Wednesday, June 30, 2010

On Had a Good Day:

The heat broke yesterday. I slept like a baby. I got a boat load of things done today. Though no knitting yet.

I cleaned out Mountain Man’s computer and got it working again. I blew out all the dust. It was kind of blocking the fan from getting it cool enough to keep working properly. And I found a few minor viruses and other bad stuff too. Killed the buggers off and rebooted. Good again.

I also did laundry. And because the humidity was down, it dried well enough so I could get another two loads out there. I found the floor to the laundry room. Yea me!

I dusted until my arms were sore. And danced while doing it.

Sir Laidback got a bath, he has an appointment again tomorrow. A recheck. Nothing serious. He’s doing good for a change.

I think I’ll watch a movie on DVD tonight and knit the evening away.

I will get hot again, but I’m going to take advantage of these few cooler days and enjoy getting things done.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

On Computer Hell or Rule of Three’s?:

My computer, Rupert, is down; disk drive dead, and programming short falls. My mothers computer won’t down load up dates, has lost some commands and the screen is over heating. And Mountain Man’s computer has taken to shutting itself off, like the power has been cut, at odd times for no discernable reason. All within the last week.

At the moment I’m counting on the Rule of Three’s. You know bad things coming three at a time, followed with peace and prosperity. (Though I’ve never personally experienced the peace and prosperity part. I have been privy to the ‘at least it is over’ thing.)

There is also the fact that my glasses frames have broken yesterday. But I chose to believe that it is an isolated incident or that it has it’s own, two other bad things attached to it. Didn’t Mountain Man loose a pair of glasses the other day? I’ll get back to you on that front.

The rest of life here is good. I had my yearly visit to my doctor this morning and all tests have come back good. Now all I have to do is loose sixty to seventy pounds and continue to exercise like a mad woman and eat right all the time, (not likely).

I have to plan a trip to my mom’s house to see what I can do for her computer. I’m trying to keep Mountain Man’s computer going long enough to completely run the anti virus through and clean the trouble out if I can. And I’m in the process of finding a new or rebuilt computer to replace Rupert. I know when I’m defeated there.

Oh, and my son’s death day is coming up. Just to put me in a good mood.

Onward and upward, I say! I have only to accomplish World peace, end hunger, and provide for Goth dominance!

But first I have to do the supper dishes. See you tomorrow.

Monday, June 28, 2010

On I Remembered a Find:

Well, I was looking for something to write about that doesn’t need pictures or if the pictures were needed I could find a link to send you. And I finally remembered that I didn’t show you my find while in Boston.

I was thrift shopping with my daughter. We found a few clothes and some household items for their new place.

But my find was a baby doll. I saw it sitting on a shelf, all sad looking. One of its eye lashes was hanging down on one side. But otherwise it was in very good shape.

My daughter didn’t want me to get it. She is not into dolls with breakable parts. This doll had a china head and hands on a cloth body.

I plunked down the five dollars they wanted for it and left the store. As soon as I got back to the apartment I look the doll over and found, under the red haired wig, a name and serial number.

She is a ‘Good Morning Sugar Bright’ from Boots Tyner 1993, from Tracy's Treasures, marked Louise C. A doll that originally cost over a hundred dollars.

Once her eye lashes were fixed back in place she was just perfect. And she is now all mine.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

On Hot Enough For You:

Most of the country is in a heat wave. I spent the day with my feet in a plastic bin of cool water and playing a video game.

I found a game that Gladys, my old XP notebook computer, could handle. I already had gotten it at Target for five dollars, but you can down load a trial of it for free here.

Alice Greenfingers’ full version for sale $6.95, is a gardening game. You have 30 computer days to grow as many varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers, add chickens, cows an sheep, just to keep things interesting, for you to amass a small fortune and get the highest score you can.

Of course you have to gain the ability to have all these things at your disposal. It must be prettily displayed. And the bills keep coming as time marches on.

I’ve been watching the market of the farmers market that said stuff is sold at to maximize my returns. Collecting the rewards as I hit set goals. And melting in the heat of the day as I make Alice franticly run around boxing up goods as they mature and putting them in the shed for market.

