On Thirds:

Well another year is almost at the third way point. Yes, May is almost upon us.

I am spring cleaning and have a goal of getting rid of one third of my collected junk. J-U-N-K Jewels (As in Sparklies), Unproductive (Collecting dust.), Non-useable (By me at this time.), Klutter (Clutter, poetic license).

Of that third of my things, I have told myself that I have to recycle/re-purpose at least a thirds of it.

So I am selling a third, giving away a third, and reusing/recycling most of the rest.

Most of the selling stuff is things I used when I was doing colonial re-enacting. I can’t see just sending it to Good Will. They don’t know what half of the stuff is for or how to use it anyway. And re-enactors are always looking for a deal on used, broken in things. (New stuff sticks out like a sore thumb.)

I do have to pair down the crafting collection. I have a day camp willing to take a lot of that stuff off my hands in one load. Popsicle sticks to plastic beads, odd baskets to extra glue guns. Even some odd left over paint. They can use the free crafting stuffs.

As to re-using things? Well by patch work and piece meal. I’ll have a few more bed covers and such. I always did patchwork over blankets that were getting worn out. It beats buying filler for them.

And there is no end of things I can make the grandkid out of my old stuff. Toys, clothes, games, soft books. Few things around here ever just get thrown out without having at least one use before the garbage bin. Even food containers like paper milk containers become building blocks or seedling planters. The plastic ones get holes put in them and they collect things from crafting supplies to berries when it is picking time.

Oh, the things you can do with a cottage cheese container and its lid.

Anyway I need the space, the freedom, and the piece of mind.

Three good things to have, if you ask me.

On Update:

Now I’m not saying that my life is going down hill, or that I really can complain about anything. Because I do have it good all things considered. And I’m not overly upset about any of it. Life has its ups and downs. And I’m in for the ride.

Puppy discovered bugs and worms. To chase, catch, and bring into the house.

Rain and wind storm, lights out. Reading by candle light.

Yoga-ed too much, too soon and strained my back a bit.

Rained hard and some came in under the door. Wet floors and damp rugs.

Sunshine and growth and budding happening all around. Trees rufus with buds, husta’s doubling in growth daily, grass will need mowing very soon.

Rain and more rain. Puppy comes in after each walk and no white fur can be found on him, only brown drippy mud. Bath time for puppy many times a day.

My computer key board is dieing and I just got it last November. Dell is going to hear about this!

Rain and rain and more rain. Ran down the chimneys and onto the floors, under the doors and onto the floors. Took up most of the rugs days before.

Funeral for wife of Mountain Man’s friend, cancer. Sad. Very vanilla people so had to find some ‘not’ Goth clothing. And me with a closet full of Victorian Mourning garb. (What a waste of good Gothiness!)

Got some great deals at the dollar store on the way home from the funeral.

There is a rodent in the house and the puppy shows no signs of being a mouser. Mountain Man is setting traps in the bedroom where last it was heard scratching under a dresser.

On Help! I’m Playing and I Just Can’t Stop!:

I found a new obsession!

Well, let me back up to the beginning of the story.

I have an iGoogle page and on it I have a few game that I play now and again.

You know those free video games that you only play a few rounds and move on to the next thing you’re suppose to be doing.

I had Bejeweled, the old version, on there and it just stopped working, so I went to find a new game to replace it.

I found ‘Flood-It!’! A simple game of starting in the upper left hand corner you take one color (of the 6) at a time and collecting the available touching colored squares in the box, until the box is filled with only one color. You have a limited amount of tries for each round of play. There are 3 sized playing boards, Small, Medium and Large.

It is from labpixis.com. They have more than a few things just for iGoogle, (and a few for Android and iPhone) that I have on my home page. (You don’t have to have iGoogle for your ‘home’ page. You can make it just a page you create for yourself with your favorite gadgets in it. All you need is a ‘gmail’ address to get at it. Free and easy.)

I’ve been playing for days almost non stop. I’m addicted to this silly stupid game.

I’m going to have to delete it. I have other more important things to do. Really I do!

I’m a level Genius Pixie already. (And frankly I’m not that great at it. I only have a 50% win rate.) I haven’t even touched the large board yet.

I guess, I’m hoping it will just burn itself out and I won’t have to hit the delete button.

But at the moment, I’m a bad girl and loving every minute of it.

