i’m in a harness. but my human lets me read more messages when we’re outside and doesn’t hurry me so much. after all, i have a lot of friends out there. i need to read their notes and leave my response. dogs are like that you know. this desert dog is loving this warmer weather and hopes you are, too.

Quote of the Week:

“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” 
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Videos of the Week:
The first is a short science fiction video on youtube.com: The 100 Year Journey to Proxima Centauri B (Sci-Fi Documentary) 18:54 minutes.

Second video is an old one, Johnny Carson with Jonathon Winters as his guest who tells us why he wasn’t a fit in the Marines. It too is pretty short.

Didn’t we vote to stay on one time???

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Weather in the Tries:
OMG! We’re only going to have ONE night of 32F temps, and all our daytime highs will be high 50s and even high 60s. Oh, be still my beating heart! Uh, no, don’t be still, but, well, you surely know what I mean, doncha?

Didn’t we vote to stay on one time???
I think we did, unfortunately, we voted to stay on Daylight Savings Time, which means it must be approved by congress, and you know they aren’t going to approve any such thing. According to the medical stuff I’ve read (and understood), we’d be better off if we stayed on Standard time, and THAT doesn’t require congressional approval.

The older I get the grumpier I get in the week following the time shift. So, Auntie Lenora is Aunt Grump this week. Deal with it!

And, I’m late again in posting. Deal with that, too;-) That’s because I spent yesterday afternoon napping with the Big Chihuahua and making and pinning the quilt sandwich of that loooooong and skinny quilt. I am going to start quilting it today, I hope.  

Today I have my “Let’s get to know each other” interview with End of Life WA. Perhaps, with enough coffee, Aunt Grump will take a hike before then. Do ya think?

Business Cards:
Follow up on my cards came, and they were beautiful, except where the “Dea” of Death wasn’t silvered. I randomly checked through all 500 cards, and it was missing on the several I checked. I called Vista and they immediately said they would replace them, and that I could keep the ones I have and use them in the meantime. Nice people to deal with!

Way Back When:
I had a long arm quilting machine. When I sold my house, I had to give it up as it took up too much room. As I recall, there were two rollers in the front, the quilt backing was loaded on one, the quilt top on the other, and the batt was pulled up between them. I had my batt in long tub on the floor, and wouldn’t cut it until the quilting was finished. Everything was rolled onto one roller at the back of the machine. So, I was watching a randomly picked quilting show on YouTube the other day, and the quilter showed how she makes her sandwich. She went to her favorite hardware/lumber store (a quilter’s best friend after the fabric store), bought some pre-finished 1”x2” and taped her fabric for a sandwich to them, rolled them, and voila! Looked like a great idea, so I went to my favorite store, bought an 8’ piece of same, and they were kind enough to cut it for me.

Came home, cut my fabric and batt, got it rolled, and yesterday, I unrolled it in segments, sprayed adhesive on it, pinned it, and rolled the the sandwich into a single roll that will sit in my lap as I run it through the sewing machine. I’ll re-roll it, and repeat until it’s quilted. However, one should NEVER work on a quilt when one is grumpy, so it may take a day or two until I get to it. When you quilt and are grumpy or angry, bad things happen to the quilt and you spend a whole lot of time picking stitches out and do-overs. 

Anyhow, here is a picture of the long skinny quilt on 3 rollers. In this case, the backing is plain muslin, but if it was printed, it would be rolled with the print on the down/outside, and you’d see it on the roll. Note, it is wider than the batt, which is also rolled and flattened, and then the top, which is rolled so the print is on the top as it’s unrolled. For you quilters out there, it is a neat trick, and I wish I could give credit to the quilter who showed it, but it came up randomly and I wasn’t paying attention. Bad me. Truly. I do enjoy giving credit when and where it’s due.

Photo of the Week:
rolled fabric. exciting, huh?


from the desk of the big chihuahua–
i don’t know why my human is so grumpy or sleepy, but i love it when she’s sleepy enough for afternoon snuggles and naps. she gets grumpy now and then, but seldom at me. it is getting warmer outside, the cold will surely be gone soon. then it will nice for longer walks. if you want to go walking, and you come to visit, my human will go with you and take me. walks are fun.

Quote of the Week:

“Dear daylight savings, I asked for more sleep. Not more sun.”

–unknown

Soundtrack of the Week:

Dune Part Two by Hans Zimmer.
We’re going to the movie this week.