I’ve hit all goals, but the 30 day mark. (I’ve two game days to go.) And she has totally tired me out. Or maybe it was the heat.

When and if it cools enough this evening to knit I’ll be back at that. But for now it is Hazy, Hot, and Humid at Deathwatch Castle. (And once those stone walls get heated up cooling down is hard to do.) I’ll be here with my feet in a plastic bin of cool water and a fan on the rest of me. As I pick fake crops and wait for cooler days to knit again.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

On Learning to be Happy with Less:

I am trying to be happy without Rupert the computer. This is hard because I got him as a ‘getting through chemo’ gift. I had been having trouble playing all my games on my older smaller computer.

I’ll say it now, I love my computer games. I play one or another each and every day.

Not for hours on end. Though I could, if I let myself. And on rare occasion I do go hole hog and play until my eyes get all blood shot and I just have to stop.

Puzzle games, Memory games, Sims games, Educational games, Goofy games, Fantasy games, Collection games, and even the rare Kill’um games. I love them all.

I miss my Sims families. I want to build houses and sculpt gardens. I want to save forests with my fairy friends. I crave playing spider solitaire with the newer Vista version.

But the thing I miss the most is my full Skype phone connection and talking to my friends around the world.

Yes, the Lady herself is on Skype. I Skype my daughter, mother and others for free. They don’t have video cameras and you don’t need them for Skype, only a microphone. Ands most laptops have them built in. The download is free over the web.

Gladys, my notebook computer, can Skype without video when she is in the mood. She has a hard time holding onto an internet connection for some reason. So I loose calls every so often or they are cut short.

So my dear friends, if your Skype list shows Lady Euphoria Deathwatch with the unavailable icon try back later. But do try again. And then again, I may be on with someone else when you want to get through to me.

And if you don’t have me on your Skype list and want to, send me an initial Skype request to connect with me call. I’ll try to get back with you, when Gladys will allow. (I reserve the right to block anyone who is not appropriate, or makes a pest of themselves.)

I hope we can connect as we did before. If not we are back to emails.

Friday, June 25, 2010

On Pieces of Me All Over the Place:

My computer, his name is ‘Rupert‘, is in pieces. He is missing a disk drive. Wires hang from the gaping opening in his side. Parts lay on the desk beside him. He is not happy and neither am I.

(As I am also, now left without my favorite computer games.)

We tried a new external drive and it was not compatible with his programming. We tried a new internal drive and that would not work at all. It looks like the trouble is with Rupert himself. He is no longer able to get power to the drive and therefore will need time under more capable hands.

I need to back up all the massive amounts of information he holds, incase he can not be cured. And next week he will go in for further exploratory measures.

So ‘Gladys’, is now the computer I’ll be using for a while. She can’t handle pictures, she is small, slow and old. Only a notebook you see. She also has trouble holding onto a connection to the internet.

The story blog ‘Thrill or Shiver’ will have to wait for another story. ‘Kevin’s Mittens’ info is on ‘Rupert.’ The info and pictures for all my blogs are on ‘Rupert.’

I’m going to take the weekend to relax and think of ways to make some money for the replacement of ‘Rupert’ some time in the not too distant future. His days are numbered. I believe they were from the time he had that short that shocked me so badly, I still have the scar on my hand, and the fixing of it kept me off the web for over a month while he was being refitted.

I’ll try to be here as often as I can. I may even get to use Mountain Man’s computer from time to time.

Have a good weekend everybody. I’m going to sat with my feet up knitting and reading or watching movies. I’m not going to think about Rupert’s end, only enjoy myself.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

On Retracing My Steps:

On Retracing My Steps:

Well, I wanted to tell you about my new clothes dryer.
But all it turned out to be, was a new rope for the old pullies.

I wanted to praise my new disk drive.
But although it could read, it couldn’t write. Not compatible with my Vista computer. Had to bring it back.

I wanted to show you some plants I was proud of.
But something came and ate them last night. Too late to replant them. Have to put in something else.

Not a very good batting average.
But at least I can still dry my clothing. Same as I always did. And I don’t have to look at that old tattered clothes line anymore.

Things are not as bad as they first seemed. Gonna' be thankful for what I have.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

On Summer Pinwheel Fun:














Summer made its new start this week and I have for your pleasure ‘Pinwheels.’