On Venturing Abroad:

So being at the ‘spa’ for a week had me grocery shopping this morning. We were out of just about everything perishable. The frig was bare.

I clung to the shopping cart like a champ, managed to get all the needs met, but I needed a nap when we got home. Mountain Man thankfully put the groceries away for me.

I did, of course, leave my shopping list and coupons home on the kitchen counter. My head is still in the clouds of post spa-dum I think. But that also could be looked upon as the same as normal for me and my bad memory.

Sir Handsome spent the shopping time in his crate in the back seat of the car sleeping the time away. (Probably the last time we do that as the warmer weather will be here all to soon. And I don’t do sun baked puppy in the car.) It was still cool enough in the car to have him with us so we did.

There was also the drama of Sir Handsome’s bone chews. There is this one kind of puppy chew bones, he likes this particular flavor that this one brand has. Of course it is not sold to the public, only retailers.

And, you guessed it, I’ve only found one store by me that carries it. I have been trying to get my local grocery store to stock extra for me, if not order me a case. They do carry them you see. But all I can get each week is the few on the rack. Not enough to hold him over until the next shopping trip.

I talk to one person after another, each time someone new. I even phone in between times that I am there. To no avail. They can’t seem to get their act together and order me some dog chew bones for my puppy. This has been going on for weeks now.

Yes, I do know that my drama is ever so much more interesting. That is why I share it with you. Thank you for noticing. Hee, hee.

Anyway, that is it for my travels from my cozy bat nest. And you know how it is; dishes are calling my name, the floor needs washing and I have to wash the bed sheets or I wouldn’t be able to change the bedding again on sheet changing day. So I guess I’d better get at it.

On Being at the Spa:

Okay friends and fiends. We’re going to play a little game of deception.
(I’ll not tell you I was sick yet again and you will believe I was in a spa for the last week.)

So, I've been at the spa and I had a ‘good’ time, I lost 15 pounds. It was quiet and I did read quite a bit. I lounged around in bed quite a lot also. But mostly I just slept the days away.

The puppy learned a few new tricks while I was busy pampering myself.
How to unravel a throw rug to the point it couldn’t be saved.
How to repeatedly run down a patch of flowers flat, instead of ‘doing his business’ outside.
How to chew a hole in a pillow and pull out all the stuffing.

Sir Handsome also unlearned some things he use to be good at.
How to ‘do his business’ outside.
How to run around outside instead of inside the house like a crazy thing until exhausted.
How to scratch at he door instead of howl and yowl to wake the dead until someone lets him outside.

All things considered it was a good week and we have so many new things to learn and undo it will keep us busy for weeks to come.

I just hope I can keep most of the weight off after all I went through to have it gone in the first place. Now I have to replace lost muscle first. I’m about as good as a wet dishrag when I try to get further than a room length at the moment. But my stomach needs have shrunk to almost nothing. I’m eating like a bird. A peck here, a peck there.

I expect that we will be back to normal here in just a few days. If not I just may find a ‘real’ nice spa out of state to hide in for a while.

On Ouch! What Was That?:

Well, despite my best efforts I didn’t blog yesterday. It was just such a lovely day for a change that we jumped into spring fixing mode. We even opened the windows wide to let in the warm fresh air. Now where did we put those window screens?










The snow by the garden wall that greeted me yesterday morning had melted all away by noon. And the crocus’s have made a comeback.

Mountain Man took the kitchen screen door apart to replace the broken screening and paint it, he made a ramp for the dog to get up to the window seat and did other ‘make it better’ or ‘fix it’ stuff.



















I cleaned house, tossed broken non repairable things in the recycling bin, added things to the ‘fix it’ pile and repeatedly chased after a puppy running full tilt around and around and around again in the muddy yard. (The kitchen door was open and he took full advantage of that fact.) And did I mention cleaning the kitchen floor and bathing the dog a few times too.















The good news is Sir Handsome now knows that he can do his ‘business’ outside. Not that he doesn’t have accidents, but he wants to go outside if he can get there in time.

By evening we were very tired and just sat in a lump watching TV and catching our breath from a happy day well spent.

That was until the slapping started. No, not each other. The mosquitoes! Yes, the first day it was warmish here and the beasts were out already and apparently congregating in my house. I don’t remember a year that we didn’t get to have the house open for a few days while getting the screens back in place before they showed up in force.

Anyway, we have red, itchy pumps all over us from the flying fiends, but the screen door has a fresh coat of paint as it dries out in the shed. Just in time for another cold spell.