A Sneak Preview of my New Business Cards

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Weather in the Tries:
I do believe Spring is riding her pogo stick to get here. We have a few nights on the agenda to get below freezing, but not seriously. And our days will all be high 40s and 50s. With cold winds.

A Sneak Preview of my New Business Cards:
But first a follow-up on the quilt sandwich. It is quilted and the edging is almost finished. And I have approval on the fabric for the 100-inch long by 10-inch width quilt which is next up. No, they don’t have a pet snake that likes to stretch out to sleep, they have a cat who likes to sit on the top of the wood headboard of their bed and look outside, and they don’t want the headboard scratched. Then up will be a set of 4 placemats and my Winter Gifts will be finished! And I can get back to the mountains for my friend. That’s going to be fun to work on. I’ve got a start. It will be easy, once all the pieces are sewn and the picture decided on. 

Friend Micki saw my quilt, Stars Falling on New Mexico Mountains, and wanted one like it only different, she wants Mt. Shasta and her three sister mountains. I can hardly wait to get to it. I will try to remember to take pix during the process in case you ever want to try it 😉

Stars Falling on New Mexico Mountains, about 53″ x 19″

I don’t think I told you about going to a networking evening with people who work with Seniors (as in old farts and fartesses, not high schoolers). In talking with some of them, I realized I really do need to get busy, so I have ordered a set of business cards from Vista Print they should be here Wednesday. I found some on a foil background and can hardly wait to get the cards and my new alias email set up. I had it, then wanted to edit, and hit delete instead of edit and now I have to wait until Wednesday to set it up. Stupid computer, I’m allowed three alias emails, it counts the ones set up, not the ones deleted. Really looking forward to our March meeting.

Please don’t try the email in the card until at least Thursday.

I volunteered with End of Life Washington, and hope to begin training soon. Also, I volunteered with Heartlinks Hospiceto be an Eleventh-Hour volunteer, who will be called when a client is “actively” dying, to go and sit with him until life ceases. I will begin training with them soon. I think the phrase, “actively dying,” is beyond a little odd, but extremely accurate. The first time I heard the phrase was when the hospice nurse came to check onmy Favorite Uncle (also my only uncle) and she used that term. His body was shutting down, including his thermostat. 

He reached his left hand across his body and picked something out of a nonexistent bowl and moved it to his left side and dropped it in another nonexistent bowl. Eventually he stopped doing that, and slept a bit. I sat with him for 30 some hours, and kept a diary of what he did. Turned it into my poem, Marking the Hours. Which is the title poem of my book, Marking the Hours. Sometimes he was lucid, mostly mumbling. I wish I knew then what I know now.

Found a fun piece of music on YouTube, Hunnu Guren – Batzorig Vaanchig & Auli. It’s throat singing from Mongolia and Bagpipe and Drum music from Latvia. Not the HU, but fun, and gorgeous scenery. Right now as I write this, I am listening to Hauser play his cello. From The HU to Hauser. Do I have eclectic taste in music or what?

from the desk of the big chihuahua:
my human is going to go away today. i just know it. she’s talking about pizza and beer and bookgroup. if i could reach the lock on either door, i’d go outside on my own, but i have to wait for her and then walk in a harness. she won’t let me run free, says something about me being owl bait, and she says she doesn’t want an owl. she wants me. i’m not afraid of no stinkin’ owl. but, why take chances/ that’s supposed to be a question mark but i don’t know how to get it, after all, i’m just a dog.

Quote of the Week:

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations from Filling the Jars

me again, the short legged kid. this is what we get outside right now. don’t know this dickens guy, but he nailed it. oh, a funny happened to my human yesterday. a zombie leaf attacked her face. now she knows how it feels. but she wasn’t scared, just called it a star farker and kept on our walk. is star farker a nice word/ she says it a lot, so it must be.

Yes, your coffee break is late today:

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Weather in the Tries:
Tuesday night it will get down to 31F, and on Wednesday it will be windy, but the wind will blow in a high of 59F. Today is forecast to be partly cloudy, but the sun is shining, and I think partly cloudy is just fine. Over on the Dark Side of the state, we’d call this a cloudy day with sun breaks.

Yes, your coffee break is late today:
Thanks for noticing. I got busy with a quilt sandwich, then I had to go to a meeting with another Death Doula, and we (make that She, because she did all the work, I just came to help) presented to community people we are here, and what we can do. It went very well, and we’re going to do it monthly. Open discussion, not a hard and fast agenda.