Directions here will make pinwheels about a foot across. Smaller paper squares will make smaller pinwheels.

I used card stock paper, but you don’t have to. Color of your choice. (My black one doesn’t show for pictures well, so I used pink here.)

A straight pin.

A bead or two for washers, it helps to spin faster.(optional)

Pencil with good eraser, (not too hard for sticking the pin into)

Scissors and something to mark cutting lines.

To make a Pinwheel.
1 Fold one corner up using the other corner as fold line point. (Do Not cut into a triangle shape.)















2 Mark a line to cut off extra paper and you should have the needed square when opened.
3 Cut off extra paper.
4 Fold the other direction so there are fold lines from each corner and through the center.















5 Mark center with a dot and two thirds of each fold line leaving the center portion unmarked except center point, mark tip ends only.
6 Cut on fold lines.
7 Decide on clockwise or counter clockwise spin.
With the top of square facing you the left point is counter clockwise and the right point is clockwise. (Only one direction can be used at a time. I used right side in the pictures.)















8 Mark points to be folded in, turning paper and mark each side on the same point.















9 Taking the pin (with one bead on it if you are using them) bend marked points in toward the center and poke the pin through each of the four point layers, (You will be poking through the back of the marked point) then through the center point mark.
10 Place second bead, if you are using them, onto the pin.
11 Stick Pin into the pencil eraser.















12 Face pinwheel into the wind and watch it whorl around.

Extra: To make the two colored kind, place two different sheets of paper of different colors together. Glue at center point and make the same way as before. You can even get the kids to color the paper first for one of a kind pinwheels.

Monday, June 21, 2010

On Broken Glass Houses:

I humbly apologize to all out there in blog land. I have hoisted myself on my own petard. I have no less then two blogs which I have left fallow, yet are still up on my blog link list.
_______________________

It started with the less then stellar début of my charity blog called Kevin’s Mittens. I started it as a remembrance of my son who died over ten years ago, leaving a gap in the community for helping the homeless and needy.

The friends and family I got verbal backing for, did not physically materialize. (They left me high and dry, folks.) Added to that the lack of finding places that excepted my offerings. (Fancy a charity not wanting mittens unless they were in bulk.) I lost heart, people. How could I ask others to make mittens and give them to others in their own community, if I couldn’t do the same?
________________________

And my writing blog Thrill or Shiver has had so few comments and feed back, I felt almost totally ignored and more then a bit dissed. (Yes, a few very good people helped me out with one or two stories.) But there are, what, ten stories on there? Does no one read and have a comment?

The whole point of that blog was to improve my writing skills by having people tell me what they liked and did not like about the stories there. I wanted feedback, and still do, good and/or bad.
________________________

So yes, I too have a few fairly dead blogs, of my own authorship, on my blog link list.

I’ll just have to do something about that. As soon as I get back from the computer store. My computer Rupert, his disk drive broke over the week end. (It don’t go round no more.) Rupert is sick about it. (Those are his inner workings, you know.)
________________________

In the mean time I’ll just get going on knitting a new pair of mittens. I’ll give them out on a street corner myself if I have to next winter. But I’m not going to let the Kevin’s Mittens charity go down in flames.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

On Saturdays Lost:

Apparently I’ve lost the ability to do Saturdays and blog. It has been some time since I’ve been able to do both.

Yesterday was beautiful, and I enjoyed it despite all the sunshine. I also got a lot done.

Recycling. I made cloths hangers, cut from cottage cheese container lids, for my dolls clothing. they were spilling forth from the doll closet box for the lack of hangers.















It was World Wide Knit in Public Day yesterday. Thou I was outside the house while knitting, my home is in an out of the way place with no traffic or public to see. The local news did tell of group that knitting outside the town library. I knitted a baby sweater. I just have to tuck the tails and string through the ribbon.

I read the hot afternoon away. Short stories mostly. It was a short story kind of day.

Today is Fathers Day. Happy Day to all you Dads and Dads to be. Mountain Man is getting a nice meal from me and grateful doggy attention from the pets.