Did the weather forecaster just say S-N-O-W on Wednesday? He did, didn’t he? Oh No, Yes He Did!

I’m going back to bed to hide under the covers until the snow goes away or summer bug season starts, which ever comes first. I just can’t take both at the same time.

Ouch! Another one just got me. Gotta’ Hide!

On Sophie Lancaster:

I guess I’ve been thinking about looks because last week someone asked me to post this YouTube short about Sophie, the girl beaten to death in 2009 for looking different.

This animated film is less than four minutes long and was made for schools and other social groups to show and talk about with young people. It is to get kids to think before acting out on others just because they look different.



They are looking for as many hits as they can get and support also if you are so inclined to help them spread the word of tolerance.

As always you can click on the YouTube logo in the corner of the screen to go to YouTube to watch this and/or get the Embeding info for your blog. (If you have never posted a video from YouTube before, click on the Embed button under the video and simply copy and paste the info from the box into your blog. Done!)

So, if you have a blog please post this video there. If not, just take the time to watch it through and maybe tell your friends about it. Violence in this film is at a minimum. (Caution, you may want tissues with you before you start watching.)

Here is a link to the making of this film for those that want more back ground info.

If the video is cut off on the side the link for it is here.

On Looking at Looks Part 2:

I didn’t realize that what I said yesterday would stir you. I thought I was talking in the dark again.

I do want to say I’m not one to hate beauty. I just don’t think that outward beauty is enough by itself. And that it shouldn’t be used to hide ill will.

I believe in inner beauty. Beauty of mind, heart and soul. A giving, helpful, loving person, no matter what they look like on the outside, is what I look for in a friend.

I try to practice being all of these things at all times.

Not that I’m perfect at it. Because I’m not. I get angry at injustice. I get discussed at prejudice. Small minds sadden me.

I look in the mirror each morning and take stock of myself. The outside is puffy and droopy and older. But my eyes still shine with love and laughter, with wrinkles to match them too. I’m thankful for one more day to do what improving I can on my inner self.

Daily I exercise my mind. And I also pray for everyone I know to be having trials. And those I do not know because not all people share their troubles with me.

I pray for people all over the world that live in war or disasters way. I pray for people who have personal trials that make them hard to live with even to themselves, and their family and friends. I pray for people in loss and grief.

I pray for comfort and help and peace and understanding for all.

I think about how to handle myself in assorted situations so I am less likely to fly off the handle.

The thing I work the hardest at is forgiveness. I tend to hold onto hurts. I pick at them until they are festering nicely if I let myself. Mostly I remind myself that when I’m the one in need of forgiveness it is often granted. I hold onto that feeling of love and care forgiveness brings to me and try to turn it around to use on others by forgiving them.

I want my heart to shine through my looks, no matter how old and tired I may look at times.

And the people who don’t want to see past my wrinkles will just be missing out on a wonderful relationship with me.

On Looking at Looks:

I am not beautiful. To look at that is. I am proud of the beauty I have within. I do look more like Grandma Addams then any other character in that wonderful show. I have a baby picture of myself looking so much like Uncle Fester that I thought it must be a mistake when I was younger and wanted to be a beautiful people too.

I did have a cute phase in which I looked some what like Shirley Temple, curly hair and all, enough to be asked by smiling strangers if I could dance and sing like her. But alas, I was only two years old and could not. The smiles went away from their faces.

Most of my life I was not skinny or fat, just middlin. The rest of my family are tall and I am short, being slightly dwarfed in my arms and legs. (When I sit next to my tallest brother we are the same height. But when we stand I am more than a head shorter, over a foot in fact.)

As a kid I was smart and had a good imagination. I was not good at book learning or in school work. I was interested in things that made others moan and groan. I liked what others shunned. I was a misfit.

I saw through their sham lives. The lies they told themselves so that they were not left behind the crowd. The hoops that they jumped through, the disguises that they hid behind with smiles so practiced that they didn’t look fake any longer. I distrust smiles.

I found faces with wrinkles and the people behind them far more interesting than the smooth faced ’pretty’ liars around me.

The wrinkled people didn’t lie nearly as much. They didn’t have to pretend that things were different than it really was. They were old and only the people that really loved them or were really interested in what they had to say paid them any attention.