What, some of you may be asking, is a quilt sandwich? Not to be eaten, for sure. It’s the quilt backing taped to a table or floor, then the batting, then the top fabric, the lots of pins to hold it all together. In this case, I had to get some pens that I could draw lines with but would either wash out, or iron out. I bought both kinds so I could play and see which I liked best. I opted to use the iron out ones (heat dissolvable) but in reading the directions, I did get a wee chuckle. If, after the lines have disappeared, if the quilt is stored at 32F temperatures or lower, they may return. The ink can be HAND WASHED out but not machine washed. For a small quilt, I can understand that, but hand washing a large quilt? I have one response: Bwahahahahahahaha!

The reason I needed ink instead of chalk, which I really like, is because I had to safety pin the layers together once the design was drawn and I didn’t want the chalk to be rubbed off while pinning or sewing. I tried to pin so they wouldn’t be in the way while quilting. I also try to pin so I can easily unpin as necessary while quilting. Today I plan on quilting the quilt, then I get to tie all the quilt threads and hide them in the quilt. That won’t all happen today. Then the edge needs to be sewn on and voila! I’ll have a house warming gift for a friend.

It’s a repeat of the Fibonacci quilt I made earlier. Hopefully it will quilt a bit neater than the other. No, I’m not a perfectionist, but I am astigmatic, and if I had the first quilt on my wall, I’d see all the wee mistrakes in it. One of the quilters I admire tremendously (because of the quote) said words to the effect of, “If you can’t see it by riding past it on a galloping horse, it’s fine.”

The Amish, who are expert quilters, put a mistrake in every quilt they make because they believe only God is perfect. So, yes, I see the mistrake in my wee quilt, but I never claimed to be perfect.

Photo of the Week:

from the desk of the brave dog:
oh, i am too happy puppy dancing to write anything this morning. the sun is out, the sun is out. the air is still a tad chilly, but the sun is out. this brave desert dog is soooo happy.

Quote of the Week:

“If January is the month of change,
February is the month of lasting change.
January is for dreamers…
February is for Doers.”
~ Marc Parent

An odd week, this:

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Weather in the Tries:
IF, and that is both an operative word and a very large word, but IF my phone is correct, it will not get down to 32 this coming week. The lowest will be 33 all the way up to 36, and the days will mostly be in the 50s. With three days of sunshine on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!!!

Maybe next year I’ll auction my shadow off—if I get more money to see my shadow and have 6 more weeks for the skiers to ski, or if the most money comes from the summer people… And all money will go to charity. What do you think? Should I auction my shadow off to the highest bidders???

An odd week, this:
This past week has been a bit odd. I got a couple more books read and have about decided that Lois McMaster Bujold gets one more chance to worm her way back into my Kindle. What? You may be wondering did this fantastically marvelous SF/F writer do to upset me? Well, grab a cuppa, Bunky, ‘cause I’ll tell you.

Housemate Dan got me hooked on her Vorkosigan Series. There are 16 books in the series. The first two I read got me into the characters, who darn well should have been in the next few books, if not all. Well, in Book 2, she killed one of my favorite, okay, my favorite, supporting character. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that when you get stuck you kill off your darlings. Well, dammit, he was MY darling, and I’m not telling you who it was. Then, in Book 4, which I finished yesterday, NOT EVEN A MENTION of the series people. Not even a wee mention in passing of anyone in the series. Okay, I admit, book 4 was okay, but it was a real let down, because I expected someone to show up and recruit the kids. 

All the books are stand alone, so I will try #5 and see what happens. 

Photos of the Week:
I was lying down with the Brave Dog the other day—something he demands at least once a day—and while I was reading, he was under the blanket until he got too warm then he squirmed until he was playing people in the bed. And, no, his nose isn’t sore, it’s the way his tongue cleans it, and the light in the room.

We also had snow the other day. Not much, but enough that the Brave Dog, the Big Chihuahua, said, “Walk? In that stuff? Not just no, but uh-uh, not me no!” Sometimes he really hates it when his people is bigger than he is, and had other ideas.

from the desk of the big chihuahua:
my human says there should be no snow this next week, and we are scheduled to have three days of sunshine. that does, of course, mean there is nothing wrong with her phone weather forecast. sunshine! oh, this desert dog is soooo happy.

Sunny Day Quotes:
“Even on a cloudy day, the sun is shining somewhere.” –@WillingToTakeActions

my human says if it’s cloudy you only have to go up thirty-five thousand feet. all you need is a big extension ladder. I don’t know how many feet that is, i’ve got four and she has two, and i’ve never seen an extension ladder, don’t know what it is.