Tomorrow starts the first of Summer. Long hot days of growing things and bugs. A friend gave me a hand held bug zapper. I’m hoping it will make feeding the carnivorous plants easier.

Friday, June 18, 2010

On Your Inner Goth is Showing:

The things on this list are not considered Gothic standing on their own. They are not necessarily things I like or do. But put together with the others…

You’re a little bit Goth if you like:

Phantom of the Opera or other tragedies.
Walking in a cemetery when not visiting a friend or relative there.
Like Dark humor.
Thinking about whether or not there is an afterlife?
Don’t let what others think about you, sway what you want to do with your image of self.

Like to talk about the books you read with others.
Find a tragedy compelling.
Don’t mind spending hours alone thinking.
Have tattoos.
Are not upset if a less then ‘happily ever after’ ending happens in a story, book or movie.

Have piercings.
Like to play with your fashion in odd ways.
Plan your funeral.
Listen to music that makes you feel strongly.
Like the Addams Family; Cartoons in New Yorker Magazine, TV show, and or Movies.

Find being a little freaky, while ‘not’ hurting anyone, makes you happy.
Expect the trials in life, as well as the good times.
Own any black, plastic/PVC, velvet, and or lace clothing.
Like Tim Burton movies.
Like non-goth music that has a dark subject or edge to it. (The Decemberists come to mind.)





Find rainy days to your liking.
Don’t deny and hide your dark side.
Know that ‘Romantic’ means ‘Exciting’ not just ‘being in love.’
Know that no matter how many friend we have, we are essentially alone in life.
Have likes you don’t share with others, because they might not understand.

There are ever so many more, but I think you get the picture.

If you see a Goth, know that in these types of things you just might see eye to eye. And that they are not so very different as you may think.

Have any other suggestions?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

On If Its Thursday This Must Be Vet Day:

We are off to visit the Vet again with Sir Laidback, the Puggle. It seems like every week any more.















Lady Long is in the front of this picture as they enjoy the wood stove that is not going at the moment, but they still lay by it anyway.

Last week it was an ear infection. This week a recheck. The week before it was a recheck for the skin condition he was seen for the week before that.

The poor blind dog leaks, bleeds and itches more then not. Allergies are the cause, mostly.

He is such a good, placid fellow. I do hope he can be fixed up before he breaks the bank. We would hate to have to give him up because we can’t afford his care. Mountain Man wouldn’t know what to do without his buddy.

So we are off to the Vets again this week. His ear is doing a lot better. I hope they don’t find anything else wrong with him. I just couldn’t take it if they do.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

On Blog Cleaning:

I don’t know about you, but I’m a blog follower link person. By that I mean that I check out the listed blog links of the people I follow.

I pick a blogger every few days and check out all the links in their follow list. I’ve found some wonderful people through these links. But, I have to say, that dead links irritate me.

I try to keep up with my links. If a blogger hasn’t blogged in more than three months, I check on them. If there is no reply or activity by six months, I drop them from the list.

If they move their blog, I try to keep things updated.

I feel cheated finding blog links that are a year or more out dated. And the no longer available label just makes me mad.

People move on, get busy, and sometimes even die. I get that. And I get that we all have things to do.

But holding on to a link no longer active is just poor blog maintenance. And lets face it, you can do what you like with you own living space. But when you invite others in, you should take the time to straighten up a bit every now and again.

If I get shoddy with my blog maintenance, just let me know.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

On Go with the Flow:

Well, I’ve been missing from blogville again. I was helping out a neighbor who went on a short vacation. I was being their dog walker and feeder.

The trouble was, no not the dogs, the weather. We had on and off thunder storms for days. When it wasn’t raining I was dealing with the dogs, and when it was I had the computers unplugged. (We have gotten hit by lightening a few times already in the past.)

The dogs are fine and back under family care.

I got wet repeatedly. And was off buying new sneakers. Some of my older ones are still damp. Some of the money for the new sneaks came from the dog sitting.

On the good side we dodged the bullet. Only a few towns away they got flash flooding, basements flooded and trees down. Over three inches of rain in a short time. At least not as bad as the mid west got.

All in all, a different kind of weekend for me. I did get to read quite a bit while waiting out the storms. But no knitting. It was a non-crafting household and those dogs aren’t craft trained.