My mother would say, “Don’t stare!” And I’d think to myself that I wasn’t. I was committing them to memory and that there was so much more to remember in an interesting wrinkled face.

Wrinkled faces are soft and comfortable. You can read their eyes so much better. They have a patchwork of interesting roads mapped out on their faces. Leading to questions about all that experience hidden beneath.

I was lucky to have lived as a child before all this accessible eternal youth. To have discovered this treasure before it was harder to find and it rarely disappoints me even now that I‘m a wrinkly too.

On Puppy Lovein' Fun:

Most of the pictures of Sir Handsome are nothing but a blur. But I do have these from when he is asleep. He is helping to keep the smile totals up.

On Still Smiling Through the Tears:

I’m not saying that my life is harder than any one else’s, only that this year hasn’t been the best so far. And I know better then most, that my hits have been on the low scale, all things considered. Yet the hits keep coming.

I don’t want, and never have wanted, this blog to be about ‘my tragic life‘. In fact I was going for a place for Gothic enjoyment and over coming the trials that come with being an eccentric elder Goth woman.

Yet looking back at my postings lately I sound like a whiny drama queen more times than not. Or at least it feels that way to me.

I want Spring to come and have a new beginning. A time and place to put what has happened so far this year behind me. Yet life keeps on throwing punches my way, along with this repetitive winter weather.















We had to have Sir Laidback ‘put to sleep‘. His bad knee gave out. He was in pain. And with his other health issues they couldn't operate on him. It has been one bad time on top of another here at our house with small happy breathers scattered through, just enough to keep me hoping.

I have a happy little puppy here on my lap. He still brings many smiles to my face. But those smiles are through my tears today.

I know that life has ups and downs, trials and rewards. I can and will get to the other side of this new setback.

When the winter recedes a new vegetable garden will be planted, grow, bring forth fruit, and die back down into the earth. Circles and cycles of life played out over a year at a time. Taking time and effort, but giving tasty sustenance to my life.

Sir Laidback has had his time here too. He was only with us for a year and a half. He was old, sickly, blind, and mostly deaf. We made his time with us as good and comfortable as we could. We were happy to do it. We loved him for what he was, a laidback pleasant dog who was happy to just sit and worship the woodstove and love us for the opportunity. Good-bye little buddy.

And I’ll keep on trying to smile at how life plays its absurd game on me.

On The Things We Do For Love:

What is it about Puppies, Kittens, and all Babies in general that make us willing to do just about anything for them?

Is it the cuteness thing or the helplessness? Or maybe its both things together?

My back is out, I’m all hunched over when I try to stand. It hurts! But am I staying flat on my back and resting it in bed?

No! I’m cleaning up puddles and poop, stolen then shredded paper towels, spilled water dishes, and toys under foot. And loving every minute of it.

I‘m going out in the rain and snow and cold without a jacket to do an impromptu walking. And bathing him to clean the mud off afterwards.

I’m sleeping on the floor next to his cage with one finger through the bars so he can go back to sleep in the middle of the night after a howling lonely spell.

I’m taking hundreds of pictures, most all of them just a blur of puppiness. Unless of course he is sleeping.















We pulled up the rug and put down throw rugs that he pulls around the room. Mirrors against the walls at floor level so he thinks that are still other dogs around.

You couldn’t pay me to do this stuff and yet here I am besot with puppy love and willing to do almost anything to keep him happy and healthy.

On Not Exactly Together, But Doing Fine:

Sir Laidback and Sir Handsome have not met. In fact they have polar opposite places to stay.

Sir Laidback has a skin condition and a compromised immune system leading to infection very easily. He also has a trick knee that has been giving him more trouble lately. And trying to get away from a bouncy puppy he can’t see coming would not be something I would like to see him go through.

Sir Handsome is a puppy from a home full of other dogs and cats. He thinks that all animals are his friends and fair game in play.

Since it would overwhelm Sir Laidback to have a very social puppy want to play, for now they will not meet.

Although not the arrangement we would like to see, it is easy enough for us to do this because there are the two of us and we have the time and room. No one is short changed and they don’t know it any other way. So they don’t care. Sad but true.

Sir Handsome is my dog and Sir Laidback is Mountain Man’s. They can each have their own woodstove to get warmed by, as we have two, one for each end of the house since we don’t have central heating.

We love them and are happy to take care of them in the ways their needs require. And for now that means in separate parts of our place on the mountain. It works for us and we are happy with the arrangement.