Hope you had a good weekend too.

Friday, June 11, 2010

On Get Your Mammograms and or Other Check Ups:

After my yearly mammogram this morning, I popped into one of my local craft stores today, because I had a half off coupon and that almost always means more knitting needles.

And I found some neat Steampunk stuff because I like it and a girl can’t have too many keys, key holes or cogs.















That was my gift to myself. I gift myself every time I get through my yearly boob squish. It is better to look forward to a gift, then to hate and avoid a needed maintenance check up.

And once you have had ‘The Cancer Talk’ you never want to have it again. Thus avoidance creeps in. Followed by lack of self care.

And lets face it, if I’m willing to eat right and do the dreaded daily exercise to stay healthy, I need to have my rechecks after cancer.

So since I’m all done, I get to remind you.

My friend; When did you last have a check up or mammogram? Is it time? I’ll wait here while you go and make that appointment.

Take good care of yourself my friend. I need all the friends I can get. And I bet, so can you.

Is it a deal? I get mine and you get yours. And I won’t stop you from gifting yourself either.

While you are busy, I’ll be over here in the corner playing with my new toys until you are done. Probably making them into jewelry or something.

The words on the keys are Love, Life, Journey, Secret, Memory, Heart, and Dreams. Good words to have around on a day like today.














PS: Sold by the scrap book stuff in the craft store. Full size and weight, by Tim Holtz. The sprockets, and gears pack has four types and in three antiqued colors; gold, brass and silver. The largest cog is a little bigger then the size of a US quarter.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

On Hungry for Something Creative:

I was munching on almonds this afternoon and thinking about marzipan.

One of these days I’m going to make this…














Vegan Yum Yum’s Knit Night Cup Cakes.

You have to see the whole blog about them. Loren was even on Martha Stewart showing how to make the marzipan sweaters. And that YouTube piece is on the blog too.

The link is here.

PS: My daughter used to live next door to her. And I’m told that her food is really delicious.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

On Exercise Dilemma or Attitude Adjustment:

Those of you who have been reading here know that I don’t like to exercise. That I grew up the kid with too much energy, a mover and do-er, waiting for the day I could sit on my diderum-dah and do nothing.

It was a crushing disappointment to me to find out that the sedentary lifestyle of my older generation was not something to look forward to. And that the life of ‘The Jetsons’ with their self cleaning house and robots to do everything else was not to me mine either. (Sigh)

I have the cushy desk chair and the computer. My fingers are ready and willing to push buttons and keys all day. I have a nice group of video games to fill my waking hours.

But better health insists that exercise is the way to go. It will improve my memory troubles, limit health problems, and prevent injury.

Yet, I hate it. I do it, but I hate it. I hate it to the point of exercise rage.

Yes that is what I said. Exercise Rage.















I scream and cry, curse and throw things. (I have a foam brick I use to keep the damage down.) I am a menace, a horror, a meany.

The dogs and husband flee from the room, and the house itself when possible, when it is time for me to exercise.

I have even scared myself at times. Red faced and at the boiling point. Melt down eminent. (This is not good.)

Where is the ‘runners high’ people talk about with exercise? I see red.

Where is the feeling of good and righteous self control? I feel burning anger.

Where are the positive endorphins? I have resentment and just feel tired.

Why can’t I just find a bit of enjoyment in this exercise business?

I was the kid who ran everywhere, moved mountains with a teaspoon, was always busy. And now that I have come to a time in my life where I feel I should be able to sit down and rest, I’m told to get up and get moving.

I am tired of trying to trick myself into exercising. I need to get me a better attitude about exercise.

Any suggestions?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

On Weight Gain is Not Fair:

Okay, I get that I’m not going to get the time I lost back.

But why do I have to put up with the extra pounds.

And Yes, not exercising for days on end while feeling like hell, eating only to get the nasty pills down, and spending time up-chucking mostly nothing. Because having a migraine can do that to you, make you sick from head to toes. Laying very still so as not to make your head worse. This apparently does lead to weight gain.

I’ve managed to gain five pounds thank you very much. It took me three and a half weeks to remove them and four days to get them back.

I am getting really tired of playing hard ball with the same few pounds of fat.

On again, off again, on again, off again.

I have some very pretty Gothic clothing in my closet dieing of boredom and the lack of seeing the dark of night.

I am not happy with this fat me. I work hard at removing five or ten pounds only to watch it pop back on my body the minute I stop being an exercise freak.

I watch what I eat. If I didn’t I’d be an extra hundred pounds heavier. I watch what I eat because I have a short term memory problem. If I eat, I must pay for it first by using my card system. So in this way I don’t eat two or three meals before I realize I don’t need to eat any more. There is no food missing that I ate and forgot about.

I’m a past menopausal woman who’s body just wants to stay at 200 pounds no matter how hard I fight it.

But fight it I must. For my heath I must.

I’m back to exer-biking, and stair stepping, and yoga-ing, and wii exer-gaming, and walking, and not having a life, or getting knitting done, or writing stories, or any of the other things I like to do that make my next breath worth taking.

Fair or not, I’m fight the fat that is trying to defeat me.

Monday, June 7, 2010

On Self Discoveries:

I have discovered where some of my migraine headaches have been coming from lately.

My Pillow. Yes, my friendly, nightly, companion. My comfort zone. My allergy free zone pillow.

It turns out that I am a drooler. I drool on my pillow nightly. I have done so for years.

Here to, my pillow did not protest, complain, or retaliate in any way.

I did dry my pillow out in the morning and change the pillow case regularly. I even replaced my pillow twice a year.

But apparently that was not enough. I managed to get a fungal growth down in the fibers, none the less. This caused in me an allergic reaction leading to migraine headaches.

This last one lasted for four days before the cause was found.

New pillows were bought and a steam cleaner is being acquired to prevent further outbreaks.

Who knew a little night drool could be so hazardous to ones health?

Thursday, June 3, 2010

On Wood I?:

Yesterday I tried a new, yet old, approach to exercise. I worked. Physical labor. With sweating and everything.

We went out in the woods and while he cut the trees down and cut them up for the wood stove, I stacked it on the tractor wagon.















The dogs came too and had a good time trying to track a bear.

I put an envelope from a breast cancer, glad you are still doing good, card I got that day, from a friend, in the picture of the bear track so you can see how big it is. Okay it was a smaller bear, but I still didn’t want to meet up with it.















I had to lighten the picture so you could see it because of the shade from a near by tree.

It took hours for me to load all that wood and Mountain Man only helped a little. He was busy cutting. I’m hurting, but in a good way today.















I let Mountain Man take it all off the wagon.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

On Onward Movement:

I have been on this self improvement kick lately. Not a new thing for me. Spring seems to do it for a lot of people.

I’m eating better. More fresh fruits and veggies. And a few less calories over all.

I’m expanding my mental horizons. Reading, watching, and talking about more topics than just knitting and my Goth stuff.

I’m listening to a more diverse group of music then I’d gotten into these past few years.

I am ‘not’ using as much time or playing as many video games.

I am ‘not’ spending as much time sitting and wishing for thing to change.

I am making change by doing things.

I am ‘not’ stewing in my own juices. I have stopped bemoaning the past. I can’t change it anyway.

I am looking to the future. Ten years or ten minute, it matters not. I’m trying to make the most of this moment and bring that with me into next one.

Tell me what you are doing to help make your space in this life better. I may want to add a few to what I'm doing too.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

On New Leaves:

There are a lot of new leaves out side this spring. New month and a new start.

My own new leaf that I am turning over, is that I am restarting my exercise program.

I did 50 steps on the stair stepper. (Stop laughing at the way I was clutching onto the handles for dear life.) I don’t have any steps to go up or down, in or around my house. Not even a curb.

I did a half an hour on the Wii Game ‘My Fitness Coach’ And I accidentally had it set too high for a first time around, in a long time. They had me using my hand weights too.

I walked for an hour. All be it in the house, because it was raining when I did it. I did do it at a march to dance music.

And I started the day with a half an hour of ‘Yoga for Weight Loss’ video.

I may not loose weight, but I will get a little more fit. And that is the point of it all. To be fit enough to hold onto a baby by October.

Don’t want to drop the first grandchild. Not a good way to start a relationship.